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Release of uranium from candidate wasteforms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

N. Collier ,
M. Harrison ,
M. Brogden  and
B. Hanson
M. Harrison
Affiliation:
National Nuclear Laboratory, Sellafield, Seascale, Cumbria CA20 1PG, UK
M. Brogden
Affiliation:
National Nuclear Laboratory, Sellafield, Seascale, Cumbria CA20 1PG, UK
B. Hanson
Affiliation:
National Nuclear Laboratory, Sellafield, Seascale, Cumbria CA20 1PG, UK
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Abstract

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Large volumes of depleted natural and low-enriched uranium exist in the UK waste inventory. This work reports on initial investigations of the leaching performance of candidate glass and cement encapsulation matrices containing UO3 powder as well as that of uranium oxide powders. The surface areas of UO3 powder and the monolith samples of UO3 conditioned in the glass and cement matrices were very different making leaching comparisons difficult. The results showed that for both types of monolith conditioned samples a steady increase of uranium concentration in solution with time was generally not observed. The wt.% of uranium leached from UO3 conditioned in the lead borosilicate glass wasteform was approximately five orders of magnitude less than that leached from UO3 powder. Similarly, the quantities of uranium leached from UO3 conditioned in composite cement made with ordinary Portland cement, and from magnesium phosphate cement, were approximately four and three orders of magnitude, respectively, less than that leached from UO3 powder. The performance of a mixed oxide borosilicate glass wasteform was only slightly better than that of UO3 powder. This work shows that wasteforms based on encapsulation in lead borosilicate glass and cement matrices have the greatest potential for further development.

Keywords

uraniumuranium oxidesglasscementrelease rateleach rate
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 76 , Issue 8 , December 2012 , pp. 2939 - 2948
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
© [2012] The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2012

References

ASTM (2008) Standard Test Method for Static Leaching of Monolithic Waste Forms for Disposal of Radioactive Waste. ASTM C1220–98. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA.Google Scholar
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) (2008) The 2007 UK Radioactive Waste Inventory, Main Report. Defra Report Defra/RAS/08.002, NDA Report NDA/RWMD/004, May 2008.Google Scholar
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