Nuclear Waste Into Glass: Viscosities of Molten Analogs of Radioactive Waste Disposal Media

Authors

Betty Pang, Ames High School
Kenneth E. Windom, Iowa State UniverstiyFollow

Document Type

Research

Keywords

radioactive wastes, vitrification, viscosity, high-temperature processes

Abstract

Disposal of high-level radioactive wastes involves vitrification of a mixture of waste products and borosilicate glass frit. Monitoring the composition of the mixture is critical to the control of the vitrification process, bur is difficult because of the high levels or radioactive components in the mixture. Synthetic non-radioactive analogs of the products from nuclear reprocessing have been prepared and their viscosities measured over a wide range of temperature appropriate to those of the vitrification process. Preliminary results indicate that viscosity is a linear function of composition, under isothermal conditions, for a limited compositional range that encompasses the proportions of waste products and borosilicate frit determined to be optimum for disposal of wastes at the Defense Waste Processing Facility in South Carolina. These results support the concept that physical properties of the molten waste mixtures can be used to monitor composition.

Publication Date

June 1994

Journal Title

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

101

Issue

2

First Page

49

Last Page

53

Copyright

© Copyright 1994 by the Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Pang, Betty and Windom, Kenneth E. (1994) "Nuclear Waste Into Glass: Viscosities of Molten Analogs of Radioactive Waste Disposal Media," Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS, 101(2), 49-53.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/jias/vol101/iss2/6