scholarly journals High-Level Nuclear-Waste Borosilicate Glass: A Compendium of Characteristics

1992 ◽  
Vol 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Cunnane ◽  
J. K. Bates ◽  
W. L. Ebert ◽  
X. Feng ◽  
J. J. Mazer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Experimental Testing ◽  
Glass Network ◽  
The United States ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
Mechanistic Modeling ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTWith the imminent startup, in the United States, of facilities for vitrification of high-level nuclear waste, a document has been prepared that compiles the scientific basis for understanding the alteration of the waste glass products under the range of service conditions to which they may be exposed during storage, transportation, and eventual geologic disposal. A summary of selected parts of the content of this document is provided.Waste glass alterations in a geologic repository may include corrosion of the glass network due to groundwater and/or water vapor contact. Experimental testing results are described and interpreted in terms of the underlying chemical reactions and physical processes involved. The status of mechanistic modeling, which can be used for long-term predictions, is described and the remaining uncertainties associated with long-term simulations are summarized.

scholarly journals Transporting and Storing High-Level Nuclear Waste in the U.S.—Insights from a Mathematical Model

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 2437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Wegel ◽  
Victoria Czempinski ◽  
Pao-Yu Oei ◽  
Ben Wealer
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Geological Repository ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level ◽  
Interim Storage ◽  
Storage Facilities

The nuclear industry in the United States of America has accumulated about 70,000 metric tons of high-level nuclear waste over the past decades; at present, this waste is temporarily stored close to the nuclear power plants. The industry and the Department of Energy are now facing two related challenges: (i) will a permanent geological repository, e.g., Yucca Mountain, become available in the future, and if yes, when?; (ii) should the high-level waste be transported to interim storage facilities in the meantime, which may be safer and more cost economic? This paper presents a mathematical transportation model that evaluates the economic challenges and costs associated with different scenarios regarding the opening of a long-term geological repository. The model results suggest that any further delay in opening a long-term storage increases cost and consolidated interim storage facilities should be built now. We show that Yucca Mountain’s capacity is insufficient and additional storage is necessary. A sensitivity analysis for the reprocessing of high-level waste finds this uneconomic in all cases. This paper thus emphasizes the urgency of dealing with the high-level nuclear waste and informs the debate between the nuclear industry and policymakers on the basis of objective data and quantitative analysis.

scholarly journals The Role of Natural Glasses as Analogues in Projecting the Long-Term Alteration of High-Level Nuclear Waste Glasses: Part 1

1993 ◽  
Vol 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Mazer
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
Molecular Water ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Water Contact ◽  
Natural Analogues ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
Common Observation ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTThe common observation of glasses persisting in natural environments for long periods of time (up to tens of millions of years) provides compelling evidence that these materials can be kinetically stable in a variety of subsurface environments. This paper reviews how natural and historical synthesized glasses can be employed as natural analogues for understanding and projecting the long-term alteration of high-level nuclear waste glasses. The corrosion of basaltic glass results in many of the same alteration features found in laboratory testing of the corrosion of high-level radioactive waste glasses. Evidence has also been found indicating similarities in the rate controlling processes, such as the effects of silica concentration on corrosion in groundwater and in laboratory leachates. Naturally altered rhyolitic glasses and tektites provide additional evidence that can be used to constrain estimates of long-term waste glass alteration. When reacted under conditions where water is plentiful, the corrosion for these glasses is dominated by network hydrolysis, while the corrosion is dominated by molecular water diffusion and secondary mineral formation under conditions where water contact is intermittent or where water is relatively scarce. Synthesized glasses that have been naturally altered result in alkali-depleted alteration features that are similar to those found for natural glasses and for nuclear waste glasses. The characteristics of these alteration features appear to be dependent on the alteration conditions which affect the dominant reaction processes during weathering. In all cases, care must be taken to ensure that the information being provided by natural analogues is related to nuclear waste glass corrosion in a clear and meaningful way.

scholarly journals An international initiative on long-term behavior of high-level nuclear waste glass

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 243-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Gin ◽  
A. Abdelouas ◽  
L.J. Criscenti ◽  
W.L. Ebert ◽  
K. Ferrand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
Nuclear Waste Glass ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level ◽  
Long Term Behavior ◽  
International Initiative

scholarly journals Method for estimating the density of high‐level nuclear waste glass

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 641-648
Author(s):  
Cory L. Trivelpiece ◽  
Thomas B. Edwards ◽  
Fabienne C. Johnson ◽  
Kimberly P. Crapse ◽  
Kevin M. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
Nuclear Waste Glass ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level

Comparison of Granite, Tuff, and Basalt as Geologic Media for Long-Term Storage of High-Level Nuclear Waste

1990 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Grandstaff ◽  
V. J. Grassi ◽  
A. C. Lee ◽  
G. C. Ulmer
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Nuclear Waste Repository ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
Hydrothermal Experiments ◽  
Ion Activity ◽  
Activity Ratios ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level ◽  
Term Storage

ABSTRACTSystematic differences in pH, cation/proton ion activity ratios, and redox have been observed between solutions produced in rock-water hydrothermal experiments with tuff, granite, and basalt. Stable pH values in tuff-water experiments may be as much as 1.5 pH units more acidic than basalt-water experiments at the same temperature and ionic strength. Redox (log fO2) values in 300°C tuff experiments are 4–7 orders of magnitude more oxidizing than basalt experiments and ca. 4 log units more oxidizing than the magnetite-hematite buffer. Such fluid differences could significantly affect the performance of a high-level nuclear waste repository and should be considered in repository design and siting.

Nepheline Crystallization in High-Alumina High-Level Waste Glass

2015 ◽  
Vol 1744 ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Marcial ◽  
John McCloy ◽  
Owen Neill
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
High Alumina ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Interfacial Conditions ◽  
Waste Vitrification ◽  
Cooling Schedules ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level ◽  
Glass Compositions

ABSTRACTThe understanding of the crystallization of aluminosilicate phases in nuclear waste glasses is a major challenge for nuclear waste vitrification. Robust studies on the compositional dependence of nepheline formation have focused on large compositional spaces with hundreds of glass compositions. However, there are clear benefits to obtaining complete descriptions of the conditions under which crystallization occurs for specific glasses, adding to the understanding of nucleation and growth kinetics and interfacial conditions. The focus of this work was the investigation of the microstructure and composition of one simulant high-level nuclear waste glass crystallized under isothermal and continuous cooling schedules. It was observed that conditions of low undercooling, nepheline was the most abundant aluminosilicate phase. Further undercooling led to the formation of additional phases such as calcium phosphate. Nepheline composition was independent of thermal history.

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