Leaching Studies of Non-Metallic Materials for Nuclear Fuel Immobilization Containers

1984 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Onofrei ◽  
D. K. Raine ◽  
L. Brown ◽  
F. Stanchell
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Ceramic Surface ◽  
Weight Losses ◽  
Concentration Of Ions ◽  
Ceramic Components ◽  
Leaching Experiments ◽  
Leaching Behaviour ◽  
Static Conditions ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste

AbstractThe leaching behaviour of various ceramics was studied as part of a program to evaluate their potential use as container material for very long term containment of nuclear fuel waste under conditions of deep geologic disposal.Samples of four grades of Al2O3, stabilized ZrO2, TiO2, a cermet (70% A12O3- 30% TiC) and porcelain have been leached in deionized distilled water, Standard Canadian Shield Saline Solution (SCSSS), and SCSSS plus 20% Na-bentonite under static conditions at 100°C for periods up to 120 d.The results of these ongoing leaching experiments suggest that the controlling features of the ceramic leaching process were leachant composition, and the presence and concentration of ions in the solution capable of preferentially precipitating on the ceramic surface, i.e., silicon, Mg2+, Ca2+, etc. Weight losses were determined after leaching. The initial leach rates showed a dependence upon ceramic purity and the processing used to prepare the ceramics, as well as the leachant composition. Also, it was apparent that the decrease of leach rates with time occurred as a result of the ceramic components in the leachant approaching their saturation limits.

Perspectives on the Review of AECL's Proposal for Disposing of Canada's Nuclear Fuel Waste

1997 ◽  
Vol 506 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.W. Dormuth ◽  
P.A. Gillespie ◽  
S.H. Whitaker
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Geological Disposal ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Hearings ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste ◽  
Term Management

ABSTRACTA federal Environmental Assessment Panel has completed public hearings on the proposed concept for geological disposal of Canada's nuclear fuel waste. The Panel will make recommendations to assist the governments of Canada and Ontario in reaching decisions on the acceptability of the proposed concept and on the steps that must be taken to ensure the safe long-term management of nuclear fuel waste in Canada. It is instructive to review the background to the public hearings, to consider the issues that have been important in the public review, and to reflect on the opposing points of view presented at the hearings.

scholarly journals Depleted Uranium Oxides and Silicates as Spent Nuclear Fuel Waste Package Fill Materials

1996 ◽  
Vol 465 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Forsberg
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Fission Products ◽  
Depleted Uranium ◽  
Improve Performance ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Reducing Conditions ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste

ABSTRACTA new repository waste package (WP) concept for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is being investigated. The WP uses depleted uranium (DU) to improve performance and reduce the uncertainties of geological disposal of SNF. The WP would be loaded with SNF. Void spaces would then be filled with DU (∼0.2 wt % 235U) dioxide (UO2) or DU silicate-glass beads.Fission products and actinides can not escape the SNF UO2 crystals until the UO2 dissolves or is transformed into other chemical species. After WP failure, the DU fill material slows dissolution by three mechanisms: (1) saturation of WP groundwater with DU and suppression of SNF dissolution, (2) maintenance of chemically reducing conditions in the WP that minimize SNF solubility by sacrificial oxidation of DU from the +4 valence state, and (3) evolution of DU to lower-density hydrated uranium silicates. The fill expansion minimizes water flow in the degraded WP. The DU also isotopically exchanges with SNF uranium as the SNF degrades to reduce long-term nuclear-criticality concerns.

Long-Term Stability of Spent Nuclear Fuel Waste Packages in Gorleben Salt Repository Environments

1998 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Grambow ◽  
Andreas Loida ◽  
Emmanuel Smailos
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Term Stability ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste

Canada’s New Nuclear Waste Act

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Security Requirements ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Management Organization ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Socioeconomic Considerations ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste

The Nuclear Fuel Waste (NEW) Act is a stand-alone piece of legislation with some 30 articles and without regulations. The Act deals essentially with social, financial and socioeconomic considerations of the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste. It complements the health, environment, safety and security requirements under the Nuclear Safety and Control, Act. The NFW Act provides for 1) the nuclear industry to set up a waste management organization to manage the full long-term waste management activities and to establish trust funds to finance long-term waste management responsibilities; and 2) the waste management organization to submit, for government decision, long-term waste management options within three years of coming into force.

A Numerical Model for the Corrosion of Copper Nuclear Fuel Waste Containers

1995 ◽  
Vol 412 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. King ◽  
M. Kolář
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Corrosion Potential ◽  
Corrosion Behaviour ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Localized Corrosion ◽  
Uniform Corrosion ◽  
Adsorbed Species ◽  
Maximum Period ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste

AbstractA model is presented for the prediction of the long-term corrosion behaviour of Cu nuclear fuel waste containers. The model is based on a kinetic description of the processes involved in the uniform corrosion of Cu in a conceptual Canadian disposal vault. The 1-dimensional, multilayer model accounts for mass-transport, electrochemical and chemical processes and predicts the spatial and temporal variations of the concentrations of various dissolved, precipitated and adsorbed species, as well as the time dependence of the corrosion rate and the corrosion potential (ECORR). The variation of [O2], [Cu(II)] and ECORR with time can also be used to predict the maximum period over which localized corrosion processes, such as pitting or stress corrosion, may occur. Predictions from the model suggest that 25-mm-thick Cu containers will not fail due to uniform corrosion or pitting in periods <106 a.

Demonstration of a System Performance Assessment Process

1990 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth W. Dormuth
Keyword(s):  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Conceptual Engineering ◽  
Disposal Facility ◽  
Long Term Performance ◽  
Term Performance ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste

ABSTRACTTo help evaluate the concept of nuclear fuel waste disposal in plutonic rock of the Canadian Shield, the long-term performance of a hypothetical disposal facility is being studied. This case study uses information from a Shield research area, laboratories, and conceptual engineering. It illustrates the use of performance assessment to derive constraints on the siting, construction, and operation of a disposal facility, and to demonstrate the feasibility of safe disposal of nuclear fuel waste.

Modelling the Effects of Evolving Redox Conditions on the Corrosion of Copper Containers

1993 ◽  
Vol 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. King ◽  
D. M. LeNeveu ◽  
D. J. Jobe
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Corrosion Behaviour ◽  
Redox Conditions ◽  
Uniform Corrosion ◽  
Corrosive Environment ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Waste ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACTThe corrosive environment around the containers in a Canadian nuclear fuel waste disposal vault will change over time from “warm and oxidizing” to “cool and anoxic”. As the conditions change, so too will the corrosion behaviour of the containers. For copper containers, uniform corrosion and, possibly, pitting will occur during the initial aggressive phase, to be replaced by slow uniform corrosion during the long-term anoxic period.The corrosion behaviour of copper has been studied over a range of conditions representing all phases in the evolution of the vault environment. The results of these studies are summarized and used to illustrate how a model can be developed to predict the corrosion behaviour and container lifetimes over long periods of time. Lifetimes in excess of 106 a are predicted for 25-mm-thick. copper containers under Canadian disposal conditions.

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