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Role of radioactive waste on microstructure evolution and performance in natural aluminosilicate system

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Abstract

Sustainable development of nuclear energy benefits from high-quality host materials that treat high-level waste simply and safely. A natural aluminosilicate was used to immobilize CeO2 in a simulating diagenetic process. Below 7 wt% of CeO2, cerium exists in glass in the forms of Si–O–Ce and gap-filling. As it exceeds 7 wt%, being promoted by Ce4+ reduction, uncured cerium nucleates on the bubble wall. Sample with 7 wt% of CeO2 shows higher hardness, density and lower normalized leaching rate (10−5 g m2 d−1 after 28 d), indicating an excellent stability. This study proposes the natural aluminosilicate as a promising material for treating high-level waste.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21976146, No. U2267219), Sichuang Natural Science Foundation Project “Study on the composition and properties of high entropy ceramic solidified body based on TRPO waste” (No. 23NSFSC0991), National Health Commission Nuclear Technology Medical Transformation Key Laboratory Annual Open Project (No. 2021HYX028), the Project of State Key Laboratory of Environment-friendly Energy Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology (No. 22fksy12), the Applied Basic Research Project of Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province (No. 2021YJ0344) and National College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program (No. 202210619016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental-Friendly Energy Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Lijing Huang & Xirui Lu

  2. Tianfu Institute of Research and Innovation, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Chengdu, 610299, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyan Shu, Congcong Ding & Xirui Lu

  3. National Co-innovation Center for Nuclear Waste Disposal and Environmental Safety, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyan Shu, Pan Tan, Tianhao Liu, Congcong Ding, Faqin Dong & Xirui Lu

  4. Mianyang City College, Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Jitao Xuan

  5. Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100091, People’s Republic of China

    Mingfen Wen, Yuexiang Lu & Jing Chen

  6. NHC Key Laboratory of Nuclear Technology Medical Transformation (Mianyang Central Hospital), Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoan Li

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  1. Lijing Huang
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Huang, L., Shu, X., Tan, P. et al. Role of radioactive waste on microstructure evolution and performance in natural aluminosilicate system. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 332, 2653–2666 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-08938-w

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