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Geopolymers as Candidates for the Immobilisation of Low- and Intermediate-Level Waste

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Geopolymers should be serious waste form candidates for intermediate level waste (ILW), insofar as they are more durable than Portland cement and can pass the PCT-B test for high-level waste. Thus an alkaline ILW could be considered to be satisfactorily immobilised in a geopolymer formulation. However a simulated Hanford tank waste was found to fail the PCT-B criterion even for a waste loading as low as 5 wt%, very probably due to the formation of a soluble sodium phosphate compound(s). This suggests that it could be worth developing a “mixed” GP waste form in which the amorphous material can immobilise cations and a zeolitic component to immobilise anions. The PCT -B test is demonstrably subject to significant saturation effects, especially for relatively soluble waste forms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Materials and Engineering Science, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, New Illawarra Road, NSW 2234, Menai, Australia

    Dan Perera, Eric Vance, Satoshi Kiyama, Zaynab Aly & Patrick Yee

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  1. Dan Perera
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  2. Eric Vance
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  3. Satoshi Kiyama
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  4. Zaynab Aly
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  5. Patrick Yee
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Perera, D., Vance, E., Kiyama, S. et al. Geopolymers as Candidates for the Immobilisation of Low- and Intermediate-Level Waste. MRS Online Proceedings Library 985, 1001 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-985-0985-NN10-01

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