International Journal of Materials Science and Applications

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An Experimental Study on Treatment of Typical Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Wastes with Thermal Plasma Melting Technology

Received: Jun. 03, 2018    Accepted: Jul. 19, 2018    Published: Aug. 21, 2018
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Abstract

With the active development of the nuclear industry in China, it is extremely urgent to study and develop advanced technologies for the radioactive waste treatment and disposal. With features of high temperature, high energy density and broad applicability, the thermal plasma melting technology has been considered as one of the key subjects in the radioactive waste treatment research field. A pilot scale experimental study was carried out on the treatment of typical low and intermediate level radioactive wastes (LILWs) from the nuclear power plant in China with thermal plasma melting technology. Two representative wastes, thermal insulation waste and cotton, were selected and melted in the plasma melting furnance at 1250°C for ~ 100 minutes until they were completely vitrified. Meanwhile, tracers of Co2O3, CsCl and SrCO3 were added to the original wastes to simulate the containment effect of 58Co and 60Co, 134Cs and 137Cs as well as 90Sr in the vitrification during the treatment process. The XRD patterns of both vitrification samples displayed as the typical amorphous state. Performances of resultant glass waste-forms, including the physical property, the leachability and the mechanical capacity, were in accordance with the standard requirements of the hign level radioactive waste glass vitrificaton, and were better than those of the cement solidified waste. Further experimental work is in need to better understand the radioactive nuclide migration regularity and to improve the performance of the plasma melting system.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20180704.15
Published in International Journal of Materials Science and Applications ( Volume 7, Issue 4, July 2018 )
Page(s) 147-152
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

LILW, Thermal Plasma, Glass Vitrification

References
[1] International Atomic Energy Agency. Application of thermal technologies for processing of radioactive waste. Vienna, 2006.
[2] Womack R. K., Shuey M. W. Development and Use of the Dualmode Plasma Torch. Tucson, Arizona, USA: Proceedings of the Waste Management Conference. 2002, pp. 200-208.
[3] Nakashima M., Fukui T., Nakashima N., et al. Characterization of Solidified Products Yielded by Plasma Melting Treatment of Simulated Non-metallic radioactive waste. Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology. Vol. 39, No. 6, 2002, pp. 687-694.
[4] Park J. K., Song M. J. Feasibility Study on Vitrification of Intermediate and Low Level Radioactive Waste from Pressurized Water Reactors. Waste Management. Vol. 18, No. 3, 1998, pp. 157-167.
[5] Tzeng C. C., Kuo Y. Y., Huang T. F., et al. Treatment of Radioactive Waste by Plasma Incineration and Vitrification for Final Disposal. Journal of Hazardous Materials. Vol. 58, No. 1/3, 1998, pp. 207-220.
[6] Xu W. B., Lv Y. H., Chen M. Z., etc.. Experimental study on simulated radioactive wastes vitrification with arc plasma. Nuclear Power Engineering. Vol. 36, No. 6, 2015, pp. 175-179.
[7] Chen M. Z., Bai B., Liu X. J., etc.. Development of glass formulation for plasma vitrification of combustible solid wastes from nuclear power plants. Radiation Protection. Vol. 35, No. 5, 2015, pp. 262-266.
[8] Chen M. Z., Huang W. Y., Lv Y. H., etc.. Numerical simulation and experiment of plasma torch for LILW vitrification. Nuclear Fusion and Plasma Physics. Vol. 36, No. 3, 2016, pp. 282-288.
[9] Lin P., Lu J., Liu X. J., etc.. Investigation of thermal plasma melting of typical intermediate and low level radioactive wastes from nuclear power plant. Materials China. Vol. 35, No. 7, 2016, pp. 504-508.
[10] Lin P., Qin Y. X., Lv Y. H., et al. Temperature Simulation of Thermal Plasma Melting Furnace for Disposal of Radioactive Waste and Preliminary Research of Vitrification Formula. Radiation Protection. Vol. 33, No. 4, 2013, pp. 206-211.
[11] Commission on Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. EJ 1186-2005, Characterization of Radioactive Waste Forms and Packages. Beijing: China Environmental Science Press, 2005-04-11.
[12] Ministry of Environment Protection, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China. GB 14569.1-2011, Performance Requirements for Intermediate and Low Level Radioactive Waste Form – Cemented Waste Form. Beijing: China Environmental Science Press, 2011-09-01.
[13] Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China. GB/T 475-2008, Method for Manual Sampling of Commercial Coal. Beijing: Standards Press of China, 2009-05-01.
[14] Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China. GB/T 5432-2008, Test Method for Density of Glass by Buoyancy. Beijing: Standards Press of China, 2009-04-01.
[15] ASTM International. ASTM C1220-17, Standard Test Method for Static Leaching of Monolithic Waste Forms for Disposal of Radioactive Waste. West Conshohocken, PA, 2017, www.astm.org.
[16] Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China. Test Method for Compressive Strength of Fine Ceramics (Advanced Ceramics, Advanced technical ceramics), GB/T 8489-2006. Beijing: Standards Press of China, 2006-09-01.
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    Wenzhang Xie, Peng Lin, Jie Lu, Xiajie Liu, Mingzhou Chen, et al. (2018). An Experimental Study on Treatment of Typical Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Wastes with Thermal Plasma Melting Technology. International Journal of Materials Science and Applications, 7(4), 147-152. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20180704.15

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    ACS Style

    Wenzhang Xie; Peng Lin; Jie Lu; Xiajie Liu; Mingzhou Chen, et al. An Experimental Study on Treatment of Typical Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Wastes with Thermal Plasma Melting Technology. Int. J. Mater. Sci. Appl. 2018, 7(4), 147-152. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20180704.15

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    AMA Style

    Wenzhang Xie, Peng Lin, Jie Lu, Xiajie Liu, Mingzhou Chen, et al. An Experimental Study on Treatment of Typical Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Wastes with Thermal Plasma Melting Technology. Int J Mater Sci Appl. 2018;7(4):147-152. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20180704.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijmsa.20180704.15,
      author = {Wenzhang Xie and Peng Lin and Jie Lu and Xiajie Liu and Mingzhou Chen and Yonghong Lv},
      title = {An Experimental Study on Treatment of Typical Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Wastes with Thermal Plasma Melting Technology},
      journal = {International Journal of Materials Science and Applications},
      volume = {7},
      number = {4},
      pages = {147-152},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijmsa.20180704.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20180704.15},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijmsa.20180704.15},
      abstract = {With the active development of the nuclear industry in China, it is extremely urgent to study and develop advanced technologies for the radioactive waste treatment and disposal. With features of high temperature, high energy density and broad applicability, the thermal plasma melting technology has been considered as one of the key subjects in the radioactive waste treatment research field. A pilot scale experimental study was carried out on the treatment of typical low and intermediate level radioactive wastes (LILWs) from the nuclear power plant in China with thermal plasma melting technology. Two representative wastes, thermal insulation waste and cotton, were selected and melted in the plasma melting furnance at 1250°C for ~ 100 minutes until they were completely vitrified. Meanwhile, tracers of Co2O3, CsCl and SrCO3 were added to the original wastes to simulate the containment effect of 58Co and 60Co, 134Cs and 137Cs as well as 90Sr in the vitrification during the treatment process. The XRD patterns of both vitrification samples displayed as the typical amorphous state. Performances of resultant glass waste-forms, including the physical property, the leachability and the mechanical capacity, were in accordance with the standard requirements of the hign level radioactive waste glass vitrificaton, and were better than those of the cement solidified waste. Further experimental work is in need to better understand the radioactive nuclide migration regularity and to improve the performance of the plasma melting system.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - An Experimental Study on Treatment of Typical Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Wastes with Thermal Plasma Melting Technology
    AU  - Wenzhang Xie
    AU  - Peng Lin
    AU  - Jie Lu
    AU  - Xiajie Liu
    AU  - Mingzhou Chen
    AU  - Yonghong Lv
    Y1  - 2018/08/21
    PY  - 2018
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20180704.15
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20180704.15
    T2  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
    JF  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
    JO  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
    SP  - 147
    EP  - 152
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2327-2643
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20180704.15
    AB  - With the active development of the nuclear industry in China, it is extremely urgent to study and develop advanced technologies for the radioactive waste treatment and disposal. With features of high temperature, high energy density and broad applicability, the thermal plasma melting technology has been considered as one of the key subjects in the radioactive waste treatment research field. A pilot scale experimental study was carried out on the treatment of typical low and intermediate level radioactive wastes (LILWs) from the nuclear power plant in China with thermal plasma melting technology. Two representative wastes, thermal insulation waste and cotton, were selected and melted in the plasma melting furnance at 1250°C for ~ 100 minutes until they were completely vitrified. Meanwhile, tracers of Co2O3, CsCl and SrCO3 were added to the original wastes to simulate the containment effect of 58Co and 60Co, 134Cs and 137Cs as well as 90Sr in the vitrification during the treatment process. The XRD patterns of both vitrification samples displayed as the typical amorphous state. Performances of resultant glass waste-forms, including the physical property, the leachability and the mechanical capacity, were in accordance with the standard requirements of the hign level radioactive waste glass vitrificaton, and were better than those of the cement solidified waste. Further experimental work is in need to better understand the radioactive nuclide migration regularity and to improve the performance of the plasma melting system.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Environment Engineering Center, China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute, Shenzhen, China

  • Environment Engineering Center, China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute, Shenzhen, China

  • Environment Engineering Center, China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute, Shenzhen, China

  • Environment Engineering Center, China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute, Shenzhen, China

  • Environment Engineering Center, China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute, Shenzhen, China

  • Environment Engineering Center, China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute, Shenzhen, China

  • Section