Vitrified municipal waste as a host form for high-level nuclear waste

Abstract

Preparing glass to be used as a radioactive waste immobilizer from municipal waste is the aim of this paper. Up to 90 wt% of municipal waste was obtained by burning the raw waste at 700 C for 5 h; this were successfully vitrified into borosilicate and sodium borate glasses at ~1,200 C. The long term behavior of such glass is one of the most important factors, which is determined by their durability in aqueous solution. Experimental durability data of the prepared glass immersed in ground water together with ?-irradiation was found to be affected according to the different irradiation doses. In addition, thermal analysis and glass surface morphology were investigated. The evolution of the damage on the studied properties was correlated to the changes in the glass network depending on their composition and irradiation dose. The results showed that glass matrix containing higher amount of municipal waste possess high durability and low thermal expansion after being gamma irradiated. The results showed that glass containing higher amount of municipal waste possess high durability and low thermal expansion after irradiation. 2013 Akad miai Kiad, Budapest, Hungary.