Darryl Siemer - Vitrification of Sustainable Nuclear Fuel Cycle Radwastes
Channel: gordonmcdowell
Date: 18/07/2012

Darryl runs inexpensive vitrification experiments in his basement on how to best prepare nuclear waste for storage.

Glassification is simpler & cheaper to fabricate than hot-pressed ceramics.

Direct vitrification of fluoride-based salt wastes (as one would associate with LFTR) generates an inferior product because H3PO4 doesn't displace enough of the F - the product is multiphasic "glass ceramic" containing F salts which would rapidly leach in moving groundwater.

Consequently, most of the fluoride should be removed before vitrification, possibly by boiling the waste salts to dryness with dilute nitric acid.

Use of nitric acid has been experimentally verified - a single boil-down of AlkF salts with a slight stiochiometric excess of dilute nitric acid invariably volatized most of the fluoride.

Recovery/recycle of fluoride in a deNOxed off gas should be simple & cheap.