The ceramic waste is produced by heating and compressing a composite of borosilicate glass and zeolite, a mineral that binds the fission products within its structure. EBR-II was an experimental reactor that was shut down in 1994. This new waste-management technology is an integrated treatment system that includes electrorefining, cathode processing, metal waste casting and ceramic waste processing. The three-year demonstration was completed in 1999. Treatment of 150 kilograms in a month is more than nine times the original rate of 16 kilograms a month achieved in the earlier model electrorefiner.
Further improvements are under investigation.
The two waste forms are being tested to verify that the actual waste has the same characteristics as the laboratory-produced waste. The waste should meet suitability standards established for geologic disposal. Program reviews The National Research Council of the National Academy of Science and Engineering is reviewing Argonne's electrometallurgical treatment to assess its potential for use in preparing 60 metric tons of EBR-II and similar types of spent nuclear fuel for geological disposal. DOE is also writing an environmental impact statement and conducting two other critical reviews. The first is an independent cost evaluation for electrometallurgical technology and several competing technologies.