Rapid immobilization of simulated radioactive soil waste by microwave sintering

Shuai Zhang; Xiaoyan Shu; Shunzhang Chen; Huimin Yang; Chenxi Hou; Xueli Mao; Fangting Chi; Mianxin Song; Xirui Lu

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.05.003

Rapid immobilization of simulated radioactive soil waste by microwave sintering

J Hazard Mater. 2017 Sep 5:337:20-26. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.05.003. Epub 2017 May 3.

Authors

Shuai Zhang¹, Xiaoyan Shu¹, Shunzhang Chen¹, Huimin Yang¹, Chenxi Hou¹, Xueli Mao¹, Fangting Chi¹, Mianxin Song¹, Xirui Lu²

Affiliations

¹ Key Subject Laboratory of National Defense for Radioactive Waste and Environmental Security, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, PR China.
² Key Subject Laboratory of National Defense for Radioactive Waste and Environmental Security, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, PR China; China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, PR China. Electronic address: luxiruimvp116@163.com.

PMID: 28501640
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.05.003

Abstract

A rapid and efficient method is particularly necessary in the timely disposal of seriously radioactive contaminated soil. In this paper, a series of simulated radioactive soil waste containing different contents of neodymium oxide (3-25wt.%) has been successfully vitrified by microwave sintering at 1300°C for 30min. The microstructures, morphology, element distribution, density and chemical durability of as obtained vitrified forms have been analyzed. The results show that the amorphous structure, homogeneous element distribution, and regular density improvement are well kept, except slight cracks emerge on the magnified surface for the 25wt.% Nd₂O₃-containing sample. Moreover, all the vitrified forms exhibit excellent chemical durability, and the leaching rates of Nd are kept as ∼10^-4-10^-6g/(m²day) within 42days. This demonstrates a potential application of microwave sintering in radioactive contaminated soil disposal.

Keywords: Chemical durability; FT-IR; Microwave; Radioactive contaminated soil; Vitrified forms.