Alternative glass forming systems for immobilization of radioactive wastes

High-level Liquid Waste (HLW), containing over 90% of the activity generated in the fuel cycle, is vitrified for long term immobilization commonly in sodium borosilicate based glasses. HLW can contain elements which have limited solubility such as Cr (corrosion product), and Mo (fission product; both having solubility ~3% wt.) and Al (arising from Th fuel reprocessing). The aim of this thesis to study the effect of additives to increase the solubility of problematic species allowing enhanced waste loading, with attendant minimization of waste volumes. During the thesis work, the effect of Al₂O₃, MoO₃ and CrO₃ on structural and thermal properties of sodium and barium borosilicate glass was studied using XRD, DSC, XRF, LIBS etc. Thermal and chemical durability of glass samples were also evaluated