A study on the melting of metal wastes and the partitioning of the radionuclides in an arc furnace

The distribution of the radioactive nuclides such as cobalt, cesium, and strontium has been investigated in a lab-scale d. c. arc furnace. The slag former for the melting of the stainless and carbon steel was based on the constituents of silica(SiO2), calcium oxide(CaO), and aluminum oxide(Al2O3) and Borate(B2O3) and calcium fluoride (CaF2) additions were included to provide an increased slag fluidity and oxidative potential. In the melting of the stainless steel, the amount of slag formation increased with an increase of the concentration of the slag former. But the effects of the slag basicity on the amount of slag formation showed a local maximum value of the slag formation by increasing the basicity index in the melting of the stainless steel as well as in the melting of the carbon steel. With an increase of the amount of slag former addition, the trends of the cobalt distribution into the ingot and slag depended on the king of slag former used in the melting of the stainless steel while the effect of the slag basicity on the distribution of the cobalt was not clarified in the melting of carbon steel. In the melting of stainless steel, only 20% of the strontium remained in the slag phase and it was barely present in the ingot. But, in the melting of the carbon steel, strontium was captured at up to 50% into the slag phase. Cesium was completely eliminated from the melt of the stainless steel as well as the carbon steel and distributed to the dust phase