Structure and Stability of Incinerated α-Waste Products

Abstract

The management of α-bearing wastes is determined to a very large extent by their plutonium content, i.e., by technico-economic considerations about recoverability of the contained fissile materi­al. Supposing the plutonium concentration has been reduced to a suf­ficiently low level, the volume of the remaining waste material has to be reduced as much as possible and insolubilized (e.g., in con­crete, bitumen or glass) so that it can be disposed of safely (1). Depending on the techniques used for volume reduction, the waste has to be separated into, e.g., combustible and non-combustible materials. This additional step can be avoided in an integrated system allowing incineration of a mixture of combustible and non-combustible waste. A further advantage of such an integrated system is that the resulting product may already be sufficiently insoluble for disposal. Such a one-step incinerator has been installed at S.C.K./C.E.N. and is presently being prepared for operation under α-conditions. The incinerator is a FLK type furnace with a capacity of 100 to 150 kg. h⁻¹, operating at 1400° to 1500°C and has been described in more detail earlier (2). The most significant feature for the present context is, in addition to the relatively high working temperature, the very short melting time: the feed material drips down the feed cone as soon as it is sufficiently fluid and it is collected and very rapidly solidified in a water bath below the furnace

Part of this work has been supported by the Commission of the Euro­pean Communities.