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Fundamental Thermodynamics of Actinide-Bearing Mineral Waste Forms. Final Report.

DE2001781717

Publication Date	2001
Personal Author	Williamson, M. A.; Ebbinghaus, B. B.; Navrotsky, A.
Page Count	138
Abstract	The end of the Cold War raised the need for the technical community to be concerned with the disposition of excess nuclear weapon material. The plutonium will either be converted into mixed-oxide fuel for use in nuclear reactors or immobilized in glass or ceramic waste forms and placed in a repository. The stability and behavior of plutonium in the ceramic materials as well as the phase behavior and stability of the ceramic material in the environment is not well established. In order to provide technically sound solutions to these issues, thermodynamic data are essential in developing an understanding of the chemistry and phase equilibria of the actinide-bearing mineral waste form materials proposed as immobilization matrices. Mineral materials of interest include zircon, zirconolite, and pyrochlore. High temperature solution calorimetry is one of the most powerful techniques, sometimes the only technique, for providing the fundamental thermodynamic data needed to establish optimum material fabrication parameters, and more importantly understand and predict the behavior of the mineral materials in the environment. The purpose of this project is to experimentally determine the enthalpy of formation of actinide orthosilicates, the enthalpies of formation of actinide substituted zirconolite and pyrochlore, and develop an understanding of the bonding characteristics and stabilities of these materials.
Keywords	Thermodynamics Actinide compounds Radioactive wastes
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
Corporate Authors	California Univ., Davis.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200125
Contract Number	FG07-97ER45673

Fundamental Thermodynamics of Actinide-Bearing Mineral Waste Forms. Final Report.

Fundamental Thermodynamics of Actinide-Bearing Mineral Waste Forms. Final Report.
DE2001781717

Publication Date	2001
Personal Author	Williamson, M. A.; Ebbinghaus, B. B.; Navrotsky, A.
Page Count	138
Abstract	The end of the Cold War raised the need for the technical community to be concerned with the disposition of excess nuclear weapon material. The plutonium will either be converted into mixed-oxide fuel for use in nuclear reactors or immobilized in glass or ceramic waste forms and placed in a repository. The stability and behavior of plutonium in the ceramic materials as well as the phase behavior and stability of the ceramic material in the environment is not well established. In order to provide technically sound solutions to these issues, thermodynamic data are essential in developing an understanding of the chemistry and phase equilibria of the actinide-bearing mineral waste form materials proposed as immobilization matrices. Mineral materials of interest include zircon, zirconolite, and pyrochlore. High temperature solution calorimetry is one of the most powerful techniques, sometimes the only technique, for providing the fundamental thermodynamic data needed to establish optimum material fabrication parameters, and more importantly understand and predict the behavior of the mineral materials in the environment. The purpose of this project is to experimentally determine the enthalpy of formation of actinide orthosilicates, the enthalpies of formation of actinide substituted zirconolite and pyrochlore, and develop an understanding of the bonding characteristics and stabilities of these materials.
Keywords	Thermodynamics Actinide compounds Radioactive wastes
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
Corporate Authors	California Univ., Davis.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200125
Contract Number	FG07-97ER45673