Abstract:
Plutonium containing waste with characteristics of high
239Pu content and difficult reuse must be immobilized as soon as possible before safe disposal. Glass and glass-ceramics considered to be more excellent confinement matrices (simpler process, lower cost and higher productivity) for immobilizing plutoniumcontaining waste than ceramics were studied extensively and thoroughly including alkali borosilicate glass, lanthanide borosilicate glass, iron phosphate glass and zirconolite, pyrochlore or monazite-based glass-ceramics. Their chemical composition, chemical durability and the content of plutonium or its surrogate were presented and discussed by contrast in this paper. It is believed that glass-ceramics will be a good alternative for immobilizing most of plutonium-containing waste through consistently investigating and applying.