Study on the High Temperature Melting Treatment of Nuclear Waste Glass Fiber

Abstract

In abroad, the treatment method adopted for the wastes above is mechanical compression and storage [1–2]. In domestic, the wastes management methods could be summarized as follows according to the surface dose of the waste substance: (1) Waste filter cores with a surface dose rate greater than 2 mSv/h are fixed in a 400L steel drum with cement in the cement solidified line of nuclear auxiliary plant (NX), and one waste filter core is installed in a 400L drum [3–5]. After reconditioning, the waste volume is 0.4m3; By storing decay, the surface dose rate of some of the high dose rate level waste filter cores decreased to below 2 mSv/h, and then they were dried, super-compacted and cemented, which greatly reduced the amount of waste generated. (2) The waste filter elements with the surface dose rate below 2 mSv/h are packed into 200L steel drums and sent to the waste treatment auxiliary workshop (QS) for drying, super compaction and cement fixation. About 3∼4 waste filter elements are packed into a 400L drum. After preparation, the average waste volume of each filter core is 0.1m3. However, the treatment time of these methods is very long, the volume of waste after treatment is still relatively large, and the storage and isolation time is long. To sum up, this paper innovatively adopted high-temperature melting method to conduct glass solidification treatment on the simulated contaminated glass fiber, and by this method it forms a stable glass body with stable chemical properties. Moreover, it reduces the waste volume and directly forms a solidified body which is more convenient for treatment and disposal.