Cement based encapsulation trials for low-level radioactive effluent containing nitrate salts

Sugaya, Atsushi ; Horiguchi, Kenichi ; Tanaka, Kenji; Kobayashi, Kentaro

In Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plant, it is necessary to dispose of a large amount of low level radioactive effluent containing nitrate as a major ingredient, safely and economically. Therefore, engineering developments concerning a cement based encapsulation process have been carried out in JAEA. From the viewpoint of disposal cost decrease, a low level radioactive effluent is passed through the nuclide separation process before cementation to concentrate the radioactivity into the minimum volume for conditioning and disposal. Two kinds of effluents are generated as a result of the nuclide separation; Non-radioactive simulants were prepared for each of these waste streams, and used in encapsulation trials to investigate a special slag cement, on a beaker scale and at full scale (200-litres). The results have confirmed that the nitrate effluent, evaporated up to a predetermined density, can be successfully encapsulated at a salt filling rate of 50wt%, to produce a wasteform which satisfies the required conditions. In the slurry effluent, the strength of the product decreased when carbonate concentration was high. However, it was confirmed that the product made at salt filling rate 50wt% satisfied the required conditions, if the carbonate concentration in the effluent was decreased to 10 g/L or less.