The Outline of "Basic Research Programs of Vitrification Technology for Waste Volume Reduction"

Ishio, Takahiro*; Kanehira, Norio*; Hoshino, Takeshi*; Fukui, Toshiki*; Iwabuchi, Hiroki; Tsukada, Takeshi*

In Japan, the High Level radioactive Liquid Waste (HLLW) generated along with the nuclear fuel cycle is to be vitrified, and its vitrification technology has been made practicable. And, various kinds of Low Level radioactive Liquid Waste (LLW) generated from reprocessing plant and nuclear power plants in Japan have been primarily treated by various methods such as incineration, compaction, cement solidification, however, vitrification method have not been introduced. On the other hand, there is a potential generation of LLW which has relatively high radioactivity level in case of conducting the decommissioning of reprocessing plant and nuclear power plants. Therefore, various kinds of the solidification and the volume reduction technologies have been developed in order to ensure the stable forms with smaller volumes for the LLW disposal. Furthermore, if the foundation for LLW vitrification technology is developed, it can be reflected in the advancement of vitrification technology of HLLW. Therefore, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry launched the project "Basic Research Programs of Vitrification Technology for Waste Volume Reduction" during FY 2014 - 2018. IHI Corporation (IHI), Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) have commissioned this project. The development goals for this project are as follows. (1) To develop LLW generated at nuclear power plants and reprocessing plant, etc., to reinforce the foundation of vitrification technology for high volume reduction and more stable waste. (2) To study also advanced improvement of vitrification of HLLW that is practically used in Japan, by reflecting the findings obtained from LLW infrastructures. In this presentation we will report on our past achievements and future plans in this project.