Synchrotron radiation based X-ray absorption study for upgrade of nuclear waste vitrification technique

Okamoto, Yoshihiro  ; Nagai, Takayuki  ; Shiwaku, Hideaki   

As a method for disposal of nuclear waste, the use of vitrification technique is very promising. In this technique, many kinds of elements should be involved stably in the glass and chemical state of these elements in the glass must be confirmed in order to guarantee stability of the glass. We have used synchrotron based X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) technique, in which the element selectivity is utilized, to obtain the chemical state of each element in many kinds of simulated glass samples. In addition, imaging XAFS technique has been used to clarify correlation between constituent elements. We are going to contribute to research and development of the vitrification technique by using synchrotron radiation based XAFS analyses. In this article, we introduce results of the high energy XAFS of high temperature slag samples, the imaging study of high temperature borosilicate glass samples and the imaging XAFS analysis of platinum group metals in the borosilicate glass samples.