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Plutonium Alteration Phases from Vapor Hydration of Lanthanide Borosilicate Glass for Weapons Material Disposition: a TEM Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

J. A. Fortner
Affiliation:
Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439
C. J. Mertz
Affiliation:
Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439
D. C. Chamberlain
Affiliation:
Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439
J. K. Bates
Affiliation:
Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439
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A lanthanide borosilicate glass, also known as LaBS glass, is being considered for the disposition of surplus weapons plutonium and plutonium residues. The LaBS glass, based upon Löffler-type glasses, is chemically durable and can dissolve substantial amounts of plutonium as well as the neutron absorbers gadolinium and hafnium [1]. Samples of a prototype LaBS glass composition containing 10 wt. % plutonium were subjected to water vapor at 200 °C for periods of 14 to 56 days. The Argonne Vapor Hydration Test Procedure was followed [2]. This test, while not designed to replicate specific conditions that may be found in a potential geologic repository (e.g., Yucca Mountain), has been shown to accelerate alteration phase formation that is usually observed in low-temperature tests over extended time periods [2]. The surfaces of the glass samples, along with alteration phases, were examined with a transmission electron microscope (TEM) to determine the characteristic alteration products.

Type
Atomic Structure and Mechanisms at Interfaces in Materials
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 1997

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References

references

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