Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2011
The fission products resulting from reprocessing of commercial spent fuel are currently vitrified industrially by COGEMA at La Hague. The properties of 21 non-radioactive borosilicate glass samples containing between 4 and 6% of the platinum-group metals (PGM: Pd and Ru) compared with 1.6% in the industrial glass were investigated for chemical composition variations covering the full specification range. After a brief morphological description of the undissolved PGM in the glass, the viscosity variations at temperatures ranging from 1100 to 1200°C are discussed with emphasis on the effects of the particle inclusions on the rheological properties of the glass. Variations in the chemical durability of quenched glass specimens are then discussed. The initial leach rate V0 at 100°C remained near the values obtained for the reference glass. The same tests were repeated on glass heat-treated to obtain maximum crystallization, and the results confirmed that the chemical durability of the glass is practically unaffected by the crystallization observed in this type of glass.