Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
In the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) waste streams, zirconia is often the waste load limiting species. It modifies the glass network, enhances durability, increases viscosity and induces crystallization. The limits of its dissolution in boroaluminosilicate glass, with magnesia and soda additions were experimentally determined. A ternary compositional surface is evolved to present the isothermal regimes of liquid, liquid+zircon, liquid+forsterite, and liquid phase sintered ceramic. The potential of partitioning the transuranics, transition elements and solutes in these regimes is discussed. The visible Raman spectroscopic results are presented to elucidate the dependence among glass composition, structure and chemical durability.