title: Behavior of technetium in nuclear waste vitrification processes.
abstract: Nearly 100 tests were performed with prototypical melters and off-gas system components to investigate the extents to which technetium is incorporated into the glass melt, partitioned to the off-gas stream, and captured by the off-gas treatment system components during waste vitrification. The tests employed several simulants, spiked with99mTc and Re (a potential surrogate), of the low activity waste separated from nuclear wastes in storage in the Hanford tanks, which is planned for immobilization in borosilicate glass. Single-pass technetium retention averaged about 35 % and increased significantly with recycle of the off-gas treatment fluids. The fraction escaping the recycle loop was very small.
authors.affiliation: Vitreous State Laboratory, The Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20064 USA.
authors.forename: Ian L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Pegg
keywords: Hanford; Technetium; Technetium glass structure; Technetium volatility; Vitrification