Solids formation behavior of simulated high-level liquid wasteduring long-term storage

摘要

High-level liquid waste (HLLW) generated from reprocessing process contains actinides, lanthanides, fission products (FP) and a significant amount of nitrate ion. The partitioning and transmutation concept has been introduced for reducing the long-term hazards of HLLW. Several chemical separation processes mainly based on solvent extraction methods have been proposed to treat HLLW. However, solids consisting mainly Mo and Zr are known to form in HLLW during its long-term storage, Solid formations influence the composition of HLLW and the downstream solvent extraction process.To understand the precipitation behavior and stability of HLLW during its long-term storage, simulated HLLW (prepared as raffinate solution from LWR spent fuel reprocessing, 1AW solution) was prepared. Preliminary studies on solid formation behaviors with regard to the precipitation formation during refluxing and aging (representing a long-term storage) were carried out. Precipitation kinetics of major FPs such as Zr, Mo, Ru, rare earth elements, and etc. have been studied; The effect of phosphate ion concentration and temperature on solids formation were also experimentally examined. The formation conditions and the mechanism of solids were discussed.