INSTRUMENTATION FOR STUDYING BINDER BURNOUT IN AN IMMOBILIZED PLUTONIUM CERAMIC WASTEFORM

摘要

The Plutonium Immobilization Project will produce a ceramic form containing approximately 9.5 weight percent plutonium that utilizes organic binders in the processing operations. Several techniques and instruments were developed to study binder burnout on full size ceramic samples under production-like conditions. This approach provides a method for developing process parameters on production scale to optimize throughput, product quality, offgas behavior, and plant emissions. These instruments allow for offgas analysis, large-scale TGA, product quality observation, and thermal modeling. Using these tools, results from lab-scale techniques such as laser dilametry studies and traditional TGA/DTA analysis can be integrated. Often, the sintering step of a ceramification process is the limiting process step that controls the production throughput. Therefore, optimization of sintering behavior is important for overall process success. Furthermore, the capabilities of this instrumentation allows better understanding of plant emissions of key gases: volatile organic compounds (VOCs), volatile inorganics including some halide compounds, NO_x, SO_x, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide.