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Advanced Materials for Nuclear Waste Management

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "D1: Advanced Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 7600

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141, Korea
Interests: advanced materials for nuclear fuel; nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear fusion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite submissions to a Special Issue of the journal Energies on the topic of “Advanced Materials for Nuclear Waste Management”.

Nuclear power is one of the most reliable and carbon-free energy sources. However, the benefits of nuclear energy are constrained because of the challenges of safe radioactive waste management. Radioactive waste is also generated from medicine, agriculture, research, manufacturing, nondestructive testing, and mineral exploration. Technical treatments of nuclear waste to limit the rate or concentration of radionuclides returning to the biosphere are key components of nuclear waste management. In order to protect human health and minimize the environmental impact, various types of engineering materials are used in the field of nuclear waste management. The development of innovative materials for the safe storage and disposal of nuclear waste will lead to the safe use of nuclear power and radioactive materials. In order to share the information on the achievements of relevant materials research groups, we expect original contributions based on novel and current developments in the advanced materials for nuclear waste management.

The topics covered in the Special Issue may come from all areas of advanced metals, ceramics, composites, and polymers for nuclear waste management, including materials for the nuclear fuel cycle, materials for storage and disposal of used fuel, and materials for the adsorption and immobilization of radioactive waste and materials for durable radioactive waste forms. Both experimental and computational work on emerging materials such as nanoparticles, nanotubes, graphene, MOF, Mxene, and aerogel for nuclear waste management are welcome.

Prof. Ho Jin Ryu
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Nuclear waste
  • Radioactive waste
  • Advanced materials
  • Waste forms
  • Nuclear fuel cycle
  • Reprocessing
  • Spent fuel storage
  • Permanent disposal
  • High level waste
  • Low and intermediate level waste
  • Vitrification

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1945 KiB  
Article
Selective Immobilization of Antimony Using Brucite-rich Precipitate Produced during In Situ Hypochlorous Acid Formation through Seawater Electrolysis in a Nuclear Power Plant
by Kyung-Hee Lee, Yong-Gu Lee, Jaegwan Shin, Kangmin Chon and Sang-Ho Lee
Energies 2020, 13(17), 4493; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174493 - 31 Aug 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2089
Abstract
This study has investigated the selective immobilization of antimony using the brucite (magnesium hydroxide)-rich precipitate (BP) collected from a hypochlorous storage tank in a nuclear power plant of South Korea. The energy dispersive X-ray and X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the BP mainly [...] Read more.
This study has investigated the selective immobilization of antimony using the brucite (magnesium hydroxide)-rich precipitate (BP) collected from a hypochlorous storage tank in a nuclear power plant of South Korea. The energy dispersive X-ray and X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the BP mainly consisted of magnesium (72.5%) and its dominant mineral phase was brucite (Mg(OH)2). Therefore, brandholzite (Mg[Sb(OH)6]2·6H2O) was newly formed through the surface-induced precipitation during the adsorption of antimony using the BP. The adsorbed amount of antimony increased with decreasing pH values because of the increased positive surface charge of the BP (pHpzc = 9.6). The maximum adsorption capacity (Qmax) of BP, calculated by Langmuir adsorption isotherm, was 11.02 mg/g. The presence of competitive anions did not significantly affect the adsorption of antimony toward the BP due to its high selectivity. These results suggest that the facile utilization of the BP as a low-cost adsorbent seems to be a practical option for the selective removal of antimony from wastewater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials for Nuclear Waste Management)
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15 pages, 2156 KiB  
Article
Optimization of the Solidification Method of High-Level Waste for Increasing the Thermal Stability of the Magnesium Potassium Phosphate Compound
by Svetlana A. Kulikova, Sergey S. Danilov, Kseniya Yu. Belova, Anastasiya A. Rodionova and Sergey E. Vinokurov
Energies 2020, 13(15), 3789; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13153789 - 23 Jul 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2091
Abstract
The key task in the solidification of high-level waste (HLW) into a magnesium potassium phosphate (MPP) compound is the immobilization of mobile cesium isotopes, the activity of which provides the main contribution to the total HLW activity. In addition, the obtained compound containing [...] Read more.
The key task in the solidification of high-level waste (HLW) into a magnesium potassium phosphate (MPP) compound is the immobilization of mobile cesium isotopes, the activity of which provides the main contribution to the total HLW activity. In addition, the obtained compound containing heat-generating radionuclides can be significantly heated, which increases the necessity of its thermal stability. The current work is aimed at assessing the impact of various methodological approaches to HLW solidification on the thermal stability of the MPP compound, which is evaluated by the mechanical strength of the compound and its resistance to cesium leaching. High-salt surrogate HLW solution (S-HLW) used in the investigation was prepared for solidification by adding sorbents of various types binding at least 93% of 137Cs: ferrocyanide K-Ni (FKN), natural zeolite (NZ), synthetic zeolite Na-mordenite (MOR), and silicotungstic acid (STA). Prepared S-HLW was solidified into the MPP compound. Wollastonite (W) and NZ as fillers were added to the compound composition in the case of using FKN and STA, respectively. It was found that heat treatment up to 450 °C of the compound containing FKN and W (MPP-FKN-W) almost did not affect its compressive strength (about 12–19 МPa), and it led to a decrease of high compressive strength (40–50 MPa) of the compounds containing NZ, MOR, and STA (MPP-NZ, MPP-MOR, and MPP-STA-NZ, respectively) by an average of 2–3 times. It was shown that the differential leaching rate of 137Cs on the 28th day from MPP-FKN-W after heating to 250 °C was 5.3 × 10−6 g/(cm2∙day), however, at a higher temperature, it increased by 20 and more times. The differential leaching rate of 137Cs from MPP-NZ, MPP-MOR, and MPP-STA-NZ had values of (2.9–11) × 10−5 g/(cm2∙day), while the dependence on the heat treatment temperature of the compound was negligible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials for Nuclear Waste Management)
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11 pages, 4423 KiB  
Article
Conditioning of Spent Electrolyte Surrogate LiCl-KCl-CsCl Using Magnesium Potassium Phosphate Compound
by Svetlana A. Kulikova, Kseniya Yu. Belova, Ekaterina A. Tyupina and Sergey E. Vinokurov
Energies 2020, 13(8), 1963; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13081963 - 16 Apr 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2809
Abstract
The current work was aimed at developing a new conditioning method of spent electrolyte-radioactive waste (RW) generated during the pyrochemical reprocessing of mixed nitride uranium-plutonium spent nuclear fuel. Magnesium potassium phosphate (MPP) compound samples were synthesized under solidification of the electrolyte surrogate solution [...] Read more.
The current work was aimed at developing a new conditioning method of spent electrolyte-radioactive waste (RW) generated during the pyrochemical reprocessing of mixed nitride uranium-plutonium spent nuclear fuel. Magnesium potassium phosphate (MPP) compound samples were synthesized under solidification of the electrolyte surrogate solution in a LiCl-KCl-CsCl system. The phase composition and structure of obtained compounds were studied by XRD and SEM-EDS methods. It was found that the compounds possessed a high compressive strength of 17–26 MPa. Hydrolytic stability of the compounds was evaluated in accordance with the long semi-dynamic test GOST R 52126-2003 and with the static PCT test. The 137Cs content in the leached solutions was determined by gamma-ray spectrometry, and other compound components were determined by ICP–AES and ICP–MS methods. The differential leaching rate of Cs at 25 °C from monolithic samples on the 91st day of samples contact with water was 5–11 × 10−5 g/(cm2·day) (GOST R 52126-2003), and was 4–29 × 107 g/(cm2∙day) on the 7th day at 90 °C from crushed samples (PCT). The thermal stability of the compound at 180 °C and 450 °C was shown. The characteristics of the obtained MPP compound correspond to the current regulatory requirements for materials for RW conditioning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials for Nuclear Waste Management)
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