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Isomorphism of actinides and REE in synthetic ferrite garnets

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Abstract

The reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is accompanied by the formation of liquid high-level radioactive waste (HLW). To increase the safety of handling HLW, it is proposed to extract actinide isotopes (An) and REE from them. These elements may be incorporated into crystalline matrices, e.g., based on ferrites with garnet structure, and then disposed in a geologic repository. The actinide-REE fraction is characterized by a complex composition. In addition to major components (An and REE), Al, Si, Na, and Sn occur therein in small amounts (a few wt %). Possible incorporation of the admixtures into ferrite garnets, as well as their effect on the phase composition of matrices and Th, Ce, Gd, and La contents were studied. It was shown that admixtures enter into garnet by means of isomorphic replacement. The properties of samples change only when admixtures are added in amounts exceeding their concentrations in HLW. The ability of ferrite garnets to accumulate significant amounts of An, REE, and admixture elements makes them suitable for use as matrices in immobilizing actinide-REE HLW of complex composition.

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  1. Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Staromonetnyi per. 35, Moscow, 119017, Russia

    T. S. Livshits

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Correspondence to T. S. Livshits.

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Original Russian Text © T.S. Livshits, 2010, published in Geologiya Rudnykh Mestorozhdenii, 2010, Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 53–64.

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Livshits, T.S. Isomorphism of actinides and REE in synthetic ferrite garnets. Geol. Ore Deposits 52, 46–57 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1075701510010058

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