Empirical Model for Formulation of Crystal‐Tolerant HLW Glasses

Abstract

Historically, high-level waste (HLW) glasses have been formulated with a low liquideus temperature (T{sub L}), or temperature at which the equilibrium fraction of spinel crystals in the melt is below 1 vol % (T{sub 0.01}), nominally below 1050 C. These constraints cannot prevent the accumulation of large spinel crystals in considerably cooler regions ({approx} 850 C) of the glass discharge riser during melter idling and significantly limit the waste loading, which is reflected in a high volume of waste glass, and would result in high capital, production, and disposal costs. A developed empirical model predicts crystal accumulation in the riser of the melter as a function of concentration of spinel-forming components in glass, and thereby provides guidance in formulating crystal-tolerant glasses that would allow high waste loadings by keeping the spinel crystals small and therefore suspended in the glass.