Vitrification of Simulated High-Level Radioactive Waste by a Slurry-Fed Ceramic Melter

Savannah River Laboratory is testing the slurry feeding of a ceramic melter as a possible method to vitrify Savannah River Plant high-level radioactive waste. Feeding a liquid slurry requires simpler and less expensive equipment than does feeding a powdered calcine. Experiments have progressed from manual feeding, to a semiautomatic system, to the present slurry-feed system, which is completely automatic. All experiments to date indicate that slurry feeding is a promising way of vitrifying waste. No safety hazards associated with feeding the slurry onto molten glass at 1150°C have been observed experimentally, even when the melter chamber was purposely flooded.