Glass Formulation Development for the Vitrification of Oak Ridge Tank Waste

Crystalline silicotitanate (CST) is a highly specific ion exchange material for cesium. In particular, CST has been successfully demonstrated with both simulants and actual supernates from Savannah River and Hanford tank wastes. As a disposal option, vitrification of the cesium-loaded CST coupled with High-Level Waste (HLW) has been proposed. However, the CST sorbent contains significant quantities of titanium which historically have been difficult to incorporate into the glass structure. Therefore, nonradioactive tests using CST coupled with simulated HLW were performed to develop a glass formulation that would be both processable and durable. The results of the simulated crucible melts were verified using radioactive waste and cesium-loaded CST. This paper will detail the results of the formulation efforts