Cs immobilization by sintered lead iron phosphate glasses

Abstract

Lead iron phosphate glass frits were obtained from a mixture of NH 4H 2PO 4, PbO and Fe 2O 3 melted in an induction furnace. After milling, the material was pressed in a die, sintered, and sintered a second time. Three amorphous X-ray diffraction halos were observed in samples produced from non-homogenized powders while two halos were observed from homogeneous ones. These halos were assigned different phosphate compounds. Sintered pellets were immersed in a CsCl aqueous solution and the absorption of Cs was determined by scanning electron microscopy. The crystallization temperatures and activation energies were determined by differential thermal analysis and by the Kissinger Method, respectively. The weight loss and atomic absorption were used to measure the dissolution rate in deionized water. The weight loss of sintered glasses was 3 × 10 −2 g/m 2 d after 28 days at 90°C. The homogenized samples have an improved corrosion resistance.