Immobilization of gadolinium in iron borophosphate glasses and iron borophosphate based glass-ceramics: Implications for the immobilization of plutonium(Ⅲ)

Abstract

Immobilization of gadolinium (Gd), a nonradioactive surrogate for Pu3+, in iron borophosphate glasses/glass-ceramics (IBP glasses/glass-ceramics) has been investigated. The IBP glass containing 4 mol% Gd2O3 is homogeneously amorphous. At higher Gd2O3 concentrations, additional Gd is retained in the glasses as crystalline inclusions of monazite GdPO4 crystalline phase detected with X-ray diffraction. Moreover, Gd2O3 addition increases the Tg of the IBP glasses in glass formation range, which is consistent with the structural modification of the glasses. The structure of the Gd2O3-loaded IBP glasses/glass-ceramics is mainly based on pyrophosphate units. The chemical durability of Gd2O3-loaded IBP glasses/glass-ceramics is comparable to widely used borosilicate glass waste forms and the existence of monazite GdPO4 crystalline phase does not degrade the aqueous chemical durability of the IBP glasses/glass-ceramics. The Gd-loading results imply that the solubility should not be a limiting factor in processing nuclide Pu3+ if the formed crystalline phase(s) have high chemical durability.