Quantification of Water-Content of Simulated Nuclear Waste Glasses Using Nuclear Reaction Measurements

Abstract

AbstractWater content of glasses is an important factor in glass manufacture. In the case of slurryfed processing of waste glass melters, the water content of waste glasses may change the waste form properties significantly. A reliable, non-contact and quantitative measurement technique, with a spatial resolution of about 2-mm was used to determine the concentration of dissolved water molecules in simulated nuclear waste glasses. The 19F resonant reaction was used. The 1H (19F, αγ)16O reaction requires a resonance energy that is available by use of a 6.471 MeV19F beam. A series of ten segments of slurry-fed, joule-heated, research-scale melter tests were conducted to determine the redox effects on processing of various feeds. Representative glass samples were collected at the middle of each segment. Their hydrogen contents were measured. The hydrogen content was correlated to the feed processing and redox of the glasses.