Nuclear waste forms cement

Jiang, W Wu, X. Roy, D. M. 1993. Alkali activated fly ash - slag cement based nuclear waste forms. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, 294, 255-260. 

Sulfur polymer cement shows promise as an encapsulation and stabilization agent for use with low level radioactive and mixed wastes. Use of SPC allows accommodation of larger percentages of waste than PCC. As of this writing (1997), SPC-treated waste forms have met requirements of both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

Rubin, J. B. Carey, J. W. Taylor, C. M. V. Enhancement of Cemented Waste Forms by Supercritical C02 Carbonation of Standard Portland Cements. Proceedings of the American Nuclear Society 1st Topical Meeting on Decommissioning, Decontamination, Reutilization of Commercial Government Facilities, Knoxville, TN, Sept. 7-12, 1997. 

More recently, salt beds have been considered for storing nuclear and solid wastes. One possibility is to inject water to remove some of the salt and thereby form an underground cavern. The cavern could then be filled with the waste, plus (possibly) a solidifying agent, and then cement sealed. 

Chemical engineering is concerned with the transformation of matter, whether it be the production of a traditional chemical, the manufacture of cement, waste-water treatment or the production of bio-mass. Balances across units in which reactions take place are therefore of great importance. Equation (2.1) is still applicable, since matter can neither be created nor destroyed except in nuclear reactions. Equation (2.2) which referred to a particular component needs to be modified because particular molecules will react or be formed by reactions. An extra generation term allows for this. 

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