Behavior of Radioactive Metal Surrogates Under Various Waste Combustion Conditions

A laboratory investigation of the behavior of radioactive metals under the various waste combustion atmospheres was conducted to predict the parameters that influence their partitioning behavior during waste incineration. Neodymium, samarium, cerium, gadolinium, cesium and cobalt were used as non-radioactive surrogate metals that are representative of uranium, plutonium, americium, curium, radioactive cesium, and radioactive cobalt, respectively. Except for cesium, all of the investigated surrogate metal compounds converted into each of their stable oxides at medium temperatures from 400 to 90$0^{\circ}C$, under oxygen- deficient and oxygen-sufficient atmospheres (0.001-atm and 0.21-atm $O_2$). At high temperatures above 1,40$0^{\circ}C$, cerium, neodymium and samarium in the form of their oxides started to vaporize but the vaporization rates were very slow up to 150$0^{\circ}C$ . Inorganic chlorine (NaCl) as well as organic chlorine (PVC) did not impact the volatility of investigated Nd$_2$O$_3$, CoO and Cs$_2$O. The results of laboratory investigations suggested that the combustion chamber operating parameters affecting the entrainment of particulate and filtration equipment operating parameters affecting particle collection efficiency be the governing parameters of alpha radionuclides partitioning during waste incineration.