• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.285-297
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• 2021

Globally, nuclear-decommissioning facilities have been increased in number, and thereby hundreds of thousands of wastes, such as concrete, soil, and metal, have been generated. For this reason, there have been numerous efforts and researches on the development of technology for volume reduction and recycling of solid radioactive wastes, and this study reviewed and examined thoroughly such previous studies. The waste concrete powder is rehydrated by other processes such as grinding and sintering, and the processes rendered aluminate (C3A), C4AF, C3S, and ��-C2S, which are the significant compounds controlling the hydration reaction of concrete and the compressive strength of the solidified matrix. The review of the previous studies confirmed that waste concretes could be used as recycling cement, but there remain problems with the decreasing strength of solidified matrix due to mingling with aggregates. There have been further efforts to improve the performance of recycling concrete via mixing with reactive agents using industrial by-products, such as blast furnace slag and fly ash. As a result, the compressive strength of the solidified matrix was proved to be enhanced. On the contrary, there have been few kinds of researches on manufacturing recycled concretes using soil wastes. Illite and zeolite in soil waste show the high adsorption capacity on radioactive nuclides, and they can be recycled as solidification agents. If the soil wastes are recycled as much as possible, the volume of wastes generated from the decommissioning of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is not only significantly reduced, but collateral benefits also are received because radioactive wastes are safely disposed of by solidification agents made from such soil wastes. Thus, it is required to study the production of non-sintered cement using clay minerals in soil wastes. This paper reviewed related domestic and foreign researches to consider the sustainable recycling of concrete waste from NPPs as recycling cement and utilizing clay minerals in soil waste to produce unsintered cement.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.126-134
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• 2023

Direct catalytic decomposition is a promising method for controlling the emission of nitrous oxide (N₂O) from the semiconductor and display industries. In this study, a γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst was developed to reduce N₂O emissions by a catalytic decomposition reaction. The γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst was prepared by an extrusion method using boehmite powder, and a N₂O decomposition test was performed using a catalyst reactor that was approximately 25.4 mm (1 in) in diameter packed with approximately 5 mm of catalysts. The N₂O decomposition tests were carried out with approximately 1% N₂O at 550 to 750 ℃, an ambient pressure, and a GHSV=1800-2000 h^-1. To confirm the N₂O decomposition properties and the effect of O₂ and steam on the N₂O decomposition, nitrogen, air, and air and steam were used as atmospheric gases. The catalytic decomposition tests showed that the 1% N₂O had almost completely disappeared at 700 ℃ in an N₂ atmosphere. However, air and steam decreased the conversion rate drastically. The long term stability test carried out under an N₂ atmosphere at 700 ℃ for 350 h showed that the N₂O conversion rate remained very stable, confirming no catalytic activity changes. From the results of the N₂O decomposition tests and long-term stability test, it is expected that the prepared γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst can be used to reduce N₂O emissions from several industries including the semiconductor, display, and nitric acid manufacturing industry.