Current advances on titanate glass-ceramic composite materials as waste forms for actinide immobilization: A technical review

As the emerging versatile waste forms for immobilizing actinide-rich radioactive wastes, glass-ceramic composite materials based on some durable ceramic phases are being developed. They have apparent advantages over the conventional borosilicate glasses and multi- or single- phase ceramics as they essentially combine the chemical and processing flexibilities of glasses to accommodate processing impurities and excellent chemical durability of ceramic phases to host actinides. More recently, some new advances have been made on scientific and technological aspects including new glass-ceramic systems; improved understanding of ceramic phase evolution in glass; actinide validation studies and simplified processing techniques. This review is intended to cover the current advances on the development of glass-ceramic composite waste forms focusing on titanate ceramic phases (zirconolite, pyrochlore and brannerite) for immobilizing various actinide-rich radioactive wastes arising from the nuclear fuel cycle.

Automated summary

This article introduces a novel versatile waste form, glass-ceramic composite material, for immobilizing actinide-rich radioactive wastes. These materials have better chemical durability and processing flexibility compared to traditional ones, making them suitable for immobilizing wastes from the nuclear fuel cycle. Recent advances have been made in new glass-ceramic systems, ceramic phase evolution, actinide validation studies, and processing techniques.