GEOPOLYMER ENCAPSULATION | WASTE MANAGEMENT
● Is leach resistant, demonstrating no release of chemicals from the waste or matrix
● Is fully set and free from cracking; the casting and curing procedures were carried out at room temperature (RT)
● Is dimensionally and physically stable at RT before and after leaching in various solutions including deionised water, buffer solution with high pH, and organic solvent
● Has acceptable compressive strength (>0.4 MPa, in many cases much greater) before and after leaching procedures
● Has controlled porosity, voids, and homogeneity ● Allows the product to be pumped very easily directly
into containers and enables application of pour-on/ infiltration techniques through its low viscosity
● Generates a minimal exotherm during the mixing, curing and setting
Irradiation testing was undertaken on a range of samples, demonstrating end-product integrity after 1 MGy total absorbed dose of gamma radiation from Co 60. MALLET™
Traditional encapsulation methods using Portland
cement-based grouts result in disposal packages that are 3.3 times the volume of the raw waste volume. In contrast, MALLET™
reduces this volume to 1.4 times, significantly
lowering disposal costs. Evidence demonstrates that the geopolymer offers a potentially superior method of managing intermediate and low-level waste streams, including oils, graphite, zeolites, sludges, and ashes. Solutions to the challenge of problematic legacy
waste are now taking shape that are within realistic and acceptable parameters of environmental sustainability and financial viability. Prioritising scale-up of these solutions offers a golden opportunity to advance how we treat legacy and future wastes; organisations such as FISC and programmes such as EconoMISER will play a significant role in facilitating this development. By reducing the amount of material required for
encapsulation and utilizing a low-energy manufacturing process, MALLET™
achieves a significant reduction in ’s
technical innovation is delivered by the geopolymer formulations and encapsulation methods. With existing encapsulation methods, relatively low levels of difficult-to- treat waste materials are encapsulated, usually at loading rate levels between 2% and 30%. The technical innovations exhibited by MALLET™
have allowed this to be increased to up to 70%, dependant on waste form.
carbon emissions compared to traditional methods. As a replacement to Portland Cement for nuclear waste encapsulation, MALLET™
carbon impact of cementation processes, considerably reduce storage costs and provide security of supply. The flexibility of the developed formulations also
allows the material to be adapted for broader nuclear applications such as stable, corrosion and fire-resistant structural materials for long-term storage. ■
has the potential to reduce the
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