Immobilization of 137Cs as a crystalline pollucite surrounded by amorphous aluminosilicate

A Six-Year Hydration Evaluation of Cs-Bearing Materials at Room Temperature and 55% Relative Humidity Simulating Radioactive Waste with Different Crystallinities

“…Vitrification by heat treatment is a widely used technique to achieve this goal as glassy products have high chemical durability [ 11 ]. Zeolites allow one to overcome the problem of cesium volatilization that is typical of conventional vitrification (which requires high-temperature melting [ 12 , 13 ]). However, the amorphization of clinoptilolite in Cs-form can be attained at 1000–1100 °C, and it also produces a material that exhibits a low cesium release [ 14 , 15 ].…”

“…As for nuclear waste immobilization, there is growing interest in glass composite materials, which consist of both amorphous and crystalline phases. In these Molecules 2024, 29, 1302 2 of 17 composites, most of the radioactive elements are locked into the more durable crystals that are, in turn, encapsulated in the glassy matrix [11,13,24]. Radioactive waste is often constituted of heterogeneous products that contain amorphous and crystalline phases, where the components with lower chemical durability are more susceptible to alteration [24,25].…”