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OwnerCatherine J. Simmons, Joseph H. Simmons +2inventors
InventorsCatherine J. Simmons, Joseph H. Simmons, Pedro B. Macedo, Theodore A. Litovitz
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This invention relates to the immobilization of toxic, e.g., radioactive, materials in a silicate glass or silica gel matrix for extremely long periods of time. Toxic materials, such as radioactive wastes containing radioactive cations, which may be in the form of liquids, or solids dissolved or dispersed in liquids or gases, are incorporated into a glass or silica gel matrix, having alkali metal, Group Ib metal and/or ammonium cations bonded to silicon atoms of said glass or silica gel through divalent oxygen linkages, by a process which involves the ion exchange of said toxic or radioactive cations with said alkali metal, Group Ib metal and/or ammonium cations to bind said toxic or radioactive cations to silicon atoms of said glass or silica gel through said silicon-bonded divalent oxygen linkages. Thereafter, the resulting glass or silica gel now characterized by toxic or radioactive cations bonded to silicon atoms through divalent oxygen linkages can be stored, or packaged in suitable containers, or disposed of as by burial, and/or sintered to collapse the pores thereof.
Process which causes the proton (H.sup.+) of silicon-bonded hydroxyl groups on the internal surfaces of porous silicate glass to undergo ion-exchange reaction without occurrence of substantial dissolution of the glass during the reaction which comprises:
A process which comprises impregnating a porous silicate glass or silica gel having interconnected pores and non-radioactive protons (H.sup.+) bonded to silicon through divalent oxygen linkages on the internal surfaces of said pores, with primary coolant water of a boiling water reactor system which contains radioactive cations to dispose said primary coolant water within the pores of said glass or silica gel after adding ammonium hydroxide to said primary collant water to both maintain the pH thereof in the range of about 6 to about 9.5 and to effect the ion-exchange of said non-radioactive protons with ammonium cations, said non-radioactive ammonium cations being capable of being displaced by said radioactive cations to provide a distribution of internal silicon-bonded radioactive cation oxy groups within the pores of said glass or silica gel;
Porous silicate glass of at least 75 mol percent SiO.sub.2, an interconnected pore structure, a surface to weight ratio of from about 5 to about 1500 m.sup.2 /g, and containing non-radioactive ammonium cations disposed within the interconnecting pores and bonded to surface silicon thereof through divalent oxy linkages.
Porous silicate glass characterized by at least 75 mol percent SiO.sub.2, an interconnecting pore structure, a surface to weight ratio of from about 5 to about 1500 m.sup.2 /g, and radioactive cations, disposed within the interconnecting pores and bonded to surface silicon through divalent oxy linkages, said radioactive cations of the group consiting of radioactive cations of rubidium, strontium, the lanthanides, cobalt, cadmium, zirconium, molybdenum, technetium, niobium, ruthenium, palladium, tellurium, cesium, barium, francium, yttrium, radium, the actinides, and mixtures thereof;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.