Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol.342, 510-518, 2018
Residence time effects on technetium reduction in slag-based cementitious materials
A long-term disposal of technetium-99 (Tc-99) has been considered in a type of cementitious formulation, slag-based grout, at the U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Site, Aiken SC, U.S.A. Blast furnace slag, which contains S and Fe electron donors, has been used in a mixture with fly ash, and Portland cement to immobilize Tc-99(VII)O-4-(aq) in low level radioactive waste via reductive precipitation reaction. However the long-term stability of Tc(IV) species is not clearly understood as oxygen gradually diffuses into the solid structure. In this study, aging effects of Tc speciation were investigated as a function of depth (<2.5 cm) in slag-based grout using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. All of Fe(II)in solids was oxidized to Fe(III) after 117d. However, elemental S, sulfide, and sulfoxide persists at the 0-8 mm depths even after 485d, suggesting the presence of a reduced zone below the surface few millimeters. Pertechnetate was successfully reduced to Tc(IV) after 29d. Distorted hydrolyzed Tc(IV) octahedral molecules were partially sulfidized and or polymerized at all depths (0-8 mm) and were stable in 485d aged sample. The results of this study suggest that variable S species contribute to stabilize the partially sulfidized Tc(IV) species in aged slag-based grout. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.