Slurry-fed ceramic melter--A broadly accepted system to vitrify high-level waste

Slurry (or liquid)-fed ceramic melters (LFCM) have been chosen for vitrifying liquid high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in projects around the world: three in the US, two in Japan, one in West Germany, and one in Belgium. This paper summarizes the experience with this technology, which has proven adaptable to the broadcast spectrum of wastes and throughputs. The generic technical issues of process and product requirements are reviewed, including differences among wastes and their processing challenges, such as throughput, elemental solubilities, corrosiveness, and preferred methods. In the US, waste-form qualification is currently the most critical issue needing acceptance before approval is received for startup of a vitrification plant. Product requirements as defined in the US waste acceptance specifications are translated into operational and technological requirements. Among these are sampling requirements, which are minimized using the LFCM process.