Glass-Ceramics
Glass-ceramics combine the process and chemical flexibility of glasses with the superior chemical durability of ceramics. They utilize glass forming components present in the waste to advantage, along with suitable additives, to form a durable glass after controlled crystallization of the targeted crystalline phases.
Glass-ceramics are well suited to compositionally diverse and/or heterogeneous waste streams that contain glass-forming components.
Target waste streams:
Legacy HLW difficult to incorporate in glass, such as Idaho Calcines
Impure actinide wastes
These waste forms are designed around very durable natural mineral analog phases that have demonstrated their survival in nature of geological timeframes.