The structural role of Zr within alkali borosilicate glasses for nuclear waste immobilisation

Zirconium is a key constituent element of High Level nuclear Waste (HLW) glasses, occurring both as a fission product and a fuel cladding component. As part of a wider research program aimed at optimising the solubility of zirconium in HLW glasses, we have investigated the structural chemistry of zirconium in such materials using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS). Zirconium K-edge XAS data were acquired from several inactive simulant and simplified waste glass compositions, including a specimen of blended Magnox/UO2 fuel waste glass. These data demonstrate that zirconium is immobilised as (octahedral) six-fold coordinate ZrO6 species in these glasses, with a Zr–O contact distance of 2.09 Å. The next nearest neighbours of the Zr species are Si at 3.42 Å and possibly Na at 3.44 Å, no next nearest neighbour Zr could be resolved.

Research Highlights
► Zirconium is immobilised as six-fold coordinate ZrO6 species in UK waste glasses.
► The Zr–O contact distance was found to be 2.09 Å.
► The next nearest neighbours of the Zr species were found to be Si and possibly Na.