Solidification of ion exchange resins saturated with Na+ ions: Comparison of matrices based on Portland and blast furnace slag cement

This work is devoted to the conditioning of ion exchange resins used to decontaminate radioactive effluents. Calcium silicate cements may have a good potential to encapsulate spent resins. However, certain combinations of cement and resins produce a strong expansion of the final product, possibly leading to its full disintegration. The focus is placed on the understanding of the behaviour of cationic resins in the Na+ form in Portland or blast furnace slag (CEM III/C) cement pastes. During hydration of the Portland cement paste, the pore solution exhibits a decrease in its osmotic pressure, which causes a transient expansion of small magnitude of the resins. At 20 °C, this expansion takes place just after setting in a poorly consolidated material and is sufficient to induce cracks. In the CEM III/C paste, swelling of the resins also occurs, but before the end of setting, and induces limited stress in the matrix which is still plastic.