Application of the Dry Polyfunctional Additives at Radioactive Waste Cementation

One of the known methods directed to improving of the technological cementation process, the increasing quality of a cement compound and degree of radioactive waste incorporating into a final product, is use of the various additives to a cement compound. At present there are technological processes where one or two additives in a dry loose or liquid condition in quantity of 1–10% are used. The application of these additives is directed, as a rule, to improving of one or two properties of a cement compound. The magnification of a quantity of the additives and use of them in a different aggregation state is connected with rise in the cost of the technological process. At Institute of Ecology and Technology Problems and Moscow SIA “Radon” the polyfunctional modifying additives representing dry mixtures of original macro- and microadditives to cement have been developed. The polyfunctional additive is introduced by traditional, reliable and inexpensive equipment directly into liquid radioactive waste and intermixed together with the rest of cement. The quantity of additive varies from 5 up to 20% of cement weight. The additives considerably improve all regulated properties of a cement compound (compressive strength, radionuclides leaching, frost resistance, biological resistance, etc.) and allow modifying the required properties (penetrating ability, viability, disintegration, terms of setting, viscosity etc.). Such additives are used both at cementation of solid radioactive waste and cementation of liquid radioactive waste having a complicated chemical composition, for example, containing simultaneously boric acid, sulphates and great quantity of organic compounds. It is important, that the components of the additives did not change the action in a mixture with other ones. In the report the compositions of the polyfunctional additives developed for various waste and technological processes, their properties and results of practical application are represented.