Estimation of radionuclides leaching characteristics in different sized geopolymer waste forms with simulated spent ion-exchange resin

This study presents a method to solidify spent ion-exchange resin (IER) in a metakaolin-based geopolymer and shows results of mechanical strength, immersion, leaching, irradiation, and thermal cycling tests for waste acceptance criteria (WAC) to repository. The geopolymer waste form with 20 wt% of simulated spent IER met the WAC in South Korea (ROK), and the leaching tests of various sized-waste forms up to 15.0 × 30.0 cm and waste loadings up to 20 wt% for 1-5 d and 1-90 d achieved a leachability index, Li > 6. In a leaching test for 5 d, the cumulative fraction leached (CFL) for Cs, which leached the most, was linearly correlated with the square root of leaching time for all waste forms, and Li increased as the size of the waste form increased. The CFL was also correlated with elapsed time in the 90 d leaching test. The correlations among CFL, time, and volume-to-surface area ratio of waste forms used to estimate the Li of Cs of a 200-L sized geopolymer with 15 wt% IER showed the Li values as 14.73 (5 d) and 17.71 (90 d), respectively, indicating that the large-sized geopolymer waste form met the WAC.