The effect of boron on zeolite-4A immobilization of iodine waste forms with a novel preparation method

Immobilization of radioiodine is a significant requirement for future nuclear fuel development. This research mainly focuses on the production of iodosodalite through a novel preparation method and the effect of boron on zeolite-4A immobilization of iodine waste forms. Through this novel way, the phase mass of iodosodalite can reach to 95.5% at 1050 °C and the rest is nepheline. The addition of B 2 O 3 promotes the formation of iodosodalite at a lower sintering temperature and the phase mass of iodosodalite for the sample sintered at 1050 °C is 93.7% which is due to part of iodosodalite’s transformation into amorphous phase under the addition of B 2 O 3 . The existence of amorphous phase is proved by FTIR and SEM results. The EDS analysis reflects that Na, Al, Si, O and I elements are distributed homogeneously on the surface. The leaching rate of iodine proves considerable chemical durability of iodosodalite prepared through this novel method. Our finding provides a novel way to synthesis iodosodalite and is aimed to immobilize iodine waste forms.