Solidification of the Strip Solution with Cesium-137 Using Porous Inorganic Material “Gubka”

At the Khlopin Radium Institute, during the development of extractive partitioning of the liquid high-level radioactive waste (HLW), a strip solution containing up to 6.0 × 10¹¹ Bq/dm³ (16.3 Ci/dm³) of ¹³⁷Cs in the form of a nitric acid solution was collected and temporary was stored. To solidify this solution, a batch process using Gubka (sponge) porous inorganic material (PIM) was developed and implemented. Since that time, about 18 dm³ of HLW was solidified into 12 sets of Gubka, reducing the liquid HLW volume by a factor of about 50. Gubka sets were placed into special containers, which after sealing by welding were delivered to the long-time storage of the RosRAO Branch in Sosnovy Bor.