Geopolymer cements for radioactive liquid organic wastes

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This PhD project is co-funded between the GREEN CDT and the EU PREDIS consortium, and will benefit from participation in the world-leading activities of both of these research/industry consortia. The technical focus of the project is the development, characterisation and validation of aluminosilicate "geopolymer" cements for the immobilisation of radioactive liquid organic wastes. Such wastes can in many cases not be effectively treated by conventional cementation processes, but analysis of the chemistry, microstructure and technical characteristics of geopolymer cements has identified that there exists a very significant opportunity to design and tailor these cements to achieve excellent immobilisation performance. Wastes requiring new routes to immobilisation will be identified through engagement with UK and international industry partners, and geopolymer matrix chemistry and microstructures will be designed to match key waste streams. The performance of the wasteform materials will be characterised in the fresh and hardened states, and the scientific underpinnings for the observed engineering properties will be defined.