Leaching tests on plasma treated surrogate waste forms: Topical report

This report presents the results of plasma slags leaching tests performed at 40 ± 1 °C in a KOH solution at pH 13.5 ± 0.2 following the MCC-1 standard procedure used to determine the chemical durability of nuclear waste forms. The dissolution rates of the plasma slags were calculated from the normalised mass losses of Si, as this element is the main element constituting the samples. At the end of the tests, i.e. after 182 days of alteration, the samples were analysed by Scanning Electron Microscopy to observe their microstructure. Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy was conducted to obtain a semi-quantitative analysis of the alteration layers formed. In addition, to detect the presence of crystalline phases, X-Ray Diffraction analysis was carried out on the surface of the altered samples.