A General Rate Equation for Nuclear Waste Glass Corrosion

A general rate equation was developed to describe the reaction of nuclear waste glasses with aqueous solutions as a function of pH, the ratio of sample surface area to solution volume, temperature, time, glass- and solution composition. Thermodynamic and kinetic models have been combined in a new model. Glass network dissolution, pH variation, precipitation of stable or metastable solid reaction products, silica saturation at the glass and solution interface (reaction zone) and a residual affinity for the long term reaction under near saturation conditions have been addressed. The model has been successfully used to interpret a great number of experimental data reported in literature.