Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
Non-radioactive ash was immobilized via microwave melting. The ash composed mainly of silica (SiO2), titania (TiO2), calcia (CaO), alumina (Al2O3), and carbon (C). The ash was melted with various additives, such as magnetite (Fe3O4), lithium carbonate (Li2CO3), sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), and boron oxide (B2O3) by using a 2.45 GHz, 750 W microwave oven. Samples with different ash and additive concentrations were melted when subjected to microwave radiation. Ease of melting was dependent on the carbon and magnetite concentrations. Melted samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and subjected to the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure in regard to lead (Pb) immobilization. Melted samples with more than 30 wt% additives has an undetectable leaching rate of less than 0.1 ppm of lead for TCLP test, which was found to be due to the reduction and evaporation of the lead during melting. More than 80 % of the lead was lost through evaporation leaving less than 0.1 wt% Pb in the melted glass.