A vitrification experiment for the study of nuclear waste disposal at Pacific Northwest National Labs

Vitrification is a process of converting a material into a glass-like amorphous solid which is free of any crystalline structure, either by the quick removal or addition of heat, or by mixing with an additive. Solidification of a vitreous solid occurs at the glass transition temperature (which is lower than melting temperature, T_m, due to supercooling). Download high resolution version (1143x1226, 461 KB)A vitrification experiment. ... Download high resolution version (1143x1226, 461 KB)A vitrification experiment. ... The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a one of nine United States Department of Energy multiprogram national laboratories. ... Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colors as shown in this sphere from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... An amorphous solid is a solid in which there is no long-range order of the positions of the atoms. ... Quartz crystal Synthetic bismuth hopper crystal Insulin crystals Gallium, a metal that easily forms large single crystals A huge monocrystal of potassium dihydrogen phosphate grown from solution by Saint-Gobain for the megajoule laser of CEA. In chemistry and mineralogy, a crystal is a solid in which the constituent atoms... In physics, heat, symbolized by Q, is defined as transfer of thermal energy [1] Generally, heat is a form of energy transfer associated with the different motions of atoms, molecules and other particles that comprise matter when it is hot and when it is cold. ... Vitreous refers to a material in a glassy state. ... A material’s glass transition temperature, Tg, is the temperature below which molecules have little relative mobility. ... The melting point of a crystalline solid is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. ... Supercooling is the process of chilling a liquid below its freezing point, without it becoming solid. ...

When the starting material is solid, vitrification usually involves heating the substances to very high temperatures. Many ceramics are produced in such a manner. Vitrification may also occur naturally when lightning strikes sand, where the extreme and immediate heat can create hollow, branching rootlike structures of glass, called fulgurite. When applied to whiteware ceramics, vitreous means the material has an extremely low permeability to liquids, often but not always water, when determined by a specified test regime. The microstructure of whiteware ceramics frequently contain both amorphous and crystalline phases. Fig. ... Fixed Partial Denture, or Bridge The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός (keramikos). ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Patterns in the sand Sand is a granular material made up of fine rock particles. ... fulgurite Fulgurites (from the Latin fulgur meaning thunderbolt) are natural hollow carrot-shaped glass tubes formed in quartzose sand or soil by lightning strikes. ... In the earth sciences, permeability (commonly symbolized as κ, or k) is a measure of the ability of a material (typically, a rock or unconsolidated material) to transmit fluids. ... An amorphous solid is a solid in which there is no long-range order of the positions of the atoms. ...

Examples

When sucrose is cooled slowly it results in crystal sugar (or "rock candy"), but when cooled rapidly it can form syrupy "cotton candy". Sucrose (common name: table sugar, also called saccharose) is a disaccharide (glucose + fructose) with the molecular formula C12H22O11. ... Magnification of grains of sugar, showing their monoclinic hemihedral crystalline structure. ... Cotton candy (American English), candy floss (British English), or fairy floss (Australian English) is a form of spun sugar. ...

Vitrification can also occur when starting with a liquid such as water, usually through very rapid cooling or the introduction of agents that suppress the formation of ice crystals. This is in contrast to ordinary freezing which results in ice crystal formation. Additives used in cryobiology or produced naturally by organisms living in polar regions are called cryoprotectants. Snowflakes by Wilson Bentley, 1902 Ice is the name given to any one of the 14 known solid phases of water. ... In physics and chemistry, freezing is the process of cooling a liquid to the temperature (called freezing point) where it turns into a solid. ... Cryobiology is the study of living organisms, organs, biological tissues or biological cells at low temperatures. ... Location of the polar regions Northern Hemisphere permafrost (permanently frozen ground) in purple. ... A cryoprotectant is a substance that is used to protect biological tissue from freezing damage (damage due to ice formation). ...

Arctic frogs and some other ectotherms naturally produce glycerol or glucose in their livers to reduce ice formation. When glucose is used as a cryoprotectant by arctic frogs, massive amounts of glucose are released at low temperature and a special form of insulin allows for this extra glucose to enter the cells. When the frog rewarms during spring, the extra glucose must be rapidly eliminated, but stored. Arctic insects also use sugars as cryoprotectants. Arctic fish use antifreeze proteins, sometimes appended with sugars, as cryoprotectants. The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the region around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. ... Distribution of frogs (in black) Suborders Archaeobatrachia Mesobatrachia Neobatrachia - List of Anuran families The frogness babe is an amphibian in the order Anura (meaning tail-less from Greek an-, without + oura, tail), formerly referred to as Salientia (Latin saltare, to jump). ... Cold-blooded organisms, more technically known as poikilothermic, are animals that have no internal metabolic mechanism for regulating their body temperatures. ... Glycerol is a chemical compound with the formula HOCH2CH(OH)CH2OH. This colorless, odorless, viscous liquid is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations. ... Glucose (Glc), a monosaccharide (or simple sugar), is the most important carbohydrate in biology. ... The liver is an organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. ... Insulin (from Latin insula, island, as it is produced in the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas) is a polypeptide hormone that regulates carbohydrate metabolism. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species—more than all other animal groups combined. ... Antifreeze proteins AFPs or ice structuring proteins ISPs refer to a class of polypeptides produced by certain vertebrates, plants, fungi and bacteria that permit their survival in subzero environments. ...

Applications

Ordinary soda-lime glass, used in windows and drinking containers, is created by the addition of Sodium carbonate and lime (calcium oxide) to silicon dioxide. Without these additives silicon dioxide will (with slow cooling) form sand or quartz crystal, not glass. Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colors as shown in this sphere from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda or soda ash), Na2CO3, is a sodium salt of carbonic acid. ... Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as lime, quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. ... R-phrases R42 R43 R49 S-phrases S22 S36 S37 S45 S53 Flash point non-flammable Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... Patterns in the sand Sand is a granular material made up of fine rock particles. ... Quartz is one of the most common minerals in the Earths continental crust. ...

Vitrification is a proven technique in the disposal and long-term storage of nuclear waste or other hazardous wastes. Waste is mixed with glass-forming chemicals to form molten glass that then solidifies, immobilizing the waste. The final waste form resembles obsidian and is a non-leaching, durable material that effectively traps the waste inside. The waste can be stored for relatively long periods in this form without concern for air or groundwater contamination. Bulk vitrification uses electrodes to melt soil and wastes where they lay buried. The hardened waste may then be disinterred with less danger of widespread contamination. According to the Pacific Northwest National Labs, "Vitrification locks dangerous materials into a stable glass form that will last for thousands of years."^[1] Political Punk band from Victorville, Ca WWW.MYSPACE.COM/NUCLEARWASTEX ... Obsidian from Lake County, Oregon Counterclockwise from top: obsidian, pumice and rhyolite (light color) Obsidian is a rock which is a type of naturally occurring glass, produced by volcanoes (igneous origin) when a felsic lava cools rapidly and freezes without sufficient time for crystal growth (see glass transition temperature). ... Leaching is the process of extracting a substance from a solid by dissolving it in a liquid. ... Air Pollution is a chemical, physical (e. ... Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of geologic formations. ... The radiation warning symbol (trefoil). ... An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a metallic part of a circuit (e. ... The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a one of nine United States Department of Energy multiprogram national laboratories. ...

Ethylene glycol is used as automotive antifreeze, and propylene glycol has been used to reduce ice crystals in ice cream, making it smoother. Ethylene glycol (monoethylene glycol (MEG), IUPAC name: ethane-1,2-diol) is an alcohol with two -OH groups (a diol), a chemical compound widely used as an automotive antifreeze. ... Antifreeze is used in gasoline and diesel engines. ... Propylene glycol, also known as 1,2-propanediol, is an organic compound (a diol alcohol), usually a tasteless, odorless, and colorless clear oily liquid that is hygroscopic and miscible with water, acetone, and chloroform. ... Missing image Ice cream is often served on a stick Boxes of ice cream are often found in stores in a display freezer. ...

For years, glycerol has been used in cryobiology as a cryoprotectant for blood cells and bull sperm, allowing storage at liquid nitrogen temperatures. However, glycerol cannot be used to protect whole organs from damage. Instead, many biotechnology companies are currently researching the development of other cryoprotectants more suitable for such uses. A successful discovery may eventually make possible the bulk cryogenic storage (or "banking") of transplantable human and xenobiotic organs. A substantial step in that direction has already occurred. At the July 2005 annual conference of the Society for Cryobiology^[2], Twenty-First Century Medicine announced the vitrification of a rabbit kidney to -135ºC with their proprietary vitrification cocktail. The kidney was successfully transplantated upon rewarming to a rabbit, with complete functionality and viability. Glycerol is a chemical compound with the formula HOCH2CH(OH)CH2OH. This colorless, odorless, viscous liquid is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations. ... Cryobiology is the study of living organisms, organs, biological tissues or biological cells at low temperatures. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... In biology, an organ (Latin: organum, instrument, tool) is a group of tissues that perform a specific function or group of functions. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cryogenics is a branch of physics (or engineering) that studies the production of very low temperatures (below –150 °C, –238 °F or 123 K) and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. ... An organ transplant is the moving of a whole or partial organ from one body to another (or from a donor site on the patients own body), for the purpose of replacing the recipients damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor site. ... A xenobiotic is a chemical which is found in an organism but which is not normally produced or expected to be present in it. ... Cryobiology is the study of living organisms, organs, biological tissues or biological cells at low temperatures. ... 21st Century Medicine is a California cryobiological research company which has as its primary focus the development of perfusates and protocols for viable long-term preservation of human organs at cryogenic temperatures (temperatures below −100 °Celsius) through the use of vitrification. ... Genera Pentalagus Bunolagus Nesolagus Romerolagus Brachylagus Sylvilagus Oryctolagus Poelagus Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. ... The kidneys filter wastes (such as urea) from the blood and excrete them, along with water, as urine. ...

In the context of cryonics, especially in preservation of the human brain, vitrification of tissue is thought to be necessary to prevent destruction of the tissue or information encoded in the brain. Currently, vitrification techniques have only been applied to brains (neurovitrification) by Alcor and to the upper body by the Cryonics Institute, but research is in progress by both organizations to apply vitrification to the whole body. Cryonics (often mistakenly called cryogenics) is the practice of cryopreserving humans and other animals that can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine until resuscitation may be possible in the future. ... A sketch of the human brain by artist Priyan Weerappuli, imposed upon the profile of Michelangelos David. ... Neurovitrification is the term that refers to vitrification of only the human brain (or the human head as a whole), usually with the intention of neuropreservation. ... This bigfoot Dewar is custom-designed to contain four wholebody patients and six neuropatients immersed in liquid nitrogen at −196 degrees Celsius. ... Cryonics Institute main facility in Clinton Township, Michigan The Cryonics Institute (CI) is a non-profit provider of cryonics services located in Clinton Township, Michigan. ...

References

1. ^ Waste Form Release Calculations for the 2005 Integrated Disposal Facility Performance Assessment (PDF). PNNL-15198. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (July, 2005). Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
2. ^ Plenary Session: Fundamentals of Biopreservation. CRYO 2005 Scientific Program. Society for Cryobiology (Sunday, July 24, 2005). Retrieved on 2006-11-08.

• Steven Ashle, Divide and Vitrify, June 2002, Scientific American
• Stefan Lovgren, Corpses Frozen for Future Rebirth by Arizona Company, March 2005, National Geographic
• Vitrification: Putting the Heat on Waste

PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 53 days remaining. ...

See also

• Cryogenics
• Cryobiology
• Cryonics
• Cryopreservation
• Supercooling

Cryogenics is a branch of physics (or engineering) that studies the production of very low temperatures (below –150 °C, –238 °F or 123 K) and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. ... Cryobiology is the study of living organisms, organs, biological tissues or biological cells at low temperatures. ... Cryonics (often mistakenly called cryogenics) is the practice of cryopreserving humans and other animals that can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine until resuscitation may be possible in the future. ... Cryopreservation of plant shoots. ... Supercooling is the process of chilling a liquid below its freezing point, without it becoming solid. ...

External links

• Vitrification in Cryonics
• CRYOBIOLOGY 48(1):22-35 (2004)
• Vitrification: Putting the Heat on Waste
• Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher Equation Parameters
• Fragility thy name is glass