METHOD FOR HIGH-TEMPERATURE RECOVERY OF SPENT RADIOACTIVE CATALYSTS IN SHAFT FURNACE Russian patent published in 2002 - IPC

FIELD: environment control; recovery of solid radioactive wastes. SUBSTANCE: spent radioactive catalysts are crushed, mixed up with borosilicate frit and fluorite blend in proportion of 7:3, calcium oxide is added to radioactive mixture obtained, and the latter is mixed up in vortex-bed apparatus by metal bodies of revolution. Then mixture obtained is heated in shaft furnace to form coke and aluminosilicates which are conveyed to furnace bottom and heated by means of fuel- plasma burner in reducing environment until end-product melt of radioactive glass phase and metallic phase is produced. Separated phases of end-product radioactive melt obtained are poured out in stepwise manner; in the process radioactive glass phase is separated from metallic phase and both are cooled down to produce solid end products. EFFECT: improved safety; enhanced metallic phase content in end product, reduced time and labor consumption.