Waste Cementation: from Study to Implementation of Pilot Trials

Secure the conditioning of your VLLW (Very Low-Level Waste) or LLW-IL (Low- and Intermediate-Level Waste, Short-Lived) radioactive waste through an innovative cementation process.

    • Condition your radioactive waste to enable safe storage
    • Select a matrix suited to the specific characteristics of your waste
    • Meet regulatory acceptance criteria (ANDRA, ASN, etc.)
    • Use a reliable and cost-effective process implemented at ambient temperature
    • Reduce risks associated with the chemical stability and ionizing radiation of LLW-IL waste
    • Develop tailor-made cement formulations adapted to your waste and compliant with current regulations
    • Benefit from Orano’s R&D expertise and CIME’s know-how to stabilize and solidify your waste
    • Validate your technical choices through laboratory tests with inactive wastes (potentially containing Uranium or Thorium), complemented by pilot-scale trials
    • Ensure reliable and compliant conditioning that incorporates both the specific nature of your waste and your storage constraints
    • Rely on a comprehensive approach: study, characterization, formulation, piloting, and commissioning
    Implementation of a pilot, continuous cementing
    +3 cement matrices formulated and developed
    • Cost-effective process: implemented at ambient temperature with low-cost raw materials and mixing operations
    • Chemical compatibility: cement formulations suited to most nuclear industry wastes
    • Wide choice of matrices:
    • Portland cements (with or without mineral additions)
    • Phosphate–magnesia cements (Malvési sludges)
    • Calcium aluminate cements (La Hague sludges)
    • Geopolymers (ion-exchange resins)
    • Flexibility: formulations adapted to your specific technical and regulatory constraints
    • Proven experience: numerous projects conducted on sludges, effluents, and radioactive resins
    • Dedicated laboratory for cementation studies using inactive matrices simulating active waste (Uranium, Thorium)
    • Full range of equipment to study stabilization capacity, perform in situ analyses, and ensure encapsulated waste quality monitoring
    • Semi-industrial pilot unit: continuous cementation facility (10 L/h)
    • Complementary analyses: SEM, XRD, pore solution chemistry for ANDRA qualification files
    • Guaranteed compliance: conformity tests on encapsulated specimens to validate compliance with ANDRA specifications
    • Boue STE2 entreposée après production

      Production of Co-Precipitated Sludge

    • Orano CIME