Development and Testing of an Experimental Electroslag Remelting Facility for Processing Radioactive Metal Waste

Modern nuclear energy faces the problem of the accumulation, storage, and management of radioactive waste. For radioactive metal waste (RMW), one of the main tasks is to reduce its volume, carry out partial or complete decontamination, and convert it into a compact and stable form that can be safely stored. In this regard, remelting methods are of great interest as they enable volume reduction in radioactive metal waste, redistribute radioactive impurities, and produce a compact metal product that is convenient for further handling. This study presents the development and experimental testing of an electroslag remelting (ESR) facility designed for investigations of RMW processing. The operability of the facility was initially confirmed using a stainless-steel pipe as an RMW simulator. The experiment showed that the developed facility can successfully remelt metal pipes and produce a compact metal product of a required shape, suitable for further handling and storage. Further experiments were performed using real radioactively contaminated 12Cr18Ni10Ti steel pipes from the IVG.1 reactor technological channel. Gamma-spectrometric measurements showed a significant reduction in radionuclide activity in the remelted metal ingots compared with the initial materials. Thus, the obtained results demonstrate the applicability of the developed ESR facility for experimental investigations of RMW processing.