Dr Eric (Lou) Vance spent 32 years at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), where he was dedicated to the development of Synroc technology, a waste treatment solution for intractable nuclear wastes. The original form of Synroc, a multiphase ceramic wasteform based on stable and leach resistant titanate minerals, was invented by Australian scientists in the late 1970s. This formulation was directed toward the immobilization of PUREX wastes from the reprocessing of nuclear fuels. Synroc at ANSTO under the scientific leadership of Dr Vance since evolved beyond these original titanate ceramics into a waste treatment technology platform. This platform can be applied to produce glass, glass‐ceramic and ceramic wasteforms and offers distinct advantages in terms of waste loading and suppressing volatile losses. The platform therefore provides an opportunity to treat those waste streams that are problematic for glass matrices alone or existing vitrification process technologies. Such wastes include, for example, actinide‐bearing wastes, those that contain large proportions of refractory elements, those with significant fission product or corrosive volatile emissions and those wastes resulting from radiopharmaceutical production. The implementation of the latter will see the industrialization of Synroc technology via a first‐of‐a‐kind Synroc Waste Treatment Facility that is currently under construction at ANSTO. This paper will review Synroc technology, particularly noting the substantial and essential contributions from the late Dr Vance. The review will also provide some perspective on the development of the technology for nuclear waste immobilization and describe the significant recent advancements at ANSTO.
Manganese oxide (Mn 3 O 4 ) nanomaterials have promising potential to be used as supercapacitor electrode materials due to its high energy storage performance and environmental compatibility. Besides, every year huge volume of waste batteries including Zn-C battery ends up in landfill, which aggravates the burden of waste disposal in landfill and creates environmental and health threat. Thus, transformation of waste battery back into energy application, is of great significance for sustainable strategies. Compared with complex chemical routes which mostly apply toxic acids to recover materials from Zn-C battery, this study establishes the recovery of Mn 3 O 4 particles via thermal route within 900 °C under controlled atmosphere. Synthesized Mn 3 O 4 were confirmed by XRD, EDS, FTIR, XPS and Raman analysis and FESEM micrographs confirmed the coexistence of spherical and cubic Mn 3 O 4 particles. Mn 3 O 4 electrode derived from waste Zn-C battery demonstrate compatible electrochemical performance with standard materials and conventional synthesis techniques. Mn 3 O 4 electrode exhibited highest capacitance value of 125 Fg −1 at 5 mVs −1 scan rate. The stability of the electrode showed good retention in discharge and charge capacity by about 80% after 2100 cycles. This study demonstrates that waste Zn-C battery can be further utilized for energy storage application, providing sustainable and economic benefits.
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