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In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Publication history
Received October 27, 2023
Accepted November 27, 2023
articles This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Liquefaction of Latex Glove Waste for Volume Reduction

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
swkim818@kaeri.re.kr
Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, May 2024, 41(5), 1503-1511(9), https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-024-00046-z

Abstract

The accumulation of dry active wastes such as latex gloves in nuclear facilities has become a serious issue because of the

high cost and limited storage area for their management. In this study, the liquefaction of latex gloves, which mainly comprise

rubber and CaCO 3 , was investigated as a waste reduction technique. When liquefaction occurred at > 270 °C, the latex gloves

decomposed into gaseous, liquid, and solid products. Cs-, Sr-, and Co-contaminated latex gloves were liquefi ed at 350 °C, and

the solid product was subsequently recovered via distillation. Notably, the contaminants only remained in the solid product

(~33.3 wt%) comprising CaCO 3 and char; thus, the gaseous and liquid products could be regarded as non-radioactive, thereby

reducing the volume of radioactive waste (~ 92.7% reduction after compression). Liquefaction is favorable compared to conventional

incineration because it generates less harmful gases by converting the organic components to condensed phases.

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