New approach to removal of hazardous Bypass Cement Dust (BCD) from the environment: 20Na2O-20BaCl2-(60-x)B2O3-(x)BCD glass system and Optical, mechanical, structural and nuclear radiation shielding competences

Abstract

In the present work, aiming to collaborate in the removal of Bypass Cement Dust (BCD) from the environment, we studied a system consisting of three glasses prepared from analytical reagent grade chemicals with the following composition: 20Na₂O-20BaCl₂-(60-x)B₂O₃-xBCD, where (x = 0, 10, and 20 %). BCD is an important contributor of many respiratory human health issues. In this work we investigate their optical, physical and gamma-ray shielding properties. The experimental results of mass attenuation coefficients are contrasted with the FLUKA Monte Carlo code and the XCOM database at 0.081, 0.356, 0.662, 1.173, and 1.332 MeV photon energies. Additionally, the mechanical, structural, and optical properties of these glasses were measured. A rising peak with an increase of BCD concentration in the region from 450 cm^-1 to 480 cm^-1 was observed. The results show that shielding properties such as the mass attenuation coefficient (μ_m), the effective atomic number (Z_eff), and the effective electron density (N_el) increase as BCD fraction increases. The half value layer (HVL), the tenth value layer (TVL), and the mean free path (MFP) decrease as the BCD content increases. It is noticed that 20Na₂O-20BaCl₂-(60-x)B₂O₃-xBCD, where (x = 0, 10, and 20 %), has the highest optical conductivity value at x = 20%. It was found that the gradual addition of BCD content increases the hardness of the studied glasses.

Keywords: FLUKA; Mechanical properties; Nuclear radiation shielding; Structural properties; optical properties.