Dr Lewis Blackburn
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Lecturer in Nuclear Materials
Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow
Royce Technology Platform Lead
Full contact details
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
-
I completed my PhD at the University of Sheffield in 2021 within the Immobilisation Science Laboratory (ISL), after which I was awarded an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship. I then undertook a PDRA position funded by Nuclear Waste Services to develop advanced zirconolite and pyrochlore-structured ceramics for the immobilisation of separated actinides. I was subsequently awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship to develop Pu ceramic capability. My research interests involve long-term evolution of candidate ceramic wasteforms for the immobilisation of separated Pu, including radiation damage processes, chemical durability and process optimisation. In 2023 I was appointed to Lecturer in Nuclear Materials.
- Research interests
-
Implementing a safe disposal strategy for the UK's radioactive waste inventory is a substantial technical challenge and requires a robust scientific underpinning. A feasible approach to placing this material beyond reach is conversion into a passively safe wasteform material, such that it can be placed within a geological disposal facility (GDF). The aim of our research is to understand the properties of radioactive wasteforms, in particular ceramic phases capable of acting as dedicated wasteform for separated Pu and other actinides.
Key research interests:
- Materials for radioactive waste immobilisation
- Development of advanced titanate, zirconate and high-entropy oxide ceramic wasteform materials for the immobilisation of radioactive wastes
- Solid state chemistry of actinides (Pu, U, Th, Am) and related surrogates (Ce, Ln)
- Advanced processing methods for waste consolidation and disposal
- Application of X-ray spectroscopy in support of nuclear waste management
- Radiation damage effects in candidate Pu wasteforms
- Publications
-
Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
This person does not have any publications available.
All publications
Journal articles
- Demonstration of industrially-fabricated plutonium disposition MOX. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 603, 155477-155477.
- A disposal-MOX concept for plutonium disposition. Materials Advances. View this article in WRRO
- A comparative study of the high-pressure structural stability of zirconolite materials for nuclear waste immobilisation. Results in Physics, 61, 107704-107704.
- Synergistic immobilisation of CeO2 as a surrogate for PuO2 and metallic FeCrAl alloy via zirconolite wasteform. Ceramics International.
- Influence of the dual charge compensator on solid solution of the air-sintered Ca1-xCexZrTi2-2xFexCrxO7 zirconolite. Ceramics International, 49(19), 31517-31523.
- Zirconolite matrices for the immobilization of REE–actinide wastes. Ceramics, 6(3), 1573-1622.
- Underpinning the use of indium as a neutron absorbing additive in zirconolite by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Scientific Reports, 13(1).
- Investigation of the effect of milling duration on a Ce-Gd doped zirconolite phase assemblage synthesised by hot isostatic pressing. Ceramics, 6(1), 707-716. View this article in WRRO
- Process development of zirconolite ceramics for Pu disposition: use of a CuO sintering aid. Ceramics, 6(1), 678-685. View this article in WRRO
- Phase and structural evolution of zirconolite ceramics prepared by solid-state reaction sintering. Ceramics International, 49(1), 419-424.
- Phase evolution in the CaZrTi2O7–Dy2Ti2O7 system : a potential host phase for minor actinide immobilization. Inorganic Chemistry, 61(15), 5744-5756. View this article in WRRO
- Synthesis and characterisation of Ce-doped zirconolite Ca0.80Ce0.20ZrTi1.60M0.40O7 (M = Fe, Al) formed by reactive spark plasma sintering (RSPS). MRS Advances, 7, 75-80. View this article in WRRO
- Chemical structure and dissolution behaviour of CaO and ZnO containing alkali-borosilicate glass. Materials Advances, 3(3), 1747-1758. View this article in WRRO
- Synthesis of Ca1-xCexZrTi2-2xAl2xO7 zirconolite ceramics for plutonium disposition. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 556. View this article in WRRO
- Chemical state mapping of simulant Chernobyl lava-like fuel containing material using micro-focused synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 28(6). View this article in WRRO
- Effect of ZrB2 powders on densification, microstructure, mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of ZrB2-SiC ceramics. Ceramics International, 47(11), 15843-15848.
- Influence of accessory phases and surrogate type on accelerated leaching of zirconolite wasteforms. npj Materials Degradation, 5. View this article in WRRO
- Synthesis, structure and characterisation of the thorium zirconolite CaZr1‐xThxTi2O7 system. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 104(7), 2937-2951. View this article in WRRO
- Review of zirconolite crystal chemistry and aqueous durability. Advances in Applied Ceramics, 120(2), 69-83. View this article in WRRO
- Synthesis and characterisation of HIP Ca0.80Ce0.20ZrTi1.60Cr0.40O7 zirconolite and observations of the ceramic–canister interface. MRS Advances, 6(4-5), 112-118. View this article in WRRO
- Thermal treatment of nuclear fuel-containing Magnox sludge radioactive waste. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 552. View this article in WRRO
- Synthesis of zirconolite-2M ceramics for immobilisation of neptunium. Ceramics International, 47(1), 1047-1052. View this article in WRRO
- Synthesis and characterisation of Ca1-xCexZrTi2-2xCr2xO7: Analogue zirconolite wasteform for the immobilisation of stockpiled UK plutonium. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 40(15), 5909-5919. View this article in WRRO
- Synthesis and in-situ ion irradiation of A-site deficient zirconate perovskite ceramics. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 8(37), 19454-19466. View this article in WRRO
- Rapid synthesis of zirconolite ceramic wasteform by microwave sintering for disposition of plutonium. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 539, 152332-152332.
- A systematic investigation of the phase assemblage and microstructure of the zirconolite CaZr1-xCexTi2O7 system. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 535. View this article in WRRO
- A feasibility investigation of laboratory based X-ray absorption spectroscopy in support of nuclear waste management. MRS Advances, 5(1-2), 27-35. View this article in WRRO
- Influence of transition metal charge compensation species on phase assemblage in zirconolite ceramics for Pu immobilisation. MRS Advances, 5(1-2), 93-101. View this article in WRRO
- A Review of Zirconolite Solid Solution Regimes for Plutonium and Candidate Neutron Absorbing Additives. Ceramics, 6(3), 1330-1347.
- A high throughput computational investigation of the solid solution mechanisms of actinides and lanthanides in zirconolite. RSC Advances, 11(41), 25179-25186.
Chapters
- Actinide Immobilization in Dedicated Wasteforms: An Alternative Pathway for the Long-Term Management of Existing Actinide Stockpiles, Encyclopedia of Nuclear Energy (pp. 650-662). Elsevier
Conference proceedings papers
- Hot isostatically pressed zirconolite wasteforms for actinide immobilisation. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Vol. 818. Manchester, UK, 4 February 2020 - 4 February 2020. View this article in WRRO
- Demonstration of industrially-fabricated plutonium disposition MOX. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 603, 155477-155477.
- Teaching activities
-
Module: MAT3910