Dr Erden Sizgek, Dr Chris Griffith and Dr Victor Luca at Olympic Dam uranium mine and processing plant.

Devlet Sizgek & Erden Sizgek

 

A staff member, Mr David Stathers, Dr Victor Luca, Dr Erden Sizgek, Dr Chris Griffith and 

Dr Devlet Sizgek at the opening of Australian research reactor "OPAL".

Erden Sizgek

Short Biography
Dr. Sizgek (BSc., MSc. (Istanbul Technical University, Turkey) and PhD. (UNSW, Australia) in Chemical Engineering), is a Chemical Engineer with over 25 years of professional experience in project, process, design, R&D engineering and management positions in petrochemical, polymer, fertiliser and glass industries in Turkey, Czechoslovakia, Saudi Arabia and Australia including the Institute of Materials Engineering of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) in Principal Research Scientist position. He is one of the two technology developers of a nuclear waste treatment technology from concept to full scale mock-up plant for producing a synroc waste form for immobilisation of Australian legacy waste arising from Mo-99 medical radioisotope production process. He currently holds Senior Research Scientist position at Material Science and Engineering Division of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Expertise

• Applied research and technology development in the nuclear waste and materials processing technologies including process development, process design & scaling up and plant deployment. Development and scaling up of inorganic ion-exchanger materials for advanced nuclear fuel cycles.
• Spray drying, atomisation, fluidisation, powder processing, drying, calcination and chemical reactor technologies.
• Microwave assisted chemical processing technologies: Microwave heated impregnation, drying and fluidised bed calcining. Design and construction of microwave processing systems.
• Sol-gel science and technology: Processing of colloidal dispersions, colloid chemistry, microemulsions, microsphere production technologies, porous materials, energetic sol gel materials.

Career Highlights & Achievements:

• The significance of his achievements was recognised by three media publications released by ANSTO. He has been nominated by ANSTO for 2006 Awards of Excellence in Chemical Engineering of The Institution of Engineers Australia.
• He has been elected as a Fellow of The Institution of Engineers Australia in September 2006.
• He co-deployed construction of a full scale mock up plant for immobilisation of ANSTO Mo-99 legacy waste, which is based on the technologies he co-developed with Dr. Devlet Sizgek (2006).
• Co-inventor (with Dr. Devlet Sizgek) of a patent for heating fluidised beds with microwave energy up to 1000°C (2004).
• He succeeded integrating microwave heating with a commercially available processing technology by designing and building probably world's first microwave-heated ploughshare type mixer-drier on plant scale in 2003.
• He designed and constructed Australia's largest sol-gel processing facility at ANSTO to produce synroc ceramic precursor powders on the basis of a unique chemical processing flowsheet he developed.

ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA SYDNEY DIVISION FELLOWS’ LUNCHEON

The luncheon was attended by 140 Fellows and their guests.Andrew Humpherson MP hosted the luncheon as he has kindly done for several years. Barry Grear AO, President Elect, World Federation of Engineering Organisations, was the guest speaker for the recent Fellows’ Luncheon at Parliament House.
Few members are elevated to the grade of Fellow each year. It was very pleasing to see 17 members including 2 women, recognised by Amal Hanna Sydney Division President, in her last official presidential engagement. The new Fellows introduced by Amal were: David Boverman, Gregory Bowyer, Lawrence Cullen, Ian Donaldson, George Edwards, Noel Godfrey, Warren Green, Strutidevi Kelkar, Kwok Chuen Lau, Nicholas Lawther, Peter Masters, Alexander Nielsen, Andrew Pau, Murray Simpson, Dr Erden Sizgek, Veronica Thomas and Richard Woods.

Devlet Sizgek

Short Biography
Dr Sizgek (BSc. (Istanbul Technical University, Turkey), MSc. (Bogazici University-Istanbul, Turkey) and PhD. (UMIST- UK) in Chem. Eng.), is a Chemical Engineer with over 25 years of experience in process development, chemical process design & operations,  material science & engineering and computational fluid dynamics. After completing her PhD, she spent 2.5 years at the University of New South Wales as a post doctoral fellow and about one year at Queensland Alumina Ltd. as strategic development engineer before joining (Principal Research Scientist) Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation in 1994.

Expertise

• Nuclear waste processing, drying technologies, powder processing, microwave heated chemical processing technologies, fluidised bed calcining in particular application of nuclear waste treatment.
• CFD applications including spray drying and heat transfer analysis of nuclear waste stores and repositories. 
• Applied research and technology development in the nuclear waste treatment and ion-exchanger technology fields. 
• Her expertise includes engineering and process development of metal alkoxide nano-structured mesoporous granular materials for the separation of radioisotopes and applications in nuclear fuel cycle.

Career Highlights & Achievements

• Group leader for successful demonstration of integration of immobilisation processing steps through inactive mockup trials (2005-2006).
• Project leader for site legacy waste immobilisation project, leading into an implementation project with the approval of Capital Equipment Request (2001-2004).
• She is one of the two developers of a nuclear waste treatment technology from concept to full scale mock-up plant for producing a targeted synroc waste form for immobilisation of Australian waste arising from Mo-99 medical radioisotope production process.
• She co-deployed construction of a full scale mock up plant for immobilisation of ANSTO Mo-99 legacy waste, which is based on the technologies she co-developed with Dr. Erden Sizgek (2006).
• The significance of her achievements was recognised by three media publications released by ANSTO.
• Co-inventor (with Dr Erden Sizgek) of the patent for heating fluidised beds with microwave energy up to 1000°C (2004).

PUBLICATIONS (DEVLET SIZGEK)

1.        G. Devlet Sizgek, C.S. Griffith, Erden Sizgek and V. Luca ”Mesoporous Zirconium  Titanate Oxides. Part 3. Synthesis, Porosity and Adsorption Properties of Hierarchical Beads, 2009, Langmuir 2009, 25(19) pp 11874-11882.

2.        G. Devlet Sizgek, Erden Sizgek, Christopher S. Griffith and Vittoria Luca “Mesoporous Zirconium Titanium Oxides. Part 2. Synthesis, Porosity and Adsorption Properties of Beads”, Langmuir, 2008, 24(21) pp12323-12330.

3·       Christopher S. Griffith, G. Devlet Sizgek, Erden Sizgek, Nicholas Scales, Patrick J. Yee and Vittoria Luca “Mesoporous Zirconium Titanium Oxides. Part 1. Porosity Modulation and Adsorption Properties of Xerogels”, Langmuir, 2008, 24(21) pp 12312-12322.

4·      Vittoria Luca, Wilem Bertram, G. Devlet Sizgek, Bin Yang and David Cookson “Delineating the First Few Seconds of Supramolecular Self-Assembly of Mesostructured Titanium Oxide Thin Films through Time-Resolved Small Angle X-ray Scattering”, Langmuir, 2008, 24(19) pp10737-10745.

5·       Christopher S. Griffith, Erden Sizgek, G. Devlet Sizgek, and Vittoria Luca, “Potential process for the Decontamination of Pyroelectrometallurgical LiCl-KCl Eutectic salt Electrolyte”, ATALANTE 2008 Montpellier (France) EUROPART May 19-22, 2008.

6·       Luca V., Osborne M., Sizgek G. Devlet Griffith C. and Araujo, P. Z.  “Photodegradation of Methylene Blue using Crystalline Titanosilicate Quantum Confined Semiconductor” Journal of Chemistry of Materials 18 (26), 6182-6138 2006.

7·       G J Parsons, G Devlet Sizgek, E Sizgek, D. Kemp, Process Development for Processing of (a) Low Level Sludges and (b) Intermediate Level Liquid Waste at ANSTO, IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project Meeting for “New Developments and Improvements in Processing of ‘Problematic’ Radioactive Waste Streams”, November 2006, Mumbai, India.

8·       G.Devlet Sizgek and E. Sizgek, “Development of an Immobilisation Technology for Radioactive Waste Solutions from Mo-99 Production” Waste Management 2006, 25 February 2006 Tucson, Arizona USA.

9·      G J Parsons, G Devlet Sizgek, E Sizgek, K Fernando, K Lucas, Process Development for Handling, Treatment, Packaging and Disposal of Radioactive Wastes at ANSTO, IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project Meeting for “New Developments and Improvements in Processing of ‘Problematic’ Radioactive Waste Streams”, May 2005, Kiev (Russia).

10·    Sizgek G. Devlet, “Three-dimensional thermal analysis of in-floor type nuclear waste repository for a ceramic waste form”, Nuclear Engineering Design 235 (1) pp 101-109, 2005.

11·     V. Vegh and I Turner, E. Sizgek, G. Devlet Sizgek, (2004) Numerical Validation of Microwave Heated Fluidised Bed Calcination of Waste Containing Ceramic Powders, ANZIAM J., 45 (E), C100-C115.

12·   Sizgek, E.; Sizgek, G. Devlet, Vegh V. and Turner I., “Numerical Validation of microwave heated fluidised bed calcination of waste containing ceramic powders,” Accepted for 5th International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics, ICAM 2003, Sydney, 7-11 July 2003.

13·    E. Sizgek, G. Devlet Sizgek, V. Vegh and I Turner, Microwave Heated Fluidised Bed Calcination of Waste Containing Ceramic Powders, 3rd World Conference on Microwave & Radio Frequency Applications, Sydney, September 23-26, 2002.

14·    E. Sizgek and G.Devlet Sizgek (2002) Drying Characteristic of Porous Ceramic Microspheres in a Microwave Heated Fluidised Bed, Chemical Engineering and Technology, 25, 3, 287-292 (Referenced in Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing in 2005 by Eldon D. Case under Microwave Processing of Ceramics, 1679-1687).

15·   E. Sizgek and G.Devlet Sizgek, Microwave Heated Fluidised Bed Calcination of Waste Containing Ceramic Powders, 8^th International Conference on Microwave High Frequency Heating, Bayreuth, Germany, September 2001.

16·    Sizgek G. Devlet, “Thermal Considerations In A Very Deep Borehole Nuclear Waste Repository For Synroc” Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol. 663, pp. 819-826 2000.

17·   G. Devlet Sizgek and E. Sizgek (1999) Isothermal drying of porous ceramic microspheres in a microwave fluidised bed, Proceedings of International Microwave Power Institute 34^th Annual Microwave Symposium, July, 18-21, Arlington, 46-49.

18·   Sizgek G. Devlet, ‘Investigation of Conjugate Heat Transfer in Interim Storage of High Level Radioactive Waste’, Fundamentals of Combined Mode Heat Transfer, L. C. Witte ed., ASME, HTD-Vol 364-1, pp 61-68, Nov. 1999.

19·   G. Devlet Sizgek and E. Sizgek, (1997) Microwave drying characteristics of impregnated synroc ceramic microspheres, Journal of Microwave Power and Electromagnetic Energy, 32, 3, 171-179.

·         Sizgek G.Devlet, Sizgek E. and Hooper J.D., “Pressure Probe Measurements of Turbulent Flow in a Spray Drier with a Rotary Atomiser” Proc. Inter. Conf. on CFD in Mineral and Metal Processing, CSIRO, Melbourne, July 1997, pp 443-451.

20·    Sizgek G.Devlet, Curry-Hyde E. H. and Wainwright M. S "Methanol Synthesis from Synthesis Gas over Cu and ZnO Promoted Cu Surfaces"; Applied Catalysis A:General, 115(1), 15-28, 1994.

21·    Curry-Hyde E. H., Sizgek G.Devlet, Wainwright M. S. and Young D., Improvements to Raney Copper Methanol Synthesis Catalysts Trough Zinc Impregnation, (IV) Pore Structure and the Influence on Activity", Applied Catalysis A:General, 95 (1), 65-74, (1993).

22·   Sizgek G.Devlet, Wang D., Wainwright M.S., Curry-Hyde H. E. "Raney Methanol Synthesis Catalysts-Development for Large Scale Application", APPChE&Chemeca '93, Conference, 1993, Melbourne, Australia.

23·    Sizgek G.Devlet, Curry-Hyde H. E., Wainwright M. S.,           "Preliminary Investigations of Methanol Synthesis in a Membrane Reactor", Chemeca '92, 20th Australasian Chemical Conference 1992, Canberra, Australia.

24·  Sizgek G.Devlet, Mann R., Papazian A., " Experimental and Simulation Studies on a Novel Continuous Flow Resin Polymerisation Reactor", IChemE 17th Annual Meeting, 5th of April 1990, Swansea, England.

25·    Aksan (Sizgek) G. Devlet, Borak F., Onsan Z. I., "Heat Transfer Coefficients in Coiled Stirred-Tank Systems." The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 65, 1013, 1987.

26·   Aksan (Sizgek) G.Devlet, Borak F., Onsan Z. I., "Determination of Heat Transfer Coefficients in Stirred-Tank Systems", Chemistry-86,      Third Chemistry and Chem. Eng. Symp. September 17-20, 1986, Ankara University, Turkey.

PUBLICATIONS (ERDEN SIZGEK)

"Remember, nothing that's good works by itself, just to please you;
you've got to make the damn thing work." -- Thomas A. Edison

"All you need is your eagerness to seek the true understanding of the fundamental knowledge
and the underlying theory; and boundless imagination"-- Ali Erden Sizgek

1-                   Glenna L. Drisko, Maryline Chee Kimling, Nicholas Scales, Andreas Ide, Erden Sizgek, Rachel A. Caruso, and Vittorio Luca, One-Pot Preparation and Uranyl Adsorption Properties of Hierarchically Porous Zirconium Titanium Oxide Beads using Phase Separation Processes to Vary Macropore Morphology, Langmuir 2010, 26(22), 17581–17588.

2-                   Glenna Drisko, Vittorio Luca, Erden Sizgek, Nicholas Scale and Rachel A. Caruso, Part 3: Sol-gel and template synthesis of hierarchical titanium zirconium oxides for the sorption of vanadium, in preparation.

3-                   G. Devlet Sizgek, Christopher S. Griffith, Erden Sizgek, and Vittorio Luca, Mesoporous Zirconium Titanium Oxides. Part 3: Synthesis and Adsorption Properties of Unfunctionalized and Phosphonate-Functionalized Hierarchical Polyacrylonitrile-F-127-Templated Beads, Langmuir 2009, 25(19), 11874–11882.

4-                   Vittorio Luca, Bin Yang, Ilkay Yaman, Christopher S. Griffith, Nicholas Scales and Erden Sizgek, Adsorption of Lanthanides by AyMoxW1-xO3 Hexagonal Tungsten Bronzes and Prospects for their Potential Use as Recyclable Inert Matrix Fuels, ATALANTE 2008 Montpellier (France)         May 19-22, 2008.

5-                   Christopher S. Griffith, Erden Sizgek, Devlet Sizgek and Vittorio Luca “Potential Process for the Decontamination of Pyroelectrometallurgical LiCl-KCl Eutectic Salt Electrolyte” ATALANTE 2008 Montpellier (France)             May 19-22, 2008.

6-                   Christopher S. Griffith, Devlet Sizgek, Erden Sizgek, Pat Yee, Nicholas Scales and Vittorio Luca” Mesoporous Zirconium Titanium Oxides. Part 1. Porosity Modulation and Adsorption Properties of Xerogels” Langmuir, 2008, 24, (21) 12312-12322.

7-                   Devlet Sizgek, Erden Sizgek, Christopher S. Griffith and Vittorio Luca, “Mesoporous Zirconium Titanium Oxides. Part 2. Synthesis, Porosity and Adsorption Properties of Beads”  Langmuir, 2008, 24 (21) 12323-12330.

8-                   Devlet Sizgek, Christopher Griffith, Erden Sizgek and Vittorio Luca “Synthesis and Adsorption Properties of Polyacrylonitrile Bead-Templated Zirconium Titanes with hierarchical porosity” 2008 Chem. Com. (submitted).

9-                   E. Sizgek and G.D. Sizgek, Immobilisation of Radioactive Waste Solutions with Ceramic Precursor Processing” Materials and Austceram 2007, Sydney, Australia, 4-6 July 2007.

10-               G.J. Oberman, T.W. Farre, I.W. Turner and E. Sizgek, Drying of a liquid suspended in a binary atmosphere, Fifth International Conference on CFD in the Process Industries, CSIRO, Melbourne, Australia, 13-15 December 2006.

11-               G.J. Parsons, G.D. Sizgek, E. Sizgek, D. Kemp, Process development for Processing of (a) Low Level Sludges and (b) Intermediate Level Liquid Waste at ANSTO, IAEA Coordinated Research Project Meeting for “New Developments and Improvements in Processing of Problematic Radioactive Waste Streams”, Mumbai, India, November 2006.

12-               G.D. Sizgek and E. Sizgek, “Development of an Immobilisation Technology for Radioactive Waste Solutions from Mo-99 Production” Waste Management 2006, 25 February 2006 Tucson, Arizona USA.

13-               G. J. Oberman, T. W. Farrell, E. Sizgek, Drying of a liquid droplet suspended in its own vapour, ANZIAM Journal, 46E, C1155-C1169, 2006.

14-               E. Sizgek, “From Concept to Application, From Laboratory to Plant” Conference for ARC Centre for Functional Nanomaterials, 30^th November 2005, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.

15-               G J Parsons, G D Sizgek, E Sizgek, K Fernando, K Lucas, Process Development for Handling, Treatment, Packaging and Disposal of Radioactive Wastes at ANSTO, IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project Meeting for “New Developments and Improvements in Processing of ‘Problematic’ Radioactive Waste Streams”, May 2005, Kiev (Russia).

16-               Christophe Barbé, Sandrine Calleja, Linggen Kong, Elizabeth Drabarek, Alexandra Bush, Erden Sizgek, and Kim Finnie (2004) Sol-Gel Silica Particles for Controlled Release Applications, MRS Proceedings Volume 847.

17-               Y.J. Hong, M.P. Brungs, R.P. Chaplin & E. Sizgek (2004) Crystallisation of titania prepared via peroxo and normal sol-gel route, , Journal of Sol Gel Science and Technology, 31, 79-82.

18-               G. J. Oberman, T. W. Farrell, E. Sizgek, Drying of a liquid droplet suspended in its own vapour, The 12th Biennial Computational Techniques and Applications Conference, September 27, 2004, Melbourne.

19-               K. Wongcharee, M. Brungs, R. Chaplin, Y.J. Hong, E. Sizgek, (2004) Influence of Surfactant and Humidity on Sol-Gel Macroporous Organosilicate Coatings, Journal of Sol Gel Science and Technology, 29, Issue2, 115-124.

20-               V. Vegh and I Turner, E. Sizgek, G. D. Sizgek, (2004) Numerical Validation of Microwave Heated Fluidised Bed Calcination of Waste Containing Ceramic Powders, ANZIAM J., 45 (E), C100-C115.

21-               J.R.Bartlett, E.Sizgek, K.S.Finnie, S.Lyonnard and Th.Zemb "Structural evolution and interaction. potentials in multicomponent nanoparticles and spray-dried powders", Nanoparticles and Nanoporous Materials for Environment and Energy Applications (Sydney, January 2004)

22-               Y.J. Hong, M.P. Brungs, R.P. Chaplin & E. Sizgek,Crystallisation of titania prepared via peroxo and normal sol-gel route, 12^th International Workshop on Sol-Gel Science and Technology,  Sol-Gel 2003, August 24-29 Sydney.

23-               M. G. Wheatley, A. M. McDonagh, M. P. Brungs, R. P. Chaplin and E. Sizgek (2003) A Study of Reverse Bias in a Dye Sensitised Photoelectrochemical Device. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 76, 2, 175-181.

24-               S. Lyonnard, J.R. Bartlett, E. Sizgek, K.S. Finnie, Th. Zemb and J.L. Woolfrey (2002) The role of interparticle potential in controlling the morphology of spray-dried powders from aqueous nanoparticle sols, Langmuir, 18, 10386-10397.

25-               E. Sizgek, G. D. Sizgek, V. Vegh and I Turner, Microwave Heated Fluidised Bed Calcination of Waste Containing Ceramic Powders, 3rd World Conference on Microwave & Radio Frequency Applications, Sydney, September 23-26, 2002.

26-               K. Wongcharee, M. Brungs, R. Chaplin, R. Pillar, Y.J. Hong & E. Sizgek, Coatings by Incorporation of Polyethylene Glycol in Acid Catalysed Sols, Ausceram 2002, Perth.

27-               Y.J. Hong, M.P. Brungs, R.P. Chaplin & E. Sizgek, The Effect of Film Morphology on Crack Resistance in Peroxo-Titania/PEG System, Ausceram 2002, Perth.

28-               K. Wongcharee, M. Brungs,R.Chaplin, Y.J. Hong, R. Pillar, and E. Sizgek (2002) Sol-Gel Processing by Aging and Pore Creator Addition for Porous  Silica Antireflective Coatings. Journal of Sol Gel Science and Technology, 25, 3, 215-221.

29-               E. Sizgek and G.D. Sizgek (2002) Drying Characteristic of Porous Ceramic Microspheres in a Microwave Heated Fluidised Bed, Chemical Engineering and Technology, 25, 3, 287-292.

30-               E. Sizgek and D. Sizgek, Microwave Heated Fluidised Bed Calcination of Waste Containing Ceramic Powders, 8^th International Conference on Microwave High Frequency Heating, Bayreuth, Germany, September 2001.

31-               J.R. Bartlett*, S. Lyonnard, E. Sizgek, K.S. Finnie, Th. Zemb and J.L. Woolfrey, The role of interparticle potential in controlling the morphology of spray-dried powders from aqueous nanoparticle sols, Sol-Gel 2001, XI International Workshop on Glasses, Ceramics, Hybrids and  Nanocomposites from Gels, 16-21 September 2001 Abano Terme, Padova, Italy.

32-               J.R. Bartlett, S. Lyonard, E. Sizgek, K.S. Finnie and Th. Zemb, The Role of Interparticle Potential in Controlling the Morphology of Spray-Dried Powders from Nanoparticle Sols (2001) 75^th, American Chemical Society Colloid and Surface Science Symposium, June 10-13, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

33-               Y.J. Hong, M.P. Brungs, R.P. Chaplin and E. Sizgek (2001) Preparation and characterisation of sol-gel derived TiO₂ films, Journal of the Australasian Ceramic Society, Vol. 37, no. 1 pp 17-26.

34-               M.G. Wheatley, M.P. Brungs, R.P. Chaplin and E. Sizgek (2001) Study of reactive magnetron sputtered titanium dioxide films for use in the Gratzel photoelectrochemical cell, Journal of the Australasian Ceramic Society, Vol. 37, no. 1 pp 27-34.

35-               S. Lyonnard , O. Spalla and Th. Zemb, J.R Bartlett, E. Sizgek, K.S Finnie and J.L. Woolfrey, (2000) Compaction of inorganic nanoparticles during spray drying: Powder porosity and granularity, Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXIV, 2000, MRS Fall meeting, August 28 -31, Sydney.

36-               M. G. Wheatley, M. P. Brungs, R. P. Chaplin and E. Sizgek, (2000) Study of reactive magnetron sputtered titanium dioxide films for use in the Gratzel photoelectrochemical cell, Austceram 2000, June 25-28, Sydney, Australia.

37-               K. Wongcharee, , M. P. Brungs, R. P. Chaplin and E. Sizgek, (2000) Sol-gel processing for porous silica antireflective coatings, Austceram 2000, June 25-28, Sydney, Australia.

38-               Y. J. Hong, M. P. Brungs, R. P. Chaplin and E. Sizgek, (2000) Preparation and characterization of sol-gel derived TiO₂ thick films, Austceram 2000, June 25-28, Sydney, Australia.

39-               G. D. Sizgek and E. Sizgek (1999) Isothermal drying of porous ceramic microspheres in a microwave fluidised bed, Proceedings of International Microwave Power Institute 34^th Annual Microwave Symposium, July, 18-21, Arlington, 46-49.

40-               S. Lyonnard , O. Spalla and Th. Zemb, J.R Bartlett, E. Sizgek, K.S Finnie and J.L. Woolfrey, (1999) Porosity and Structure of Nanoparticle Aggregates in Spray-Dried Microspheres, Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXIII, 1999 MRS Fall meeting, November 29 - December 2, Boston.

41-               Th. Zemb, S. Lyonnard , O. Spalla, L. Belloni, J.R Bartlett, E. Sizgek, K.S Finnie and J.L. Woolfrey, (1999) Salt effects on the pre-aggregation of nanoparticles, Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXIII, 1999 MRS Fall meeting, November 29 - December 2, Boston.

42-               E. Sizgek, J. R. Bartlett, M. P. Brungs, (1998) Production of titanate microspheres by sol-gel and spray-drying, Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology, 1-3, 1011-1016.

43-               G. D. Sizgek and E. Sizgek, (1997) Microwave drying characteristics of impregnated synroc ceramic microspheres, Journal of Microwave Power and Electromagnetic Energy, 32, 3, 171-179.

44-               Sizgek G.D., Sizgek E. and Hooper J.D., “ Pressure Probe Measurements of Turbulent Flow in a Spray Drier with a Rotary Atomiser” Proc. Inter. Conf. on CFD in Mineral and Metal Processing, CSIRO, Melbourne, July 1997, pp 443-451.

45-               E. Sizgek, J. R. Bartlett, E. R. Vance and M. P. Brungs, (1996) Production of titanate microspheres by sol-gel and spray drying, Pacrim-2, 15-17 July Cairns, Australia.

46-               E. Sizgek, J. R. Bartlett and J. L. Woolfrey, E. R. Vance, (1994) Production of Synroc Ceramics from titanate gel microspheres, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol.333, 305-312.

47-               J.R. Bartlett, E. Sizgek, J. L. Woofrey, E.R. Vance and P. Gerontopoulos (1993) Production of Synroc ceramics from porous sol-gel microspheres, Ceramica Acta, 3/93, 29-43.

48-               E. Sizgek, J. R. Bartlett and J. L. Woolfrey, (1992) Production of porous titanate microspheres by spray drying of sols, Austceram 92, Melbourne, Proceedings of the International Ceramic Conference, Ed. M. J. Bannister, 1185-1191.

49-               Y. Yagci, A. C. Aydogan, A. E. Sizgek, (1984) Influence of the Cationic Salt on Free-Radical Polymerization Initiated by Phenylazotriphenylmethane, Journal of Polymer Science Part C-Polymer Letters, Vol 22, 2, pp 103-106.

50-               E. Sizgek (2002) Workshop Notes, Microwave-heated fluidised bed, 3rd World Conference on Microwave & Radio Frequency Applications, Sydney.

PATENT

1-                  E. Sizgek and D. Sizgek (2004) WO2004/008809A1, Method and Apparatus for Controlling Microwave Energy Transmitted to a Fluidised Bed.

KNOW-HOW

1                    E. Sizgek and D. Sizgek, J. Bartlett (2001) Process and apparatus for the immobilisation of liquid nuclear waste.

2                    E. Sizgek and J. Bartlett (2002) Preparation of concentrated inorganic sols and production of ceramic microspheres.

3                    E. Sizgek and D. Sizgek (2003) Method of producing stable colloids, for loading liquid component in those, and for calcinating to produce component bearing powders.

4                    E. Sizgek and D. Sizgek (2003) Method of producing synroc powders by sol-gel spray calcination.

Media Release 6 September 2005

Liquid Waste to Turn Rock-Solid in World-First

In a world-first, construction of a plant to transform liquid radioactive waste into synthetic rock is now underway in Australia, reported Velocity today, ANSTO’s free, on-line science magazine.
Synroc technology will be used to turn waste from ANSTO’s medical radioisotope production into a structure that mimics rock in nature, forever trapping the radioactive products inside, explained Dr George Collins, ANSTO Chief of Research.
“Just like in nature, where some minerals trap radioactive materials in their crystal structure, such as uranium and thorium, synroc is designed to do the same with radioactive waste,” said Dr Collins.
“The idea is that if nature’s rocks can contain radioactive substances for millions of years then so can synroc,” he said. “This will ensure radioactive waste stays safely locked away until radioactive levels have died away, a process that can take thousands of years.
“It also means that if water did come in contact with the rock the water would not become contaminated.”
The technology to build the on-site plant was ten years in development and has become a reality thanks to the work of husband and wife scientist-engineers Dr Erden and Dr Devlet Sizgek and a team of ANSTO engineers.
The team has almost completed a full-scale mock-up immobilisation plant which is required to test custom-built equipment needed to process the radioactive material.
“The equipment must be tested and be in working order before it can be placed in a ‘hot’ cell which is specially shielded to handle radioactive material,” said Dr Collins.
“Obviously to go in and out of a radioactive area frequently is not desirable, hence the machinery must be thoroughly tested before we actually start the process,” said Dr Collins.
“Erden’s work was focussed on developing the process by which the radioactive waste is combined with the other ingredients of synroc, while Devlet led the project during the technology development phase.
“ANSTO engineers have also played a key role in building the plant and making new equipment, it is a real team effort,” concluded Dr Collins.
Once synroc is produced it is placed in cans and safely stored in a waste repository either above or below ground. Although the radioactive molecules are locked away in the synroc and cannot get out, the rock still emits radioactivity.
The full story on the work can be found at http://velocity.ansto.gov.au

World first: synroc plant on site

The world's first synroc plant is being built on site and will be operational within the next three years. Construction of the plant, which will transform liquid molybdenum-99 radioactive waste into synthetic rock, is now underway. “Synroc technology will be used to turn waste from ANSTO’s medical radioisotope production into a structure that mimics rock in nature, forever trapping the radioactive products inside,” explained Dr George Collins. “Just like in nature, where some minerals trap radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium in their crystal structure, synroc is designed to trap radioactive waste,” said George. “This will ensure radioactive waste stays safely locked away until radioactive levels have died away, a process  that can take thousands of years.” Synroc was developed in the late 1970s at the Australian National University and later at ANSTO by a team of scientists. The technology to build the on-site plant was developed over ten years and has become a reality thanks to the work of husband and wife scientist- engineers Dr Erden and Dr Devlet Sizgek and a team of ANSTO engineers.

Erden's first step was to develop the technology to produce the precursor powders to be mixed with the radioactive waste before heat pressing into synroc. "This powder-making process is called solgel," Erden explained. "A 'sol' being a colloidal suspension of solid particles in a liquid medium which turns into a 'gel' when particles link-up to form a semi-solid." According to Erden, the sol-gel process is similar to how yogurt and cheese are made. "Milk consists of minute particles of fat and protein suspended in water, then a microbial reaction involving yeast causes the suspended particles to gel into a homogeneous mass," he said.

Devlet joined the effort at the next stage: developing the full-scale equipment required to mix the powders and waste. Although Devlet arrived at ANSTO nearly three years after her husband, she was already very familiar with his work. She led the project during the technology development phase. "Being married and working together had its pros and cons, but the pros outweighed the cons," Devlet explained. "Our strong commitment  to the project may not have existed had we not been so closely linked." “ANSTO engineers have also played a key role in building the plant and making new equipment, it is a real team effort,” concluded George.

The team have almost completed a fullscale mock-up synroc plant which is required to test custom-built equipment needed to process the radioactive material. “The equipment must be tested and be in working order before it can be placed in a ‘hot’ cell which is specially shielded to handle radioactive material,” said George. Once synroc is produced it is placed in cans and safely stored in a waste repository either above or below ground. Although the radioactive molecules are locked away in the synroc and cannot get out, the rock still emits radioactivity.

Rock-solid radioactive waste

For the first time ever a technology known as synroc will turn liquid radioactive waste into synthetic rock. Just like in nature, where some rock minerals trap radioactive materials (such as uranium and thorium) in their crystal structure.

The idea was that if nature's rocks can safely contain radioactive substances within their structure for millions of years, then surely synthetic rock would be ideal to store man-made radioactive waste.

Designed to mimic the rocks' natural processes, synroc was developed in the late 1970s at the Australian National University and later at ANSTO (the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) by a team of scientists.

ANSTO will be the world's first facility to turn liquid waste from molybdenum-99 radioisotope production into synroc. The technology will be in operation within the next three years.

ANSTO's technology has been 10 years in the making, and is now becoming reality by applying it to a molybdenum waste immobilisation project. This is thanks to the dedication and hard work of husband and wife scientist-engineers Dr Erden and Dr Devlet Sizgek, and a team of ANSTO engineers.

The team has nearly finished a full-scale mock-up of the plant, designed to test custom-built equipment needed to process the material. This must be achieved before a real 'hot' cell plant is built and actual radioactive material is handled. Before reaching this current crucial mock-up stage, however, the production process had to be scoped, investigated and refined.

Erden's first ANSTO synroc task was to develop a technology to produce the precursor powders needed to be mixed with the radioactive waste before - using heat and pressure - it could be pressed into synroc.

"We have expert group of scientists in ANSTO who can tailor the chemical composition of synroc to fit the waste to be immobilised," he said.

"My first challenge was to develop the ceramic precursor powder-making process, which is called sol-gel process," Erden explained. "A 'sol' being a colloidal suspension of solid particles in a liquid medium which turns into a 'gel' when the particles link-up to form a semi-solid."

Erden (left) and Devlet Sizgek inside the mock-up cell.

According to Erden, the sol-gel process is not dissimilar to how yogurt and cheese are made. "Milk consists of minute particles of fat and protein suspended in water, then a microbial reaction involving yeast causes the suspended particles to gel into a homogeneous mass," he said.

Following Erden's success making the Synroc precursor powder on an industrial scale, there was then a need to develop another technology: the full-scale equipment required to mix the precursor powder with liquid radioactive material. It was at this time that Erden and Devlet joined forces.

Devlet arrived at ANSTO nearly three years after Erden but was already very familiar with his work. She led the project during the technology development phase.

"Over time the technology was perfected and we refined the process by which we change the liquid waste into a dry powder in a controlled manner, avoiding what we call the 'slurry' phase" she said.

"Being married and working together had its pros and cons, but we believe the pros outweighed the cons," Devlet explained. "Our strong commitment to the project may not have existed had we not been so closely linked."

There was a downside, however. "Because we live under the same roof we naturally talk a lot about work at home," she laughed. "As Project Leader I sometimes had to discuss project matters with Erden over the dinner table!"

Devlet and Erden said the building of the mock-up plant to simulate 'hot cell' operations has been a true team effort. During its development about two dozen people have worked hard to make the mock-up cell a reality.

Erden and Devlet are adamant about the project's Australian roots. "Synroc is based on 100 per cent Australian research," they said. "We may have originally come from Turkey but as far as we are concerned, the science and technology we have conducted is totally Australian, as we now are."

Fast-bake fix straight from nuclear kitchen

Binding ties … Erden Sizgek and his wife, Devlet Sizgek, with a mock-up of the synroc plant.
Photo: Bob Pearce

The Sydney Morning Herald

By Richard Macey
April 26, 2006

ALMOST three decades after it was proclaimed the solution to the world's nuclear waste problem, construction of the first synroc plant is about to begin.
Unveiled in 1978 by Ted Ringwood, a geochemist from the Australian National University, synroc, or synthetic rock, was said to copy the way nature locked up radioactivity in the earth. But when Professor Ringwood died in 1993 there was little to show for his revolutionary idea.
"Synroc had a marketing problem," said George Collins, chief of research at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) at Lucas Heights. "It was designed for high-level waste, concentrated waste from the reprocessing of fuel from nuclear power stations. But not many countries have high-level waste."
But Dr Collins said synroc was "still a good idea". Instead of high-level nuclear waste, the synroc plant, to be operational in about two years, will store 5700 litres of intermediate-level waste produced at Lucas Heights during 30 years of making radioactive pharmaceuticals.
The waste, from an isotope called molybdenum-99, will be bound into artificial rock made from titanium oxide, using a process Dr Collins described as similar to baking a cake.
It re-created conditions near the planet's centre that naturally trapped radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium inside the crystal structures of rocks for millions of years.
The technique has been refined at ANSTO by a team led by a Turkish-born couple, Dr Erden Sizgek and his wife, Dr Devlet Sizgek, who have completed a scale mock-up of the synroc plant, often hammering out technical details over the dinner table.
The synroc and its waste would be put into cans and stored for ever at the proposed Northern Territory nuclear waste depot.