Shredder and incinerator technology for treatment of commercial transuranic wastes
This report describes the selection and evaluation of process equipment to accomplish the shredding and incineration of commercial TRU wastes. The primary conclusions derived from this study are: Shredding and incineration technology appears effective for converting simulated commercial TRU wastes to a noncombustible form. The gas-heated controlled-air incinerator received the highest technical ranking. On a scale of 1 to 10, the incinerator had a Figure-of-Merit (FOM) number of 7.0. This compares to an FOM of 6.1 for the electrically heated controlled-air incinerator and an FOM of 5.8 for the rotary kiln incienrator. The present worth costs of the incineration processes for a postulated commercial reprocessing plant were lowest for the electrically heated and gas-heated controlled-air incinerators with costs of $16.3 M and $16.9 M, respectively (1985 dollars). Due to higher capital and operating costs, the rotary kiln process had a present worth cost of $20.8 M. The recommended process from the three evaluated for the commercial TRU waste application is the gas-heated controlled-air incinerator with a single stage of shredding for feed pretreatment. This process had the best cost-effectiveness ratio of 1.0 (normalized). The electrically heated controller-air incinerator had a rating of 1.2 and the rotary kiln rated a 1.5. Most of the simulated wastes were easily processed by the low-speed shredders evaluated. The HEPA filters proved difficult to process, however. Wood-framed HEPA filters tended to ride on the cutter wheels and spacers without being gripped and shredded. The metal-framed HEPA filters and other difficult to shred items caused the shredders to periodically reach the torque limit and go into an automatic reversal cycle; however, the filters were eventually processed by the units. All three incinerators were ineffective for oxidizing the aluminum metal used as spacers in HEPA filters.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 6416563
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-5632; ON: DE86003959
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
INCINERATORS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
SHREDDERS
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
EQUIPMENT
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
052001* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing