Disintegration and size reduction of slags and metals after melt refining of contaminated metallic wastes

Technical Report · Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1981

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6555130· OSTI ID:6555130

Heshmatpour, B.; Copeland, G. L.; Heestand, R. L.

Melting under an oxidizing slag is an attractive method of decontaminating and reducing the volume of radioactively contaminated metal scrap. The contaminants are concentrated in a relatively small volume of slag, which leaves the metal essentially clean. A potential method of permanently disposing of the resulting slags (and metals if necessary) is emplacing them into deep shale by grout hydrofracture. Suspension in grout mixtures requires that the slag and metal be granular. The feasibility of size-reducing slags and disintegrating metals and subsequently incorporating both into grout mixtures was demonstrated. Various types of slags were crushed with a small jaw crusher into particles smaller than 3 mm. Several metals were also melted and water-blasted into coarse metal powder or shot ranging in size from 0.05 to 3 mm. A simple low-pressure water atomizer having a multiple nozzle with a converging-line jet stream was developed and used for this purpose. No significant slag dust and steam were generated during slag crushing and liquid-metal water-blasting tests, indicating that contamination can be well contained within the system. The crushed slags and the coarse metal powders were suspendable in group fluids, which indicates probable disposability by shale hydrofracture. The granulation of slags and metals facilitates their containment, transport, and storage.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 6555130
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-7671; TRN: 81-007212
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
METALS
DECONTAMINATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
REFINING
CEMENTS
CRUSHING
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
MELTING
NOZZLES
SLAGS
BUILDING MATERIALS
CLEANING
COMMINUTION
ELEMENTS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PROCESSING
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
052001* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing