Reaction of formic and nitric acids with Savannah River Site radioactive HLW sludge in the DWPF pretreatment steps
- Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
- Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)
The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) will combine borosilicate frit with highly radioactive waste sludge to produce glass waste forms for disposal. A key step in the DWPF will be acidification of the sludge with formic and nitric acids prior to vitrification. The reducing properties of formic acid will be used to reduce mercury (II) oxide and salts to elemental mercury. The mercury will then be steam-stripped, recovered, and purified. Another benefit of acidifying the sludge will be to reduce its viscosity so that a sludge-frit mixture can be pumped to the melter. The sludge viscosity decreases with pH as various sludge components dissolve with increasing acidity.
- Research Organization:
- Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-89SR18035
- OSTI ID:
- 10128077
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-MS--93-563; CONF-940225--42; ON: DE94007279
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
052002
054000
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
400700
ACIDIFICATION
CESIUM 137
FORMIC ACID
HEALTH AND SAFETY
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MERCURY
NITRIC ACID
RADIOCHEMISTRY AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
REDUCTION
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
SLUDGES
STRONTIUM 90
TANKS
UNDERGROUND STORAGE
VITRIFICATION
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE DISPOSAL AND STORAGE
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING