Underground storage tank integrated demonstration: Evaluation of pretreatment options for Hanford tank wastes

Technical Report · Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10167322· OSTI ID:10167322

Lumetta, G J; Wagner, M J; Colton, N G; Jones, E O

Separation science plays a central role inn the pretreatment and disposal of nuclear wastes. The potential benefits of applying chemical separations in the pretreatment of the radioactive wastes stored at the various US Department of Energy sites cover both economic and environmental incentives. This is especially true at the Hanford Site, where the huge volume (>60 Mgal) of radioactive wastes stored in underground tanks could be partitioned into a very small volume of high-level waste (HLW) and a relatively large volume of low-level waste (LLW). The cost associated with vitrifying and disposing of just the HLW fraction in a geologic repository would be much less than those associated with vitrifying and disposing of all the wastes directly. Futhermore, the quality of the LLW form (e.g., grout) would be improved due to the lower inventory of radionuclides present in the LLW stream. In this report, we present the results of an evaluation of the pretreatment options for sludge taken from two different single-shell tanks at the Hanford Site-Tanks 241-B-110 and 241-U-110 (referred to as B-110 and U-110, respectively). The pretreatment options examined for these wastes included (1) leaching of transuranic (TRU) elements from the sludge, and (2) dissolution of the sludge followed by extraction of TRUs and {sup 90}Sr. In addition, the TRU leaching approach was examined for a third tank waste type, neutralized cladding removal waste.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 10167322
• Report Number(s): PNL-8537; ON: DE93016830; TRN: 93:016308
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: Jun 1993
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
VITRIFICATION
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
GROUTING
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
LEACHING
SLUDGES
DISSOLUTION
HANFORD RESERVATION
TANKS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
CARBONATES
STRONTIUM 90
CESIUM 137
TECHNETIUM 99
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
052002
052001
WASTE DISPOSAL AND STORAGE
WASTE PROCESSING