Technetium Retention in WTP LAW Glass with Recycle Flow-Sheet: DMIO Melter Testing

Technical Report · Mon Jun 18 04:00:00 EDT 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1059435· OSTI ID:1059435

Matlack, Keith S. ^[1]; Abramowitz, Howard ^[1]; Brandys, Marek ^[1]; Muller, Isabelle S. ^[1]; Callow, Richard A. ^[2]; D'Angelo, Nicholas ^[1]; Cecil, Richard ^[1]; Joseph, Innocent ^[2]; Pegg, Ian L. ^[3]

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1. The Catholic Univ. of America, Washington, DC (United States)
2. EnergySolutions, Federal EPC, Inc., Columbia, MD (United States)
3. EnergySolutions, Federal EPC, Inc., Columbia, MD (United States); The Catholic Univ. of America, Washington, DC (United States)

Melter tests were conducted to determine the retention of technetium and other volatiles in glass while processing simulated Low Activity Waste (LAW) streams through a DM10 melter equipped with a prototypical off-gas system that concentrates and recycles fluid effluents back to the melter feed. To support these tests, an existing DM10 system installed at Vitreous State Laboratory (VSL) was modified to add the required recycle loop. Based on the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) LAW off-gas system design, suitably scaled versions of the Submerged Bed Scrubber (SBS), Wet Electrostatic Precipitator (WESP), and TLP vacuum evaporator were designed, built, and installed into the DM10 system. Process modeling was used to support this design effort and to ensure that issues associated with the short half life of the ^99mTc radioisotope that was used in this work were properly addressed and that the system would be capable of meeting the test objectives. In particular, this required that the overall time constant for the system was sufficiently short that a reasonable approach to steady state could be achieved before the ^99mTc activity dropped below the analytical limits of detection. The conceptual design, detailed design, flow sheet development, process model development, Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID) development, control system design, software design and development, system fabrication, installation, procedure development, operator training, and Test Plan development for the new system were all conducted during this project. The new system was commissioned and subjected to a series of shake-down tests before embarking on the planned test program. Various system performance issues that arose during testing were addressed through a series of modifications in order to improve the performance and reliability of the system. The resulting system provided a robust and reliable platform to address the test objectives.

• Research Organization: Hanford Site (HNF), Richland, WA (United States); USDOE Office of River Protection (ORP), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM)
• DOE Contract Number: AC27-08RV14800
• OSTI ID: 1059435
• Report Number(s): RPP--54130-REV.0; VSL-12R2640-1; VSL-12R2640-1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES