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U.S. Department of Energy
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Molten Salt Oxidation of mixed wastes

Conference ·
OSTI ID:113066
; ;  [1]
  1. Rockwell International Corp., Canoga Park, CA (United States). Rocketdyne Div.
Molten Salt Oxidation (MSO) can be characterized as a simple noncombustion process; the basic concept is to introduce air and wastes into a bed of molten salt, oxidize the organic wastes in the molten salt, use the heat of oxidation to keep the salt molten and remove the salt for disposal or processing and recycling. The process has been developed through bench-scale and pilot-scale testing, with successful destruction demonstration of a wide variety of hazardous and mixed (radioactive and hazardous) wastes including chemical warfare agents, combustible solids, halogenated solvents, polychlorinated biphenyls, plutonium-contaminated solids, uranium-contaminated solvents and fission product-contaminated oil. The MSO destruction efficiency of the hazardous organic constituents in the wastes exceeds 99.9999%. Radioactive species, such as actinides and rare earth fission products, are retained in the salt bath. These elements can be recovered from the spent salt using conventional chemical processes, such as ion exchange, to render the salt as nonradioactive and nonhazardous. This paper reviews the principles and capabilities of MSO, previous mixed waste studies, and a new US Department of Energy program to demonstrate the process for the treatment of mixed wastes.
OSTI ID:
113066
Report Number(s):
CONF-930906--; ISBN 0-7918-0691-X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English