Development of Novel Foaming Solutions for High Level Waste (HLW) Processing

Technical Report · Tue Sep 25 04:00:00 EDT 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1475272· OSTI ID:1475272

Lambert, D. P. ^[1]; Howe, A. M. ^[1]; Woodham, W. H. ^[1]; Newell, D. J. ^[1]; Adamson, D. J. ^[1]; Kinard, M. E. ^[1]; Earls, T. L. ^[1]; Timmerman, V. B. ^[1]; Golcar, G. R. ^[1]; Ramsey, A. A. ^[1]

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1. Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)

Foaming occurs during treatment of high level waste (HLW) at Savannah River Site’s Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) in the Chemical Process Cell (CPC) due to high gas generation from process steam and chemical off gas products. The presence of amphiphilic particles in the waste slurry stabilizes the foam. Efficient processing of HLW requires foam control, as foamovers lead to lower productivity and potential radioactive contamination of condensate streams. DWPF currently employs Antifoam 747, a surfactant produced by Momentive Performance Materials, as an antifoaming agent during waste treatment. While it controls foam, processing issues have arisen from its use. During DWPF chemical processing, antifoam must be effective up to 103°C and between a pH range of 3-13. Antifoam 747 is efficient at pH 6-8 but degrades outside this optimal pH range. Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has identified multiple flammable antifoam degradation products during laboratory scale experiments.

• Research Organization: Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-08SR22470
• OSTI ID: 1475272
• Report Number(s): LDRD--2018-00045
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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