Segregation of Uranium Metal from K Basin Sludge: Results from Vendor Testing

Technical Report · Tue Sep 21 00:00:00 EDT 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/15009660· OSTI ID:15009660

Schmidt, Andrew J; Elmore, Monte R; Delegard, Calvin H

Under contract to Fluor Hanford, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory directed laboratory, bench-scale, and pilot-scale vendor testing to evaluate the use of commercial gravity mineral concentration technology to remove and concentrate uranium metal from Hanford K Basin sludge. Uranium metal in the sludge corrodes by reacting with water to generate heat and hydrogen gas, and may constrain shipment and disposal of the sludge to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant as remote-handled transuranic waste. Separating uranium metal from the K Basin sludge is expected to be similar to some gold recovery operations. Consequently, the capabilities of commercial gravity mineral concentration technologies were assessed for their applicability to K Basin sludge streams. Overall, the vendor testing demonstrated the technical feasibility of using gravity concentration equipment to separate the K Basin sludge into a high-volume uranium metal-depleted stream and a low-volume uranium metal-rich stream. I n test systems, more than 96% of the uranium metal surrogate was concentrated into 10 to 30% of the sludge mass (7 to 24% of the sludge volume). With more prototypical equipment and stream recycle, higher recoveries may be achieved.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 15009660
• Report Number(s): PNNL-14845; 9304; 830403000; TRN: US0405708
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: 21 Sep 2004
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
08 HYDROGEN
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
GOLD
HYDROGEN
PHOSPHORS
SEGREGATION
SLUDGES
TESTING
URANIUM
WATER
WIPP
SPENT FUELS
NUCLEAR FUELS
ENVIRONMENTAL MOLECULAR SCIENCES LABORATORY
HANFORD K BASIN SLUDGE
K EAST (KE) BASIN
K WEST (KW) BASIN
SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL
SIMULANT
SEPARATION
URANIUM METAL SEGREGATION
GRAVITY MINERAL CONCENTRATION
WASTE ISOLATION PILOT PLANT
DISPOSAL
REMOTE-HANDLED TRANSURANIC WASTE
WASTE TREATMENT
ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT
SHAKER TABLE
CENTRIFUGAL CONCENTRATOR
JIG