Hydrogen anode for nitrate waste destruction. Revision 2
- Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
- Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
Large quantities of radioactive and hazardous wastes have been generated from nuclear materials production during the past fifty years. Processes are under evaluation to separate the high level radioactive species from the waste and store them permanently in the form of durable solids. The schemes proposed will separate the high level radioactive components, cesium-137 and strontium-90, into a small volume for incorporation into a glass wasteform. The remaining low-level radioactive waste contain species such as nitrites and nitrates that are capable of contaminating ground water. Electrochemical destruction of the nitrate and nitrite before permanent storage has been proposed. Not only will the electrochemical processing destroy these species, the volume of the waste could also be reduced. The use of a hydrogen gas-fed anode and an acid anolyte in an electrochemical cell used to destroy nitrate was demonstrated. A mixed Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4}/H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} anolyte was shown to favor the nitrate cell performance, and the generation of a higher hydroxide ion concentration in the catholyte. The suggested scheme is an apparent method of sodium sulfate disposal and a possible means through which ammonia (to ammonium sulfate, fertilizer) and hydrogen gas could be recycled through the anode side of the reactor. This could result in a substantial savings in the operation of a nitrate destruction cell.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-89SR18035
- OSTI ID:
- 392770
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-MS-95-0193-Rev.2; ON: DE97000431; TRN: 96:029170
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 10 Feb 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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