IDAHO CHEMICAL PROCESSING PLANT TECHNICAL PROGRESS REPORT FOR APRIL THROUGH JUNE 1959
: 7 4 3 2 6 3 2 6 evaporator tube bundle, after eleven months of plant service in concentrating aluminum nitrate, revealed grain boundary dad end grain attach which would greatly limit its useful life. This bundle was replaced with one constructed of titanium. Test coupons removed from tanks in which high activity wastes were stored indicated essentially no corrosion after four years in aluminum nitrate waste, snd less than 0,2 mils per year corrosion after 2.5 years in zirconium process waste solution. Dilute nitric acid containing mercuric and mercurous nitrates was found to be a useful scrubbing agent for removing iodine from bsrium-140 process off-gas. In studies of process methods for aluminum fuel recovery, the addition of gelatin was found to reduce emulsion formation significantly in laboratory tests with silicon- bearing TBP process feed solutions. Dilute hydrofluoric acid and sodiurn tartrate solution appeared to be more effective than sodium carbonate in reducing the gamma activity of hydrocarbon diluent used to wash uranium product solution. Studies of processing in the acid-deficient region indicated that mercury precipitation and uranium occlusion might limit satisfactory operation to an inter mediately basic composition and only moderately greater aluminum concentration than is possible under acid conditions. It was determined that small amounts of hydrogen peroxide, chromic acid, or permamganate could be used with hydrofluoric acid to produce homogeneous solutions from alloys containing 2 to3 percent uranium in zirconium. Lowest corrosion of Monel occurred with peroxide. Zirconium was dissolved electrolytically in methanol contnining hydrogen chloride. In dissolving irradidted Zircaloy-uramium alloy in molten lead chloride, cesium and cerium were found primarily in the salt phase, while rutheniura accompanied metallic lead. When zirconium was precipitated as barium fluozirconate from ammonium fluoride dissolutions, carrying of uranium was minimized by complexing with chloride or oxalate. Alumina ceramic structures were found to lose mechanical strength when exposed to 8M hydrofluoric acid containing lM nitric scid. Stainless steel fuel elements used in the Organic Moderated Reactor Experiment acquired an organic film which resisted attack by sulfuric acid. Studies of reagents which would remove this film indicated that an oxidizing material normally used for vessel decontamination would accomplish film removal simply and satisfactorily. In other studies of stainless steel fuel processing, it was shown the iron salts markedly reduced the vol-atility of chloride from nitrate solutions. Electrodeposition of metal ions into a mercury cathode from sulfate solutions of stainless steel in the presence of cesium, strontium, and cerium was accomplished with decontamination factors of 400 to 20,000. Polarographic studies indicated the mechanism for chroraium reduction in this process. Excellent performance was obtained from camned rotor pumps with special bearings. A walveless pump and a bellows pulser which are driven by air were preliminarily tested. In development of the fluid bed waste calcination process, a silica gel column was loaded with almost 60 grams of rathenium per cubic foot of gel while main taining high off-gas decontamination. Operation of the NaK-heated pilot plant calciner was continued. in tests of venturi scrubbing of particles from the off-gas, it was noted that high scrubbing efficiency accompanied high pressure drop across the scrabber. Up to 99% of submicron particles were removed by an electrostatic precipitator operating at 10 Wlovolts. Tests of machanical performance of a silica gel absorber bed indicated little decrepitation in a water-saturated bed. The bed effec
- Research Organization:
- Phillips Petroleum Co. Atomic Energy Div., Idaho Falls, Idaho
- DOE Contract Number:
- AT(10-1)-205
- NSA Number:
- NSA-14-016723
- OSTI ID:
- 4136158
- Report Number(s):
- IDO-14494
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-60
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ACIDITY- COLLOIDS- COLOR- DECONTAMINATION- EFFICIENCY- ELECTROSTATICS- EVAPORATION- FILTERS- GASES- HEATING- MEASURED VALUES- NEPTUNIUM- PARTICLES- - POTASSIUM- PRECIPITATION- PRESSURE- QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS- RUTHENIUM- SILICON OXIDES- SODIUM- SOLUTIONS- URANIUM- WASTE PROCESSING- ZIRCONIUM
ADSORPTION- ALLOYS- ALUMINUM- ALUMINUM OXIDES- AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS- CERAMICS- CERIUM- CESIUM- CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS- CORROSION- ELECTROLYSIS- FLUORIDES- HYDROCHLORIC ACID- HYDROFLUORIC ACID- HYDROGEN CHLORIDES- HYDROGEN PEROXIDES- IRRADIATION- LEAD CHLORIDES- MANGANESE COMPOUNDS- MECHANICAL PROPERTIES- MERCURY- METHA