Operation of the radioactive acid digestion test unit

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:5229619

Blasewitz, A. G.; Allen, C. R.; Lerch, R. E.; Ely, P. C.; Richardson, G. L.

The Radioactive Acid Digestion Test Unit (RADTU) has been constructed at Hanford to demonstrate the application of the Acid Digestion Process for treating combustible transuranic wastes and scrap materials. The RADTU with its original tray digestion vessel has recently completed a six-month campaign processing potentially contaminated nonglovebox wastes from a Hanford plutonium facility. During this campaign, it processed 2100 kg of largely cellulosic wastes at an average sustained processing rate of 3 kg/h as limited by the water boiloff rate from the acid feeds. The on-line operating efficiency was nearly 50% on a twelve hour/day, five day/week basis. Following this campaign, a new annular high rate digester has been installed for testing. In preliminary tests with simulated wastes, the new digester demonstrated a sustained capacity of 10 kg/h with greatly improved intimacy of contact between the digestion acid and the waste. The new design also doubles the heat transfer surface, which with reduced heat loss area, is expected to provide at least three times the water boiloff rate of the previous tray digester design. Following shakedown testing with simulated and low-level wastes, the new unit will be used to process combustible plutonium scrap and waste from Hanford plutonium facilities for the purposes of volume reduction, plutonium recovery, and stabilization of the final waste form.

• Research Organization: Hanford Engineering Development Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC14-76FF02170
• OSTI ID: 5229619
• Report Number(s): HEDL-SA-1967; CONF-800611-9
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ACTINIDES
CARBOHYDRATES
CELLULOSE
CHEMICAL REACTORS
DIAGRAMS
DIGESTION
ELEMENTS
ENERGY BALANCE
FLOWSHEETS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIAL BALANCE
METALS
NITRIC ACID
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE
PLUTONIUM
POLYSACCHARIDES
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SACCHARIDES
SIMULATION
SULFURIC ACID
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES