Radioactive waste disposal by hydraulic fracturing
The petroleum industry has developed, largely since World War II, the technique of hydraulic fracturing to increase oil recovery that is today almost universally used in reservoir rocks of low permeability. Single injections of 100,000 gal of oil containing 250,000 lb of sand are not unusual. Much the same equipment and procedure may be used for waste disposal, although there are certain significant differences. The disposal well at Oak Ridge was drilled and cased to a depth of 1,000 ft in shale by using standard-oil-field method. The casing is slotted near the bottom, and for waste disposal, a self-hardening mixture of waste, Portland cement, and clay is pumped down under high pressure to form a widespread, thin, horizontal fracture in the shale in which the waste sets up solid. After 4 injections into the same slot, totaling roughly 500,000 gal, the bottom of the well is plugged and a new slot cut some 10 ft higher up the well. Problems that had to be solved at Oak Ridge to make possible the operational disposal of medium-level radioactive waste were: (1) determining the geometry of the fractures formed in the shale; (2) establishing the formula for satisfactory waste-cement-clay mix; (3) designing and constructing the surface plant; and (4) formulating methods of monitoring the operation. w
- OSTI ID:
- 5323652
- Journal Information:
- Nucl. Saf.; (United States), Journal Name: Nucl. Saf.; (United States) Vol. 11:5; ISSN NUSAA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Radioactive waste disposal by hydraulic fracturing
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Related Subjects
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
052002 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
BUILDING MATERIALS
CEMENTS
CLAYS
COMMINUTION
CONSTRUCTION
CONTROL
DEPTH
DESIGN
DIMENSIONS
DISPERSIONS
DRILLING
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
FAILURES
FEDERAL REGION IV
FLUID INJECTION
FLUID MECHANICS
FOSSIL FUELS
FRACTURES
FRACTURING
FUELS
GEOMETRY
HARDENING
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
HYDRAULICS
INDUSTRY
INJECTION WELLS
INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICS
MECHANICS
MIXTURES
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
OAK RIDGE
PERFORATION
PERMEABILITY
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
PLUGGING
PRESSURE CONTROL
PUMPING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RECOVERY
RESERVOIR ROCK
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SHALES
STIMULATION
TENNESSEE
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
USA
VOLUME
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WELL CASINGS
WELL COMPLETION
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS