Electrochemical treatment of alkaline nuclear wastes
- Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (United States); and others
Large quantities of highly radioactive waste have been generated throughout the Department of Energy complex over the past 50 years as a result of the production of special nuclear materials for defense and space programs. These wastes have been stored in underground tanks. Some of the tanks have developed cracks that have allowed waste to leak out of the primary tank. Many of the tanks are operating beyond their design life. Processes are being developed to remove the waste from the storage tanks and permanently dispose of it in engineered wasteforms. The bulk of the radioactivity will be concentrated into approximately 1% of the total waste volume and vitrified. The highly radioactive borosilicate glass wasteform will be placed in the federal repository. The remaining waste, which still contains low concentrations of radioactivity, will be incorporated into a low-level wasteform (e.g., cement, glass, ceramic, polymer, etc.) and placed in a near surface facility at the DOE site. Electrochemical-based processes are being evaluated to destroy organic compounds that impact radionuclide separations processes, to destroy or to remove hazardous species in the waste such as nitrates, nitrites, hazardous metals, and radionuclides that can impact wasteform production and characteristics, recovery chemicals of value such as sodium hydroxide (caustic) that can be recycled. Major benefits of such processes include the destruction or removal of hazardous species, waste volume reduction and the recovery of valuable chemicals contained in the waste.
- OSTI ID:
- 567373
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-961106-; TRN: 98:003323
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 10. international forum on electrolysis in the chemical industry: the power of electrochemistry, Clearwater Beach, FL (United States), 10-14 Nov 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of 10th international forum electrolysis in the chemical industry - the power of electrochemistry; PB: 428 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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