Remediation on off-gas system deposits in a radioactive waste glass melter
Since the early 1980's, research glass melters have been used at the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) to develop the reference vitrification process for immobilization of high level radioactive waste. One of the operating concerns for these melters has been the pluggage of the off-gas system with solid deposits. Samples of these deposits were analyzed to be mixture of alkali-rich chlorides, sulfates, borates, and fluorides with entrained Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} spinel, and frit particles. The spatial distribution of these deposits throughout the off-gas system indicates that they form by vapor-phase transport and subsequently condensation. Condensation of the alkali-rich phases cements entrained particulates causing the off-gas line to plug. It is concluded that off-gas system pluggage can be effectively controlled by maintaining the off-gas velocity above 16 m/s, while maintaining the off-gas temperature as high as practical below the glass softening point. This paper summarizes the results of chemical and physical analyses of off-gas deposit samples from various melters at SRL. Recent design changes made to the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) to alleviate the pluggage problem are also discussed.
- Research Organization:
- Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-89SR18035
- OSTI ID:
- 5788455
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-MS-91-400; CONF-911040-12; ON: DE92008827
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International waste management conference, Seoul (Korea, Republic of), 21-26 Oct 1991
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Glass melter off-gas system pluggages: Cause, significance, and remediation
Glass melter off-gas system pluggages: Cause, significance, and remediation
Related Subjects
CERAMIC MELTERS
OFF-GAS SYSTEMS
BUILDUP
BORATES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHLORIDES
FLUORIDES
IRON OXIDES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
REMEDIAL ACTION
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
SPINELS
SULFATES
VITRIFICATION
BORON COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ELECTRIC FURNACES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
FURNACES
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
IRON COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
MINERALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
OXIDE MINERALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
052001* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing