Evaluation of alternatives for best available technology treatment and retreatment of uranium-contaminated wastewater at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant C-400 Facility

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6086339

Del Cul, G D; Osborne, P E; Beck, D E

The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) C-400 Decontamination Facility generates aqueous solutions that originate in drum washing, machine parts and equipment cleaning, and other decontamination processes. The chemical composition of the waste depends on the particular operation involved. In general, the waste contains uranyl, fluoride, carbonate, and nitrate ions, plus soaps, detergents, secondary contaminants, and particulate matter. The uranium content is rather variable ranging between 0.5 and 30 g/l. The main contaminants are fluoride, technetium, uranium, and other heavy metals. The plan included (1) a literature search to support best available technology (BAT) evaluation of treatment alternatives, (2) a quality assurance/quality control plan, (3) suggestion of alternative treatment options, (4) bench-scale tests studies of the proposed treatment alternatives, and (5) establishment of the final recommendation. The following report records the evaluation of items (1) to (3) of the action plan for the BAT evaluation of alternatives for the treatment and retreatment of uranium-contaminated wastewater at the PGDP C-400 treatment facility. After a thorough literature search, five major technologies were considered: (1) precipitation/coprecipitation, (2) reverse osmosis, (3) ultrafiltration, (4) supported liquid membranes, and (5) ion exchange. Biosorption was also considered, but as it is a fairly new technology with few demonstrations of its capabilities, it is mentioned only briefly in the report. Based on C-400's requirements and facilities, the precipitation/coprecipitation process appears to be the best suited for use at the plant. Four different treatment options using the precipitation/coprecipitation technology are proposed. Bench-scale studies of the four options are suggested. 37 refs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge K-25 Site, TN (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OT21400
• OSTI ID: 6086339
• Report Number(s): K/QT-394-Pt.1; ON: DE91009877
• 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
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CLEANING
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COPRECIPITATION
COST ESTIMATION
DECONTAMINATION
DIFFUSION
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
FILTRATION
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANTS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
ION EXCHANGE
IRON
ISOTOPE SEPARATION PLANTS
LIQUID WASTES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATERIALS RECOVERY
MEMBRANES
METALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
OSMOSIS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PADUCAH PLANT
PEROXIDES
PRECIPITATION
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RECOVERY
REMOVAL
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SUPPORTED LIQUID MEMBRANES
TECHNETIUM
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
ULTRAFILTRATION
URANIUM
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTE WATER
WASTES
WATER