Recycle and biodestruction of hazardous nitrate wastes

Conference · Mon Jan 12 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6860467

Napier, J M; Kosinski, F E

The US Department of Energy (DOE) owns the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The plant is operated for DOE by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. One of the plant's functions involves the purification and recycling of uranium wastes. The uranium recycle operation uses nitric acid in a solvent extraction purification process, and a waste stream containing nitric acid and other impurities is generated. Before 1976 the wastes were discarded into four unlined percolation ponds. In 1976, processes were developed and installed to recycle 50% of the wastes and to biologically decompose the rest of the nitrates. In 1983 process development studies began for in situ treatment of the four percolation ponds, and the ponds were treated and discharged by May 1986. The treatment processes involved neutralization and precipitation to remove metallic impurities, followed by anaerobic denitrification to reduce the 40,000 ug/g nitrate concentration to less than 50 ug/g. The final steps included flocculation and filtration. Approximately 10 million gallons of water in the ponds were treated and discharged.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OS21400
• OSTI ID: 6860467
• Report Number(s): Y/DZ-234; CONF-870377-1; ON: DE87005914
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
520300* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ANAEROBIC CONDITIONS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NITRATES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PONDS
PROCESSING
REPROCESSING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SURFACE WATERS
TOXIC MATERIALS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
Y-12 PLANT