Development of a Pulp Process Treating Contaminated HEPA Filters (III)
The Pulp Process (PP) Treatment option was conceived as a replacement for the current Filter Leaching System (FLS). The FLS has operated at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory since 1995 to treat radioactive, mixed waste HEPA filters. In recent years, the FLS has exhibited difficulty in removing mercury from the HEPA filters as the concentration of mercury in the spent HEPA filters has increased. The FLS leaches and washes the whole filter without any preparation or modification. The filter media and the trapped calcine particles are confined in a heavy filter housing that contributes to poor mixing zones around the edges of the filter, low media permeability, channeling of the liquid through cracks and tears in the filter media, and liquid retention between leach and rinse cycles. In the PP, the filter media and the trapped calcine particles are separated from the filter housing and treated as a pulp, taking advantage of improved contact with the leach solution that cannot be achieved when the media is still in the HEPA filter housing. In addition to removing the mercury more effectively, the PP generates less volume of liquid waste, requires a shorter leach cycle time, and possesses the versatility for treating filters of different sizes. A series of tests have been performed in the laboratory to demonstrate the advantages of the PP concept. These tests compare the PP with the FLS under controlled conditions that simulate the current operating parameters. A prior study using blended feed, a mixture of shredded clean HEPA filter media and non-radioactive calcine particles, indicated that the PP would significantly increases the calcine dissolution percentages. In this study, hazardous-metal contaminated HEPA filter media was studied. The results of side-by-side tests indicated that the PP increased the mercury removal percentage by 80% and might be a solution to the mercury removal problem encountered by the current FLS. A patent application has been filed for the PP and the patent is pending. In order to validate the PP and collect information for engineering design and economical feasibility studies, pilot plant scale tests are planned.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Lab., Idaho Falls, ID (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 834138
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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