PILOT-SCALE HYDRAULIC TESTING OF RESORCINOL FORMALDEHYDE ION EXCHANGE RESIN
Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) performed pilot-scale hydraulic/chemical testing of spherical resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) ion exchange (IX) resin for the River Protection Project Hanford Tank Waste Treatment & Immobilization Plant (WTP) Project. The RF resin cycle testing was conducted in two pilot-scale IX columns, 1/4 and 1/2 scale. A total of twenty-three hydraulic/chemical cycles were successfully completed on the spherical RF resin. Seven of the cycles were completed in the 12-inch IX Column and sixteen cycles were completed in the 24-inch IX Column. Hydraulic testing showed that the permeability of the RF resin remained essentially constant, with no observed trend in the reduction of the permeability as the number of cycles increased. The permeability during the pilot-scale testing was 2 1/2 times better than the design requirements of the WTP full-scale system. The permeability of the resin bed was uniform with respect to changes in bed depth. Upflow Regeneration and Simulant Introduction in the IX columns revealed another RF resin benefit; negligible radial pressures to the column walls from the swelling of resin beads. In downflow of the Regeneration and Simulant Introduction steps, the resin bed particles pack tightly together and produce higher hydraulic pressures than that found in upflow. Also, upflow Simulant Introduction produced an ideal level bed for the twenty cycles completed using upflow Simulant Introduction. Conversely, the three cycles conducted using downflow Simulant Introduction produced an uneven bed surface with erosion around the thermowells. The RF resin bed in both columns showed no tendency to form fissures or pack more densely as the number of cycles increased. Particle size measurements of the RF resin showed no indication of particle size change (for a given chemical) with cycles and essentially no fines formation. Micrographs comparing representative bead samples before and after testing indicated no change in bead morphology. The skeletal density of the RF resin in the 24-inch IX Column increased slightly with cycling (in both hydrogen and sodium form). The chemical solutions used in the pilot-scale testing remained clear throughout testing, indicating very little chemical breakdown of the RF resin beads. The RF resin particles did not break down and produce fines, which would have resulted in higher pressure drops across the resin bed. Three cesium (Cs) loading tests were conducted on the RF resin in pilot-scale IX columns. Laboratory analyses concluded the Cs in the effluent never exceeded the detection limit. Therefore, there was no measurable degradation in cesium removal performance. Using the pilot-scale systems to add the RF resin to the columns and removing the resin from the columns was found to work well. The resin was added and removed from the columns three times with no operational concerns. Whether the resin was in sodium or hydrogen form, the resin flowed well and resulted in an ideal resin bed formation during each Resin Addition. During Resin Removal, 99+ % of the resin was easily sluiced out of the IX column. The hydraulic performance of the spherical RF resin during cycle testing was found to be superior to all other tested IX resins, and SRNL testing indicates that the resin should hold up to many cycles in actual radioactive Cs separation. The RF resin was found to be durable in the long term cycle testing and should result in a cost saving in actual operations when compared to other IX resins.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC09-96SR18500
- OSTI ID:
- 897538
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-MS-2006-00421; TRN: US0701432
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM07 Conference
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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