HEAT TRANSFER ANALYSIS FOR FIXED CST AND RF COLUMNS
In support of a small column ion exchange (SCIX) process for the Savannah River Site waste processing program, transient and steady state two-dimensional heat transfer models have been constructed for columns loaded with cesium-saturated crystalline silicotitanate (CST) or spherical Resorcinol-Formaldehyde (RF) beads and 6 molar sodium tank waste supernate. Radiolytic decay of sorbed cesium results in heat generation within the columns. The models consider conductive heat transfer only with no convective cooling and no process flow within the columns (assumed column geometry: 27.375 in ID with a 6.625 in OD center-line cooling pipe). Heat transfer at the column walls was assumed to occur by natural convection cooling with 35 C air. A number of modeling calculations were performed using this computational heat transfer approach. Minimal additional calculations were also conducted to predict temperature increases expected for salt solution processed through columns of various heights at the slowest expected operational flow rate of 5 gpm. Results for the bounding model with no process flow and no active cooling indicate that the time required to reach the boiling point of {approx}130 C for a CST-salt solution mixture containing 257 Ci/liter of Cs-137 heat source (maximum expected loading for SCIX applications) at 35 C initial temperature is about 6 days. Modeling results for a column actively cooled with external wall jackets and the internal coolant pipe (inlet coolant water temperature: 25 C) indicate that the CST column can be maintained non-boiling under these conditions indefinitely. The results also show that the maximum temperature of an RF-salt solution column containing 133 Ci/liter of Cs-137 (maximum expected loading) will never reach boiling under any conditions (maximum predicted temperature without cooling: 88 C). The results indicate that a 6-in cooling pipe at the center of the column provides the most effective cooling mechanism for reducing the maximum temperature with either ion exchange material. Sensitivity calculations for the RF resin porosity, the ambient external column temperature, and the cooling system configuration were performed under the baseline conditions to assess the impact of these parameters on the maximum temperatures. It is noted that the cooling mechanism at the column boundary (forced versus natural convection) and the cooling system configuration significantly impact the maximum temperatures. The analysis results provide quantitative information associated with process temperature control requirements and management of the SCIX column.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC09-96SR18500
- OSTI ID:
- 918146
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-STI-2007-00345; TRN: US0805350
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ION EXCHANGE
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
HEAT TRANSFER
EXTRACTION COLUMNS
FLOW MODELS
CESIUM
RADIOLYSIS
REACTION HEAT
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
COOLING SYSTEMS
MATERIALS TESTING