Laboratory-Scale Melter for Determination of Melting Rate of Waste Glass Feeds

The purpose of this study was to develop the laboratory-scale melter (LSM) as a quick and inexpensive method to determine the processing rate of various waste glass slurry feeds. The LSM uses a 3 or 4 in. diameter-fused quartz crucible with feed and off-gas ports on top. This LSM setup allows cold-cap formation above the molten glass to be directly monitored to obtain a steady-state melting rate of the waste glass feeds. The melting rate data from extensive scaled-melter tests with Hanford Site high-level wastes performed for the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant have been compiled. Preliminary empirical model that expresses the melting rate as a function of bubbling rate and glass yield were developed from the compiled database. The two waste glass feeds with most melter run data were selected for detailed evaluation and model development and for the LSM tests so the melting rates obtained from LSM tests can be compared with those from scaled-melter tests. The present LSM results suggest the LSM setup can be used to determine the glass production rates for the development of new glass compositions or feed makeups that are designed to increase the processing rate of the slurry feeds

Testing Report: Littleford-Day Dryer Operation: Dryer Operation Impacts of Proposed MIS Mitigation Changes

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory performed a series of tests using the Littleford Day 22-liter dryer during investigations that evaluated changes in the melter-feed composition for the Demonstration Bulk Vitrification System. During testing, a new melter-feed formulation was developed that improved dryer performance while improving the retention of waste salts in the melter feed during vitrification

Initial Laboratory-Scale Melter Test Results for Combined Fission Product Waste

This report describes the methods and results used to vitrify a baseline glass, CSLNTM-C-2.5 in support of the AFCI (Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative) using a Quartz Crucible Scale Melter at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Document number AFCI-WAST-PMO-MI-DV-2009-000184

Rayleigh-Taylor Instability within Sediment Layers Due to Gas Retention: Preliminary Theory and Experiments

In Hanford underground waste storage tanks, a typical waste configuration is settled beds of waste particles beneath liquid layers. The settled beds are typically composed of layers, and these layers can have different physical and chemical properties. One postulated configuration within the settled bed is a less-dense layer beneath a more-dense layer. The different densities can be a result of different gas retention in the layers or different degrees of settling and compaction in the layers. This configuration can experience a Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability where the less dense lower layer rises into the upper layer. Previous studies of gas retention and release have not considered potential buoyant motion within a settle bed of solids. The purpose of this report is to provide a review of RT instabilities, discuss predictions of RT behavior for sediment layers, and summarize preliminary experimental observations of RT instabilities in simulant experiments

Preliminary Study of Strong-Sludge Gas Retention and Release Mechanisms in Clay Simulants

The Hanford Site has 28 double-shell tanks (DSTs) and 149 single-shell tanks (SSTs) containing radioactive wastes that are complex mixes of radioactive and chemical products. The mission of the Department of Energy’s River Protection Project is to retrieve and treat the Hanford tank waste for disposal and close the tank farms. A key aspect of the mission is to retrieve and transfer waste from the SSTs, which are at greater risk for leaking, into DSTs for interim storage until the waste is transferred to and treated in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. There is, however, limited space in the existing DSTs to accept waste transfers from the SSTs, and approaches to overcoming the limited DST space will benefit the overall mission. The purpose of this study is to summarize and analyze the key previous experiment that forms the basis for the relaxed controls and to summarize initial progress and results on new experiments focused on understanding the conditions that result in low gas retention. The work is ongoing; this report provides a summary of the initial findings. The previous large-scale test used about 50 m3 of sediment, which would be unwieldy for doing multiple parametric experiments. Accordingly, experiments will begin with smaller-scale tests to determine whether the desired mechanisms can be studied without the difficulty of conducting very large experiments

Rayleigh-Taylor Instability within Sediment Layers Due to Gas Retention: Preliminary Theory and Experiments

In Hanford underground waste storage tanks, a typical waste configuration is settled beds of waste particles beneath liquid layers. The settled beds are typically composed of layers, and these layers can have different physical and chemical properties. One postulated configuration within the settled bed is a less-dense layer beneath a more-dense layer. The different densities can be a result of different gas retention in the layers or different degrees of settling and compaction in the layers. This configuration can experience a Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability where the less dense lower layer rises into the upper layer. Previous studies of gas retention and release have not considered potential buoyant motion within a settle bed of solids. The purpose of this report is to provide a review of RT instabilities, discuss predictions of RT behavior for sediment layers, and summarize preliminary experimental observations of RT instabilities in simulant experiments

Preliminary Investigation of Sulfur Loading in Hanford LAW Glass

A preliminary estimate was developed for loading limits for high-sulfur low-activity waste (LAW) feeds that will be vitrified into borosilicate glass at the Hanford Site in the waste-cleanup effort. Previous studies reported in the literature were consulted to provide a basis for the estimate. The examination of previous studies led to questions about sulfur loading in Hanford LAW glass, and scoping tests were performed to help answer these questions. These results of these tests indicated that a formulation approach developed by Vienna and colleagues shows promise for maximizing LAW loading in glass. However, there is a clear need for follow-on work. The potential for significantly lowering the amount of LAW glass produced at Hanford (after the initial phase of processing) because of higher sulfur tolerances may outweigh the cost and effort required to perform the necessary testing

Strong-Sludge Gas Retention and Release Mechanisms in Clay Simulants

The Hanford Site has 28 double-shell tanks (DSTs) and 149 single-shell tanks (SSTs) containing radioactive wastes that are complex mixes of radioactive and chemical products. The mission of the Department of Energy's River Protection Project is to retrieve and treat the Hanford tank waste for disposal and close the tank farms. A key aspect of the mission is to retrieve and transfer waste from the SSTs, which are at greater risk for leaking, into DSTs for interim storage until the waste is transferred to and treated in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. There is, however, limited space in the existing DSTs to accept waste transfers from the SSTs, and approaches to overcoming the limited DST space will benefit the overall mission. The purpose of this study is to summarize and analyze the key previous experiment that forms the basis for the relaxed controls and to summarize progress and results on new experiments focused on understanding the conditions that result in low gas retention. The previous large-scale test used about 50 m3 of sediment, which would be unwieldy for doing multiple parametric experiments. Accordingly, experiments began with smaller-scale tests to determine whether the desired mechanisms can be studied without the difficulty of conducting very large experiments. The most significant results from the current experiments are that progressively lower gas retention occurs in tests with progressively deeper sediment layers and that the method of gas generation also affects the maximum retention. Based on the results of this study, it is plausible that relatively low gas retention could occur in sufficiently deep tank waste in DSTs. The current studies and previous work, however, have not explored how gas retention and release will behave when two or more layers with different properties are present

Results of Aging Tests of Vendor-Produced Blended Feed Simulant

The Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) is procuring through Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) a minimum of five 3,500 gallon batches of waste simulant for Phase 1 testing in the Pretreatment Engineering Platform (PEP). To make sure that the quality of the simulant is acceptable, the production method was scaled up starting from laboratory-prepared simulant through 15-gallon vendor prepared simulant and 250-gallon vendor prepared simulant before embarking on the production of the 3500-gallon simulant batch by the vendor. The 3500-gallon PEP simulant batches were packaged in 250-gallon high molecular weight polyethylene totes at NOAH Technologies. The simulant was stored in an environmentally controlled environment at NOAH Technologies within their warehouse before blending or shipping. For the 15-gallon, 250-gallon, and 3500-gallon batch 0, the simulant was shipped in ambient temperature trucks with shipment requiring nominally 3 days. The 3500-gallon batch 1 traveled in a 70-75°F temperature controlled truck. Typically the simulant was uploaded in a PEP receiving tank within 24-hours of receipt. The first uploading required longer with it stored outside. Physical and chemical characterization of the 250-gallon batch was necessary to determine the effect of aging on the simulant in transit from the vendor and in storage before its use in the PEP. Therefore, aging tests were conducted on the 250-gallon batch of the vendor-produced PEP blended feed simulant to identify and determine any changes to the physical characteristics of the simulant when in storage. The supernate was also chemically characterized. Four aging scenarios for the vendor-produced blended simulant were studied: 1) stored outside in a 250-gallon tote, 2) stored inside in a gallon plastic bottle, 3) stored inside in a well mixed 5-L tank, and 4) subject to extended temperature cycling under summer temperature conditions in a gallon plastic bottle. The following series of aging tests were conducted to accomplish these objectives

Small-Scale Spray Releases: Initial Aerosol Test Results

One of the events postulated in the hazard analysis at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) and other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear facilities is a breach in process piping that produces aerosols with droplet sizes in the respirable range. The current approach for predicting the size and concentration of aerosols produced in a spray leak involves extrapolating from correlations reported in the literature. These correlations are based on results obtained from small engineered spray nozzles using pure liquids with Newtonian fluid behavior. The narrow ranges of physical properties on which the correlations are based do not cover the wide range of slurries and viscous materials that will be processed in the WTP and across processing facilities in the DOE complex. Two key technical areas were identified where testing results were needed to improve the technical basis by reducing the uncertainty due to extrapolating existing literature results. The first technical need was to quantify the role of slurry particles in small breaches where the slurry particles may plug and result in substantially reduced, or even negligible, respirable fraction formed by high-pressure sprays. The second technical need was to determine the aerosol droplet size distribution and volume from prototypic breaches and fluids, specifically including sprays from larger breaches with slurries where data from the literature are scarce. To address these technical areas, small- and large-scale test stands were constructed and operated with simulants to determine aerosol release fractions and generation rates from a range of breach sizes and geometries. The properties of the simulants represented the range of properties expected in the WTP process streams and included water, sodium salt solutions, slurries containing boehmite or gibbsite, and a hazardous chemical simulant. The effect of anti-foam agents was assessed with most of the simulants. Orifices included round holes and rectangular slots. The round holes ranged in size from 0.2 to 4.46 mm. The slots ranged from (width × length) 0.3 × 5 to 2.74 × 76.2 mm. Most slots were oriented longitudinally along the pipe, but some were oriented circumferentially. In addition, a limited number of multi-hole test pieces were tested in an attempt to assess the impact of a more complex breach. Much of the testing was conducted at pressures of 200 and 380 psi, but some tests were conducted at 100 psi. Testing the largest postulated breaches was deemed impractical because of the large size of some of the WTP equipment. This report presents the experimental results and analyses for the aerosol measurements obtained in the small-scale test stand. It includes a description of the simulants used and their properties, equipment and operations, data analysis methodologies, and test results. The results of tests investigating the role of slurry particles in plugging small breaches are reported in Mahoney et al. (2012). The results of the aerosol measurements in the large-scale test stand are reported in Schonewill et al. (2012) along with an analysis of the combined results from both test scales