Investigation of Rheological Impacts on Sludge Batch 3 as Insoluble Solids and Wash Endpoints are Adjusted

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) is currently processing and immobilizing radioactive sludge slurry into a durable borosilicate glass. The DWPF has already processed three sludge batches (Sludge Batch 1A, Sludge Batch 1B, and Sludge Batch 2) and is currently processing the fourth sludge batch (Sludge Batch 3). A sludge batch is defined as a single tank of sludge slurry or a combination of sludge slurries from different tanks that has been or will be qualified before being transferred to DWPF. As a part of the Sludge Batch 3 (SB3) qualification task, rheology measurements of the sludge slurry were requested at different insoluble solids loadings. These measurements were requested in order to gain insight into potential processing problems that may occur as the insoluble solids are adjusted up or down (by concentration or dilution) during the process. As a part of this study, a portion of the ''as received'' SB3 sample was washed with inhibited water (0.015 M NaOH and 0.015 M NaNO2) to target 0.5M Na versus a measured 1M Na in the supernate. The purpose of the ''washing'' step was to allow a comparison of the SB3 rheological data to the rheological data collected for Sludge Batch 2 (SB2) and to determine if there was a dependence of the yield stress and consistency as a function of washing. The ''as received'' SB3 rheology data was also compared to SB3 simulants prepared by the Simulant Development Program in order to provide guidance for selecting a simulant that is more representative of the rheological properties of the radioactive sludge slurry. A summary of the observations, conclusions are: (1) The yield stress and plastic viscosity increased as the weight percent insoluble solids were increased for the ''as received'' and ''washed'' SB3 samples, at a fixed pH. (2) For the same insoluble solids loading, the yield stress for the SB2 sample is approximately a factor of three higher than the ''as received'' SB3 sample. There also appears to be small difference in the plastic viscosity. This difference is probably due to the different Na concentrations of the slurries. (3) The yield stress for the SB2 sample at 17.5 wt. % insoluble solids loading is four times higher than the ''washed'' SB3 sample at 16.5 wt. % insoluble solids. There also appears to be small difference in the plastic viscosity. The differences for the yield stress and consistency can be explained by the differences in the Fe and Na concentrations of the sludge slurry and the anion concentrations of the resulting supernates. (4) The rheological properties (i.e. yield stress and plastic viscosity), as the insoluble solids are adjusted, for the ''as received'' and ''washed'' SB3 samples are different. The plastic viscosity curve for the ''as received'' SB3 sample was higher than the plastic viscosity curve for SB3 ''washed'' sample. The yield stress curve for the ''washed'' SB3 sample is slightly lower than the ''as received'' SB3 sample up until {approx}19 wt. % insoluble solids. The ''washed'' SB3 sample then exceeds the yield stress curve for the ''as received'' SB3 sample. This rheological behavior is probably due to the difference in the Na concentration of the supernate for the samples. (5) No unusual behavior, such as air entrainment, was noted for the ''as received'' SB3 sample. (6) The observed physical properties of the SB3 sample changed after washing. The ''washed'' SB3 sample entrained air readily at higher insoluble solids loadings (i.e. 14.1, 16.5, 19.5 wt. %) as it did for SB2. The air entrainment appeared to dissipate for the SB3 sample at the lower insoluble solids loadings (i.e. 9.7 and 11.7 wt. %). (7) The physical behavior of SB3 can be influenced by controlling the Na concentration in the supernate and the wt. % insoluble solids. The cause for the air entrainment in the ''washed'' SB3 sample could be due to a change in the particle size during the washing step. (8) The SB3 simulants prepared for the Simulant Development Program were approximately a factor of 1.6 to 4 times higher for yield stress and 2.6 to 4 times higher for the plastic viscosity over a similar range of insoluble solids loadings. The difference noted between the radioactive and simulant samples could be due to several factors including particle size, thermal treatment (i.e. aging of the sludge), shear history, etc

DWPF Recycle Evaporator Shielded Cells Testing

Testing was performed to determine the feasibility and processing characteristics of evaporation of actual Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) recycle material. Samples of the Off Gas Condensate Tank (OGCT) and Slurry Mix Evaporator Condensate Tank (SMECT) were transferred from DWPF to the Savannah River National Lab (SRNL) Shielded Cells and blended with De-Ionized (DI) water and a small amount of Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME) product. A total of 3000 mL of this feed was concentrated to approximately 90 mL during a semi-batch evaporation test of approximately 17 hours. One interruption occurred during the run when the feed tube developed a split and was replaced. Samples of the resulting condensate and concentrate were collected and analyzed. The resulting analysis of the condensate was compared to the Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) limits for the F/H Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP). Results from the test were compared to previous testing using simulants and OLI modeling. Conclusions from this work included the following: (1) The evaporation of DWPF recycle to achieve a 30X concentration factor was successfully demonstrated. The feed blend of OGCT and SMECT material was concentrated from 3000 mL to approximately 90 mL during testing, a concentration of approximately 33X. (2) Foaming was observed during the run. Dow Corning 2210 antifoam was added seven times throughout the run at 100 parts per million (ppm) per addition. The addition of this antifoam was very effective in reducing the foam level, but the impact diminished over time and additional antifoam was required every 2 to 3 hours during the run. (3) No scale or solids formed on the evaporator vessel, but splatter was observed in the headspace of the evaporator vessel. No scaling formed on the stainless steel thermocouple. (4) The majority of the analytes met the F/H ETP WAC. However, the detection limits for selected species (Sr-90, Pu-238, Pu-240, Am-243, and Cm-244) exceeded the ETP WAC limits. (5) I-129 was calculated to have exceeded the ETP WAC limits based on an assumed Decontamination Factor (DF) of 1 during evaporation. (6) The DF for most species was limited by the detection limits of the sample analysis. Based on iron, manganese, total alpha, total beta, and other species, very low entrainment was noted and evaporator DF was >10,000 for non-volatile species. (7) Very low DF's were obtained for selected species, especially mercury and formate. These species are present as volatile compounds and will exceed ETP WAC limits if sufficient concentrations are in the evaporator feed. (8) The evaporator DF's for the radioactive test were in good agreement with simulant test results. Differences noted in the DF of selected species, such as Hg, were more likely attributed to analytical issues than differences in the performance of the two evaporators. (9) The simulant appeared to be conservative in terms of foaming and scaling characteristics of the evaporator. The initial spike in foaming that occurred during all simulant runs did not occur during the Shielded Cells run and overall foaminess after the start of the test was controlled by antifoam additions. The splatter that was deposited during the radioactive test was less than the simulant runs and was more easily removed. (10) The OLI model results were overly conservative due to the manner that entrainment of solids was incorporated into the model

Studies of Potential Inhibitors of Sodium Aluminosilicate Scales in High-Level Waste Evaporation

The Savannah River Site (SRS) has 49 underground storage tanks used to store High Level Waste (HLW). The tank space in these tanks must be managed to support the continued operation of key facilities. The reduction of the tank volumes in these tanks are accomplished through the use of three atmospheric pressure HLW evaporators. For a decade, evaporation of highly alkaline HLW containing aluminum and silicates has produced sodium aluminosilicate scales causing both operation and criticality hazards in the 2H Evaporator System. Segregation of aluminum-rich wastes from silicate-rich wastes minimizes the amount of scale produced and reduces cleaning expenses, but does not eliminate the scaling nor increases operation flexibility in waste process. Similar issues have affected the aluminum refining industry for many decades. Over the past several years, successful commercial products have been identified to eliminate aluminosilicate fouling in the aluminum industry, but have not been utilized in a nuclear environment. Laboratory quantities of three proprietary aluminosilicate scale inhibitors have been produced and been shown to prevent formation of scales. SRNL has been actively testing these potential inhibitors to examine their radiation stability, radiolytic degradation behaviors, and downstream impacts to determine their viability within the HLW system. One of the tested polymers successfully meets the established criteria for application in the nuclear environment. This paper will describe a summary of the methodology used to prioritize laboratory testing protocols based on potential impacts/risks identified for inhibitor deployment at SRS

High energy pion-deuteron elastic scattering

High energy pion-deuteron elastic scatterin

Vitrification of cesium-loaded crystalline silicotitanate (CST) in the shielded cells melter

Through the Tanks Focus Area, the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory participated in a joint project in which supernate waste from the Melton Valley Storage Tanks at Oak Ridge was treated by passage through a crystalline silicotitanate (CST) ion exchange column. CST was designed to sorb Cs- 137, Sr-90 and several other radionuclides from highly alkaline solutions containing large quantities of sodium.2 After demonstrating the effectiveness of CST as an ion exchange medium, ORNL shipped some of the loaded sorbent to SRTC where it was mixed with glass formers and processed in a joule-heated melter within the SRTC Shielded Cells. This report details the results of the melter run, along with the preparations that were required to complete the campaign

Experimental and theoretical confirmation of an orthorhombic phase transition in niobium at high pressure and temperature

Compared to other body-centered cubic (bcc) transition metals, Nb has been the subject of fewer compression studies and there are still aspects of its phase diagram which are unclear. Here, we report a combined theoretical and experimental study of Nb under high pressure and temperature. We present the results of static laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments up to 120 GPa using synchrotron-based fast x-ray diffraction combined with ab initio quantum molecular dynamics simulations. The melting curve of Nb is determined and evidence for a solid-solid phase transformation in Nb with increasing temperature is found. The high-temperature phase of Nb is orthorhombic Pnma. The bcc-Pnma transition is clearly seen in the experimental data on the Nb principal Hugoniot. The bcc-Pnma coexistence observed in our experiments is explained. Agreement between the measured and calculated melting curves is very good except at 40–60 GPa where three experimental points lie below the theoretical melting curve by 250 K (or 7%); a possible explanation is given

The C-Terminal Domain of the Novel Essential Protein Gcp Is Critical for Interaction with Another Essential Protein YeaZ of Staphylococcus aureus

Previous studies have demonstrated that the novel protein Gcp is essential for the viability of various bacterial species including Staphylococcus aureus; however, the reason why it is required for bacterial growth remains unclear. In order to explore the potential mechanisms of this essentiality, we performed RT-PCR analysis and revealed that the gcp gene (sa1854) was co-transcribed with sa1855, yeaZ (sa1856) and sa1857 genes, indicating these genes are located in the same operon. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Gcp interacts with YeaZ using a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) system and in vitro pull down assays. To characterize the Gcp-YeaZ interaction, we performed alanine scanning mutagenesis on the residues of C-terminal segment of Gcp. We found that the mutations of the C-terminal Y317-F322 region abolished the interaction of Gcp and YeaZ, and the mutations of the D324-N329 and S332-Y336 regions alleviated Gcp binding to YeaZ. More importantly, we demonstrated that these key regions of Gcp are also necessary for the bacterial survival since these mutated Gcp could not complement the depletion of endogenous Gcp. Taken together, our data suggest that the interaction of Gcp and YeaZ may contribute to the essentiality of Gcp for S. aureus survival. Our findings provide new insights into the potential mechanisms and biological functions of this novel essential protein

Weekends affect mortality risk and chance of discharge in critically ill patients: a retrospective study in the Austrian registry for intensive care.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we primarily investigated whether ICU admission or ICU stay at weekends (Saturday and Sunday) is associated with a different risk of ICU mortality or chance of ICU discharge than ICU admission or ICU stay on weekdays (Monday to Friday). Secondarily, we analysed whether weekend ICU admission or ICU stay influences risk of hospital mortality or chance of hospital discharge. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed for all adult patients admitted to 119 ICUs participating in the benchmarking project of the Austrian Centre for Documentation and Quality Assurance in Intensive Care (ASDI) between 2012 and 2015. Readmissions to the ICU during the same hospital stay were excluded. RESULTS: In a multivariable competing risk analysis, a strong weekend effect was observed. Patients admitted to ICUs on Saturday or Sunday had a higher mortality risk after adjustment for severity of illness by Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) 3, year, month of the year, type of admission, ICU, and weekday of death or discharge. Hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for death in the ICU following admission on a Saturday or Sunday compared with Wednesday were 1.15 (1.08-1.23) and 1.11 (1.03-1.18), respectively. Lower hazard ratios were observed for dying on a Saturday (0.93 (0.87-1.00)) or Sunday (0.85 (0.80-0.91)) compared with Wednesday. This is probably related to the reduced chance of being discharged from the ICU at the weekend (0.63 (0.62-064) for Saturday and 0.56 (0.55-0.57) for Sunday). Similar results were found for hospital mortality and hospital discharge following ICU admission. CONCLUSIONS: Patients admitted to ICUs at weekends are at increased risk of death in both the ICU and the hospital even after rigorous adjustment for severity of illness. Conversely, death in the ICU and discharge from the ICU are significantly less likely at weekends