Grout and glass performance in support of stabilization/solidification of ORNL tank sludges

Wastewater at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is collected, evaporated, and stored in the Melton Valley Storage Tanks (MVST) and Bethel Valley Evaporator Storage Tanks (BVEST) pending treatment for disposal. In addition, some sludges and supernatants also requiring treatment remain in two inactive tank systems: the gunite and associated tanks (GAAT) and the old hydrofracture (OHF) tank. The waste consists of two phases: sludge and supernatant. The sludges contain a high amount of radioactivity, and some are classified as TRU sludges. Some Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) metal concentrations are high enough to be defined as RCRA hazardous; therefore, these sludges are presumed to be mixed TRU waste. Grouting and vitrification are currently two likely stabilization/solidification alternatives for mixed wastes. Grouting has been used to stabilize/solidify hazardous and low-level radioactive waste for decades. Vitrification has been developed as a high-level radioactive alternative for decades and has been under development recently as an alternative disposal technology for mixed waste. The objective of this project is to define an envelope, or operating window, for grout and glass formulations for ORNL tank sludges. Formulations will be defined for the average composition of each of the major tank farms (BVEST/MVST, GAAT, and OHF) and for an overall average composition of all tank farms. This objective is to be accomplished using surrogates of the tank sludges with hot testing of actual tank sludges to check the efficacy of the surrogates

Grout and Glass Performance Maximizing the Loading of ORNL Tank Sludges

Grouting and vitrification are currently two likely stabilization and solidification alternatives for radioactive and hazardous mixed wastes stored at Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. Grouting has been used to stabilize and solidify hazardous and low-level radioactive waste for decades. Vitrification has been developed as a high-level radioactive alternative for decades and has been under development recently as a mixed-waste alternative disposal technology

PHOSPHATE IONS -DOES EXPOSURE LEAD TO DEGRADATION OF CEMENTITIOUS MATERIALS?

ABSTRACT An assessment of the potential effects of phosphate ions on cementitious materials was made through a review of the literature, contacts with concrete research personnel, and conduct of a "bench-scale" laboratory investigatio

Laboratory stabilization/solidification of surrogate and actual mixed-waste sludge in glass and grout

Grouting and vitrification are currently the most likely stabilization/solidification technologies for mixed wastes. Grouting has been used to stabilize and solidify hazardous and low-level waste for decades. Vitrification has long been developed as a high-level-waste alternative and has been under development recently as an alternative treatment technology for low-level mixed waste. Laboratory testing has been performed to develop grout and vitrification formulas for mixed-waste sludges currently stored in underground tanks at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and to compare these waste forms. Envelopes, or operating windows, for both grout and soda-lime-silica glass formulations for a surrogate sludge were developed. One formulation within each envelope was selected for testing the sensitivity of performance to variations ({+-}10 wt%) in the waste form composition and variations in the surrogate sludge composition over the range previously characterized in the sludges. In addition, one sludge sample of an actual mixed-waste tank was obtained, a surrogate was developed for this sludge sample, and grout and glass samples were prepared and tested in the laboratory using both surrogate and the actual sludge. The sensitivity testing of a surrogate tank sludge in selected glass and grout formulations is discussed in this paper, along with the hot-cell testing of an actual tank sludge sample

Durability of Depleted Uranium Aggregates (DUAGG) in Ducrete Shielding Applications

The depleted uranium (DU) inventory in the United States exceeds 500,000 metric tonnes. To evaluate the possibilities for reuse of this stockpile of DU, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has created a research and development program to address the disposition of its DU(1). One potential use for this stockpile material is in the fabrication of nuclear shielding casks for the storage, transport, and disposal of spent nuclear fuels. The use of the DU-based shielding would reduce the size and weight of the casks while allowing a level of protection from neutrons and gamma rays comparable to that afforded by steel and concrete. DUAGG (depleted uranium aggregate) is formed of depleted uranium dioxide (DUO2) sintered with a synthetic-basalt-based binder. This study was designed to investigate possible deleterious reactions that could occur between the cement paste and the DUAGG. After 13 months of exposure to a cement pore solution, no deleterious expansive mineral phases were observed to form either with the DUO2 or with the simulated-basalt sintering phases. In the early stages of these exposure tests, Oak Ridge National Laboratory preliminary results confirm that the surface reactions of this aggregate proceed more slowly than expected. This finding may indicate that DUAGG/DUCRETE (depleted uranium concrete) casks could have service lives sufficient to meet the projected needs of DOE and the commercial nuclear power industry

A Standardized Method for Collecting Apple Pressure Test Data

This bulletin outlines a standardized method for collecting apple pressure test data. In the first section we discuss replication and sample size. In the next sections we present information from many sources to illustrate several factors that may influence pressure test readings. The bulletin concludes with a brief "how-to" summary of the important points previously reported in greater detail

Rheological properties of the product slurry of the Nitrate to Ammonia and Ceramic (NAC) process

The Nitrate to Ammonia and Ceramic (NAC) process is an innovative technology for immobilizing the liquid from Low Level radioactive Waste (LLW). An experimental study was conducted to measure the rheological properties of the pipe flow of the NAC product slurry. Test results indicate that the NAC product slurry has a profound rheological behavior. At low solids concentration, the slurry exhibits a typical dilatant fluid (or shear thinning)fluid. The transition from dilatant fluid to pseudo-plastic fluid will occur at between 25% to 30% solids concentration in temperature ranges of 50--80{degree}C. Correlation equations are developed based on the test data

Convective heat transfer behavior of the product slurry of the nitrate to ammonia and ceramic (NAC) process

The Nitrate to Ammonia and Ceramic (NAC) process is an innovative technology for immobilizing liquid form low level radioactive waste (LLW). An experimental study has been conducted to measure the heat transfer properties of the NAC product slurry. The results indicate that the heat transfer coefficient for both concentration slurries is much higher than that of pure water, which may be due to the higher conductivity of the gibbsite powder. For the 20% concentration slurry, the heat transfer coefficient increased as the generalized Reynolds number and slurry temperature increased. The heat transfer coefficient of 40% is a function of the Reynolds number only. The test results also indicate that the thermal entrance region can be observed only when the generalized Reynolds number is smaller than 1,000. The correlation equation is also developed based on the experimental data in this paper