Small-Column Cesium Ion Exchange Elution Testing of Spherical Resorcinol-Formaldehyde

This report summarizes the work performed to evaluate multiple, cesium loading, and elution cycles for small columns containing SRF resin using a simple, high-level waste (HLW) simulant. Cesium ion exchange loading and elution curves were generated for a nominal 5 M Na, 2.4E-05 M Cs, 0.115 M Al loading solution traced with 134Cs followed by elution with variable HNO3 (0.02, 0.07, 0.15, 0.23, and 0.28 M) containing variable CsNO3 (5.0E-09, 5.0E-08, and 5.0E-07 M) and traced with 137Cs. The ion exchange system consisted of a pump, tubing, process solutions, and a single, small ({approx}15.7 mL) bed of SRF resin with a water-jacketed column for temperature-control. The columns were loaded with approximately 250 bed volumes (BVs) of feed solution at 45 C and at 1.5 to 12 BV per hour (0.15 to 1.2 cm/min). The columns were then eluted with 29+ BVs of HNO3 processed at 25 C and at 1.4 BV/h. The two independent tracers allowed analysis of the on-column cesium interaction between the loading and elution solutions. The objective of these tests was to improve the correlation between the spent resin cesium content and cesium leached out of the resin in subsequent loading cycles (cesium leakage) to help establish acid strength and purity requirements

Simulated Waste for Leaching and Filtration Studies--Laboratory Preparation Procedure

This report discusses the simulant preparation procedure for producing multi-component simulants for leaching and filtration studies, including development and comparison activities in accordance with the test plan( ) prepared and approved in response to the Test Specification 24590-WTP-TSP-RT-06-006, Rev 0 (Smith 2006). A fundamental premise is that this approach would allow blending of the different components to simulate a wide variety of feeds to be treated in the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). For example, a given feed from the planned feed vector could be selected, and the appropriate components would then be blended to achieve a representation of that particular feed. Using the blending of component simulants allows the representation of a much broader spectrum of potential feeds to the Pretreatment Engineering Platform (PEP)

Small-Column Ion Exchange Testing of Spherical Resorcinol-Formaldehyde -11379

ABSTRACT Ion exchange using the Spherical Resorcinol-Formaldehyde (SRF) resin has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of River Protection (DOE-ORP) for use in the Pretreatment Facility (PTF) of the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) and for potential application in an at-tank deployment. Numerous studies have shown the SRF resin to be effective for removing Cs-137 from a wide variety of actual and simulated tank waste supernatants. Prior work focused primarily on the loading behavior for 5 M sodium (Na) solutions at 25°C and the eluting behavior of the loaded SRF resin with virgin 0.5 M HNO 3 . Recent proposed changes to the process baseline indicate that loading may include a broader range of sodium molarities (2 to 8 M) and higher temperatures (50°C) to alleviate post-filtration precipitation issues. In addition, elution will likely utilize variable-strength recycled nitric acid containing trace amounts of Cs-137. Cesium ion exchange loading and elution curves were generated for a 5 M Na, 2.4E-05 M Cs loading solution traced with Cs-134 followed by elution with variable HNO 3 (0.02, 0.07, 0.15, 0.23, and 0.28 M) containing variable CsNO 3 (5.0E-09, 5.0E-08, and 5.0E-07 M) and traced with Cs-137. The ion exchange system consisted of a pump, tubing, process solutions, and a single, small (~15 mL) bed of SRF resin with a water-jacketed column for temperature-control. The columns were loaded with approximately 250 bed volumes (BVs) of feed solution at 45°C and at 1.5 to 12 BV per hour (0.15 to 1.2 cm/min). The columns were then eluted with approximately 25 BVs of HNO 3 processed at 25°C and at 1.4 BV/hr. The two independent tracers allowed analysis of the on-column cesium interaction between the loading and elution solutions. The objective of these tests was to improve the correlation between the spent resin cesium content and cesium leached out of the resin in subsequent loading cycles (cesium bleed) to help establish acid strength and purity requirements

Ion Exchange Testing with SRF Resin FY2012

Ion exchange using spherical resorcinol-formaldehyde (SRF) resin has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection (DOE-ORP) for use in the Pretreatment Facility (PTF) of the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) and for potential application in at-tank deployment. Numerous studies have shown SRF resin to be effective for removing 137Cs from a wide variety of actual and simulated tank waste supernatants (Adamson et al. 2006; Blanchard et al. 2008; Burgeson et al. 2004; Duignan and Nash 2009; Fiskum et al. 2006a; Fiskum et al. 2006b; Fiskum et al. 2006c; Fiskum et al. 2007; Hassan and Adu-Wusu 2003; King et al. 2004; Nash et al. 2006). Prior work at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has focused primarily on the loading behavior for 4 to 6 M Na solutions at 25 to 45°C. Recent proposed changes to the WTP ion exchange process baseline indicate that loading may include a broader range of sodium molarities (0.1 to 8 M) and higher temperatures (50°C) to alleviate post-filtration precipitation issues. This report discusses ion exchange loading kinetics testing activities performed in accordance with Test Plan TP-WTPSP-002, Rev. 3.0 , which was prepared and approved in response to the Test Specification 24590 PTF-TSP-RT-09-002, Rev. 0 (Lehrman 2010) and Test Exception 24590 PTF TEF RT-11-00003, Rev. 0 (Meehan 2011). This testing focused on column tests evaluating the impact of elevated temperature on resin degradation over an extended period of time and batch contacts evaluating the impact on Cs loading over a broad range of sodium concentrations (0.1 to 5 M). These changes may be required to alleviate post-filtration precipitation issues and broaden the data range of SRF resin loading under the conditions expected with the new equipment and process changes

Offspring of mice exposed to a low-protein diet in utero demonstrate changes in mTOR signaling in pancreatic islets of langerhans, associated with altered glucagon and insulin expression and a lower β-cell mass

Low birth weight is a risk factor for gestational and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Since mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) controls pancreatic β-cell mass and hormone release, we hypothesized that nutritional insult in utero might permanently alter mTOR signaling. Mice were fed a low-protein (LP, 8%) or control (C, 20%) diet throughout pregnancy, and offspring examined until 130 days age. Mice receiving LP were born 12% smaller and β-cell mass was significantly reduced throughout life. Islet mTOR levels were lower in LP-exposed mice and localized predominantly to α-rather than β-cells. Incubation of isolated mouse islets with rapamycin significantly reduced cell proliferation while increasing apoptosis. mRNA levels for mTORC complex genes mTOR, Rictor and Raptor were elevated at 7 days in LP mice, as were the mTOR and Raptor proteins. Proglucagon gene expression was similarly increased, but not insulin or the immune/metabolic defense protein STING. In human and mouse pancreas STING was strongly associated with islet β-cells. Results support long-term changes in islet mTOR signaling in response to nutritional insult in utero, with altered expression of glucagon and insulin and a reduced β-cell mass. This may contribute to an increased risk of gestational or type 2 diabetes

Development and Characterization of Gibbsite Component Simulant

According to Bechtel National, Inc.’s (BNI’s) Test Specification 24590-PTF-TSP-RT-06-006, Rev 0, "Simulant Development to Support the Development and Demonstration of Leaching and Ultrafiltration Pretreatment Processes," simulants for boehmite, gibbsite, and filtration are to be developed so they can be used in subsequent bench and integrated testing of the leaching/filtration processes for the River Protection Project-Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (RPP-WTP). These simulants will then be used to demonstrate the leaching process and to help refine processing conditions that may impact safety basis considerations (Smith 2006). This report documents PNNL’s results of the gibbsite simulant development

The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century.

A rank-ordered list was constructed that reports the first 99 of the 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century. Eminence was measured by scores on 3 quantitative variables and 3 qualitative variables. The quantitative variables were journal citation frequency, introductory psychology textbook citation frequency, and survey response frequency. The qualitative variables were National Academy of Sciences membership, election as American Psychological Association (APA) president or receipt of the APA Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award, and surname used as an eponym. The qualitative variables were quantified and combined with the other 3 quantitative variables to produce a composite score that was then used to construct a rank-ordered list of the most eminent psychologists of the 20th century. The discipline of psychology underwent a remarkable transformation during the 20th cen-tury, a transformation that included a shift away from the European-influenced philosophical psychology of the late 19th century to th

Sulfur Partitioning During Vitrification of INEEL Sodium Bearing Waste: Status Report

The sodium bearing tank waste (SBW) at Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) contains high concentrations of sulfur (roughly 5 mass% of SO3 on a nonvolatile oxide basis). The amount of sulfur that can be feed to the melter will ultimately determine the loading of SBW in glass produced by the baseline (low-temperature, joule-heated, liquid-fed, ceramic-lined) melter. The amount of sulfur which can be fed to the melter is determined by several major factors including: the tolerance of the melter for an immiscible salt layer accumulation, the solubility of sulfur in the glass melt, the fraction of sulfur removed to the off-gas, and the incorporation of sulfur into the glass up to it?s solubility limit. This report summarizes the current status of testing aimed at determining the impacts of key chemical and physical parameters on the partitioning of sulfur between the glass, a molten salt, and the off-gas

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

Letter Report: LAW Simulant Development for Cast Stone Screening Test

More than 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous waste are stored in 177 underground storage tanks at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. The Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) is being constructed to treat the wastes and immobilize them in a glass waste form. The WTP includes a pretreatment facility to separate the wastes into a small volume of high-level waste (HLW) containing most of the radioactivity and a larger volume of low-activity waste (LAW) containing most of the nonradioactive chemicals. The HLW will be converted to glass in the HLW vitrification facility for ultimate disposal at an offsite federal repository. At least a portion (~35%) of the LAW will be converted to glass in the LAW vitrification facility and will be disposed of onsite at the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF). The pretreatment and HLW vitrification facilities will have the capacity to treat and immobilize the wastes destined for each facility. However, a second facility will be needed for the expected volume of additional LAW requiring immobilization. A cementitious waste form known as Cast Stone is being considered to provide the required additional LAW immobilization capacity. The Cast Stone waste form must be acceptable for disposal in the IDF. The Cast Stone waste form and immobilization process must be tested to demonstrate that the final Cast Stone waste form can comply with waste acceptance criteria for the IDF disposal facility and that the immobilization processes can be controlled to consistently provide an acceptable waste form product. Further, the waste form must be tested to provide the technical basis for understanding the long term performance of the waste form in the IDF disposal environment. These waste form performance data are needed to support risk assessment and performance assessment (PA) analyses of the long-term environmental impact of the waste disposal in the IDF. A testing program was developed in fiscal year (FY) 2012 describing in some detail the work needed to develop and qualify Cast Stone as a waste form for the solidification of Hanford LAW (Westsik et al. 2012). Included within Westsik et al. (2012) is a section on the near-term needs to address Tri-Party Agreement Milestone M-062-40ZZ. The objectives of the testing program to be conducted in FY 2013 and FY 2014 are to: • Determine an acceptable formulation for the LAW Cast Stone waste form. • Evaluate sources of dry materials for preparing the LAW Cast Stone. • Demonstrate the robustness of the Cast Stone waste form for a range of LAW compositions. • Demonstrate the robustness of the formulation for variability in the Cast Stone process. • Provide Cast Stone contaminant release data for PA and risk assessment evaluations. The first step in determining an acceptable formulation for the LAW Cast Stone waste form is to conduct screening tests to examine expected ranges in pretreated LAW composition, waste stream concentrations, dry-materials sources, and mix ratios of waste feed to dry blend. A statistically designed test matrix will be used to evaluate the effects of these key parameters on the properties of the Cast Stone as it is initially prepared and after curing. The second phase of testing will focus on selection of a baseline Cast Stone formulation for LAW and demonstrating that Cast Stone can meet expected waste form requirements for disposal in the IDF. It is expected that this testing will use the results of the screening tests to define a smaller suite of tests to refine the composition of the baseline Cast Stone formulation (e.g. waste concentration, water to dry mix ratio, waste loading)