DuoliteTM GT-73 Resin Testing in Support of the Salt Disposition Alternatives

This study evaluated DuoliteTM GT-73 performance for removing mercury ions from several high level waste streams under consideration by the Salt Disposition Systems Engineering Team as a technical risk. Experiments conducted over an eight week period address the technical uncertainties for GT-73 performanc

Comment Letter to the U.S. Treasury Department Concerning the Regulatory Structure for Financial Institutions

This comment letter was submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department in connection with that Department\u27s review of proposals for changes in the regulatory structure for financial institutions. The comment letter presents the following policy recommendations: (1) the thrift charter should be eliminated, existing thrifts should be required to convert into banks, and the Office of Thrift Supervision should be merged with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC); (2) the dual banking system should be preserved and strengthened in order to promote innovation in banking regulation and to support the community bank sector; (3) at least one federal agency that is separate and independent from the OCC should be designated as the primary federal regulator for state-chartered banks; (4) the existing statutory limits on bank mergers and acquisitions should be maintained, including the 10% nationwide deposit cap and the 30% statewide deposit cap; (5) greater scrutiny and special conditions should be required for large bank mergers; (6) Congress should establish federal consumer protection standards for all home mortgage lenders, credit card lenders, and other providers of consumer credit; (7) Congress should prohibit the OCC from issuing regulations that preempt state law, except in specific areas where Congress has given the OCC explicit authority to adopt preemptive rules; (8) Congress should establish a separate and independent federal authority to enforce federal consumer protection laws against all providers of financial services, including national banks; (9) Congress should recognize the authority of state attorneys general to enforce applicable state laws against all financial service providers, including national banks, (10) Congress should provide the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) with direct oversight over all significant financial conglomerates that control FDIC-insured banks; (11) Congress should prohibit the FDIC\u27s deposit insurance fund from making any payments to uninsured depositors or other uninsured claimants; and (12) all responsibility for protecting uninsured creditors of too big to fail (TBTF) financial institutions should be assigned to the FRB, and the FRB should impose assessments on significant financial conglomerates to recover the FRB\u27s cost of providing financial assistance to TBTF institutions

Skylab 4 visual observations project report

The Skylab 4 Visual Observations Project was undertaken to determine the ways in which man can contribute to future earth-orbital observational programs. The premission training consisted of 17 hours of lectures by scientists representing 16 disciplines and provided the crewmen information on observational and photographic procedures and the scientific significance of this information. During the Skylab 4 mission, more than 850 observations and 2000 photographs with the 70-millimeter Hasselblad and 35-millimeter Nikon cameras were obtained for many investigative areas. Preliminary results of the project indicate that man can obtain new and unique information to support satellite earth-survey programs because of his inherent capability to make selective observations, to integrate the information, and to record the data by describing and photographing the observational sites

Dat Soldier Coon : Humoristic Two-Step

Illustration of soldier with rifle in handhttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/5103/thumbnail.jp

The skylab S191 spectrometer experiment: Analysis of data and their applications to the earth sciences

The data in the visible and near-infrared portions of the spectrum as recorded by identical spectrometers on Skylab and on a helicopter are examined to establish the significance of spectral reflectances from the Earth surface as influenced by water vapor, atmospheric gases, and aerosols. Models of radiation transfer show good agreement of theoretical computations and observed measurements

Decomposition studies of filtered slurries using the enhanced comprehensive catalyst

This study examined decomposition of the soluble phenylborates at elevated temperatures (45 degrees Celsius) to determine the effects of filtering the solid tetraphenylborate, solid sludge and monosodium titanate and spiking additional levels of transition metal catalyst

Using Wet Air Oxidation Technology to Destroy Tetraphenylborate

ABSTRACT A bench-scale feasibility study on the use of a Wet Air Oxidation (WAO) process to destroy a slurry laden with tetraphenylborate (TPB) compounds has been undertaken. WAO is an aqueous phase process in which soluble and/or insoluble waste constituents are oxidized using oxygen or oxygen in air at elevated temperatures and pressures ranging from 150 °C and 1 MPa to 320 °C and 22 MPa. The products of the reaction are CO 2 , H 2 O, and low molecular weight oxygenated organics (e.g. acetate, oxalate). Test results indicate WAO is a feasible process for destroying TPB, its primary daughter products [triphenylborane (3PB), diphenylborinic acid (2PB), and phenylboronic acid (1PB)], phenol, and most of the biphenyl byproduct. The required conditions are a temperature of 300 °C, a reaction time of 3 hours, 1:1 feed slurry dilution with 2M NaOH solution, the addition of CuSO 4 .5H 2 O solution (500 mg/L Cu) as catalyst, and the addition of 2000 mL/L of antifoam. However, for the destruction of TPB, its daughter compounds (3PB, 2PB, and 1PB), and phenol without consideration for biphenyl destruction, less severe conditions (280 °C and 1-hour reaction time with similar remaining above conditions) are adequate

CHARACTERIZATION OF URANIUM SOLIDS PRECIPITATED WITH ALUMINOSILICATES

At the Savannah River Site (SRS), the High-Level Waste (HLW) Tank Farms store and process high-level liquid radioactive wastes from the Canyons and recycle water from the Defense Waste Processing Facility. The waste is concentrated using evaporators to minimize the volume of space required for HLW storage. Recently, the 2H Evaporator was shutdown due to the crystallization of sodium aluminosilicate (NAS) solids (such as cancrinite and sodalite) that contained close to 10 weight percent of elementally-enriched uranium (U). Prior to extensive cleaning, the evaporator deposits resided on the evaporator walls and other exposed internal surfaces within the evaporator pot. Our goal is to support the basis for the continued safe operation of SRS evaporators and to gain more information that could be used to help mitigate U accumulation during evaporator operation. To learn more about the interaction between U(VI) and NAS in HLW salt solutions, we performed several fundamental studies to examine the mechanisms of U accumulation with NAS in highly caustic solutions. This larger group of studies focused on the following processes: co-precipitation/structural incorporation, sorption, and precipitation (with or without NAS), which will be reviewed in this presentation. We will present and discuss local atomic structural characterization data about U that has been co-precipitated with NAS solids (such as amorphous zeolite precursor material and sodalite or Na 8 (AlSiO 4 ) 6 ·nH 2 O (s) ) using X-ray absorption fine-structure (XAFS) spectroscopic techniques. Our results indicate that U uptake from solution is greater during the precipitation of sodalite and amorphous zeolite precursor material than during the precipitation of zeolite A. The XAFS data indicate that U exists in several forms, such as U(VI) (uranyl-and uranate-type) oxide and oxyhydroxides (such as clarkeite). Crystalline forms of U(VI)-silicate were not resolved from the XAFS spectra but the presence of Si in the outer coordination shell of U indicate that the U is probably associated with amorphous silica. Mass balance determinations for U in these materials indicate that during formation, the structural incorporation of U within these structures is not a likely mechanism for accumulation. However, uptake of U was greatest during the precipitation of amorphous zeolite precursor material. Additionally, removal of U from solution by surface sorption on the NAS solids (a process which could have occurred after these solids were formed) probably had a minor role with respect to U accumulation in the 2H Evaporator. Processes most likely to largely influence on U accumulation are precipitation as U(VI) (as uranyl/uranate) oxide/oxyhydroxides and formation of an amorphous U-silica material. INTRODUCTION Uranium accumulation during the evaporation of HLW is a potential criticality risk if the incoming waste is enriched in 235 U. Little is known about the interactions between U and NAS in caustic, high Na + HLW salt solutions at room and at elevated temperature. To examine these interactions during NAS formation, we conducted studies that focused on potential mechanisms of U accumulation with NAS in the evaporators and in other process areas at the SRS that may concentrate U in the presence of silicates, Al and NAS. It is intended that the information gained from these studies will help support the basis for the continued safe operation of SRS evaporators and that this fundamental information will be used to help mitigate U accumulation during evaporator operation. Potential Routes of U Accumulation with NAS During the evaporation of caustic Na + -rich solutions, several processes could potentially contribute to the accumulation of U-containing solids. Uptake processes by solids can occur by several mechanisms: structural incorporation, ion exchange (electrostatic or outer-sphere) sorption, specific adsorption and surface precipitation/polymerization. WSRC-MS-2003-00898 3 Ion Exchange in a more restrictive sense as used in this study is an electrostatic process involving the replacement of one readily exchangeable hydrated ion by another similarly exchangeable ion Specific Adsorption (often referred to as Chemisorption or Inner Sphere sorption) involves the formation of predominantly covalent bonds with the surface, but the bonds can have some ionic behavior. These adsorbed metals typically have one or more atoms from the participating surface in the second coordination shell In HLW, U may be concentrated by sorption to the surfaces of the NAS, precipitation within NAS structures and precipitation as U phases. Sorption can be divided into two types of molecular scale processes (outer sphere and specific adsorption) that involve the uptake of atoms near or at a participating sorptive surface. An element such as U could co-precipitate with the NAS and related solids. [For zeolites, the term co-precipitation could be further divided to include uptake into zeolite channels and any isomorphic substitution (i.e., of U for Si or Al) in the zeolite structure Uranium may also interact with silica sols, which have no defined crystal structure because of their amorphous nature. At an atom-or molecular-scale basis, this type of interaction with U may be best be described by structural incorporation in Review of U(VI) Chemistry and Uptake Studies with U(VI) and Zeolites In oxidized systems, dissolved U exists as the highly soluble uranyl [U(VI)O 2 2+ ] species with two axial U=O double bonds at ~1.8 Å. This form of U(VI) can exist in U solids. However, U(VI) can also exist in solids as the less common uranate form, which has at least three single U-O bonds and no short axial double bonds. This form of U(VI) is very small in size (~0.72-0.8 Å) relative to the large uranyl ion group (~3.6 Å). 2-or NO 3 -solutions), U(VI) typically has a low affinity for certain solids, like the Fe oxides Use of XAFS Techniques to Characterize Metal Uptake by Surfaces The local environment of metals associated with surfaces can be investigated with analytical techniques such as XAFS spectroscopy. It is an X-ray-based technique that is non-destructive and provides average information on bulk and surface behavior. The XAFS spectroscopic techniques are among the best for providing detailed chemical speciation information in environmental samples-particularly when information from multiple characterization techniques is available. The term XAFS is applicable to both X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) spectroscopic techniques. XAFS spectra give robust local structural information on coordination number (CN), bonding symmetry, neighbor and near-neighbor atomic distances and bond disorder (as the root mean square deviations of distances about the average values). Additionally, the information gained is atom specific-making it a versatile technique for structural determinations of atom clusters Experimental Objectives The primary objective of this research was to obtain information on speciation of U [added as U(VI)] associated with NAS solids that were synthesized with dissolved U using XAFS. Uranium-XAFS analyses were also conducted on solids that had been washed with solutions of DI water (only) and after washing with DI water and Na 2 CO 3 Washing U-loaded solids with Na 2 CO 3 solutions has been shown to remove sorbed forms of U(VI), in addition to dissolving the readily soluble (i.e., rapidly dissolving) solid phase forms of U(VI) MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Sample Preparation The NAS solids (amorphous zeolite, sodalite and zeolite A) were synthesized according to modified methods supplied by A. The difference between the amorphous zeolite and sodalite syntheses was temperature, in that the amorphous zeolite was made at 40 o C and the sodalite was made at 80 o C. Zeolite A was made at 90 o C. After preparation, the solids were washed three times in DI water, filtered with a 0.25 µm nylon filter, and dried in air. The air-dried solids were then washed three times with 0.4 M Na 2 CO 3 , filtered with a 0.25 µm nylon filter, and then air-dried. The air-dried solids were then provided to us for XAFS analyses. Sub-samples of the solids were digested in acid to determine the U concentrations after synthesis (using inductively-coupled argon plasma mass spectrometry) after each of the two washing steps. The results of the sample digests are shown in Additionally, to determine when the U should be added during these NAS syntheses, precipitation timing studies were done with U, Al and caustic salt solutions using the same experimental conditions (such as temperature) as those required for the individual NAS syntheses [ the reference samples as listed in 24]. No Si was added to avoid making NAS for each of these reference U materials. The U added to these solutions underwent precipitation and the unwashed solids were supplied for XAFS analyses. The solids in these "reference" samples may be representative of solids that can form in heated caustic solutions that are low in Si but contain high Al. EXAFS Data Collection and Analyses The XAFS data were collected on beamline X23a2 at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY). Uranium-XAFS data were collected at the U L 3 -edge (17,166 eV) on the airdried filtered U-containing NAS solids. The XAFS data were collected in fluorescence mode using an unfocussed X-ray beam and a fixed-exit Si(311) monochromator. Ion chambers were used to collect incident (Io), transmission (It) and reference (Ir) signals. Gas ratios in Io were 100 % Ar. A Lytle detector was used to collect fluorescence X-WM'04 CONFERENCE, FEBRUARY 29-MARCH 4, 2004, TUSCON, AZ. WSRC-MS-2003-00898 6 rays (If). The monochromator energy was maximized using a piezo stack feedback energy stabilization system, with a settling time of 0.3 seconds per change in energy. An X-ray beam size of 2 by 28 mm 2 was used. Energy calibration was done using foils of Pt (L 1 -edge of 13,880 eV), Zr (K-edge, 17,998 eV), and Mo (K-edge, 20,000 eV). In simple terms, chi data (the plot of the wavevector in reciprocal space) show the oscillatory component (with both constructive and destructive interferences) of the atoms in the neighbor environment of the element of interest. The chi data represent part of the photoelectron wave that can be defined by the EXAFS equation Chi of k is the square root of [(2m / • 2 ) * (E -E 0 )]. S 0 2 is the amplitude reduction factor, which is associated with central atom shake-up and shake-off effects. SIGMA 2 or σ 2 is the Debye-Waller Factor or Relative Mean Square Disorder in bond length. "•" is Plank's constant and R pertains to mean atom position or bond distance (radial distance in Å). "m" is the mass of the photoelectron, E 0 is the EXAFS defined edge energy in electron volts or eV (not equal to edge energy as defined by XANES but is equal to the energy of the photoelectron at k = 0. "F of k" is the backscattering amplitude of the atom. N is the coordination number and δ(K) represents the electronic phase shifts due to atomic potentials. The background contribution to the EXAFS spectra was removed using an algorithm (AUTOBK) developed by RESULTS Background on the XAFS Characterization of Behavior of U on Surface

Decomposition of triphenylborane with enhanced comprehensive catalyst under aerated and inert conditions

This work investigated the decomposition of triphenylborane in a statistically-designed set of tests to determine the effects of four process variables: temperature, hydroxide concentration, catalyst concentration, and atmosphere. Analysis of these tests provide the following conclusions:(1) The presence of tetraphenylborate solids facilitate a 10X increase in the rate of decomposition of triphenylborane, (2) The presence of oxygen slows the decomposition of triphenylborane, (3) The activation energy of the decomposition reaction in the presence of oxygen (59.88 + 27.73 kJ/mol) is statistically lower than inerted systems (99.11 + 10.14 kJ/mol), (4) Rate constants derived from the nitrogen inerted tests encompass the rate constants from previous tests with slurries. These rate constants agree reasonably with similar values obtained from Tank 48H operations at ambient temperatures, and (5) For test conducted in air, the decomposition reaction rate constant correlated with the catalyst concentration. In tests inerted by nitrogen, the same correlation did not hold