Feasibility Evaluation and Retrofit Plan for Cold Crucible Induction Melter Deployment in the Defense Waste Processing Facility at Savannah River Site - 8118

Cold crucible induction melters (CCIM) have been proposed as an alternative technology for waste glass melting at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at Savannah River Site (SRS) as well as for other waste vitrification facilities. Proponents of this technology cite high temperature operation, high tolerance for noble metals and aluminum, high waste loading, high throughput capacity, and low equipment cost as the advantages over existing Joule Heated Melter (JHM) technology. This paper describes the CCIM technology and identifies technical challenges that must be addressed in order to implement CCIMs in the DWPF. The CCIM uses induction heating to maintain molten glass at high temperature. A water-cooled helical induction coil is connected to an AC current supply, typically operating at frequencies from 100 KHz to 5 MHz. The oscillating magnetic field generated by the oscillating current flow through the coil induces eddy currents in conductive materials within the coil. Those oscillating eddy currents, in turn, generate heat in the material. In the CCIM, the induction coil surrounds a 'Cold Crucible' which is formed by metal tubes, typically copper or stainless steel. The tubes are constructed such that the magnetic field does not couple with the crucible. Therefore, the field generated by the induction coil couples primarily with the conductive medium (hot glass) within. The crucible tubes are water cooled to maintain their temperature between 100 C to 200 C so that a protective layer of molten glass and/or batch material, referred to as a 'skull', forms between them and the hot, corrosive melt. Because the protective skull is the only material directly in contact with the molten glass, the CCIM doesn't have the temperature limitations of traditional refractory lined Joule heated melters. It can be operated at melt temperatures in excess of 2000 C, allowing processing of high waste loading batches and difficult-to-melt compounds. The CCIM is poured through a bottom drain, typically through a water-cooled slide valve that starts and stops the pour stream. To promote uniform temperature distribution and increase heat transfer to the slurry fed High Level Waste (HLW) sludge, the CCIM may be equipped with bubblers and/or water cooled mechanical agitators. The DWPF could benefit from use of CCIM technology, especially in light of our latest projections of waste volume to be vitrified. Increased waste loading and increased throughput could result in substantial life cycle cost reduction. In order to significantly surpass the waste throughput capability of the currently installed Joule Heated Melter, it may be necessary to install two 950 mm CCIMs in the DWPF Melt Cell. A cursory evaluation of system design requirements and modifications to the facility that may be required to support installation and operation of two 950 mm CCIMs was performed. Based on this evaluation, it appears technically feasible to position two CCIMs in the Melt Cell of the DWPF within the existing footprint of the current melter. Interfaces with support systems and controls including Melter Feed, Power, Melter Cooling Water, Melter Off-gas, and Canister Operations must be designed to support dual CCIM operations

Recent Process and Equipment Improvements to Increase High Level Waste Throughput at the Defense Waste Processing Facility

The Savannah River Site's (SRS) Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) began stabilizing high level waste (HLW) in a glass matrix in 1996. Over the past few years, there have been several process and equipment improvements at the DWPF to increase the rate at which the high level waste can be stabilized. These improvements have either directly increased waste processing rates or have desensitized the process to upsets, thereby minimizing downtime and increasing production. Improvements due to optimization of waste throughput with increased HLW loading of the glass resulted in a 6% waste throughput increase based upon operational efficiencies. Improvements in canister production include the pour spout heated bellows liner (5%), glass surge (siphon) protection software (2%), melter feed pump software logic change to prevent spurious interlocks of the feed pump with subsequent dilution of feed stock (2%) and optimization of the steam atomized scrubber (SAS) operation to minimize downtime (3%) for a total increase in canister production of 12%. A number of process recovery efforts have allowed continued operation. These include the off gas system pluggage and restoration, slurry mix evaporator (SME) tank repair and replacement, remote cleaning of melter top head center nozzle, remote melter internal inspection, SAS pump J-Tube recovery, inadvertent pour scenario resolutions, dome heater transformer bus bar cooling water leak repair and new Infra-red camera for determination of glass height in the canister are discussed

Taxonomy based on science is necessary for global conservation

Peer reviewe

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)