Purpose of this project is to reduce the volume of storage tank sludge to be treated by removing the Al and other nonradioactive components. In initial sludge surrogate studies, Al, Cr, and Zn showed the highest solubility in NaOH solutions; Ce and Zr were the least soluble of the elements tested. Removal of Fe and Bi approached 2%, the rest of the elements studied showed <1% removal. Amount of Al removed increased as the NaOH conc. increased from 0.1 to 6 M. Sequential washing of the sludge surrogate with 3 M NaOH removed 84% of the Al, 39% of the Cr, and 65% of the Zn. Surrogate sludges containing U and Th were also studied
