Donald E. Rinehart

Development and Demonstration of Ultrafiltration Simulants

According to Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI) 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 that can be used in subsequent bench and integrated testing of the leaching/filtration processes for the waste treatment plant (WTP). These simulants will then be used to demonstrate the leaching process and to help refine processing conditions which may impact safety basis considerations (Smith 2006). This report documents the results of the filtration simulant development.

Large-scale purification of 90Sr from nuclear waste materials for production of 90Y, a therapeutic medical radioisotope.

A major limitation on the supply of the short-lived medical isotope 90Y (t1/2 = 64 h) is the available quantity of highly purified 90Sr generator material. A radiochemical production campaign was therefore undertaken to purify 1,500 Ci of 90Sr that had been isolated from fission waste materials. A series of alkaline precipitation steps removed all detectable traces of 137Cs, alpha emitters, and uranium and transuranic elements. Technical obstacles such as the buildup of gas pressure generated upon mixing large quantities of acid with solid 90Sr carbonate were overcome through safety features incorporated into the custom-built equipment used for 90Sr purification. Methods are described for analyzing the chemical and radiochemical purity of the final product and for accurately determining by gravimetry the quantities of 90Sr immobilized on stainless steel filters for future use.

Development and Characterization of Boehmite 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 that can be used in subsequent bench and integrated testing of the leaching/filtration processes. 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 the results of the boehmite simulant development.

Hanford Sludge Simulant Selection for Soil Mechanics Property Measurement

The current System Plan for the Hanford Tank Farms uses relaxed buoyant displacement gas release event (BDGRE) controls for deep sludge (i.e., high level waste [HLW]) tanks, which allows the tank farms to use more storage space, i.e., increase the sediment depth, in some of the double-shell tanks (DSTs). The relaxed BDGRE controls are based on preliminary analysis of a gas release model from van Kessel and van Kesteren. Application of the van Kessel and van Kesteren model requires parametric information for the sediment, including the lateral earth pressure at rest and shear modulus. No lateral earth pressure at rest and shear modulus in situ measurements for Hanford sludge are currently available. The two chemical sludge simulants will be used in follow-on work to experimentally measure the van Kessel and van Kesteren model parameters, lateral earth pressure at rest, and shear modulus.

Ion Exchange Kinetics Testing with SRF Resin

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site contains more than 53 million gallons of legacy waste generated as a byproduct of plutonium production and reprocessing operations. The wastes are a complex mixture composed mostly of NaNO3, NaNO2, NaOH, NaAlO2, Na3PO4, and Na2SO4, with a number of minor and trace metals, organics, and radionuclides stored in underground waste tanks. The DOE Office of River Protection (ORP) has contracted Bechtel National Incorporated (BNI) to build a pretreatment facility, the River Protection Project-Waste Treatment Plant (RPP-WTP), that will separate long-lived transuranics (TRU) and highly radioactive components (specifically 137Cs and, in selected cases, 90Sr) from the bulk (non-radioactive) constituents and immobilize the wastes by vitrification. The plant is designed to produce two waste streams: a high-volume low-activity waste (LAW) and a low-volume high-activity waste (HLW).

Cesium Ion Exchange Loading Kinetics Testing with SRF Resin

Ion exchange using the Spherical Resorcinol-Formaldehyde (SRF) resin has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energys Office of River Protection for use in the Pretreatment Facility of the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) and for potential application in an at-tank deployment for removing 137Cs. Recent proposed changes to the WTP ion exchange process baseline indicate that loading may include a broader range of sodium molarities (2 to 8 M) due to caustic leaching and higher temperatures (50°C) to alleviate post-filtration precipitation issues prior to reaching the ion exchange columns. Therefore, it is important to understand the behavior of SRF resin performance under the conditions expected with the new equipment and process changes. This research examined the impact of linear load velocity (4, 6, 8 cm/min), initial sodium concentration (2, 5, 8 M), initial sodium-to-cesium ratio (1.4E + 05, 2.1E + 05, 2.8E + 05 mol/mol), initial sodium-to-hydroxide ratio (2.0, 3.0, 4.0 mol/mol), and resin degradation during extended solution flow using elevated temperature (45°, 50°, 55°, 60°, 65°, 75°C). Testing was performed using a ∼2 mL column packed with SRF resin with feed flowing through it in an up-flow pattern. Samples were taken at set intervals and the data analyzed to help understand the impact of these conditions on the SRF resin performance. It was found that the loading kinetics were not significantly impacted by the sodium concentration over the range tested. However, the loading kinetics were impacted by the linear load velocity. These results indicated that at the test temperature, the adsorption of cesium is strongly dependent on mass transfer through the film and not significantly impacted by interparticle diffusion. Testing for extended times at elevated temperatures showed that the resin does degrade and loading capacity is reduced at and above 45°C. Above 60°C the resin appears to not load at all.

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.

Secondary Waste Simulant Development for Cast Stone Formulation Testing

Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC (WRPS) funded Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to conduct a waste form testing program to implement aspects of the Secondary Liquid Waste Treatment Cast Stone Technology Development Plan (Ashley 2012) and the Hanford Site Secondary Waste Roadmap (PNNL 2009) related to the development and qualification of Cast Stone as a potential waste form for the solidification of aqueous wastes from the Hanford Site after the aqueous wastes are treated at the Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF). The current baseline is that the resultant Cast Stone (or grout) solid waste forms would be disposed at the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF). Data and results of this testing program will be used in the upcoming performance assessment of the IDF and in the design and operation of a solidification treatment unit planned to be added to the ETF. The purpose of the work described in this report is to 1) develop simulants for the waste streams that are currently being fed and future WTP secondary waste streams also to be fed into the ETF and 2) prepare simulants to use for preparation of grout or Cast Stone solid waste forms for testing.