Sean B. Seymore

Mechanisms of gas generation from simulated SY tank farm wastes: FY 1995 progress report

The objective of this work is to develop a better understanding of the mechanism of formation of flammable gases in the thermal decomposition of metal complexants such as HEDTA and sodium glycolate in simulated SY tank farm waste mixtures. This report summarizes the results of work done at the Georgia Institute of Technology in fiscal year 1995. Topics discussed are (1) long-term studies of the decomposition of HEDTA in simulated waste mixtures under an argon atmosphere at 90 and 120{degrees}C, including time profiles for disappearance of HEDTA and appearance of products and the quantitative analysis of the kinetic behavior; (2) considerations of hydroxylamine as an intermediate in the production of nitrogen containing gases by HEDTA decomposition; (3) some thoughts on the revision of the global mechanism for thermal decomposition of HEDTA under argon; (4) preliminary long-term studies of the decomposition of HEDTA in simulated waste under an oxygen atmosphere at 120{degrees}C; (5) estimation of the amount of NH{sub 3} in the gas phase above HEDTA reaction mixtures; and (6) further, examination of the interaction of aluminum with nitrite ion using {sup 27}Al NMR spectroscopy. Section 2 of this report describes the work conducted over the last three years at GIT. Section 3 contains a discussion of the kinetic behavior of HEDTA under argon; Section 4 discusses the role of hydroxylamine. Thermal decomposition of HEDTA to ED3A is the subject of Section 5, and decomposition of HEDTA in simulated waste mixtures under oxygen is covered in Section 6. In Section 7 we estimate ammonia in the gas phase; the role of aluminum is discussed in Section 8.