SUCCESSFUL MIXED WASTE DEPLOYMENTS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERS – PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

摘要

The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management Office of Science andrnTechnology has developed the Mixed Waste Program to address and resolve technology needsrnassociated with disposition of “mixed waste” (i.e. waste materials that contain both radioactivernand hazardous contaminants). The Mixed Waste Program is comprised of the EnvironmentalrnManagement Science Program, Mixed Waste Focus Area, Accelerated Site TechnologyrnDeployment Program, Industry Programs, and various Crosscut Programs. Collectively, thesernindividual elements provide a technology life-cycle continuum that offers a balanced portfoliornranging from basic research to technology development through deployment. Althoughrndeployment seems to be the most elusive phase in this continuum, the Mixed Waste Program hasrnexperienced success in this area due to various technology commercialization, site-to-siterntransfer, and industrial partnership efforts.rnCommercialization involves transfer of a DOE-developed technology to the private sector for usernin DOE or commercial applications. The primary purpose of this type of transfer is to allowrnwidespread use of a needed technology, without requiring multiple system installations. Site-to-rnSite transfers involve deployment, at one DOE site, of a specific treatment system or equipmentrnthat was obtained from another DOE site. The technology involved can be either DOEdevelopedrnor commercially available. The primary purpose of this type of transfer is to providerncost savings or expedite disposition schedules. Site-specific deployments involve development,rndemonstration, and deployment of a specific technology intended to address a specific need at arnspecific site. Industrial Partnerships involve either joint development of a technology betweenrnDOE and an industrial partner; or joint demonstration of a commercial technology for generalrnDOE application.rnThroughout the last few years, the combined efforts of the Mixed Waste Program elements havernresulted in deployment of several technologies. Examples include polymer macroencapsulation,rnextrusion polymer microencapsulation, kinetic mixer polymer microencapsulation, chemicallyrnbonded phosphate ceramics, sulfur polymer cement stabilization, gas recontainerizationrntechnology, portable water treatment unit, direct chemical oxidation, active and passiverncomputed tomography, and combined thermal/epithermal neutron assay. In addition, severalrnmore technologies, which were developed or tested by DOE, are presently being evaluated forrndeployment at DOE sites including molten salt oxidation, twin-screw polymerrnmicroencapsulation, electro-thermal plasma stabilization, and uranium chip treatmentrntechnology.rnDeployment of these technologies, in conjunction with existing DOE and commercialrncapabilities, will provide a suite of technologies that can address approximately 90% of the DOErnmixed waste inventory. The remaining 10% is comprised of “unique” waste streams, whichrninclude problematic organic waste streams [i.e. tritiated polychlorinated biphenyls, transuranic