MELTER EMISSIONS FROM VITRIFICATION OF HANFORD ENVELOPE C LOWACTIVITY WASTE

摘要

A sample of radioactive waste from Hanford tank 241-AN-102, pretreated to remove undissolved solids, 137Cs,90Sr, 99Tc, and transuranic elements, was melted in a bench-scale melter to produce a vitrified waste form. Thepretreated waste was mixed with glass forming chemicals to give a slurry feed for the melter. Measurements offixed gas, volatile metal, and particulate offgas emissions were performed. Only small amounts of flammablegases H2 and CO were formed. The metals and radionuclides with the highest emissions were the more volatilemetals, as expected. The more volatile species were B, Na, K, 99Tc, and 137Cs. Boron, 99Tc, and 137Cs evolvedat higher rates during idling of the melter than during feeding the slurry. The composition of the particulateemissions approximated the composition of the feed.