INSPECTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE INTEGRATED DEFENSE WASTE PROCESSING FACILITY (DWPF) MELTER SYSTEM (IDMS) AFTER SEVEN YEARS OF CONTINUOUS OPERATION

摘要

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) has been processing High Level Waste (HLW) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) since 1994. Prior to the startup of the DWPF melter, a 1/l0~(th) pilot scale melter designated the Integrated DWPF Melter System (IDMS) melter was operated continuously for 7 years at 1150 deg C. The IDMS processed a wide variety of simulated DWPF and Hanford borosilicate waste glasses The inspection indicated that the 12" thick Monofrax K-3 refractory was in good condition but had experienced some thinning at the sides of the melter in the melt zone. The Inconel 690~? upper electrodes were in excellent condition while the bottom electrodes immersed in the glass pool exhibited approx 12 percent wear. Glassy deposits remaining in the melter after draining were about 12" deep and were composed of 3.2-8.5 wt percent spinel and <0.08 wt percent noble metals (Ru as RuO_2, Rh, and Pd). Analysis of glassy deposits embedded in the melter floor, e.g. beneath the remaining 12" of glass, contained 27-66 wt percent spinel and up to approx 9 wt percent noble metals.