PHASE III SORBENT TESTING FOR SOLIDIFICATION OF PLUTONIUM/URANIUM EXTRACTION PROCESS WASTE

摘要

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is evaluating various sorbents to solidify and immobilize hazardous constituents of the plutonium/uranium extraction (PUREX) process waste at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The purpose of the solidification is to provide a cost-effective alternative to incineration of the waste. Incineration at the Consolidated Incinerator Facility (CIF) at SRS is currently identified as the treatment technology for PUREX waste. However, the CIF is not in operation at this time, so SRS is interested in pursuing alternatives to incineration for treatment of this waste. SRS performed the initial lab scale PUREX solidification study in 2001 and recommended further testing for four sorbent materials. The DOE Western Environmental Technology Office in Butte, MTwas designated as the facility for continuing the sorbent testing and evaluation for the organic fraction of the PUREX waste. MSE Technology Applications, Inc. (MSE) tested and evaluated two clay and two polymer sorbents with the capability of solidifying the organic PUREX waste. A surrogate organic PUREX waste recipe was developed by SRS and utilized at MSE for sorbent testing and evaluation at bench-scale, 19 Liter (L) scale (5-gallon), and 208 L scale (55-gallon).