SUBMICRON SEPARATION AND CONTAINMENT - WITHOUT THE FILTER!

摘要

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) continues to emphasize the need for accelerated cleanup of its sites, including the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of former production facilities. At the same time, safeguarding the site personnel, the environment, and potentially affected interests outside the waste management professional field is ofrnparamount importance. The need to balance both the accelerated cleanup, and the safeguarding of all, has spawnedrninnovative, yet highly efficient cleanup technologies. One innovative approach capitalizes on a well-documented technology,rncyclonic separation, to effectively remove particles down to sub-micron sizes (0.2μm), the size often encountered as "dustrnparticles" and airborne particulates during cleanup operations - without using traditional filtration techniques. Finernparticulates may include radioactive and/or hazardous components, and may represent exposure pathways to cleanuprnpersonnel and the environment. Effective removal of particulates is essential to reducing worker exposure and achieving thernALARA principles desired during cleanup. As recent as a decade ago, cyclonic separators were deemed incapable ofrnseparating or removing particles less than 10μm in size. Recent advances, however, are breaking new ground in separatorrnefficiencies. Independent laboratory tests confirm a cyclone can remove particles down to the 0.2 μm effective diameterrnrange - (comparable to a standard HEP A filter, with a typical efficiency rating in the 0.3μm range). Additionally, therncyclonic separator removes the particles from the air-stream, and simultaneously collects the particles in an enclosedrncontainer to prevent clogging of downstream filters. The collection container is easily removed for disposal, with minimalrnpossibility of re-introduction of the particles to the operating environment - thereby further reducing operator exposure. Thernwork effort reviews the basic engineering design principles and objectives of the technology, including a history of itsrnapplications and ability to solve current waste management issues. The results of an independent laboratory evaluation arernexamined to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the system presented in exceeding the design parameters and arncomparison to more traditional hazardous and nuclear material vacuum systems. The system is being evaluated for use inrnadditional fields where contamination at the sub-micron level can lead to significant manufacturing defects or harmfulrnexposure to the environment. Potential application of the technology in the microelectronics, life sciences and otherrnhazardous materials environments (including chemical and biological weapons) will be briefly examined.