Assessment of Technologies to Provide Extended Sludge Retrieval from Underground Storage Tanks at the Hanford Site

摘要

The purpose of this study was to identify sludge mobilization technologies that can be readily installed in double-shell tanks along with mixer pumps to augment mixer pump operation when mixer pumps do not adequately mobilize waste. The supplementary technologies will mobilize sludge that may accumulate in tank locations out-of-reach of the mixer-pump jet and move the sludge into the mixer-pump range of operation. The identified technologies will be evaluated to determine if their performances and configurations are adequate to meet requirements developed for enhanced sludge removal systems. The study proceeded in three parallel paths to identify technologies that: (1) have been previously deployed or demonstrated in radioactive waste tanks, (2) have been specifically evaluated for their ability to mobilize or dislodge waste simulants with physical and theological properties similar to those anticipated during waste retrieval, and (3) have been used in similar industrial conditions, but not specifically evaluated for radioactive waste retrieval.