Engineering evaluation of alternatives: Technologies for monitoring interstitial liquids in single-shell tanks

摘要

A global search of mature, emerging, and conceptual tank liquid monitoring technologies, along with a historical review of Hanford tank farm waste monitoring instrumentation, was conducted to identify methods for gauging the quantity of interstitial waste liquids contained in Hanford SSTs. Upon completion of the search, an initial screening of alternatives was conducted to identify candidates which might be capable of monitoring interstitial tank liquids. The nine candidate technologies that were selected, evaluated, and ranked are summarized. Hydrostatic tank gauging (HTG) is the technology generally recommended for gauging the quantity of process materials contained in Hanford SSTs. HTG is a mass-based technique that has the capability for continuous remote monitoring. HTG has the advantages of no moving parts, intrinsic safety, and potentially gauging a one-million gal tank with a precision of approximately (+-)500 pounds (i.e., (+-)62 gal of water or (+-)0.02 in. of level in a 75 ft diameter tank). HTG is relatively inexpensive and probe design, construction, testing, installation, and operation should be straightforward. HTG should be configured as part of a hybrid tank gauging system. A hybrid system employs two or more independent measurement systems which function in concert to provide redundancy, improved accuracy, and maximum information at minimum cost. An excellent hybrid system choice for monitoring interstitial liquids in SSTs might be the combination of HTG with thermal differential technology.