Bubble retention in synthetic sludge: Testing of alternative gas retention apparatus

摘要

Several of the underground storage tanks currently used to store waste at Hanford have been placed on the Flammable Gas Watch List, because the waste is either known or suspected to generate, store, and episodically release flammable gases. The objective of this experimental study is to develop a method to measure gas bubble retention in simulated tank waste and in diluted simulant. The method and apparatus should (1) allow for reasonably rapid experiments, (2) minimize sample disturbance, and (3) provide realistic bubble nucleation and growth. The scope of this experimental study is to build an apparatus for measuring gas retention in simulated waste and to design the apparatus to be compatible with future testing on actual waste. The approach employed for creating bubbles in sludge involves dissolving a soluble gas into the supernatant liquid at an elevated pressure, recirculating the liquid containing the dissolved gas through the sludge, then reducing the pressure to allow bubbles to nucleate and grow. Results have been obtained for ammonia as the soluble gas and SY1-SIM-91A, a chemically representative simulated tank waste. In addition, proof-of-principle experiments were conducted with both ammonia and CO2 as soluble gases and sludge composed of 90-micron glass beads. Results are described.