Experimental investigation of the thermal/fluid properties of the nitrate to ammonia and ceramic (NAC) product slurry

摘要

Recently, a new immobilization technique for LLW, the Nitrate to Ammonia and Ceramic (NAC) process, has been developed. Instead of mixing the liquid waste form directly with the cement to make concrete blocks, the NAC process eliminates the nitrate from the LLW by converting it to ammonia gas. Aluminum particles are used as a reductant to complete this conversion. The final product of the NAC process is gibbsite, which can be further sintered to a ceramic waste form. Experimental tests are conducted to measure the apparent viscosity, the pressure drop, and the heat transfer coefficient of the pipe flow of the Nitrate to Ammonia and Ceramic (NAC) process product slurry. The tests indicate that the NAC product slurry exhibits a typical pseudoplastic fluid behavior. The pressure drop in the pipe flow is a function of the Reynolds number and the slurry temperature. The results also indicate that at a low slurry temperature, the slurry is uniformly heated peripherally. At a high slurry temperature, however, the slurry may be thermally stratified. In a straight pipe, the Nusselt number is reduced as the slurry temperature increases.