The Potential for Buoyant Displacement Gas Release Events in Tank 241-SY-102 after Waste Transfer from Tank 241-SY-101

Wells, Beric E. ; Meyer, Perry A. ; Chen, Guang

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (U.S.)

关键词: Removal;    Radioactive Waste Storage;    Tanks;    Slurry;    Wastes;   

DOI  :  10.2172/15001061
RP-ID  :  PNNL-13202
RP-ID  :  AC05-76RL01830
RP-ID  :  15001061

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

Tank 241-SY-101 is a double-shell radioactive waste storage tank containing waste that, before recent transfer and water back-dilution operations, was capable of retaining gas and producing flammable buoyant displacement gas release events (BD GREs). A BD GRE occurs when a portion of the nonconvective layer waste retains enough gas to become buoyant, rises to the waste surface, breaks up, and releases some of the stored gas. Installing the mixer pump in 1993 successfully mitigated gas retention in the settled solids layer in SY-101 and has prevented BD GREs. Gas retention in the floating drust layer and the corresponding accelerated waste level growth made it necessary to begin waste removal and back-dilution with water in December 1999. During these operations, some of the SY-101 mixed slurry layer is removed and transferred into Tank 241-SY-102. There was some concern that adding the SY-101 waste into SY-102 could create a waste configuration in SY-102 capable of BD GREs. This report updates and extends earlier assessments of the potential for BD GRE conditions in SY-102 after waste is transferred from SY-101. We determined that, under the given assumptions, no possibility of BD GREs exists in SY-102 from the SY-101 waste being added during from December 1999 through March 2000.