Evaluation of the Small-Tank Tetraphenylborate Process Using a Bench-Scale, 20-L Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor System at Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Results of Test 5

Lee, D.D.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

关键词: Removal;    Isotopes;    Decontamination;    Sodium;    Actinides;   

DOI  :  10.2172/814370
RP-ID  :  ORNL/TM-2001/42
RP-ID  :  AC05-00OR22725
RP-ID  :  814370

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

The goal of the Savannah River Salt Waste Processing Program (SPP) is to evaluate the presently available technologies and select the most effective approach for treatment of high-level waste salt solutions currently stored in underground tanks at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina. One of the three technologies currently being developed for this application is the Small-Tank Tetraphenylborate Process (STTP). This process uses sodium tetraphenylborate (TPB) to precipitate and remove radioactive cesium from the waste and monosodium titanate (MST) to sorb and remove radioactive strontium and actinides. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is demonstrating this process at the 1:4000 scale using a 20-L-capacity continuous-flow stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) system. Since March 1999, five operating campaigns of the 20-L CSTR have been conducted. The ultimate goal is to verify that this process, under certain extremes of operating conditions, can meet the minimum treatment criteria necessary for processing and disposing of the salt waste at the Savannah River Saltstone Facility. The waste acceptance criteria (WAC) for {sup 137}Cs, {sup 90}Sr, and total alpha nuclides are <40 nCi/g, <40 nCi/g, and <18 nCi/g, respectively. However, to allow for changes in process conditions, the SPP is seeking a level of treatment that is about 50% of the WAC. The bounding separation goals for {sup 137}Cs and {sup 90}Sr are to obtain decontamination factors (DFs) of 40,000 (99.998% removal) and 26 (96.15% removal), respectively. (DF is mathematically defined as the concentration of contaminant in the waste feed divided by the concentration of contaminant in the effluent stream.)