Comparison of Sludge Digestion Methods for High Organic Hanford Tank 241-C-204

Lindberg, Michael J. ; Deutsch, William J.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (U.S.)

关键词: Sludges;    Uranium;    Materials Recovery;    Neptunium;    Microwave Radiation;   

DOI  :  10.2172/901476
RP-ID  :  PNNL-16140
RP-ID  :  AC05-76RL01830
RP-ID  :  901476

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

This report presents the results of an investigation into methods for digesting sludge in tank 241-C-204 at the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State. The objective of this study was to compare the recovery of uranium, neptunium, and plutonium using three digestion methods: EPA Method 3052, EPA Method 3050B, and alkaline fusion. Results show that EPA Method 3052, microwave assisted acid digestion, is the most efficient digestion method with higher recoveries for both uranium and plutonium. This may also be the case for neptunium; however, the analytical results are uncertain for this element. The microwave digestion method also has the added benefits of being quicker and producing less waste, which lowers the overall cost per sample. Further testing with samples from other tanks will confirm that microwave assisted digestion is a viable method of digesting Hanford tank sludges (including those with a high organic content) for chemical analysis.