Process innovations to minimize waste volumes at Savannah River

In 1983 approximately 1.6 x 10/sup 3/ m/sup 3/ (427,000 gallons) of radioactive salt solution were decontaminated in a full-scale demonstration. The cesium decontamination factor (DF) was in excess of 4 x 10/sup 4/ vs. a goal of 1 x 10/sup 4/. Data from this test were combined with pilot data and used to design the permanent facilities currently under construction. Startup of the Salt Decontamination Process is scheduled for 1987 and will decontaminate 2 x 10/sup 4/ m/sup 3/ (5.2 million gallons) of radioactive salt solution and generate 2 x 10/sup 3/ m/sup 3/ (520,000 gallons) of concentrated and washed precipitate per year. The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) will begin processing this concentrate in the Precipitate Hydrolysis Process starting in 1989. Laboratory data using simulated salt solution and nonradioactive cesium are being used to design this process. A 1/5-scale pilot plant is under construction and will be used to gain large-scale operating experience using nonradioactive simulants. This pilot plant is scheduled to startup in early 1987. The incentives to reduce the volume of waste that must be treated are self-evident. At Savannah River process development innovations to minimize the DWPF feed volumes have directly improved the economics of the process. The integrity of the final borosilicate glass water form has not been compromised by these developments. Many of the unit operations are familiar to chemical engineers and were put to use in a unique environment. As a result, tax dollars have been saved, and the objective of safely disposing of the nation's high-level defense waste has moved forward