Washing of the AW-101 entrained solids

BNFL Inc. (BNFL) is under contract with the US Department of Energy, River Protection Project (DOE-RPP) to design, construct, and operate facilities for treating wastes stored in the single-shell and double-shell tanks at the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington. The DOE-BNFL RPP contract identifies two feeds to the waste treatment plant: (1) primarily liquid low-activity waste (LAW) consisting of less than 2 wt% entrained solids and (2) high-level waste (HLW) consisting of 10 to 200 g/L solids slurry. This report describes the results of a test conducted by Battelle to assess the effects of inhibited water washing on the composition of the entrained solids in the diluted AW-101 low-activity waste (LAW) sample. The objective of this work was to gather data on the solubility of the AW-101 entrained solids in 0.01 M NaOH, so that BNFL can evaluate whether these solids require caustic leaching. The work was conducted according to test plan BNFL-TP-29953-9, Rev. 0, LAW Entrained Solids Water Wash and Caustic Leach Testing. The test went according to plan, with no deviations from the test plan. Based on the results of the 0.01 M NaOH washing, a decision was made by BNFL to not proceed with the caustic leaching test. The composition of the washed solids was such that caustic leaching would not result in significant reduction in the immobilized HLW volume