Thermal and Chemical Stability of Crystalline Silicotitanate Sorbent

The Savannah River Site (SRS) is evaluating technologies for removing radioactive cesium ({sup 137}Cs) from the supernate solutions stored in the high-level waste tanks at the site. Crystalline silicotitanate sorbent (IONSIV IE-911,{reg_sign} UOP LLC, Des Plaines, IL), which is very effective at removing cesium from high-salt solution, is one of three technologies currently being tested. Because of the extremely high inventory of {sup 137}Cs expected for the large columns of crystalline silicotitanate (CST) that would be used for treating the SRS supernate, any loss of flow or cooling to the columns could result in high temperatures from radiolytic heating. Also, even for normal operation, the CST would be exposed to the supernates for up to a year before being removed. Small-scale tests using simulant solutions were used to determine the long-term stability of the CST to the solutions at various temperatures. In the tests performed in this study, the cesium capacity of the CST decreased significantly (76%) as the temperature of the simulant and CST during loading was increased from 23 to 80 C. CST exposed to recirculating SRS average simulant solution at room temperature in a column test showed a slow decrease in cesium loading capacity (measured at 23 C), with a drop of 30% for CST from the top of the bed and 13% for CST from the bottom of the bed after a 12-month period of exposure. A similar column test using a high-pH salt solution did not show any change in the cesium capacity of the CST. An increase was noted in pressure drop through the column using average simulant, but no change was observed for the column using high-pH salt solution