Fluidized Bed Stream Reforming of Organic and Nitrate Containing Salt Supernate

A salt supernate waste (Tank 48H) generated at the Savannah River Site (SRS) during demonstration of In Tank Precipitation (ITP) process for Cs removal contains nitrates, nitrites, and sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB). This slurry must be pre-processed in order to reduce the impacts of the nitrate and organic species on subsequent vitrification in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). Fluidized Bed Steam Reforming (FBSR) is a candidate technology for destroying the nitrates, nitrites, and organics (NaTPB) prior to melting. Bench scale tests were designed and conducted at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to demonstrate that bench scale testing can adequately reproduce the CO/CO2 and H2/H2O fugacities representative of the FBSR process and form the appropriate product phases. Carbonate and silicate product phases that were compatible with DWPF vitrification were achieved in the bench scale testing and test parameters were optimized for a pilot scale FBSR demonstration