TANK 50 BATCH 0 SALTSTONE FORMULATION CONFIRMATION

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) personnel were requested to confirm the Tank 50 Batch 0 grout formulation per Technical Task Request, SSF-TTR-2006-0001 (task 1 of 2) [1]. Earlier Batch 0 formulation testing used a Tank 50 sample collected in September 2005 and is described elsewhere [2]. The current testing was performed using a sample of Tank 50 waste collected in May 2006. This work was performed according to the Technical Task and Quality Assurance Plan (TT/QAP), WSRC-RP-2006-00594 [3]. The salt solution collected from Tank 50 in May 2006 contained approximately 3 weight percent more solids than the sample collected in September 2005. The insoluble solids took longer to settle in the new sample which was interpreted as indicating finer particles in the current sample. The saltstone formulation developed for the September 2005 Tank 50 Batch 0 sample was confirmed for the May 2006 sample with one minor exception. Saltstone prepared with the Tank 50 sample collected in May 2006 required 1.5 times more Daratard 17 set retarding admixture than the saltstone prepared with the September In addition, a sample prepared with lower shear mixing (stirring with a spatula) had a higher plastic viscosity (57 cP) than samples made with higher shear mixing in a blender (23cP). The static gel times of the saltstone slurries made with low shear mixing were also shorter ({approx}32 minutes) than those for comparable samples made in the blender ({approx}47 minutes). The addition of the various waste streams (ETP, HEU-HCAN, and GPE-HCAN) to Tank 50 from September 2005 to May 2006 has increased the amount of set retarder, Daratard 17, required for processing saltstone slurries through the Saltstone facility. If these streams are continued to be added to Tank 50, the quantity of admixtures required to maintain the same processing conditions for the Saltstone facility will probably change and additional testing is recommended to reconfirm the Tank 50 Saltstone formulation