Fluidized Bed Steam Reforming of Hanford LAW Using THORsm Mineralizing Technology

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) documented, in 2002, a plan for accelerating cleanup of the Hanford Site, located in southeastern Washington State, by at least 35 years. A key element of the plan was acceleration of the tank waste program and completion of ''tank waste treatment by 2028 by increasing the capacity of the planned Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) and using supplemental technologies for waste treatment and immobilization.'' The plan identified steam reforming technology as a candidate for supplemental treatment of as much as 70% of the low-activity waste (LAW). Mineralizing steam reforming technology, offered by THOR Treatment Technologies, LLC would produce a denitrated, granular mineral waste form using a high-temperature fluidized bed process. A pilot scale demonstration of the technology was completed in a 15-cm-diameter reactor vessel. The pilot scale facility was equipped with a highly efficient cyclone separator and heated sintered metal filters for particulate removal, a thermal oxidizer for reduced gas species and NOx destruction, and a packed activated carbon bed for residual volatile species capture. The pilot scale equipment is owned by the DOE, but located at the Science and Technology Applications Research (STAR) Center in Idaho Falls, ID. Pilot scale testing was performed August 2–5, 2004. Flowsheet chemistry and operational parameters were defined through a collaborative effort involving Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), and THOR Treatment Technologies personnel. Science Application International Corporation, owners of the STAR Center, personnel performed actual pilot scale operation. The pilot scale test achieved a total of 68.7 hrs of cumulative/continuous processing operation before termination in response to a bed de-fluidization condition. 178 kg of LAW surrogate were processed that resulted in 148 kg of solid product, a mass reduction of about 17%. The process achieved essentially complete bed turnover within approximately 40 hours. Samples of mineralized solid product materials were analyzed for chemical/physical properties. SRNL will report separately the results of product performance testing that were accomplished