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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 577 records · Page 32

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2005

Design and Testing of a Lyophilizer for Water Recovery from Solid Waste

Mixed liquid/solid wastes, including feces, water processor effluents, and food waste, can be lyophilized (freeze-dried) to recover the water they contain and stabilize the solids remain. Previous research has demonstrated the potential benefits of using thermoelectric heat pumps to build a lyophilizer for processing waste in microgravity. These results were used to build a working prototype suitable for ground-based human testing. This paper describes the prototype design and presents the results of functional and performance tests. Equivalent system mass parameters are calculated, and practical issues such as sanitary waste handling in microgravity are addressed.

Litwiller, Eric↗

DOE OSTI2013

DWPF SMECT PVV Sample Characterization and Remediation

On April 2, 2013, a solid sample of material collected from the Defense Waste Processing Facility’s Process Vessel Vent (PVV) jumper for the Slurry Mix Evaporator Condensate Tank (SMECT) was received at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). DWPF has experienced pressure spikes within the SMECT and other process vessels which have resulted in processing delays while a vacuum was re-established. Work on this sample was requested in a Technical Assistance Request (TAR). This document reports the results of chemical and physical property measurements made on the sample, as well as insights into the possible impact to the material using DWPF’s proposed remediation methods. DWPF was interested in what the facility could expect when the material was exposed to either 8M nitric acid or 90% formic acid, the two materials they have the ability to flush through the PVV line in addition to process water once the line is capped off during a facility outage.

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DOE OSTI2020

Tank 49H Solids Disturbance Analysis

Tank 49H will serve as the feed tank for the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). Transfers into Tank 49H may disturb solids that have settled to the bottom of the tank, resulting in feed that may exceed the insoluble solids content limit of 1200 mg/L from the SWPF Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC). During a transfer into Tank 49H, material that free falls from the Tank 49H B4 downcomer and passes through the supernate could potentially disturb the solids on the bottom of the tank and scour or suspend solids from a settled solids layer or turbid region. The scope of this task is to perform fluid flow analysis to determine the impact of a “plunging jet” through the B4 downcomer on solids in Tank 49H and to determine a minimum liquid level to be maintained in Tank 49H prior to transfers that will minimize disturbing the solids and exceeding the SWPF WAC limits for insoluble solids carryover to SWPF.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2015

Characterization of high level nuclear waste glass samples following extended melter idling

The Savannah River Site Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) melter was recently idled with glass remaining in the melt pool and riser for approximately three months. This situation presented a unique opportunity to collect and analyze glass samples since outages of this duration are uncommon. The objective of this study was to obtain insight into the potential for crystal formation in the glass resulting from an extended idling period. The results will be used to support development of a crystal-tolerant approach for operation of the high-level waste melter at the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). Two glass pour stream samples were collected from DWPF when the melter was restarted after idling for three months. The samples did not contain crystallization that was detectible by X-ray diffraction. Electron microscopy identified occasional spinel and noble metal crystals of no practical significance. Occasional platinum particles were observed by microscopy as an artifact of the sample collection method. Reduction/oxidation measurements showed that the pour stream glasses were fully oxidized, which was expected after the extended idling period. Chemical analysis of the pour stream glasses revealed slight differences in the concentrations of some oxides relative to analyses of the melter feed composition prior to the idling period. While these differences may be within the analytical error of the laboratories, the trends indicate that there may have been some amount of volatility associated with some of the glass components, and that there may have been interaction of the glass with the refractory components of the melter. These changes in composition, although small, can be attributed to the idling of the melter for an extended period. The changes in glass composition resulted in a 70-100 °C increase in the predicted spinel liquidus temperature (TL) for the pour stream glass samples relative to the analysis of the melter feed prior to the outage. This indicates that the potential for spinel crystallization increased as a result of idling for an extended period. However, the predicted TL of the pour stream glasses remained 150-200 °C below the mean melt pool temperature of about 1125 °C during the idling period. Given the change in predicted TL over the three month outage, the results indicate that it is important to have a thorough understanding of spinel crystallization within the melter for WTP to operate with a volume percent crystallization constraint. This knowledge will enable process control routines to be developed that avoid bulk crystallization in the melter and allow for recovery from off-normal events. The current WTP crystal-tolerant glass program will develop an improved understanding of spinel crystallization in the WTP melter to allow for operation at maximum waste loading in glass composition systems limited by predictions of spinel crystallization.

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DOE OSTI2013

Review Of Rheology Modifiers For Hanford Waste

As part of Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL)'s strategic development scope for the Department of Energy - Office of River Protection (DOE-ORP) Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) waste feed acceptance and product qualification scope, the SRNL has been requested to recommend candidate rheology modifiers to be evaluated to adjust slurry properties in the Hanford Tank Farm. SRNL has performed extensive testing of rheology modifiers for use with Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) simulated melter feed - a high undissolved solids (UDS) mixture of simulated Savannah River Site (SRS) Tank Farm sludge, nitric and formic acids, and glass frit. A much smaller set of evaluations with Hanford simulated waste have also been completed.

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DOE OSTI2021

Tank 49H Solids Disturbance Analysis

Tank 49H will serve as the feed tank for the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). Transfers into Tank 49H may disturb solids that have settled to the bottom of the tank, resulting in feed that may exceed the insoluble solids content limit of 1,200 mg/L from the SWPF Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC). During a transfer into Tank 49H, material that free falls into Tank 49H through a downcomer and passes through the supernate could potentially disturb the solids on the bottom of the tank and scour or suspend solids from a settled solids layer or turbid region. A previous analysis and report evaluated the potential to disturb solids when transferring into Tank 49H through the B4 riser and recommended a minimum tank level of 120 inches to prevent disturbing any solids in the bottom of the tank. The scope of this task is to perform additional fluid flow analysis to determine the impact of a “plunging jet” through the C3 downcomer on solids in Tank 49H and to determine a minimum liquid level to be maintained in Tank 49H prior to transfers that will minimize disturbing the solids and exceeding the SWPF WAC limits for insoluble solids carryover to SWPF since the C3 riser downcomer is at a lower elevation and farther away from the B5 transfer pump than the B4 downcomer.

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DOE OSTI2021

Tank 49H Solids Disturbance Analysis

Tank 49H will serve as the feed tank for the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). Transfers into Tank 49H may disturb solids that have settled to the bottom of the tank, resulting in feed that may exceed the insoluble solids content limit of 1,200 mg/L from the SWPF Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC). During a transfer into Tank 49H, material that free falls into Tank 49H through a downcomer and passes through the supernate could potentially disturb the solids on the bottom of the tank and scour or suspend solids from a settled solids layer or turbid region. A previous analysis and report evaluated the potential to disturb solids when transferring into Tank 49H through the B4 riser and recommended a minimum tank level of 120 inches to prevent disturbing any solids in the bottom of the tank. The scope of this task is to perform additional fluid flow analysis to determine the impact of a “plunging jet” through the C3 downcomer on solids in Tank 49H and to determine a minimum liquid level to be maintained in Tank 49H prior to transfers that will minimize disturbing the solids and exceeding the SWPF WAC limits for insoluble solids carryover to SWPF since the C3 riser downcomer is at a lower elevation and farther away from the B5 transfer pump than the B4 downcomer.

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NASA NTRS2005

Lyophilization for Water Recovery III, System Design

Mixed liquid/solid wastes, including feces, water processor effluents, and food waste, can be lyophilized (freeze-dried) to recover the water they contain and stabilize the solids that remain. Our previous research has demonstrated the potential benefits of using thermoelectric heat pumps to build a lyophilizer for processing waste in microgravity. These results were used to build a working prototype suitable for ground- based human testing. This paper describes the prototype design and presents results of functional and performance tests.

Litwiller, Eric↗

DOE OSTI2018

Activating Effect of Aluminum Chloride in the Preparation of Sulfur Concrete from Sulfur and Silica

Using physicochemical characterization techniques and quantum-chemical calculations, we have demonstrated that aluminum chloride has an activating effect on the chemical interaction between sulfur and silica. As a result, we have developed a low-waste process for producing sulfur concrete with good physicomechanical and functional properties.

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DOE OSTI2020

Analysis of the Sludge Batch 7b (Macrobatch 9) DWPF Pour Stream Glass Sample

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) began processing Sludge Batch 7b (SB7b), also referred to as Macrobatch 9 (MB9), in January 2012. SB7b is a blend of the heel of Tank 40 from Sludge Batch 7a (SB7a) and the SB7b material that was transferred to Tank 40 from Tank 51. SB7b was processed using Frit 418.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Tank 49H solids disturbance analysis

Tank 49H serves as the feed tank for the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). Transfers into Tank 49H may disturb any solids that have settled to the bottom of the tank, resulting in feed that may exceed the insoluble solids content limit of 1,200 mg/L of the SWPF Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC). During a transfer into Tank 49H, material that free falls into Tank 49H through a downcomer could potentially disturb any solids on the bottom of the tank and scour or suspend solids from a settled solids layer or turbid region. A previous analysis and report evaluated the potential to disturb solids when transferring into Tank 49H through the B4 riser and recommended a minimum tank level of 120 inches to prevent disturbing any solids in the bottom of the tank. The scope of this task is to perform additional fluid flow analysis to determine whether accounting for disturbed particle settling and particle mixing and dispersion during transfer could allow the minimum liquid level to be reduced below 120 inches. The analysis utilized models from the technical literature to calculate the size and shape of the “plunging jet” as a function of input parameters such as initial velocity, initial jet diameter, elevation of the initial jet, liquid level in the tank, and solids depth. The analysis relied on the M-Star® simulations performed for the previous analysis to provide bounding estimates of the amount of solid particles disturbed and used the MStar® software to calculate the dispersion and mixing of the disturbed solids with other liquid in the tank as the solids are transported to the transfer pump. The analysis showed that with a solid particle size of 5 micron or less, a liquid level of 120 inches should be maintained to prevent significant disturbance of the solid layer at the bottom of Tank 49H.

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DOE OSTI2016

Tin(II)apatite: Synthesis, Characterization, and Challenge with Pertechnetate - 16194

We will report on the synthesis of stannous apatite and the subsequent reductive capacity attained, using a cerium (IV) titration method. Also reported will be the distribution coefficients derived using a Hanford tank supernatant simulant of 7.8 M sodium with chrome (VI) as a contaminant of concern, as a potential non-isotopic oxy-anion and technetium surrogate for reductive capacity determinations. Pertechnetate will be subjected to reduction using hydroxylamine, glucose and threose. The purpose is to take the first step in laboratory analyses to determine the amount of non-pertechnetate species in Hanford tank waste. A proposed sequestration mechanism will be presented as to why the reacted tin(II)apatite does not release technetium once reacted. SEM and EDS spectra will be presented on the crystalline apatite. Areas of incorporation of the tin(II)apatite will be presented for the Hanford tank waste process. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2019

Recent Regulatory Challenges Associated with Managing NORM and TENORM Waste Streams in the United States - 19609

Recent regulatory changes in several states in the United States (U.S.) have introduced new challenges to industries impacted with naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and/or technologically enhanced NORM (TENORM) requiring innovative solutions. Because NORM and TENORM are specifically exempt from U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations, the onus falls on the 50 states to regulate their use and disposal. Over the past 10 years, regulations applying to NORM and TENORM have been drafted, passed, or updated in multiple states, including North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and West Virginia to name a few. Solutions and lessons learned before and during the recent regulatory changes for a variety of clients, including specialty metals, mining, and oil and gas (O and G), are presented. In addition, the design and implementation of the comprehensive study of NORM/TENORM associated with conventional and unconventional O and G production activities in Pennsylvania on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) is presented, and the development of analytical solutions and waste processes designed to minimize the impact of the new regulations while maintaining compliance is discussed. (author)

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DOE OSTI2013

Impact of the next generation solvent on DWPF CPC processing

As part of the Actinide Removal Process (ARP)/Modular Caustic-side Solvent Extraction Unit (MCU) Life Extension Project, a next generation solvent (NGS) and new strip acid will be deployed. Processing will begin with a blend of the current solvent and the NGS. Compositional changes in the NGS solvent and blending with the current solvent require review of previously performed work to determine if additional experimental work is required to address any impacts to the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Chemical Process Cell (CPC). The composition change involved the substitution of the N,N’-dicyclohexyl-N”-isotridecylguanidine LIX ® 79 guanidine suppressor with N,N’,N”-tris (3,7-dimethyloctyl) guanidine (TiDG) guanidine suppressor.

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DOE OSTI2019

Experimental and Modeling of Low Pressure Plasma as a Complementary Process for Thermal Waste Treatment - 19270

Polymeric waste contaminated with radionuclides is a challenging wasteform in its raw state. This waste is characterized by its high volume to weight ratio, together with the hazard of its radiolysis and consequently, the generation of flammable and explosive gases (e.g. H2 and light hydrocarbons). Thus, minimizing waste volumes together with stabilizing the wasteform are of high significance in the treatment of contaminated polymers. Thermal decomposition of polymeric waste results in gas products, mainly hydrocarbon molecules (C2-C6), which cannot be released to the atmosphere for environmental reasons. Here, we study a secondary gas treatment reactor, using plasma formed by inductive radio-frequency (13.56 MHz RF), in order to decompose the hydrocarbon gas products into smaller molecules. As a case study, we compare the plasma treatment of gases from two sources: a mixed gaseous product collected from the pyrolytic decomposition of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and industrial butane gas. We also examine the effects of systematic addition of Ar, N{sub 2} and Ar+N{sub 2} mixtures to the treated gases. In this work, we utilize optical emission spectroscopy (OES) to obtain in situ data from the region in the center of the inductive RF coil. The main emissions from discharges in the gases or their mixtures occur in the 200-700 nm spectral region. Their relative intensities depend strongly on the plasma excitation mode, N{sub 2} flow rate, and gas feed composition. The addition of N{sub 2} to the input gas enhanced hydrocarbon decomposition as compared to the addition of pure Ar. This can be attributed to decomposition by free-radical reactions rather than by particles collisions processes. We performed preliminary modeling of the plasma behavior from ignition to steady state, which takes less than 0.01 s under these conditions. These simulations will help us to better understand and optimize a variety of decomposition reactions. The results of this study suggest that coupling low pressure plasma to conventional thermal decomposition techniques can provide an effective treatment process for contaminated solid plastic waste. (authors)

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NASA NTRS2002

Bioregenerative food system cost based on optimized menus for advanced life support

Optimized menus for a bioregenerative life support system have been developed based on measures of crop productivity, food item acceptability, menu diversity, and nutritional requirements of crew. Crop-specific biomass requirements were calculated from menu recipe demands while accounting for food processing and preparation losses. Under the assumption of staggered planting, the optimized menu demanded a total crop production area of 453 m2 for six crew. Cost of the bioregenerative food system is estimated at 439 kg per menu cycle or 7.3 kg ESM crew-1 day-1, including agricultural waste processing costs. On average, about 60% (263.6 kg ESM) of the food system cost is tied up in equipment, 26% (114.2 kg ESM) in labor, and 14% (61.5 kg ESM) in power and cooling. This number is high compared to the STS and ISS (nonregenerative) systems but reductions in ESM may be achieved through intensive crop productivity improvements, reductions in equipment masses associated with crop production, and planning of production, processing, and preparation to minimize the requirement for crew labor.

Non-NASA Center↗

DOE OSTI2017

Determination of the impact of glycolate on ARP and MCU operations

Savannah River Remediation (SRR) is evaluating an alternate flowsheet for the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) using glycolic acid as a reductant. An important aspect of the development of the glycolic acid flowsheet is determining if glycolate has any detrimental downstream impacts. Testing was performed to determine if there is any impact to the strontium and actinide sorption by monosodium titanate (MST) and modified monosodium titanate (mMST) or if there is an impact to the cesium removal, phase separation, or coalescer performance at the Modular Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction Processing Unit (MCU).

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DOE OSTI2022

Analysis of DWPF Sludge Batch 6 (Macrobatch 7) Pour Stream Glass Samples

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) began processing Sludge Batch 6 (SB6), also referred to as Macrobatch 7 (MB7), in June 2010. SB6 is a blend of the heel of Tank 40 from Sludge Batch 5 (SB5), H-Canyon Np transfers and SB6 that was transferred to Tank 40 from Tank 51. SB6 was processed using Frit 418. During processing of each sludge batch, the DWPF is required to take at least one glass sample to meet the objectives of the Glass Product Control Program and to complete the necessary Production Records so that the final glass product may be disposed of at a Federal Repository. Four pour stream glass samples and two Melter Feed Tank (MFT) slurry samples were collected while processing SB6. The samples were transferred to the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) where they were analyzed.

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