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Effluent Treatment Facility Catalyst Testing

ETF needs to bring its peroxide decomposer module back on-line in order to support the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. This report discusses testing of five catalyst materials: Sud-Chemie T-2525, Carulite 200, EnviCat VOC-2531, LayneOx and a natural manganese ore. This testing looked at the amount of fines produced as well as the peroxide destruction abilities of each material. The Sud-Chemie T-2525 material had the least amount of fines and reduced the peroxide to ≤10 ppm within 30 min. The Carulite 200 and EnviCat VOC 2531 catalysts contained more fines than the T-2525 material, but also reduced the peroxide concentration to ≤10 ppm within 30 min. The Pro Ox and LayneOx materials contained the greatest amount of fines and did not reduce as much peroxide when compared to the other catalysts tested.

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Effluent Treatment Facility Catalyst Flow Testing

ETF needs to bring its peroxide decomposer module (PDM) back on-line to support the Waste Treament and Immobilization Plant. The PDM uses a catalyst to reduce peroxide. The catalysts of interest are: T-2525 and Carulite 200. The purpose of this testing was to determine if these two catalyst materials would continue to reduce peroxide without producing additional fines in bench-scale column tests. Testing consisted of both superficial velocity equivalent testing and residence time equivalent testing.

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Peroxide Decomposer Module Catalyst Testing to Support Preparations for Increased Demand - 19052

The Hanford Site Effluent Treatment Facility's (ETF) mission is to receive, treat, and dispose of liquid effluents from on-site programs and projects. Its roles in the management and mitigation of tank waste volume is integral to the overall Hanford tank farms mission, as tank space is limited. ETF's role will become even more essential as the Direct-Feed Low Activity Waste process comes online at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). In order to accommodate the additional liquid effluent streams, the ETF will undergo a number of facility and equipment upgrades. Included in this is the reinstatement of the Peroxide Decomposer Module (PDM) into the ETF's main treatment train. The PDM is used to remove any residual hydrogen peroxide not fully consumed in the preceding ultraviolet/oxidation (UV/OX) treatment stage for organic destruction. Future waste stream estimates have been shown to contain organic content requiring excess hydrogen peroxide addition. Restoration of the PDM will ensure the ETF can accommodate the higher anticipated levels of organic content in these new influent streams. Due to low organic content levels in the current influents and some operability issues with the PDM, it has not been in operation since 1998. One aspect of the repair and upgrade of the PDM is the usability of manganese dioxide on alumina catalyst, Sud-Chemie T-2525, which was purchased in 2008 but has remained in storage since. The manufacturer of the catalyst states there is no known shelf life for the product and no current data to indicate the catalyst's performance after long-term storage. To determine the usability of the stored catalyst, a laboratory test was developed. The testing of this stored catalyst was based on testing methods and information collected from initial catalyst product testing performed in 2008. This test involved spiking the catalyst with 200 ppm hydrogen peroxide and then testing the resulting solution to determine the extent of peroxide destruction. Initial testing results of the Sud-Chemie T-2525 catalyst indicated reduced performance, so additional catalyst materials were selected for inclusion in the testing. These materials included Carulite{sup R} 200 catalyst, LayneOx{sup R}, natural manganese ore - pyrolusite (Pro-Ox{sup R}), and EnviCat{sup R} 2531 SPH 4-6. With the expansion of the test scope, fines generation testing was added to provide additional data for product selection, as excessive fines cause plugging in the PDM. The resulting test data are compared to the 2008 catalyst product testing data in order to evaluate performance of each product to determine whether the Sud-Chemie T-2525 is still viable and to determine the best candidate for its replacement. This testing provides essential information to the engineering and operations organizations managing the facility and equipment upgrades for the ETF. (authors)

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Destruction of the Uranyl Moiety in a U(V) “Cation–Cation” Interaction

A gas-phase uranyl peroxide dimer supported by three 12-crown-4 ether (12C4) ligands, [(UO 2 ) 2 (O 2 )(12C4) 3 )] 2+ (A), was prepared by electrospray ionization. Density functional theory (DFT) indicates a structure with two terminal 12C4 and the third 12C4 bridging the uranium centers. Collision induced dissociation (CID) of A resulted in elimination of the bridging 12C4 to yield a uranyl peroxide dimer with two terminal donor ligands, [(12C4)(UO 2 )(O 2 )(UO 2 )(12C4)] 2+ (B). Remarkably, CID of B resulted in elimination of the bridging peroxide concomitant with reduction of U(VI) to U(V) in C, [(12C4)(UO 2 )(UO 2 )(12C4)] 2+ . DFT studies indicate that in C there is direct interaction between the two UO2+ species, which can thus be considered as a so-called cation-cation interaction (CCI). This formal CCI, induced by tetradentate 12C4 ligands, corresponds to destruction of the linear uranyl moieties and creation of bridging U-O-U oxo-bonds. Finally, on the basis of the structural rearrangement to achieve the structurally extreme CCI interaction, it is predicted also to be accessible for PaO 2 + but is less feasible for transuranic actinyls.

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Evaluation of chemical additives for glycolic destruction in the recycle collection tank

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has completed a work scope in support of the Savannah River Remediation (SRR) Nitric-Glycolic flowsheet. Glycolic acid will replace formic acid as a reducing agent in the pre-processing of High-Level Waste sludge performed at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). Glycolic acid will perform the same function as formic acid, namely reduction of mercury and adjustment of feed rheology and melter oxidation/reduction potential, while significantly reducing the potential for hydrogen generation in DWPF processing. Development testing has demonstrated glycolic acid virtually eliminates hydrogen production in the pre-processing steps. The Nitric-Glycolic flowsheet significantly improves DWPF’s ability to address Savannah River Site’s key challenge - the incorporation of effluent received from the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). SWPF will deliver significant effluent volume to DWPF, resulting in a concurrent increase in DWPF effluent returned to the Concentration, Storage and Transfer Facilities (CSTF). This work scope demonstrates that glycolate can be destroyed under the Nitric-Glycolic flowsheet prior to returning the DWPF recycle stream to CSTF. To avoid potential flammability issues due to thermolysis of glycolate in CSTF, SRR tasked SRNL to quantify and mitigate glycolate returns via DWPF’s recycle stream. The development of a strategy for glycolic mitigation was initiated with a system’s engineering workshop. Various chemical and/or physical solutions for how and where to destroy glycolate were considered – consistent with DWPF’s operational capabilities and process requirements. The workshop identified chemical oxidation of glycolate within the DWPF Recycle Collection Tank (RCT) a as the most promising option with sodium permanganate and Fenton’s reagent (metallic ion catalyzed hydrogen peroxide) as the two most promising oxidants.

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Evaluation of Technologies for Destruction of LDR Organics in Hanford Tank Waste

Aqueous Hanford tank wastes contain soluble organics and some tanks contain small amounts (<100 mg/L) of organics that are regulated under the Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) portions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Most of these organics can be removed by evaporation, but some are not. Methods to destroy/remove organics that are regulated by the LDR section of the RCRA and that are not removed by evaporation may be needed if ambient temperature waste treatment processes are used to immobilize aqueous Hanford tank wastes. To identify viable and compatible organic removal or destruction pretreatment methods an evaluation was performed by a team of researchers. The team utilized a Systems Engineering Approach that examines all aspects of the technology, based on information available in the literature and the experience of the team members. That evaluation led to recommendations by the team to perform testing on technologies to determine efficacy in destroying organics in Hanford tank waste liquids. The primary technologies recommended are chemical oxidants, including permanganate, peroxymonosulfate or peroxydisulfate (PMS/PDS), hydrogen peroxide, and ozone. Ultraviolet light irradiation of the stream with a solid catalyst sorbent is also recommended for testing. A generalized description of the test program is also included.

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Permanganate Oxidation of Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Recycle Collection Tank (RCT) Simulants Larger Scale Protocol Runs - Chemical Process Cell (CPC) Nominal and Foamover Conditions

Testing to develop a process to oxidize glycolate and other organic species in non-radioactive waste simulants was requested by Savannah River Remediation (SRR). A Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan (TTQAP) was written to describe the testing requested by SRR in the development of a process to oxidize glycolate and other organic species that are responsible for hydrogen generation from thermolysis. Scoping studies have been completed as requested by a Technical Assistance Request (TAR) to evaluate the feasibility of using sodium permanganate and Fenton's Reagent (iron catalyzed hydrogen peroxide) for destroying glycolate. The results from these scoping studies were summarized in a report. Six phases of tests with simulants have been planned in developing an oxidation flowsheet for the Recycle Collection Tank (RCT), as shown in Table 1. The first three phases have been completed. The first phase comprised of scoping tests of permanganate and Fenton's reagent. The second phase was a matrix of 23 tests completed to inform a down-select decision by SRR and to complete testing needed to understand the influence of various factors in defining the optimum processing conditions for oxidation of organics. From the results of this testing, oxidation by permanganate was chosen over Fenton's reagent with hydrogen peroxide. The third phase of testing was to demonstrate nominal operation of the permanganate oxidation process under protocols similar to those used in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF).

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Investigation of $\gamma$-irradiated polyvinylidene fluoride and its acute toxicity

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is an industrial polymer with many applications. The EPR spectrum of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) irradiated by γ-rays at low temperature (-196°C) provides evidence for the presence of radicals formed by loss of a fluorine atom from PVDF, and polyenyl radicals. Polyenyl radicals dominate in the polymer irradiated at room temperature. Peroxide radicals formed as a result of oxidation of primary free radicals by atmospheric oxygen are observed in the EPR spectrum of a polymer irradiated in air, or when air is introduced to a polymer irradiated in a vacuum. Carbonization and oxidation of γ-irradiated PVDF were observed in the XPS spectrum. A model for polymer degradation based on correlated G3(MP2) molecular orbital theory electronic structure calculations is described in this report. The presence of HF in the products and a low yield of products with the composition CxFyHz indicate the absence of noticeable thermal destruction of the main polymer chain upon heating to 220°C of both the initial and γ-irradiated PVDF. Although any HF released during the PVDF dehydrofluorination would be toxic, a study of the acute toxicity of γ-irradiated PVDF showed that the polymer does not exhibit toxicity after a single intragastric route of administration to mice.

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Evaluation Of Chemical Additives For Glycolate Destruction In The Recycle Collection Tank

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has completed a work scope in support of the Savannah River Remediation (SRR) Nitric-Glycolic flowsheet. Glycolic acid will replace formic acid as a reducing agent in the pre-processing of High-Level Waste sludge performed at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). Glycolic acid will perform the same function as formic acid, namely reduction of mercury and adjustment of feed rheology and melter oxidation/reduction potential, while significantly reducing the potential for hydrogen generation in DWPF processing. Development testing has demonstrated glycolic acid virtually eliminates hydrogen production in the pre-processing steps. The Nitric-Glycolic flowsheet significantly improves DWPF’s ability to address Savannah River Site’s key challenge - the incorporation of effluent received from the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). SWPF will deliver significant effluent volume to DWPF, resulting in a concurrent increase in DWPF effluent returned to the Concentration, Storage and Transfer Facilities (CSTF). This work scope demonstrates that glycolate can be destroyed under the Nitric-Glycolic flowsheet prior to returning the DWPF recycle stream to CSTF. To avoid potential flammability issues due to thermolysis of glycolate in CSTF, SRR tasked SRNL to quantify and mitigate glycolate returns via DWPF recycle stream. The development of a strategy for glycolic mitigation initiated with a system’s engineering workshop. Various chemical and/or physical solutions for how to and where to destroy glycolate were considered – consistent with DWPF operational capabilities and process requirements. The workshop identified chemical oxidation of glycolate within the DWPF Recycle Collection Tank (RCT)a as the most promising option with sodium permanganate and Fenton’s reagent (metallic ion catalyzed hydrogen peroxide) as the two most promising oxidants.

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Quantification of Reactive Oxygen Species Produced from Electrocatalytic Materials

Oxygen electrochemistry goes beyond O 2 , as the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as H 2 O 2 and O 3 during water oxidation is key in the destruction of persistent pollutants in water remediation technologies as well as in the degradation of fuel cell and electrolyzer components. In this study, we developed an in situ method utilizing the rotating ring-disk electrode technique to quantify the formation of O 2 , O 3 , and H 2 O 2 species across a broad pH range (1–8.3). Oxygen selectivity trends over Pt, IrO 2 , and PbO 2 surfaces reveal that even O 2 evolution catalysts may produce small yet measurable amounts of ROS, further modulated by pH and electrode potential. In conclusion, these findings emphasize the need to probe the selectivity of oxygen electrochemistry for a more complete picture of advanced materials for electrochemical technologies.

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