Research & Treatability Study Savannah River Site / SRTC · DOE · 2003

PUREX Waste Solidification — Savannah River Site Sorbent Evaluation

An independent Savannah River Site study that put PETROSET II in a head-to-head evaluation of organic sorbents for solidifying PUREX (tributyl-phosphate) organic waste from Tanks 33 and 35 — under a rigorous matrix of leach, TCLP, thermal, radiation and UV-stability tests.

Authors Langton, Iversen, Fondeur, Creech, Oji & Cozzi (WSRC/SRTC) Report WSRC-TR-2001-00526, Rev. 1 Date Feb 6, 2003
Solidification & Absorption

Independent DOE / SRS report

Independent DOE / Savannah River Site report. Prepared by the Savannah River Technology Center under U.S. DOE contract DE-AC09-96SR18500. The summary below is for reference and search; full details are in the cited report.

01 Overview

This Savannah River Technology Center report evaluated organic sorbents — including PETROSET II, alongside Imbiber Beads and Nochar A610/A650 — for solidifying PUREX organic waste (a tributyl-phosphate–bearing stream, composition based on SRS Tanks 33 and 35). The study characterized each sorbent and its waste form and measured performance against SRS and Nevada Test Site low-level waste disposal and RCRA criteria.

02 Why this study matters

  • Independent, head-to-head: a national-site laboratory placed PETROSET II in a direct comparison against other commercial organic sorbents for a genuinely difficult organic waste.
  • A hard waste form: PUREX organic waste (tributyl phosphate and diluent) is chemically aggressive and not readily solidified by conventional aqueous media.
  • Disposal-criteria framing: results were assessed against SRS/NTS low-level waste acceptance and RCRA classification — the criteria that actually govern disposal.

03 What was tested

The evaluation applied a broad, multi-stress test matrix to simulated and actual PUREX waste forms at 1:1 and 1:2 sorbent-to-waste loadings:

  • Characterization: FTIR and X-ray diffraction of the sorbents and the sorbent–waste interactions.
  • Leaching: ANSI/ANS 16.1 leach testing and I-129 distribution (Kd) values.
  • Regulatory: TCLP and total volatile-organic analyses for RCRA classification.
  • Durability: thermal decomposition, Cobalt-60 gamma-irradiation stability, and ultraviolet-exposure degradation of the waste forms.

04 Citation

Langton, C. A.; Iversen, G. M.; Fondeur, F.; Creech, G. D.; Oji, L. N.; Cozzi, A. D. PUREX Waste Solidification (U). WSRC-TR-2001-00526, Rev. 1. Westinghouse Savannah River Company / Savannah River Technology Center, February 6, 2003. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC09-96SR18500.

05 Related

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