TESTING OF THE SPINTEK ROTARY MICROFILTER USING ACTUAL HANFORD WASTE SAMPLES

[摘要] The SpinTek rotary microfilter was tested on actual Hanford tank waste. The samples were a composite of archived Tank 241-AN-105 material and a sample representing single-shell tanks (SST). Simulants of the two samples have been used in non-rad test runs at the 222-S laboratory and at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). The results of these studies are compared in this report. Two different nominal pore sizes for the sintered steel rotating disk filter were chosen: 0.5 and 0.1 {micro}m. The results suggest that the 0.5-{micro}m disk is preferable for Hanford tank waste for the following reasons: (1) The filtrate clarity is within the same range (<<4 ntu for both disks); (2) The filtrate flux is in general higher for the 0.5-{micro}m disk; and (3) The 0.1-{micro}m disk showed a higher likelihood of fouling. The filtrate flux of the actual tank samples is generally in the range of 20-30% compared to the equivalent non-rad tests. The AN-105 slurries performed at about twice the filtrate flux of the SST slurries. The reason for this difference has not been identified. Particle size distributions in both cases are very similar; comparison of the chemical composition is not conclusive. The sole hint towards what material was stuck in the filter pore holes came from the analysis of the dried flakes from the surface of the fouled 0.1-{micro}m disk. A cleaning approach developed by SRNL personnel to deal with fouled disks has been found adaptable when using actual Hanford samples. The use of 1 M nitric acid improved the filtrate flux by approximately two times; using the same simulants as in the non-rad test runs showed that the filtrate flux was restored to 1/2 of its original amount.

[发布日期] 2010-04-13

[学科分类] 材料科学（综合）

[关键词] CHEMICAL COMPOSITION;CLEANING;FOULING;NITRIC ACID;PARTICLE SIZE;PERSONNEL;SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT;SLURRIES;STEELS;TANKS;TESTING;WASTES