Global modeling of Hanford tank waste pretreatment alternatives within a total cleanup system using ASPEN PLUS trademark

The purpose of this work is to evaluate and compare radionuclide separations/processing technologies being developed or considered as Hanford tank waste pretreatment alternatives. These technologies are integrated into a total cleanup system that includes tank waste retrieval, treatment, and disposal. Current Hanford flowsheets typically include only mature, developed technologies, not new technologies. Thus, this work examines the impact/benefits of inserting new technologies into Hanford flowsheets. Waste treatment must produce disposal fractions which are less troublesome than the original material. Researchers seeking effective treatment methods may lack the tools or expertise to fully understand the implications of their approach in terms of secondary and tertiary waste streams or the extent to which a unique new process will affect upstream or downstream processes. This work has developed and demonstrated mass balance methods that clarify the effect of including individual processes in an integrated waste treatment system, such as the Hanford cleanup system. The methods provide a measure of treatment effectiveness and a format for the researcher to understand waste stream interrelationships and determine how a particular treatment technology can best be used in a cleanup system. A description of the Hanford tank waste cleanup model developed using the ASPEN PLUS flowsheet simulation tool is given. Important aspects of the modeling approach are discussed along with a description of how performance measures were developed and integrated within the simulation to evaluate and compare various Hanford tank waste pretreatment alternatives