Bituminization of non-radioactive sorbents at VUCHZ

The Research Institute of Chemical Installations in Brno has developed and built equipment for mixing ion exchangers and ash into bitumen and for flushing ion exchangers. For ion exchanger flushing, the minimum rate of transported mixture of ion exchangers and water was determined at 0.3 m/s with volume concentration of ion exchangers in the mixture given at 63-65%. A mixing tank was developed for the bituminization of ion exchangers and ash, and parameters were determined of the working regime with maximum weight concentration of ion exchangers and ash in the product set at 40%. Batching the mixture of water and ion exchangers into a film rotor evaporator was also tested. This technology was found not suitable for the existing design of the evaporator. Efforts therefore concentrated on the bituminization of organic ion exchangers by drying with subsequent mixing with melted bitumen. The process of drying ion exchangers in a fluid or drum drying unit was tested. The residual water content after drying was 3-4% for cation exchangers and 4-5% for anion exchangers. (Z.M.)