PARAMETRIC EFFECTS OF ANTI-FOAM COMPOSITION, SIMULANT PROPERTIES AND NOBLE METALS ON THE GAS HOLDUP AND RELEASE OF A NON-NEWTONIAN WASTE SLURRY SIMULANT

Gas holdup tests were performed in bench-scale and small-scale mechanically-agitated mixing systems at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) for a simulant of waste from the Hanford Tank 241-AZ-101. These featured additions of DOW Corning Q2-3183A anti-foam agent. Results indicated that this anti-foam agent (AFA) increased gas holdup in the waste simulant by about a factor of four and, counter-intuitively, that the holdup increased as the non-newtonian simulant shear strength decreased (apparent viscosity decreased). Such results raised the potential of increased flammable gas retention in Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) vessels mixed by air sparging and pulse-jet mixers (PJMs) during a Design Basis Event (DBE). Additional testing was performed to determine the effects of simulant properties, composition of alternate AFAs, and presence of trace noble metals. Key results are that: (1) Increased gas holdup resulting from addition of Q2-3183A is due to a decrease in surface tension that supports small bubbles which have low rise velocities. (2) Dow Corning 1520-US AFA shows it to be a viable replacement to Dow Corning Q2-3183A AFA. This alternative AFA, however, requires significantly higher dosage for the same anti-foam function. (3) Addition of noble metals to the AZ-101 waste simulant does not produce a catalytic gas retention effect with the AFA