FLUIDIZED BED STEAM REFORMING (FBSR) OF HIGH LEVEL WASTE (HLW) ORGANIC AND NITRATE DESTRUCTION PRIOR TO VITRIFICATION: CRUCIBLE SCALE TO ENGINEERING SCALE DEMONSTRATIONS AND NON-RADIOACTIVE TO RADIOACTIVE DEMONSTRATIONS

Over a decade ago, an in-tank precipitation process to remove Cs-137 from radioactive high level waste (HLW) supernates was demonstrated at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The full scale demonstration with actual HLW was performed in SRS Tank 48 (T48). Sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB) was added to enable Cs-137 extraction as CsTPB. The CsTPB, an organic, and its decomposition products proved to be problematic for subsequent processing of the Cs-137 precipitate in the SRS HLW vitrification facility for ultimate disposal in a HLW repository. Fluidized Bed Steam Reforming (FBSR) is being considered as a technology for destroying the organics and nitrates in the T48 waste to render it compatible with subsequent HLW vitrification. During FBSR processing the T48 waste is converted into organic-free and nitrate-free carbonate-based minerals which are water soluble. The soluble nature of the carbonate-based minerals allows them to be dissolved and pumped to the vitrification facility or returned to the tank farm for future vitrification. The initial use of the FBSR process for T48 waste was demonstrated with simulated waste in 2003 at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) using a specially designed sealed crucible test that reproduces the FBSR pyrolysis reactions, i.e. carbonate formation, organic and nitrate destruction. This was followed by pilot scale testing of simulants at the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) Science and Technology Application Research (STAR) Center in Idaho Falls, ID by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and SRNL in 2003-4 and then engineering scale demonstrations by THOR(regsign) Treatment Technologies (TTT) and SRS/SRNL at the Hazen Research, Inc. (HRI) test facility in Golden, CO in 2006 and 2008. Radioactive sealed crucible testing with real T48 waste was performed at SRNL in 2008, and radioactive Benchscale Steam Reformer (BSR) testing was performed in the SRNL Shielded Cell Facility (SCF) in 2008