Evaporation of a Large Decontaminated Hanford Tank Sample

A radioactive sample (approximately 15 L) from Hanford tank 241-AN-102 was concentrated via evaporation at reduced pressure and temperature, to support flowsheet development and regulatory approval for the Hanford River Protection Project Waste Treatment Plant (RPP-WTP). The received sample (Envelope C) had been pretreated at the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) for removal of strontium and transuranic ions by precipitation and removal of cesium and technetium via ion exchange. The resulting pretreated Low Activity Waste (LAW) stream was the feed material for this evaporation test. The goals of this evaporation were to: (1) provide operating data -- including foaming and scaling tendencies -- for scale-up purposes, (2) obtain liquid and off-gas samples during steady-state operation for regulatory analysis, (3) conduct a ''final boildown'' after the steady-state operation to determine the solubility endpoint of the solution and the major precipitants, and (4) provide concentrated feed for a melter vitrification study to produce several kilograms of immobilized LAW glass product