Elimination Of Catalytic Hydrogen Generation In Defense Waste Processing Facility Slurries

Based on lab-scale simulations of Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) slurry chemistry, the addition of sodium nitrite and sodium hydroxide to waste slurries at concentrations sufficient to take the aqueous phase into the alkaline region (pH > 7) with approximately 500 mg nitrite ion/kg slurry (assuming < 25 wt% total solids, or equivalently 2,000 mg nitrite/kg total solids) is sufficient to effectively deactivate the noble metal catalysts at temperatures between room temperature and boiling. This is a potential strategy for eliminating catalytic hydrogen generation from the list of concerns for sludge carried over into the DWPF Slurry Mix Evaporator Condensate Tank (SMECT) or Recycle Collection Tank (RCT). These conclusions are drawn in large part from the various phases of the DWPF catalytic hydrogen generation program conducted between 2005 and 2009. The findings could apply to various situations, including a solids carry-over from either the Sludge Receipt and Adjustment Tank (SRAT) or Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME) into the SMECT with subsequent transfer to the RCT, as well as a spill of formic acid into the sump system and transfer into an RCT that already contains sludge solids. There are other potential mitigating factors for the SMECT and RCT, since these vessels are typically operated at temperatures close to the minimum temperatures that catalytic hydrogen has been observed to occur in either the SRAT or SME (pure slurry case), and these vessels are also likely to be considerably more dilute in both noble metals and formate ion (the two essential components to catalytic hydrogen generation) than the two primary process vessels. Rhodium certainly, and ruthenium likely, are present as metal-ligand complexes that are favored under certain concentrations of the surrounding species. Therefore, in the SMECT or RCT, where a small volume of SRAT or SME material would be significantly diluted, conditions would be less optimal for forming or sustaining the catalytic ligand species. Such conditions are likely to adversely impact the ability of the transferred mass to produce hydrogen at the same rate (per unit mass SRAT or SME slurry) as in the SRAT or SME vessels