Operational Challenges In Mixing And Transfer Of High Yield Stress Sludge Waste

The ability to mobilize and transport non-Newtonian waste is essential to advance the closure of highly radioactive storage tanks. Recent waste removal operations from Tank 12H at the Savannah River Site (SRS) encountered sludge mixtures with a yield stress too high to pump. The waste removal equipment for Tank 12H was designed to mobilize and transport a diluted slurry mixture through an underground 550m long (1800 ft) 0.075m diameter (3 inch) pipeline. The transfer pump was positioned in a well casing submerged in the sludge slurry. The design allowed for mobilized sludge to enter the pump suction while keeping out larger tank debris. Data from a similar tank with known rheological properties were used to size the equipment. However, after installation and startup, field data from Tank 12H confirmed the yield stress of the slurry to exceed 40 Pa, whereas the system is designed for 10 Pa. A revision to the removal strategy was required, which involved metered dilution, blending, and mixing to ensure effective and safe transfer performance. The strategy resulted in the removal of over 255,000 kgs of insoluble solids with four discrete transfer evolutions for a total transfer volume of 2400 m3 (634,000 gallons) of sludge slurry.