Tank Waste and Nuclear Materials Disposition. Steve Schneider Director, Office of Tank Waste Management (EM-21) March

Transcription

1 Tank Waste and Nuclear Materials Disposition Steve Schneider Director, Office of Tank Waste Management (EM-21) March

2 The key strategy for the disposition of tank waste is the successful completion of three major projects, i.e., Sodium Bearing Waste Treatment, Salt Waste Processing Facility, and Waste Treatment Plant... Processing Facility, and Waste Sodium Bearing Waste Facility Construction complete 2011 (operational 2012) Salt Waste Processing Facility Construction complete 2014 (operational 2014) Waste Treatment Plant Construction complete 2016 (operational 2019) (Current Baseline) 2

3 Tank Waste Disposition Success Measures: Begin operations of the Sodium Bearing Waste Treatment Facility in Idaho by April 30, Demonstrate successful bulk retrieval at Hanford using the Mobile Arm Retrieval System (MARS) by June 30, Achieve an annual target of 6 liquid waste tanks closed. Achieve an annual target of 230 containers of high-level waste packaged for final disposition. Begin closure of Tanks 18 and 19 at the Savannah River Site F-Tank Farm by July 31,

4 Reducing tank waste treatment and disposal life-cycle costs Activities: Develop and deploy at-tank processing. Increase waste loading in glass to reduce canister production. Develop next-generation melters to improve processing. Develop and deploy alternative treatment and separations processes. Develop alternative waste forms. Develop technologies for accelerated tank waste retrieval and tank closure. 4

5 Extended Storage and Disposition Path for EM Spent Nuclear Fuel Currently safely managing spent nuclear fuel at four DOE Sites. Near-term efforts are focused on safe interim storage and preparations to process small quantity of vulnerable fuel. Continuing to receive spent fuel from foreign and domestic research reactors. Developing appropriate long-term management strategies for spent fuel in response to Blue Ribbon Commission s recommendations. 5

6 Path Forward for EM Surplus Plutonium Currently safely managing surplus non-pit plutonium at the Savannah River Site (SRS). Disposition plan include processing a portion of the plutonium into Mixed Oxide fuel. Package the balance in HB-Line at SRS for shipment to Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement is currently being prepared that addresses these options. 6

7 Conclusions The key strategy for the disposition of tank waste is the successful completion of three major projects, i.e., Sodium Bearing Waste Treatment, Salt Waste Processing Facility, and Waste Treatment Plant. R&D directed to tank waste processing may potentially yield immense cost savings. The Department is currently planning the appropriate long-term disposition strategies for EM s Spent Nuclear Fuel and the surplus non-pit plutonium. 7

8 Backup 8

9 Tank Waste Processing: Hanford 9

10 Tank Waste Disposition Process Savannah River 10

11 Tank Waste Processing: Idaho Idaho National Laboratory (Three Waste Streams): Calcine (granular solid) 4,400 m 3 in 7 bin sets Sodium Bearing Waste (SBW) 900,000 gal Ceramic/metallic waste (NE)

12 Waste Processing: Active Tank Waste Sites Hanford Site Savannah River Site 310 square miles 51 tanks (2 closed) 37 million gallons 352 million curies 3249 canisters made 7,557 planned total 200 canisters/year Idaho Site 585 square miles 177 tanks 55 million gallons 176 million curies 1,900 cesium/strontium capsules in wet storage Note: West Valley is also a HLW Site (tank waste processing complete) square miles 11 tanks (7 closed) 0.9 million gallons 0.5 million curies 12

13 Cold Crucible Induction Melter (CCIM) Next Generation Melters such as the CCIM may reduce HLW volume by approximately 35% and decrease mission life by as much as 8 years. INL will conduct a CCIM test melter run later in FY 2012 using simulated Hanford tank waste. A CCIM Technical Program Plan has been published. A supplement will be issued to detail current FY scope. Cold Crucible Induction Melter 13

14 Advanced Glass Formulations Improved immobilization waste forms will increase the amount of radioactive tank waste in borosilicate or phosphate glass wastes. Currently, the best sludge loadings are about 30% to 40%. Improved borosilicate or phosphate waste glass forms may substantially reduce the volume of glass produced. Phosphate glasses offer significant increases in loading of wastes that are high in some components difficult to dissolve in silicate melts (e.g., S, Cr, P, F, and Cl). However, these glasses are an immature technology compared to borosilicate waste glasses. Advanced Glass Formulations In FY 2012, the initial waste form formulations will be selected to include formulation recommendations for selected INL calcine(s) and Hanford HLW(s). Development and testing of a glass/ceramic waste form is scheduled for FY

15 The Cementitious Barriers Partnership (CBP) The CBP seeks to improve the long term performance evaluations of cementitious materials and other similar waste forms. Performance Assessments (PA s) of disposal sites containing cementitious materials are generally conservative. Improved predictive tools will allow PA s to fully incorporate the effectiveness of cementitous materials thereby increasing the amount of radionuclides that may be safely disposed. The CBP will develop a credible set of tools to predict the performance of cementitious barriers. In FY11, the CBP completed the initial tool set for modeling cementitious materials performance in waste management applications. This enabled improved risk-informed decision-making, shorter analysis times, and improve d transparency. In FY 2012 the CBP plans to: o o o Release a basic version of the integrated CBP Tool Box for predictive and longterm durability analysis. Release a basic version of the THAMES micro-structural predictive tool on the changes of cementitious material properties over time, and Continue validation/calibration of existing codes with experimental data. CBP Materials Test 15

16 Joint EM NE International Evaluation of Long Term Glass Corrosion Program To confirm that the glass waste form would continue to render the HLW innocuous for thousands of years, DOE initiated an international research program in Charter participation came from the US (jointly sponsored by DOE-EM and DOE-NE, France (CEA, Nantes, AREVA), Belgium (SCK CEN), the United Kingdom (NNL, Sheffield), and Japan (Kyushu and JAEA); additional members have since joined. This international collaboration is developing data and expanding understanding of the behavior of the HLW glass waste form over geologic time scales in various disposal environments. The FY12 EM research focus includes: o Characterization of ancient Roman glass samples received in FY11. o Evaluation of the precipitation and evolution of amorphous gel and crystalline zeolite alteration products. o Completion of ongoing long-term static corrosion tests and planning/initiation of the next set of long-term (>5y) tests based on data from Hanford IDF performance assessment test results. Ancient Roman Glass 16

17 Next Generation Cesium Solvent A next generation cesium solvent will enable an extended lifetime for MCU, allowing it to process higher Curie salt feeds at higher throughput, and it can significantly increase throughput of SWPF. A next generation cesium solvent would also enable an alternative modular CSSX option for cesium removal from Hanford salt waste. Based on previous work, MaxCalix has been identified as a major component of the solvent system. o Projected to produce DF 40,000 if deployed in MCU, versus current DF = (Design Basis: DF = 12). o Potential throughput increase projected for SWPF by operation at higher sodium levels; testing at 8 molar, versus SWPF design basis of 5.6 molar. In FY 2012, the project will continue work developing the new solvent system for cesium removal to resolve issues necessary for successful deployment. 17

18 Separation and Removal of Sulfate Compounds in Tank Waste ORNL researchers have developed a process for the separation and removal of sulfate compounds present in radioactive tank waste sludges and supernates to reduce the impact of sulfate on HLW and LAW glass volume. Sulfate has limited solubility in glass and is corrosive to melter electrodes and refractory. A solid crystalline agent captures the sulfate within a cavity tailored to match the size and shape of the sulfate ion. The molecule can be filtered from the process stream and regenerated by washing. L1-Mg Complex: (L1) 2.MgSO 4. 6H 2 O In FY 2012, the project will explore the chemical kinetics and test with more realistic simulants. 18

19 EM International Waste Processing Collaborations Canada AECL: Discussions with CRL to identify areas of collaboration France Joint EM/NE/SC long - term HLW glass performance CEA: Glass formulations AREVA: Large Scale CCIM Testing (ART). Belgium Joint EM/NE/SC long term HLW glass performance. United Kingdom Joint EM/NE /SC long-term HLW glass performance. NNL: Tank Waste Retrieval Cryograb Technology, glass chemistry and analysis University of Sheffield: Sulfur solubility model Italy Joint EM/NE/SC long- term HLW glass performance. Germany Joint EM/NE/SC long- term HLW glass performance. South Korea KHNP/NETEC: Large Scale CCIM Design Joint EM/NE/SC long-term HLW glass performance in discussion China PUNT JCC: Processing and disposal of HLW glass Joint EM/NE/SC long-term HLW glass performance Russia ETU LETI : CCIM design enhancements, parametric studies for FeP and AlSi waste forms SIA Radon Institute: CCIM testing, glass analysis techniques KRI: Glass formulations, melt rate testing Joint EM/NE/SC long- term HLW glass performance in discussion Japan Fukushima NPP clean-up workshop and support Joint EM/NE/SC long -term HLW glass performance. JNFL: Waste forms, Vitrification technologies Joint EM/NE discussions on areas of potential collaboration Australia ANSTO: Hot Isostatic Pressing for Calcine, Mineral analog waste forms Joint EM/NE/SC long -term HLW glass performance. 19