US 2020/0269293 A1 · IN-SITU VITRIFICATION OF HAZARDOUS WASTE

Abstract

In-situ vitrification of hazardous waste occurs within human-made caverns. The human-made caverns may be located at distal (terminal) ends of substantially vertical wellbores and the human-made caverns may be located within deep geological rock formations, that are located at least two thousand feet below the Earth's surface. The hazardous waste that is vitrified into glass within such human-made caverns may be radioactive. The vitrification within a given human-made cavern is accomplished by at least one heater that operates according to a predetermined heating and cooling profile. During vitrification the heater may be reciprocated up and down to introduce currents into the waste liquid for uniform temperature dispersion. The heater may be removable, reusable, single use, and/or disposable. Cold caps and/or insulating blankets may be used over a given layer of vitrified waste product within the given human-made cavern. Heater weights, mixing vanes, and/or downhole sealing packer may also be used.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A system for in-situ vitrification of hazardous waste within at least one human-made cavern, wherein the system comprises:

the at least one human-cavern that is located entirely within a deep geological formation;
at least one heater that is disposed within the at least one human-cavern, wherein the at least one heater is configured to melt the hazardous waste received into the at least one human-cavern into substantially a liquid;
wherein upon the liquid cooling below a predetermined temperature the liquid forms a vitrified glass;
and
at least one power supply configured for supplying the at least one heater with electrical power.

2 more elements

A method for in-situ vitrification of hazardous waste within at least one human-made cavern, wherein the method comprises steps of:

(a) drilling at least one substantially vertical wellbore and then under-reaming a portion of that at least one substantially vertical wellbore to form at least one human-made cavern;
wherein the at least one human-made cavern is formed within a deep geological formation;
wherein the deep geological formation is located at least two thousand feet below a terrestrial surface of the Earth;
(b) preparing the hazardous waste for vitrification by making sure the hazardous waste is capable of liquefying with a predetermined amount of heat and then cooling to form a glass;
(c) installing at least one heater into the at least one human-made cavern by lowering the at least one heater through the at least one substantially vertical wellbore on at least one cable;
(d) introducing a predetermined amount of product from step (b) around the at least one heater that is located within the at least one human-made cavern;
(e) installing a cold cap above the hazardous waste that is located within the least one human-made cavern;
wherein the cold cap is an insulation blanket material;
(f) installing a packer seal device into the at least one substantially vertical wellbore above the at least one human-made cavern to seal-off the at least one substantially vertical wellbore from the at least one human-made cavern;
(g) melting the hazardous waste within the at least one human-made cavern into a liquid using the at least one heater;
and
(h) cooling the liquid into the glass.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

In-situ vitrification of hazardous waste

Life of this patent

In-situ vitrification of hazardous waste

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22