Inert carrier drying and coating apparatus
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorRandall D. Sheeline
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An inert carrier process for drying radioactive waste material and for incorporating the dry material into a binder from which the dried material will not be leached is disclosed. In this process, a hot inert liquid carrier is provided into which the solution to be dried is introduced under extremely turbulent conditions. The solvent flashes off leaving the dried particles dispersed in the inert carrier which carries these particles to a mixing station where a binder for the particles is injected under turbulent conditions. The binder preferentially wets the particles and the coated particles are carried to a separator section where the binder coated particles coalesce and separate from the carrier as a second phase. Thereafter a curing agent can be added to the binder.
Claims6
A radwaste volume reduction system comprising, in combination:
- (a) Flash evaporator means adapted to be partially filled to a predetermined level with a high-boiling carrier liquid inert to and immiscible with water;
- (b) heater means for heating said carrier liquid;
- (c) separator means for separating particulate material from said carrier liquid;
- (d) pump means for circulating said inert carrier;
- (e) fluid conveying means connecting said pump, heater, flash evaporator and separator means, such that said carrier liquid will be caused to flow from said evaporator means to said separator means and through said heater means prior to reintroduction into said evaporator means in a substantially continuous manner;
- (f) a source of an aqueous dispersion of a radioactive solid;
- (g) means for introducing said aqueous dispersion into said evaporator below the level of said carrier liquid therein whereby the water will flash evaporate from said aqueous dispersion leaving the radioactive solids suspended in said inert carrier;
- (h) a source of a liquid, hardenable binder, which binder is immiscible and non-reactive with said inert carrier;
- (i) means for introducing said binder into said fluid conveying means at a point upstream of said separator means;
- (j) means for withdrawing the solid radioactive material coated with said binder from said separator.
A radwaste volume reduction system comprising, in combination:
- (a) Flash evaporator means adapted to be partially filled to a predetermined level with a high boiling carrier liquid inert to and immiscible with water;
- (b) heater means for heating said carrier liquid,
- (c) separator means for separating particulate material from said carrier liquid;
- (d) pump means for circulating said inert carrier;
- (e) fluid conveying means connecting said pump, heater, flash evaporator and separator means, such that said carrier liquid
- (e) will be caused to flow from said evaporator means to said separator means and through said heater means prior to reintroduction into said evaporator means in a substantially continuous manner, the fluid conveying means for introducing said carrier liquid into said evaporator being adapted to introduce said carrier liquid substantially tangentially to the wall of said evaporator and said fluid conveying means withdrawing said carrier liquid from said evaporator being located substantially centerally of said evaporator;
- (f) a source of an aqueous dispersion of a radioactive solid;
- (g) means for introducing said aqueous dispersion into said evaporator below the level of said carrier liquid therein whereby the water will flash evaporate from said aqueous dispersion leaving the radioactive solids suspended in said inert carrier;
- (h) a source of a liquid, hardenable binder, which binder is immiscible and non-reactive with said inert carrier;
- (i) means for introducing said binder into said fluid conveying means at a point upstream of said separator means;
- (j) means for withdrawing the solid radioactive material coated with said binder from said separator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.