Volume reduction of low-level radioactive wastes
AssigneeRockwell International Corporation
InventorsRichard L. Gay, LeRoy F. Grantham
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The volume of low-level radioactive wastes containing free water is reduced by introducing the waste as a finely atomized spray into a zone heated by means of a hot gas. Contact of the spray particles with the hot gas results in the production of a dry, flowable radioactive solid product and a gaseous non-radioactive product which contains substantially no NO.sub.x or SO.sub.x and no volatile radionuclides, which are retained in the solid product.
Claims23
A process for reducing the volume of a low-level radioactive liquid waste containing a compound of an element selected from the group consisting of I, Cs, Fe, Co and Mn which comprises:
- introducing said low-level radioactive liquid waste in the form of a finely atomized spray into a spray drying zone and contacting it with a hot gas stream within said zone, said gas stream having a temperature in the range of about 45.degree. to 300.degree. C. sufficient to vaporize the water contained in said low-level radioactive liquid waste but insufficient to produce any oxidation products of said low-level radioactive liquid waste or to volatilize any radionuclides therefrom;
- and
- removing from said zone a dry, flowable solid radioactive product containing said compound of said element and a gaseous product comprising water vapor, said gaseous product containing substantially no NO.sub.x, SO.sub.x, or oxidation products of said liquid radioactive waste and no volatile compounds of I or Cs, the ratio of the volume of said low-level radioactive liquid waste to said dry, flowable solid radioactive product being in the range of about 2:1 to 3.5:1.
A process for reducing the volume of a liquid waste containing a compound of an element selected from the group consisting of I, Cs, Fe, Co and Mn which comprises:
- burning a fuel with an excess of an oxygen-containing gas;
- introducing the products obtained by burning said fuel into a spray drying zone to heat said spray drying zone to a temperature within the range of about 45.degree. to 300.degree. C.;
- introducing a finely atomized spray of said liquid waste into the heated spray drying zone;
- removing from said spray drying zone a dry, flowable solid product containing said compound of an element selected irom the group consisting of I, Cs, Fe, Co and Mn and a gaseous product containing substantially no oxidation products of said liquid waste and no volatile compound of I or Cs;
- and
- separating said dry, flowable solid product from said gaseous product;
- the ratio of the volume of said liquid waste to said dry, flowable, solid product being in the range of about 2:1 to 3.5:1.
A process for reducing the volume of a low-level radioactive liquid waste which comprises:
- burning a fuel with an excess of an oxygen-containing gas;
- introducing the products obtained by burning said fuel into a spray drying zone to provide a spray drying zone uniformly heated to a temperature within the range of about 45.degree. to 300.degree. C.;
- introducing a finely atomized spray of said low-level liquid radioactive waste into said uniformly heated spray drying zone;
- removing from said uniformly heated spray drying zone a dry, flowable solid radioactive product and a gaseous non-radioactive product comprising water vapor, said gaseous non-radioactive product containing substantially no NO.sub.x or SO.sub.x and no volatile radionuclides, the ratio of the volume of said low-level liquid radioactive waste to said dry, flowable solid radioactive product being in the range of about 2:1 to 3.5:1;
- and further reducing the volume of said dry, flowable solid radioactive product by applying to said dry, flowable solid radioactive product a pressure in the range of about 550 kPa to 34.5 MPa, to a ratio in the range of about 2.5:1 to 10.8:1.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.