PNNL

Abstract

In support of Hanford’s feed delivery of high level waste (HLW) to the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), pilot-scale testing and demonstrations with simulants containing cohesive particles were performed as a joint collaboration between Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) staff. The objective of the demonstrations, was to determine the impact that cohesive particle interactions in the simulants, and the resulting non-Newtonian rheology, have on tank mixing and batch transfer of large and dense seed particles. The work addressed the impacts cohesive simulants have on mixing and batch transfer performance in a pilot-scale system. Kaolin slurries with a range of wt% concentrations to vary the Bingham yield stress were used in all the non-Newtonian simulants. To study the effects of just increasing the liquid viscosity (no yield stress) on mixing and batch transfers, a glycerol/water mixture was used. 100 micron stainless steel particles were used as seed particles due to their density and their contrasting color to the kaolin and glycerol.