ML20101E444

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Rev 4 to Process Control Program
ML20101E444
Person / Time
Site: Beaver Valley
Issue date: 12/13/1984
From:
DUQUESNE LIGHT CO.
To:
Shared Package
ML20101E425 List:
References
PROC-841213, NUDOCS 8412260257
Download: ML20101E444 (24)


Text

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PROCESS CONTROL PRCGRMI 1 GF 2i ISS'G2 REVISICS i 8412260257 841213 PDR ADOCK 05000334 X PDR ,

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1.18.1-CHAPTER 18 m s SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEM '

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. PURPOSE 3 of 24

'II.

SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION 4 of 24 A. Function-B. a of 24 Summary of System Operations

- 4 of 24 III.

OPERATIONS PERFORMED-TO VERIFY SOLIDIFICATION OF RESIN.

' WASTES 6 of 24 A. Feed Rate Control, B. Operator Follow 6 of 24 C. Final Inspection 7 of 24 7-of 24 IV.

OPERATIONS BOTICM WASTES PERFORMED TO VERIFY SOLIDIFICATION OF EVAPORATOR 8 of 24 A. Boric Acid Concentration B. 8 of 24 Feed Rate Control -

C. Operator Follow 8 of 24 D. Final Inspection- 9 of 24 -

l_ 9 of 24 LV. .

DISPOSAL OF SOLID OBJECTS IN CONCRETE LINERS 10 of 24 1TI. . CRITICAL ITEMS LIST 11 of 24

- VII.

LIMITATIONS AND SURVEILIANCE REQUIREMENT 13 of 24 A. Limitations

'3. . Surveillance Requirements 13 of 24 13 of 24

! APPENDIX A - Cement Solidification Tests With Resin and Evaporator Bottom Waste Solution 15 of 24 x

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-. P PROCESS CONTROL PROGRAM-(centinu:d) s .I. PURPOSE-

,1.

To. provide appropriate radwaste. system feed rates necessary to achieve the waste to _ cement ratios . required to sssure solidification of liquid radioactive wastes.

2.

To provide results of tests performed to decer:nine the waste to

'coment wastes ratio required -for solidification of the radioactive.

(evaporator bottcas, boric acid and spent resins) generated _at Beaver Valley. These results form the basis for set points indicated the Unit- 1 Operating Manual.in Chapter 28 (Solid Waste Disposal System) of ,

3. To _ indicate .the requirements for disposal of radicactive filter

-cartridges, rags and other solid objects in the macrix or the .

solidified concrete.

4 ' To s

indicate critical set pcints and limitations for operatica o the radwaste solidification system.

5. To indicate surveillance requirements for solidified waste shipped,off-site.

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PROCESS CONTROL IROGRAM -(continued)

'II.,

SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

.- A. FUNCTION

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"The :Solidl Vaste._ Disposal ~ System (SWS) is designed to provide

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' ' ho'1 dup, ; packaging, 'and storage facilities ' for the . eventual off-

site shipment . and; ultimate. disposal of radioactive wasta 3 material. Liquid wastes are immobilized ._in a concrete matrix

' using a ATCOR solidification system provided ;for this purpose. A facility is also provided to wash shipping containers after

' loading to ' prevent release of activity to the environment.

B. SLW1ARY'0F: SYSTEM OPERATIONS .

! The wasta. solidification system consists of a cement storage bin,

_ cementifeeder, mixer-feeder, resin waste hold tank, evaporator bottoms- hold tank, resin hold and bottoms hold tank _ feed pumps, and the necessary piping,_ valves and instruments for the system to function.

wastes:

This equipment is used to immobilize the following (1) spent resin, (2) concentrated liquid wastes, and (3) solidJ wastes such as filter cartridges and polyethylene bags containing contaminated rags or other radioactive debris. Solid wastes are contained-within an open-mesh metal basket located La the approximate center of the concrete liner.

The basket is suspended 'off the bottom so that the concrete mixture will totally surround the basket. ,

Wastes .are 'i

' solidified in a65carbon capacity of approximately steel liner which has a total cubic feet. This liner is. moved

' into position under- the mixer-feeder by transfer cart through

-remote control operation. Where ' solid waste disposal is -

". . involved,' the metal basket containing the wastes is placed within the concrete liner prior to moving the liner into position.

Transport of the liner is performed with the operator stationed behind-a concrete, wall at the waste. solidification ~ control panel.

syk television camera is provided for_ operator view of operations

' involved with solidification.

~ELiquid. wastes requiring solidification nome from either the evaporator bottoms hold tank or the resin waste hold tank.

Schematic ~ design _ of _che overall system is shown in Figure 1.

System parameters are listed in Table 1. Equipment design

- requires that each waste form be prccessed separately. Though capable of automatic operation, the system is operated in the

manual mode to ensure that the system is operating properly and that.the set points for cement-liquid waste ratios are as required to . achieve solidification. Operator attention is required to actuate the controls for each stop of the operation.

Metered ficw of cecent and waste solution are combined at the mixer-fee.4r which discharges into the concrete liner. Cament

. feed ' ' is ' maintained at a constant rata for all solidification ,

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.. PROCESS CONTROL PROGRAM.(continu:d) 9 4 ' operations. Liquid waste flaws. are adjusted 'as required' to provide for a boric acid solutions.higher liquid waste to cement ratio in the case of The normal operating ~ limit for boric acid concentration in wastes waste'to coment ratio in range ofto- be solidified is a nominal 127.. A 0.9 to 1.1 is specified for the solidification of boric acid solutions. Other wastes require

.less cement to achieve solidification.

After the liner has been filled with concrete, it is covered with

-a lid and to

-allowed' theset liner.is moved.from the loading area. 'The liner is for five ~ days or more. While the controls

exercised in maintaining . a - proper ; cement / liquid ratio ensure solidification, an inspection of containers -from each shipment is also. performed to check for free. water.

In'the event that ' water is $present,

= free mix. '_ cement-will be added as. required to achieve a water The lid is then' fastened.in place and ' sealed to the-liner with'a metal seal.

The outside of the liner is washed with

.a series of spray. nozzles to. remove--any surface contamination resulting from -loading operations. A smear check is performed prior side. to moving the liner from the loading area .co the clean The sampling system consists of the ' appropriate valves -and sink

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' located at the discharge of the motoring pumps (SW-P-6) and (SW-P-7).

When the desired amount of waste for solidification is in the hold tanks

.(SW-TK-8), .these (SW-TK-2) tanks are'resin mixedhold tank or the bottoms hold tank

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to a desired consistance by

-o running the agitator in the resin hold tank or recirculating the

--bottoms- hold c4 nk as per the operating manual. 'Before the solidification process begins a. sample is 'obtained

- ratio / analysis of radionuclides. for 5 0F 2a ISSUE 2 REVIS~CN i

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PROCESS CONTROL PROGRAM (continued) l-III. OPERATIONS PERFORMED TO VERIFY SOLIDIFICATION OF RESIN WASTES Testing c performed _at Beaver Valley demonstrate that solidification of resin with a high resin to water ratio will concistently occur. at a vaste to cement ratio'(W/C) of,1.25.to.l.75. A hig's resin to water

' ratio is obtained during initial _ processing of a full resin wasta hold-tank. When the resin waste s'olution.is largely water, as in:the case

-when inches,-the 'a resin hold tank level indication decreased to below 20 W/C ratio of 1 to fl.30' is required : to achieve solidification. Results of the test operations are reported .in the

. Appendix to this procedure.

Solidification in~ this ' application can be achieved by . adjusting the feed rate of_the liquid waste to produce a W/C ratio in the range of 1.25' to 'l.75 or 1- to. 1.5 dependent. on resin 1 hold tank level.

indication.' Ratios of about .1.7, and 1 are maintained in actual plant solidification . operations with flow rate adjustment made ac~about the

20 inch level. This is not meant to imply that there ~is a sudden change in resin to water ratio at this level. Rather, the change is gradual' with _the 20 inch indication level serving as a benchmark to indicate .that ~ the corresponding change in the W/C ratio is required.

Control of wastefollows:

is achaieved'as flow rate and cement feed to obtain the desired ratio

'A. FEED RATE CONTROL-s Three . separate 1 feed rates combine to makeup the resin concrete ,

l mixture farmed in the mixer-feeder of the solidification system.

These are as follows:

11.  : Cement Feed Pumo The feed rate of this pump is adjustable over a wide range

_.with. good reproductibility as shown in the calibration data presented in the . Appendix to_this program. Flcw is held

. constant at a dial setting as noted in Chapter '8 of - the Operating Manual. With this setting, the pump will-deliver the proper amount -(1bs) of cement per minute.

2. Resin Waste- Hold Tank Metering Pumo Vhen the level indicator is reading between predetermined levels noted in- the Operating Manual,- the dial of the metering pump is set to provide a normal deliver race of 7 gpm. As the waste tank -volume decreases, so does the percent concentration of resin in the water. Current experience has shown that there is little resin left in the tank at a level of about 20 inches and the waste is composed largely of water. This requires a lower W/C ratio to achieve solidification. At this level (2ppecxi=stel; 20 s

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PROCESS ~ CONTROL PROGRD!-(continued). ,

i inches), the dial-.of the metering pump is adjusted to give a

_ feed delivery rate of approxiestely 4 gpm. '

~3. Seal Water Flow to Pumo

This flow is held constant at the minimum flow requirements to' lowprotect pump range flow bearings. -Flow adjustment is made using a meter.

NOTE: ~ Excessive seal water flow will change the W/C and /

therefore,-limits _ noted in operating procedure must be'followed.

B. : OPERATOR FOLLOW As described above, solidification of resin wastes is achieved by combining two constant flow rate systems with one adjustable flow system (waste metering pump). The liquid waste to cement ratio is maintained within a relatively narrow band-in the range where solidification is known ::o occur on a consistent basis. With

.only one control valve to adjust, the . operator can maintain close

-s'urveillance of, solidification operations.- Full time operator attention is maintained since the system is operated in .the manual mode. The system holds at the completion of each step until the operator activates a control to continue the. sequence of operations.

7 C. FINAL INSPECTION As a final check, a visual inspectica is performed to determine

  • the presence of free liquid prior to shipment of the full liner.

If free water exists, dry cement is manually added to achieve solidification of this water.

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PROCESS CONTROL PROGRAM (continued)

IV. OPERATIONS

WASTES ~ PERFORMED TO VERIFY SOLIDIFICATION OF EVAPORA ' j The liquid -wastes generated at. Beaver 1 Valley will typically contain significant' concentrations of boric acid.

to While boric acid is known retard 'the solidification of cement, . the inhibiting properties of boric acid can be -overcome by increasing the concentration of cement-in. the mixture and tho' limiting the boric acid concentration in the

. waste solution. . Testing performed at Beaver Bailey. indicate that the

-criterion of good solidification with no free water an be achieved by maintaining a W/C ratio of 0.9 to 1.1-(by weight). It is expected that solidification will also occur at would resule-in the excessive use of cement. lower W/C ratios, however, this also occur with up to 14-16% boric acid concentrations Good solidification will using this

-- :ratio. Results of.this work are reported in the Appendix to this-procedure.

  • Solidification in- this application is achieved by using approximate equivalent _ weights of waste and cement in forming the concrete and by limiting.'the concentration.of boric acid 'in solution to 12%. _W ith a W/C ratio in the rangs' of 0.9 to 1.I and a maximum boric acid 1 concentration of approximately 12%, all operations are performed belcw the point where free water will form after solidification. Control of boric . acid concentration, waste flow rate and cement-feed to obtain the' desired ratio is achieved as follows:

A .' -

BORIC. ACID CONCENTRATION Waste liquids -in the evaporator are sampled periodically during evaporation to determine boric acid concentration and curie

content of the liquid. -Hot samples are pipetted D2co a volumetric analysis.

flask and diluted to prevent' precipitation prior to

-following limit is attained.of the wastes is performed when the Solidification A nominal 12% boric acid concentration in the liquid.

Some dilution of the boric acid concentration will result frem

.the primary grade seal water flow added at the mixer-feeder system during the solidification process. This dilution is not considered in. calculating boric acid concentration in the end product.

B. FEED RATE CONTROL

-Three separate feed races combine to makeup the evaporator bottoms-concrete solidification system. mixture These for=ed in the mixer-feeder of the are as follows:

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cPROCESS~CONIROL PROGRAM (continued)

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1. . Cement Feed Pumo The. feed rate of this pump is adjustable over a wide' range

.with good reproductibility as shown in the calibration data

-presented in. the Appendix to this program. Flow rate is .

held constant at a flow rate setting as noted in Chapter 18 of the Operating. Manual. With .this : setting, the pump will deliver the proper amount. (pounds) of coment per minute. ,

'2. Evaporator' Bottoms Hold Tank Metering Pume The ~ dial of the metering pumps. is set to give a feed delivery rate as identified- in the Operating Manual. A waste-to-coment' .(W/C) ' ratio of approximately 1 is acFieved.

with this feed rate.

3. Seal Water Flow to Pume This is ' held constant at the minimum flow required to

'1 protect pump bearings. ' Flow adjustment -is made using a low-

. range. flow meter.

NOTE:

t Excessive' seal water . flow will change the V/C ratio; therefore, limits noted in the operating procedure must be followed.

C. OPERATOR FOLLOW As described above,. solidification of evaporator bottom wastes is achievea by combining two fixed flow rate systems with one

  • adjustable flow system (waste metering pump). The liquid waste-to-cament ratio is maintained within a relatively narrow band in the range where solidification.is known to occur on a consistent basis. With only one control to adjust, the operator .can maintain close surveillance of. solidification operations. -l Full-time operator. attention is maintained since the system is operated in the manual mcde. The system holds at the ecmpletion of each step until the operator activates a control to continue

' the sequence of operations.

D. FINAL INSPECTION As a final check, a visual inspection is perfor=ed to determine 4

'the presence of free liquid prior _ to shipment of the full liner.

If free water exists,~ dry cement is manually added to achieve solidification of this water.

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PROCESS CONTROL PROGRAM (continued)

V. . DISPOSAL OF SOLID OBJECTS IN CONCRETE LINERS

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Solid wastes such as filter cartridges and contaminated rags or other radioactive Ldebris will, on occasion, be placed within an open-mesh metal : basket - .and immobilized in the concrete of the waste being solidified. .The basket is suspended off the bottom so that the

-concrete mixture will surround the wastes in the basket. Liners that contain solid objects will be so identified. .Radeon will be notified prior to placing solids into a liner to enable appropriate sampling.

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, B.V.P.S. - 0.M. 1.18.1 l PROCESS CONTROL PROGRAM (continued) g _VI. CRITICAL ITEMS LIST The. following list indicates set. points and items 'in the solidification system operating procedures (Chapter 18 - Solid Waste Disposal System). Close operator follow is required La these areas to assure proper operation of the system-and to verify solidification of resin hold tank or evaporator bottom hold tank wastes.

1. Feed rate of the cement- feed pump is held constant at a dial setting - as _ indicated in the operating- procedures for all solidification operations performed at Beaver Valley.

Any variation concrete.

in this dial setting will affect solidification of the Since this is an adjustable pump, the dial setting should operation.

be checked prior to performing any _ solidification

2. When betweenthepredetermined

. level indicatorlevels of theas resin waste hold tank is reading' indicated La the operating procedures, the dial of the metering pump is set to provide a W/C ratio of 1.25 to 1.75. A low flow rate setting can result in an overly dry mix with perhaps some void areas in the liner. High flow rate settings can result in fre'e water on the top of the liner. It. has been established that good results are achieved with the W/C ratio of about 1.7 (currently in use for solidification); therefore, this ratio should be maintained.

The W/C ratio is determined as follows:

  • -4 GPM X 8.o lbs/eal of resin slurry lbs cement / min
  • 3.

At a level indication of approximately 20 inches, the dial of resin 1.5.

waste metering pump is set to provide a W/C ratio of 1 to Low or high flow rate settings can result in an overly dry mix or free water La the liner. Good results are achieved with the W/C ratio of about 1 (currently in use), therefore, this ratio should be maintained.

The W/C ratio is determined as follows:

GPM X 8.3 lbs/eal of resin slurry lbs cement / minute

4. The correct resin-water the operating procedure. ratio must be maintained as indicated in loss Insufficient water can result in the of ' water from the resin beads during the hydration process involved as the concrete sets. The hydrated resin can swell on subsequent exposure to '

damage concrete integrity. water creating tensile forces which can water on the top of the liner.Too much water can result in free

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. PROCESS CONTROL PROGRAM (continued)-

'5. .-Seal water' flow to the metering pumps must be held at a minimum "}

-as indicated in the operating procedure. Excessive. seal water - j-flow will change the W/C ratio, thus_can affect solidification of

. .the concrete.

6. The' dial' of the evaporator ' bottoms hold tank metering pump should be set tof five to give a W/C ratio in the range of . 0.9 to 1.1.

'(Existing. control . procedures result in a W/C ratio of approximately l.) ' Flow rate ' requirements are identified in - the -

operating procedure.

If flow rates differ widely from the norm, a good solidification may not occur or there can be' free water on the top of.the linr.

7.

Boric acid determinations are required during evaporation'to

- control a boric acid concentration in the nominal 10 to 12% range at the waste- tank. Below 10% there can be free water in the-liner for at least the first day after solidification. This water.

above will 12%, besolidification absorbed within the concrete.

of lines.can occur.With concentrations 8.

Activity determinations are performed when required of' evaporator feed and/or bottoms during evaporation so that the activity level of the-evaporator bottoms.can be estimated. The curie content is

  • estimated / calculated to minimize radiation level control' problems during processing and shipment of .the liner.

9.

Contaminated oil or items with contaminated oil in them will be processed by an approved method.

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B.V.P.S. - 0.M. 1.18.1 PROCESS CONTROL PROGRAM.(continued)=

k 'VII. LIMITATIONS AND SURVEIrD NCE REQUIREMENTS A. LIMITATIONS -

". 1.

~ If. solid wastes (e.g. , filters cartridges, rags, etc.) are

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-immobilzad in the' concrete matrix, the wastes will be contain'ed. within-'an open mesh matal basket 15cated in the -

approximate center of the concrete liner. The basket is suspended off the bottom so that.che concrete mixture will surround the basket.

2. The concrete in the liner must be solified and have no free

-water as_ determined by visual inspection prior to sealing

'the liner.

The liner is inspected for free water prior to sealing filled.

which occurs S days or -more after thm liner is B. SURVEILLANCE REQUIREMESTS 1.

The Effluent and Waste Disposal Semi-annual Report'shall

~ include the.following information for each type of solid wasta shipped _'off-site during the report period:

_ a. Container volume b.-

- Total curie quantity- (determined by measurement or estimate)

c. Principal radionuclides (determined by measurement or estimate) *

-d.

Type of waste (e.g., spent resin, evaporator bottoms).

e.

Type of container (e . g . , . LSA, Type A, Type B, lar;;e quantity), and s

f. Solidification agent i

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SYSTEM PARAMETERS PERTINENT TO THE-

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" PROCESS CONTROL PROCRAM N.

Linsr capacity' Approximately 65 cubic ft.

Lin rldimension 49 inches diameter x 62 inches high Linstweigh'e[(fully ~1oad$d). Approximately 6000 lbs

' ' Ship' ping containerftypes for- 1.5 inches steel

-linar (if necessary) -

.l.5 inches: lead equivalent 4 inches 1ead equivalent Liquid wastes; solidified vendors containers 'aus required Spent resin (bead form)

Evaporator bottoms which can contain boric acid

. Solidification material Cement (Specification provided by ATCOR)

"Sslid wastes immovilize'd Filter, cartridges, rags, etc.

.in' liner'

.hJ W2sto to.coment (W/C ratio 0.9 to 1.1

.fer cvaporator bottoms. Typical = 1 s

. W/C ratio for resin vastes 1.25 co.l.75 'N

-(high resin content) Typical = 1.7 /

1W/C ratio for: resin vastes 1 to 1.5 f(1cw : resin content) Typical = 1

.; Maximum boric acid concen-Approximately-12".

-tration~ in evaporator bottoms hold tank- .

i D3tection.of free water Visual inspection on liner prior to sealing the lid I' Curio content in liner Determined by analysis of the vaste solution or estimated, based on gamma survey performed after solidification Id:ntification on principle Estimated by gamma ray spectrum of r:dionuclides waste prior to or after concentration L by ratio and analysis.

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APPENDIX A CEMENT SOLIDIFICATION TESTS WITH RESIN AND EVAPORATOR BOTTOM WASTE SOLUTIONS

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I. IYTRODUCTION Testing has been- performed at Beaver Valley to determine the W/C ratios required.to assure solidification of resin' and evaporator bottom waste solutions using cement as the immobilizing agent. The ratios used in this work are based on the cement and liquid feed rates specified in Beaver Valley Operating Procedures.

Existing W/C ratios were selected as a starting point for this work because good solidification operaticus without performed at free water Beaver is now achieved in solidification Valley.

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[ . PROCESS CONTROL' PROGRAM (continued).

!II. -EVAPORATOR BOTTOM SOLIDIFICATION TESTS .'{

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L The evaporator bottom wastes generated.at Beaver Valley will typically h

' .contain significant concentrations of boric acid. While boric acid is known. to.

retard the solidification of cement, the inhibiting

, properties of . boric acid 'can1 be overcome by. , increasing the concentration of cement in the mixture and by limiting the boric acid concentration ' La the . waste solution. Maximma boric acid concentration -

in the evaporator bottoms at Beaver. Valley is limited to approximately 12%. because solidificatiori .in pipe lines can occur above this concentration. Thus - 12% concentration was selected as a nominal value 1

for solidification operations in this process.

! Testing with simulated' boric acid waste solutions was performed at W/C ratios of l'and 1.5 with 8,10,12,~ 14 and 16% boric acid solutions.

The W/C ratio of 1 was selected as a starting point based on its current use at Beaver Valley. The ratio of 1.5 was investigated to obtain- information concerning permissible- range of deviation with respect- to waste or cement feed rates. A range was used to investigate solidification qualities of boric acid solutions at concentrations other than 12%. It is unlikely that the boric acid concentration- will ever be. above 12%, however, the conservative approach requires testing in this range.

L Results :of boric-acid-cement solidification tes'ts performed are presented in Table 1A. . Note that for a W/C ratio of . 1, good 's

- solidification results were achieved within five days ' for the entire range of boric acid concentrations tested. Except for the '8% boric acid. test,.no free water was observed on any sample at the end of one day.

Water in the 8% sample was gone at the end of two days. In '

terms of ; resistance to penetration with a sharp object, there was .

-little or no difference between the 8,'10, and 12% concentrations ar the end of five days and again at three weeks. Resistance to penetration could perhaps be described as fair at five days and good at three weeks. The 14 and 16% concentrations were less resistant to penetration.

Test: specimens with a W/C ratio of 1.5 shewed somewhat the same

-presence resuler. as did the samples with a ratio of 1 with respect to the of ' free water.

No free water was observed on any sample at the .end of one day, except for the 8% concentration. This water was gone at the end of two days. At the end of five days all samp,les showed much less resistance to penetration chan did the samples with e V/C' ratio of 1. Solidification characteristics continued to improve with time, however, could not be described as good at any time within the three week test period. Resistance to penetration can be described as very poor at the end of five days and poor to fair at the Cnd of three weeks. There was little if any difference in resistance to penetration damage (at five days or three weeks) for any of tho

' Lboric' -acid concentrations cested (a, 10, 12, la and 16%) with a V/C ratio of 1.3.

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PROCESS' CONTROL PROGRAM (continutd)

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As a'. confirmatory ^ test,-- two large-scale tests. were performed to

- determine if results would vary when sample volume was _ increased.

Total weight of each sample in this case was about 10 lbs. vs 0.S lbs, for the aamples previously tested. A V/C ratio 1 was used at boric' acid ~ccccentrations of 12 ~and 14%. After mixing, the samples were covered checking with forSaran free. Wrap water.to eliminate evaporation from consideration in As with the previous tests, there was no indication of free water at the end of one day. The samples were

. inverted with negative results to check for water. Both samples could

-be easily penetrated with a pencil point at the end of three days,

~however, were starting to solidify at the end of five days. As might be expected, these samples behaved as did the small-scale samples.

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,p PROCESS CONTROL PROGRMt fcont'murd)

JIII.' RESIN SOLIDIFICATION TESTS-

' Resin slu'rries; constituto one of the waste forms.that.are solidified at 3eaver Valley. In forming the slurry, the resin to water ratio is

- controlled by draining the waste resin hold tank and then adding water to;about 4-5.. inches above the resia level. Using this resin-water ratio, '1.7.

-about solidification operations are performed with a W/C ratio of For. high -water, low resin slurries, operations ~ are performed with a W/C ratio. of about solidificatica

1. Good

. solidification results are achieved in either case.

-Testing wi,th simulated ratio of 1,-1.25, 1.50 andresin 1.75.vaste solutions was performed at W/C investigated .in . this work. A range of resin-water mixtures was Test condicions include the~use.of mixed bed resin and cation resin to simulate waste. forms as occur in the plant.. - Rohm and Haas IRN-150 was. used ,for the mixed bed resin. This consists 'of a chemically equivalent mi<ture of 'IRN-77 (strong acid) and IRN-78 (strong base). IRN-77 was used for the cation resin. All s

Lsamples were covered with Saran Vrap after mixing with water and cement free water.to eliminate evaporation frem consideration in checking for Results 'of the. resin solidificatzon tests are presented in Table 2A.

.There was no indication of free water at the end of the first day in, every' test that simulated the ratios used in plant solidificarica operations.

One test that was outside this range (No. 1) shewed some indication of' free water for two days, hewever, was dry on the third day. All concrete samples except No. I were hard by the. fourth day.

Test No. I was fairly resistant to penetration with a sharp object on the fourth day. .Results of the resin solidification tests described '

here can be summarized by stating that all samples tested (including No. 1) met the required end conditions for shipment off-site.

t 20 0F 24 ISSUE 2 .

EZVISICN 4 e

o

., 3.V. P.S . - 0.M. 1.18.1

. 9 PROCESS CONTROL PROGRAM (continu':d)

IV. CEMENT FEED CALIBRATION Cement feed rate'during solidifiestion operations at Beaver Valley is

- held as a constant with a dial setting of 5. The vendor literature does not include data concerning reproductibility of the cement so a calibration test was performed to obtain this information. feeder The data is as follows:

Dial Setting Cement Feed Rate for Three Runs (Ibs/ min. )

4 28 28 28.4 5 34.5 34.5 34.5 6 45 45 45.3 The variation obtained in these runs will have no significant effect on W/C ratios obtained during solidification operations. In fact, a considerable _vider latitude could be tolerated without problem.

w-t 21 OF 24 ISSCE 2 REVISION 4

~ _

B.V.P.S. - 0.M. 1.18.1-

~

-PROCESS CO?frROL PROGRAM-(continued),

V. , CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS NY g

., )

.- tEVAPORATOR-BOTTOM WASTES Results of the laboratory test presented in Table 1A^ indicate oJ 'that a W/C ratio of approximately 1. (currently LT use at ~ Beaver Valleyf ;will achieve the required end product of good

-solidification with no free water.present. While W/C ratio of 1 is recommended as ~n a . goal, a range of 0.9 to 1.1 should be specified in :the operating procedures to provide for- the . minor a ' deviations that can occur in the feed rate of ' cement or-radioactive. wastes. The data ' indicates that a plus deviation can be ~colerated' without problem while a~minus deviation in the W/C

ratio 'would, improve solidification characteristics of the

-evaporator s

bottom-cament mixture.

B. RESIN WASTES-E EResults of the laboratory tests ipresented in Table 2A indicate -

that good solidfication will be achieved with a V/C ratio of 1.25 to- 1.75 for wastes -with a high resin content.

For low resin

content l wastes, good solidification will be achieved _with a V/C

-ratio of 1 to 1.5.

Waste-to-coment' ratio of about 1.7 for the high resin content and 1 for the low resin content are currently used 'for solidification at Beaver Valley. Good solidification

-results have been achieved, therefore, it is recommended-'that ,

these ratios.be maintained. The procedure should be modified to indicate that a deviation'in these ratios can be tolerated.

s r

9 22 0F 2' ISSCE 2 REV~SICN +

1 i

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~ 7B A'- ~JS; t;,M,  ?( ; s .

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TARI.E 1 A .

7

' BORIC ACID SOLIDIFICATION TESTS

%' Waste to Boric Acid Cement. Ratio Results At End Of In Soluti n W/C* Day 1- Day 2 Day 5 Day 21- ~

(Resistance to Penetration) 8 1 Free Water .No Water Fair Good 10 1 No Water No Water' 12 Fair .Cood

  • i No Water No~ Water Fair 14 Cood 1 No Water No Water 16 Fair to Poor Good to Fair 1

-No Water No Water Fair to Poor 8 Good to Fair '

1.5 Free Water No Water Poor Fair-10 1.5 No Water No Water Poor Fair 12 1.5 No Water No Water Poor 14 Fair 1.5 No Water No Water Poor Fair 16 1.5 No Water No Water Poor 12** Fair 1

No Water No Water Fair --

14** 1 No Water No Water Fair --

  • Total weight of sample 0.5 lbs
    • Total weight of sample 10 lbs 23 0F 24 ISSUE 2 REVISION 4 i

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