A Cost Comparison of Organic versus Inorganic Ion Exchange Resin for Remediation of High-Level Waste

Abstract

Ion exchange (IX) can be used to aid in the remediation of underground storage tank (UST) radioactive waste at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford site in the state of Washington. In particular, IX can be used to concentrate the radionuclides in liquid-based waste prior to immobilization for final disposal. Concentration of the radionuclides can significantly reduce the final immobilized high-level waste volume and consequent overall remediation cost. Organic and inorganic IX resins each have unique advantages and disadvantages regarding the remediation process. This study presents a comparison of the remediation cost for UST waste at Hanford for a phenol-formaldehyde type organic resin versus crystalline silico-titanate inorganic resin. It was determined that with optimum processing conditions such as waste blending and sludge washing, remediation with the inorganic resin would be less expensive than the organic resin. Assuming baseline remediation conditions, the use of inorganic rather than organic IX resin for UST remediation at Hanford can save approximately $383 million. A limited sensitivity analysis was performed as pan of this study and is reported in the following. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.