Gas release during salt well pumping: model predictions and comparisons to laboratory experiments

Abstract

The Hanford Site has 149 single-shell tanks (SSTs) containing radioactive wastes that are complex mixes of radioactive and chemical products. Some of these wastes are known to generate mixtures of flammable gases, including hydrogen, nitrous oxide, and ammonia. Nineteen of these SSTs have been placed on the Flammable Gas Watch List (FGWL) because they are known or suspected, in all but one case, to retain these flammable gases. Salt well pumping to remove the interstitial liquid from SSTs is expected to cause the release of much of the retained gas, posing a number of safety concerns. Research at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has sought to quantify the release of flammable gases during salt well pumping operations. This study is being conducted for Westinghouse Hanford Company as part of the PNNL Flammable Gas Project. Understanding and quantifying the physical mechanisms and waste properties that govern gas release during salt well pumping will help to resolve the associated safety issues.