HIGH LEVEL WASTE SLUDGE BATCH 4 VARIABILITY STUDY

Abstract

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) is preparing for vitrification of High Level Waste (HLW) Sludge Batch 4 (SB4) in early FY2007. To support this process, the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has provided a recommendation to utilize Frit 503 for vitrifying this sludge batch, based on the composition projection provided by the Liquid Waste Organization on June 22, 2006. Frit 418 was also recommended for possible use during the transition from SB3 to SB4. A critical step in the SB4 qualification process is to demonstrate the applicability of the durability models, which are used as part of the DWPF's process control strategy, to the glass system of interest via a variability study. A variability study is an experimentally-driven assessment of the predictability and acceptability of the quality of the vitrified waste product that is anticipated from the processing of a sludge batch. At the DWPF, the durability of the vitrified waste product is not directly measured. Instead, the durability is predicted using a set of models that relate the Product Consistency Test (PCT) response of a glass to the chemical composition of that glass. In addition, a glass sample is taken during the processing of that sludge batch, themore » sample is transmitted to SRNL, and the durability is measured to confirm acceptance. The objective of a variability study is to demonstrate that these models are applicable to the glass composition region anticipated during the processing of the sludge batch - in this case the Frit 503 - SB4 compositional region. The success of this demonstration allows the DWPF to confidently rely on the predictions of the durability/composition models as they are used in the control of the DWPF process.« less