Statement of Services: Provide technical assistance in (i) development of glass formulation for radioactive and toxic wastes, (ii) study of glass melting behavior, (iii) development of process flow-sheet, (iv) selection of materials for process systems, (v) design of components, (vi) investigation of corrosion behavior of refractories and metals in corrosive environments, (vii) review of proposed technologies, (viii) modeling of process flow-sheet and (ix) investigation of melter accidents.

Experience: A multi-disciplinary team with experience in high-level waste solidification process design and operations, fire technology, health physics, risk analysis, corrosion engineering, chemical engineering, facility design engineering, nuclear criticality, and performance assessment is used to accomplish the task. Currently, staff can support

• Development of process flow-sheets for vitrifying radioactive wastes
• Design of process systems for radioactive waste solidification including feed preparation, melter, and off-gas treatment systems
• Evaluation of corrosion behavior in melter and related process systems
• Evaluation of effect of minor components such as noble metals on the melting behavior
• Evaluation of long-term behavior of corrosion of glasses
• Survey of technologies for waste vitrification
• Development of numerical process models for vitrification flow-sheet
• Investigation of accidents in vitrification plants
• Review of technical documents related to waste vitrification
• Review of hazard analysis for vitrification plants
• Review of explosive hazards at the site
• Training of staff in basics of vitrification science, technology, and engineering

Client Benefits: The concerted efforts of a multi-disciplinary team can provide, on schedule, evaluations and recommendations on technical uncertainties and potential safety issues associated with the proposed technologies.