The Phosphate Management program seeks to develop treatment options for caustic phosphate solutions resulting from the caustic leaching of the bismuth phosphate sludge. The SRNL subtask investigated the precipitation of phosphate salts from caustic solutions through addition of fluoride and by crystallization. The scoping tests examined the: precipitation of phosphate by the addition of sodium fluoride to form the sodium fluorophosphate double salt, Na{sub 7}F(PO{sub 4}){sub 2} {center_dot} 19H{sub 2}O, crystallization of phosphate by reducing the temperature of saturated phosphate solutions, and combinations of precipitation and crystallization. A simplified leachate simulant was used in the study produced by dissolving sodium phosphate in 1 M to 3.5 M sodium hydroxide solutions. The results show that all three processes; precipitation with sodium fluoride, crystallization, and combined precipitation/crystallization can be effective for removing large amounts of phosphate from solution. The combined process of precipitation/crystallization showed >90% removal of phosphate at all hydroxide concentrations when cooling a non-saturated phosphate solution from 65 C to 25 C. Based on the measured solubility of sodium phosphate, pH adjustment/caustic addition will also remove large amounts of phosphate from solution (>80%). For all three processes, the phosphate concentration in the caustic solution must be managed to keep the …

Metric for Quarter 2: Evaluate LDM (Liu, Daum, McGraw) drizzle threshold parameterization for a range of cloud conditions by comparing the threshold function computed using measurements of cloud droplet number concentration and cloud liquid water content to measurements of drizzle droplet number concentrations and/or drizzle water content.

The Hanford External Dosimetry Technical Basis Manual PNL-MA-842 documents the design and implementation of the external dosimetry system used at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford site. The manual describes the dosimeter design, processing protocols, dose calculation methodology, radiation fields encountered, dosimeter response characteristics, limitations of dosimeter design under field conditions, and makes recommendations for effective use of the dosimeters in the field. The manual describes the technical basis for the dosimetry system in a manner intended to help ensure defensibility of the dose of record at Hanford and to demonstrate compliance with requirements of 10 CFR 835, the DOE Laboratory Accreditation Program, the DOE Richland Operations Office, DOE Office of River Protection, DOE Pacific Northwest Office of Science, and Hanford’s DOE contractors. The dosimetry system is operated by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Hanford External Dosimetry Program which provides dosimetry services to PNNL and all Hanford contractors. The primary users of this manual are DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford using the dosimetry services of PNNL. Development and maintenance of this manual is funded directly by DOE and DOE contractors. Its contents have been reviewed and approved by DOE and DOE contractors at Hanford through the Hanford …

This annual report of the Site-Directed Research and Development (SDRD) program represents the highly significant R&D accomplishments conducted during fiscal year 2010. This year was noteworthy historically, as the Nevada Test Site was renamed to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). This change not only recognizes how the site's mission has evolved, but also heralds a future of new challenges and opportunities for the NNSS. In many ways, since its inception in 2002, the SDRD program has helped shape that evolving mission. As we approach 2012, SDRD will also mark a milestone, having completed its first full decade of innovative R&D in support of the site and national security. The program continues to fund advanced science and technology development across traditional Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear security areas such as stockpile stewardship and non-proliferation while also supporting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs, and specialized work for government agencies like the Department of Defense (DoD) and others. The NNSS will also contribute technologies in the areas of treaty verification and monitoring, two areas of increasing importance to national security. Keyed to the NNSS's broadened scope, the SDRD program will continue to anticipate and advance R&D projects that will help the …

This document completes the requirements of Milestone 2-4, Final Report of FY10 Testing, discussed in the scope of work outlined in the EM31 task plan WP-2.3.6-2010-1. The focus of task WP 2.3.6 is to improve the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) understanding of filtration operations for high-level waste (HLW) to improve filtration and cleaning efficiencies, thereby increasing process throughput and reducing the Na demand (through acid neutralization). Developing the cleaning/backpulsing requirements will produce much more efficient operations for both the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) and the Savannah River Site (SRS), thereby significantly increasing throughput by limiting cleaning cycles. The scope of this work is to develop the understanding of filter fouling to allow developing this cleaning/backpulsing strategy.

The main objective of this research is to develop an integrated diffusion/transport (IDT) method to substantially improve the accuracy of nodal diffusion methods for the design and analysis of Very High Temperature Reactors (VHTR). Because of the presence of control rods in the reflector regions in the Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR-VHTR), traditional nodal diffusion methods do not accurately model these regions, within which diffusion theory breaks down in the vicinity of high neutron absorption and steep flux gradients. The IDT method uses a local transport solver based on a new incident flux response expansion method in the controlled nodes. Diffusion theory is used in the rest of the core. This approach improves the accuracy of the core solution by generating transport solutions of controlled nodes while maintaining computational efficiency by using diffusion solutions in nodes where such a treatment is sufficient. The transport method is initially developed and coupled to the reformulated 3-D nodal diffusion model in the CYNOD code for PBR core design and fuel cycle analysis. This method is also extended to the prismatic VHTR. The new method accurately captures transport effects in highly heterogeneous regions with steep flux gradients. The calculations of these nodes with transport theory …

Investigations into the occurrence and origin of perchlorate (ClO{sub 4}{sup -}) found in groundwater from across North America have been sparse until recent years, and there is mounting evidence that natural formation mechanisms are important. New opportunities for identifying groundwater perchlorate and its origin have arisen with the utilization of improved detection methods and sampling techniques. Additionally, application of the forensic potential of isotopic measurements has begun to elucidate sources, potential formation mechanisms and natural attenuation processes. Procedures developed appear to be amenable to enable high precision stable isotopic analyses, as well as lower precision AMS analyses of {sup 36}Cl. Immediate work is in analyzing perchlorate isotope standards and developing full analytical accuracy and uncertainty expectations. Field samples have also been collected, and will be analyzed when final qa/qc samples are deemed acceptable.

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