High-level waste (HLW) throughput (i.e., the amount of waste processed per unit time) is a function of two critical parameters: waste loading (WL) and melt rate. For the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Hanford Site and the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS), increasing HLW throughput would significantly reduce the overall mission life cycle costs for the Department of Energy (DOE). It has been proposed that a team of glass formulation and processing experts at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), and Vitreous State Laboratory (VSL) at Catholic University of America develop a systematic approach to increase HLW throughput (by increasing WL with minimal or positive impacts on melt rate). Programmatically, this task is aimed at proof-of-principle testing and the development of tools to improve waste loading and melt rate, which will lead to higher waste throughput. The following four specific tasks have been proposed to meet this programmatic objective: (1) Integration and Oversight, (2) Crystal Accumulation Modeling (led by PNNL)/Higher Waste Loading Glasses (led by SRNL), (3) Melt Rate Evaluation and Modeling, and (4) Melter Scale Demonstrations. The details of these tasks can be found in …

The purpose of this report is to help understand how the budget increases of the last ten years have been allocated.