U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Operations Office, Contracts Management Division, P.O. Box A, Aiken, South Carolina 29802

F -- IDENTIFICATION OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE TREATMENT OF PUREX WASTE DUE 082100 POC Sharon Campbell, telephone (803) 952-6112 E-MAIL: Click here to contact Sharon Campbell via e-mail, sharon-pmmd.campbell@srs.gov. Westinghouse Savannah River Company, management and operations contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina is requesting information from private industry on available technologies for the treatment of PUREX solvent waste. Technologies may include both thermal and non-thermal processes. Where feasible, pre-treatment or multiple treatments should be included. The technology should yield a final waste form after treatment that meets the Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) identified in 40 CFR 268. The PUREX waste requiring treatment and disposal at SRS comprises some 40,000 gallons of legacy waste, with the potential for generation of more than 100,000 gallons of additional PUREX waste from current and future site operations. The PUREX waste is currently treated using a large-scale incinerator at the SRS. However, this treatment option is not cost effective so a lower cost alternative is needed. The legacy PUREX waste consists of material that was generated in the past, and has since been stored on-site in underground tanks. This volume of waste comprises an aqueous and an organic phase, the aqueous phase arising from flushing and transfer operations as the waste was moved around through its storage history. The organic phase is composed of a mixture of tributyl phosphate and n-paraffin, and their decomposition products. The percentage breakdown of phases is 34% aqueous and 66% organic. The future generated waste will be similar in chemical composition to the existing organic phase in the legacy material. For the future generation of PUREX waste, the radioactivity levels will likely be significantly less than the legacy waste. This reduction would present a reduced challenge for treatment. Precise radioactivity levels associated with these future waste streams are unknown at this time, as is the detailed generation schedule for these wastes. The legacy PUREX waste has been analyzed and found to be characteristically hazardous for mercury, lead, silver, benzene and trichloroethylene. As such, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations. The technologies for the treatment of this RCRA waste must reduce the toxicity characteristics to meet LDR treatment standards. The RCRA status of any future generation of PUREX waste is not known at this time. The major challenge associated with the PUREX waste is the treatment of the tributyl phosphate (TBP)/n-paraffin phase. Thermal treatment of TBP can present a corrosion problem because of the possible formation of extremely corrosive derivatives, notably phosphoric acid. The legacy PUREX waste is contained in two separate underground storage tanks, each containing both an aqueous and organic liquid phase. A chemical and radiological analysis of the legacy PUREX waste and the characteristics for the four liquid phases can be obtained from the WSRC point of contact at the address listed below. The residual waste acceptance criteria are as follows: 1) The technologiesshall be able to treat the waste as described above. 2) The final waste form after treatment must meet LDR. 3) If the final waste form generated after the treatment is classified as a transuranic waste, the final waste form must meet the requirements of the latest revision of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Waste Acceptance Criteria found at www.wipp.carlsbad.nm.us. WSRC is interested in obtaining information on technologies that have been successfully demonstrated; however, the deployment of new or improved technologies will be considered. Technologies that are in the early stages of research and development are of no interest for this RFI. Vendor submittals shall include, at a minimum, the following: technology name; technology provider; technology description; statement of product or service maturity; summary of previous uses; performance data and specifications; waste categories (i.e., mixed waste, hazardous waste, etc.) and descriptions handled; anticipated cost per unit if available; listing and statusof any licensing and permitting activities i.e., Nuclear Regulatory Commission, RCRA, Clean Air Act, etc.; point-of-contact; address; telephone number; facsimile; and e-mail. Applicable information should be addressed to Sharon Campbell, Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Procurement and Materials Management Department, Building 730-4B, Room 2152, Aiken, South Carolina 29808, phone number (803) 952-6112. Comments and requests for additional information will be accepted via electronic mail sent to sharon-pmmd.campbell@srs.gov and via facsimile at (803) 952-6159. All responses should be received by August 21, 2000. This is not a request for formal proposal. It is a request for information only. Posted 07/21/00 (W-SN477330). (0203)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0042 20000725\F-0006.SOL)

| F - Natural Resources and Conservation Services Index  |  Issue Index |