A -- RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT -- - SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE FOR HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE VITRIFICATION TECHNOLOGY

Notice Date

January 11, 2001

Contracting Office

DOE/National Energy Technology Laboratory, P.O. Box 10940, MS 921-107, Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940

ZIP Code

15236-0940

Response Due

February 16, 2001

Point of Contact

Raymond D. Johnson, Contracting Officer, (412) 386-6109; Jagdish Malhotra, Technical Contact, (304) 285-4053

E-Mail Address

Click here to contact the technical representative (malhotra@netl.doe.gov)

Description

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PROPOSALS AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED FROM THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO REIMBURSEMENT WILL BE MADE FOR ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING INFORMATION IN RESPONSE TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND ANY FOLLOW-UP INFORMATION REQUESTS. NO TELEPHONE CALLS REQUESTING A SOLICITATION WILL BE ACCEPTED OR ACKNOWLEDGED. THIS SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT MAY OR MAY NOT RESULT IN A SOLICITATION. This Request for Information is being issued to support a U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) program responsible for the solidification and preparation for disposal of hazardous and radioactive materials defined as high-level radioactive waste (HLW). As part of this effort, DOE seeks to determine the availability and applicability of technologies that may offer improvements in operational efficiency and reductions in final product volume and lifecycle costs. Vendors and developers of vitrification technologies that may be applicable to the immobilization of HLW are requested to provide descriptive and technical information to the points of contact listed below. Descriptions of the information sought are also provided below. Background At three sites within the United States, DOE is responsible for management and ultimate treatment of almost 88 million gallons of highly radioactive waste stored in 230 large underground tanks. Approximately 54 million gallons of this waste are stored in 177 tanks located at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. The waste, which was generated by plutonium production activities supporting the nation's nuclear defense program, has been accumulating at Hanford since 1944. Once the waste is retrieved from the tanks, it will be separated into high-level waste and low-activity waste fractions for processing. This Request for Information addresses only the high-level waste fraction. Table 1 (view at the NETL Web Site listed below) provides a list of chemical compounds typically found in the HLW at the Hanford Site. As currently stored, the HLW at Hanford is an alkaline solution with a pH of between 12 and 14. Chemical adjustment of the HLW can be proposed to optimize its performance during vitrification. As currently planned, the waste will be combined with glass-forming chemicals (e.g., silica sand, boron oxide, aluminum silicate, and alkali and alkaline earth compounds) and pumped to a vitrification unit. The "melter feed" will consist of an approximately 50-weight-percent solids slurry mixture with a glass yield of approximately 500 grams of glass per liter of melter feed. The ratio of HLW oxides to glass-forming chemical oxides in the final glass product will typically range between 1:2.5 and 1:4. The initial waste processing activity at the Hanford Site, known as Phase I, will accomplish treatment and immobilization of a minimum 10 percent by mass and 25 percent by radioactivity of the tank waste by 2018. The remainder of the work, referred to as the Balance of Mission, will accomplish disposition of the remainder of the waste and final closure of facilities over the following 30-year period. Waste treatment facilities will be constructed for treating the waste through vitrification, packaging the waste for long-term storage, and transporting the waste for either interim or long-term storage. Vitrification facilities will be designed to assure a minimum 40-year operational life. Equipment that will not meet the 40-year operating life requirement will be designed to be replaceable. The HLW vitrification process throughput rate will be 1.5 metric tons of glass per day (MTG/d) in Phase I. During the Balance of Mission phase, the HLW facility capacity will be increased to 6 MTG/d. Waste products produced during the vitrification process must meet the characteristic limits of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure and land disposal requirements and must comply with applicable codes and standards for disposal in an underground geologic repository. Additional technical information can be reviewed electronically via the Internet at http://www.hanford.gov/orp/index.html. As part of its ongoing waste vitrification program, DOE has identified a joule-heated, ceramic-lined melter as the baseline technology and borosilicate glass as the waste form to be produced. Even with the current technology, incremental increases in waste loading and glass volume reduction may be possible. However, as a result of technology advancements and understanding of borosilicate glass and other glass system properties since 1982, opportunities also exist to refine or supplant the waste form and technology in the future. For this reason, DOE is interested in receiving and evaluating information from vendors and developers of vitrification technologies that may offer advantages relative to the current baseline technology. DOE HAS INTEREST IN RECEIVING INFORMATION FROM ALL INTERESTED PARTIES WITH A TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD FULFILL THESE REQUIREMENTS. ANY INTERESTED PARTY SHOULD SUBMIT A BRIEF CAPABILITY STATEMENT (MAXIMUM 10 PAGES). STANDARD COMPANY BROCHURES ARE NOT DESIRED. A TEMPLATE FOR THE CAPABILITY STATEMENT IS PROVIDED AT NETL'S WEB SITE: http://www.netl.doe.gov/business/solicit. DO NOT INCLUDE PROPRIETARY AND/OR BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL DATA. THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF THE CAPABILITY STATEMENT IS February 16, 2001. Four (4) copies of this document should be submitted as follows: Two (2) copies to Jagdish Malhotra, U.S. DOE/NETL, P.O. Box 880, 3610 Collins Ferry Road, Mail Stop E06, Morgantown, WV 26507-0880, and two (2) copies to Lance Mamiya, U.S. DOE/RL, P.O. Box 550, 825 Jadwin Avenue, Mail Stop K8-50, Richland, WA, 99352.

Web Link

Click here to download copy of the Capability Statement (http://www.netl.doe.gov/business/solicit/)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010116/ASOL015.HTM (W-011 SN50A7I0)