Evaluation of the ACT*DE*CON{sup SM} process for treating gunite tank sludge

A test was conducted to evaluate this process for selectively removing actinides from Gunite tank sludge. Mixed waste sludge from Gunite tank W-6 was subjected to the ACT*DE*CON selective leaching process. (Nearly all the TRU content was attributed to Pu.) The sludge sample was first washed with 0.01M NaOH to remove excess sodium and nitrate in the interstitial liquid supernatant. The washed wet solids were treated with the ACT*DE*CON solvent (aqueous carbonate solution containing a chelating agent and an oxidant), using a ratio of 20 ml solvent per gram wet solids. Sludge and solvent were separated by centrifugation, and the ACT*DE*CON treatment was repeated twice. Analyses showed that 71% of the solids in the sludge were dissolved while 80% of the TRU-waste components dissolved. Low separation of the TRU-waste components from other components of the sludge mixture is indicated. Almost all the U and Ca were removed from the sludge. For sludges where most of the TRU content is Pu, the ACT*DE*CON process as tested is not effective in rendering the sludge a non-TRU waste. It is recommended that ACT*DE*CON be optimized for this specific application and that other processes using different chelating and oxidizing agents be tested. Also, the ACT*DE*CON process should be tested on TRU mixed waste in which most of the TRU elements are not Pu