MOBILIZATION OF SLUDGE IN HORIZONTAL CYLINDRICAL TANKS WITH SUBMERGED NOZZLES

Over 378,000 m³ (100 million gal) of radioactive waste is being stored in hundreds of tanks at several U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites. The environment within the tanks is highly radioactive and chemically harsh. The waste typically consists of a heterogeneous sludge layer covered by a layer of supernatant. A few of the tanks have leaked to the environment, while others are corroding. Removing the waste from the tanks and processing it to a stable final form are desired to prevent any additional contamination of the environment. The tanks vary in size and geometric shape and do not have systems for removing the sludge waste.

Mobilization and mixing studies were conducted with a surrogate sludge (e.g., kaolin clay) using submerged jets in two sizes of horizontal tanks with nominal capacities of 0.87 m³ (230 gal) and 95 m³ (25,000 gal). Mobilization efficiencies and mixing times were determined for single and bidirectional jets in both tanks with the discharge nozzles positioned at various locations in the tanks. Approximately 80% of the surrogate sludge was mobilized in the 95-m³ tank using a fixed bidirectional jet (inside diameter = 0.035 m) and a jet velocity of 6.4m/s (21 ft/s). The effective cleaning length, which is defined as the distance between the jet and the edge of the remaining sludge bank, was approximately 3.2 m (10 ft) on each side of the bidirectional jet.