Acoustic Mixing and Treatment of Organic Waste: Results of Proof of Principle -10168

The mission of the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) is to characterize, treat and ship transuranic (TRU) waste from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). One of the waste streams currently being processed is Rocky Flats organic set-ups, Item Description Code (IDC) 003, contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which require processing into a non-liquid form in order to meet the WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria. Laboratory-scale proof-of-principle tests using surrogate waste material have demonstrated that ResonantAcoustic ® mixing can efficiently disperse liquid-phase oil into the waste matrix, that absorbent material can be effectively dispersed throughout the matrix treating entrained liquids in-situ, and that the plastic inner bagging can be incorporated within the waste matrix eliminating voids. Additional tests have demonstrated that the technology can mix materials with viscosities larger than those expected to be encountered in the AMWTP waste in 30 gallon containers,, and that it can be readily scaled-up to 55-gallon drums. Because standard mixing conditions would create excessive hydrodynamic pressure for a drum, a custom-designed mixing vessel will be employed with the next phase of testing. These tests should provide confidence that the ultimate 55-gallon application can be successfully deployed.