Commissioning and Cold Test Operation of the German HLLW Vitrification Plant VEK

In 2007 the German High Level Liquid Waste (HLLW) vitrification plant VEK (Verglasungseinrichtung Karlsruhe) located at the site of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (FZK) will be put into radioactive operation. The purpose of VEK is to immobilize in borosilicate glass approximately 8⋅10 17 Bq of radioactivity contained in about 60 m 3 of HLLW. The process technique used is based on the liquid fed ceramic-lined electric waste glass melter (LFCM) designed for processing of highly noble metals (Ru, Rh, Pd) containing HLLW. By mid of 2006 the melter has been heated up to idling temperature of about 950°C. All major systems of the plant have been tested in 2005/2006. The next steps in the commissioning of the facility before hot operation include the cold test operation of the entire plant while vitrifying about 15 m 3 of HLLW simulant. The paper presents a short description of the VEK vitrification technology, steps of functional testing of process equipment, preparation and performance the cold test operation and an outlook for the forthcoming hot operation of the facility.