AIKEN, S.C. - Key waste transfer line modifications to connect the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) to the liquid waste system at the Savannah River Site (SRS) are complete, bringing multiple facilities a step closer to fully integrated operations.
The modifications, which began in July 2017, included installing new underground waste transfer lines and changing existing lines at an area known as 511-S, near the (DWPF).
The lines support the future throughput of material to and from SWPF, SRS tank farms, and DWPF, transferring multiple products, including strip effluent (an acidic aqueous material) from SWPF to DWPF, once SWPF becomes operational. The strip effluent contains cesium, which will be extracted from the raw salt waste using a solvent technology at SWPF and sent to DWPF for stabilization. This solvent technology has been proven successful at the interim salt processing facility, the Modular Caustic Side Solvent Extraction Unit.
Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River Assistant Manager for Waste Disposition, said workers consistently and safely met tie-in milestones for bringing SWPF online at 511-S.
“The Liquid Waste and Salt Waste Processing Facility integration team led by Savannah River Remediation has been practicing excellent conduct-of-operations techniques to make conservative and safe decisions on this project," Folk said. “The work to tie SWPF into the current liquid waste operations has been progressing steadily, but most importantly it has been conducted safely and deliberately."
Updating critical safety documents is the next step in the integration process. The integration team is proceeding with revisions to the facilities’ documented safety analyses, which provide the technical basis for ensuring safe, compliant operations of the liquid waste facilities.
The 511-S excavation backfill is scheduled for completion by the end of this month. This summer, workers will install a new high-volume feed pump on Tank 49, the SWPF feed tank in H Tank Farm, just before the final SWPF tie-ins which are currently scheduled to start in November 2018.
SWPF will be the key liquid waste facility for processing the SRS salt waste inventory, which makes up about 90 percent of the site’s remaining 35 million gallons of tank waste. The facility will separate salt waste into a high-level stream for vitrification in DWPF and a low-level stream to the Saltstone Production Facility for disposal.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
