WRPS Waste Treatment Plant SupportAugust 7, 2018WRPS Community InvolvementAugust 7, 2018 WRPS Technology August 7, 2018 Categories Tags The High Pressure Mixer can be inserted into an underground waste storage tank to help mobilize and retrieve the waste. It injects high pressure water in a rotating spray that can be placed next to the waste pump. In addition to thinning the waste it can spray directly at the pump screen to clean the screen and remove any clogs that might form. Developed for use at Hanford, these flexible, temporary transfer lines have helped move waste out of aging single-shell tanks into newer and safer double-shell tanks. The lines meet all environmental standards and are less expensive than installing permanent infrastructure. The Mobile Arm Retrieval System is a new generation of robotic arm that offers a transformational method of removing waste from Hanford’s underground storage tanks. It can reach all parts of a waste tank and direct a variety of high pressure water streams to break up and “rake” waste to a central pump that is part of the system. Modified Sluicing uses high-pressure water jets to dissolve and mobilize waste so the waste can be pumped from a tank. Waste is transferred from aging single-shell tanks to newer and safer double-shell tanks. When possible liquid radioactive waste is recycled to reduce the volume of waste created in the transfer process. Also known as the Possum because it is lowered into a tank by its tail, the Off Riser Sampler (ORS) is making it easier to collect waste samples from Hanford tanks. The sampling of residual material follows retrieval of waste from the tanks. Using the ORS allows samples to be taken from anywhere in the tank including areas that had previously been inaccessible. Surface Geophysical Exploration is helping to improve our understanding of the nature and extent of soil contamination beneath Hanford’s underground radioactive waste storage tanks. Using a series of probes connected to a central computer, electrical currents are passed between the probes and the resistance of the waste-bearing soil can be measured. This data is then converted to a visual image showing the extent of a plume of contamination from tanks that have leaked. A remote water lance, also known as the Salt Mantis, uses high pressure water to break up hardened layers of waste in Hanford’s underground radioactive and chemical waste storage tanks. The device directs a stream of water at 30,000 pounds per square inch, breaking up hard materials and allowing it to be pumped from the tank. It was demonstrated in tank S-112 and exceeded all expectations. One of Hanford’s latest waste retrieval tools is the Foldtrack, a remotely operated, track-mounted system that uses a wide blade to move radioactive waste from the floor of an underground storage tank to a pump so it can be removed. Fitted with two on-board water jets the device stretches out so it can be inserted through a 12-inch pipe, then reconfigures itself once it is inside the tank. The High Pressure Mixer can be inserted into an underground waste storage tank to help mobilize and retrieve the waste. It injects high pressure water in a rotating spray that can be placed next to the waste pump. In addition to thinning the waste it can spray directly at the pump screen to clean the screen and remove any clogs that might form. Related
