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Fusion Science and Technology
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Glass strategy: Hanford’s enhanced waste glass program
The mission of the Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection (ORP) is to complete the safe cleanup of waste resulting from decades of nuclear weapons development. One of the most technologically challenging responsibilities is the safe disposition of approximately 56 million gallons of radioactive waste historically stored in 177 tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
ORP has a clear incentive to reduce the overall mission duration and cost. One pathway is to develop and deploy innovative technical solutions that can advance baseline flow sheets toward higher efficiency operations while reducing identified risks without compromising safety. Vitrification is the baseline process that will convert both high-level and low-level radioactive waste at Hanford into a stable glass waste form for long-term storage and disposal.
Although vitrification is a mature technology, there are key areas where technology can further reduce operational risks, advance baseline processes to maximize waste throughput, and provide the underpinning to enhance operational flexibility; all steps in reducing mission duration and cost.
E.T. Cheng, R.J. Cerbone, Y.-K.M. Peng, J.D. Galambos, D. Strickler, I.N. Sviatoslavsky, C.P.C. Wong, D.K. Sze, X.R. Wang, M. Simnad, M. Tillack
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 34 | Number 3 | November 1998 | Pages 1066-1070
Nuclear Testing and Design (Poster Session) | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A11963755
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Progress is given on the investigation of a low cost, scientifically attractive, and technologically feasible volumetric neutron source (VNS) based on the spherical torus (ST) concept. The ST-VNS has a major radius of 1.07 m, an aspect ratio of 1.4, and a plasma elongation 3. It can produce a neutron wall loading ultimately up to 5 MW/m2 averaged over the outboard test section when the fusion power reaches 380 MW. Initial operation of this device can be at a level of 1 MW/m2 or lower. Higher performance blanket components can be developed to raised the neutron wall loading. Using staged high wall loading operation scheme and optimistic availability projected for the VNS device, a neutron fluence of more than 30 MW-y/m2 can be expected to accumulate within 20 years of operation. Assessments of lifetime and reliability of fusion core components will thus be allowed in a power reactor relevant environment. A full-function testing of fusion core components may also become possible because of the high neutron wall loading capability. Integrated testing of tritium breeding in such a full scale power reactor relevant VNS device can be very useful to verify the self-sufficiency of fuel cycle in candidate power blanket concepts.