Curie Reduction of Liquid Effluent at Nuclear Power Plants

Curie Reduction of Liquid Effluent at Nuclear Power Plants Presented by Tim Carraway

Technologies Two Primary Types of Liquid Waste Processing Technologies Membranes for BWR’s? Demineralization with Chemical Injection for PWR’s? Over 1 Billion Gallons Processed by end of 2004

Key Steps for Technology Selection Do Not Prematurely Conclude a Specific Technology Will Provide a Solution Detailed Assessment is Required to Determine the Best Fit Solution Plant Operating Philosophy Typically Requires Changes to Ensure Overall Success

Perform Detailed Influent Assessment Characterize All Sources Equipment Drains Floor Drains Miscellaneous Sources (Lab Drains, Resin Transfer Water, Various Storage Tanks) Consider Condensate System Inputs (BWR) Do Not Rely on a Single “Snapshot” Include Outage and Non-Outage Chemistry Also Consider Evolutions Such as Condensate System Backwashes and URC’s

Typical Influent Parameters Cations Anions TDS TSS TOC Conductivity Gross Gamma Activity Silica Calcium Magnesium Chlorides Iron Sulfates Temperature Turbidity Identify the Range for Each Parameter The Analysis Must Be Complete Ensure Unusual Plant Evolutions Are Considered

Identify Effluent and Performance Goals Curies Is Zero Curie Discharge Desirable? Is Lowering Curie Discharge Desirable? Recycle Water Chemistry TOC Conductivity Sulfates Chlorides Others Waste Generation Operator Dose

Understand the Total Costs Confirmatory Testing Plant Modifications Equipment Installation Equipment Operations Maintenance Process Waste Disposition Training When Comparing Costs to Existing Processes Ensure All Costs are Considered

Understand There is Not a Single Generic Solution The Proposed Technology Must Consider Influent Chemistry and Plant Goals System Components Must be Configured Based on Specific Plant Conditions Consider Testing With Scaled Down Equipment to Verify Performance Another Way to Mitigate Risk

Post Implementation Keys to Success Continually Track, Trend and Analyze Performance Data Use Data to Define Improvements and Optimize System Performance Maximize Filter Run Times, Media Throughput, Membrane Life Measure Effectiveness of Changes to Any Plant Operating Philosophies

Goals PWR’s Minimize curie discharge Minimize waste generation BWR’s Minimize or eliminate curie discharge Produce reactor grade make-up water Allows Minimize 100 % recycle of water processed waste generation

PWR’s Demineralization with Chemical Addition Cost effective Provides similar effluent activity results as membrane based technology Demin Systems are simple and less expensive to operate and maintain Provides versatility and the ability to “target” specific radionuclides (such Co-58 and Sb-125)

BWR’s Membrane Based Technology : Provides “zero” curie discharge capability Provides reactor grade quality make-up water Produces Systems Curie Definition less waste generation than Demin

History of Membrane Technology Membrane Technology has been in Operation Since 1995 45 Million Gallons Processed Annually with Membrane Technology Currently, Membrane Technology is in operation at 4 Nuclear Power Plants 9 Mile One (First to Operate Technology in 1995) 9 Mile Two Pilgrim TVA’s Station Brown Ferry Station Over 100 Million Gallons Processed at Pilgrim Station

Contaminants Dissolved Charged Suspended Uncharged Ions Organics Organics Organics Silica Silica Silica Gases Non Living (Silt, Sand, Clay, etc.) Living or Dead (Bacteria, Algea, Fungi, etc)

DISSOLVED SUSPENDED 0.1 1 0.0001 0.001 0.01 Micron Micron Micron Metal Ions Micron Micron Colloids 10 100 1000 Micron Micron Micron Particle Filtration Microfiltration Aqueous Salts Ultrafiltration Bacteria Nanofiltration Reverse Osmosis Beach Sand

Colloids col·loid noun (plural col·loids) a suspension of small particles dispersed in another substance Due to the small size of colloidal particles, the natural movement of water molecules does not allow them to settle. Even in static conditions, colloidal particles will Never settle out in solution.

Membrane Based System System Primary Components Reverse Osmosis Membrane Skids Granular Activated Carbon Beds Process Feed Tank Filters Demineralizer

Polisher GAC Vessels Control Module 2nd Pass RO Plant F-1 Process Feed Tank 1st Pass RO F-2

First Pass RO Skid

First Pass RO Skid Rear View

Second Pass RO Skid

Second Pass RO Skid Rear View

Process Feed Tank Skid

Membrane System Results Processed over 280 Million Gallons Total Average 45 Million Gallons per Year Achieved 100 % recycle for all water processed, resulting in “zero curie” discharge Produces close to theoretically pure water

Curies Discharged 0.467 0.5 C urie s D ischarge d 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.16 0.16 0.15 0.0764 0.1 0.05 0 0 0 0 0 Plant 1 Plant 2 Media System Plant 3 THERMEX Plant 4

Reactor Feedwater Conductivity uS/cm 0.1 0.1 0.09 0.08 Near theoretically pure water 0.08 0.07 0.058 0.06 0.055 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0 EPRI Guidelines INPO Guidelines THERMEX Results Theortically Pure

Reactor Feedwater TOC ppb 200 200 180 160 Exceptionally low level of organic contaminants. 140 120 100 100 80 60 40 32 20 0 EPRI Guidelines INPO Guidelines THERMEX Results

Waste Generation 2,700 3,000 2,750 2,500 Cubic Ft. 2,250 1,900 1,800 2,000 1,750 1,500 1,250 1,000 800 470 750 500 350 302 200 250 0 Plant 1 Plant 2 Pre-THERMEX Plant 3 THERMEX Plant 4

Annual Savings Annual Savings 1,200,000 978,000 900,000 1,000,000 768,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 198,000 200,000 0 Plant 1 Plant 2 Plant 3 Plant 4 These savings also include the cost of our services Does Not include savings such as substantial ANI insurance reductions

Demins with Chemical Injection System Primary Components Granular Activated Carbon Beds Demineralization Vessels Filters Chemical isotopes injection allows targeting of specific Duratek Systems Currently in use at 11 Plants

Carbon Carbon Vessels Vessels Carbon Cation Vessels Resin Resin Control Module Charge Detector Polymer Injection Carbon Anion Vessels AIMTM Chemical Injection System

DISSOLVED SUSPENDED 0.1 1 0.0001 0.001 0.01 Micron Micron Micron Metal Ions Micron Micron Colloids 10 100 1000 Micron Micron Micron Particle Filtration Microfiltration Aqueous Salts Ultrafiltration Bacteria Nanofiltration Reverse Osmosis Beach Sand

Demin/Chemical Injection Results Processed over 500 Million Gallons Total Average 20 Million Gallons per Year Minimizes Curie Discharge Provides 1st Quartile Curie Discharge Results Average Effluent Activity: 2.6E-6 uCi/ml Average DF: 2,000 Average Waste Generation: 200 cu.ft./yr

Callaway ALPSTM Installation

Callaway Final Installation

Callaway Final Installation

Annual Curies Released 0.03 0.025 0.02 0.015 Plant 1 0.01 0.005 0 Pre-ALPs Post ALPs

Annual Curies Released 1.6 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 Plant 2 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 Pre-ALPs Post ALPs

Annual Curies Released 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 Plant 3 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 Pre-ALPs Post ALPs

End of Presentation

Definition cu·rie [ ky ree, kyoor ] (plural cu·ries) noun unit of radioactivity: a unit of radioactivity equal to 3.7 times 1010 disintegrations per second [Early 20th century. Named for the French physicists Pierre Curie (1859– 1906) and Marie Curie, who studied radioactivity.]