Advanced off-gas control system design for radioactive and mixed waste treatment

Treatment of radioactive and mixed wastes is often required to destroy or immobilize hazardous constituents, reduce waste volume, and convert the waste to a form suitable for final disposal. These kinds of treatments usually evolve off-gas. Air emission regulations have become increasingly stringent in recent years. Mixed waste thermal treatment in the United States is now generally regulated under the Hazardous Waste Combustor (HWC) Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards. These standards impose unprecedented requirements for operation, monitoring and control, and emissions control. Off-gas control technologies and system designs that were satisfactorily proven in mixed waste operation prior to the implementation of new regulatory standards are in some cases no longer suitable in new mixed waste treatment system designs. Some mixed waste treatment facilities have been shut down rather than have excessively restrictive feed rate limits or facility upgrades to comply with the new standards. New mixed waste treatment facilities in the U. S. are being designed to operate in compliance with the HWC MACT standards. Activities have been underway for the past 10 years at the INL and elsewhere to identify, develop, demonstrate, and design technologies for enabling HWC MACT compliance for mixed waste treatment facilities. Some specific off-gas control technologies and system designs have been identified and tested to show that even the stringent HWC MACT standards can be met, while minimizing treatment facility size and cost.