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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Ion Exchange Processing of AP-105 Hanford Tank Waste through Crystalline Silicotitanate in a Staged 2- then 3-Column System (Rev.1)

The Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) system, under development by Washington River Protection Solutions LLC (WRPS), will send initial low-activity Hanford waste tank supernate feeds to the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility. In addition to entrained solids removal from the supernate, the primary goal of TSCR is to remove cesium-137 ( 137 Cs) by ion exchange, allowing contact handling of the liquid effluent product at the WTP. Crystalline silicotitanate (CST) ion exchange media, manufactured by Honeywell UOP, LLC (product IONSIVTM R9140-B), was selected as the ion exchange media at TSCR. CST is a non-elutable inorganic material that has demonstrated robust chemical, physical, and radiation tolerance while maintaining functionality. However, exchange kinetics of Cs onto CST is slow, resulting in low utilization of the CST Cs load capacity before unacceptable Cs breakthrough. Two process flow designs have been tested, as follows. 1. Lead-lag column processing: The lead column was removed after the lag column effluent reached the waste acceptance criteria (WAC) limit, the lag column was moved into the lead position, and a new lag column was installed. This format used ~52% Cs load capacity on the lead column. 2. Lead-lag-polish column processing: The processing was stopped when the polish column effluent reached the WAC limit. This format resulted in 81% Cs load capacity on the lead column. Testing with diluted feed from Hanford tank AP-105 (AP-105DF) incorporated a nuanced change to the lead-lag-polish column system where the polish column was inserted when the lag column effluent reached WAC limit. A 10.9-L volume of AP-105DF (diluted to 5.6 M Na) was processed through the Direct Feed Test Platform system, established at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to support small-scale waste qualification efforts. The columns consisted of 10-mL CST beds (CST Lot 2002009604, sieved to screen out >30-mesh particles) placed in 1.5-cm-inner-diameter columns. Feed was processed at 1.83 bed volumes (BV) per hour; the flowrate, in terms of contact time with the CST bed, matched the expected flowrate at TSCR. The <30-mesh CST sieve cut was expected to provide appropriate performance scaling to a full-height column. The installation of the polish column later in processing (after processing 523 BVs) did not appear to fundamentally change the utilization of the lead column for Cs exchange nor did it extend the total feed processing volume when compared to the previous test with AP-107 feed. Table ES.1 and Figure ES.1 summarize the measured AP-105DF Cs load performance.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

Data Quality Objectives for Direct LAW Feed Acceptance and Qualification - 17122

The Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility has been designed to operate under two scenarios. In the primary operating scenario, the Pretreatment Facility configuration, waste is first processed through the WTP Pretreatment Facility. Then the low-activity liquid is transferred to the WTP LAW Facility for vitrification. Alternately, under a direct feed operating scenario, known as Direct Feed LAW (DFLAW), the supernatant portion of the tank waste, referred to as the LAW feed, is treated in a Low-Activity Waste Pretreatment System (LAWPS) prior to transfer of treated feed to LAW Facility. The DFLAW scenario is a strategy to begin treating Hanford tank wastes as soon as 2022. A program has been established as part of One System to integrate and align the waste feed acceptance and qualification requirements for processing in the LAWPS and the LAW facility. One key activity of the program is the development of integrated data quality objectives (DQO) using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidance for the DQO process. [1] The integrated approach focused on one sampling event that will provide sufficient and necessary data to meet both LAWPS and LAW Facility criteria. Existing data and historical information were taken into account to develop sampling and data collection requirements necessary to meet waste acceptance criteria and processing requirements for both LAWPS and LAW Facility. Using a conceptual model for the sampling and decision process, the seven steps of the DQO process were completed. This paper discusses the details of the integrated DQO process. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS2003

Lyophilization for Water Recovery From Solid Waste

This abstract describes the development of a solid waste treatment system designed for a near term human exploration mission. The technology being developed is an energy- efficient lyophilization technique that recovers water from spacecraft solid waste. In the lyophilization process water in an aqueous waste is frozen and then sublimed, resulting in the separation of the waste into a dried solid material and liquid water. This technology is ideally suited to applications where water recovery rates approaching 100% are desirable but production of CO, is not. Water contained within solid wastes accounts for approximately 3% of the total water balance. If 100% closure of the water loop is desired the water contained within this waste would need to be recovered. To facilitate operation in microgravity thermoelectric heat pumps have be used in place of traditional fluid cycle heat pumps. A mathematical model of a thermoelectric lyophilizer has been developed and used to generate energy use and processing rate parameters. The results of laboratory investigations and discussions with ALS program management have been used to iteratively arrive at a prototype design. This design address operational limitations which were identified in the laboratory studies and handling and health concerns raised by ALS program management. The current prototype design is capable of integration into the ISS Waste Collection System.

Flynn, Michael↗
DOE OSTI2017

Evaluating the Techno-Economic Feasibility of Forward Osmosis Process Utilizing Low Grade Heat: Applications in Power Plant Water, Wastewater, and Reclaimed Water Treatment

Recovering and using uncoverted heat produced during electric power generation holds potential to significantly improve the efficiency of the electric power industry. One potential use of this low-temperature waste heat is on-site water treatment using waste heat driven processes to comply with the 2015 Effluent Limitation Guidelines for the Steam Electric Generating Sector. Ammonia-carbon dioxide forward osmosis (NH 4 HCO 3 FO) is a two-step waste heat driven process that involves a membrane separation process in which an osmotic pressure gradient created by an NH 4 HCO 3 draw solution is used to pull water across the membrane and a distillation column to regenerate the NH 4 HCO 3 draw solution. In this work we estimate the quantity, quality, and spatio-temporal availability of waste heat produced at U.S. coal, nuclear, and natural gas plants. We combine these estimates of waste heat availability with a techno-economic optimization model of NH 4 HCO 3 FO in order to assess the potential of NH 4 HCO 3 FO to treat flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater, gasification wastewater, and boiler feedwater. We find that in 2012, 18.9 billion GJ of waste heat was discharged from the U.S. coal, natural gas, and nuclear fleet, although only 900 million GJ of waste heat was discharged at temperatures suitable for NH 4 HCO 3 FO. A maximum of 1.9 billion m3/yr of water could be produced using this waste heat to drive a NH 4 HCO 3 FO. The costs of waste heat driven NH 4 HCO 3 FO for FGD and gasification wastewater treatment to zero liquid discharge (ZLD) and boiler feedwater treatment are 2.20-2.40/m 3 and 0.35-0.65/m 3 , respectively. With mechanical vapor compression and crystallization for ZLD wastewater treatment and reverse osmosis for boiler feedwater treatment as the cost benchmark technologies, waste heat driven NH 4 HCO 3 FO is cost competitive for ZLD wastewater treatment, but not boiler feedwater treatment.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Mercury Phase II Study - Mercury Behavior across the High-Level Waste Evaporator System

The Mercury Program team’s effort continues to develop more fundamental information concerning mercury behavior across the liquid waste facilities and unit operations. Previously, the team examined the mercury chemistry across salt processing, including the Actinide Removal Process/Modular Caustic Side Solvent Extraction Unit (ARP/MCU), and the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) flowsheets. This report documents the data and understanding of mercury across the high level waste 2H and 3H evaporator systems.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Aqueous-phase product treatment and monetization options of wet waste hydrothermal liquefaction: Comprehensive techno-economic and life-cycle GHG emission assessment unveiling research opportunities

While wet waste hydrothermal liquefaction technology has a high biofuel yield, a significant amount of the carbon and nitrogen in the feedstock reports to the aqueous-phase product. Pretreatment of this stream before sending to a conventional wastewater plant is essential or at the very least, advisable. In this work, techno-economic and life-cycle assessments were conducted for the state-of-technology baseline and four aqueous-phase product treatment and monetization options based on experimental data. Further, these options can cut minimum fuel selling prices by up to 13 % and life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 39 % compared to the baseline. These findings highlight the substantial influence of aqueous produce treatment strategies on the entire wet waste hydrothermal liquefaction process, demonstrating the potential for optimizing economic viability and environmental impact through further research and development of milder treatment methods and diversified by-product valorization pathways.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Gypsum and clay-based additives to MSW for pre-combustion enhancement of syngas and solid residue improvement (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

This project was focused on the development of a cost-effective and practical approach for the recovery of metals and syngas from municipal solid waste (MSW) thermally processed in a gasification or combustion (i.e. waste-to-energy (WTE)) facility with the inclusion of other waste streams. The goal of additional waste inclusion was targeted to change the oxidation of critical and precious elements to enable them to be more efficiently recovered. The project had two main components: laboratory testing and techno-economic analysis (TEA). The additional waste included with MSW as gypsum and spent FCC (sFCC) catalyst as additives to improve material recovery and energy efficiency in MSW and WTE ash.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2000

Demonstration of Plasma Arc Environmental Technology Applications for the Demilitarization of DOD Stockpiles

Since 1989 the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories (USACERL) have been active participants in the research and development toward establishing Plasma Arc Technology (PAT) as an efficient, economical, and safe hazardous waste immobilization tool. A plasma torch capable of generating high temperatures makes this technology a viable and powerful tool for the thermal destruction of various military industrial waste streams into an innocuous ceramic material no longer requiring hazardous waste landfill (Class 1) disposal. The emerging pl asma environmental thermal treatment process, has been used to safely and efficiently meet the waste disposal needs for various demilitarized components disposal needs, such as: pyrotechnic smoke assemblies, thermal batteries, proximity fuses, cartridge actuated devices (CAD's), and propellant actuated devices (PAD's). MSE Technology Applications, Inc., (MSE) has proposed and fabricated a Mobile Plasma Treatment System to be a technology demonstrator for pilot-scale mobile plasma waste processing. The system is capable of providing small-scale waste remediation services, and conducting waste stream applicability demonstrations. The Mobile Plasma Treatment System's innovative concept provides the flexibility to treat waste streams at numerous sites and sites with only a limited quantity of waste, yet too hazardous to transport to a regional fixed facility. The system was designed to be operated as skid mounted modules; consisting of a furnace module, controls module, offgas module, and ancillary systems module. All system components have been integrated to be operated from a single control station with both semi-continuous feeding and batch slag-pouring capability.

Smith, Ed↗
DOE OSTI2015

Facile preparation of nitrogen-doped porous carbon from waste tobacco by a simple pre-treatment process and their application in electrochemical capacitor and CO{sub 2} capture

Highlights: • A pre-treatment process is used to prepared N-doped carbon from waste biomass. • Waste tobaccos, which are limited for the disposal, are used as the raw materials. • The product shows a specific surface area and nitrogen content. • Its electrochemical performance is better than commercial activated carbon. • Its CO{sub 2} sorption performance is also better than commercial activated carbon. - Abstract: Preparing nitrogen-doped porous carbons directly from waste biomass has received considerable interest for the purpose of realizing the atomic economy. In this study, N-doped porous carbons have been successfully prepared from waste tobaccos (WT) by a simple pre-treatment process. The sample calcinated at 700 °C (WT-700) shows a micro/meso-porous structures with a BET surface area of 1104 m{sup 2} g{sup −1} and a nitrogen content of ca. 19.08 wt.% (EDS). Performance studies demonstrate that WT-700 displays 170 F g{sup −1} electrocapacitivity at a current density of 0.5 A g{sup −1} (in 6 M KOH), and a CO{sub 2} capacity of 3.6 mmol g{sup −1} at 0 °C and 1 bar, and a selectivity of ca. 32 for CO{sub 2} over N{sub 2} at 25 °C. Our studies indicate that it is feasible to prepare N-enriched porous carbons from waste natural crops by a pre-treatment process for potential industrial application.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Waste Management Approach for a Potential Future U.S. Closed Fuel Cycle - 16233

The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy has chartered an effort to develop technologies to enable safe and cost effective recycle of commercial used nuclear fuel (UNF) in the U.S. Part of this effort includes the evaluation of exiting waste management technologies for effective treatment of wastes in the context of current U.S. regulations and development of waste forms and processes with significant cost and/or performance benefits over those existing. This study summarizes the results of these ongoing efforts with a focus on the highly radioactive primary waste streams. The primary streams considered and the recommended waste forms include: •Tritium separated from either a low volume gas stream or a high volume water stream. The recommended waste form is low-water cement in high integrity containers. •Iodine-129 separated from off-gas streams in aqueous processing. There are a range of potentially suitable waste forms. As a reference case, a glass composite material (GCM) formed by the encapsulation of the silver Mordenite (AgZ) getter material in a low-temperature glass is assumed. A number of alternatives with distinct advantages are also considered including a fused silica waste form with encapsulated nano-sized AgI crystals. •Carbon-14 separated from LWR fuel treatment off-gases and immobilized as a CaCO3 in a cement waste form. •Krypton-85 separated from LWR and SFR fuel treatment off-gases and stored as a compressed gas. •An aqueous reprocessing high-level waste (HLW) raffinate waste which is immobilized by the vitrification process in one of three forms: a single phase borosilicate glass, a borosilicate based glass ceramic, or a multi-phased titanate ceramic [e.g., synthetic rock (Synroc)]. •An undissolved solids (UDS) fraction from aqueous reprocessing of LWR fuel that is either included in the borosilicate HLW glass or is immobilized in the form of a metal alloy in the case of glass ceramics or titanate ceramics. •Zirconium-based LWR fuel cladding hulls and stainless steel (SS) fuel assembly hardware that are washed and super-compacted for disposal or as an alternative Zr purification and reuse (or disposal as low-level waste, LLW) by reactive gas separations. •Electrochemical process salt HLW which is immobilized in a glass bonded Sodalite waste form known as the ceramic waste form (CWF). •Electrochemical process UDS and SS cladding hulls which are melted into an iron based alloy waste form. Mass and volume estimates for each of the recommended waste forms based on the source terms from a representative flowsheet are reported.

Fuel Cycle↗
DOE OSTI2015

Engineering scale demonstration of a prospective cast Stone process - 15584

A cementitious waste form is one of the alternatives being evaluated for Supplemental Immobilization of Hanford Low Activity Waste (LAW). Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) is collecting data on cementitious or pozzolanic waste forms such as Cast Stone. The goal of this project for WRPS is to obtain data on the performance of the Cast Stone waste form for immobilizing LAW. As part of the data package being assembled, an engineering-scale demonstration with non-radioactive simulants was performed at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) using the Scaled Continuous Processing Facility (SCPF) to fill a container with simulated Cast Stone grout. Legacy salt solution from previous Hanford salt waste testing was trimmed to resemble the average composition generated from the Hanford Tank Waste Operation Simulator (HTWOS) used in the screening tests. The dry blend materials, ordinary portland cement (OPC), Class F fly ash, and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS or BFS) were obtained from Lafarge North America in Pasco, WA. Over three days, the SCPF was used to fill a 6,056 liter (1600 gallon) container with simulated Cast Stone grout. The tank was instrumented with x-, y-, and z-axis thermocouples to monitor curing temperature and two formed core sampling vials. The target production rate was 5.7 L/min (1.5 gpm). This required a salt solution flow rate of approximately 3.78 L/min (1 gpm) and a premix feed rate of approximately 263 kh/h (580 lb/h). The final surface slope at a fill height of 100 cm was 2.5-3.8 cm across the 260 cm (8.5 ft) diameter tank. During processing, grout was collected from both the mixer discharge and the discharge into the tank. These samples were stored in a humid environment either in a closed box proximal to the tank or inside the laboratory. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mercury Speciation of Hanford 241-AP-107 Tank Waste Samples - 20384

The concentration of key mercury species in the Hanford tank waste has not been previously measured. Based on process knowledge, an estimated inventory of 2,100 kg of mercury is assumed and was distributed in varied amounts across 149 single-shell tanks (SSTs) and 28 double-shell tanks (DSTs). Limited analyses of individual SSTs and DSTs for total mercury were all below detection, yielding upper limits in concentration estimates based solely on instrument detection limits, resulting in an uncertain mercury inventory for Hanford tanks. Accurate and reliable chemical speciation and quantification is desired to anticipate, predict, and abate the mass movements of various mercury species through the Hanford waste processing flowsheet. Highly sensitive separation and quantification methods for total, elemental, and monomethyl mercury species, in tank waste, have been developed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (PNNL) Radiochemical Processing Laboratory (RPL). A non-radiological environmental method to quantify mercury species has been adapted for application to Hanford tank 241-AP-107 raw supernatant feed, filtered feed, and cesium-decontaminated samples. These samples represent feed inventory and pretreatment process effluents prior to immobilization by vitrification. This method separates and preconcentrates total, elemental, and monomethyl mercury onto selective solid substrates with little-to-no radioactive background. The solid samples can then be released from strict radiological control, allowing for analytical work to be conducted in low-level radiological facilities. Separation of mercury species was demonstrated at PNNL's RPL in Richland, Washington before transport and analytical quantification using cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CVAFS) at PNNL's Marine Science Laboratory (MSL) in Sequim, Washington. Additional studies were conducted to assess the stability of monomethyl mercury in distilled matrices and preconcentrated onto the Carbotrap{sup R} solid substrate to assess sample degradation over time during transport. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2015

Valorization of GaN based metal-organic chemical vapor deposition dust a semiconductor power device industry waste through mechanochemical oxidation and leaching: A sustainable green process

Dust generated during metal organic vapor deposition (MOCVD) process of GaN based semiconductor power device industry contains significant amounts of gallium and indium. These semiconductor power device industry wastes contain gallium as GaN and Ga{sub 0.97}N{sub 0.9}O{sub 0.09} is a concern for the environment which can add value through recycling. In the present study, this waste is recycled through mechanochemical oxidation and leaching. For quantitative recovery of gallium, two different mechanochemical oxidation leaching process flow sheets are proposed. In one process, first the Ga{sub 0.97}N{sub 0.9}O{sub 0.09} of the MOCVD dust is leached at the optimum condition. Subsequently, the leach residue is mechanochemically treated, followed by oxidative annealing and finally re-leached. In the second process, the MOCVD waste dust is mechanochemically treated, followed by oxidative annealing and finally leached. Both of these treatment processes are competitive with each other, appropriate for gallium leaching and treatment of the waste MOCVD dust. Without mechanochemical oxidation, 40.11 and 1.86 w/w% of gallium and Indium are leached using 4 M HCl, 100 °C and pulp density of 100 kg/m{sup 3,} respectively. After mechanochemical oxidation, both these processes achieved 90 w/w% of gallium and 1.86 w/w% of indium leaching at their optimum condition. - Highlights: • Waste MOCVD dust is treated through mechanochemical leaching. • GaN is hardly leached, and converted to NaGaO{sub 2} through ball milling and annealing. • Process for gallium recovery from waste MOCVD dust has been developed. • Thermal analysis and phase properties of GaN to Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} and GaN to NaGaO{sub 2} is revealed. • Solid-state chemistry involved in this process is reported.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Innovative Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) Production with Microbial Electrochemical Technology (MET)

The project “Innovative Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) Production with Microbial Electrochemical Technology (MET)” addressed food waste disposal challenges by successfully converting food waste to bioplastics (known as PHAs). The novel process created by our team of researchers from universities, national labs, and industry substantially enhanced overall carbon conversion efficiency of food waste processing (> 50%), while reducing disposal costs (> 25%). The project showed economic viability potential at community scale through pilot-scale demonstration at a relevant scale (50 L reactor volume) with more than 100 hours of PHA production using realistic conditions. The project goal was to valorize food waste by shunting traditional anaerobic digestion processing and creating a value-added PHA processing route that improves the economics and sustainability of local, community-scale, wet organic waste treatment. First, the food waste undergoes microbial-based, dark fermentation to break down the food to small carbon chains known as volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Instead of microorganisms converting the VFAs into methane using normal anaerobic digestion processing, our innovative process inhibits methane production. This preserves the produced VFAs for extraction and use by a novel Haloferax mediterranei (HM) archaea, which effectively converts the VFAs to bioplastics. The project added microbial electrochemical cells (MEC) to the dark fermentation process to enhance the VFAs produced and optimize the type of bioplastics formed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Radionuclide Inventory Calculations for the Calcined Solid Storage Facility Performance Assessment - 19292

Originally named the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant when it was constructed in the early 1950's, the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center reprocessed SNF to recover highly enriched uranium and other nuclear-related products for the U.S. DOE. Reprocessing SNF generated millions of gallons of aqueous radioactive waste. Calcination was a process developed at the INL Site to convert liquid waste into a solid, granular form from 1963 to 2000. The calcination process produced a safer product for storage while reducing the volume of stored liquid waste by an average factor of seven. Calcine is currently stored in the Calcined Solids Storage Facility (CSSF). The CSSFs are often called 'bin sets' because each CSSF (CSSFs 1 through 6) contains several stainless-steel storage bins housed in a concrete vault. The CSSF is an interim waste storage facility. In the future, calcine will be retrieved, treated (if necessary), and sent to an off-Site facility for storage or disposal. To close the CSSF, the bulk of the calcine will be removed and stored or disposed of elsewhere. The bins and vaults will then be placed in a configuration that is protective of human health and the environment. For purposes of the performance assessment, the depth of the residual calcine at closure was assumed to be 5-cm in each bin. The 5-cm of residual calcine in each bin is assumed to be mixed in grout during closure. The activities of the residual radionuclides are the inventory used for the dose assessment calculations for the CSSF performance assessment. The objective of this analysis was to calculate the radionuclide activity in the residual calcine remaining in the CSSF after closure. The purpose of this paper is to present the approach used to calculate the radionuclide inventory of the calcine currently stored in CSSF and the residual calcine in the CSSF after closure using data from the calcined waste Historical Processing Model (HPM). Limited sampling and analysis of the calcine in the CSSF bins was conducted in the past. Future similar calcine sampling and analysis efforts would be costly, generate additional mixed waste, and may not provide the desired detailed calcine composition data. However, during the later years of calcining, an alternative to calcine sampling and analysis was developed and the information was captured in the HPM. The HPM uses multiple sources to provide definitive calcine volume, mass, and composition, including: compositions and volumes of the liquid wastes that were calcined, ORIGEN2 - and ORIGEN-ARP-based radioactivity calculations, calciner and CSSF operating data, and process knowledge of INTEC fuel and waste-processing systems. HPM calcine composition was used to develop an inventory of radionuclides for use in the performance assessment evaluation for closure of CSSF. There are 43 bins that contain calcine, with six to twelve segments in each bin for a total of 337 bin segments for which the HPM calculates the average calcine composition. The HPM calculates the composition of each of the nearly 7,000 batches of material (startup bed, nonradioactive material, and radioactive waste) charged to the calciners. The calculations use the CSSF dimensions, including the CSSF number of bins, heights, outside diameters, annular air space diameter (if necessary), and volume of calcine currently in the bins. For each of the CSSFs, for a 5-cm residual, the percent of total calcine was calculated along with the residual activity for the radionuclides. Residual activity was estimated for 148 different radionuclides. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2012

Hazardous medical waste generation rates of different categories of health-care facilities

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We calculated hazardous medical waste generation rates (HMWGR) from 132 hospitals. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Based on a 22-month study period, HMWGR were highly skewed to the right. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The HMWGR varied from 0.00124 to 0.718 kg bed{sup -1} d{sup -1}. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A positive correlation existed between the HMWGR and the number of hospital beds. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We used non-parametric statistics to compare rates among hospital categories. - Abstract: Goal of this work was to calculate the hazardous medical waste unit generation rates (HMWUGR), in kg bed{sup -1} d{sup -1}, using data from 132 health-care facilities in Greece. The calculations were based on the weights of the hazardous medical wastes that were regularly transferred to the sole medical waste incinerator in Athens over a 22-month period during years 2009 and 2010. The 132 health-care facilities were grouped into public and private ones, and, also, into seven sub-categories, namely: birth, cancer treatment, general, military, pediatric, psychiatric and university hospitals. Results showed that there is a large variability in the HMWUGR, even among hospitals of the same category. Average total HMWUGR varied from 0.012 kg bed{sup -1} d{sup -1}, for the public psychiatric hospitals, to up to 0.72 kg bed{sup -1} d{sup -1}, for the public university hospitals. Within the private hospitals, average HMWUGR ranged from 0.0012 kg bed{sup -1} d{sup -1}, for the psychiatric clinics, to up to 0.49 kg bed{sup -1} d{sup -1}, for the birth clinics. Based on non-parametric statistics, HMWUGR were statistically similar for the birth and general hospitals, in both the public and private sector. The private birth and general hospitals generated statistically more wastes compared to the corresponding public hospitals. The infectious/toxic and toxic medical wastes appear to be 10% and 50% of the total hazardous medical wastes generated by the public cancer treatment and university hospitals, respectively.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1975

Energy recovery from solid waste. Volume 1: Summary report

A systems analysis of energy recovery from solid waste which demonstrates the feasibility of several processes for converting solid waste to an energy form is presented. The social, legal, environmental, and political factors are considered and recommendations made in regard to legislation and policy. A technical and economic evaluation of available and developing energy-recovery processes is given with emphasis on thermal decomposition and biodegradation. A pyrolysis process is suggested. The use of prepared solid waste as a fuel supplemental to coal is considered to be the most economic process for recovery of energy from solid waste. Markets are discussed with suggestions for improving market conditions and for developing market stability. A decision procedure is given to aid a community in deciding on its options in dealing with solid waste.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2022

Creating values from wastes: Producing biofuels from waste cooking oil via a tandem vapor-phase hydrotreating process

Here, this study is focused on producing biofuels from waste oils via a tandem vapor-phase hydrotreating process in a pressurized two-stage fixed bed reactor over a bifunctional Ni/Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 catalyst under 0.25 MPa H 2 . A 100% hydrodeoxygenation efficiency both in liquid and gas products was observed, yielding 83.9 wt% C 5 -C 19 n-alkanes which corresponds to a 7.4-fold increase compared with that obtained from non-catalytic conversion. The hydrodeoxygenation mechanism of waste cooking oil in the catalytic tandem hydrotreating process induced by Ni/Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 was proposed. The hydropyrolysis temperature in the first reactor, hydrogenation temperature in the second reactor, reaction pressure, catalyst to waste cooking oil mass ratio, and gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) was optimized at 550 °C, 300 °C, 0.25 MPa, 3, and 56 s -1 , respectively. The application potential of this cascade vapor-phase hydrotreating process was evaluated by employing different waste oils such as palm kernel oil, woody oil (swida wilsoniana), soapstock, and waste lubricating oil as feedstock, giving C 5 to C 19 n-alkane yields ranging from 21.6 to 87.5 wt%. This work provides a novel and promising approach to upcycle waste oils into upgraded biofuels compared with conventional catalytic pyrolysis.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗