Modeling and simulation of a flowsheet for the electrochemical treatment of liquid radioactive wastes

Decontaminated supernate (low level waste) from the Savannah River Site (SRS) contains hazardous species including nitrates, nitrites, heavy metals and long lived radionuclides (ppm levels). Electrochemical processes appear to be quite attractive to treat such low level wastes. This paper describes the modeling and simulation, for such a process. The simulation is carried out in SPEEDUP. The aim of the process is to destroy the hazardous species and preliminary test runs predict that 99% destruction can be achieved. The model is used to test the effectiveness of different flow configurations and model-based controllers. Upon validation of the predicted results through laboratory experiments, the model will be used for process optimization and design of a pilot plant (at SRS)