Earlier this week, Bechtel National Inc. received the last major piece of equipment for the Low-Activity Waste Vitrification Facility at the Hanford Vit Plant.
“Receipt of the caustic scrubber is a major turning point in construction of the LAW Facility. It sets the stage for completing construction of the LAW Facility in 2018,” said Kim Irwin, BNI’s area project manager for the LAW Facility at the Vit Plant, also known as the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.
The LAW Facility is where low-activity radioactive waste from Hanford’s underground tank farms will be mixed with glass-forming materials in two 300-ton glass melters. There it will be heated to 2,100 degrees F and the molten material poured into containers where it will cool and harden to a solid glass.
The exhaust from the waste glass melters will be treated to remove contaminants from the offgas to ensure it meets requirements before it is released to the environment. The 19-ton caustic scrubber is part of the offgas treatment system.
The 28.5-foot tall, 5.5-foot-in-diameter unit was lowered into the LAW Facility through the roof and will be connected to other components of the offgas treatment system.
Vit Plant personnel will finish installing insulation and internal components, as well as making hundreds of wiring, piping and other connections to this and the remainder of the offgas treatment system. The work will continue into the new year.
The caustic scrubber was manufactured by Premier Technology Inc. in Blackfoot, Idaho.
The balance of the offgas treatment system was received at the Vit Plant earlier this summer. Construction of the LAW Facility is to be completed in 2018.
Video from the lift is available at https://youtu.be/OLNhjBpSL1Y.