Idaho Chemical Processing Plant

The conceptual design and operation were stated to be based on experiences AEC has accumulated in its operations. 7 In fact the design was based on the ORNL pilot plant concept incorporated in the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant which cost about 20 million TOE was based on experiences at Hanford and SRP in plants that cost about 100 million. The TOE for the ICPP was not 80%, but 3%8,and there were major safety deficiencies. 

Law, J.D., Wood, D.J., Herbst, R.S. 1997. Development and testing of SREX flowsheets for treatment of Idaho Chemical Processing Plant sodium-bearing waste using centrifugal contactors. Sep. Sci. Technol. 32 C1 —4) 223-240. 

Wastes at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, 66th Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Nov 11-15, 1973. 

Mclsaac, L. D., Baker, J. D., Krupa, J. F., Meikrantz, D. H., and Schroeder, N. C., "Flowsheet Development Work at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant for the Partitioning of Actinides from Acidic Nuclear Waste," Actinide Separations Symposium, ACS Pacific Chemical Conference, Honolulu,... 

Flowsheet Development Work at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant for the Partitioning of Actinides from Acidic Nuclear Waste... 

A modification of the Redox process, the U-hexone process, was used at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant of the U.S. AEC, to recover highly enriched uranium from U-A1 alloy fuel elements irradiated in the Materials Testing Reactor. The aluminum nitrate needed as salting agent was provided when the fuel was dissolved in nitric acid. The plutonium content of the fuel was too low to warrant recovery. Plutonium was made trivalent and inextractable before solvent extraction and thus routed to the aqueous high-level waste. 

Name Location Hanford, Wash. Savannah River, S.C. Idaho Chemical Processing Plant Idaho National West Valley, N.Y. Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant Barnwell, S.C. 

The Idaho Chemical Processing Plant is a versatile, multipurpose facility used for recovering highly enriched uranium from a variety of fuels in naval propulsion, research, and test reactors. Materials processed [Al] include aluminum-alloyed, zirconium-alloyed, stainless steel-based, and graphite-based fuels. The West Valley plant, although designed primarily for low-enriched uranium fuel from power reactors, also processed plutonium-enriched and thorium-based fuels. It is the only U.S. plant to have reprocessed fuel from commercial nuclear power plants. 

Al. Allied Chemical Company Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, Pamphlet obtainable from Idaho Operations Office, U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho Falls, Idaho. 

Lakey, L. T., and B. R. Wheeler Solidification of High-Level Radioactive Wastes at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, Proceedings of the Management of Radioactive Wastes from Fuel Reprocessing, Paris, 1972, Report CONF-721107, Mar. 1973, p. 731. 

Fairbourne, S. F., D. G. Reid, and B. R. Kramer Experience of Handling Low Ijevel Active Liquid Wastes at Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, AEC-I DO-14334, 1955. 

Cleveland J, Rees T. 1982. Characterization of plutonium in groundwater near the Idaho chemical processing plant. Environ Sci Technol 16 437-439. 

An interesting application of emissions control catalysts occurs in management and inmiobilization of spent radioactive fuels and wastes in the nuclear industry. During nuclear waste processing (NWP) at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) NOx (NO and NO2) and CO pollutants are typically discharged at levels of 1-3% to a waste gas stream. It is necessary to control both NOx CO emissions in order to comply with current and anticipated regulatory requirements. 

The Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) soluble poison meter was developed as an instrument to monitor continuously the amount of nuclear poison entering non-geometrically safe process vessels for dissolution of spent nuclear fuel elements. The nuclear poison (gadolinium or boron) is added to the dissolver with the dissolving acid. The meter detects the poison concentration with an accuracy of il%, including errors resulting from calibration, analytical techniques, drift, and statistical... 

Three headend processed that use soluble poison as a primary control to avoid a criticality have been developed at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant. These processes are sirconium-allbyed fuel dissolution, stainless-steel-clad fuel dissolution, and Rover fiiel dissolution. The equipment Was evaluated for nuclear criticality safety at flow-sheet concentrations of nuclear poison using the KENO-II code and 16-group Hansen and Roach cross sections. Validation of code and cross sections by comparison with critical experiments involving soluble. 

In the reprocessing-of highly enriched uranium at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) corrosive concentrated uranium solutions are generated from process upsets, custom processing, and sample residues. A study was performed to determine an alteriiatlve critically safe storage c -stem to the one in present use for these solutions, .- ... 

Moderation control in operations with fissile material makes some proposals technically feasible and can result in significant cost savings in others. Often designs can be simplified and processes made more efficient. However, there are many problems and pitfalls both in calculations and implementation. Therefore, current criticality safety philosophy at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) permits moderation control only within shielded facilities capable of containing the consequences of an accidental criticality. This requirement was imposed midstream in the development of several projects and necessitated Some redesign. I will discuss... 

Soluble neutron imisons assure criticality control in two of the head-end foel reprocessing systems at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant. Soluble poisons have been used successfully since 1964 and will be enqtloyed in the ph>Jected new head-end processes. The use of soluUe poisons (a) greatly increases the process output,... 

Proposed Plans for the Use of Soluble Nuclear Absorbers at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, J. L. Lee (Allied Chem)... 

Soluble neutron absorbers are proposed for criticality safety control in future processes at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant. Solutions of neutron poisons have been used in the past for criticality control in processing various reactor fuels. No problems were encountered in the safe use of the neutron poisons although dissolution of different types of foel occasionally required reevaluation of the poison ccmcentrations. Proposed plans include the uses of soluble neutron poisons in the Rover fuel dissolver, the Fluorinel dissotyer, and in increased concentrations in the electrolytic dissolver. The purpose of this paper is to present these proposals and to discuss the criticality safety aspects. 

Criticality and Safeguards at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, G. P. Kodman (IAEA), R. E. Wilson (Exxon Nucl Idaho)... 

Reprocessing of highly enriched irradiated reactor fuel at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) presents significant problems to the Criticality Safety (CS) and Safeguards Security (S S) Sections. Two major interactions between these sections occur when irradiated fuel is stored and fuel b dissolved. 

This paper discusses how the safe U mass and boron limits were determined for toe zirconium fuel dissolver at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP). This vessel, which has a S08-mm (20-in.)-o.d. cylinder with a complicated internal structure (Fig. 1), uses borated hydrofluoric acid to dissolve highly enriched uranium-zirconium alloy fuete. 

R. E. WILSON and S. R. MORTIMER, "Experience with Soluble Neutron Poisons for Ckiticality Control at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc., 30, 264 (1978). 

At the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP), highly enriched fuels clad and/or alloyed with stainless... 

Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, Failure Rate Database ICPP 1995 ... 

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