128 A Tribute to Rodney C. Ewing: Celebrating a Half-Century of Transformative Contributions to Geoscience, Mineralogy, and Material Science
Honoring Prof. Rodney C. Ewing (1946–2024), this session celebrates over 50 years of groundbreaking contributions to mineralogy, geoscience, and materials science, from atomic-scale processes to field-scale applications.
Monday, 20 October 2025
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, 217A
Neutral Salt Activated Slag for Solidification and Stabilization of Hanford Effluent Treatment Facility Liquid Secondary Waste: An overview
Paper number: 128-13
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 4:45 PM – 5:00 PM
Authors
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Howard AbramowitzThe Catholic University of America, Washington, District Of Columbia
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Ian PeggThe Catholic University of America, Washington, District Of Columbia
Abstract
The US Department of Energy/Office of River Protection (DOE/ORP) has funded a program led by Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) to develop and test cementitious waste forms for immobilization of liquid secondary waste (LSW) which is comprised of a concentrated brine from processing liquid effluents from the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at Hanford’s Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF). The WTP liquid effluents are derived primarily from the off-gas treatment system for the Low Activity Waste (LAW) Vitrification Facility and contains elevated levels of sodium sulfate and ammonium. A viable grout stabilization and solidification process that will not release significant amounts of ammonia gas is needed to treat the ETF LSW prior to on-site disposal in the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF).
A pretreatment process has been developed by the Vitreous State Laboratory (VSL) of the Catholic University of America to precipitate ammonium in the ETF brine waste as struvite (NH4MgPO4∙6H2O), followed by grouting with sodium sulfate activated slag (SAS) through in-can mixing process. The results of technology maturation activities to date have demonstrated favorable grouting processability and effective suppression of ammonium gas generation during grouting and subsequent curing of the ETF grout waste form. This present describes the cumulative results of the R&D efforts on solidifying and immobilizing ETF brine waste streams with a primary focus on grout formulation optimization for workability, compressive strength, leachability of cured waste forms, and minimum ammonia emission and In-Can Mixing demonstration at different scales (1-, 5-, 55- and 110-gallon scales). Results on X-ray diffraction, isothermal calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy will be communicated in support of understanding mechanisms for solidification of ETF LSW via sodium sulfate activation of blast furnace slag.
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6
doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-412212
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