Design and Operation of the Rover Vacuum System Page: 1 of 10
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DESIGN AND OPERATION OF THE ROVER VACUUM SYSTEMEdward P. Wagner, Jr.
LMITCO
PO Box 1625
Idaho Falls, ID 83415-5104
(208) 526-8136Daniel L. Griffith
LMITCO
PO Box 1625
Idaho Falls, ID 83415-5218
(208) 526-3760James M. Rivera
LMITCO '
PO Box 1625
Idaho Falls, ID 83415-5235
(208) 526-5912ABSTRACT
The Rover process for recovering unused uranium
from graphite fuels was operated during 1983 and 1984,
and then shut down in 1984. The first steps of the
process used fluidized alumina beds to burn away the
graphite and produce a uranium bearing ash. The ash
was then transferred to a different process cell for acid
dissolution. At the time of shutdown, a significant, but
unmeasurable, quantity of highly enriched uranium was
left in the process vessels. Normal decontamination
procedures could not be used due to plugged process
lines and the exclusion of moderator materials (water or
finely divided organic substances) for criticality safety.
The presence of highly enriched uranium in poorly
defined quantity and configuration led to concerns for
criticality safety, nuclear materials accountability, and
physical security.
A project was established to eliminate these
concerns by cleaning and/or removing the process
vessels, piping, and cells and sending the recovered
Uranium Bearing Material (UBM) to secure storage. A
key element of this project was the design of a system
for collecting and transporting dry solids to a location
where they could be loaded into critically favorable
storage cans.
Scoping studies had called for the design of two
separate systems: one for draining the alumina beds
from the two burner vessels, and a second system for
general cleanup. The latter was to be powered by a
large vacuum blower and supplied with inlet and outlet
HEPA filters. Also, the then current design criteria
required the use of welded stainless steel piping for all
system components. Very large cost savings were
realized by designing a single system which could
perform both functions, by reusing existing equipment
for parts of the system, by making use of an existing off-gas system, and by adopting realistic and flexible design
criteria.
Among many challenges to the system design were
the unknown physical form and location of the UBM,
the presence of foreign materials charged with the fuel,
debris which might be vacuumed up from the cell floors,
and the complex construction of the burner vessels. To
meet these challenges, the system was designed for
maximum flexibility in physical configuration and
operation. Design for efficient installation and
operation was required to achieve ALARA goals in the
highly contaminated and radioactive environment of the
process cells. Mock-ups were used to test equipment
designed for in-cell use, and to train operators.
Operating procedures were written to allow flexibility,
and to allow supervision to approve changes during
operation. Miniature video cameras which could be
inserted into process vessels and pipes were used
extensively to guide operations and to provide a
videotape record of the uranium removal.
The removal operations successfully recovered the
UBM from all process vessels. Final uranium inventory
for each vessel was estimated from analytical samples
and the videotape record. Determination of final
recovery figures is nearly complete, and will be ~ 110 kg
of U-235 in a matrix of 1250 kg of UBM.
I. INTRODUCTION
The Rover process was located at the Idaho
Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP), a part of the Idaho
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
(INEEL), in building CPP-640. This building was built
as a pilot plant for radioactive process development. It
contained five shielded cells and a crane loft.MATE
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Wagner, E. P. Jr.; Griffith, D. L. & Rivera, J. M. Design and Operation of the Rover Vacuum System, article, August 1, 1997; Idaho Falls, Idaho. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc691011/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.