Radioactive Waste Water Distillation
Data and Costs
R. RUPERT KOUNTZ, Professor of Sanitary Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania
During 1961 the University negotiated with the Research Reactor Section
of AMF Atomics, Greenwich, Connecticut, in regard to conducting a series of
tests involving the use of an evaporator (manufactured by the Maxim Division
of the American Machine and Foundry Company) for the purification of radioactive waste waters. AMF Atomics provided the evaporator and the University provided the utilities and staff for the series of tests.
The following is a report on the first phase of the tests conducted on the
evaporator, togetner with an estimation oi projected operating charges for
continuous routine application of the unit for the purification of waste waters.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES
The purpose in conducting the performance tests of the Aquavap unit
(VJ-20 Evaporator) was to determine if it was possible to purify radio-active
waste water of varying concentrations of solids, varying acidity and varying
radio-activity, and by such purification obtain a water that was suitable for
reuse in the Reactor or for discharge into the public water resources of the
state without endangering public health or conservation resources.
The industrial wastes permit issued to the university for the Nuclear Reactor requires that liquid wastes discharged to the waters of the commonwealth shall comply with the Pennsylvania Department of Health Radiation
Protection Regulation 433. More specifically the permit states that the average consecutive daily discharge shall be less than 0.2 microcuries for a 365-
day period (maximum single daily discharge to be less than 0. 8 microcuries)
and the effluent concentration at no time shall have a concentration greater
than 10"8 microcuries per milliliter. Furthermore, such purification must be
economically feasible and the operation of the process must be without hazard
or undue attention by either skilled employees or professional personnel.
Equipment
The equipment involved in this test program was fundamentally the
VJ-20 Evaporator manufactured by the Maxim Division of American Machine
and Foundry Company. The Evaporator was located in a "pre-fab" metal
building erected on a site adjacent to the Nuclear Reactor at the university.
The housing for the evaporator had floor dimensions of 12 ft by 24 ft, and in
addition to containing the evaporator it housed a stainless steel waste water
storage tank that was 10 ft by 10 ft in plan and had a depth of 10 ft (capacity:
7, 500 gals). The test building was supplied with the following utilities: Potable water, electricity, storm sewer, and steam, the latter being employed
to heat water which in turn was the source of heat supply for the evaporator.
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