Concentration of

Evaporator Concentrates

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CONCENTRATION OF
EVAPORATOR CONCENTRATES

Introduction
The main liquid radioactive waste
stream generated during the
operation of nuclear power plants
consists of evaporator concentrates
produced in the central evaporator of
the plant. The quantity of that kind of
waste can be in the range of 30
m3/year to 300 m3/year, depending on
the reactor type and on the waste
water treatment technology.
The composition is variable as shown
in table 1.

Table 1: Composition of evaporator concentrates

Characteristics Range Typical

Total salts concentration (g/dm3) 200 to 500 300
Total salts content (% by weight) 20 to 38 25
BO33- concentration (g/dm3)* 80 to 180 120
Density (g/dm3) 1150 to 1340 1200
Total activity concentration (Bq/dm3) 3 ·106 to 2 ·108 5.5 ·107
* Not relevant in the case of boiling water reactor.

Depending on the storage content of salts with crystal-water,

requirements of the chemical e.g. borates, is higher than 20% by
composition and the activity weight)
concentration of the final product, and • concentration to obtain a dry
based on some economical granular product that can be stored
considerations, the treatment method in acceptable container
of the evaporator concentrates can
follow different processes, for
example:
• concentration to obtain a super-
concentrate which can be
cemented or bituminized
• concentration to obtain a product
suitable for vitrification
• concentration to obtain a salt block
which can be stored in approved
containers (the formation of salt
blocks is only possible if the

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• first removal of some specific
radionuclides and subsequent
concentration with production of
one of the four products mentioned
above, in this case the radioactivity
content is smaller and the shielding
is reduced.
• first removal of some specific
radionuclides followed by the
recovery of the contained boric
acid and subsequent concentration
of the boric acid depleted effluent
with the production of one of the
products mentioned above - except
salt blocks - with low activity
content.
Whenever possible, it is always pre-
ferable to produce a dry product. For
the same quantity of initial waste, the
storage volume requirement for a dry
product is far less than for a
cemented or bituminized final
product.
In any case, there is a need of an en-
hanced concentration step before
conditioning. This is shown in Fig. 1
on the basis of a typical evaporator
concentrate.
For the above mentioned purpose,
NUKEM has developed 4 enhanced
concentration process technologies
named:
ROBE
RDA
UGU
CD-1000
The selection of the one or the other
process technology, each having
particular advantages, depends on
the waste characteristics and on
specific local requirements of the
NPP.

Pre-treatment of the Liquid Radioactive Waste

An initial adjustment of the pH-value prevention. It is usually performed by
will be performed when it is the addition of caustic soda (NaOH
necessary to minimize the risk of concentrated solution) into the feed
borate precipitation or as corrosion tank before processing.

Process Description
Depending on the storage one of the products shown in Table 2.
requirements, evaporator This can be performed in the NUKEM
concentrates are transformed into facilities marked with X.

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Table 2: Typical end products of the enhanced concentration process

END PRODUCTS AND UGU CD-

ROBE RDA
CHARACTERISTICS 1000
Super-concentrate suitable for
cementation X X X X
Total salts concentration: up to 700 g/dm3
Super-concentrate suitable for vitrification
Total salts concentration: up to 1100 X X X X
g/dm3
Salt block with low water cont. (10 to 25
W/o) X X X X
Total salt concentration: 1600 g/dm3
Salt block matrix for ion exchange resins
X - - X
or/and filter residues
Dry and free flowing granular mixture
(salts, resins, filter residues) suitable for X - - X
direct packaging
OPERATION MODE CD-
ROBE RDA UGA
1000
Batch X - - -
Semi-continuously X - - -
Continuously - X X X

REMARKS suitable for the collection of the end

The production of salt blocks is only
possible when the content of
borates in the evaporator
concentrate is higher than 20% by
weight. In this case, the hot product
collected into a suitable container
will turn into a salt block while
cooling down to room temperature.
In the case of production of super-
concentrates, the end products will
be collected in tanks. (A description
of a suitable tank system is given for
example in UGU description). In the
case of production of salt blocks or
granular storage containers such as
drums, cylindrical cast iron
containers, or waste containers are
product.
ROBE
-see also simplified process
flowsheet on Fig. 2 -
Evaporator concentrates are
transferred in batches into an
evaporator tank where they are
continuously maintained in motion
with the aid of a special agitator. The
heat required for the evaporation is
taken over from a closed loop hot
water circuit and transferred to the
concentrate through the evaporator
jacket. The heat itself is generated in
another heat exchanger, either from
electrical energy or from steam.

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The vapours leaving the evaporator
tank flow through a droplet separator
first where the entrained aerosols are
separated. The collected liquid flows
back to the evaporator tank via a
siphon. The vapours leaving the
droplet separator are condensed in a
water-cooled condenser. The
resulting distillate flows into the
distillate collection tank. The distillate
is transferred in batches to the
wastewater treatment tanks.
The required vacuum during the
evaporation is produced by means of
a liquid ring pump. The circulating
water of the liquid ring pump is
cleaned from the entrained gas in a
water separator where the water is
cooled before being re-circulated to
the vacuum pump. Excess
condensed water overflows to the
water drainage system.
The off-gas from the water separator
is collected in the vessel and
directed to the off-gas treatment
system of the nuclear facility.
The evaporation of the concentrate is
continued until the remaining
water content in the viscous super-
concentrate or granular product
reaches the required concentration.
The residual water content will
depend on the final form of the final
end product.
At the end of processing a batch, the
vacuum and the heating systems are
interrupted. A valve at the bottom of
the evaporator is opened and the
product flows past the special
shaped agitator into the collection
container.
Ion exchange resins and/or filter resi-
dues can be concentrated together
with evaporator concentrates
containing enough borates. The salts
from the evaporator concentrates
4 NUKEM Technologies GmbH
form a matrix for the ion exchange
resins and filter residues. The end
product is a homogeneous mixture of
the three different kinds of waste.
Other than operating the evaporator
in the batch mode as described
above, it is also possible to operate it
in the semi-continuous mode. In this
case, the level of the product in the
evaporator tank is maintained
constant by the continuous feed of
evaporator concentrate and the
simultaneous removal of the distillate
until the desirable product
characteristics are reached. This
mode of operation doubles the
capacity in comparison batch
processing.
RDA
(From the German Rotationsdünn-
schichtverdampfer - Anlage i.e.
rotating thin-film evaporator facility)
-see also simplified process
flowsheet on Fig. 3 –
The evaporator concentrate is
transferred from the feed tank to the
rotating thin-film evaporator by
means of a dosing pump. This
transfer occurs continuously. The
solution is evaporated in the steam-
heated evaporator to a highly
viscous state. The rotating blades in
the vertical evaporator ensure a
regular film distribution and prevent
scale build-up of the evaporator
surfaces and loss of heat transfer to
the concentrate.
The concentrate leaves the
evaporator at its discharge port flows
into a storage container set in a
transport container. This transfer
occurs via a special filling device.
The highly concentrated salt mixture
forms a solid salt block containing no
free water as it cools to room
temperature.
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The evaporator concentration can
also be restrained to give a product
with a lower salt concentration i.e. a
super-concentrate liquid. If so, the
liquid is transferred to storage
vessels. The evaporation process
vapours flow into a condenser. The
condenser distillate flows by gravity
into a distillate collection tank.
The venting of the condenser takes
place in the off-gas treatment system
of the nuclear facility.
UGU
(From the Russian Ustanovka
Glubokogo Uparivanija which means
facility for enhanced concentration)
- see Fig. 4 UGU Simplified Process
Flowsheet and Fig. 5 One Way
Evaporator UGU –
A submerged pump in the feed tank
produces the required flow for the
concentrate to the one-pass UGU-
evaporator. Before entering the
UGU-evaporator, the solutions are
preheated in a heat exchanger using
the heat of the condensate flowing
from the steam-heated evaporator.
The UGU-evaporator is composed of
several U-shaped units. Each unit
consists of one U-shaped tubular
shell containing evaporator pipe
sections.
The salt concentration (between 500
and 1800 g/dm3) of the concentrated
waste form super-concentrate or salt
block - is set up and controlled by the
temperature at the outlet of the
evaporator.
A cyclone separator separates the
waste vapours streaming out from
the evaporator. The steam vapours
rise from the central pipe of the
cyclone and enter the condenser.
The concentrated liquid waste flows
downward through the cyclone into
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the UGU-product collection and
adjustment tank (or into a storage
container in case of salt block pro-
duction).
The vapour is condensed in the
water-cooled condenser, which is a
horizontal shell-and-tube heat
exchanger. The exhaust ventilator
system produces a unidirectional
stream from the product collection
equipment via the cyclone separator,
preventing steam vapour from
entering the collection equipment.
Once condensed, the liquid flows
into the distillate collection tank. The
collected distillate can be used for
flushing the system or as clean
condensate in other areas.
The concentrated liquid waste
flowing from the cyclone separator is
directed into a recycling tank first
until the temperature of the mixed
phase leaving the evaporator has
reached a predetermined set point.
When this is reached, the liquid flow
is switched to the end product
collection equipment where the
product starts to cool.
The super-concentrate’s final
temperature is adjusted to meet the
requirements of subsequent
processing. For example, if the
subsequent processing is
cementation and if the super-
concentrate contains significant
concentration of borates, it is
necessary to add calcium hydroxide.
The final temperature of the
concentrated waste has to be in the
range of 40oC by this adjustment.
The agitator in the collection tank
ensures a good heat transfer
between concentrated waste and the
heat exchanger thermostatic
medium, and good mixing of the
various constituents.
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Fig. 5 One Way Evaporator UGU

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The solutions collected in the
recycling tank during the first stage of
the evaporation or during flushing the
evaporator are transferred to the
UGU-feed tank. These solutions are
processed together with the next
batch of evaporator concentrates.
Once the operating temperature has
been reached, operation of the
facility occurs almost automatically.
During the concentration process,
some deposits settle on the internal
walls of the evaporator pipes. After a
time, these deposits slow down the
facility processing rate.
This undesirable situation is
automatically detected and the
control unit switches the facility into
flushing mode.
The flushing of the one-pass
evaporator with recycled distillate
cleans the piping. After the cleaning
cycles the evaporator concentrates
are once again fed to the evaporator.
CD-1000
Concentrate Dryer (CD) Systems
(see Fig.: 6 Concentrate-Dryer)
utilize a low temperature, vacuum
based, high agitation, batch-drying
approach to remove the water in
liquid waste streams. This
maximizes the volume reduction of
water- based waste streams by
converting the waste to a dry
product consisting of the solids
content of the feed stream.
Examples of target waste streams
include:
• Evaporator bottoms,
• Membrane concentrates,
• Sump and tank sludge,
• Non-dewaterable sludges,
• Filtrates and resins,
• Most water based solutions.
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The CD Systems will nominally
process at their nameplate rating
(e.g. CD-1000, CD-600, etc.) in
gallons of concentrate slurry over a
24-hour cycle based upon 15% boric
acid slurry. CD Systems remove
virtually all the water from the waste
by the use of an advanced internal
waste blending and agitation process
that directs the waste continually
toward the center of the dryer, which
transforms the waste into granules of
uniform size. The first phase of the
internal drying process brings the
waste to a stage where large multi-
sized “dough balls” have been
formed. The next phase then breaks
up these “dough balls” into small
granular shapes that increase the
waste surface area thus promoting
faster drying. The waste product
produced by CD Systems can be in
either one of two different physical
conditions. Both are final waste
forms that are acceptable at disposal
sites and are described below:
Granules: Using this processing
approach, the final waste product is
a dry granular material. The volume
reduction ratio is equivalent to the
inverse of the weight percent of the
solution (for example, if the weight
percent of the solution is 20% or
0.20, then a 5:1 volume reduction is
achieved).
Salt Block Waste Form: In this
processing approach the waste
product is transferred to the
container in a hot molasses-like
condition which sets up in the
container as a hard, dry, salt block
when it cools. The salt block waste
form can result in an additional
volume reduction of as much as 40%
beyond that offered by the granular
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waste form. This processing
approach is dependent on waste
chemistry and was developed by
NUKEM over twenty years of drying
experience. Because of the density
increase of the waste, the receiving
High Integrity Container (HIC) must
also have an adequate payload
capability. To accommodate this,
NUKEM has a specially certified 136
HIC to accept payloads up to 7250
kg. This HIC requires shipment in a
larger size cask than a 10-142 due to
cask payload restrictions. The dried
waste products produced by CD
Systems are routed through a gravity
flow mechanism, which deposits the
waste into the intended waste
storage containers or disposal liner.
This processing logic eliminates
multiple handling and thus reduces
cost and personnel radiation
exposure. CD Systems are
compatible with all types of waste
containers, from drums to the largest
High Integrity Containers (HIC’s). By
removing the water from the waste
8 NUKEM Technologies GmbH
stream slurry, internal space-wasting
containers are no longer necessary.
A complete utilization of the
container’s internal usable volume is
possible.
CD Systems are comprised of the six
modularized components listed
below. System components are
manufactured in various skid-
mounted modules for ease of
movement and placement. For
ALARA considerations, many of the
components, such as the control
panel, vacuum skid, chill water skid,
and steam generator skid, can be
remotely located in low background
radiation areas.
1 Control Panel
2 The Dryer Unit
3 Steam Generator
4 Vacuum Skid
5 Chill Water System
6 Transfer Cart
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Fig. 6 CD 1000 – Concentrate Dryer System

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Technical Data
Characteristics ROBE RDA UGU CD-1000
Capacity: 40 to 250
feed flow (kh/h) (if using
batch 250 to 300 400 to 700 150 to 200
operation
mode)
Concentration
factor 3 to 10 typical: 5 1.5 to 7 5
(Feed/Product)
Decontamination
factor 1000 1000 1000 1000
(Feed/Distillate)
Density of final
1.5 to 2 1.5 to 2 1.5 to 2 1.5 to 2
product (kg/dm3)
Secondary waste No No No No
Primary heating Steam or
Steam Steam Steam
media electricity
Operation Typical: Atmospheric Atmospheric Typical:
pressure 30 mbar abs (light (light 20 to 50 mbar
negative negative
pressure) pressure)
Facility Fixed or Fixed or
Fixed Fixed
mobile mobile
installation installation
installation installation

Overview of Each Technology

ROBE
• Vacuum operation mode i.e. lower UGU
corrosion rate and better heat- • High throughput.
transfer. • Simple technology.
• Ability to produce dry, free-flowing • Low residence time and the
granular powders. consequent advantages.

RDA CD-1000
• Low residence time i.e. low activity • Vacuum operation mode
inventory and consequently low transforming the waste into a
shielding requirements uniform granular form.

• No incrustation due to the moving • Easy movement and placement of

blades. The moving blades limits the system due to the skid
the ability to treat concentrates mounted modular sections.
containing abrasive products. • Low operation costs because of
• Simple technology. high reliability, reduced
maintenance and personnel
radiation exposur

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Fig. 7 MAVAK facility

Fig. 8 ROBE Gundremmingen

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References
Scope of supply Client Putting in
operation
in
1 UGU, 500 l/h Waste Treatment Centre 2006
Project A2 Kola NPP, Russia

2 MAVAK Lingen NPP, Germany 2005

3 CD-600 New York Power Authority’s 1999

Indian Point 2
4 UGU, 500 l/h Waste Treatment Centre 1998
Bohunice NPP, Slovakia
5 CD-600 Illinois Power Company’s 1998
Clinton Plant, USA
6 CD-600 New York Power Authority’s 1998
Indian Point 1, USA
7 CD-1000 Commonwealth Edison’s 1997
Dresden1, USA
8 Detail design of UGU, 500 l/h Waste Treatment Centre 1996
Chmelnitzki NPP, Ukraine
9 Basic engineering of 3 ROBE’s PNC Tokai Mura, Japan 1996
and supervision of detail
engineering, procurement and
start-up
10 ROBE NPP Gundremmingen, 1989
Germany
11 RDA, 400 kg/h NPP Greifswald, Germany 1988
12 ROBE NPP Biblis, Germany 1981
13 ROBE NPP Mühlheim Kärlich,
Germany
14 UGU, 500 l/h Balakovo NPP, Russia (supplied)
by our
15 UGU, 500 l/h Novovoronesh NPP, Russia partner
16 UGU, 500 l/h Saporoshe NPP, Ukraine AEP
17 UGU, 500 l/h South Ukraine NPP, (Moscow)
Ukraine

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 Fig. 1 Concentration of Evaporator Concentrates
Enhanced Concentration Step before Conditioning

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Fig. 2 ROBE Simplified Process Flowsheet
Option for the Production of Salt Blocks or Powders

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 Fig. 3 RDA Simplified Process Flowsheet
Option for the Production of Salt Blocks

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Fig. 4 UGU Simplified Process Flowsheet
Option for the Production of Borate-rich Super-concentrates

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NUKEM Technologies GmbH
Industriestr. 13
63755 Alzenau
Germany
T +49 (0) 6023 9104
F +49 (0) 6023 911188
E info@nukem.de
 Concentration of
Evaporator Concentrates

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