Everything old is new again

Removing waste from U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford's storage tanks is one of the most difficult environmental challenges in the entire DOE complex. Tanks are buried under 10 feet of soil and were built to put waste in, not take it out. The new Venturi system safely removes multiple forms of waste solids from the leaking tanks without allowing more liquids to escape. The fluid injected at the head end flows smoothly to the receiver tank at the rate of 70 gpm at a pressure of 100 pounds per square inch. The prototype vacuum retrieval system is attached to a robotic arm. The vacuum system is being tested in a variety of waste simulants ranging from thick sludge to dense sand. The fluidizer nozzles are a fan spray on each side of the head that run between 8 and 30 gallons per minute as needed. They create a water broom to move waste into the head. Currently outfitted with two types of spray nozzles, the system can use fluidizer nozzles to wash waste, such as sludges, into the head, thinning as it goes.