Chemical and Radiochemical Processing
Tracy Rudisill is an expert in separations processes. Recent activities include the measurement of plutonium and americium solubility in simulated alkaline waste solutions, the recovery of plutonium from refractory residues using a sodium peroxide fusion process, and the development of a recovery flowsheet for unirradiated neptunium targets.
SRNL has in place an impressive array of chemical and radiochemical processing skills focused on the design, development, and efficient operation of industrial and radiological processes in which materials are transformed by chemical reaction or physical means. This capability combines mathematics, physics, chemistry and other subjects, and has been used to support industrial, radiological and waste treatment operations ranging from major industrial chemical processing to mobile waste treatment units.
SRNL has proven its chemical processing and waste treatment technology capabilities by supporting the Department of Energy's nuclear material and waste processes for over five decades. Specific SRNL expertise includes the following:
Actinide Materials Processing and Characterization
An area of special SRNL expertise involves technologies for the safe and effective processing of actinide materials – the group of 14 radioactive metals, including uranium and plutonium, that dominate the study of nuclear chemistry. SRNL has led the design and development of specialized technologies to enable the safe characterization, purification, stabilization and disposition of these materials for the Savannah River Site’s historic nuclear defense missions, as well as for the nation’s environmental management and nuclear nonproliferation needs. This includes expertise in:
- Plutonium (239 and 238 isotopes), uranium (highly-enriched, depleted, and natural uranium), neptunium, and americium
- Solutions, oxides, alloys, metals, and impure mixtures
- Use of radiochemical hoods, gloveboxes, and shielded cells for safe materials handling
Core capabilities include
Dr. Michael Poirier has expertise in solid/liquid separations and fluid mixing. Some of his research programs focus on developing processes to remove contaminates from liquid waste streams and developing mixing strategies to ensure chemical processes work as designed. 
Transuranic and Solid Radioactive Waste Treatment and Disposal
SRNL has extensive expertise related to solid low-level radioactive waste, mixed waste (which contains both radioactive and hazardous constituents) and transuranic waste (waste that is contaminated with man-made radioactive elements that have an atomic number greater than that of uranium), including techniques for:
- Stabilizing and reducing the waste
- Disposing of wastes and environmental modeling of waste disposal sites
- Controlling air pollution
- Decontaminating facilities and equipment
- Closing facilities
- Immobilization methods, including grout, glass, ceramic, and other waste forms top
Liquid Effluent and Highly Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment
SRNL develops, evaluates, and supports technologies to remove the following contaminants from liquid wastes:
- Radioactive contaminants
- Heavy metals
- Hazardous organic chemicals
- Biological contaminants
SRNL has special expertise in utilizing the following solid/liquid separations:
SRNL has capabilities in:
- Sampling
- Mixing/pumping/rheology
- Materials of construction
- Process development top
Dr. David Peeler’s interests include general glass science, immobilization of high-level, low-level, and actinide-bearing wastes, and waste form development and uncertainty analysis. Recent work includes the recovery of precious metals from inorganic/organic host matrices, development of process control strategies for waste vitrification, and designing glass formulations for waste.
Waste Immobilization
SRNL has long been at the forefront of research and development in the immobilization of waste in stable glass, ceramics and grout, studying the behavior in glass of nearly every element in the periodic table. SRNL has produced more than a million pounds of glass by vitrifying wastes from a variety of industrial environments. Through these activities, we have developed special expertise in the following areas:
- Waste characterization
- Waste form/flowsheet development and modeling
- Melter technology
- Off-gas systems (to remove pollutants from air emissions)
- Mixing/pumping/sampling/rheology
- Simulant development
- Materials of construction top
