[en] The CEA is studying the development of processes with a sufficiently large operating range in order to propose a general treatment system and make it possible to absorb a significant quantity of radioactive liquid stocks awaiting treatment around the world. A solution may be the use of submerged plasma into which the organic liquids would be injected. Current research has demonstrated that such a technique may enable the instantaneous and complete destruction of liquids with a wide variety of constituents, such as chlorine, fluorine, or phosphorus. The ELIPSE process was designed based on the results of this research. In this process, an arc plasma torch is submerged in the core of an aqueous solution. The submersion solution offers many advantages: quenching and cleaning of combustion gases; filtering of the particles they contain; and cooling maintained for the entire process, which guarantees excellent corrosion control. An advantage of this type of design is that the gas treatment system can be reduced to a demister-condenser followed by a simple safety filter, thereby offering the additional advantage of an extremely compact treatment system. This design also allows the ELIPSE process to become by this way an embeddable process if required. The present paper will first describe the state of the art concerning this concept and secondly research currently conducted using the ELIPSE process to destroy a wide variety of liquids such as tributylphosphate, trichloroethylene, and perfluoro-polyether with an efficiency of over 99% at rates of several liters per hour. The apparent absence of any corrosion observed in the treatment system would indicate that, following optimization, a universal and compact process may soon be available, which may be transportable and dedicated to the treatment of orphan waste products awaiting treatment. (authors)

[en] This work deals with incineration of organic liquid wastes using an oxygen thermal plasma jet, submerged in water. The results presented here concern incineration of trichloroethylene (TCE). During a trial run, the CO₂ and CO content in the exhaust gas is continuously measured; samples taken periodically from the solution are analyzed by appropriate methods: total organic carbon and chlorine content are measured. Process efficiency during tests with a few L/h of TCE is given by the mineralization rate. The trapping rate of chlorine as HCl is near 100 %. The TCE destruction and removal efficiency, measured by MS/GC, is better than 99.9999 %. A simplified kinetic model of gas quenching was constructed from a single-phase plug-flow reactor model taking into account 14 species and 34 reactions. It satisfies the requirements of heat balance and major components analysis, and reveals the major role of the OH radical on the concentrations of CO as well as HCl and/or Cl₂ in the off-gas stream. (authors)

[en] A set of sheets proposes various information (brief technological presentation, fields of applications, competitive benefits, patents and maturity level, service and partnership offers, technological offers, expertise, equipment) on process engineering in various areas: ceramics, refractory materials and geo-polymers; powders (synthesis, grinding, mixing); vitrification processes, materials and behaviour; plasma torch; liquid-liquid extraction by separative chemistry; micro-fluidics for process optimization, waste recycling and valorization

[en] The nuclear industry as well as hospitals or some research laboratories produce Radioactive Organic Liquid Waste (ROLW) such as scintillation cocktails for medical imaging, labeled molecules for medical research or liquids from former activities. In order to be compatible with disposal facilities requirements, this waste must be inerted and stabilized in solid matrix. The route generally used is incineration in the Centraco facilities at the Marcoule site (Gard, France), ashes produced being cemented downstream. However, liquids whose chemical or radiological characteristics are not compatible with the incinerator operating rules (high level of ¹⁴C or halogen content, corrosive gas production etc.) cannot follow this path. The purpose of the MILOR project is then to propose alternative paths to treat all kinds of ROLW. Initiated in September 2017, this project has the technical objective of developing, over a four-year period, two pilot-scale mineralization processes. Two variants of complementary plasma technologies are evaluated: aerial plasma with the 'IDOHL' process and submerged plasma with the 'ELIPSE' process. Compared with other methods, thermal plasmas have unique characteristics such as rapid decomposition with high throughput, fast startup and shutdown, and high-energy delivery. The process called IDOHL consists of a process involving an induction plasma in which the liquids are directly introduced. It has been designed for organic liquids without mineral load and for treatment rates less than 0.5 l/h. This type of plasma allows the destruction of liquid organohalogens without any prior evaporation or treatment. Specific gas treatment systems have been developed to direct the gas produced to a dry or wet gas treatment system. One aim of the project is to subsequently install the process in a radioactive zone at Saclay DRF. The second called ELIPSE consists of a breakthrough process involving a submerged plasma at the heart of which organic liquids are also introduced. Current research has demonstrated that such a technique may enable the instantaneous and complete destruction of liquids with a wide variety of constituents, such as chlorine, fluorine, or phosphorus. The submersion solution offers many advantages: quenching and cleaning of combustion gases; filtering of the particles they contain; and cooling maintained for the entire process, which guarantees excellent corrosion control. An advantage of this type of design is that the gas treatment system can be reduced to a demister-condenser followed by a simple safety filter, thereby offering the additional advantage of an extremely compact treatment system. This design also allows the ELIPSE process to become by this way an embeddable process if required. The MILOR project, financed by the French State through investment program is a tripartite project bringing together Andra, in charge of radioactive waste management, the CEA in charge of leading scientific and technological researches to propose effective ways of treatment and the company A3i whose role is to ensure the subsequent industrial development. (authors)