Nuclear Waste Vitrification
The process of converting radioactive waste slurry into glass forms
The application turns the original slow, excel-based engineering calculation process into a guided desktop workflow that helps operators evaluate waste-glass formulations, validate constraints, and generate batch records more efficiently.
- Hanford was the site of production for the plutonium used in the Manhattan Project and World War II. Today, the site still has hundreds of underground tanks which store the radioactive waste bi-products of those production processes.
- Many of the tanks are old and some have leaked.
- To protect the nearby environment and the Columbia River, WTCC is using vitrification to immobilize the waste.
- The process of adding glass forming chemicals (GFCs) to the radioactive waste and heating the mixture so they incorporate into a viscous fluid.
- The mixture is heated to approximately 2100°F and poured into stainless steel canisters. The resulting product solidifies into a stable glass structure.
- The site began vitrification of low activity waste on October 15th, 2025.
- We built an application that simplifies the hundreds of equations required for the process. The tool is a calculator and optimizer that only takes minutes for each step.
- Non-software implementation of the Algorithm would take weeks for operators to apply.
- Now operators can easily execute the algorithm for each step of the vitrification process and achieve optimal glass compositions.
- In addition to operations, our application also automatically creates and saves reports for each batch.
High Level Waste Glass Vitrification Algorithm Explained
The calculator handles the core algorithmic steps in the Immobilized High-Level Waste product compliance workflow, turning lab sample data into the engineering values needed for vitrification. Unifying these steps creates a seamless production tool for the vitrification operators at the Waste Treatment Completion Company at the Hanford site.
Key Capabilities
- Guides operators through the major stages of the vitrification calculation workflow.
- Uses sample data to support waste transfer, GFC mass calculation, glass property prediction, and constraint validation.
- Loops users back to formulation adjustment when property or composition constraints are not met.
- Automatically generates and saves production records for each batch.
Step 1: Waste Volume Transfer
Waste samples are used to calculate the required High-Level Waste (HLW) transfer into Melter Feed Preparation Vessel (MFPV).
Step 2: GFC Mass Transfer
After the waste is transferred, new samples are analyzed to calculate the required glass-forming chemical (GFC) masses needed.
Step 3: Predict Properties
After the GFCs are added, the final mixture is sampled & analyzed to predict the glass properties.
Step 4: Validate Properties
The predicted glass properties are validated against the property and composition constraints. If they are not met, the workflow loops back to Step 2 to adjust the mixture.
Step 5: Generate Report
The production records are generated and saved.
Technical Notes & Access
Codebase & Access
- The source code for this application is private and intended solely for use by Amentum and authorised project partners at the Waste Treatment Completion Company.
- Access is restricted to team members with appropriate clearance under the project NDA. Public download or use of the application is not available.
Installation
- The application is distributed as a single desktop executable. Installation requires only running the provided installer on a Windows workstation — no external dependencies or configuration files are needed.
- These steps are presented here to demonstrate the simplicity of the implementation. They are not an invitation for public download or use.
Project Credits
Software Developers
Steven Cleasby-Mayeda
B.S. Applied Computer Science – AI
PROJECT PARTNERS
Waste Treatment Completion
Company (WTCC)
A Bechtel National and Amentum
Company
Peter Benson
HLW Operations Support Lead
Daniel Gerber
HLW Operations Specialist