AI leads to improved efficiency at SRS’s Salt Waste Processing Facility

The use of artificial intelligence enabled operators of the Savannah River Site's Salt Waste Processing Facility to make a miniscule mechanical adjustment that resulted in substantially improved efficiency-beyond the design expectations of the facility.

The SWPF, which has been operating since 2021, is used to treat salt waste stored in SRS's radioactive liquid waste tanks. The waste, which originated in chemical separation processes, is pretreated at SWPF to remove cesium and other radionuclides. The pretreated waste is then delivered to the Defense Waste Processing Facility for vitrification.

According to the original design specifications of the SWPF, it should be able to process 21.6 gallons of salt waste per minute. However, the facility has never been able to sustain that rate of processing.

AI investigation: Engineers investigated the problem with a technical analysis that incorporated the use of AI. The analysis revealed that the weir-a circular mechanical part inside the centrifugal contactors that controls the liquid separation and the flow of the liquids out of the contactors-was misaligned because its diameter was slightly too small.

The analysis indicated that an increase of one-tenth of an inch in the diameter of the weir would result in significantly improved control of the liquids' separation and flow out of the contactors. After engineers redesigned the weir with this adjustment, the SWPF was finally able to meet-then exceed-its design specs of processing 21.6 gallons of salt waste per minute.

With the weir diameter increase, the SWPF can now achieve a processing rate of 23 gallons per minute-106 percent better than the original design specs.

Small change, big difference: SWPF Senior Director Ryan Lentsch reported, "Prior to the weir adjustment, SWPF processed 17 million gallons of waste feed in almost six years of operation. We've already processed more than 3 million gallons in only five months after the changeout, showing how a small mechanical change can make a big difference."

Savannah River Mission Completion President and Program Manager Thomas Burns Jr. noted that without the use of AI, the needed change in the weir diameter "is something that would have taken five years to even discover, and it was put into place in the facility in mere months. A seemingly miniscule change is helping us move millions of additional gallons of waste through the system safely and efficiently, which is bringing us closer to completing the liquid waste mission at SRS."