Ion exchange modeling was conducted at the Savannah River National Laboratory to compare the performance of two organic resins in support of Small Column Ion Exchange (SCIX). Intank ion exchange (IX) columns are being considered for cesium removal at Hanford and the Savannah River Site (SRS). The spherical forms of resorcinol formaldehyde ion exchange resin (sRF) as well as a hypothetical spherical SuperLig ® 644 (SL644) are evaluated for decontamination of dissolved saltcake wastes

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... . Both SuperLig ® and resorcinol formaldehyde resin beds can exhibit hydraulic problems in their granular (nonspherical) forms. SRS waste is generally lower in potassium and organic components than Hanford waste. Using VERSE-LC Version 7.8 along with the cesium Freundlich/Langmuir isotherms to simulate the waste decontamination in ion exchange columns, spherical SL644 was found to reduce column cycling by 50% for high-potassium supernates, but sRF performed equally well for the lowestpotassium feeds. Reduced cycling results in reduction of nitric acid (resin elution) and sodium addition (resin regeneration), therefore, significantly reducing life-cycle operational costs. These findings motivate the development of a spherical form of SL644. This work demonstrates the versatility of the ion exchange modeling to study the effects of resin characteristics on processing cycles, rates, and cold chemical consumption. The value of a resin with increased selectivity for cesium over potassium can be assessed for further development.