R4.02/04 S - Replacement of the supercompactor hydraulic group and upgrading of the press ancillaries in NPO 'Radon dealing with radioactive waste in Moscow region

Sergiev Posad Department (SPD) is one of two departments of the Moscow Scientific and Industrial Corporation “RADON” (MosNPO RADON). MosNPO RADON has been established to serve disposal (reception, transportation, sorting treatment and long-term storage) of “other” radioactive waste (“radwaste”) produced by industrial, medical, scientific and other institutional producers, other than nuclear power plants and nuclear-propelled ships and submarines, in the city of Moscow and other 9 regions in the central European part of Russia. SPD itself is located 72 k from Moscow, close to Sergiev Posad town.

As the SPD was supposed to receive additional radwaste also from the Kurchatov Institute and from the decommissioning of research reactors in the Moscow area for a long-term storage, a long term-storage facility was built in SPD. To use the storage facility volume as efficiently as possible, it was desirable to reduce the size of the waste by a compacting technique.

The SPD is equipped with a supercompactor compressing 100-liter drums with incoming radwaste into compact pellet-like objects and loading them into 200l drums to be filled with a cement mortar. The drum handling devices are parts of the supercompactor. The supercompactor was manufactured by the Dutch company Fontijne Grotnes B.V. in the Netherlands in late 70s and installed at ECN Petten, the Netherlands. It had been used there for 15 years. In the mid 90s, the supercompactor was relocated to the SPD. Although all mechanical systems functioned well, the hydraulic system, including a hydraulic unit, hydraulic cylinders, special hydraulic hoses and control instrumentation, had to be refurbished because of extensive wear, oil leaks and difficult maintenance due to lack of documentation and spare parts.
The EC AIDCO agreed to finance procurement and supply of the necessary replacement equipment. Technical Specification to support the EC tender procedure were prepared by Belgatom and IRE experts in the frame of the TACIS project R4.02/03 (see the Project Summary on 76787 Contract) after visiting the SPD discussing with the supercompactor operators.
This 99677 contract has been related also to other two supply contracts: 141378 on radwaste characterization equipment and 145274 on X-ray scanning facility for radwaste characterization.

The objective of the contract was to supply the hydraulic part of the SPD supercompactor, in particular:

•Hydraulic press unit equipped with :
- Two hydraulic oil pumps including electric drives
- Hydro distributors directing oil to the pressing and manipulating cylinders of the supercompactor
- Hydro throttles and valve mechanisms ensuring rated oil pressure in the hydraulic operating and control systems.

The main hydraulic cylinder of the press.
Four complementary hydraulic cylinders moving the press punch and bell during the compression operation
Hydraulic cylinder of the manipulator for pushing the waste pellets out of the press
Hydraulic cylinders of the manipulator loading waste pellets into a 200 l drum
Cylinders for ramming and moulding the pellets in the 200l drums
Level and temperature sensors (mechanical or inductive type) and limit switches of the cylinders
Hydraulic oil metal pipelines and oil-resistant rubber-fabric hoses.
The scope of the contract included also the provision of replacement procedures and documentation for hydraulic unit and press components, as well as supplier’s supervision during installation of the hydraulic unit and exchange of press ancillaries.

The place of delivery/acceptance/installation was supposed to be the Sergiev Posad Department of the SUE SIA RADON.

This contract was a direct agreement made with the Fontijne Grotnes BV, the Netherlands, as the original supplier of the SPD supercompactor. The contract was signed on 14.12.2007 and the implementation started on 15.12.2007.
According to the original contract, the equipment had to be delivered within 8 months. However, by the Contract Addendum 2 signed on 25.5.2009, the time limits for delivery was extended to 20 months.
The equipment delivery was completed and equipment was accepted on 1 March 2011. The Provisional Acceptance Certificate was signed by the supplier, the Beneficiary and the responsible EC official with effective date of 1 March 2011.
The one-year warranty period was completed without incident.