31 Understanding waste solidification INL researchers helped improve understanding of the chemistry and engineering-level operations of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU), which is designed to use a fluidized bed steam-reforming process to solidify 900,000 gallons of liquid radioactive waste stored in underground tanks. The work was performed to support Fluor Idaho, the project’s managing contractor, and DOE. As a part of a Technical Review Group, INL provided a list of operating and troubleshooting recommendations. The contributions are helping advance understanding of waste-feed conversion chemistry and particle-fluidization behavior, which will inform operating conditions for the Denitration Mineralization Reformer. Informing grid stability discussion An Idaho nonprofit considering a community microgrid has turned to INL for expertise. The Sun Valley Institute (SVI) is a center for policy leadership, public engagement and impact investment to ensure economic prosperity, environmental protection and human well-being in Idaho’s Wood River Valley. INL created a digital blueprint of the area’s energy infrastructure, which allows the community to identify critical loads and formulate contingency plans to bolster the grid’s stability and resiliency. SVI invited Rob Hovsapian, INL’s Power and Energy Integration group lead, to meet with institute staff, local leaders and other stakeholders to explain the blueprint’s capabilities and outline the next steps toward creating a community microgrid. The Idaho Cleanup Project’s IntegratedWaste Treatment Unit (Fluor,Idahophoto)