As part of an ongoing effort of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to investigate the feasibility of gasification on a broader level, Nexant, Inc. was contracted to perform a comprehensive study to provide a set of gasification alternatives for consideration by the DOE. Nexant completed the first two tasks (Tasks 1 and 2) of the ''Gasification Plant Cost and Performance Optimization Study'' for the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in 2003. These tasks evaluated the use of the E-GAS{trademark} gasification technology (now owned by ConocoPhillips) for the production of power either alone or with polygeneration of industrial grade steam, fuel gas, hydrocarbon liquids, or hydrogen. NETL expanded this effort in Task 3 to evaluate Gas Technology Institute's (GTI) fluidized bed U-GAS{reg_sign} gasifier. The Task 3 study had three main objectives. The first was to examine the application of the gasifier at an industrial application in upstate New York using a Southeastern Ohio coal. The second was to investigate the GTI gasifier in a stand-alone lignite-fueled IGCC power plant application, sited in North Dakota. The final goal was to train NETL personnel in the methods of process design and systems analysis. These objectives were divided into five subtasks. Subtasks …

This document comprises the final technical report for atomic collisions research supported by DOE grant No. DE-FG02-87ER13778 from September 1, 2001 through August 31, 2004. The research involved the experimental investigation of excitation and charge-changing processes occurring in ion-atom and ion-molecule collisions. Major emphases of the study were: (1) interference effects resulting from coherent electron emission in H2, (2) production of doubly vacant K-shell (hollow ion) states due to electron correlation, and (3) formation of long-lived metastable states in electron transfer processes. During the period of the grant, this research resulted in 23 publications, 12 invited presentations, and 39 contributed presentations at national and international meetings and other institutions. Brief summaries of the completed research are presented below.

Organic material contributes {approx}20-50% to the total fine aerosol mass at continental mid-latitudes (Saxena and Hildemann, 1996; Murphy et al., 1998; Peterson and Tyler, 2002; Putaud et al., 2004) and as much as 90% in tropical forested areas (Andreae and Crutzen, 1997; Artaxo et al., 2002). Significant amounts of carbonaceous aerosols are also observed in the free troposphere (Heald et al., 2005). A substantial fraction of the organic component of atmospheric particles consists of water-soluble, possibly multifunctional compounds (Saxena and Hildemann, 1996; Kavouras et al., 1998). It is critical that we understand how organic aerosols and their precursors are transformed in the atmosphere and the dependence of the transformation on the chemical and thermodynamic conditions of the ambient environment: (1) to accurately forecast how changing emissions will impact atmospheric organic aerosol concentrations and properties on the regional to global scale, and (2) to relate atmospheric measurements to sources. A large (but as yet unquantified) fraction of organic aerosol is formed in the atmosphere by precursor gases. In addition, both primary and secondary organic aerosol interact with other gas and aerosol species in the atmosphere so that their properties (i.e., size, hygroscopicity, light absorption and scattering sphere efficiency) can change significantly …

This version of the Impact of Sector Energy Technologies (ImSET) model represents the ''next generation'' of the previously developed Visual Basic model (ImBUILD 2.0) that was developed in 2003 to estimate the macroeconomic impacts of energy-efficient technology in buildings. More specifically, a special-purpose version of the 1997 benchmark national Input-Output (I-O) model was designed specifically to estimate the national employment and income effects of the deployment of Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) -developed energy-saving technologies. In comparison with the previous versions of the model, this version allows for more complete and automated analysis of the essential features of energy efficiency investments in buildings, industry, transportation, and the electric power sectors. This version also incorporates improvements in the treatment of operations and maintenance costs, and improves the treatment of financing of investment options. ImSET is also easier to use than extant macroeconomic simulation models and incorporates information developed by each of the EERE offices as part of the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act.

In the last 20 years there have been dramatic advances in techniques of high-throughput DNA sequencing, most recently accelerated by the Human Genome Project, a program that has determined the three billion base pair code on which we are based. Now this tremendous capability is being directed at other genome targets that are being sampled across the broad range of life. This opens up opportunities as never before for evolutionary and organismal biologists to address questions of both processes and patterns of organismal change. We stand at the dawn of a new 'modern synthesis' period, paralleling that of the early 20th century when the fledgling field of genetics first identified the underlying basis for Darwin's theory. We must now unite the efforts of systematists, paleontologists, mathematicians, computer programmers, molecular biologists, developmental biologists, and others in the pursuit of discovering what genomics can teach us about the diversity of life. Genome-level sampling for mollusks to date has mostly been limited to mitochondrial genomes and it is likely that these will continue to provide the best targets for broad phylogenetic sampling in the near future. However, we are just beginning to see an inroad into complete nuclear genome sequencing, with several mollusks …

Final technical report detailing unique experimental and multi-scale computational modeling capabilities developed to study fracture and subcritical cracking in thin-film structures. Our program to date at Stanford has studied the mechanisms of fracture and fatigue crack-growth in structural ceramics at high temperature, bulk and thin-film glasses in selected moist environments where we demonstrated the presence of a true mechanical fatigue effect in some glass compositions. We also reported on the effects of complex environments and fatigue loading on subcritical cracking that effects the reliability of MEMS and other micro-devices using novel micro-machined silicon specimens and nanomaterial layers.

Final report of our DOE funded research program. Aim of the research program was to provide a fundamental basis from which the mechanical reliability of layered structures may be understood, and to provide guidelines for the development of technologically relevant layered material structures with optimum resistance to fracture and subcritical debonding. Progress in the program to achieve these goals is described.

In this project, we develop new theories and methods for multi-domain one-way wave-equation based propagators, and apply these techniques to seismic modeling, seismic imaging, seismic illumination and model parameter estimation in 3D complex environments. The major progress of this project includes: (1) The development of the dual-domain wave propagators. We continue to improve the one-way wave-equation based propagators. Our target is making propagators capable of handling more realistic velocity models. A wide-angle propagator for transversely isotropic media with vertically symmetric axis (VTI) has been developed for P-wave modeling and imaging. The resulting propagator is accurate for large velocity perturbations and wide propagation angles. The thin-slab propagator for one-way elastic-wave propagation is further improved. With the introduction of complex velocities, the quality factors Qp and Qs have been incorporated into the thin-slab propagator. The resulting viscoelastic thin-slab propagator can handle elastic-wave propagation in models with intrinsic attenuations. We apply this method to complex models for AVO modeling, random media characterization and frequency-dependent reflectivity simulation. (2) Exploring the Information in the Local Angle Domain. Traditionally, the local angle information can only be extracted using the ray-based method. We develop a wave-equation based technique to process the local angle domain information. The approach …

Final report on 2nd American Conference on Neutron Scattering.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In March 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a rule that will limit emissions of mercury--a toxic element that causes neurological problems--from coal-fired power plants, the nation's largest industrial source of mercury emissions. Under the rule, mercury emissions are to be reduced from a baseline of 48 tons per year to 38 tons in 2010 and to 15 tons in 2018. In the rule, EPA set the emissions target for 2010 based on the level of reductions achievable with technologies for controlling other pollutants--which also capture some mercury--because it believed emerging mercury controls had not been adequately demonstrated. EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE) coordinate research on mercury controls. In this context, GAO was asked to (1) describe the use, availability, and effectiveness of technologies to reduce mercury emissions at power plants; and (2) identify the factors that influence the cost of these technologies and report on available cost estimates. In completing our review, GAO did not independently test mercury controls. GAO provided the draft report to DOE and EPA for comment. DOE said that it generally agreed with our findings. EPA provided technical …

Contaminants present in paper recycling mills can degrade product properties and can also lead to substantial downtime. Of these, adhesive material such as hot melts and pressure sensitive adhesives are especially troublesome. These are known as “ stickies ” and their handling and re- moval requires process equipment such as screens and cleaners as well as chemical additives. In the preceding phase of the project we demonstrated that firing an underwater spark in a tank of stock reduces the tack of the stickies and reduces their impact. The present phase was to demon- strate the technology in full-scale trials, address any issues that might arise, and commercialize the process. Trials were run at the Appleton papers mill in West Carrollton, OH, the Graphics Packag- ing mill at Kalamazoo, MI, Stora Enso mills at Duluth, MN, and Wisconsin Rapids, WI, and the Jackson Paper mill at Sylva, NC. It was shown that the sparker not only detackified stickies but also increased the efficiency of their removal by centrifugal cleaners, improved the effectiveness of dissolved air flotation, and increased the efficiency of flotation deinking. It is estimated that the sparker improves the efficiency of hydrocyclone cleaner, deinking cells and dissolved and dispersed …

Far-infrared absorption spectroscopy has been used to study the low frequency ({center_dot} 100 cm{sup -1}) intermolecular modes of methanol in mixtures with water. With the aid of a first principles molecular dynamics simulation on an equivalent system, a detailed understanding about the origin of the low frequency IR modes has been established. The total dipole spectrum from the simulation suggests that the bands appearing in the experimental spectra at approximately 55 cm{sup -1} and 70 cm{sup -1} in methanol and methanol-rich mixtures arise from both fluctuations and torsional motions occurring within the methanol hydrogen-bonded chains. The influence of these modes on both the solvation dynamics and the relaxation mechanisms in the liquid are discussed within the context of recent experimental and theoretical results that have emerged from studies focusing on the short time dynamics in the methanol hydrogen bond network.

A microflame-based detector suit has been developed for sensing of a broad range of chemical analytes. This detector combines calorimetry, flame ionization detection (FID), nitrogen-phosphorous detection (NPD) and flame photometric detection (FPD) modes into one convenient platform based on a microcombustor. The microcombustor consists in a micromachined microhotplate with a catalyst or low-work function material added to its surface. For the NPD mode a low work function material selectively ionizes chemical analytes; for all other modes a supported catalyst such as platinum/alumina is used. The microcombustor design permits rapid, efficient heating of the deposited film at low power. To perform calorimetric detection of analytes, the change in power required to maintain the resistive microhotplate heater at a constant temperature is measured. For FID and NPD modes, electrodes are placed around the microcombustor flame zone and an electrometer circuit measures the production of ions. For FPD, the flame zone is optically interrogated to search for light emission indicative of deexcitation of flame-produced analyte compounds. The calorimetric and FID modes respond generally to all hydrocarbons, while sulfur compounds only alarm in the calorimetric mode, providing speciation. The NPD mode provides 10,000:1 selectivity of nitrogen and phosphorous compounds over hydrocarbons. The FPD can …

A new method for estimating the Dancoff factors in pebble beds has been developed and implemented within two computer codes. The first of these codes, INTRAPEB, is used to compute Dancoff factors for individual pebbles taking into account the random packing of TRISO particles within the fuel zone of the pebble and explicitly accounting for the finite geometry of the fuel kernels. The second code, PEBDAN, is used to compute the pebble-to-pebble contribution to the overall Dancoff factor. The latter code also accounts for the finite size of the reactor vessel and for the proximity of reflectors, as well as for fluctuations in the pebble packing density that naturally arises in pebble beds.

A sequence of buried, bedded, air-fall tuffs has been used extensively as a host medium for underground nuclear tests detonated in the central part of Yucca Flat at the Nevada Test Site. Water levels within these bedded tuffs have been elevated hundreds of meters in areas where underground nuclear tests were detonated below the water table. Changes in the ground-water levels within these tuffs and changes in the rate and distribution of land-surface subsidence above these tuffs indicate that pore-fluid pressures have been slowly depressurizing since the cessation of nuclear testing in 1992. Declines in ground-water levels concurrent with regional land subsidence are explained by poroelastic deformation accompanying ground-water flow as fluids pressurized by underground nuclear detonations drain from the host tuffs into the overlying water table and underlying regional carbonate aquifer. A hydraulic conductivity of about 3 x 10-6 m/d and a specific storage of 9 x 10-6 m-1 are estimated using ground-water flow models. Cross-sectional and three-dimensional ground-water flow models were calibrated to measured water levels and to land-subsidence rates measured using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar. Model results are consistent and indicate that about 2 million m3 of ground water flowed from the tuffs to the carbonate rock …

None

This project is concerned with the kinetics and mechanisms of aromatics oxidation and the growth process to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) of increasing size, soot and fullerenes formation in flames. The overall objective of the experimental aromatics oxidation work is to extend the set of available data by measuring concentration profiles for decomposition intermediates such as phenyl, cyclopentadienyl, phenoxy or indenyl radicals which could not be measured with molecular-beam mass spectrometry to permit further refinement and testing of benzene oxidation mechanisms. The focus includes PAH radicals which are thought to play a major role in the soot formation process while their concentrations are in many cases too low to permit measurement with conventional mass spectrometry. The radical species measurements are used in critical testing and improvement of a kinetic model describing benzene oxidation and PAH growth. Thermodynamic property data of selected species are determined computationally, for instance using density functional theory (DFT). Potential energy surfaces are explored in order to identify additional reaction pathways. The ultimate goal is to understand the conversion of high molecular weight compounds to nascent soot particles, to assess the roles of planar and curved PAH and relationships between soot and fullerenes formation. The specific aims …

Flat flaps that enclose the trailer base on the sides and top are known to reduce truck drag and reduce fuel consumption. Such flapped-truck geometries have been studied in laboratory wind tunnels and in field tests. A recent review of wind tunnel data for a variety of truck geometries and flow Reynolds numbers show roughly similar values of peak drag reduction, but differ in the determination of the optimum flap angle. Optimum angles lie in the range 12 degrees-20 degrees, and may be sensitive to Reynolds number and truck geometry. The present field test is undertaken to provide additional estimates of the magnitude of the savings to be expected on a typical truck for five flap angles 10, 13, 16, 19, and 22 degrees. The flaps are constructed from a fiberglass-epoxy-matrix material and are one-quarter of the base width in length (about 61 cm, or 2 feet). They are attached along the rear door hinge lines on either side of the trailer, so that no gap appears at the joint between the flap and the side of the trailer The flap angle is adjusted by means of two aluminum supports. The present test is performed on the NASA Crows Landing …

Emission control devices on dryers and presses have been legislated into the industry, and are now an integral part of the drying system. These devices consume large quantities of natural gas and electricity and down-sizing or eliminating them will provide major energy savings. The principal strategy taken here focuses on developing process changes that should minimize (and in some cases eliminate) the need for controls. A second approach is to develop lower-cost control options. It has been shown in laboratory and full-scale work that Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) emerge mainly at the end of the press cycle for particleboard, and, by extension, to other prod-ucts. Hence, only the air associated with this point of the cycle need be captured and treated. A model for estimating terpene emissions in the various zones of veneer dryers has been developed. This should allow the emissions to be concentrated in some zones and minimized in others, so that some of the air could be directly released without controls. Low-cost catalysts have been developed for controlling HAPs from dryers and presses. Catalysts conventionally used for regenerative catalytic oxidizers can be used at much lower temperatures for treating press emissions. Fluidized wood ash is an especially …

The ability to integrate metal and semiconductor micro-systems to perform highly complex functions, such as RF-MEMS, will depend on developing freestanding metal structures that offer improved conductivity, reflectivity, and mechanical properties. Three issues have prevented the proliferation of these systems: (1) warpage of active components due to through-thickness stress gradients, (2) limited component lifetimes due to fatigue, and (3) low yield strength. To address these issues, we focus on developing and implementing techniques to enable the direct study of the stress and microstructural evolution during electrodeposition and mechanical loading. The study of stress during electrodeposition of metal thin films is being accomplished by integrating a multi-beam optical stress sensor into an electrodeposition chamber. By coupling the in-situ stress information with ex-situ microstructural analysis, a scientific understanding of the sources of stress during electrodeposition will be obtained. These results are providing a foundation upon which to develop a stress-gradient-free thin film directly applicable to the production of freestanding metal structures. The issues of fatigue and yield strength are being addressed by developing novel surface micromachined tensile and bend testers, by interferometry, and by TEM analysis. The MEMS tensile tester has a ''Bosch'' etched hole to allow for direct viewing of the …

A new approach for driving high frequency energy saving ballasts is developed and documented in this report. The developed approach utilizes an IC-based platform that provides the benefits of reduced system cost, reduced ballast size, and universal application to a wide range of lamp technologies, such as linear fluorescent lamps (LFL), compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and high intensity discharge lamps (HID). The control IC chip set developed for the platform includes dual low voltage (LV) IC gate drive that provides gate drive for high and low side power switches in typical ballast circuits, and ballast controller IC that provides control functionalities optimal for different lamps and digital interface for future extension to more sophisticated control and communication.

Early objectives of this grant were: (1) Measure two-photon excitation of even parity excitons in liquid an solid xenon, (2) Study state-to-state energy transver between two-photon laser excited states or rare-gas atoms to other rare has atoms, (3) study reactive half-collisions between xenon and chlorine leading to the XeCl* B state, (4) measure the spectra of ro-vibrational states of cluster ions and radicals formed in high-pressure discharges and to study their dynamics, (5) measure the surface and bulk electronic states of nanoparticles produced by a unique method of synthesis--laser ablation of microspheres (LAM). Using near-field and microluminescence techniques, we obtained spectra of single nanocrystals to compare with spectra obtained in a supersonic jet apparatus using resonance excitation followed by photoionization (REMPI) with time-of-flight mass analysis. These materials combine the functional advantages obtained from the “size-tunable” properties of nanocomposite materials with the fabrication and direct-write advantages of NPs manufactured by LAM. We demostrated that CdSe nanoparticles produced by LAM were efficiient fluorescers, even when deposited dry on sapphire substrates. Si nanoparticles were fluorescent when captured in ethylene glycol. We also obtiained efficient fluorescence from Er doped phosphate glass nanopartiicles which have application to gain wafeguides in integrated optics or to nanoslush …

The objective of this project was to understand and improve high-temperature structural properties of metal-silicide intermetallic alloys. Through research collaboration between the research team at West Virginia University (WVU) and Dr. J.H. Schneibel at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), molybdenum silicide alloys were developed at ORNL and evaluated at WVU through atomistic modeling analyses, thermo-mechanical tests, and metallurgical studies. In this study, molybdenum-based alloys were ductilized by dispersing MgAl2O4 or MgO spinel particles. The addition of spinel particles is hypothesized to getter impurities such as oxygen and nitrogen from the alloy matrix with the result of ductility improvement. The introduction of fine dispersions has also been postulated to improve ductility by acting as a dislocation source or reducing dislocation pile-ups at grain boundaries. The spinel particles, on the other hand, can also act as local notches or crack initiation sites, which is detrimental to the alloy mechanical properties. Optimization of material processing condition is important to develop the desirable molybdenum alloys with sufficient room-temperature ductility. Atomistic analyses were conducted to further understand the mechanism of ductility improvement of the molybdenum alloys and the results showed that trace amount of residual oxygen may be responsible for the brittle behavior of the …

The aim of this work was to assess issues of cost, and performance associated with the production and storage of hydrogen via following three feedstocks: sub-quality natural gas (SQNG), ammonia (NH{sub 3}), and water. Three technology areas were considered: (1) Hydrogen production utilizing SQNG resources, (2) Hydrogen storage in ammonia and amine-borane complexes for fuel cell applications, and (3) Hydrogen from solar thermochemical cycles for splitting water. This report summarizes our findings with the following objectives: Technoeconomic analysis of the feasibility of the technology areas 1-3; Evaluation of the hydrogen production cost by technology areas 1; and Feasibility of ammonia and/or amine-borane complexes (technology areas 2) as a means of hydrogen storage on-board fuel cell powered vehicles. For each technology area, we reviewed the open literature with respect to the following criteria: process efficiency, cost, safety, and ease of implementation and impact of the latest materials innovations, if any. We employed various process analysis platforms including FactSage chemical equilibrium software and Aspen Technologies AspenPlus and HYSYS chemical process simulation programs for determining the performance of the prospective hydrogen production processes.