During the previous quarter, a new approach for the deploymerization of the coal macromolecule was tried. This was aimed towards carbon-carbon bond cleavage in presence of strong bases. Such bond cleavage reactions are well known with the alkali metals. Electron transfer reactions take place from the metals to the aromatic nuclei resulting in the formation ofanion-radicals (or dianions) which subsequently undergo carbon-carbon bond cleavage. In our work instead of using the alkali metals, we have used strong bases to cleave the carbon-carbon bonds in hydrocarbons, and have suggested that hydrocarbon elimination reactions occur. Such anionic fragmentation reactions involving strong bases are not very well established. However, we have obtained circumstantial evidence that such bond cleavage reactions do take place in some coal systems. For example, when the high rank Lower Kittaming coal, PSOC 1197, was treated with Lochmann`s base (equimolar mixture of n-butyllithiun and potassium tert-butoxide) in refluxing heptane and quenched with ammonium chloride and reethanol, the pyridine solubility of the product increased from 5% (raw coal) to 39%. A similar increase in solubility due to base treatment was also observed in a separate study for another high rank coal, Pocahontas No. 3 from the Argonne National Laboratory Premium Sample …

Our goal is to develop the tools of mutational spectrometry in order to discover the cause(s) of genetic change in somatic and germinal cells in humans. Our study of the spectrum of point mutations in human mitochrondrial DNA sequences has revealed that there are multiple point mutation hotspots in each of four separate sequences in the mitochrondrial genome. These spectra were revealed by a combination of high fidelity PCR (modified T{sub 7} polymerase) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis which has a limit of detection of about 10{sup {minus}3}. There appear to be identical hotspot mutations in both cultured B cell and fresh human blood T cell samples.

The objective of this work is to investigate, in the laboratory, the parameters associated with a chemically assisted in situ recovery procedure, using hydrogen chloride (HCI), carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), and steam (H{sub 2}O), to obtain-data useful to develop a process more economic than existing processes and to report all findings. The technical progress of the project is reported. The progress of the project is that experiment preparations are underway. Reactor design, process design, and experiment design have been completed. The laboratory to be used has required extensive clean-up, and is nearly ready. Safety considerations are underway. Finally, an initial literature search has revealed some important aspects that need to be considered.

Ongoing work includes the characterization of coal pyrites, the floatability evaluation of typical US coal samples, the flotation behavior of coal pyrites, the electrochemical measurement of the surface properties of coal pyrites, and the characterization of species produced at pyrite surfaces.

Research is reported in 3 areas: reduced dimensionality theory of atom-diatom reactions (D+H{sub 2}, H+D{sub 2}, Cl+HCl), reduced dimensionality theory of diatom-diatom reactions (H{sub 2}+A{sub 2}{r_arrow}H+HA{sub 2}, H{sub 2}+CN{r_arrow}H+HCN), and L{sup 2} calculations of resonances (photodetachment spectra of ClHCl{sub {minus}} and IHI{sup {minus}}, H+CO system).

Previous results have shown that the medium pH, the composition of the medium and concentration of medium constituents significantly affect the ratio of ethanol to acetate in the product stream when fermenting CO, CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2} in synthesis gas to products by Clostridium ljungdahlii. An additional batch study was carried out varying the agitation rate at pH 4, 4.5 and 5.0. It was speculated that increased agitation rates in combination with low pH might result in increased ethanol production while, at the same time, yielding higher cell concentrations which could eventually result in higher ethanol concentrations.

A three-stage thin-film detector for the identification of heavy ion fragments was investigated in beam at HHIRF. An experiment on Eu-152 for the purposes of calibrating a four-crystal Germanium polarimeter was performed. The instrument was then used in an experiment to establish polarities for the low-lying transitions in {sup 82}Sr. The spectral fitting code ROBFIT was applied to the data analysis and shown to perform well on the extraction of weak peaks in high background situations.

Ongoing work includes the characterization of coal pyrites, the floatability evaluation typical US coal samples, the flotation behavior of coal pyrites, the electrochemical measurement of the surface properties of coal pyrites, and the characterization of species produced at pyrite surfaces.

The rate of sulfation of a CaO surface is rapid at first, limited by the intrinsic kinetics, but slows down with increasing conversion as a consequence of the increased resistance to diffusion through the product layer. The objectives of this study are to determine the intrinsic kinetics and the product layer diffusion pate by minimizing the resistances to gas-phase pore diffusion, and eliminating complications due to pore filling. This is achieved by the use of nonporous CaO. A wide range of particle sizes are used to change the relative importance of the regimes in which the intrinsic kinetics and product layer diffusion control. The assumption of constant product layer diffusivity can then be tested and the variables that determine this diffusivity independently studied. Information on product layer diffusion can also be obtained from studies of porous particles after the pore mouths are all plugged and a uniform surface coating is obtained. This information on diffusion rate and intrinsic reactivity can then be combined with a geometrical model to describe the rate of reaction over the entire range of conversions and is particularly useful in treating the effect of particle size on conversion history.

Cyclone furnaces operate with high excess air and at high temperature. The heat release during combustion is very high and as a result the boiler volume is much smaller than would be found in a conventional pc-fired system. The Marion Unit 1 boiler, at the level of the cyclone entry, has a small cross-section; about 5-feet in depth and about 20-feet in width. A boiler schematic showing the LNS Burner and relative location of the superheater region and overfire air ports is shown in Figure 1. The LNS Burner`s combustion process is fundamentally different from that of the cyclone, and the combustion products are also different. The LNS Burner products enter the boiler as hot, fuel-rich gases. Additional overfire air must be added to complete this combustion step with care taken to avoid the formation of thermal NO{sub x}. If done correctly, S0{sub 2} is controlled and significant NO{sub x} reductions are achieved. Because of the small boiler volume, flow modelling was found to be necessary to insure that adequate mixing of LNS Burner combustion products with air can be accomplished to achieve NO{sub x} emissions goals. Design requirements for the air injection system for the Marion boiler were developed …

The objective of this project is to demonstrate the LNS Burner as retrofitted to the host cyclone boiler for effective low-cost control of NO{sub x} and SO{sub x} emissions while firing a bituminous coal. The LNS Burner employs a simple, innovative combustion process to burn pulverized coal at high temperatures and provides effective, low-cost control of sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) and nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}) emissions. The coal ash contains sulfur and is removed in the form of molten slag and flyash. Cyclone-fired boiler units are typically older units firing high-sulfur bituminous coals at very high temperatures which results in very high NO{sub x} and SO{sub x} emissions. The addition of conventional emission control equipment, such as wet scrubbers, to these older cyclone units in order to meet current and future environmental regulations is generally not economic. Further, the units are generally not compatible with low sulfur coal switching for S0{sub 2} control or selective catalytic reduction technologies for NO{sub x} control. Because the LNS Burner operates at the same very high temperatures as a typical cyclone boiler and produces a similar slag product, it may offer a viable retrofit option for cyclone boiler emission control. This was confirmed by …

Precipitated iron catalysts are expected to be used in the next generation of slurry reactors for the large-scale production of transportation fuels from synthesis gas. These reactors may operate at higher temperatures and lower H {sub 2}: CO ratios relative to the Sasol Arge reactor. The feasibility of iron catalysts has been demonstrated under relatively mild Arge-type conditions but not under the more severe slurry conditions. The goal of this program is to identify the chemical principles governing the deactivation of precipitated iron catalysts during Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and to use these chemical principles in the design of catalysts suitable for slurry reactors.

This report discusses a spill of approximately 20 gallons of D2O (moderator) which occurred on February 7, 1990, at 0008 hours. The spill occurred while construction was removing process water lines from the 5B heat exchanger at a location referred to as a Rams Horn to allow the heat exchanger to be realigned. The heat exchangers in the other systems (loops) had been successfully disconnected (lines broken) during the previous two months and had been realigned without incident under the control of job plans similar to the System 5 job plan. Construction personnel reacted positively at the time the spill and successfully rebolted and tightened the leaking flanges on 5B and later on the 5A heat exchangers. This initial reaction stopped the leak and prevented a more severe incident. The spill incident resulted in a Site Alert declaration by the Shift Manager at 0220 hours when the Stack Tritium Monitor indicated a tritium release which exceeded the limits specified. After the event it was determined that a Temporary Procedure Change (TPC) to this DPSOL, had been approved and issued in April 1989. Had this TPC been available to the Shift Manager, the alert would not have been declared. Although the …

XANES and EXAFS measurements were made on a CuO/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} sample which went through a complete reaction cycle with flue gases, followed by comparison with pure CuO. In the modeling studies, of the possible bridging type adsorption configurations for the SO{sub 2} molecule on CuO/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, the only one yielding SO{sub 2} adsorption of possible practical interest is that for the SO{sub 2} molecule bridging a Cu and an Al atom with the molecule bent away from the surface; the bonding energy is 1.66 eV.

In general we have made significant contributions towards the ultimate goal of creating a complete theory of edge turbulence and transport in magnetic fusion devices. Our main focus has been to utilize a resistive MHD model. This analysis includes: (1) ``rippling`` type models in which the current fluctuations are decoupled and the resistivity fluctuations are fundamental, and (2) ``drift`` type models in which the ambient current can be small (no resistivity fluctuations needed) and the current fluctuations are fundamental. In these turbulence frameworks, the important atomic physics based edge sources have been included (impurity radiation, ionization, and charge exchange effects).

We measured the surface areas of the Argonne coals using standard multipoint volumetric BET techniques, a series of aliphatic alkanes, N{sub 2}, and CO{sub 2}. All samples were dried by evacuation at 10{sup {minus}6} torr overnight on a Micromeritics Digisorb 2500 stainless steel adsorption rig. Twenty four hours equilibration for the first adsorption point and six hours equilibration for each subsequent point was allowed for the cyclic hydrocarbon gases, except where otherwise noted. Six hours equilibration between adsorption points was used for all the other gases except N{sub 2}{center_dot}{sup 10}. The data and measurement conditions for Argonne: Pocahontas No. 3, Upper Freeport, and Pittsburgh No. 8 coals are presented in figures 1--3 respectively. The coal surface areas obtained using CO{sub 2}, ethane and cyclopropane, all of similar cross sectional area, cannot be rationalized using a constricted pore model. Ethane (cylindrical) and cyclopropane (planar) have different shapes and slit like or cylindrical pores would discriminate between them.

A batch kinetic study involving Clostridium lungdahlii in a mineral medium was carried out in order to provide baseline data for the effects of nutrients on product ratio and kinetics. The use of this minimal medium containing vitamins, minerals, select amino acids and salts showed both a lower maximum specific growth rate and a lower maximum specific uptake rate than found when using a complex medium supplemented with 0.01% yeast extract. At the same time, the product ratio was improved slightly in favor of ethanol over acetate. Future experiments will measure the effects of ammonia and phosphate limitation on product ratio and process kinetics.

The purpose of this project is to elucidate the way in which the synthesis of ethanol and related fermentation products are regulated in the facultative anaerobe Escherichia coli. We are also investigating the control of other genes required for anaerobic growth. We have isolated both structural and regulatory mutations affecting the expression of alcohol dehydrogenase, the enzyme responsible for the final step in alcohol synthesis. Some of these regulatory mutations also affect other anaerobically induced genes. The adh gene has been cloned and sequenced. The ADH protein is one of the largest highly expressed proteins in E. coli and requires approximately 2700bp of DNA for its coding sequence. We have also isolated mutations affecting the fermentative lactate dehydrogenase and have recently cloned the ldh gene. In consequence it is now possible to construct E. coli strains defective in the production of any one or more of their normal fermentation products (i.e. formate, acetate, lactate, ethanol and succinate). The factors affecting ratio of fermentation products are being investigated by in vivo NMR spectroscopy.

This project had as its primary objective the establishment of the specific surface areas (SSAs) and the qualitative definition of any existing pore structure of four coal samples supplied by Dr. Robert Good of the Chemical Engineering Department of the State University of New York at Buffalo. The samples included three bituminous coals (Upper Freeport, Illinois No. 6 and New Zealand Stockton) and one Anthracite (Panther Valley Mine).

This report discusses the following topics on electron beam guns: Precharger Modification; Installation of Charge vs. Radius Apparatus; High Concentration Aerosol Generation; and Data Acquisition and Analysis System.

Section 3004 of RCRA allows EPA to grant a variance from the land disposal restrictions when a demonstration can be made that, to a reasonable degree of certainty, there will be no migration of hazardous constituents from the disposal unit for as long as the waste remains hazardous. Specific requirements for making this demonstration are found in 40 CFR 268.6, and EPA has published a draft guidance document to assist petitioners in preparing a variance request. Throughout the course of preparing this petition, technical staff from DOE, EPA, and their contractors have met frequently to discuss and attempt to resolve issues specific to radioactive mixed waste and the WIPP facility. The DOE believes it meets or exceeds all requirements set forth for making a successful ``no-migration`` demonstration. The petition presents information under five general headings: (1) waste information; (2) site characterization; (3) facility information; (4) assessment of environmental impacts, including the results of waste mobility modeling; and (5) analysis of uncertainties. Additional background and supporting documentation is contained in the 15 appendices to the petition, as well as in an extensive addendum published in October 1989.

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum contains D-erythroascorbic acid (EAA) and a closely related reducing acid, possibly the open-chain form of EAA. The organism cleaves one of these products or possibly both to yield OA and D-glyceric acid. The OA is rapidly secreted into the medium. An analogy can be made between AA-linked OA biosynthesis in higher plants and EAA-linked OA biosynthesis in fungi as exemplified by S. sclerotiorum.

This report contains information about a research program where the effects of streptozyatocin has on diabetes. The researchers look at biochemical, physiological, and metabolic processes. Other things of interest to the researchers include; filtration by kidneys, number of nephrons per kidney, and microperfusion studies performed to learn more about the effects of unmodified and glucosylated albumin.

Previous results have shown that the yeast extract concentration and the medium pH significantly affect the ratio of ethanol to acetate in the product stream when fermenting CO, CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2} in synthesis gas to products by Clostridium ljungdahlii. Further experimentation has demonstrated the impact of eliminating yeast extract from the medium (except for the slight quantity transferred with the inoculm), especially when coupled with low pH. An ethanol to acetate product ratio of 4.0 was obtained at pH 4.5 without yeast extract present in the medium when using culture previously exposed to growth-limiting H{sub 2}S. The product ratio was 2.0 at pH 4.0 (nearly three times the value of pH 4.5 and nine times the value of pH 5.0) without yeast extract present in the media when using the standard (unexposed) culture.