This issue of Alternative Fuel News focuses on transit buses and refuse haulers. Many transit agencies and waste management companies are investigating alternatives to traditional diesel buses and refuse haulers.

This chapter describes ex situ bioremediation of the petroleum portion of radiologically co-contaminated soils using microorganisms isolated from a waste site and innovative bioreactor technology. Microorganisms first isolated and screened in the laboratory for bioremediation of petroleum were eventually used to treat soils in a bioreactor. The bioreactor treated soils contaminated with over 20,000 mg/kg total petroleum hydrocarbon and reduced the levels to less than 100 mg/kg in 22 months. After treatment, the soils were permanently disposed as low-level radiological waste. The petroleum and radiologically contaminated soil (PRCS) bioreactor operated using bioventing to control the supply of oxygen (air) to the soil being treated. The system treated 3.67 tons of PCRS amended with weathered compost, ammonium nitrate, fertilizer, and water. In addition, a consortium of microbes (patent pending) isolated at the Savannah River National Laboratory from a petroleum-contaminated site was added to the PRCS system. During operation, degradation of petroleum waste was accounted for through monitoring of carbon dioxide levels in the system effluent. The project demonstrated that co-contaminated soils could be successfully treated through bioventing and bioaugmentation to remove petroleum contamination to levels below 100 mg/kg while protecting workers and the environment from radiological contamination.

This sourcebook on building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is intended for architects and designers interested in learning more about today's sustainable solar buildings. The booklet includes 16 design briefs describing actual structures; they illustrate how electricity-generating BIPV products (such as special roofing systems, vertical-wall systems, skylights, and awnings, all of which contain PV cells, modules, and films) can be integrated successfully into many different kinds of buildings. It also contains basic information about BIPV technologies, an overview of US product development activities and development programs, descriptions of major software design tools, and a bibliography.

Carbon sequestration is the long term isolation of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through physical, chemical, biological, or engineered processes. The largest potential reservoirs for storing carbon are the deep oceans and geological reservoirs in the earth's upper crust. This chapter focuses on geological sequestration because it appears to be the most promising large-scale approach for the 2050 timeframe. It does not discuss ocean or terrestrial sequestration. In order to achieve substantial GHG reductions, geological storage needs to be deployed at a large scale. For example, 1 Gt C/yr (3.6 Gt CO{sub 2}/yr) abatement, requires carbon capture and storage (CCS) from 600 large pulverized coal plants ({approx}1000 MW each) or 3600 injection projects at the scale of Statoil's Sleipner project. At present, global carbon emissions from coal approximate 2.5 Gt C. However, given reasonable economic and demand growth projections in a business-as-usual context, global coal emissions could account for 9 Gt C. These volumes highlight the need to develop rapidly an understanding of typical crustal response to such large projects, and the magnitude of the effort prompts certain concerns regarding implementation, efficiency, and risk of the enterprise. The key questions of subsurface engineering and surface safety associated with carbon sequestration …

Fact sheet written for the Inventions and Innovation Program about a new closed rotary drum dryer for the forest products industry.

This is a fact sheet written for the Inventions and Innovation Program about a new way to compact and deliver coal and other materials through pipelines.

Fact sheet for homeowners and contractors on how to manage moisture in the crawlspace, insulate crawlspace walls, insulate underflooring, handle ventilation, and manage radon.

This project's goal is to develop remote sensing methods for early detection and spatial mapping, over whole regions simultaneously, of any surface areas under which there are significant CO2 leaks from deep underground storage formations. If large amounts of CO2 gas percolated up from a storage formation below to within plant root depth of the surface, the CO2 soil concentrations near the surface would become elevated and would affect individual plants and their local plant ecologies. Excessive soil CO2 concentrations are observed to significantly affect local plant and animal ecologies in our geothermal exploration, remote sensing research program at Mammoth Mountain CA USA. We also know from our geothermal exploration remote sensing programs, that we can map subtle hidden faults by spatial signatures of altered minerals and of plant species and health distributions. Mapping hidden faults is important because in our experience these highly localized (one to several centimeters) spatial pathways are good candidates for potentially significant CO2 leaks from deep underground formations. The detection and discrimination method we are developing uses primarily airborne hyperspectral, high spatial (3 meter) with 128 band wavelength resolution, visible and near infrared reflected light imagery. We also are using the newly available ''Quickbird'' satellite …

Fact sheet written for the Inventions and Innovation Program about an electronic-pneumatic system for separating aluminum in mixed recyclable streams.

Order this fact sheet today to learn how the latest innovative process for heat treating metal powders can both reduce costs and save energy.

This is a fact sheet written for the Inventions and Innovation Program about a new process for creating corrugated cardboard products.

Fact sheet written for the Inventions and Innovation Program about a new method for stress relief in metalcasting processes that reduces energy consumption and eliminates pollution.

Fact sheet written for the Inventions and Innovation Program about a new heat exchanger design that increases efficiency while reducing costs.

The design of high performance catalyst achieving near 100% product selectivity at maximum activity is one of the most important goals in the modern catalytic science research. To this end, the preparation of model catalysts whose catalytic performances can be predicted in a systematic and rational manner is of significant importance, which thereby allows understanding of the molecular ingredients affecting the catalytic performances. We have designed novel 3-dimensional (3D) high surface area model catalysts by the integration of colloidal metal nanoparticles and mesoporous silica supports. Monodisperse colloidal metal NPs with controllable size and shape were synthesized using dendrimers, polymers, or surfactants as the surface stabilizers. The size of Pt, and Rh nanoparticles can be varied from sub 1 nm to 15 nm, while the shape of Pt can be controlled to cube, cuboctahedron, and octahedron. The 3D model catalysts were generated by the incorporation of metal nanoparticles into the pores of mesoporous silica supports via two methods: capillary inclusion (CI) and nanoparticle encapsulation (NE). The former method relies on the sonication-induced inclusion of metal nanoparticles into the pores of mesoporous silica, whereas the latter is performed by the encapsulation of metal nanoparticles during the hydrothermal synthesis of mesoporous silica. The …

This Fact Sheet is written for the Inventions and Innovations Program about a new technology for sulfide reduction and increased oil recovery. The new technology, called Bio-Competitive Exclusion (BCX), results in greater oil production and prevents the production of corrosive hydrogen sulfide in oil and gas reservoirs. This BCX process is initiated and maintained by a new product, called Max-Well 2000, in which nutrients are custom designed to stimulate targeted beneficial microorganisms that live in every oil and gas reservoir. Rapid growth of these microorganisms excludes activity of harmful sulfide-producing bacteria and produces by-products that serve as effective tertiary oil recovery agents and as sulfide degradation agents. Oil and gas production is both increased and sweetened.

The Information Resources Catalog describes publications, videos, software, and other products available from OIT. These resources can help industrial firms improve energy efficiency and competitiveness, while reducing waste and pollution. Because many OIT resources have applications in multiple areas, the index is organized as a matrix.

This issue of OIT [Office of Industrial Technologies] Times features steps being taken to streamline the R and D proposal solicitation process and includes an updated solicitation schedule. There is an article describing The Pittsburgh Regional Technology Showcase event launched by DOE Assistant Secretary Dan Reicher.

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This fact sheet provides homeowners with an introduction to passive solar design, which is also called climatic design. It explains how they can use windows, walls, and floors to collect, store, and distribute solar energy to heat their homes in the winter, as well as reject solar heat in the summer. It includes information on heat-movement physics; basic solar design techniques--direct gain, indirect gain (Trombe walls), isolated gain (sunspaces), and design for summer comfort; window options for passive solar; and design cost.

Fact sheet for homeowners and contractors on using passive solar design features in homes can increase energy efficiency and comfort. Topics include design techniques, cost, and passive solar design tools.

This brochure describes OIT's Regional Resource Centers for Innovation (RCIs), which provide the Innovation and Invention program grantees and other small business energy innovators commercialization assistance.

This fact sheet provides an introduction to renewable energy technologies: hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal energy, solar energy, wind energy, hydrogen, and ocean energy.

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Fact sheet for homeowners and contractors on how to insulate slab-on-grade floors and control moisture, air leakage, termites, and radon.