The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) initiated processing of Sludge Batch 4 (SB4) in May 2007. SB4 was the first DWPF sludge batch to contain significant quantities of HM or high Al sludge. Initial testing with SB4 simulants showed potential negative impacts to DWPF processing; therefore, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) performed extensive testing in an attempt to optimize processing. SRNL's testing has resulted in the highest DWPF production rates since start-up. During SB4 processing, DWPF also began incorporating waste streams from the interim salt processing facilities to initiate coupled operations. While DWPF has been processing SB4, the Liquid Waste Organization (LWO) and the SRNL have been preparing Sludge Batch 5 (SB5). SB5 has undergone low-temperature aluminum dissolution to reduce the mass of sludge for vitrification and will contain a small fraction of Purex sludge. A high-level review of SB4 processing and the SB5 preparation studies will be provided.

This third volume in the official history of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission covers the years of the Eisenhower Administration.

NREL's Center for Basic Sciences performs fundamental research for DOE's Office of Science. Our mission is to provide fundamental knowledge in the basic sciences and engineering that will underpin new and improved renewable energy technologies.

BestPractices Steam tip sheet regarding ways to assess steam system efficiency. To determine the effective cost of steam, use a combined heat and power simulation model that includes all the significant effects.

This issue of the Biofuels News focuses on a new industry in renewable transportation fuel. BC International (BCI) became the first company to dedicate a facility to produce ethanol from agricultural residues. Also, featured is an article on the potential of switchgrass as an energy crop.

Recent results of thermodynamic studies on the complexation of actinides (UO{sub 2}{sup 2+}, NpO{sub 2}{sup +} and Pu{sup 4+}) with F{sup -}, SO{sub 4}{sup 2-} and H{sub 2}PO{sub 4}{sup -}/HPO{sub 4}{sup 2-} at elevated temperatures are reviewed. The data indicate that, for all systems except the 1:1 complexation of Np(V) with HPO{sub 4}{sup 2-}, the complexation of actinides is enhanced by the increase in temperature. The enhancement is primarily due to the increase in the entropy term (T{Delta}S) that exceeds the increase in the enthalpy ({Delta}H) as the temperature is increased. These data bridge the gaps in the chemical thermodynamic database for nuclear waste repository where the temperature could remain significantly higher than 25 C for a long time after the closure of the repository.

The duct system, used in air heating and air cooling your home, is a collection of tubes that distributes the heated or cooled air to the various rooms. The duct system can have an important effect on health of the occupants through the distribution of indoor air pollution. Changes and repairs to a duct system should always be performed by a qualified professional. This brochure is meant to help you understand the problems that can affect the duct system and how you can save money, improve comfort, and protect against potential health hazards.

Sophisticated front-end electronics are a key part of practically all modern radiation detector systems. This chapter introduces the basic principles and their implementation. Topics include signal acquisition, electronic noise, pulse shaping (analog and digital), and data readout techniques.

The importance of aerosol particles in many branches of science, such as atmospheric chemistry, combustion, interfacial science, and material processing, has been steadily growing during the past decades. One of the unique properties of these particles is the very high surface-to-volume ratios, thus making them readily serve as centers for gas-phase condensation and heterogeneous reactions. These particles must be characterized by size, shape, physical state, and chemical composition. Traditionally, optical elastic scattering has been applied to obtain the physical properties of these particle (e.g., particle size, size distribution, and particle density). These physical properties are particularly important in atmospheric science as they govern the distribution and transport of atmospheric aerosols.

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.

BestPractices Steam tip sheet regarding the use of deaerators in industrial steam systems.

The Decision Tools for Industry CD helps industrial energy managers learn how to use software that can pinpoint energy and cost saving opportunities in their plants. The CD includes training and tools software for motor, steam, compressed air, pumping, and insulation systems.

BestPractices Program tip sheet discussing a method for determining the cost of compressed air at industrial plants.

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The transportation market in the United States is evolving. As the number of vehicles and miles traveled on American roadways continues to grow, the nation is looking toward advanced vehicles and fuels to meet the increasing demand for more energy efficient, environmentally friendly modes of transport. At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Center for Transportation Technologies and Systems' Fuel Utilization Program is doing its part. We're developing and demonstrating engine and fuel technologies that allow alternative and advanced petroleum fuels to compete with their conventional counterparts.

The remarkable catalytic properties of electrode surfaces modified by monolayer amounts of metal adatoms obtained by underpotential deposition (UPD) have been the subject of a large number of studies during the last couple of decades. This interest stems from the possibility of implementing strictly surface modifications of electrocatalysts in an elegant, well-controlled way, and these bi-metallic surfaces can serve as models for the design of new catalysts. In addition, some of these systems may have potential for practical applications. The UPD of metals, which in general involves the deposition of up to a monolayer of metal on a foreign substrate at potentials positive to the reversible thermodynamic potential, facilitates this type of surface modification, which can be performed repeatedly by potential control. Recent studies of these surfaces and their catalytic properties by new in situ surface structure sensitive techniques have greatly improved the understanding of these systems.

The remarkable catalytic properties of electrode surfaces modified by monolayer amounts of metal adatoms obtained by underpotential deposition (UPD) have been the subject of a large number of studies during the last couple of decades. This interest stems from the possibility of implementing strictly surface modifications of electrocatalysts in an elegant, well-controlled way, and these bi-metallic surfaces can serve as models for the design of new catalysts. In addition, some of these systems may have potential for practical applications. The UPD of metals, which in general involves the deposition of up to a monolayer of metal on a foreign substrate at potentials positive to the reversible thermodynamic potential, facilitates this type of surface modification, which can be performed repeatedly by potential control. Recent studies of these surfaces and their catalytic properties by new in situ surface structure sensitive techniques have greatly improved the understanding of these systems.

BestPractices Program tip sheet discussing ways to eliminate inappropriate uses for compressed air in industrial plants.

This paper summarizes the current scientific and technological knowledge about greenhouse gas emissions from various agricultural practices and the manufacturing of food. The study also provides estimates that compare agriculture-related alternatives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy Matters is an Office of Industrial Technologies bimonthly publication on energy efficiency opportunities. This issue's focus is on the future of industrial energy efficiency. The issue also contains articles on seven companies that are to receive cost-shared funding for plant-wide, energy efficiency assessments; submitting proposals to assess energy flow and steam system opportunities; partnering to save energy and money; and root cause failure analysis on AC induction motors. Also a special feature by Don Casada ''Lights that Shine Forever.''

A detailed account of the activity and accomplishments made by fleets covered by the EPAct State and Alternative Fuel Provider Program.

Foliar damage to trees by air pollution in Central and Eastern Europe has been a major scientific and political issue. Emissions of toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can have wide-ranging effects on local and regional vegetation that can be compounded by other environmental stresses to plant growth. Since uptake and physiological effects of these gases on tree leaves are largely mediated by stomata, surrogate methods for estimating pollutant conductances into leaves and forest canopies may lead to risk assessments for major vegetation types that can then be used in regional planning. Management options to ameliorate or mitigate air pollutant damage to forests and losses in productivity are likely to be more difficult to widely implement than on-the-stack emissions abatement, Informed management and policy decisions regarding Central and Eastern European forests are dependent on the development of quantitative tools and models for risk assessment of the effects of atmospheric pollutants on ecosystem health and productivity.