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Topics covered in this presentation include: the continued importance of coal; related materials challenges; combining oxy-combustion & A-USC steam; and casting large superalloy turbine components.

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The lithium silicates have attracted scientific interest due to their potential use as high-temperature sorbents for CO{sub 2} capture. The electronic properties and thermodynamic stabilities of lithium silicates with different Li{sub 2}O/SiO{sub 2} ratios (Li{sub 2}O, Li{sub 8}SiO{sub 6}, Li{sub 4}SiO{sub 4}, Li{sub 6}Si{sub 2}O{sub 7}, Li{sub 2}SiO{sub 3}, Li{sub 2}Si{sub 2}O{sub 5}, Li{sub 2}Si{sub 3}O{sub 7}, and a-SiO{sub 2}) have been investigated by combining first-principles density functional theory with lattice phonon dynamics. All these lithium silicates examined are insulators with band-gaps larger than 4.5 eV. By decreasing the Li{sub 2}O/SiO{sub 2} ratio, the first valence bandwidth of the corresponding lithium silicate increases. Additionally, by decreasing the Li{sub 2}O/SiO{sub 2} ratio, the vibrational frequencies of the corresponding lithium silicates shift to higher frequencies. Based on the calculated energetic information, their CO{sub 2} absorption capabilities were extensively analyzed through thermodynamic investigations on these absorption reactions. We found that by increasing the Li{sub 2}O/SiO{sub 2} ratio when going from Li{sub 2}Si{sub 3}O{sub 7} to Li{sub 8}SiO{sub 6}, the corresponding lithium silicates have higher CO{sub 2} capture capacity, higher turnover temperatures and heats of reaction, and require higher energy inputs for regeneration. Based on our experimentally measured isotherms of the CO{sub 2} chemisorption …

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Well ER-EC-14 was drilled for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office in support of the Nevada Environmental Management Operations Underground Test Area (UGTA) Activity at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS; formerly Nevada Test Site), Nye County, Nevada. The well was drilled in September and October 2012, as part of the Central and Western Pahute Mesa Corrective Action Unit Phase II drilling program. The primary purpose of the well was to provide detailed hydrogeologic information for the Fortymile Canyon composite hydrostratigraphic unit in the Timber Mountain moat area, within the Timber Mountain caldera complex, that will help address uncertainties within the Pahute Mesa–Oasis Valley hydrostratigraphic framework model. The main 55.9-centimeter (cm) hole was drilled to a total depth of 325.5 meters (m) and cased with 40.6-cm casing to 308.1 m. The hole diameter was then decreased to 37.5 cm, and drilling continued to a total depth of 724.8 m. The completion casing string, set to the depth of 690.9 m, consists of 16.8-cm stainless-steel casing hanging from 19.4-cm carbon-steel casing. The stainless-steel casing has two slotted intervals open to the Rainier Mesa Tuff. Two piezometer strings were installed in Well ER-EC-14. Both piezometer strings, …

We have used images and spectra of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to examine the host galaxies of 519 nearby supernovae. The colors at the sites of the explosions, as well as chemical abundances, and specific star formation rates of the host galaxies provide circumstantial evidence on the origin of each supernova type. We examine separately SN II, SN IIn, SN IIb, SN Ib, SN Ic, and SN Ic with broad lines (SN Ic-BL). For host galaxies that have multiple spectroscopic fibers, we select the fiber with host radial offset most similar to that of the SN. Type Ic SN explode at small host offsets, and their hosts have exceptionally strongly star-forming, metal-rich, and dusty stellar populations near their centers. The SN Ic-BL and SN IIb explode in exceptionally blue locations, and, in our sample, we find that the host spectra for SN Ic-BL show lower average oxygen abundances than those for SN Ic. SN IIb host fiber spectra are also more metal-poor than those for SN Ib, although a significant difference exists for only one of two strong-line diagnostics. SN Ic-BL host galaxy emission lines show strong central specific star formation rates. In contrast, we find no strong evidence …

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These five publications are summarized: Key role of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation in 20th century drought and wet periods over the Great Plains; A Sub-Seasonal Teleconnection Analysis: PNA Development and Its Relationship to the NAO; AMO's Structure and Climate Footprint in Observations and IPCC AR5 Climate Simulations; The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation in 20th Century Climate Simulations: Uneven Progress from CMIP3 to CMIP5; and Tropical Atlantic Biases in CCSM4.

In our project, we proposed to continue analysis of our available soil samples and data, and to develop new studies to answer the following objectives: Objective 1) Broaden field based studies of ecosystem C and N compartments to enhance current understanding of C and N sequestration and dynamics. Objective 2) Improve our understanding of mechanism controlling C and N stabilization and dynamics. Objective 3) Investigate the interrelated role of soil temperature and organism type and activity as controlling mechanism in SOC dynamics and sequestration.

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The compatibility of aluminum and aluminum alloys with synthetic fuel blends comprised of ethanol and reference fuel C (a 50/50 mix of toluene and iso-octane) was examined as a function of water content and temperature. Commercially pure wrought aluminum and several cast aluminum alloys were observed to be similarly susceptible to substantial corrosion in dry (< 50 ppm water) ethanol. Corrosion rates of all the aluminum materials examined were accelerated by increased temperature and ethanol content in the fuel mixture, but inhibited by increased water content. Pretreatments designed to stabilize passive films on aluminum increased the incubation time for onset of corrosion, suggesting film stability is a significant factor in the mechanism of corrosion.

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The Joint US-EC Short Course on Environmental Biotechnology is designed for several purposes. One of the central tenets is to bring together young scientists (at the late Ph.D. or early postdoctoral stages of their careers) in a forum that will set the groundwork for future overseas collaborative interactions. The course is also designed to give the scientists hands-on experience in modern, up-to-date biotechnological methods for the analysis of microbes and their activities pertinent to the remediation of pollutants in the environment. The 2011 course covered multiple theoretical and practical topics in environmental biotechnology. The practical part was centered around a full concise experiment to demonstrate the possibility for targeted remediation of contaminated soil. Experiments included chemical, microbiological, and molecular analyses of sediments and/or waters, contaminant bioavailability assessment, seeded bioremediation, gene probing, PCR amplification, microbial community analysis based on 16S rRNA gene diversity, and microarray analyses. Each of these topics is explained in detail. The practical part of the course was complemented with two lectures per day, given by distinguished scientists from the US and from Europe, covering a research area related to what the students are doing in the course.

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Project OASIS (Operation of Advanced Structures, Interfaces and Sub-components for MEAs) was a 12 month project that ran from 1st September 2008 to 31st August 2009, and was managed by the Department of Energy Office of Science, Chicago Office, as Award No DE-FG02-08ER64658, with Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Inc. as the sole contractor. The project was completed on schedule, with technical successes (details below) and payment of the full grant award made by DOE. The aim of the project was the development of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for H2/air polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells that would give higher performance under hot/dry and dry operating conditions, ideally with no loss of performance under wet conditions. Reducing or eliminating the need for humidifying the incoming gases will allow significant system cost and size reduction for many fuel cell applications including automotive, stationary and back-up power, and portable systems. Portable systems are also of particular interest in military markets. In previous work Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells had developed very stable, corrosion-resistant catalysts suitable for resisting degradation by carbon corrosion in particular. These materials were applied within the OASIS project as they are considered necessary for systems such as automotive where multiple start-stop …

The DOE SciDAC program funded a team that developed PFLOTRAN, the next-generation (‘peta-scale’) massively parallel, multiphase, multicomponent reactive flow and transport code. These codes are required to improve understanding and risk management of subsurface contaminant migration and geological sequestration of carbon dioxide. The important fate and transport processes occurring in the subsurface span a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, and involve nonlinear interactions among many different chemical constituents. Due to the complexity of this problem, modeling subsurface processes normally requires simplifying assumptions. However, tools of advanced scientific computing that have been used in other areas such as energy and materials research can also help address challenging problems in the environmental and geoscience fields. The overall project was led by Los Alamos National Laboratory and included Argonne, Oak Ridge and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, in addition to the University of Illinois. This report summarizes the results of the research done at the University of Illinois, which focused on improvements to the underlying physical and computational modeling of certain transport and mixing processes.