The overall objectives for this project were: (1) to identify a suitable PdCu tri-metallic alloy membrane with high stability and commercially relevant hydrogen permeation in the presence of trace amounts of carbon monoxide and sulfur; and (2) to identify and synthesize a water gas shift catalyst with a high operating life that is sulfur and chlorine tolerant at low concentrations of these impurities. This work successfully achieved the first project objective to identify a suitable PdCu tri-metallic alloy membrane composition, Pd{sub 0.47}Cu{sub 0.52}G5{sub 0.01}, that was selected based on atomistic and thermodynamic modeling alone. The second objective was partially successful in that catalysts were identified and evaluated that can withstand sulfur in high concentrations and at high pressures, but a long operating life was not achieved at the end of the project. From the limited durability testing it appears that the best catalyst, Pt-Re/Ce{sub 0.333}Zr{sub 0.333}E4{sub 0.333}O{sub 2}, is unable to maintain a long operating life at space velocities of 200,000 h{sup -1}. The reasons for the low durability do not appear to be related to the high concentrations of H{sub 2}S, but rather due to the high operating pressure and the influence the pressure has on the WGS reaction …

The primary objective of this project was to develop oxidation methods appropriate for the conversion of agriculturally derived simple sugars to their corresponding diacids (aldaric acids) for use as biobased chemical building blocks for new biodegradable polymers and other materials. Principal target diacids were D-glucaric, meso-xylaric, D-mannaric and L-arabinaric acid, each to be prepared by nitric acid oxidation of the naturally occurring precursor carbohydrates (monosaccharides) D-glucose, D-xylose, D-mannose and L-arabinose, respectively, all from hydrolysis of naturally abundant plant polysaccharides. These conversions were to be designed for scale up to a level suitable for transfer first to a pilot plant scale, and then to an industrial plant scale. The core of the project involved a comprehensive study of the title oxidation employing a computer controlled reactor. The plan of action involved defining experimental parameters to allow for control of the oxidations with considerable precision and reproducibility. The prototype oxidations were typically run using ca. 0.75 molar amounts of carbohydrate, with a goal of eventually doubling the reaction size when appropriate reaction parameters were established. During the course of the funding period for this grant, the fundamentals of reaction control were established for oxidation of D-glucose, a critical component of the project …

The following is a synopsis of the major achievements attributed to the operation of the Weatherization Assistance Program Technical Assistance Center (WAPTAC) by the National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP). During the past five years, the WAPTAC has developed into the premier source for information related to operating the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) at the state and local levels. The services provide through WAPTAC include both virtual technical support as well as hands-on training and instruction in classroom and in the field. The WAPTAC achieved several important milestones during its operation including the establishment of a national Weatherization Day now celebrated in most states, the implementation of a comprehensive Public Information Campaign (PIC) to raise the awareness of the Program among policy makers and the public, the training of more than 150 new state managers and staff as they assume their duties in state offices around the country, and the creation and support of a major virtual information source on the Internet being accessed by thousands of staff each month. The Weatherization Assistance Program Technical Assistance Center serves the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program as a valuable training and technical assistance resource for …

The Nature Conservancy participated in a Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to explore the compatibility of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. The title of the research project was 'Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration'. The objectives of the project were to: (1) improve carbon offset estimates produced in both the planning and implementation phases of projects; (2) build valid and standardized approaches to estimate project carbon benefits at a reasonable cost; and (3) lay the groundwork for implementing cost-effective projects, providing new testing ground for biodiversity protection and restoration projects that store additional atmospheric carbon. This Final Technical Report discusses the results of the six tasks that The Nature Conservancy undertook to answer research needs while facilitating the development of real projects with measurable greenhouse gas reductions. The research described in this report occurred between July 1st 2001 and July 10th 2008. The specific tasks discussed include: Task 1: carbon inventory advancements; Task 2: emerging technologies for remote sensing of terrestrial carbon; Task 3: baseline method development; Task 4: third-party technical advisory panel meetings; Task 5: new project feasibility studies; and …

This report describes the progress of our research during the first 30 months (10/01/2004 to 03/31/2007) of the original three-year project cycle. The project was terminated early due to DOE budget cuts. This was a joint project between the Tertiary Oil Recovery Project (TORP) at the University of Kansas and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The objective was to evaluate the use of low-cost biosurfactants produced from agriculture process waste streams to improve oil recovery in fractured carbonate reservoirs through wettability mediation. Biosurfactant for this project was produced using Bacillus subtilis 21332 and purified potato starch as the growth medium. The INL team produced the biosurfactant and characterized it as surfactin. INL supplied surfactin as required for the tests at KU as well as providing other microbiological services. Interfacial tension (IFT) between Soltrol 130 and both potential benchmark chemical surfactants and crude surfactin was measured over a range of concentrations. The performance of the crude surfactin preparation in reducing IFT was greater than any of the synthetic compounds throughout the concentration range studied but at low concentrations, sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) was closest to the surfactin, and was used as the benchmark in subsequent studies. Core characterization was carried out …

This project encompassed the design, development, and demonstration of integrated online optimization systems at Dynegy Midwest Generation's Baldwin Energy Complex (BEC) located in Baldwin, Illinois. The overall project objective was to improve coal-based generation's emission profile, efficiency, maintenance requirements and plant asset life in order to enhance the long-term viability of the United States abundant coal resources. Five separate but integrated optimization products were developed, addressing combustion, sootblowing, SCR operations, overall unit thermal performance, and plant-wide availability optimization. Optimization results are inherently unit-specific and cannot be known for a particular generating unit in advance. However, NeuCo believed that the following were reasonable targets for the completed, integrated set of products: Furnace NOx reduction improvement by 5%, Heat rate improvement by 1.5%, Increase of annual Available MWh by 1.5%, Commensurate reductions in greenhouse gases, mercury, and particulates; and Commensurate increases in profitability from lower costs, improved reliability, and greater commercial availability. The goal during Phase I was to establish each system and demonstrate their integration in unified plant optimization. Efforts during Phase I focused on: (1) developing, deploying, integrating, and testing prototypes for each of the five products; (2) identifying and addressing issues required for the products to integrate with plant …

It was proposed to investigate a new concept for the synthesis of molecular sieve hydrogen selective membranes. This concept is based on the use of exfoliated layered zeolite precursors in coating processes to make nanocomposite films with inorganic or polymeric matrices. We discovered that creating exfoliated zeolite layers was much more difficult than anticipated because the methods originally proposed (based on existing literature reports) were not successful in providing exfoliated layers while preserving their porous structure. Although the original goals of fabricating high-selectivity-high-flux membranes that are stable under conditions present in a water-gas-shift reactor and that are able to selectively permeate hydrogen over all other components of the mixtures present in these reactors were not accomplished fully, significant progress has been made as follows: (1) Proof-of-concept hydrogen-selective nanocomposite membranes have been fabricated; (2) Methods to exfoliate layered zeolite precursors preserving the layer structure were identified; and (3) Unexpectedly, membranes exhibiting high ideal selectivity for carbon dioxide over nitrogen at room temperature were produced. The findings listed above provide confidence that the proposed novel concept can eventually be realized.

Globalization, technological complexity, interdependence, terrorism, climate and energy volatility, and pandemic potential are increasing the level of risk that societies and organizations now face. Risks also are increasingly interrelated; disruptions in one area can cascade in multiple directions. The ability to manage emerging risks, anticipate the interactions between different types of risk, and bounce back from disruption will be a competitive differentiator for companies and countries alike in the 21st century. What Policymakers Should Know The national objective is not just homeland protection, but economic resilience: the ability to mitigate and recover quickly from disruption. Businesses must root the case for investment in resilience strategies to manage a spectrum of risks, not just catastrophic ones. Making a business case for investment in defenses against low-probability events (even those with high impact) is difficult. However, making a business case for investments that assure business continuity and shareholder value is not a heavy lift. There are an infinite number of disruption scenarios, but only a finite number of outcomes. Leading organizations do not manage specific scenarios, rather they create the agility and flexibility to cope with turbulent situations. The investments and contingency plans these leading companies make to manage a spectrum of …

The primary objective of the project was to evaluate the long-term feasibility of using activated carbon injection (ACI) options to effectively reduce mercury emissions from Texas electric generation plants in which a blend of lignite and subbituminous coal is fired. Field testing of ACI options was performed on one-quarter of Unit 2 at TXU's Big Brown Steam Electric Station. Unit 2 has a design output of 600 MW and burns a blend of 70% Texas Gulf Coast lignite and 30% subbituminous Powder River Basin coal. Big Brown employs a COHPAC configuration, i.e., high air-to-cloth baghouses following cold-side electrostatic precipitators (ESPs), for particulate control. When sorbent injection is added between the ESP and the baghouse, the combined technology is referred to as TOXECON{trademark} and is patented by the Electric Power Research Institute in the United States. Key benefits of the TOXECON configuration include better mass transfer characteristics of a fabric filter compared to an ESP for mercury capture and contamination of only a small percentage of the fly ash with AC. The field testing consisted of a baseline sampling period, a parametric screening of three sorbent injection options, and a month long test with a single mercury control technology. During the …

The authors present results of Higher Order Modes (HOMs) measurements in the RHIC accelerating (28 MHz system) and storage (197 MHz system) cavities. The power of the excited HOMs deposited into the HOM damper is measured and compared with an analytical calculation of the HOMs power. The quality factors (Q) are also measured and compared to previous measurements.

Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have invented ARUBA (Arsenic Removal Using Bottom Ash) a material that effectively and affordably removes high concentrations of arsenic from contaminated groundwater. The technology is cost-effective because the substrate?bottom ash from coal fired power plants?is a waste material readily available in South Asia. During fieldwork in four sub-districts ofBangladesh, ARUBA reduced groundwater arsenic concentrations as high as 680 ppb to below the Bangladesh standard of 50 ppb. Key results from three trips in Bangladesh and one trip to Cambodia include (1) ARUBA removes more than half of the arsenic from contaminated water within the first five minutes of contact, andcontinues removing arsenic for 2-3 days; (2) ARUBA?s arsenic removal efficiency can be improved through fractionated dosing (adding a given amount of ARUBA in fractions versus all at once); (3) allowing water to first stand for two to three days followed by treatment with ARUBA produced final arsenic concentrations ten times lower than treating water directly out of the well; and (4) the amount of arsenic removed per gram of ARUBA is linearly related to the initial arsenic concentrationof the water. Through analysis of existing studies, observations, and informal interviews in Bangladesh, eight design …

In this work, we have investigated the separation performance of polymer-based mixed-matrix membranes containing metal-organic frameworks and mesoporous hybrid silicas. The MOF/Matrimid{reg_sign} and MOP-18/Matrimid{reg_sign} membranes exhibited improved dispersion and mechanical strength that allowed high additive loadings with reduced aggregation, as is the case of the 80 wt% MOP-18/Matrimid{reg_sign} and the 80% (w/w) Cu-MOF/Matrimid{reg_sign} membranes. Membranes with up to 60% (w/w) ZIF-8 content exhibited similar mechanical strength and improved dispersion. The H{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} separation properties of MOF/Matrimid{reg_sign} mixed-matrix membranes was improved by either keeping the selectivity constant and increasing the permeability (MOF-5, Cu-MOF) or by improving both selectivity and permeability (ZIF-8). In the case of MOF-5/Matrimid{reg_sign} mixed-matrix membranes, the H{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} selectivity was kept at 2.6 and the H{sub 2} permeability increased from 24.4 to 53.8 Barrers. For the Cu-MOF/Matrimid{reg_sign} mixed-matrix membranes, the H{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} selectivity was kept at 2.05 and the H{sub 2} permeability increased from 17.1 to 158 Barrers. These two materials introduced porosity and uniform paths that enhanced the gas transport in the membranes. When ZIF-8/Matrimid{reg_sign} mixed-matrix membranes were studied, the H{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} selectivity increased from 2.9 to 4.4 and the permeability of H{sub 2} increased from 26.5 to 35.8 Barrers. The increased H{sub …

The cost-benefit outlook of black liquor gasification (BLG) could be greatly improved if the smelt causticization step could be achieved in situ during the gasification step. Or, at a minimum, the increase in causticizing load associated with BLG could be mitigated. A number of chemistries have been proven successful during black liquor combustion. In this project, three in situ causticizing processes (titanate, manganate, and borate) were evaluated under conditions suitable for high temperature entrained flow BLG, and low temperature steam reforming of black liquor. The evaluation included both thermodynamic modeling and lab experimentation. Titanate and manganate were tested for complete direct causticizing (to thus eliminate the lime cycle), and borates were evaluated for partial causticizing (to mitigate the load increase associated with BLG). Criteria included high carbonate conversion, corresponding hydroxide recovery upon hydrolysis, non process element (NPE) removal, and economics. Of the six cases (three chemistries at two BLG conditions), only two were found to be industrially viable: titanates for complete causticizing during high temperature BLG, and borates for partial causticizing during high temperature BLG. These two cases were evaluated for integration into a gasification-based recovery island. The Larsen [28] BLG cost-benefit study was used as a reference case for …

The purpose of this project was to conduct a comprehensive laboratory-based evaluation of selected respiratory and cardiac health hazards of subchronic (up to 6 months) inhalation of simulated key components of 'downwind plume' emissions of coal combustion. This project was performed as an integral part of a joint government-industry program termed the 'National Environmental Respiratory Center' (NERC), which is aimed at disentangling the roles of different physical-chemical air pollutants and their sources in the health effects associated statistically with air pollution. The characterization of the exposure atmosphere and the health assays were identical to those employed in the NERC protocols used to evaluate other pollution source emissions, such as diesel, gasoline, and wood combustion. The project had two phases, each encompassing multiple tasks. Guidelines for the composition of the exposure atmosphere were set by consensus of an expert workshop. Development of the capability to generate the exposure atmosphere and pilot studies of the comparative exposure composition using two coal types were accomplished in Phase 1. In Phase 2, the toxicological study was conducted using Powder River Basin Sub-bituminous coal. NETL provided 50% support for the work in Phase 1 and had intended to provide 20% support for the work in …

This is the final report for project entitled 'Research and development of a new field enhanced low temperature thermionic cathode that enables fluorescent dimming and load shedding without auxiliary cathode heating', under Agreement Number: DE-FC26-04NT-42329. Under this project, a highly efficient CNT based thermionic cathode was demonstrated. This cathode is capable of emitting electron at a current density two order of magnitude stronger then a typical fluorescent cathode at same temperatures, or capable of emitting at same current density but at temperature about 300 C lower than that of a fluorescent cathode. Detailed fabrication techniques were developed including CVD growth of CNTs and sputter deposition of oxide thin films on CNTs. These are mature technologies that have been widely used in industry for large scale materials processing and device fabrications, thus, with further development work, the techniques developed in this project can be scaled-up in manufacturing environment. The prototype cathodes developed in this project were tested in lighting plasma discharge environment. In many cases, they not only lit and sustain the plasma, but also out perform the fluorescent cathodes in key parameters such like cathode fall voltages. More work will be needed to further evaluate more detailed and longer term …

The Savannah River Site (SRS) is a 310-square-mile United States Department of Energy nuclear facility located along the Savannah River near Aiken, South Carolina. During operations, which started in 1951, hazardous substances (chemicals and radionuclides) were released to the environment. The releases occurred as a result of inadvertent spills and waste disposal in unlined pits and basins which was common practice before environmental regulations existed. The hazardous substances have migrated to the vadose zone and groundwater in many areas of the SRS, resulting in 515 waste units and facilities that are required by environmental regulations, to undergo characterization and, if needed, remediation. In the initial years of the SRS environmental cleanup program (early 1990s), the focus was to use common technologies (such as pump and treat, air stripping, excavation and removal) that actively and tangibly removed contamination. Exclusive use of these technologies required continued and significant funding while often failing to meet acceptable clean-up goals and objectives. Recognizing that a more cost-effective approach was needed, SRS implemented new and complementary remediation methods focused on active and passive technologies targeted to solve specific remediation problems. Today, SRS uses technologies such as chemical/pH-adjusting injection, phytoremediation, underground cutoff walls, dynamic underground stripping, soil …

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a high temperature fuel cell and it normally operates in the range of 850 to 1000 C. Coal syngas has been considered for use in SOFC systems to produce electric power, due to its high temperature and high hydrogen and carbon monoxide content. However, coal syngas also has contaminants like carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) and hydrogen sulfide (H{sub 2}S). Among these contaminants, H{sub 2}S is detrimental to electrode material in SOFC. Commonly used anode material in SOFC system is nickel-yttria stabilized zirconia (Ni-YSZ). The presence of H{sub 2}S in the hydrogen stream will damage the Ni anode and hinder the performance of SOFC. In the present study, an attempt was made to understand the mechanism of anode (Ni-YSZ) deterioration by H{sub 2}S. The study used computation methods such as quantum chemistry calculations and molecular dynamics to predict the model for anode destruction by H{sub 2}S. This was done using binding energies to predict the thermodynamics and Raman spectroscopy to predict molecular vibrations and surface interactions. On the experimental side, a test stand has been built with the ability to analyze button cells at high temperature under syngas conditions.

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This report focuses on current developments in Taiwan, analyzing how those developments are affecting choices the United States makes about its policy toward Taiwan specifically and toward the People's Republic of China (PRC) more broadly.

This report discusses the security problem of China’s role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response since the mid-1990s

This report discusses the Wilderness Act generally prohibits commercial activities, motorized uses, and infrastructure developments in congressionally designated wilderness areas. However, the Wilderness Act and many subsequent laws designating wilderness areas also contain provisions authorizing activities that do not conform with these general prohibitions. The general prohibitions and the authorized uses are important because controversies persist over permissible and prohibited activities in wilderness areas, and because bills often seek to modify existing areas or activities.

This report provides information about The Current and Upcoming Issues on Federal Budget. The Federal Budget implements congress's " power of the purse".

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