This research uses several techniques to measure the concentration of catalyst sites and determine their stoichiometry for the catalyzed gasification of carbon. Both alkali and alkaline earth oxides are effective catalysts for accelerating the gasification rate of coal chars, but only a fraction of the catalyst appears to be in a form that is effective for gasification, and the composition of that catalyst is not established. Transient techniques, with {sup 13}C labeling, are being used to study the surface processes, to measure the concentration of active sites, and to determine the specific reaction rates. We have used secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) for both high surface area samples of carbon/alkali carbonate mixtures and for model carbon surfaces with deposited alkali atoms. SIMS provides a direct measure of surface composition. The combination of these results can provide knowledge of catalyst dispersion and composition, and thus indicate the way to optimally utilize carbon gasification catalysts.

The gasification of coal char by hydrogen is much slower than in steam or carbon dioxide; moreover, hydrogasification rate in pure hydrogen decreases sharply with conversion for most carbons. To overcome this kinetic behavior, the oxidation of the char prior to and during hydrogasification has been investigated as a means of enhancing hydro gasification rate. Kinetic rate studies under well-characterized conditions have been complemented by careful surface analyses to characterize oxygen on the char surface prior to and during hydrogasification.

The US Department of Energy reports of events that occurred in the chemical processing 200 Areas of the Hanford Site during the period from 1972 through 1986 were reviewed to identify the causes of contaminated wounds. Contaminated wounds were reported in 19 events involving 20 workers. The causal agents (high risk operations) and the root causes were characterized. Emergency actions taken and their efficacy were noted. The 19 wound events were compared with 17 events with the potential for inhalation. It was found that the wound events involve a single worker and frequently result in an internal contamination and its resulting dose. Inhalation events involve groups of workers and rarely resulted in detectable internal contamination. The difference is attributed to anticipation of an inhalation event and use of respiratory protection and continuous air monitors to mitigate its effects.

During safety rod tests in K-reactor prior to startup, one safety rod could not be lifted because the button'' broke off and became lodged in the mechanism. Examination of the failed latch assembly along with other assemblies from both K-Area and L-Area revealed several missing buttons as well as severely deformed jaw hanger extensions.'' We participated in the investigation of the damage by request of the Reactor Restart Section. Based on our study of the latch mechanism, the modifications to the safety rod extension,'' and the operating history of the machine, this memorandum describes the causes of the observed damage with experimental evidence and calculations to support the findings. 3 refs.

Hybrid technologies for reduction of NO{sub x} emissions from coal fired utility boilers may offer greater levels of NO{sub x} control than the sum of the individual technologies, leading to more cost effective emissions control strategies. CombiNO{sub x} is an integration of modified reburning, promoted selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) and methanol injection to reduce NO{sub x} emissions from coal fired flue gas. The first two steps, modified reburning and promoted SNCR are linked. It was shown previously that oxidation of CO in the presence of a SNCR agent enhances the NO reduction performance. Less reburning than is typically done is required to generate the optimum amount of CO to promote the SNCR agent. If the reburn fuel is natural gas this may result in a significant cost savings over typical reburning. Injection of methanol into the flue gas has been shown at laboratory scale to convert NO to NO{sub 2} which may subsequently be removed in a wet scrubber. The overall objective of this program is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the CombiNOx process at a large enough scale and over a sufficiently broad range of conditions to provide all of the information needed to conduct a full-scale demonstration in …

Experimental results for the investigation of quantum delocalization of hydrogen on the Pd(111) surface; the investigation of the structural and dynamical trends in the growth of Cu overlayers on Pd(111) surface; and the investigation of the magnetic structure of the NiO(111) surface using spin-polarized metastable He beam scattering are included in this paper. Planned research is also discussed.

Bethlehem Steel Corporation (BSC), in conjunction with the Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting a Clean Coal Technology (CCT) project at its Sparrows Point, Maryland Coke Oven Plant. This project combines several existing technologies into an integrated system for removing impurities from Coke Oven Gas (COG) to make it an acceptable fuel. DOE is providing cost-sharing under a Cooperative Agreement with BSC. This Cooperative Agreement requires BSC to develop and conduct an Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMP) for the Clean Coal Technology project and to report the status of the EMP on a quarterly basis. This report is the third quarterly status report of the EMP. It covers the Environmental Monitoring Plan activities for the full year of 1991 from January 1, 1991 through December 31, 1991, including the forth quarter. See Sections 2, 3 and 4 for status reports of the Project Installation and Commissioning, the Environmental Monitoring activities and the Compliance Monitoring results for the period. Section 5 contains a list of Compliance Reports submitted to regulatory agencies during the period. The EMP describes in detail the environmental monitoring activities to be performed during the project execution. The purpose of the EMP is to: (1) document the extent of …

This report lists the final, best estimate of the target polarization P[sub T] as a function of time for all of the periods during which scattering data were (or may have been) collected. The information under RUN'' refers to [Delta][sigma][sub L]-runs. The notation sfs'' stands for start of frozen spin,'' efs'' for end of frozen spin,'' [yields] la'' for go to large-aperture'' target magnet position, and nla'' for not large-aperture'' position, i.e., the target magnet is in polarizing'' position. Where the NOTE'' column is blank it means that all standard frozen-spin conditions were in effect: the target temperature was reduced and the magnet was in large-aperture position. The timing marks were developed on the basis of three criteria: (1) the availability of direct NMR data, (2) the inclusion of major Target and Run boundaries, and (3) the arbitrary inclusion of enough minor'' Run boundaries to shorten large timing gaps. The sign of the P[sub T]-values is given in the NMR convention: (+) corresponds to predominant occupation of the Zeeman ground state (the thermal'' NMR-signals are considered positive). Since the target magnet field pointed upstream, (+) corresponds to target spin antiparallel to the beam momentum. The estimated uncertainty on P[sub T] …

The interaction (modelled by a LEPS potential) of a D[sub 2] molecule with an icosahedral Ni[sub 13] cluster is mapped and analyzed in the form of equipotential contour plots. The topological features of the map correlate with the energetic and dynamical characteristics of the dissociative adsorption of the molecule on the cluster, which were extracted from quasiclassical trajectory simulations. A modification of the LEPS potential used originally is introduced. It brings the calculated reactivity of the cluster into agreement with the experimental data.

The phenomenon of surface melting in a Ni[sub 55] cluster is predicted from results of molecular dynamics simulations.

This Clean Coal Technology project will demonstrate a combination of two developed technologies to reduce both NO[sub x] and SO[sub x] emissions: gas reburning and calcium based dry sorbent injection. The demonstrations will be conducted on two pre-NSPS utility boilers representative of the US boilers which contribute significantly to the inventory of acid rain precursor emissions: tangentially and cyclone fired units. Gas reburning is a combustion modification technique that consists of firing 80--85 percent of the fuel (corresponding to the total heat release) in the lower furnace. Reduction of NO[sub x] to molecular nitrogen (N[sub 2]) is accomplished via the downstream injection of the remaining fuel requirement in the form of natural gas (which also reduces the total SO[sub x] emissions). In a third stage, burnout air is injected at lower temperatures in the upper furnace to complete the combustion process without generating significant additional NO[sub x]. Dry sorbent injection consists of injecting calcium based sorbents (such as limestone, dolomite, or hydrated lime) into the combustion products. For sulfation of the sorbent to CaSO[sub 4], an injection temperature of about 1230[degrees]C is optimum, but calcium-sulfur reactions can also take place at lower temperatures. Thus, the sorbent may be injected at …

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: The withdrawal and reconsideration of Attorney General Opinion DM-17 (1991) (RQ-468)

This report lists the final, best estimate of the target polarization P{sub T} as a function of time for all of the periods during which scattering data were (or may have been) collected. The information under ``RUN`` refers to {Delta}{sigma}{sub L}-runs. The notation ``sfs`` stands for ``start of frozen spin,`` ``efs`` for ``end of frozen spin,`` ``{yields} la`` for ``go to large-aperture`` target magnet position, and ``nla`` for ``not large-aperture`` position, i.e., the target magnet is in ``polarizing`` position. Where the ``NOTE`` column is blank it means that all standard frozen-spin conditions were in effect: the target temperature was reduced and the magnet was in large-aperture position. The timing marks were developed on the basis of three criteria: (1) the availability of direct NMR data, (2) the inclusion of major Target and Run boundaries, and (3) the arbitrary inclusion of enough ``minor`` Run boundaries to shorten large timing gaps. The sign of the P{sub T}-values is given in the NMR convention: (+) corresponds to predominant occupation of the Zeeman ground state (the ``thermal`` NMR-signals are considered positive). Since the target magnet field pointed upstream, (+) corresponds to target spin antiparallel to the beam momentum. The estimated uncertainty on P{sub T} …

Bethlehem Steel Corporation (BSC), in conjunction with the Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting a Clean Coal Technology (CCT) project at its Sparrows Point, Maryland Coke Oven Plant. This project combines several existing technologies into an integrated system for removing impurities from Coke Oven Gas (COG) to make it an acceptable fuel. DOE is providing cost-sharing under a Cooperative Agreement with BSC. This Cooperative Agreement requires BSC to develop and conduct an Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMP) for the Clean Coal Technology project and to report the status of the EMP on a quarterly basis. This report is the third quarterly status report of the EMP. It covers the Environmental Monitoring Plan activities for the full year of 1991 from January 1, 1991 through December 31, 1991, including the forth quarter. See Sections 2, 3 and 4 for status reports of the Project Installation and Commissioning, the Environmental Monitoring activities and the Compliance Monitoring results for the period. Section 5 contains a list of Compliance Reports submitted to regulatory agencies during the period. The EMP describes in detail the environmental monitoring activities to be performed during the project execution. The purpose of the EMP is to: (1) document the extent of …

The gasification of coal char by hydrogen is much slower than in steam or carbon dioxide; moreover, hydrogasification rate in pure hydrogen decreases sharply with conversion for most carbons. To overcome this kinetic behavior, the oxidation of the char prior to and during hydrogasification has been investigated as a means of enhancing hydro gasification rate. Kinetic rate studies under well-characterized conditions have been complemented by careful surface analyses to characterize oxygen on the char surface prior to and during hydrogasification.

This research uses several techniques to measure the concentration of catalyst sites and determine their stoichiometry for the catalyzed gasification of carbon. Both alkali and alkaline earth oxides are effective catalysts for accelerating the gasification rate of coal chars, but only a fraction of the catalyst appears to be in a form that is effective for gasification, and the composition of that catalyst is not established. Transient techniques, with {sup 13}C labeling, are being used to study the surface processes, to measure the concentration of active sites, and to determine the specific reaction rates. We have used secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) for both high surface area samples of carbon/alkali carbonate mixtures and for model carbon surfaces with deposited alkali atoms. SIMS provides a direct measure of surface composition. The combination of these results can provide knowledge of catalyst dispersion and composition, and thus indicate the way to optimally utilize carbon gasification catalysts.

Project S-4404, Upgrade Canyon Exhaust Systems, is a $177 million project with the purpose of upgrading the Exhaust Systems for both F and H Canyon Facilities. This upgrade will replace major portions of the F and H-Canyon exhaust systems, downstream of their respective sand filters with higher capacity and more reliable systems. Because of the high cost, DOE requested Program Control & Integration (PC&I) to examine specific deletions to the project. PC&I requested Nuclear Processes Safety Research (NPSR) to perform an analysis to compare failure rates for the existing F & H Canyon exhaust systems with the proposed exhaust system and specific proposed exhaust system alternatives. The objective of this work was to perform an analysis and compare failure rates for the existing F & H Canyon exhaust systems with the proposed project exhaust system and proposed project alternatives. Based on fault tree analysis, two conclusions are made. First, D & D activities can be eliminated from the project with no significant decrease to exhaust system safety. Deletion of D & D activities would result in a cost savings of $29 million. Second, deletion of DOE Order 6430.1A requirements regarding DBAs would decrease exhaust system safety by a factor of …

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education exceeded its rulemaking authority in promulgating title 37, section 211.80(a)(1) of the Texas Administrative Code (RQ-293)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Authority of a county to improve certain subdivision roads and assess the cost of repairs against subdivisions (RQ-330)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the Court Reporters Certification Board is subject to article 6252-13f, V.T.C.S., which establishes the State Office of Administrative Hearings (RQ-138)

Letter opinion issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a member of the board of trustees of an independent school district may serve on a city council or other boards (RQ-248)

The most recent data available on differential cross sections for electron-air interactions are used to calculate the avalanche, momentum transfer, and energy loss rates that enter into the fluid equations. Data for the important elastic, inelastic, and ionizing processes are generally available out to electron energies of 1--10 kev. Prescriptions for extending these cross sections to the relativistic regime are presented. The angular dependence of the cross sections is included where data is available as is the doubly differential cross section for ionizing collisions. The collision rates are computed by taking moments of the Boltzmann collision integrals with the assumption that the electron momentum distribution function is given by the Juettner distribution function which satisfies the relativistic H- theorem and which reduces to the familiar Maxwellian velocity distribution in the nonrelativistic regime. The distribution function is parameterized in terms of the electron density, mean momentum, and thermal energy and the rates are therefore computed on a two-dimensional grid as a function of mean kinetic energy and thermal energy.