This is the fourth quarterly progress report for Year-3 of the ACTS Project. It includes a review of progress made in: (1) Flow Loop construction and development and (2) research tasks during the period of time between April 1, 2002 and June 30, 2002. This report presents a review of progress on the following specific tasks: (a) Design and development of an Advanced Cuttings Transport Facility (Task 3: Addition of a Cuttings Injection/Separation System), (b) Research project (Task 6): ''Study of Cuttings Transport with Foam Under LPAT Conditions (Joint Project with TUDRP)''; (c) Research project (Task 9b): ''Study of Foam Flow Behavior Under EPET Conditions''; (d) Research project (Task 10): ''Study of Cuttings Transport with Aerated Mud Under Elevated Pressure and Temperature Conditions''; (e) Research on three instrumentation tasks to measure: Cuttings concentration and distribution in a flowing slurry (Task 11), Foam texture while transporting cuttings. (Task 12), and Viscosity of Foam under EPET (Task 9b); (f) Development of a Safety program for the ACTS Flow Loop. Progress on a comprehensive safety review of all flow-loop components and operational procedures. (Task 1S); (g) Activities towards technology transfer and developing contacts with Petroleum and service company members, and increasing the number …

Eltron Research Inc. and their team members are developing an environmentally benign, inexpensive, and efficient method for separating hydrogen from gas mixtures produced during industrial processes, such as coal gasification. This project was motivated by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Vision 21 initiative which seeks to economically eliminate environmental concerns associated with the use of fossil fuels. This objective is being pursued using dense membranes based in part on Eltron-patented ceramic materials with a demonstrated ability for proton and electron conduction. The technical goals are being addressed by modifying single-phase and composite membrane composition and microstructure to maximize proton and electron conductivity without loss of material stability. Ultimately, these materials must enable hydrogen separation at practical rates under ambient and high-pressure conditions, without deactivation in the presence of feedstream components such as carbon dioxide, water, and sulfur. During this quarter, new cermet compositions were tested that demonstrated similar performance to previous materials. A 0.5-mm thick membrane achieved at H{sub 2} transport rate of 0.2 mL/min/cm{sup 2} at 950 C, which corresponded to an ambipolar conductivity of 3 x 10{sup -3} S/cm. Although these results were equivalent to those for other cermet compositions, this new composition might be useful if …

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

The magnetic and electronic properties of non-Fermi liquid UCu{sub 4Pd} depend on annealing conditions. Local structural changes due to this annealing are reported from UL{sub III}- and Pd K-edge x-ray absorption fine-structure measurements. In particular, annealing decreases the fraction of Pd atoms on nominally Cu 16e sites and the U-Cu pair-distance distribution width. This study provides quantitative information on the amount of disorder in UCu{sub 4Pd} and allows an assessment of its possible importance to the observed non-Fermi liquid behavior.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Semiweekly newspaper from Boerne, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Semiweekly newspaper from Brady, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Using cesium distribution ratio data from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on the candidates for the optimized solvent, calculations were made to determine how each solvent would perform in the caustic-side solvent extraction (CSSX) process. This report describes the effect that each solvent would have on the CSSX flowsheet for both the current solvent flow rate and the optimum solvent flow rate.

Annual report on the Clean Coal Technology Demonstration Program (CCT Program). The report address the role of the CCT Program, implementation, funding and costs, accomplishments, project descriptions, legislative history, program history, environmental aspects, and project contacts. The project descriptions describe the technology and provides a brief summary of the demonstration results. Also includes Power Plant Improvement Initiative Projects.

This report examines two provisions in the Conference Report on the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2002, H.R. 107-617, 107th Cong., 2d Sess. (2002): the homestead exemption and dischargeability of liability for abortion clinic violence.

This report describes the principal elements of legislative process used to establish these executive branch entities. Legislative histories of the organic acts of these Cabinet departments are set out in narrative form in the body of the report, and in tabular format in the appendix.

The quantitative estimation of changes in water saturation (S{sub W}) and effective pressure (P), in terms of changes in compressional and shear impedance, is becoming routine in the interpretations of time-lapse surface seismic data. However, when the number of reservoir constituents increases to include in situ gas and injected CO{sub 2}, there are too many parameters to be determined from seismic velocities or impedances alone. In such situations, the incorporation of electromagnetic (EM) images showing the change in electrical conductivity ({sigma}) provides essential independent information. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate a methodology for jointly interpreting crosswell seismic and EM data, in conjunction with detailed constitutive relations between geophysical and reservoir parameters, to quantitatively predict changes in P, S{sub W}, CO{sub 2} gas saturation (S{sub CO2}), CO{sub 2} gas/oil ratio (R{sub CO{sub 2}}), hydrocarbon gas saturation (S{sub g}), and hydrocarbon gas/oil ration (R{sub g}) in a reservoir undergoing CO{sub 2} flood.

Daily newspaper from Perry, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

In the 108th Congress, debate over energy efficiency programs has focused on budget, oil, natural gas, and electricity issues, and provisions in the omnibus energy policy bill, S. 2095, H.R. 6, and S. 14/S. 1149. The Bush Administration’s FY2005 budget request for the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Energy Efficiency Program sought $875.9 million, including $543.9 for R&D and $332.0 million for grants. In the first session, the omnibus energy bill (H.R. 6) had several significant tax and regulatory measures for energy efficiency. It did not pass the Senate due to concerns about cost and an MTBE “safe harbor” provision.

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Despite regulations limiting emissions and improved vehicle and fuel technologies, the air in many cities and towns still does not meet air quality standards. Vehicle emissions contain substances, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds, that degrade air quality and threaten public health and the environment. Vehicles emissions account for about one third to one-half of these pollutants. Epidemiological and other studies have consistently found that breathing emissions containing these compounds contributes to respiratory and other health problems. Vehicle emissions also harm vegetation and cause crop damage. Provisions in the clean air and surface transportation laws have encouraged transportation planners to look for ways to curb harmful emissions, but predominantly in areas that already suffer pollution problems. The Clean Air Act requires planners to demonstrate that their plans and programs will not worsen air quality, but only in areas with current or prior air quality problems. Congress and federal agencies have opportunities to provide more help to transportation planners and communities considering the environmental impacts of their transportation and land use decisions."

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

The federal government has traditionally played a role in fostering technological progress. This has involved both direct federal research and development (R&D) funding and indirect measures that create incentives for increased private sector investments in innovation. However, this mix of initiatives was challenged since the 104th Congress. While support for all on-going efforts continues, some programs have been funded at reduced levels. However, since FY2001, appropriations appear to have reversed this trend.

The Rio Grande rift provides an excellent field laboratory to study the nature of geothermal systems in an extensional environment. Much of the geologic complexity that is found in the Basin and Range is absent because the rift is located on cratonic crust with a thin and well-characterized Phanerozoic stratigraphy and tectonic history. On the other hand, the Neogene thermo-tectonic history of the rift has many parallels with the Basin and Range to the west. The geology of the southern Rio Grande rift is among the best characterized of any rift system in the world. Also, most geologic maps for the region are rather unique in that detailed analyses of Quaternary stratigraphic and surficial unit are added in concert with the details of bedrock geology. Pleistocene to Holocene entrenchment of the Rio Grande and tributaries unroofs the alteration signatures and permeability attributes of paleo outflow plumes and upflow zones, associated with present-day, but hidden or ''blind,'' hydrothermal systems at Rincon and San Diego Mountain.

The use of steel components is being challenged by lighter nonferrous or cast iron components. The development of techniques for enhancing and ensuring the filability of thin-wall mold cavities is most critical for thinner wall cast steel production. The purpose of this research was to develop thin-wall casting techniques that can be used to reliably produce thin-wall castings from traditional gravity poured sand casting processes. The focus of the research was to enhance the filling behavior to prevent misrunds. Experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of various foundry variables on the filling of thin section steel castings. These variables include casting design, heat transfer, gating design, and metal fluidity. Wall thickness and pouring temperature have the greatest effect on casting fill. As wall thickness increases the volume to surface area of the casting increases, which increases the solidification time, allowing the metal to flow further in thicker sect ions. Pouring time is another significant variable affecting casting fill. Increases or decreases of 20% in the pouring time were found to have a significant effect on the filling of thin-wall production castings. Gating variables, including venting, pouring head height, and mold tilting also significantly affected thin-wall casting fill. Filters offer …

Funeral program for Albert "Peaches" Thompson, Jr., born April 13, 1946 and died July 25, 2002. The funeral was held July 30, 2002 at Antioch Baptist Church, officiated by Thurman Walker, Pastor. Funeral arrangements were made through the Lewis Funeral Home, and he was buried in Meadowlawn Memorial Park in San Antonio, Texas. Includes an invitation to the unveiling ceremony for the Sickle Cell Stamp dedicated in his honor.

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The probability that long-term geologic storage or sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) will become an important climate change mitigation strategy will depend on a number of factors, namely (1) availability, capacity and location of suitable sites, (2) the cost of geologic storage compared to other climate change mitigation options, and (3) public acceptance. Whether or not a site is suitable will be determined by establishing that it can meet a set of performance requirements for safe and effective geologic storage (PRGS). To date, no such PRGS have been developed. Establishing effective PRGS must start with an evaluation of how much CO{sub 2} might be stored and for how long the CO{sub 2} must remain underground to meet goals for controlling atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentrations. These requirements then provide a context for addressing the issue of what, if any, is an ''acceptable surface seepage rate''? This paper provides a preliminary evaluation of CO{sub 2} storage amounts, time-scales, and concordant performance requirements.

A three-year contract, DOE Contract No. DE-FG26-01BC15364 ''Improving CO{sub 2} Efficiency for Recovering Oil in Heterogeneous Reservoirs,'' was started on September 28, 2001. This project examines three major areas in which CO{sub 2} flooding can be improved: fluid and matrix interactions, conformance control/sweep efficiency, and reservoir simulation for improved oil recovery. This report discusses the activity during the six-month period covering January 1, 2002 through June 30, 2002 that covers the second and third fiscal quarters of the project's first year. Paper SPE 75178, ''Cost Reduction and Injectivity Improvements for CO{sub 2} Foams for Mobility Control,'' has been presented and included in the proceedings of the SPE/DOE Thirteenth Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, Tulsa, OK, April 13-17, 2002. During these two quarters of the project we have been working in several areas: reservoir fluid/rock interactions and their relationships to changing injectivity, producer survey on injectivity, and surfactant adsorption on quarried and reservoir core.