Plutonium speciation in soils is discussed. Chromium was selected as a model for studying soil Pu. Similarities between Cr and Pu are pointed out, and a hypotheses concerning Pu speciation in soils is presented. Findings from Cr oxidation studies that may be relevant to the problem of Pu oxidation in soils are discussed. (JGB)

This program consists of the engineering design, fabrication, assembly, operation, economic analysis, and process support R and D for an Experimental Process System Development Unit (EPSDU). EPSDU equipment specification, vendor development, and evaluation of quotations represent a significant effort which will permit the start of ordering EPSDU equipment during the next quarter. Initial mini-burner test results are encouraging. It appears that a fairly simple and cost-effective waste treatment system may be possible. Engineering design packages such as the P and I, electrical one-line, and layout are also progressing well. The free-space reactor PDU was assembled and is undergoing checkout. The modified seal and shaft of the reactor scraper ran with limited success. A computer modeling of the PDU has been prepared using a two-dimensional axisymmetric model with recirculation. Some test runs have been made. Work on determination of the critical silane decomposition in a fixed bed has been completed. The data generated follow the extension of the Murthy's data. This data, along with the deposition rate data to be acquired, will be used in the fluid-bed reactor design. Present test data show that capacitive heating of the fluid bed and particle separation in a boot are very promising.

The long-lead items required for the Industrial Fuel Gas Demonstration Plant are given. Utilizing the Construction Plan (Deliverable No. 37), which is based upon 48 months to the completion of Phase II, the delivery requirements for each equipment item were determined. Required delivery dates were ascertained from the erection sequence for IFG Demonstration Plant units and equipment items. Lead times established by FWEC procurement personnel were then applied to arrive at a date when procurement action must be initiated. Procurement schedules for all equipment items are included in this document. Also evaluated were the activities required prior to actual placement of the order. Appropriate time has been included at the front end for receipt of vendor quotes, evaluation, and the recommendation for award to DOE and DOE approval (if required). The first milestone indicated on these schedules is the issuance of bid packages to prospective vendors. This is the required month to begin procurement activities to maintain the program time table. Six items have been determined to be long-lead time procurement items. The complete engineering, drafting, and procurement schedules for such items can be determined by referring to respective equipment numbers on the enclosed schedules.

A project to investigate methods that might be used to utilize old fluorescent light tubes as solar water heater components then to produce a booklet of instructions for others to use to construct their own water heaters is described. Various methods of opening, cleaning and shaping the ends of the tubes were attempted. The reflective material needed inside some of the heaters was mylar and worked quite well but the Btu gain was disappointing. There were problems with the cement used and epoxy resin was finally used. Two types of collectors using reflectors also used temperature differential thermostats and small pumps. One thermosyphon model used no reflectors nor tube length copper pipe; it produced more Btu's per day than either motorized model. Preliminary test data are included. It was found that for Guam at least, the reflector type collectors I developed would not produce hot enough water for absorption type refrigeration.

Very low concentrations deoxycholate (DOC) were used to isolate two proteins from canine cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum. These two proteins are phospholamban, a 22,000 dalton protein, and the Ca/sup 2 +/ + Mg/sup 2 +/-ATPase, the major protein of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, responsible for the active transport of calcium. The 22,000 dalton protein is first solubilized in a very low concentration of DOC and then subjected to column chromatography. After molecular weight sieving on a Sephadex G-75 column, the 22,000 dalton protein appears as a purified protein on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels. The purified protein is specifically phosphorylated by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Phospholipids are still bound to the isolated protein. The Ca/sup 2 +/ + Mg/sup 2 +/-ATPase is purified by first solubilizing all the extrinsic proteins with a low concentration of DOC. An increasing amount of DOC is then added to yield the purified Ca/sup 2 +/ + Mg/sup 2 +/-ATPase. This protein is at least 95% pure. Adding additional DOC to the purified enzyme enhances the enzyme's ability to hydrolyze ATP. (ERB)

Each of the papers was abstracted in dividually for ERA/EDB/INIS. (JGB)

Progress in planning and outreach activities needed for stimulation of the development and utilization of geothermal resources in Nevada is reviewed. (MHR)

The following subjects are included: a geothermal resource overview, the evolution of the current Texas geopressured-geothermal institutional structure, project evaluation with uncertainty and the structure of incentives, the natural gas industry, the electric utility industry, potential governmental participants in resource development, industrial users of thermal energy, current government incentives bearing on geopressured-geothermal development, six profiles for utilization of the geopressured-geothermal resources in the mid-term, and probable impacts of new government incentives on mid-term resource utilization profiles. (MHR)

Core samples from the Rayburn and Vacherie salt domes in Louisiana were examined for fluid inclusions, in connection with the possible use of such domes for nuclear waste storage sites. Three types of fluid inclusions were found: brine, compressed gas, and oil (in decreasing volume percent abundance). The total amount of such fluids is small, certainly < 0.01 vol % and probably in the range 0.1 to 0.001 volume %, but the inclusions are highly erratic in distribution. Unlike many bedded salt deposits, the brine inclusions in this salt contain fluids that are not far from simple NaCl-H/sub 2/O solutions, with very little of other ions. One of three possible explanations for such fluids is that fresh water penetrated the salt at some unknown time in the past and was trapped; if such entry of fresh water has occurred in the past, it might also occur again in the future.

The goal of this work was to obtain information useful in the improvement of life and performance of alkaline secondary cells utilizing porous zinc electrodes. Toward this end, experiments designed to test predictions of the most sophisticated mathematical models of the porous zinc electrode were performed. This approach is based on the conviction that the surest way to realize a significantly longer-lived zinc electrode is through better understanding of the electrode gained through the interaction between modeling and model revision based on feedback resulting from experimental testing of the models. Experiments performed have emphasized determination of the potential distribution over the surface of a flat rectangular porous zinc electrode operated under conditions of severly limited convective flow, the determination of potential distribution and concentration variations over the surface of similar electrodes when operated under normal flow conditions, and the evaluation of OH/sup -/ depletion as a failure mode in zinc electrodes operated under conditions of severely limited convective flow. Results of the experiments and interpretations of them in terms of the appropriate models are given. 17 figures, 5 tables.

During the contract period, a consistent formalism for the definition of the growth rates (and thus the doubling time) of breeder reactor fuel has been developed. This formalism was then extended to symbiotic operation of breeder and converter reactors. Further, an estimation prescription for the growth rate has been developed which is based upon the breeding worth factors. The characteristics of this definition have been investigated, which led to an additional integral concept, the breeding bonus.

The data include dual induction-focused log, acoustilog, compensated neutron log, gamma log, compensated densilog, temperature log, and lithology.

The work done under this contract in the last quarter of 1978 was concerned with Phase I, which involved preliminary catalyst and process evaluation. The processes under study are hydrogen assisted steam reforming (HASR), catalytic partial oxidation (CPO), and autothermal steam reforming (ATR). Existing Engelhard test units were modified to carry out preliminary runs using the first two processes. Technical analysis to support work in this area consisted of heat and material balances constrained by equilibrium considerations. In a third task, the steam reforming of methanol to produce hydrogen was studied over two commercial low-temperature shift catalysts. Aging runs indicated good initial performance on both catalysts, but methanol conversion started to decline after a few hundred hours on stream.

An attempt was made to relate episodes of air pollution at Barrow, Alaska, containing vanadium, to the behavior of planetary waves in middle and high latitudes. A stationarity index for planetary waves is defined as the ratio between amplitudes computed from monthly mean maps and the mean amplitudes computed on a daily basis and averaged over the same month, irrespective of phase angle. Longitude-time sections of 500-mb height anomalies at various latitudes are related to vanadium pollution episodes at Barrow.

During this reporting period, four more 100 kg continuous runs were completed to satisfy the six required by the project extension. One of the four (2*) was performed using a new standard CG2000 RC grower, using accessory equipment and process techniques developed under this project. The sixth and final 100 kg continuous run was performed with purified carbon parts and resulted in the best results to date. Run No. 62 resulted in 103.0 kg being pulled from 104.5 kg total charge weight (98.6% pulled yield). Of this 103 kg grown, 89.3 kg were monocrystalline. Moreover, 72.2 kg was OD material. Another encouraging result was that 85% of the eighth crystal was monocrystalline and 67% of the ninth and last crystal was monocrystaline after ninety seven hours of continuous growth. Impurity analysis data indicate that impurity build-up in grown crystals during 100 kg continuous runs is insignificant. However, the results indicate that impurities tend to accumulate in the crucible. Moreover, impurity analysis performed on new crucibles indicates that these new crucibles may not be as pure as the manufacturer&#x27;s literature states. Solar cell efficiency data from two 100 kg continuous runs were received this quarter with very encouraging results. The average …

None

Twenty audio-magnetotelluric soundings collected to assist in a regional evaluation of the geothermal potential of the Ennis Hot Springs area are presented.

The drilling data include the litholog and the following logs: dual induction-focused, acoustilog, compensated neutron, gamma, compensated densilog, and temperature.

Progress is reported on the following tasks: characterization of coal for open-cycle MHD power generation systems; compressive creep and strength studies of MHD preheater materials; preparation of coals for utilization in direct coal-fired MHD generation; characterization of volatile matter in coal; MHD materials evaluation; operability of the Moderate Temperature Slag Flow Facility; slag-seed equilibria and separations related to the MHD system; thermionic emission of coal and electrode materials; MHD instrumentation, consolidated inversion simulator, and data acquisition; combined MHD-steam plant cycle analysis and control; and slag physical properties - electrical and thermal conductivity. (WHK)

A stress analysis of the 3/8-inch and 1/4-inch pins which hold the rake assembly to the flange was performed and shows stresses to be lower than the Class 1 allowables of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. The alternating pin stresses were found to be below the endurance limit and fatigue failure will not occur. The rake assembly was assumed to be loaded by steady drag and lift forces and alternating vortex shedding forces.

The report presents a compilation of available data on the sensitivity of plants to ionizing radiation, and provides basic information on methods of determining such sensitivities, or of estimating radiosensitivities by calcuation of the nuclear factors upon which they depend. The scope of the data presented here is necessarily limited to the most generally useful radiobiological end points and to the most commonly-used types of radiation. Many of the factors which influence radiosensitivity, particularly nuclear factors, will be discussed. Emphasis will be upon whole-plant studies done at Brookhaven National Laboratory by A.H. Sparrow and his associates, since these studies are the source of most of the available radiosensitivity data and of all the sensitivity predictions listed here. Data presented here include summaries of experimentally-determined radiosensitivities at various end points for both herbaceous and woody higher plants, and for a few species of ferns and lower plants. The algae and fungi have not been considered here due to space limitations.

A fundamental study of the hydropyrolysis of small coal particles at high pressures and short residence times of both solid and gas is underway to elucidate the chemical and physical rate processes governing the yield and product distributions. Our experimental system has been designed to rapidly heat and quench small samples of coal in batch. Heating rates to 10/sup 4/ degree C/s and temperatures to 1000/sup 0/C are feasible, and quench times of the order of 50 ms have been achieved. Throughout the temperature program all volatile products are swept continuously from the coal particles by a stream of flowing gases and coled abruptly at a fixed point downstream of the reactor. The flowing stream will range from pure helium to pure hydrogen at pressures up to 100 atm and temperatures to 1000/sup 0/C. After cooling, products are swept through a set of traps which will fractionate them for subsequent elemental and chromatographic analyses. In addition the small particles can be observed during reaction through a viewing port equipped with a microscope and high-speed movie camera or video recorder. Our objectives are (1) to control the environmental conditions as closely as possible to isolate competing rate processes and (2) to …

Synchrotron light emission and the classical relativistic electromagnetic theory describing it are reviewed. The electron optics of storage rings are considered in some detail, beginning with the ideal electron orbit and the distribution which electrons take around it. This is folded with the process of synchrotron light emission itself to define the effective photon source. The predictions of classical relativistic theory are compared with experiment, and one finds agreement within the experimental uncertainties. Further refinements, such as wiggler magnets and free electron lasers are also considered. (GHT)

The process sequence for the fabrication of dendritic web silicon into solar panels has been modified to include aluminum back surface field formation. Sputtering is the preferred method for depositing the aluminum. Plasma etching has been shown to be a feasible technique for pre-diffusion cleaning of the web. This would replace wet chemical cleaning. Several contacting systems have been studied. The total plated Pd-Ni system (Motorola Process) is not compatible with our process sequence; however, the evaporated TiPd-electroplated Cu system has been shown stable under life testing. Ultrasonic bonding parameters have been determined for various interconnect and contact metals but the yield of the process is not sufficiently high to use for module fabrication at this time. Over 400 solar cells, about 11 cm/sup 2/ in area have been fabricated according to the modified sequence. No sub-process incompatibility was seen. These cells have been used to fabricate four demonstration modules. A cost analysis (SAMICS) of the modified process sequence resulted in a selling price of $0.75/peak watt (1980$ in 1986).