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DETOX is a catalyzed wet oxidation process that destroys organic materials in an acidic water solution of iron at 373 to 473 K. The solution can be used repeatedly to destroy great amounts of organic materials. Since the process is conducted in a contained vessel, air emissions from the process can be well controlled. The solution is also capable of dissolving and concentrating many heavy and radioactive metals for eventual stabilization and disposal. The Phase III effort for this project is fabrication, assembly, and installation of the DETOX demonstration unit, preparation of documentation and training to meet site requirements for operation, followed by system run-in and shakedown testing of the unit prior to demonstration testing. The Title III design was completed and the unit was fabricated according to standards set forth by OSHA, EPA, the American Petroleum Institute (i.e., chemical and petroleum industry standards), and the ASME B-313 Piping Code requirements as agreed to in preliminary design meetings with primary stakeholders. The unit was assembled in three modules and two trailers and then shipped to the TNX facility at the Savannah River Site in September and october of 1996. On-going site integration tasks were address while delays in installation arose …

The calculations presented in this report are performed to obtain seepage rates into drift and boreholes for two alternative designs of drift and waste emplacement at Yucca Mountain. The two designs are defined according to the Scope of Work 14012021M1, activity 399621, drafted October 6, 1998, and further refined in a conference telephone call on October 13, 1998, between Mark Balady, Jim Blink, Rob Howard and Chin-Fu Tsang. The 2 designs considered are: (1) Design A--Horizontal boreholes 1.0 m in diameter on both sides of the drift, with each borehole 8 m long and inclined to the drift axis by 30 degrees. The pillar between boreholes, measured parallel to the drift axis, is 3.3 m. In the current calculations, a simplified model of an isolated horizontal borehole 8 m long will be simulated. The horizontal borehole will be located in a heterogeneous fracture continuum representing the repository layer. Three different realizations will be taken from the heterogeneous field, representing three different locations in the rock. Seepage for each realization is calculated as a function of the percolation flux. Design B--Vertical boreholes, 1.0 m in diameter and 8.0 m deep, drilled from the bottom of an excavated 8.0 m diameter drift. …

The purpose of this scoping calculation is to support preliminary design of the Waste Package (WP) transporter radiation shield configuration. Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) is highly radioactive and site personnel must be protected during the period that the WPs are emplaced. Personnel protection is accomplished via a heavily shielded WP transporter that moves the waste from the surface to the emplacement drift. All previous WP transporter shielding calculations have assumed a Design Basis Fuel (DBF) in which the fuel burnup is uniform (e.g. Ref. 7.3, Ref. 7.4, and Ref. 7.12). In reality, SNF burnup varies significantly from one end of the fuel assembly to the other. Since source strengths are dependent upon fuel burnup, a model which varies the fuel burnup along the assembly axis will produce a more accurate depiction of the radiation field surrounding the WP transporter. The objective of this calculation is to determine the need for using the actual axial profile, as opposed to the uniform burnup assumption, in the WP transporter shield design. The scope of the calculation is as follows: (1) Determine the impact of axial source term variation on WP transporter contact dose rates. (2) Determine appropriate shielding modifications to account for expected …

The Delaware Basin Drilling Surveillance Program (DBDSP) is designed to monitor drilling activities in the vicinity of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). This program is based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements. The EPA environmental standards for the management and disposal of transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste are codified in 40 CFR Part 191 (EPA 1993). Subparts B and C of the standard address the disposal of radioactive waste. The standard requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate the expected performance of the disposal system using a probabilistic risk assessment or performance assessment (PA). This PA must show that the expected repository performance will not release radioactive material above limits set by the EPA's standard. This assessment must include the consideration of inadvertent drilling into the repository at some future time.

Bulk structures of unstabilized ZrO{sub 2-x}, with x in the range of 0 {<=} x {<=} 0.44, at ambient pressure have been found to exist in three different structures. (monoclinic, tetragonal and cubic.). At ambient temperature and elevated pressures above 3.5 GPa, unstabilized zirconia at these same compositions is found as a fourth phase, the orthorhombic phase. Work done in this project has demonstrated that nanoscale zirconia particles containing the orthorhombic phase in addition to amorphous material can be produced through solgel methods. Extensive characterization of this material including recent high temperature x-ray diffraction work has indicated that the structure of the synthesized zirconia appears to be linked to the oxygen vacancy population in the material, and that water appears to be a critical factor in determining the type of material formed during synthesis. These results suggest that surface energy alone is not the controlling factor in determining crystal phase.

The fiber tracker consists of 8 concentric carbon fiber cylinders of varying diameters, from 399mm to 1032.2mm and two different lengths. 1.66 and 2.52 meters. Each completed cylinder is covered over the entire o.d. with scintillating fiber ribbons with a connector on each ribbon. These ribbons are axial (parallel to the beam line) at one end and stereo (at 3 deg. to the beam line) at the other. The ribbon connectors have dowel pins which are used to match with the connectors on the wave guide ribbons. These dowel pins are also used during the nesting operation, locating and positioning measurements. The nesting operation is the insertion of one cylinder into another, aligning them with one another and fastening them together into a homogeneous assembly. For ease of assembly. the nesting operation is accomplished working from largest diameter to smallest. Although the completed assembly of all 8 cylinders glued and bolted together is very stiff. individual cylinders are relatively flexible. Therefore. during this operation, No.8 must be supported in a manner which maintains its integrity and yet allows the insertion of No.7. This is accomplished by essentially building a set of dummy end plates which replicate a No.9 cylinder. These …

This report addresses the disposition strategy relating to special-case waste (SCW) managed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) on the Hanford Site. All of PNNL’s SCW currently resides in the 325 Facility of Hanford’s 300 Area. This facility is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL), by PNNL. Due to the high activity levels of the waste and difficulties in characterizing, classifying, and packaging it to meet the Hanford Site Solid Waste Acceptance Criteria (DOE 1998a), the materials were listed as SCW under the Hanford Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Ecology et.al.). The Hanford Facility Agreement and Consent Order is also known as the Tri-Party Agreement.

Using electroless deposition of palladium thin-films on a microporous ceramic substrate, we developed a hydrogen-selective palladium-ceramic composite membrane. The new membrane has significantly higher permeability and selectivity for hydrogen than many of the commercially available dense-metallic membrane. The hydrogen permeability of the new membrane increases with increasing temperature. These properties make it an ideal candidate for use in membrane reactors to study dehydrogenation reactions by equilibrium shift. To investigate the usefulness of the new membrane in membrane reactor-separator configuration, a model for studying dehydrogenation of cyclohexane by equilibrium in a membrane reactor is developed. Radial diffusion is considered to account for the concentration gradient in the radial direction due to permeation through the membrane. The model is investigated with and without the reaction. In the non-reaction case, a mixture of argon, benzene, cyclohexane, and hydrogen is used in the reaction side and argon is used in the separation side. In the case of dehydrogenation reaction, the feed stream to the reaction side contained hydrogen and argon while in the separation side argon is used as sweep gas. Equilibrium conversion for dehydrogenation of cyclohexane is 18.7%. Present study shows that 100% conversion can be achieved by equilibrium shift using Pd-Ceramic membrane …

This project is designed to develop a family of novel NO{sub x} control technologies, called Second Generation Advanced Reburning which has the potential to achieve 90+ NO{sub x} control in coal fired boilers at a significantly lower cost than Selective Catalytic Reduction. The seventh reporting period in Phase II (April 1-June 30, 1999) included experimental activities and combined chemistry-mixing modeling on advanced gas reburning. The goal of combustion tests was to determine the efficiency of advanced reburning using coal as the reburning fuel. Tests were conducted in Boiler Simulator Facility (BSF). Several coals were tested. The modeling effort was focused on the description of N-agent injection along with overfire air. Modeling identified process parameters that can be used to optimize the AR-Lean process.

This report describes the assessment of the physical and chemical properties of the jet fuel (180-300 C) distillation fraction of nine direct coal liquefaction products and compares those properties to the corresponding specifications for aviation turbine fuels. These crude coal liquids were compared with finished fuel specifications specifically to learn what the refining requirements for these crudes will be to make them into finished fuels. The properties of the jet fuel fractions were shown in this work to require extensive hydrotreating to meet Jet A-1 specifications. However, these materials have a number of desirable qualities as feedstocks for the production of high energy-density jet fuels.

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The U.S. Department of Energy's Remote Sensing Laboratory developed the geometric correction system (GCS) as a state-of-the-art solution for removing distortions from multispectral line scanner data caused by aircraft motion. The system operates on Daedalus AADS-1268 scanner data acquired from fixed-wing and helicopter platforms. The aircraft attitude, altitude, acceleration, and location are recorded and applied to the data, thereby determining the location of the earth with respect to a given datum and projection. The GCS has yielded a positional accuracy of 0.5 meters when used with a 1-meter digital elevation model. Data at this level of accuracy are invaluable in making precise areal estimates and as input into a geographic information system. The combination of high-spatial resolution and accurate geo-rectification makes the GCS a unique tool in identifying and locating environmental conditions, finding targets of interest, and detecting changes as they occur over time.

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The field of microfluidics is undergoing rapid growth in terms of new device and system development. Among the many methods of fabricating microfluidic devices and systems, surface micromachining is relatively underrepresented due to difficulties in the introduction of fluids into the very small channels produced, packaging problems, and difficulties in device and system characterization. The potential advantages of using surface micromachining including compatibility with the existing integrated circuit tool set, integration of electronic sensing and actuation with microfluidics, and fluid volume minimization. In order to explore these potential advantages we have developed first generation surface micromachined microfluidic devices (channels) using an adapted pressure sensor fabrication process to produce silicon nitride channels, and the SUMMiT process to produce polysilicon channels. The channels were characterized by leak testing and flow rate vs. pressure measurements. The fabrication processes used and results of these tests are reported in this paper.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was awarded ten Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) research grants in fiscal year 1996, six in fiscal year 1997, and eight in fiscal year 1998. This section summarizes how each grant addresses significant U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) cleanup issues, including those at the Hanford Site. The technical progress made to date in each of these research projects is addressed in more detail in the individual progress reports contained in this document. This research is focused primarily in five areas: Tank Waste Remediation, Decontamination and Decommissioning, Spent Nuclear Fuel and Nuclear Materials, Soil and Groundwater Clean Up, and Health Effects.

The program objective was the development of equipment and processes to produce compressed natural gas (CNG) from liquified natural gas (LNG) for heavy duty vehicular applications. The interest for this technology is a result of the increased use of alternative fuels for the reduction of emissions and dependency of foreign energy. Technology of the type developed under this program is critical for establishing natural gas as an economical alternative fuel.

The diffusive behavior of penetrants in simple polymer melts was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. For the case where the polymer melt consisted of pearl-necklace chains, the diffusive behavior of the loose pearl penetrants was seen to be qualitatively different than would be expected in realistic models of polymer melts. In particular, there was little or no ''non-Fickiano'' region; the variation of the diffusion coefficient with the penetrant diameter was what one would expect for diffusion through small molecular liquids; and, finally, the long time tail of the velocity auto correlation displayed a ''-3/2'' power law form, also as in the small molecular liquid case. When the chains' backbone motion was further constrained by the introduction of a bond angle potential, the qualitative nature of the penetrant diffusion became more ''polymer-like''. A non-Fickian region developed; the diffusion coefficient varied more rapidly with penetrant diameter; and the velocity autocorrelation function developed a ''-5/2'' power law tail as would be expected for the diffusion of particles with a wide distribution of trapping times.

The purpose of this analysis is to document the Quality Assurance (QA) classification of the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) waste handling building system structures, systems and components (SSCs) performed by the MGR Safety Assurance Department. This analysis also provides the basis for revision of YMP/90-55Q, Q-List (YMP 1998). The Q-List identifies those MGR SSCs subject to the requirements of DOE/RW-0333PY ''Quality Assurance Requirements and Description'' (QARD) (DOE 1998).

Simultaneous removal of SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} using a regenerable solid sorbent will constitute an important improvement over the use of separate processes for the removal of these two pollutants from stack gases and possibly eliminate several shortcomings of the individual SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} removal operations. The work done at PETC and the DOE-funded research of the investigators on the sulfation and regeneration of alumina-supported cerium oxide sorbents have shown that they can perform well at relatively high temperatures (823-900 K) as regenerable desulfurization sorbents. Survey of the recent literature shows that addition of copper oxide to ceria lowers the sulfation temperature of ceria down to 773 K, sulfated ceria-based sorbents can function as selective SCR catalysts even at elevated temperatures, SO{sub 2} can be directly reduced to sulfur by CO on CuO-ceria catalysts, and ceria-based catalysts may have a potential for selective catalytic reduction of NO{sub x} by methane. These observations indicate a possibility of developing a ceria-based sorbent/catalyst which can remove both SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} from flue gases within a relatively wide temperature window, produce significant amounts of elemental sulfur during regeneration, and use methane for the selective catalytic reduction of NO{sub x}. …

The purpose of this project is to develop sensor technology for detecting specific heavy metal ions, such as transition metals, lead, lanthanides, and actinides in waste streams. The sensing strategy uses molecular recognition of the metal ions by polymers that change their luminescence and conductivity properties upon metal binding. Research problems that are being addressed by this project include: (1) designing molecular recognition sites that are highly selective for the metal ions of interest in the presence of a large background of other chemical species, (2) finding ways to incorporate many different selective groups into a single polymer, (3) fabricating polymer films, strips, sheets, and coatings that can be applied to other materials, such as fiber optics and surfaces, (4) developing interfaces between the polymers and substrates that can be used to produce prototype arrays of many sensor elements for rapid multi-contaminant detection and quantitation, and (5) developing multiplexed data collection techniques to rapidly process the data obtained from many polymer sensors into a chemical profile of a waste stream or waste site in real time.

The purpose of this analysis is to document the Quality Assurance (QA) classification of the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) waste handling building fire protection system structures, systems and components (SSCs) performed by the MGR Safety Assurance Department. This analysis also provides the basis for revision of YMP/90-55Q, Q-List (YMP 1998). The Q-List identifies those MGR SSCs subject to the requirements of DOE/RW-0333PY ''Quality Assurance Requirements and Description'' (QARD) (DOE 1998).