This program was organized to focus on materials development issues critical to the acceleration of solid-state lighting, and was split into three major thrust areas: (1) study of dislocation density reduction for GaN grown on sapphire using 'cantilever epitaxy', and the impact of dislocation density on the performance of state-of-the-art high-power LEDs; (2) the evaluation of in situ techniques for monitoring gas phase chemistry and the properties of GaN-based layers during metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOCVD), and (3) feasibility for using semiconductor nanoparticles ('quantum dots') for the down-conversion of blue or ultraviolet light to generate white light. The program included a partnership between Lumileds Lighting (epitaxy and device fabrication for high power LEDs) and Sandia National Laboratories (cantilever epitaxy, gas phase chemistry, and quantum dot synthesis). Key findings included: (1) cantilever epitaxy can provide dislocation density reduction comparable to that of more complicated approaches, but all in one epitaxial growth step; however, further improvements are required to realize significant gains in LED performance at high drive currents, (2) in situ tools can provide detailed knowledge about gas phase chemistry, and can be used to monitor and control epitaxial layer composition and temperature to provide improved yields (e.g., a fivefold increase …

The viability of utilizing Reclaimed Limestone Residual (RLR) to remediate Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) was investigated. Physical and chemical characterization of RLR showed that it is composed of various minerals that contain significant quantities of limestone or calcium bearing compounds that can be exploited for acid neutralization. Acid Neutralization Potential (ANP) test results showed that RLR has a neutralization potential of approximately 83% as calcium carbonate (CaCO{sub 3}). Neutralization tests with most of the heavy metals associated with AMD showed removal efficiencies of over 99%. An unexpected benefit of utilizing RLR was the removal of hexavalent chromium Cr (VI) from the aqueous phase. Due to an elevation in pH by RLR most AMD heavy metals are removed from solution by precipitation as their metal hydroxides. Cr (VI) however is not removed by pH elevation and therefore subsequent ongoing tests to elucidate the mechanism responsible for this reaction were conducted.

This guide, sponsored by DOE's Federal Energy Management Program, highlights operations and maintenance (O&M) programs targeting energy efficiency that are estimated to save 5% to 20% on energy bills without a significant capital investment. The purpose of this guide is to provide the federal O&M energy manager and practitioner with useful information about O&M management, technologies, energy efficiency and cost-reduction approaches.

In October, 2000, the U.S. Department of Energy, through contractor Advanced Resources International, launched a multi-year government-industry R&D collaboration called the Coal-Seq project. The Coal-Seq project is investigating the feasibility of CO{sub 2} sequestration in deep, unmineable coalseams, by performing detailed reservoir studies of two enhanced coalbed methane recovery (ECBM) field projects in the San Juan basin. The two sites are the Allison Unit, operated by Burlington Resources, and into which CO{sub 2} is being injected, and the Tiffany Unit, operating by BP America, into which N{sub 2} is being injected (the interest in understanding the N{sub 2}-ECBM process has important implications for CO{sub 2} sequestration via flue-gas injection). The purposes of the field studies are to understand the reservoir mechanisms of CO{sub 2} and N{sub 2} injection into coalseams, demonstrate the practical effectiveness of the ECBM and sequestration processes, demonstrate an engineering capability to model them, and to evaluate sequestration economics. In support of these efforts, laboratory and theoretical studies are also being performed to understand and model multi-component isotherm behavior, and coal permeability changes due to swelling with CO{sub 2} injection. This report describes the results of an important component of the overall project, the Tiffany Unit reservoir …

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The increasing importance of Prompt Gamma-ray ActivationAnalysis (PGAA) in a broad range of applications is evident, and has beenemphasized at many meetings related to this topic (e.g., TechnicalConsultants' Meeting, Use of neutron beams for low- andmedium-fluxresearch reactors: radiography and materialscharacterizations, IAEA Vienna, 4-7 May 1993, IAEA-TECDOC-837, 1993).Furthermore, an Advisory Group Meeting (AGM) for the Coordination of theNuclear Structure and Decay Data Evaluators Network has stated that thereis a need for a complete and consistent library of cold- and thermalneutron capture gammaray and cross-section data (AGM held at Budapest,14-18 October 1996, INDC(NDS)-363); this AGM also recommended theorganization of an IAEA CRP on the subject. The International NuclearData Committee (INDC) is the primary advisory body to the IAEA NuclearData Section on their nuclear data programmes. At a biennial meeting in1997, the INDC strongly recommended that the Nuclear Data Section supportnew measurements andupdate the database on Neutron-induced PromptGamma-ray Activation Analysis (21st INDC meeting, INDC/P(97)-20). As aconsequence of the various recommendations, a CRP on "Development of aDatabase for Prompt Gamma-ray Neutron Activation Analysis (PGAA)" wasinitiated in 1999. Prior to this project, several consultants had definedthe scope, objectives and tasks, as approved subsequently by the IAEA.Each CRP participant assumed responsibility for the execution of specifictasks. …

The announcement of a hydrogen fuel initiative in the President’s 2003 State of the Union speech substantially increased interest in the potential for hydrogen to play a major role in the nation’s long-term energy future. Prior to that event, DOE asked the National Research Council to examine key technical issues about the hydrogen economy to assist in the development of its hydrogen R&D program. Included in the assessment were the current state of technology; future cost estimates; CO2 emissions; distribution, storage, and end use considerations; and the DOE RD&D program. The report provides an assessment of hydrogen as a fuel in the nation’s future energy economy and describes a number of important challenges that must be overcome if it is to make a major energy contribution. Topics covered include the hydrogen end-use technologies, transportation, hydrogen production technologies, and transition issues for hydrogen in vehicles.

This program aimed to develop a fundamental understanding of the microstructural, mechanical, and chemical properties of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}-based coatings for Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} (AS800) substrates and optimize such coatings for environmental barriers. The program consisted of three tasks: processing of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} coatings, phase and microstructural development, and life-limiting phenomena. Northwestern University formed a cross-functional team with Lehigh University, Honeywell Inc., and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The major accomplishments are: (1) Conditions for the plasma spray of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} and its alloys were optimized to provide maximum density and thickness. (2) Adherent small particle plasma spray coatings of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} can be routinely prepared. (3) Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} can be stabilized against its disruptive phase transformation to 1400 C by the addition of one or more oxides of Al, La, and/or Nb. (4) Residual stresses in the Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} coatings were measured using X-rays and changed with thermal exposure. (5) Properly doped coatings are more resistant against thermal cycling than undoped coatings, and can be cycled many thousand times without spallation. (6) Water vapor testing in the ORNL Keiser Rig of adherent coatings showed that undoped Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} is not an effective barrier at …

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Existing GTL Projects already have produced volumes of dataand, over the course of the next five years, will produce an estimatedhundreds, or possibly thousands, of terabytes of data from hundreds ofexperiments conducted at dozens of laboratories in National Labs anduniversities across the nation. These data will be the basis forpublications by individual researchers, research groups, andmulti-institutional collaborations, and the basis for future DOEdecisions on funding further research in bioremediation. The short-termand long-term value of the data to project participants, to the DOE, andto the nation depends, however, on being able to access the data and onhow, or whether, the data are archived. The ability to access data is thestarting point for data analysis and interpretation, data integration,data mining, and development of data-driven models. Limited orinefficient data access means that less data are analyzed in acost-effective and timely manner. Data production in the GTL Program willlikely outstrip, or may have already outstripped, the ability to analyzethe data. Being able to access data depends on two key factors: datastandards and implementation of the data standards. For the purpose ofthis proposal, a data standard is defined as a standard, documented wayin which data and information about the data are describe. The attributesof the …

Description. Individual raw data streams from instrumentation at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Climate Research Facility (ACRF) fixed and mobile sites are collected and sent to the Data Management Facility (DMF) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for processing in near real time. Raw and processed data are then sent daily to the ACRF Archive, where they are made available to users. For each instrument, we calculate the ratio of the actual number of data records received daily at the Archive to the expected number of data records. The results are tabulated by (1) individual data stream, site, and month for the current year and (2) site and fiscal year dating back to 1998. The United States Department of Energy requires national user facilities to report time-based operating data. The requirements concern the actual hours of operation (ACTUAL); the estimated maximum operation or uptime goal (OPSMAX), which accounts for planned downtime; and the VARIANCE [1 – (ACTUAL/OPSMAX)], which accounts for unplanned downtime. The annual OPSMAX time for the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site is 8,322 hours per year (0.95 × 8,760, the number hours in a year, not including leap year). The annual OPSMAX for the North Slope Alaska (NSA) …

In the Spring of 2003, a series of dispersion field experiments (Joint Urban 2003) were conducted at Oklahoma City. These experiments were complimentary to the URBAN 2000 field studies at Salt Lake City (Allwine, et. al, 2002) in that they will provide a second set of comprehensive field data for evaluation of CFD as well as for other dispersion models. In contrast to the URBAN 2000 experiments that were conducted entirely at night, these new field studies took place during both daytime and nighttime thus including the possibility of convective as well as stable atmospheric conditions. Initially several CFD modeling studies were performed to provide guidance for the experimental team in the selection of release sites and in the deployment of wind and concentration sensors. Also, while meteorological and concentration measurements were taken over the greater Oklahoma City urban area, our CFD calculations were focused on the near field of the release point. The proximity of the source to a large commercial building and to the neighboring buildings several of which have multi-stories, present a significant challenge even for CFD calculations involving grid resolutions as fine as 1 meter. A total of 10 Intensive Observations Periods (IOP's) were conducted within …

With increased temperatures in our original pot study we observed a decline in lichen/moss crust cover and with that a decline in carbon and nitrogen fixation, and thus a probable decline of C and N input into crusts and soils. Soil bacteria and fauna were affected negatively by increased temperature in both light and dark crusts, and with movement from cool to hot and hot to hotter desert climates. Crust microbial biomass and relative abundance of diazotrophs was reduced greatly after one year, even in pots that were not moved from their original location, although no change in diazotroph community structure was observed. Populations of soil fauna moved from cool to hot deserts were affected more negatively than those moved from hot to hotter deserts.

Four open pits were dug with a backhoe into the vadose zone beneath the former 300 Area Process Ponds in April 2003. Samples were collected about every 2 feet for physical, chemical, and/or microbiological characterization. This reports presents a stratigraphic and geohydrologic summary of the four excavations.

The Bekenstein bound takes the holographic principle into the realm of flat space, promising new insights on the relation of non-gravitational physics to quantum gravity. This makes it important to obtain a precise formulation of the bound. Conventionally, one specifies two macroscopic quantities, mass and spatial width, which cannot be simultaneously diagonalized. Thus, the counting of compatible states is not sharply defined. The resolution of this and other formal difficulties leads naturally to a definition in terms of discretized light-cone quantization. In this form, the area difference specified in the covariant bound converts to a single quantum number, the harmonic resolution K. The Bekenstein bound then states that the Fock space sector with K units of longitudinal momentum contains no more than exp(2 pi^2 K) independent discrete states. This conjecture can be tested unambiguously for a given Lagrangian, and it appears to hold true for realistic field theories, including models arising from string compactifications. For large K, it makes contact with more conventional but less well-defined formulations.

Executive Summary - While numerous techniques exist for remediation of contaminant plumes in groundwater or near the soil surface, remediation methods in the deep vadose zone are less established due to complex transport dynamics and sparse microbial populations. There is a lack of knowledge on how physical and hydrologic features of the vadose zone control microbial growth and colonization in response to nutrient delivery during bioremediation. Yet pollution in the vadose zone poses a serious threat to the groundwater resources lying deeper in the sediment. While the contaminants may be slowly degraded by native microbial communities, microbial degradation rates rarely keep pace with the spread of the pollutant. It is crucial to increase indigenous microbial degradation in the vadose zone to combat groundwater contamination...

Research is being conducted under United States Department of Energy (DOE) Contract DEFC26-03NT41865 to develop a new technology to achieve very low levels of NOx emissions from pulverized coal fired boiler systems by employing a novel system level integration between the PC combustion process and the catalytic NOx reduction with CO present in the combustion flue gas. The combustor design and operating conditions will be optimized to achieve atypical flue gas conditions. This approach will not only suppress NOx generation during combustion but also further reduce NOx over a downstream catalytic reactor that does not require addition of an external reductant, such as ammonia. This report describes the work performed during the October 1 to December 30, 2004 time period.

There are many carbonate reservoirs in US (and the world) with light oil and fracture pressure below its minimum miscibility pressure (or reservoir may be naturally fractured). Many carbonate reservoirs are naturally fractured. Waterflooding is effective in fractured reservoirs, if the formation is water-wet. Many fractured carbonate reservoirs, however, are mixed-wet and recoveries with conventional methods are low (less than 10%). Thermal and miscible tertiary recovery techniques are not effective in these reservoirs. Surfactant flooding (or huff-n-puff) is the only hope, yet it was developed for sandstone reservoirs in the past. The goal of this research is to evaluate dilute (hence relatively inexpensive) surfactant methods for carbonate formations and identify conditions under which they can be effective. Anionic surfactants (Alfoterra 35, 38) recover more than 40% of the oil in about 50 days by imbibition driven by wettability alteration in the core-scale. Anionic surfactant, Alfoterra-68, recovers about 28% of the oil by lower tension aided gravity-driven imbibition in the core-scale. Residual oil saturation showed little capillary number dependence between 10{sup -5} and 10{sup -2}. Wettability alteration increases as the number of ethoxy groups increases in ethoxy sulfate surfactants. Plans for the next quarter include conducting mobilization, and imbibition studies.

Boiler combustion dynamics change continuously due to several factors including coal quality, boiler loading, ambient conditions, changes in slag/soot deposits and the condition of plant equipment. NOx formation, Particulate Matter (PM) emissions, and boiler thermal performance are directly affected by the sootblowing practices on a unit. As part of its Power Plant Improvement Initiative program, the US DOE is providing co-funding (DE-FC26-02NT41425) and NETL is the managing agency for this project at Tampa Electric's Big Bend Station. This program serves to co-fund projects that have the potential to increase thermal efficiency and reduce emissions from coal-fired utility boilers. A review of the Big Bend units helped identify intelligent sootblowing as a suitable application to achieve the desired objectives. The existing sootblower control philosophy uses sequential schemes, whose frequency is either dictated by the control room operator or is timed based. The intent of this project is to implement a neural network based intelligent sootblowing system, in conjunction with state-of-the-art controls and instrumentation, to optimize the operation of a utility boiler and systematically control boiler fouling. Utilizing unique, on-line, adaptive technology, operation of the sootblowers can be dynamically controlled based on real-time events and conditions within the boiler. This could be …

This report was prepared to fulfill the Phase I deliverable for HLW/DWPF/TTR-98-0018, Rev. 2, ''Hydrogen Generation in the DWPF Chemical Processing Cell'', 6/4/2001. The primary objective for the preliminary phase of the hydrogen generation study was to complete a review of past data on hydrogen generation and to prepare a summary of the findings. The understanding was that the focus should be on catalytic hydrogen generation, not on hydrogen generation by radiolysis. The secondary objective was to develop scope for follow-up experimental and analytical work. The majority of this report provides a summary of past hydrogen generation work with radioactive and simulated Savannah River Site (SRS) waste sludges. The report also includes some work done with Hanford waste sludges and simulants. The review extends to idealized systems containing no sludge, such as solutions of sodium formate and formic acid doped with a noble metal catalyst. This includes general information from the literature, as well as the focused study done by the University of Georgia for the SRS. The various studies had a number of points of universal agreement. For example, noble metals, such as Pd, Rh, and Ru, catalyze hydrogen generation from formic acid and formate ions, and more acid …

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Geothermal slim well driling

Controlling hydrogen generation below the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) safety basis constrains the range of allowable acid additions in the DWPF Chemical Processing Cell. This range is evaluated in simulant tests at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). A minimum range of allowable acid additions is needed to provide operational flexibility and to handle typical uncertainties in process and analytical measurements used to set acid additions during processing. The range of allowable acid additions is a function of the composition of the feed to DWPF. Feed changes that lead to a smaller range of allowable acid additions have the potential to impact decisions related to wash endpoint control of DWPF feed composition and to the introduction of secondary waste streams into DWPF. A limited program was initiated in SRNL in 2001 to study the issue of hydrogen generation. The program was reinitiated at the end of fiscal year 2004. The primary motivation for the study is that a real potential exists to reduce the conservatism in the range of allowable acid additions in DWPF. Increasing the allowable range of acid additions can allow decisions on the sludge wash endpoint or the introduction of secondary waste streams to DWPF to …

The Department of Energy (DOE) is sponsoring an initiative to facilitate efficient, effective and responsible use of Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) and Enhanced Attenuation (EA) for chlorinated solvents. This Office of Environmental Management (EM) ''Alternative Project,'' focuses on providing scientific and policy support for MNA/EA. A broadly representative working group of scientists supports the project along with partnerships with regulatory organizations such as the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The initial product of the technical working group was a summary report that articulated the conceptual approach and central scientific tenants of the project, and that identified a prioritized listing of technical targets for field research. This report documented the process in which: (1) scientific ground rules were developed, (2) lines of inquiry were identified and then critically evaluated, (3) promising applied research topics were highlighted in the various lines of inquiry, and (4) these were discussed and prioritized. The summary report will serve as a resource to guide management and decision making throughout the period of the subject MNA/EA Alternative Project. To support and more fully document the information presented in the summary report, the DOE is publishing a series of supplemental …