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This project sought and successfully answered two big challenges facing the creation of low-energy, cost-effective, zeotropic multi-component distillation processes: first, identification of an efficient search space that includes all the useful distillation configurations and no undesired configurations; second, development of an algorithm to search the space efficiently and generate an array of low-energy options for industrial multi-component mixtures. Such mixtures are found in large-scale chemical and petroleum plants. Commercialization of our results was addressed by building a user interface allowing practical application of our methods for industrial problems by anyone with basic knowledge of distillation for a given problem. We also provided our algorithm to a major U.S. Chemical Company for use by the practitioners. The successful execution of this program has provided methods and algorithms at the disposal of process engineers to readily generate low-energy solutions for a large class of multicomponent distillation problems in a typical chemical and petrochemical plant. In a petrochemical complex, the distillation trains within crude oil processing, hydrotreating units containing alkylation, isomerization, reformer, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and NGL (natural gas liquids) processing units can benefit from our results. Effluents from naphtha crackers and ethane-propane crackers typically contain mixtures of methane, ethylene, ethane, propylene, …

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As the share of hybrid, plug-in hybrid (PHEV), electric (EV) and fuel-cell (FCV) vehicles grows in the national automotive fleet, an entirely new set of diagnostic and technical skills needs to be obtained by the maintenance workforce. Electrically-powered vehicles require new diagnostic tools, technique and vocabulary when compared to existing internal combustion engine-powered models. While the manufacturers of these new vehicles train their own maintenance personnel, training for students, independent working technicians and fleet operators is less focused and organized. This DOE-funded effort provided training to these three target groups to help expand availability of skills and to provide more competition (and lower consumer cost) in the maintenance of these hybrid- and electric-powered vehicles. Our approach was to start locally in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the densest markets in the United States for these types of automobiles. We then expanded training to the Los Angeles area and then out-of-state to identify what types of curriculum was appropriate and what types of problems were encountered as training was disseminated. The fact that this effort trained up to 800 individuals with sessions varying from 2- day workshops to full-semester courses is considered a successful outcome. Diverse programs were developed …

This report looks at how the debate over family planning within the U.S. is spilling over to U.S.-funded family planning programs abroad.

This report provides wildfire management statistics (e.g., number of wildfires, acres burned, select state wildfire activity, firefighter personnel), presents wildfire management (WFM) appropriations from fiscal years 2008 to the present, and discusses two related issues--wildfire suppression funding estimation and air tanker readiness.

DOE has enabled the use of coating materials using low cost application methods on light sources to positively affect the output of those sources. The coatings and light source combinations have shown increased lumen output of LED fixtures (1.5%-2.0%), LED arrays (1.4%) and LED powered remote phosphor systems – Philips L-Prize lamp (0.9%). We have also demonstrated lifetime enhancements (3000 hrs vs 8000 hrs) and shifting to higher CRI (51 to 65) in metal halide high intensity discharge lamps with metal oxide coatings. The coatings on LEDs and LED products are significant as the market is moving increasingly more towards LED technology. Enhancements in LED performance are demonstrated in this work through the use of available materials and low cost application processes. EFOI used low refractive index fluoropolymers and low cost dipping processes for application of the material to surfaces related to light transmission of LEDs and LED products. Materials included Teflon AF, an amorphous fluorinated polymer and fluorinated acrylic monomers. The DOE SSL Roadmap sets goals for LED performance moving into the future. EFOI’s coating technology is a means to shift the performance curve for LEDs. This is not limited to one type of LED, but is relevant across …

This report talks about the ALCF I/O Data Repository.

This report discusses the relationship between United States and Malawi, a former British colony, is a small, poor southeastern African country that underwent a democratic transition from one-party rule in the early 1990s and has long relied on donor aid.

This report discusses the 2002 rule (the Clean Water Act), focusing on how it changes which material and types of activities are regulated under Section 404 and the significance of these issues, especially for the mining industry.

Progress is reported in these areas: Validation of temperature and precipitation extremes; Time of emergence of severe heat stress in the United States; Quantifying the effects of temperature extremes on energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions.

This report discusses the case of Bond v. United States, and implications in regards to the Necessary and Proper Clause. Carol Anne Bond, upon discovering that her husband had impregnated another woman, repeatedly dusted the woman's mail box, front door knob, and car door handles with a toxic chemical. Mrs. Bond was indicted in federal court and pled guilty to possessing a chemical weapon, but reserved the right to appeal. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected her constitutional challenge. A concurring member of the panel, however, urged the Supreme Court to clarify the nearly century-old pronouncement in Missouri v. Holland.

This report discusses the federal law that requires a sentencing judge to impose a minimum sentence of imprisonment following conviction for any of a number of federal offenses.

This report discusses the federal mandatory minimum sentencing, that is imposed in addition to the sentence imposed for the underlying crime of violence or drug trafficking, vary depending upon the circumstances:

Report that discusses the federal minimum wage which is not indexed to the price level.

This report examines the TANF cash assistance caseload, focusing on how the composition and characteristics of families receiving assistance have changed over time.

This report examines the issues related to the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the state and substance of the negotiations (to the degree that the information is publically available), the specific areas under negotiation, the policy and economic contexts in which the TPP would fit, and the issues for Congress that the TPP presents.

The Arabidopsis thaliana ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE8 locus encodes a highly conserved plant-specific protein that mediates abscisic acid (ABA) and sugar responses essential for growth. Although initial database comparisons revealed no domains of predictable function, it has recently been re-annotated as a member of the Glycosyltransferase family A. However, this function has not been demonstrated experimentally and no specific substrates have been identified. Mutations affecting ABI8 are near-lethal due to pleiotropic yet specific effects including altered ABA signaling, sugar transport, cell wall synthesis, root meristem maintenance, vascular patterning, and male sterility. Because the predicted sequence initially provided no clues, we used a “guilt by association” strategy to address function of this protein by determining its subcellular localization and identifying interacting proteins. Our studies showed that ABI8 is localized to the endomembrane system and may interact with proteins implicated in Golgi trafficking, lignification, and stress signaling. We found that the root meristem arrest reflects decreased auxin accumulation and resulting decreases in regulators required for meristem identity, all of which can be rescued by added glucose. Further studies showed that this glucose-dependence reflects reduced glucose uptake as well as the decreased expression of sugar-mobilizing enzymes. This work suggests that ABI8 may regulate trafficking of …

This report assesses prospects for improved, lower-cost technologies for each of the three current approaches to CO2 capture: post-combustion capture; pre-combustion capture; and oxy-combustion capture.

For gas-fired residential water heating, the U.S. and Canada is predominantly supplied by minimum efficiency storage water heaters with Energy Factors (EF) in the range of 0.59 to 0.62. Higher efficiency and higher cost ($700 - $2,000) options serve about 15% of the market, but still have EFs below 1.0, ranging from 0.65 to 0.95. To develop a new class of water heating products that exceeds the traditional limit of thermal efficiency, the project team designed and demonstrated a packaged water heater driven by a gas-fired ammonia-water absorption heat pump. This gas-fired heat pump water heater can achieve EFs of 1.3 or higher, at a consumer cost of $2,000 or less. Led by Stone Mountain Technologies Inc. (SMTI), with support from A.O. Smith, the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), and Georgia Tech, the cross-functional team completed research and development tasks including cycle modeling, breadboard evaluation of two cycles and two heat exchanger classes, heat pump/storage tank integration, compact solution pump development, combustion system specification, and evaluation of packaged prototype GHPWHs. The heat pump system extracts low grade heat from the ambient air and produces high grade heat suitable for heating water in a storage tank for domestic use. Product features that …

In Hanford underground waste storage tanks, a typical waste configuration is settled beds of waste particles beneath liquid layers. The settled beds are typically composed of layers, and these layers can have different physical and chemical properties. One postulated configuration within the settled bed is a less-dense layer beneath a more-dense layer. The different densities can be a result of different gas retention in the layers or different degrees of settling and compaction in the layers. This configuration can experience a Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability where the less dense lower layer rises into the upper layer. Previous studies of gas retention and release have not considered potential buoyant motion within a settle bed of solids. The purpose of this report is to provide a review of RT instabilities, discuss predictions of RT behavior for sediment layers, and summarize preliminary experimental observations of RT instabilities in simulant experiments.

This report provides a legislative and cultural history of the Former Presidents Act (FPA). It details the benefits provided to former Presidents and their costs. Congress has the authority to reduce, increase, or maintain the pension and benefits provided to former Presidents of the United States. This report considers the potential effects of maintaining the FPA or amending the FPA in ways that might reduce or otherwise modify a former President's benefits.

This report analyzes various proposals to restrict itemized deductions--both across-the-board and individually tailored--using standard economic criteria of economic efficiency, distribution, simplicity, and estimated revenue effects. In particular, this report estimates each proposal's potential to contribute to revenue-neutral reductions in income tax rates and the consequences for economic behavior.

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