Recovery of energy from relatively low-temperature waste streams is a goal that has not been achieved on any large scale. Heat exchangers do not operate efficiently with low-temperature streams and thus require such large heat exchanger surface areas that they are not practical. Condensing economizers offer one option for heat recovery from such streams, but they have not been widely implemented by industry. A promising alternative to these heat exchangers and economizers is a prototype ceramic membrane system using transport membrane technology for separation of water vapor and recovery of heat. This system was successfully tested by the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) on a natural gas fired boiler where the flue gas is relatively clean and free of contaminants. However, since the tubes of the prototype system were constructed of aluminum oxide, the brittle nature of the tubes limited the robustness of the system and even limited the length of tubes that could be used. In order to improve the robustness of the membrane tubes and make the system more suitable for industrial applications, this project was initiated with the objective of developing a system with materials that would permit the system to function successfully on a larger scale and …

To reveal the richer chemistry of CO oxidation by CeO2 supported Au Nanoclusters NCs)/Nanoparticles, we design a Au12 supported on a stepped-CeO2 model (Au/CeO2-step) and study various kinds of CO oxidation mechanisms at the interface of the Au/CeO2-step: oxygen spillover from the CeO2 to the Au NCs;2 CO oxidation by the O2 bound to the Au-Ce3+ interface;3 and CO oxidation by the Mars-van Krevelen (M-vK) mechanism.4 DFT+U calculations show that lattice oxygen at the CeO2 step edge oxidizes CO bound to Au NCs by the M-vK mechanism. CO2 desorption determines the rate of CO oxidation and the vacancy formation energy (Evac) is a reactivity descriptor for CO oxidation. The maximum Evac that insures spontaneous CO2 production is higher for the Au/CeO2-step than the Au/CeO2-surface suggesting that the CeO2-step is a better supporting material than the CeO2-surface for CO oxidation by the Au/CeO2. Our results also suggest that for CO oxidation by Au NCs supported on nano- or meso-structured CeO2, which is the case of industrial catalysts, the M-vK mechanism accounts for a large portion of the total activity.

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Our final report on the accomplishments of ITAPS at Stony Brook during period covered by the research award includes component service, interface service and applications. On the component service, we have designed and implemented a robust functionality for the Lagrangian tracking of dynamic interface. We have migrated the hyperbolic, parabolic and elliptic solver from stage-wise second order toward global second order schemes. We have implemented high order coupling between interface propagation and interior PDE solvers. On the interface service, we have constructed the FronTier application programer's interface (API) and its manual page using doxygen. We installed the FronTier functional interface to conform with the ITAPS specifications, especially the iMesh and iMeshP interfaces. On applications, we have implemented deposition and dissolution models with flow and implemented the two-reactant model for a more realistic precipitation at the pore level and its coupling with Darcy level model. We have continued our support to the study of fluid mixing problem for problems in inertial comfinement fusion. We have continued our support to the MHD model and its application to plasma liner implosion in fusion confinement. We have simulated a step in the reprocessing and separation of spent fuels from nuclear power plant fuel rods. …

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The three top-level project goals are: -We proposed to develop, test, and run a new, physically based, scale-independent microphysical scheme for those cloud processes that most strongly affect greenhouse gas scenarios, i.e. warm cloud microphysics. In particular, we propsed to address cloud droplet activation, autoconversion, and accretion. -The new, unified scheme was proposed to be derived and tested using the University of Hawaii's IPRC Regional Atmospheric Model (iRAM). -The impact of the new parameterizations on climate change scenarios will be studied. In particular, the sensitivity of cloud response to climate forcing from increased greenhouse gas concentrations will be assessed.

Two important topics in the tokamak ELM control, using the non-axisymmetric (3D) magnetic perturbations, are studied in NSTX and combined envisioning ELM control in the future NSTX-U operation: Experimental observations of the edge harmonic oscillation in NSTX (not necessarily the same as EHOs in DIII-D), and theoretical study of its external drive using the high harmonic fast wave (HHFW) antenna as a 3D field coil. Edge harmonic oscillations were observed particularly well in NSTX ELM-free operation with low n core modes, with various diagnostics confirming n = 4 ~#24; 6 edge-localized and coherent oscillations in 2 ~#24; 8kHz frequency range. These oscillations seem to have a favored operational window in rotational shear, similarly to EHOs in DIII-D QH modes . However, in NSTX, they are not observed to provide particle or impurity control, possibly due to their weak amplitudes, of a few mm displacements, as measured by reflectometry. The external drive of these modes has been proposed in NSTX, by utilizing audio-frequency currents in the HHFW antenna straps. Analysis shows that the HHFW straps can be optimized to maximize n = 4 ~#24; 6 while minimizing n = 1 ~#24; 3. Also, IPEC calculations show that the optimized configuration with …

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded a financial assistance grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to ArcelorMittal USA, Inc. (ArcelorMittal) for a project to construct and operate a blast furnace gas recovery boiler and supporting infrastructure at ArcelorMittal’s Indiana Harbor Steel Mill in East Chicago, Indiana. Blast furnace gas (BFG) is a by-product of blast furnaces that is generated when iron ore is reduced with coke to create metallic iron. BFG has a very low heating value, about 1/10th the heating value of natural gas. BFG is commonly used as a boiler fuel; however, before installation of the gas recovery boiler, ArcelorMittal flared 22 percent of the blast furnace gas produced at the No. 7 Blast Furnace at Indiana Harbor. The project uses the previously flared BFG to power a new high efficiency boiler which produces 350,000 pounds of steam per hour. The steam produced is used to drive existing turbines to generate electricity and for other requirements at the facility. The goals of the project included job creation and preservation, reduced energy consumption, reduced energy costs, environmental improvement, and sustainability.

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The objective of this project was to provide vertically and horizontally resolved data on aerosol optical properties to assess and ultimately improve how models represent these aerosol properties and their impacts on atmospheric radiation. The approach was to deploy the NASA Langley Airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) and other synergistic remote sensors on DOE Atmospheric Science Research (ASR) sponsored airborne field campaigns and synergistic field campaigns sponsored by other agencies to remotely measure aerosol backscattering, extinction, and optical thickness profiles. Synergistic sensors included a nadir-viewing digital camera for context imagery, and, later in the project, the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP). The information from the remote sensing instruments was used to map the horizontal and vertical distribution of aerosol properties and type. The retrieved lidar parameters include profiles of aerosol extinction, backscatter, depolarization, and optical depth. Products produced in subsequent analyses included aerosol mixed layer height, aerosol type, and the partition of aerosol optical depth by type. The lidar products provided vertical context for in situ and remote sensing measurements from other airborne and ground-based platforms employed in the field campaigns and was used to assess the predictions of transport models. Also, the …

Reducing NOx emissions and particulate matter (PM) are primary concerns for diesel vehicles required to meet current LEV II and future LEV III emission standards which require 90+% NOx conversion. Currently, urea SCR as the NOx reductant and a Catalyzed Diesel Particulate Filter (CDPF) are being used for emission control system components by Ford Motor Company for 2010 and beyond diesel vehicles. Because the use of this technology for vehicle applications is new, the relative lack of experience makes it especially challenging to satisfy durability requirements. Of particular concern is being able to realistically simulate actual field aging of the catalyst systems under laboratory conditions. This is necessary both as a rapid assessment tool for verifying improved performance and certifiability of new catalyst formulations, and to develop a good understanding of deactivation mechanisms that can be used to develop improved catalyst materials. In addition to NOx and PM, the hydrocarbon (HC) emission standards are expected to become much more stringent during the next few years. Meanwhile, the engine-out HC emissions are expected to increase and/or be more difficult to remove. Since HC can be removed only when the catalyst becomes warm enough for its oxidation, three-way catalyst (TWC) and diesel …

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The monitoring during 2012 focused on documenting the status of known burrows. Newly identified burrows were documented while examining historical locations, during ecological resource reviews, or discovered during other monitoring efforts. The timing of the monitoring effort allowed staff to perform the surveys without disrupting any breeding or hatching, while also allowing for easy discernment of adults from juveniles, which helped in determining burrow-use type.

This annual report describes the background of the Deep Vadose Zone-Applied Field Research Initiative, and some of the programmatic approaches and transformational technologies in groundwater and deep vadose zone remediation developed during fiscal year 2012.

Techniques have been developed and implemented to gain insight into fundamental factors that affect the performance of electrodes in Li and Li-ion batteries and other energy storage devices. These include experimental strategies for monitoring the Raman scattering spectra of single microparticles of carbon and transition metal oxides as a function of their state of charge. Measurements were performed in electrolytes of direct relevance to Li and Li-Ion batteries both in the static and dynamic modes. In addition, novel strategies were devised for performing conventional experiments in ultrahigh vacuum environments under conditions which eliminate effects associated with presence of impurities, using ultrapure electrolytes, both of the polymeric and ionic liquid type that display no measurable vapor pressure. Also examined was the reactivity of conventional non aqueous solvent toward ultrapure Li films as monitored in ultrahigh vacuum with external reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Also pursued were efforts toward developing applying Raman-scattering for monitoring the flow of charge of a real Li ion battery. Such time-resolved, spatially-resolved measurements are key to validating the results of theoretical simulations involving real electrode structures.

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has been working with the Savannah River Remediation (SRR) Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) in the development and implementation of a flammability control strategy for DWPF’s melter operation during the processing of Sludge Batch 8 (SB8). SRNL’s support has been in response to technical task requests that have been made by SRR’s Waste Solidification Engineering (WSE) organization. The flammability control strategy relies on measurements that are performed on Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME) samples by the DWPF Laboratory. Measurements of nitrate, oxalate, formate, and total organic carbon (TOC) standards generated by the DWPF Laboratory are presented in this report, and an evaluation of the uncertainties of these measurements is provided. The impact of the uncertainties of these measurements on DWPF’s strategy for controlling melter flammability also is evaluated. The strategy includes monitoring each SME batch for its nitrate content and its TOC content relative to the nitrate content and relative to the antifoam additions made during the preparation of the SME batch. A linearized approach for monitoring the relationship between TOC and nitrate is developed, equations are provided that integrate the measurement uncertainties into the flammability control strategy, and sample calculations for these equations are …

A Saltstone waste form was prepared in the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) from a Tank 50H sample and Z-Area premix material for the fourth quarter of calendar year 2012 (4QCY12). After a 48 day cure, samples of the saltstone were collected, and the waste form was shown to meet the South Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Regulations (SCHWMR) R.61-79.261.24 and R.61-79.268.48(a) requirements for a nonhazardous waste form with respect to RCRA metals and underlying hazardous constituents. These analyses met all quality assurance specifications of USEPA SW-846.

This thesis outlines advancements in Raman scatter enhancement techniques by applying evanescent fields, standing-waves (waveguides) and surface enhancements to increase the generated mean square electric field, which is directly related to the intensity of Raman scattering. These techniques are accomplished by employing scanning angle Raman spectroscopy and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. A 1064 nm multichannel Raman spectrometer is discussed for chemical analysis of lignin. Extending dispersive multichannel Raman spectroscopy to 1064 nm reduces the fluorescence interference that can mask the weaker Raman scattering. Overall, these techniques help address the major obstacles in Raman spectroscopy for chemical analysis, which include the inherently weak Raman cross section and susceptibility to fluorescence interference.