What constitutes 'dangerous anthropogenic interference' is a value judgment arrived at through a socio-political process, taking issues like equity and sustainability into account. Science provides key information needed to arrive at an informed judgment. However, that judgment is primarily a political one, and not a purely scientific decision. Such judgments are based on risk assessment, and lead to risk management choices by decision makers, about actions and policies.

We have field-tested an apparatus for measuring the electromagnetic impedance above the ground at a plurality of frequencies in the 0.3 - 30 MHz range. This window in the frequency spectrum, which lies between frequencies used for GPR and those used for conventional loop-loop EM soundings, has not been used because of difficulties in fielding equipment for making absolute and accurate measurements. Model and physical parameter studies however confirm that data in this frequency band can be used to construct high-resolution maps of electrical conductivity and permittivity of near-surface material. Our equipment was assembled using commercial electric and magnetic antennas. The magnetic loop source is excited by a conventional signal generator - power amplifier assembly. Signal detection is accomplished using RF lock-in amplifiers. All system elements are appropriately isolated by optic - fiber links. We estimate a measurement accuracy of about {+-} 10% for an 8-m separation between source and detector. Field tests were done at the University of California Richmond Field Station where the near surface electrical structure is well known. The experimental data at this site are mainly a function of electrical conductivity. In this context, we have obtained good agreement with the known local variations in resistivity …

The production of hydrogen for fuel cell applications requires cost and energy efficient technologies. The Absorption Enhanced Reforming (AER), developed at ZSW with industrial partners, is aimed to simplify the process by using a high temperature in situ CO2 absorption. The in situ CO2 removal results in shifting the steam reforming reaction equilibrium towards increased hydrogen concentration (up to 95 vol%). The key part of the process is the high temperature CO2 absorbent. In this contribution results of Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) investigations on natural minerals, dolomites, silicates and synthetic absorbent materials in regard of their CO2 absorption capacity and absorption/desorption cyclic stability are presented and discussed. It has been found that the inert parts of the absorbent materials have a structure stabilizing effect, leading to an improved cyclic stability of the materials.

The present investigation intends to add to the fundamental process design know-how for dry flue gas cleaning, especially with respect to process flexibility, in cases where variations in the type of fuel and thus in concentration of contaminants in the flue gas require optimization of operating conditions. In particular, temperature effects of the physical and chemical processes occurring simultaneously in the gas-particle dispersion and in the filter cake/filter medium are investigated in order to improve the predictive capabilities for identifying optimum operating conditions. Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO{sub 3}) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH){sub 2}) are known as efficient sorbents for neutralizing acid flue gas components such as HCl, HF, and SO{sub 2}. According to their physical properties (e.g. porosity, pore size) and chemical behavior (e.g. thermal decomposition, reactivity for gas-solid reactions), optimum conditions for their application vary widely. The results presented concentrate on the development of quantitative data for filtration stability and overall removal efficiency as affected by operating temperature. Experiments were performed in a small pilot unit with a ceramic filter disk of the type Dia-Schumalith 10-20 (Fig. 1, described in more detail in Hemmer 2002 and Hemmer et al. 1999), using model flue gases containing SO{sub 2} and HCl, flyash …

This work describes the first approach to use High Pressure Mass Spectrometry (HPMS) for the quantification and analysis of alkali species in a gas stream downstream a sorbent bed of different tested alumosilicates.

A major concern for power systems that use coal as an energy source is the air emissions from the plant. Although certain air emissions are currently regulated, the emergence of new regulations for other pollutants are on the horizon. Gasification is an important strategy for increasing the utilization of abundant domestic coal reserves. The Department of Energy envisions increased use of gasification in the United States during the next twenty years. As such, the DOE Gasification Technologies Program will strive to approach a near-zero emissions goal with respect to pollutants. The mercury research detailed in this proposal addresses the Gas Cleaning and Conditioning program technology area.

The overall objective of this project is to develop technologies for cleaning/conditioning IGCC generated syngas to meet contaminant tolerance limits for fuel cell and chemical production applications. The specific goals are to develop processes for (1) removal of reduced sulfur species to sub-ppm levels using a hybrid process consisting of a polymer membrane and a regenerable ZnO-coated monolith or a mixed metal oxide sorbent; (2) removal of hydrogen chloride vapors to sub-ppm levels using an inexpensive, high-surface-area material; and (3) removal of NH3 with acidic adsorbents followed by conversion of this NH3 into nitrogen and water. Existing gasification technologies can effectively and efficiently convert a wide variety of carbonaceous feedstocks (coal, petcoke, resids, biomass, etc.) into syngas, which predominantly contains carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Unfortunately, the impurities present in these carbonaceous feedstocks are converted to gaseous contaminants such as H2S, COS, HCl, NH3, alkali macromolecules and heavy metal compounds (such as Hg) during the gasification process. Removal of these contaminants using conventional processes is thermally inefficient and capital intensive. This research and development effort is focused on investigation of modular processes for removal of sulfur, chlorine, nitrogen and mercury compounds from syngas at elevated temperature and pressures at significantly lower …

The aim of this project is to support the development of a concept for a successful alkali removal. Two strategies are possible: optimizing the alkali retention potential of the coal ash slag in the combustion chamber and the liquid slag separators and separate alkali removal with solid sorbents (getters) at temperatures below 1450 C. Therefore in a first step the alkali partial pressure over coal ash slag should be determined in order to get information about the retention potential of the slag. The influence of additives on the retention potential of the slag should be investigated. The measurements should show if the alkali partial pressure over the slag is generally low enough in case of thermodynamic equilibrium. In case of too high alkali partial pressures a separate alkali removal is needed. Therefore in a second step commercial sorbent materials should be investigated concerning their sorption potential for alkalis. To get information about the influence of getter components on the sorption potential some mixtures of pure components, predicted by thermodynamic modeling to be most effective, should be investigated.

The Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation (SWPC) has proposed a novel scheme for polishing sulfur species, halides, and particulate from syngas to meet stringent cleaning requirements, the ''Ultra-Clean syngas polishing process.'' The overall development objective for this syngas polishing process is to economically achieve the most stringent cleanup requirements for sulfur species, halide species and particulate expected for chemical and fuel synthesis applications (total sulfur species < 60 ppbv, halides < 10 ppbv, and particulate < 0.1 ppmw). A Base Program was conducted to produce ground-work, laboratory test data and process evaluations for a conceptual feasibility assessment of this novel syngas cleaning process. Laboratory testing focused on the identification of suitable sulfur and halide sorbents and operating temperatures for the process. This small-scale laboratory testing was also performed to provide evidence of the capability of the process to reach its stringent syngas cleaning goals. Process evaluations were performed in the Base Program to identify process alternatives, to devise process flow schemes, and to estimate process material & energy balances, process performance, and process costs. While the work has focused on sulfur, halide, and particulate control, considerations of ammonia, and mercury control have also been included.

The objective of this study was to develop new and improved regenerable copper based sorbent for high temperature flue gas desulfurization in a moving bed application. The targeted areas of sorbent improvement included higher effective capacity, strength and long-term durability for improved process control and economic utilization of the sorbent.

The goal of this work is to prepare an electrolytic cell for scale-up that is capable of removing H2S continuously. The major hurdles that remain are cathode selection and optimizing cell design and operating conditions. Studies have focused upon determining critical cell parameters for process scale-up as well as finding more stable and catalytically active cathode materials.

The objective of this research project is to perform studies on an analogous room temperature packed bed scrubber operating under non-wetting conditions, providing insight and understanding towards the development of a high temperature packed bed gas scrubber irrigated by molten tin.

The work reported herein represents the third year of development efforts on a methodology to interpret magnetic resonance and acoustic measurements for reservoir characterization. In this last phase of the project we characterize a vuggy carbonate aquifer in the Hillsboro Basin, Palm Beach County, South Florida, using two data sets--the first generated by velocity tomography and the second generated by reflection tomography. First, we integrate optical macroscopic (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and x-ray computed tomography (CT) images, as well as petrography, as a first step in characterizing the aquifer pore system. This pore scale integration provides information with which to evaluate nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) well log signatures for NMR well log calibration, interpret ultrasonic data, and characterize flow units at the field scale between two wells in the aquifer. Saturated and desaturated NMR core measurements estimate the irreducible water in the rock and the variable T{sub 2} cut-offs for the NMR well log calibration. These measurements establish empirical equations to extract permeability from NMR well logs. Velocity and NMR-derived permeability and porosity relationships integrated with velocity tomography (based on crosswell seismic measurements recorded between two wells 100 m apart) capture two flow units that are supported with pore …

The proposed Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) requires the construction of a cw 1.4 GV superconducting (SC) linac that is capable of producing 400 kW beams of all ions from protons at 900 MeV to uranium at 400 MeV/u. The design of such a linac was outlined at the previous Linac conference. This linac will accelerate multiple-charge-states (multi-q) of the heaviest ion beams, for which the beam current is limited by ion-source performance. The linac consists of two different types of accelerating and focusing lattice: for uranium below {approx}85 MeV/u the focusing is provided by SC solenoids installed in cryostats with the SC resonators while in the high-beta section the focusing elements are located outside of the cryostats. A detailed design has been developed for the focusing-accelerating lattice of the linac. Beam dynamics studies have been performed with the goal of optimization of the linac structure in order to reduce a possible effective emittance growth of the multi-q uranium beam. A wide tuning range of the accelerating and focusing fields is required for acceleration of the variety of ions with different charge-to-mass ratios to the highest possible energy in single charge state mode. The focusing must be retuned for different ion …

Enhanced heat-transfer techniques, used to significantly reduce temperatures and thermally induced stresses on beam-strike surfaces, are routinely used at the APS in all critical high-heat-load components. A new heat-transfer enhancement technique being evaluated at the APS involving the use of wire-coil inserts proves to be superior to previously employed techniques. Wire coils, similar in appearance to a common spring, are fabricated from solid wire to precise tolerances to mechanically fit inside standard 0.375-in-diameter cooling channels. In this study, a matrix of wire coils, fabricated with a series of different pitches from several different wire diameters, has been tested for heat-transfer performance and resulting pressure loss. This paper reviews the experimental data and the analytical calculations, compares the data with existing correlations, and interprets the results for APS front-end high-heat-load components.

Superconducting (SC) cavities presently used for acceleration of ions in the velocity range from 0.01c to 0.3c are based frequently on quarter-wave resonators (QWR). Numerous types of QWR cavities over a frequency range from 50 to 240 MHz have been built or are proposed for a variety of applications. Recent studies have revealed an important drawback of the QWR: the presence of beam steering fields in the aperture [1]. We have shown that this effect can be eliminated by appropriate shaping of the drift tubes [2]. There is, however, another problem in QWR drift-tube design caused by quadrupole terms in the transverse Lorentz force which can cause appreciable emittance growth when the linac lattice includes transverse focusing by SC solenoids. Solenoidal focusing provides a compact lattice and maximizes transverse acceptance while maintaining low longitudinal emittance. We discuss the design of QWR cavity geometries which eliminate both the dipole and higher order components in the equations of motion in the transverse planes, while keeping the ratio of surface-to-accelerating field low. The resulting QWR designs minimize emittance growth, which is critical in some applications.

In order to reduce exergy losses, gas cleaning at high temperatures is favored in IGFC systems. As shown by thermodynamic data, separation efficiencies of common sorbents decrease with increasing temperature. Therefore, acid gas removal systems have to be developed for IGFC applications considering sorbent capacity, operation temperature, gasification feedstock composition and fuel cell threshold values.

This paper studies the use of regenerator feeds that have higher oxygen concentrations. Not only steady-state but also dynamic issues are examined. The key issue is identified to be heat-removal limitations which is confirmed by dynamic simulations.

With the canted undulators operating at 200 mA at closed gap at the Advanced Photon Source in the future, the front end will receive 20.4 kW of total power and 281 kW/mrad{sup 2} of peak power density. Thermal analysis of the front-end high-heat-load components becomes an essential part of the front-end design. An extensive study has been conducted on the thermal design of the photon shutters and fixed masks. A unique dog-bone-shaped cross-section design for the photon shutters was derived to relieve high stress in the corners. The dual-undulator x-ray beams were simulated at several locations on the fixed mask to ensure the worst possible case is considered. Stress analysis on the fixed mask revealed that the maximum stress occurs when beam hits the intersection between the horizontal surface and the corner surface. The details of the analysis procedure are presented, and the failure criteria are discussed.

Medium modification of jet fragmentation function due to multiple scattering and induced gluon radiation leads directly to jet quenching or suppression of leading particle distribution from jet fragmentation. One can extract an effective total parton energy loss which can be related to the total transverse momentum broadening. For an expanding medium, both are shown to be sensitive to the initial parton density and formation time. Therefore, one can extract the initial parton density and formation time from simultaneous measurements of parton energy loss and transverse momentum broadening. Implication of the recent experimental data on effects of detailed balance in parton energy loss is also discussed.

This Geotechnical Analysis Report (GAR) presents and interprets the geotechnical data from the underground excavations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The data, which are obtained as part of a regular monitoring program, are used to characterize conditions, to compare actual performance to the design assumptions, and to evaluate and forecast the performance of the underground excavations. GARs have been available to the public since 1983. During the Site and Preliminary Design Validation (SPDV) Program, the architect/engineer for the project produced these reports on a quarterly basis to document the geomechanical performance during and immediately after excavation of the underground facility. Since the completion of the construction phase of the project in 1987, the management and operating contractor for the facility has prepared these reports annually. This report describes the performance and condition of selected areas from July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2002. It is divided into ten chapters. The remainder of Chapter 1 provides background information on WIPP, its mission, and the purpose and scope of the geomechanical monitoring program. Chapter 2 describes the local and regional geology of the WIPP site. Chapters 3 and 4 describe the geomechanical instrumentation located in the shafts and shaft stations, …

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The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy's (DOE) Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) and Westinghouse TRU Solutions LLC (WTS) are dedicated to maintaining high quality management of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) environmental resources. DOE Order 5400.1, General Environmental Protection Program, and DOE Order 231.1, Environmental, Safety, and Health Reporting, require that the environment at and near DOE facilities be monitored to ensure the safety and health of the public and the environment. This Waste Isolation Pilot Plant 2001 Site Environmental Report summarizes environmental data from calendar year (CY) 2001 that characterize environmental management performance and demonstrate compliance with federal and state regulations. This report was prepared in accordance with DOE Order 5400.1, DOE Order 231.1, the Environmental Regulatory Guide for Radiological Effluent Monitoring and Environmental Surveillance (DOE/EH- 0173T), and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Environmental Protection Implementation Plan (DOE/WIPP 96-2199). The above Orders and guidance documents require that DOE facilities submit an annual site environmental report to DOE Headquarters, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety, and Health; and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive description of operational environmental monitoring activities, to provide an abstract of environmental activities conducted …

Dynamic compression of diatomic liquids using both single-shock (Hugoniot) and multiple-shock (reverberating-shock) compression achieves pressures which range up to a few 100 GPa (Mbar), densities as high as tenfold of initial liquid density in hydrogen, and temperatures up to several 1000 K. Single-shock compression produces substantial heating, which causes a limiting compression. Multiple-shock compression is quasi-isentropic, which achieves lower temperatures and higher densities than single shocks, and has no limiting compression. Diatomic fluids have universal behaviors under dynamic compression. Under multiple-shock compression, these fluids undergo a density-driven nonmetal-metal Mott transitions with common density scaling. Under single-shock compression, these fluids have essentially the same Hugoniot in velocity space. D{sub 2} undergoes temperature-driven dissociation to a poor metal at {approx}50 GPa. These results provide insight into which of the two published D{sub 2} Hugoniots is probably correct.