Automatic control of fine coal cleaning circuits has traditionally been limited by the lack of sensors for on-line ash analysis. Although several nuclear-based analyzers are available, none have seen widespread acceptance. This is largely due to the fact that nuclear sensors are expensive and tend to be influenced by changes in seam type and pyrite content. Recently, researchers at VPI&SU have developed an optical sensor for phosphate analysis. The sensor uses image processing technology to analyze video images of phosphate ore. It is currently being used by PCS Phosphate for off-line analysis of dry flotation concentrate. The primary advantages of optical sensors over nuclear sensors are that they are significantly cheaper, are not subject to measurement variations due to changes in high atomic number minerals, are inherently safer and require no special radiation permitting. The purpose of this work is to apply the knowledge gained in the development of an optical phosphate analyzer to the development of an on-line ash analyzer for fine coal slurries. During the past quarter, calibration tests were conducted on-site at the Middle Fork coal preparation plant owned and operated by Pittston Coal Company. After several plant visits, a consistent sensor calibration was obtained with approximately …

One of the principal tools of industrial ecology is life-cycle assessment which intends to improve overall economic efficiency and to minimize negative environmental impacts of products, processes, and facilities. This paper describes a general methodology for environmentally responsible assessment of these activities; it discusses some of the underlying considerations for this assessment which are accessible by rigorous quantitative analysis; and an overall economic performance metric is proposed which puts both environmental and economic considerations on a common basis. Finally, some considerations involved in this approach is introduced as a guide to environmentally sound design and management.

The Process Engineering Analyses group performed a thermal evaluation of the Project W-320 retrieval process. The objective of this study was to characterize the thermal response of the tank 241-C-106 waste during the sluicing operation and to define operating limits (defined with measurable tank data), which will maintain the waste subcooling required by the operational controls.

The goals of this project are to develop a catalyst and process for the conversion of syngas to isobutanol. The research will identify and optimize key catalyst and process characteristics. In addition, the commercial potential of the new process will be evaluated by an economic analysis. The combination of the best conditions from independent process variable studies has afforded the best performance to date with the 2% Pt on Zn/Mn/Zr oxide catalyst. At 325{degrees}C, 300 psig, 7/1 MeOH/EtOH molar feed ratio and 1 hr{sup {minus}1} MEOH WH 22.20% selectivity to isobutanol is obtained with 55 and 97% conversions of methanol and ethanol, respectively. The results of this run will be used as a basis for the economic evaluation of a higher alcohols process. The ability of the Pt on Zn/Mn/Zr oxide catalyst to produce isobutanol in the presence of high partial pressures of H{sub 2} has been investigated. Such operation could allow the integration of a higher alcohol process with a conventional methanol synthesis plant by placing it within the methanol synthesis recycle loop. However, higher alcohol yields are severely suppressed by a large H{sub 2} cofeed, even at pressures as low as 50 psig. Elimination of the H{sub 2} …

Citibank was using a data collection system to create a one-time-only mailing history on prospective credit card customers that was becoming dated in its time to market requirements and as such was in need of performance improvements. To compound problems with their existing system, the assurance of the quality of the data matching process was manpower intensive and needed to be automated. Analysis, design, and prototyping capabilities involving information technology were areas of expertise provided by DOE-LMES Data Systems Research and Development (DSRD) program. The goal of this project was for Data Systems Research and Development (DSRD) to analyze the current Citibank credit card offering system and suggest and prototype technology improvements that would result in faster processing with quality as good as the current system. Technologies investigated include: a high-speed network of reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors for loosely coupled parallel processing, tightly coupled, high performance parallel processing, higher order computer languages such as `C`, fuzzy matching algorithms applied to very large data files, relational database management system, and advanced programming techniques.

The strategy for reducing radiation dose originating from radionuclides absorbed in the K East Basin concrete is to raise the pool water level to provide additional shielding. This report documents a final design review for cleaning/coating basin walls and modifying other basin components where appropriate. The conclusion of this review was that the documents developed constitute an acceptable design for the Dose Reduction Project.

The main purpose and objective of this analysis is to design a Box-Cut at the ESF South Portal to accommodate the Tunnel Boring Machine's (TBM) exit at the conclusion of the ESF Main Loop construction. The stability of the Highwall and the sidewalls at the Box-Cut are assessed using analytical methods by numerical modeling techniques. A ground reinforcement system for the South Ramp Box-Cut slopes will be recommended. This report summarizes the results of the analyses and provides the details of the recommended ground reinforcement system for the Box-Cut slopes at the South Portal. The reinforcement design details are then incorporated into design output documents for implementation in the field. Method of excavation for the Box-Cut is also discussed and a recommendation is provided in this analysis.

This Supporting Document provides historical in-depth characterization information on A-Tank Farm, such as historical waste transfer and level data, tank physical information,temperature plots, liquid observation well plots, chemical analyte and radionuclide inventories for the Historical Tank Content Estimate Report for the northeast quadrant of the Hanford 200 East Area.

This Supporting Document provides historical in-depth characterization information on B-Tank Farm, such as historical waste transfer and level data, tank physical information,temperature plots, liquid observation well plots, chemical analyte and radionuclide inventories for the Historical Tank Content Estimate Report for the northeast quadrant of the Hanford 200 East Area.

This Supporting Document provides historical in-depth characterization information on BX-Tank Farm, such as historical waste transfer and level data, tank physical information,temperature plots, liquid observation well plots, chemical analyte and radionuclide inventories for the Historical Tank Content Estimate Report for the northeast quadrant of the Hanford 200 East Area.

This Supporting Document provides historical in-depth characterization information on BY-Tank Farm, such as historical waste transfer and level data, tank physical information,temperature plots, liquid observation well plots, chemical analyte and radionuclide inventories for the Historical Tank Content Estimate Report for the northeast quadrant of the Hanford 200 East Area.

This Supporting Document provides historical in-depth characterization information on C-Tank Farm, such as historical waste transfer and level data, tank physical information,temperature plots, liquid observation well plots, chemical analyte and radionuclide inventories for the Historical Tank Content Estimate Report for the northeast quadrant of the Hanford 200 East Area.

This Supporting Document provides historical in-depth characterization information on AX-Tank Farm, such as historical waste transfer and level data, tank physical information,temperature plots, liquid observation well plots, chemical analyte and radionuclide inventories for the Historical Tank Content Estimate Report for the northeast quadrant of the Hanford 200 East Area.

Energy Related Inventions Program Number 613 was a two year program to commercialize a unique new wear material, Metal Reinforced Carbon Composite, MRCC. The program was designed to manufacture sample components of MRCC for evaluation by potential users and manufacturers. As a result of the program Burton Technologies Inc. and Rotary Power International are forming a joint company to manufacture, market and license MRCC materials to a wide range of industries.

Over the last several decades many experiments have been conceived to study the ignition of pulverized coal and other solid fuels. We are constructing a laser-based apparatus which offers several advantages over those currently in favor. Sieve-sized particles are dropped batch-wise into a laminar, upward-flow wind tunnel which is constructed with a quartz test section. The gas stream is not preheated. A single pulse from a Nd:YAG laser is focused through the tunnel and ignites several particles. The transparent test section and cool walls allow for application of two-color pyrometry to measure the particles` temperature history during ignition and combustion. Coals ranging in rank from lignites to low-volatile bituminous, and chars derived from these coals, will be studied in this project. For each fuel type, measurements of the ignition temperature under various experimental conditions (particle size and free-stream oxygen concentration), combined with a detailed analysis of the ignition process, will permit the determination of kinetic rate constants of ignition.

Over the last several decades many experiments have been conceived to study the ignition of pulverized coal and other solid fuels. The authors are constructing a laser-based apparatus which offers several advantages over those currently in favor. Sieve-sized particles are dropped batch-wise into a laminar, upward-flow wind tunnel which is constructed with a quartz test section. The gas stream is not preheated. A single pulse from a Nd:YAG laser is focused through the tunnel and ignites several particles. The transparent test section and cool walls allow for application of two-color pyrometry to measure the particles` temperature history during ignition and combustion. Coals ranging in rank from lignites to low-volatile bituminous, and chars derived from these coals, will be studied in this project. For each fuel type, measurements of the ignition temperature under various experimental conditions (particle size and free-stream oxygen concentration), combined with a detailed analysis of the ignition process, will permit the determination of kinetic rate constants of ignition. During the past reporting period, the authors have been working on the development of the high-speed data-acquisition system to be used with the two-color pyrometry system for particle temperature measurement. After several attempts and failures at implementing a PC-based data-acquisition …

The purpose of this work is to provide supporting calculations for determination of the radiation source terms specific to subsurface shielding design and analysis. These calculations are not intended to provide the absolute values of the source terms, which are under the charter of the Waste Package Operations (WPO) Group. Rather, the calculations focus on evaluation of the various combinations of fuel enrichment, burnup and cooling time for a given decay heat output, consistent with the waste package (WP) thermal design basis. The objective is to determine the worst-case combination of the fuel characteristics (enrichment, burnup and cooling time) which would give the maximum radiation fields for subsurface shielding considerations. The calculations are limited to PWR fuel only, since the WP design is currently evolving with thinner walls and a reduced heat load as compared to the viability assessment (VA) reference design. The results for PWR fuel will provide a comparable indication of the trend for BWR fuel, as their characteristics are similar. The source term development for defense high-level waste and other spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is the responsibility of the WPO Group, and therefore, is not included this work. This work includes the following items responsive to the …

The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) has been involved in nuclear reactor research and development for over 40 years. One of the earliest major projects involved the development of a nuclear powered aircraft engine, a long-term venture which used mercury as a shielding medium. Over the course of several years, a significant amount of mercury was spilled along the railroad tracks where the test engines were transported and stored. In addition, experiments with volume reduction of waste through a calcine process employing mercury as a catalyst resulted in mercury contaminated calcine waste. Both the calcine and Test Area North wastes have been identified in Department of Energy Action Memorandums to be retorted, thereby separating the mercury from the various contaminated media. Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company awarded the Mercury Retort contract to ETAS Corporation and assigned Parsons Engineering Science, Inc. to manage the treatment field activities. The mercury retort process entails a mobile unit which consists of four trailer-mounted subsystems requiring electricity, propane, and a water supply. This mobile system demonstrates an effective strategy for retorting waste and generating minimal secondary waste.

The LHC-B Collaboration proposes to build a forward collider detector dedicated to the study of CP violation and other rare phenomena in the decays of Beauty particles. The forward geometry results in an average 80 GeV momentum of reconstructed B-mesons and, with multiple, efficient and redundant triggers, yields large event samples. B-hadron decay products are efficiently identified by Ring-Imaging Cerenkov Counters, rendering a wide range of multi-particle final states accessible and providing precise measurements of all angles, {alpha}, {beta} and {gamma} of the unitarity triangle. The LHC-B microvertex detector capabilities facilitate multi-vertex event reconstruction and proper-time measurements with an expected few-percent uncertainty, permitting measurements of B{sub s}-mixing well beyond the largest conceivable values of x{sub S}. LHC-B would be fully operational at the startup of LHC and requires only a modest luminosity to reveal its full performance potential.

The hydrosilation chemistry involving manganese acyl complexes (L)(CO){sub 4}MnC(O)R (L = CO, PPh{sub 3}; R = CH{sub 3}, Ph) as substrates and as precatalysts has been developed. Results of a kinetics study on the (CO){sub 5}Mn(p-toluoyl)-catalyzed SiH/SiD exchange between DSiMe{sub 2}Ph and HSiMe{sub 2}Et established that coordinatively unsaturated (CO){sub 4}MnSiR{sub 3}, the active catalyst, sequentially adds one substrate silane and then releases a product silane. Results of this mechanistic study afforded the working hypothesis for much of our current research: manganese acyl-hydrosilane mixtures generate unsaturated silyl complexes, which are active catalysts for the hydrosilation of a variety of substrates. These active catalysts, (CO){sub 4}MnSiR{sub 3}, also were generated through photolysis of (CO){sub 5}MnSiR{sub 3}.

Accurate modeling of high-explosive systems requires detailed consideration of many different physical properties and processes: These diverse processes generally occur in localized regions of the problem. Thus the very partial differential equations used to mathematically model the problem change from one region of space and time to another. The numerical algorithms generally used to solve these equations are frequently conceived in terms of data values for physical field variables u{sup i} defined at a number of spatial points indexed by multi-integer subscripts x{sub J}, resulting in a number of discrete state variables u{sup i}{sub J}. Instead of using as the fundamental object a physical field, which naturally maps to an array, the authors imagine a small piece of space modeled for a small amount of time, a space-time ``element``. Within it, various physical processes occur at various times. Self-contained, it gives account of what happens within its borders. It cooperates with a set of neighbors that organize into meshes, which organize into problems. The authors achieve in the software model a decoupling between the where and the how and the what, lack of which historically has been the source of a great deal of the software overhead of modelling continuum …

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A criticality safety evaluation of the K Basin filter cartridge assemblies was completed to support operations without criticality alarm system. The results show that for normal operation, the cartridge assembly is far below the safety limit of K eff = 0.95.

The overall objective is to develop methodologies by which sodium metasilicate or fly ash may produce an effective coating on pyrite surfaces for inhibiting pyrite oxidation. Accomplishments are described for the following tasks: Pyrite surface reactivity; Micro column leaching experiments; and Large column leaching experiments.