The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) deactivated several aging nuclear fuel storage basins. Planners for this effort were greatly concerned that radioactive contamination present on the basin walls could become airborne as the sides of the basins became exposed during deactivation and allowed to dry after water removal. One way to control this airborne contamination was to fix the contamination in place while the pool walls were still submerged. There are many underwater coatings available on the market for marine, naval and other applications. A series of tests were run to determine whether the candidate underwater fixatives were easily applied and adhered well to the substrates (pool wall materials) found in INL fuel pools. Lab-scale experiments were conducted by applying fourteen different commercial underwater coatings to four substrate materials representative of the storage basin construction materials, and evaluating their performance. The coupons included bare concrete, epoxy painted concrete, epoxy painted carbon steel, and stainless steel. The evaluation criteria included ease of application, adherence to the four surfaces of interest, no change on water clarity or chemistry, non-hazardous in final applied form and be proven in underwater applications. A proprietary two-part, underwater epoxy owned by S. G. Pinney and Associates was selected …

Development of renewable energy. Such programs have grown in number in recent years. The design features and effectiveness of these programs varies considerably, however, leading a variety of stakeholders to suggest specific marketing and program design features that might improve customer response and renewable energy sales. This report analyzes actual utility green pricing program data to provide further insight into which program features might help maximize both customer participation in green pricing programs and the amount of renewable energy purchased by customers in those programs. Statistical analysis is performed on both the residential and non-residential customer segments. Data comes from information gathered through a questionnaire completed for 66 utility green pricing programs in early 2003. The questionnaire specifically gathered data on residential and non-residential participation, amount of renewable energy sold, program length, the type of renewable supply used, program price/cost premiums, types of consumer research and program evaluation performed, different sign-up options available, program marketing efforts, and ancillary benefits offered to participants.

This report analyzes actual utility green pricing program data to provide further insight into which program features might help maximize both customer participation in green pricing programs and the amount of renewable energy purchased by customers in those programs.

The term green pricing refers to programs offered by utilities in traditionally regulated electricity markets, which allow customers to support the development of renewable energy sources by paying a small premium on their electric bills. Since the introduction of the concept in the United States, the number of unique utility green pricing programs has expanded from just a few programs in 1993 to more than 90 in 2002. About 10% of U.S. utilities offered a green pricing option to about 26 million consumers by the end of 2002. This report provides: (1) aggregate industry data on consumer response to utility programs, which indicate the collective impact of green pricing on renewable energy development nationally; and (2) market data that can be used by utilities as a benchmark for gauging the relative success of their green pricing programs. Specifically, the paper presents current data and trends in consumer response to green pricing, as measured by renewable energy sales, participants, participation rates, and new renewable energy capacity supported. It presents data on various aspects of program design and implementation, such as product pricing, ownership of supplies, retention rates, marketing costs, the effectiveness of marketing techniques, and methods of enrolling and providing value …

Proton imaging is a potential nondestructive method for characterizing NIF (National Ignition Facility) targets in two- and three-dimensions with micron-scale spatial resolution. The main limitation for high resolution imaging with proton beams, especially for thick samples, is the positional blurring of the proton beam, known as 'lateral straggling'. Accurate prediction of the amount of lateral straggling and, consequently, the achievable spatial resolution in pertinent NIF target material combinations and geometries requires validated proton transport models. We present results of Monte Carlo simulations of MeV-energy proton transport through thin ({approx}1 micron thick) metal foils. The calculated residual proton distributions are compared to recent lateral straggling measurements obtained at the LLNL 4-MV Pelletron accelerator.

We establish an existence and uniqueness theorem for the transport equation subject to an inequality affine constraint, viewed as a constrained optimization problem. Then we derive a Space-Time Integrated Least Squares (STILS) scheme for its numerical approximation. Furthermore, we discuss some L{sup 2}-projection strategies and with numerical examples we show that there are not relevant for that problem.

This project involved fundamental research and development of novel cerium oxide-based catalysts for the water-gas-shift reaction and the integration of these catalysts with Pd-alloy H{sub 2} -separation membranes supplying high purity hydrogen for fuel cell use. Conditions matching the requirements of coal gasifier-exit gas streams were examined in the project. Cu-cerium oxide was identified as the most promising high-temperature water-gas shift catalyst for integration with H{sub 2}-selective membranes. Formulations containing iron oxide were found to deactivate in the presence of CO{sub 2}. Cu-containing ceria catalysts, on the other hand, showed high stability in CO{sub 2}-rich gases. This type gas will be present over much of the catalyst, as the membrane removes the hydrogen produced from the shift reaction. The high-temperature shift catalyst composition was optimized by proper selection of dopant type and amount in ceria. The formulation 10at%Cu-Ce(30at%La)O{sub x} showed the best performance, and was selected for further kinetic studies. WGS reaction rates were measured in a simulated coal-gas mixture. The apparent activation energy, measured over aged catalysts, was equal to 70.2 kJ/mol. Reaction orders in CO, H{sub 2}O, CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2} were found to be 0.8, 0.2, -0.3, and -0.3, respectively. This shows that H{sub 2}O has …

This brochure provides an overview of Wind Energy Finance (WEF), a free online cost of energy calculator developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory that provides quick, detailed economic evaluation of potential utility-scale wind energy projects. The brochure lists the features of the tool, the inputs and outputs that a user can expect, visuals of the screens and a Cash Flow Results table, and contact information.

The goal of the Wind River project is to preserve, protect and restore Wind River steelhead. In March, 1998, the National Marine Fisheries Service listed the steelhead of the lower Columbia as 'threatened' under the Endangered Species Act. In 1997, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife rated the status of the Wind River summer run steelhead as critical. Due to the status of this stock, the Wind River summer steelhead have the highest priority for recovery and restoration in the state of Washington's Lower Columbia Steelhead Conservation Initiative. The Wind River Project includes four cooperating agencies. Those are the Underwood Conservation District (UCD), United States Geological Service (USGS), US Forest Service (USFS), and Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW). Tasks include monitoring steelhead populations (USGS and WDFW), Coordinating a Watershed Committee and Technical Advisory Group (UCD), evaluating physical habitat conditions (USFS and UCD), assessing watershed health (all), reducing road sediments sources (USFS), rehabilitating riparian corridors, floodplains, and channel geometry (UCD, USFS), evaluate removal of Hemlock Dam (USFS), and promote local watershed stewardship (UCD, USFS). UCD's major efforts have included coordination of the Wind River Watershed Committee and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), water temperature and water chemistry monitoring, …

A zero-release offgas cleaning system for mixed-waste thermal treatment processes has been evaluated through experimental scoping tests and process modeling. The principles can possibly be adapted to a fluidized-bed calcination or stream reforming process, a waste melter, a rotarykiln process, and possibly other waste treatment thermal processes. The basic concept of a zero-release offgas cleaning system is to recycle the bulk of the offgas stream to the thermal treatment process. A slip stream is taken off the offgas recycle to separate and purge benign constituents that may build up in the gas, such as water vapor, argon, nitrogen, and CO2. Contaminants are separated from the slip stream and returned to the thermal unit for eventual destruction or incorporation into the waste immobilization media. In the current study, a standard packed-bed scrubber, followed by gas separation membranes, is proposed for removal of contaminants from the offgas recycle slipstream. The scrub solution is continuously regenerated by cooling and precipitating sulfate, nitrate, and other salts that reach a solubility limit in the scrub solution. Mercury is also separated by the scrubber. A miscible chemical oxidizing agent was shown to effectively oxidize mercury and also NO, thus increasing their removal efficiency. The current study …