From introduction: The following document describes a 10-year, multiagency, collaborative program proposed to advance ecosystem science and resource management in Hawaii.

The Energy & Environmental Research Center has designed a biomass power system using a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) thermally integrated with a downdraft gasifier. In this system, the high-temperature effluent from the SOFC enables the operation of a substoichiometric air downdraft gasifier at an elevated temperature (1000 C). At this temperature, moisture in the biomass acts as an essential carbon-gasifying medium, reducing the equivalence ratio at which the gasifier can operate with complete carbon conversion. Calculations show gross conversion efficiencies up to 45% (higher heating value) for biomass moisture levels up to 40% (wt basis). Experimental work on a bench-scale gasifier demonstrated increased tar cracking within the gasifier and increased energy density of the resultant syngas. A series of experiments on wood chips demonstrated tar output in the range of 9.9 and 234 mg/m{sup 3}. Both button cells and a 100-watt stack was tested on syngas from the gasifier. Both achieved steady-state operation with a 22% and 15% drop in performance, respectively, relative to pure hydrogen. In addition, tar tolerance testing on button cells demonstrated an upper limit of tar tolerance of approximately 1%, well above the tar output of the gasifier. The predicted system efficiency was revised down …

Within the next ten years the Standard Model will likely have to be modified to encompass a wide range of newly discovered phenomena, new elementary particles, new symmetries, and new dynamics. These phenomena will be revealed through experiment with high energy particle accelerators, mainly the LHC. This will represent a revolution in our understanding of nature, and will either bring us closer to an understanding of all phenomena, through existing ideas such as supersymmetry to superstrings, or will cause us to scramble to find new ideas and a new sense of direction. We are thus entering a dramatic and important time in the quest to understand the fundamental laws of nature and their role in shaping the universe. The energy scales now probed by the Tevatron, of order hundreds of GeV, will soon be subsumed by the LHC and extended up to a few TeV. We expect the unknown structure of the mysterious symmetry breaking of the Standard Model to be revealed. We will then learn the answer to a question that has a fundamental bearing upon our own existence: 'What is the origin of mass?' All modern theories of 'electroweak symmetry breaking' involve many new particles, mainly to provide …

Powerspan's multipollutant control process called electrocatalytic oxidation (ECO) technology is designed to simultaneously remove SO{sub 2}, NO{sub x}, PM{sub 2.5}, acid gases (such as hydrogen fluoride [HF], hydrochloric acid [HCl], and sulfur trioxide [SO{sub 3}]), Hg, and other metals from the flue gas of coal-fired power plants. The core of this technology is a dielectric barrier discharge reactor composed of cylindrical quartz electrodes residing in metal tubes. Electrical discharge through the flue gas, passing between the electrode and the tube, produces reactive O and OH radicals. The O and OH radicals react with flue gas components to oxidize NO to NO{sub 2} and HNO{sub 3} and a small portion of the SO{sub 2} to SO{sub 3} and H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}. The oxidized compounds are subsequently removed in a downstream scrubber and wet electrostatic precipitator. A challenging characteristic of selected North Dakota lignites is their high sodium content. During high-sodium lignite combustion and gas cooling, the sodium vaporizes and condenses to produce sodium- and sulfur-rich aerosols. Based on past work, it was hypothesized that the sodium aerosols would deposit on and react with the silica electrodes and react with the silica electrodes, resulting in the formation of sodium silicate. The deposit …

Mercury continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) are being implemented in over 800 coal-fired power plant stacks. The power industry desires to conduct at least a full year of monitoring before the formal monitoring and reporting requirement begins on January 1, 2009. It is important for the industry to have available reliable, turnkey equipment from CEM vendors. Western Research Institute (WRI) is working closely with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to facilitate the development of the experimental criteria for a NIST traceability protocol for dynamic elemental mercury vapor generators. The generators are used to calibrate mercury CEMs at power plant sites. The Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) which was published in the Federal Register on May 18, 2005 requires that calibration be performed with NIST-traceable standards (Federal Register 2007). Traceability procedures will be defined by EPA. An initial draft traceability protocol was issued by EPA in May 2007 for comment. In August 2007, EPA issued an interim traceability protocol for elemental mercury generators (EPA 2007). The protocol is based on the actual analysis of the output of each calibration unit at several concentration levels ranging initially …

Seven sites where Pu release to the environment has raised significant environmental concerns have been reviewed. A summary of the most significant hydrologic and geochemical features, contaminant release events and transport processes relevant to Pu migration at the seven sites is presented.

This report presents results of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling study to evaluatethe impacts of a full-length spillwall at The Dalles Dam. The full-length spillwall is being designed and evaluated as a structural means to improve tailrace egress and thus survival of juvenile fish passing through the spillway. During the course of this study, a full-length spillwall at Bays 6/7 and 8/9 were considered. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has proposed extending the spillwall constructed in the stilling basin between spillway Bays 6 and 7 about 590 ft farther downstream. It is believed that the extension of the spillwall will improve egress conditions for downstream juvenile salmonids by moving them more rapidly into the thalweg of the river hence reducing their exposure to predators. A numerical model was created, validated, and applied the The Dalles Dam tailrace. The models were designed to assess impacts to flow, tailrace egress, navigation, and adult salmon passage of a proposed spill wall extension. The more extensive model validation undertaken in this study greatly improved our confidence in the numerical model to represent the flow conditions in The Dalles tailrace. This study used these validated CFD models to simulate the potential impacts …

A new imaging high resolution x-ray crystal spectrometer (XCS) has been developed to measure continuous profiles of ion temperature and rotation velocity in fusion plasmas. Following proof-of-principle tests on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak and the NSTX spherical tokamak, and successful testing of a new silicon, pixilated detector with 1MHz count rate capability per pixel, an imaging XCS is being designed to measure full profiles of Ti and vφ on C-Mod. The imaging XCS design has also been adopted for ITER. Ion-temperature uncertainty and minimum measurable rotation velocity are calculated for the C-Mod spectrometer. The affects of x-ray and nuclear-radiation background on the measurement uncertainties are calculated to predict performance on ITER.

The purpose of this report is to assemble the information needed to estimate the significance of the opportunity for producing biofuels in the region as well as the associated challenges. The report reviews the current state of the industry, the biomass resources that are available within current production practices, and the biofuels production technology that is available within the marketplace. The report also identifys the areas in which alternative approaches or strategies, or technologoical advances, might offer an opportunity to expand the Nortwest biofuels industry beyond its current state.

The objective of this CRADA was to develop the experimental and theoretical basis of a technology to produce yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) superconducting flexible tapes derived from nanoparticle metal oxide sols. The CRADA was a joint effort between Oxford Superconducting Technology, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry. The effort was divided into three main tasks, the synthesis of a heteroepitaxial oxide buffer layer, and the manufacture of a flexible biaxially textured metallic substrate and the synthesis of a heteroepitaxial crystalline YBCO layer. The formation of a heteroepitaxial buffer layer was implemented using technology developed at the Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry for the synthesis, stabilization and deposition of polymer stabilized nanoparticle metal oxide sols. Using this technology, flexible oriented RABiTS nickel tapes, manufactured and supplied by the CRADA partner, Oxford Superconducting Technology, Carteret, New Jersey, were coated with a film of metal oxide nanoparticles. After coating the RABiTS nickel tapes with the nanoparticle sols the nickel tape/nanoparticle composite structure was sintered in order to form a dense crystalline heteroepitaxial oxide layer on the surface of the tape, also known as a ‘buffer’ layer. The final phase of the research was the formation of a heteroepitaxial YBCO …

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is assisting the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in developing a position on the management of primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) in piping systems previously analyzed for leak-before-break (LBB). Part of this work involves determining whether inspections alone are sufficient or if inspections plus mitigation techniques are needed. The work described in this report addresses the reliability of ultrasonic phased-array (PA) examinations for inspection of cracks that have been subjected to the mitigation method of mechanical stress improvement process (MSIP). It is believed that stresses imparted during MSIP may make ultrasonic crack responses in piping welds more difficult to detect and accurately characterize. To explore this issue, data were acquired, both before and after applying MSIP, and analyzed from cracked areas in piping at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) in Lithuania. This work was performed under NRC Project JCN-N6319, PWSCC in Leak-Before-Break Systems.

Many Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) Use Restrictions (URs) have been established at various corrective action sites (CASs) as part of FFACO corrective actions (FFACO, 1996; as amended January 2007). Since the signing of the FFACO in 1996, practices and procedures relating to the implementation of risk-based corrective action (RBCA) have evolved. This document is part of an effort to re-evaluate all FFACO URs against the current RBCA criteria (referred to in this document as the Industrial Sites [IS] RBCA process) as defined in the Industrial Sites Project Establishment of Final Action Levels (NNSA/NSO, 2006c). Based on this evaluation, the URs were sorted into the following categories: 1. Where sufficient information exists to determine that the current UR is consistent with the RCBA criteria 2. Where sufficient information exists to determine that the current UR may be removed or downgraded based on RCBA criteria. 3. Where sufficient information does not exist to evaluate the current UR against the RCBA criteria. After reviewing all the existing FFACO URs, the 49 URs addressed in this document have sufficient information to determine that these current URs may be removed or downgraded based on RCBA criteria. This document presents recommendations on modifications …

We welcome the Comment by Lerche et al on our recent paper titled "A new derivation of the plasma susceptibility tensor for a hot magnetized plasma without infinite sums of products of Bessel functions." The Comment brings up additional historical facts about previous research on the infinite sums of products of Bessel functions appearing in the plasma susceptibility.

Ideal MHD equations employed in the NOVA code are analyzed analytically and numerically in order to investigate the role of the pressure gradient on global reversed shear Alfvén eigenmodes (RSAEs) or Alfvén cascades. We confirm both numerically and analytically conclusions obtained earlier using the ideal MHD code NOVA and analytically that the plasma pressure gradient plays a key role in the existence condition and in the dispersion relation for the mode. The effect of the plasma pressure gradient is to shift the mode frequency up at the low part of the RSAE frequency chirp and downshift the mode frequency when the frequency approaches the TAE gap This finding is opposite to predictions in a recent publication , where the pressure gradient is found to be always stabilizing by means of downshifting the RSAE frequency and enhancing its in- teraction with the continuum. We resolve this discrepancy by showing that neglecting the pressure gradient effect on the plasma equilibrium (modification of the Shafranov shift and the averaged curvature) leads to conclusions at variance to the numerical and analytical results presented here. A new variational approximation of the RSAE is introduced which compares remarkably well with NOVA solutions. With this new approximation …

The Foam Delivery System used in the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) project for the K-25/K-27 Buildings at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) is comprised of a trailer-mounted Gusmer{reg_sign} H20/35 Pro-TEC Proportioning Unit and the associated equipment to convey electrical power, air, and foam component material to the unit. This high-pressure, plural-component polyurethane foam pouring system will be used to fill process gas and non-process equipment/piping (PGE/P) within the K-25/K-27 Buildings with polyurethane foam to immobilize contaminants prior to removal. The system creates foam by mixing isocyanate and polyol resin (Resin) component materials. Currently, the project plans to utilize up to six foaming units simultaneously during peak foaming activities. Also included in this system description are the foam component material storage containers that will be used for storage of the component material drums in a staging area outside of the K-25/K-27 Buildings. The Foam Delivery System and foam component material storage enclosures (i.e., Foaming Component Protective Enclosures) used to store polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI) component material are identified as Safety Significant (SS) Structures, Systems and Components (SSC) in the Documented Safety Analysis (DSA) for the project, Documented Safety Analysis for the K-25 and K-27 Facilities at the East Tennessee …

The method of transient coaxial helicity injection (CHI) has previously been used in the HITII experiment at the University of Washington to produce 100 kA of closed flux current. The generation of the plasma current by CHI involves the process of magnetic reconnection, which has been experimentally controlled in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory to allow this potentially unstable phenomenon to reorganize the magnetic field lines to form closed, nested magnetic surfaces carrying a plasma current up to 160 kA. This is a world record for non-inductive closed-flux current generation, and demonstrates the high current capability of this method.

This is the final report for the DOE-NETL grant entitled 'Creating New Incentives for Risk Identification & Insurance Processes for the Electric Utility Industry' and later, 'Energy & Risk Transfer Assessment'. It reflects work done on projects from 15 August 2004 to 29 February 2008. Projects were on a variety of topics, including commercial insurance for electrical utilities, the Electrical Reliability Organization, cost recovery by Gulf State electrical utilities after major hurricanes, and review of state energy emergency plans. This Final Technical Report documents and summarizes all work performed during the award period, which in this case is from 15 August 2004 (date of notification of original award) through 29 February 2008. This report presents this information in a comprehensive, integrated fashion that clearly shows a logical and synergistic research trajectory, and is augmented with findings and conclusions drawn from the research as a whole. Four major research projects were undertaken and completed during the 42 month period of activities conducted and funded by the award; these are: (1) Creating New Incentives for Risk Identification and Insurance Process for the Electric Utility Industry (also referred to as the 'commercial insurance' research). Three major deliverables were produced: a pre-conference white paper, …

The striking similarity between the statistics of plasma density fluctuations in the TORPEX device [B. Labit et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 255002 (2007)] and sea-surface temperature fluctuations [Po Sura and P. D. Sardeshmukh, J. Phys. Oceanogr. 38, 638 (2007)] (SS) is discussed. A nonlinear Langevin theory due to SS is generalized to include linear wave propagation. An interpretation of the nonlinear Langevin equation based on statistical closure theory is proposed.

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The method of Kruskal-Newton diagrams for the solution of differential equations with boundary layers is shown to provide rapid intuitive understanding of layer scaling and can result in the conceptual simplification of some problems. The method is illustrated using equations arising in the theory of pattern formation and in plasma physics.

The Grays River Watershed and Biological Assessment was funded to address degradation and loss of spawning habitat for chum salmon (Onchorhynchus keta) and fall Chinook salmon (Onchoryhnchus tshawytscha). In 1999, the National Marine Fisheries Service listed lower Columbia River chum salmon as a threatened Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The Grays River watershed is one of two remaining significant chum salmon spawning locations in this ESU. Runs of Grays River chum and Chinook salmon have declined significantly during the past century, largely because of damage to spawning habitat associated with timber harvest and agriculture in the watershed. In addition, approximately 20-25% of the then-remaining chum salmon spawning habitat was lost during a 1999 channel avulsion that destroyed an important artificial spawning channel operated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Although the lack of stable, high-quality spawning habitat is considered the primary physical limitation on Grays River chum salmon production today, few data are available to guide watershed management and channel restoration activities. The objectives of the Grays River Watershed and Biological Assessment project were to (1) perform a comprehensive watershed and biological analysis, including hydrologic, geomorphic, and ecological assessments; (2) …

Inspired by the efficiency and selectivity of enzymes, synthetic chemists have designed and prepared a wide range of host molecules that can bind smaller molecules with their cavities; this area has become known as 'supramolecular' or 'host-guest' chemistry. Pioneered by Lehn, Cram, Pedersen, and Breslow, and followed up by a large number of more recent investigators, it has been found that the chemical environment in each assembly - defined by the size, shape, charge, and functional group availability - greatly influences the guest-binding characteristics of these compounds. In contrast to the large number of binding studies that have been carried out in this area, the exploration of chemistry - especially catalytic chemistry - that can take place inside supramolecular host cavities is still in its infancy. For example, until the work described here was carried out, very few examples of organometallic reactivity inside supramolecular hosts were known, especially in water solution. For that reason, our group and the group directed by Kenneth Raymond decided to take advantage of our complementary expertise and attempt to carry out metal-mediated C-H bond activation reactions in water-soluble supramolecular systems. This article begins by providing background from the Raymond group in supramolecular coordination chemistry and …

The goal of this project is to enhance and restore the ecological integrity and ecosystem function of the Grays River watershed. The recommended restoration and enhancement efforts developed in this project should incorporate local community stakeholder interests and needs. The objectives of this project are (1) to perform a comprehensive watershed and biological analysis, including hydrologic, geomorphic, and ecological assessment; (2) to develop a prioritized list of actions that protect and restore critical chum and Chinook salmon spawning habitat in the Grays River based on comprehensive geomorphic, hydrologic, and stream channel assessments; and (3) to gain a better understanding of chum and Chinook salmon habitat requirements and survival within the lower Columbia River and the Grays River sub-basin.

The Tag, Track and Location System Program (TTL) is investigating the use of PFTs as tracers for tagging and tracking items of interest or fallen soldiers. In order for the tagging and tracking to be valuable there must be a location system that can detect the PFTs. This report details the development of an infrared lidar platform for standoff detection of PFTs released into the air from a tagged object or person. Furthering work performed using a table top lidar system in an indoor environment; a mobile mini lidar platform was assembled using an existing Raman lidar platform, a grating tunable CO{sub 2} IR laser, Judson HgCdTe detector and miscellaneous folding optics and electronics. The lidar achieved {approx}200 ppb-m sensitivity in laboratory and indoor testing and was then successfully demonstrated at an outdoor test. The lidar system was able to detect PFTs released into a vehicle from a distance of 100 meters. In its final, fully optimized configuration the lidar was capable of repeatedly detecting PFTs in the air released from tagged vehicles. Responses were immediate and clear. This report details the results of a proof-of-concept demonstration for standoff detection of a perfluorocarbon tracer (PFT) using infrared lidar. The project …