During the production of oil and gas, large amounts of water are brought to the surface and must be disposed of in an environmentally sensitive manner. This is an especially difficult problem in offshore production facilities where space is a major constraint. The chief regulatory criterion for produced water is oil and grease. Most facilities have little trouble meeting this criterion using conventional oil-water separation technologies. However, some operations have significant amounts of naphthenic acids in the water that behave as oil and grease but are not well removed by conventional technologies. Aerobic biological treatment of naphthenic acids in simulated-produced water has been demonstrated by others; however, the system was easily overloaded by the large amounts of low-molecular-weight organic acids often found in produced waters. The objective of this research was to determine the ability of an anaerobic biological system to treat these organic acids in a simulated produced water and to examine the potential for biodegradation of the naphthenic acids in the anaerobic environment. A small fixed-film anaerobic biological reactor was constructed and adapted to treat a simulated produced water. The bioreactor was tubular, with a low-density porous glass packing material. The inocula to the reactor was sediment from …

The long trace profiler (LTP) is the instrument of choice for the surface figure measurement of grazing incidence mirrors. The modification of conventional LTP, the vertical-scan LTP, capable of measuring the surface figure of replicated shell mirrors is now in operation at Marshall Space Flight Center. A few sources of systematic error for vertical-scan LTP are discussed. Status of systematic error reduction is reported.

This paper describes a case study of the controlled-velocity test of an 8-kW wind turbine. The turbine was developed in response to the U.S. Department of Energy's small wind turbine program. As background, the prototype development is discussed. The turbine mechanical and electrical components are described. The turbine was tested on a flatbed truck and driven down an airfield runway at constant relative wind speed. Horizontal furling was used to control over-speed. Various parameters were changed to determine their effects on furling. The testing showed that the machine had insufficient rotor offset for adequate furling. Also, a rotor resonance problem was discovered and remedied. Problems associated with taking the measurements made it difficult to determine if the truck test was a suitable method for code validation. However, qualitative observations gleaned from the testing justified the effort.

Working within the context of the Southern States Biobased Alliance (SSBA) and with officials in each state, the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB) is identifying bioenergy-related policies and programs within each state to determine their impact on the development, deployment or use of bioenergy. In addition, SSEB will determine which policies have impacted industry's efforts to develop, deploy or use biobased technologies or products. As a result, SSEB will work with the Southern States Biobased Alliance to determine how policy changes might address any negative impacts or enhance positive impacts.

The objective of this calculation is to determine the structural response of the standard high-level waste (HLW) canister and the canister containing the cans of immobilized plutonium (Pu) (''can-in-canister'' [CIC] throughout this document) subjected to drop DBEs (design basis events) during the handling operation. The evaluated DBE in the former case is 7-m (23-ft) vertical (flat-bottom) drop. In the latter case, two 2-ft (0.61-m) corner (oblique) drops are evaluated in addition to the 7-m vertical drop. These Pu CIC calculations are performed at three different temperatures: room temperature (RT) (20 C ), T = 200 F = 93.3 C , and T = 400 F = 204 C ; in addition to these the calculation characterized by the highest maximum stress intensity is performed at T = 750 F = 399 C as well. The scope of the HLW canister calculation is limited to reporting the calculation results in terms of: stress intensity and effective plastic strain in the canister, directional residual strains at the canister outer surface, and change of canister dimensions. The scope of Pu CIC calculation is limited to reporting the calculation results in terms of stress intensity, and effective plastic strain in the canister. The information …

This document is the final report on the EMERGE Science Grid testbed research project from the perspective of the International Center for Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR) at Northwestern University, which was a subcontractor to this UIC project. This report is a compilation of information gathered from a variety of materials related to this project produced by multiple EMERGE participants, especially those at Electronic Visualization Lab (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Argonne National Lab and iCAIR. The EMERGE Science Grid project was managed by Tom DeFanti, PI from EVL at UIC.

The Emplacement Drift System is part of the Engineered Barrier System and provides the interface between the various waste package (WP) systems and the Ground Control System. In conjunction with the various WPs, the Emplacement Drift System limits the release and transport of radionuclides from the WP to the Natural Barrier following waste emplacement. Collectively, the Emplacement Drift System consists of the structural support hardware (emplacement drift invert and WP emplacement pallet) and any performance-enhancing barriers (drip shields and invert ballast) installed or placed in the emplacement drifts. The Emplacement Drift System is entirely located within the emplacement drifts in the subsurface portion of the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR); specifically, it is physically bounded by the Subsurface Facility System, the Ground Support System, and the Natural Barrier. The Emplacement Drift System supports the key MGR functions of limiting radionuclide release to the Natural Barrier, minimizing the likelihood of a criticality external to the WPs, limiting natural and induced environmental effects, and providing WP support. The Emplacement Drift System limits radionuclide release to the Natural Barrier by controlling the movement of radionuclides within the emplacement drift and to the Natural Barrier, and by limiting water contact with the WPs. The Emplacement …

This research investigates a control system for HCCI engines, where equivalence ratio, fraction of EGR and intake pressure are adjusted as needed to obtain satisfactory combustion. HCCI engine operation is analyzed with a detailed chemical kinetics code, HCT (Hydrodynamics, Chemistry and Transport), that has been extensively modified for application to engines. HCT is linked to an optimizer that determines the operating conditions that result in maximum brake thermal efficiency, while meeting the peak cylinder pressure restriction. The results show the values of the operating conditions that yield optimum efficiency as a function of torque and rpm. The engine has high NO{sub x} emissions for high power operation, so the possibility of switching to stoichiometric operation for high torque conditions is considered. Stoichiometric operation would allow the use of a three-way catalyst to reduce NO{sub x} emissions to acceptable levels. Finally, the paper discusses the possibility of transitioning from HCCI operation to SI operation to achieve high power output.

There are more than 250 forms of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-owned spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Due to the variety of the spent nuclear fuel, the National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program has designated nine representative fuel groups for disposal criticality analyses based on fuel matrix, primary fissile isotope, and enrichment (DOE 2000b, Section 6.6.8). The Melt and Dilute (MD) SNF has been designated as the representative fuel for the high-enriched U-Al fuel group. The MD SNF consists of homogeneous cylindrical ingots with 16.5 in. (419.1 mm) maximum diameter. Two general ingot compositions are considered in the criticality and geochemistry analyses. The first composition consists of 8.2 to 18.2 wt% uranium, enriched at less than 20 wt% U-235 and 0.5 wt% gadolinium, with the balance of the ingot being aluminum. The second composition is identical to the first for uranium and gadolinium, but in this case 2.5 wt% of the ingot is hafnium, with the balance of the ingot being aluminum. The results of the analyses performed will be used to develop waste acceptance criteria. The items that are important to criticality control are identified based on the analysis needs and result sensitivities. Prior to acceptance of fuel from the high-enriched …

Remediation of contaminated ground water by pump-and-treat approaches is often problematic because the heterogeneous distributions of lithologies, and hence hydraulic conductivities, characterizing many aquifers result in complex flow paths. Consequently, contaminants are removed readily from the most permeable regions of the subsurface but the less permeable sediments, rich in clay and silt, remain largely undisturbed. These continue to act as diffusion-limited sources for further contamination of the permeable sediments. Under certain circumstances, specialized technologies, such as electrokinetic approaches, may be useful for enhancing the removal of ground water from low-permeability sediments. These circumstances generally include high contaminant concentrations--hence posing a chronic source threat--and a relatively small area requiring treatment. At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California, electro-osmosis (EO) is being evaluated as a means for extracting ground water containing trichloroethylene (TCE) and other chlorinated hydrocarbons from fine-grained sediments in a plume source area.

With the Nation's coal-burning utilities facing the possibility of tighter controls on mercury pollutants, the U.S. Department of Energy is funding projects that could offer power plant operators better ways to reduce these emissions at much lower costs. Mercury is known to have toxic effects on the nervous system of humans and wildlife. Although it exists only in trace amounts in coal, mercury is released when coal burns and can accumulate on land and in water. In water, bacteria transform the metal into methylmercury, the most hazardous form of the metal. Methylmercury can collect in fish and marine mammals in concentrations hundreds of thousands times higher than the levels in surrounding waters. One of the goals of DOE is to develop technologies by 2005 that will be capable of cutting mercury emissions 50 to 70 percent at well under one-half of today's costs. ADA Environmental Solutions (ADA-ES) is managing a project to test mercury control technologies at full scale at four different power plants from 2000 to 2003. The ADA-ES project is focused on those power plants that are not equipped with wet flue gas desulfurization systems. ADA-ES will develop a portable system that will be moved to four different …

A method for measuring the fuel temperature coefficient of reactivity in a heterogeneous nuclear reactor is presented. The method, which is used during normal operation, requires that calibrated control rods be oscillated in a special way at a high reactor power level. The value of the fuel temperature coefficient of reactivity is found from the measured flux responses to these oscillations. Application of the method in a Savannah River reactor charged with natural uranium is discussed.

The general goal of the Magnetofluids Laboratory at Swarthmore College is to understand how magnetofluid kinetic energy can be converted to magnetic energy as it is in the core of the earth and sun (the dynamo problem) and to understand how magnetic energy can be rapidly converted back to kinetic energy and heat as it is in solar flares (the magnetic reconnection problem). Magnetic reconnection has been studied using the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment (SSX) which was designed and built under this Junior Faculty Grant. In SSX we generate and merge two rings of magnetized plasma called spheromaks and study their interaction. The spheromaks have many properties similar to solar flares so this work is directly relevant to basic solar physics. In addition, since the spheromak is a magnetic confinement fusion configuration, issues of formation and stability have direct impact on the fusion program.

It is possible to retrieve a large fraction of soluble waste from the Hanford single-shell waste tanks (SST) by dissolving it with water. This retrieval method will be demonstrated in U-107 and S-112 in the next few years. If saltcake dissolution proves practical and effective, many of the saltcake SSTs may be retrieved by this method. Many of the SSTs retain a large volume of flammable gas that will be released into the tank headspace as the waste dissolves. This report describes the physical processes that control dissolution and gas release. Calculation results are shown describing the headspace hydrogen concentration transient during dissolution. The observed spontaneous and induced gas releases from SSTs is summarized and the dissolution of the crust layer in SY-101 is discussed as a recent example of full-scale dissolution of saltcake containing a very large volume of retained gas. The report concludes that the dissolution rate is self limiting and gas release rates are relatively low.

It is possible to retrieve a large fraction of soluble waste from the Hanford single-shell waste tanks (SST) by dissolving it with water. This retrieval method will be demonstrated in U-107 and S-112 in the next few years. If saltcake dissolution proves practical and effective, many of the saltcake SSTs may be retrieved by this method. Many of the SSTs retain a large volume of flammable gas that will be released into the tank headspace as the waste dissolves. This report describes the physical processes that control dissolution and gas release. Calculation results are shown describing the headspace hydrogen concentration transient during dissolution. The observed spontaneous and induced gas releases from SSTs is summarized and the dissolution of the crust layer in SY-101 is discussed as a recent example of full-scale dissolution of saltcake containing a very large volume of retained gas. The report concludes that the dissolution rate is self limiting and gas release rates are relatively low.

The Ground Control System contributes to the safe construction and operation of the subsurface facility, including accesses and waste emplacement drifts, by maintaining the configuration and stability of the openings during construction, development, emplacement, and caretaker modes for the duration of preclosure repository life. The Ground Control System consists of ground support structures installed within the subsurface excavated openings, any reinforcement made to the rock surrounding the opening, and inverts if designed as an integral part of the system. The Ground Control System maintains stability for the range of geologic conditions expected at the repository and for all expected loading conditions, including in situ rock, construction, operation, thermal, and seismic loads. The system maintains the size and geometry of operating envelopes for all openings, including alcoves, accesses, and emplacement drifts. The system provides for the installation and operation of sensors and equipment for any required inspection and monitoring. In addition, the Ground Control System provides protection against rockfall for all subsurface personnel, equipment, and the engineered barrier system, including the waste package during the preclosure period. The Ground Control System uses materials that are sufficiently maintainable and that retain the necessary engineering properties for the anticipated conditions of the preclosure …

Project Objectives are to demonstrate the feasibility of real-time stress measurement, bit loading, and horizon sensing on a longwall shearer, boring machine, continuous miner, and loading bucket.

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All Phase I objectives were met. In the Phase I program, TPL developed a material, T- 450, capable of removing elemental mercury from air. It was found to have high porosity, good mechanical strength, good affinity for aqueous ionic mercury, and good stability to hot acidic gas. The material, used as a granular solid, was tested for adsorption of mercury in two protocols, one involving static room-temperature air and one using flowing hot air. In each case, it was superior to activated carbon. The following results were obtained: 1. Sol-gel methods were found to be applicable for synthesis of silicates containing oxidized thiol (disulfide) groups. 2. Synthetic parameters were determined for silicates with a variety of physical properties and performances. 3. Measurement of physical properties indicate high porosity strength, and stability to conditions found in flue gases. 4. The Hg° adsorption of T-450 was superior to that of activated carbon; static testing indicated a 2.4-fold increase in mercury adsorption, while a flow system mimicking hot flue gas indicated a 3.6-fold increase in Hg adsorption. 5. Economic analysis indicated that T-450 is a strong candidate for scale-up and commercial development. For the cost of removing Hg from flue gas, a savings …

Calibrated models of ground-water systems can provide substantial information for guiding data collection. This work considers using such models to guide hydrogeologic data collection for improving model predictions, by identifying model parameters that are most important to the predictions. Identification of these important parameters can help guide collection of field data about parameter values and associated flow-system features that can lead to improved predictions. Methods for identifying parameters important to predictions include prediction scaled sensitivities (PSS), which account for uncertainty on individual parameters as well as prediction sensitivity to parameters, and a new ''value of improved information'' (VOII) method, which includes the effects of parameter correlation in addition to individual parameter uncertainty and prediction sensitivity. The PSS and VOII methods are demonstrated using a model of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system. The predictions of interest are advective-transport paths originating at sites of past underground nuclear testing. Results show that for two paths evaluated, the most important parameters include a subset of five or six of the 23 defined model parameters. Some of the parameters identified as most important are associated with flow-system attributes that do not lie in the immediate vicinity of the paths. Results also indicate that …

ARM Automation, Inc. is developing a framework of modular actuators that can address the DOE's wide range of robotics needs. The objective of this effort is to demonstrate the effectiveness of this technology by constructing a manipulator from these actuators within a glovebox for Automated Plutonium Processing (APP). At the end of the project, the system of actuators was used to construct several different manipulator configurations, which accommodate common glovebox tasks such as repackaging. The modular nature and quickconnects of this system simplify installation into ''hot'' boxes and any potential modifications or repair therein. This work focused on the development of self-contained robotic actuator modules including the embedded electronic controls for the purpose of building a manipulator system. Both of the actuators developed under this project contain the control electronics, sensors, motor, gear train, wiring, system communications and mechanical interfaces of a complete robotics servo device. Test actuators and accompanying DISC{trademark}s underwent validation testing at The University of Texas at Austin and ARM Automation, Inc. following final design and fabrication. The system also included custom links, an umbilical cord, an open architecture PC-based system controller, and operational software that permitted integration into a completely functional robotic manipulator system. The open …

This final report summarizes the accomplishments of the 6-year Environmental Management Cooperative Agreement (EMCA) between the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC), a nonprofit, contract-supported unit of the University of North Dakota, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). The first portion of the report summarizes EMCA's structure, activities, and accomplishments. The appendix contains profiles of the individual EMCA tasks. Detailed descriptions and results of the tasks can be found separately in published Final Topical Reports. EMCA (DOE Contract No. DE-FC21-94MC31388) was in place from the fall of 1994 to the summer of 2001. Under EMCA, approximately $5.4 million was applied in three program areas to expedite the commercialization of 15 innovative technologies for application in DOE's EM Program ($3.8 million, or 69% of funds), provide technical support to the Deactivation and Decommissioning Focus Area (DDFA; $1.04 million, or 19% of funds), and provide for the coordination of the EMCA activities ($0.62 million, or 11% of funds). The following sections profile the overall accomplishments of the EMCA program followed by a summary of the accomplishments under each of the EMCA areas: commercialization, DDFA technical support, and management. Table 1 provides an overview of EMCA, including …

Recent advances have shown that Pd-Cu composite membranes are not susceptible to the mechanical, embrittlement, and poisoning problems that have prevented widespread industrial use of Pd for high temperature H2 separation. These membranes consist of a thin ({approx}1 mm) film of metal deposited on the inner surface of a porous metal or ceramic tube. Based on preliminary results, thin Pd{sub 60}Cu{sub 40} films are expected to exhibit hydrogen flux up to ten times larger than commercial polymer membranes for H2 separation, and resist poisoning by H{sub 2}S and other sulfur compounds typical of coal gas. Similar Pd-membranes have been operated at temperatures as high as 750 C. The overall objective of the proposed project is to demonstrate the feasibility of using sequential electroless plating to fabricate Pd{sub 60}Cu{sub 4}0 alloy membranes on porous supports for H{sub 2} separation. These following advantages of these membranes for processing of coal-derived gas will be demonstrated: High H{sub 2} flux; Sulfur tolerant, even at very high total sulfur levels (1000 ppm); Operation at temperatures well above 500 C; and Resistance to embrittlement and degradation by thermal cycling. The proposed research plan is designed to providing a fundamental understanding of: Factors important in membrane fabrication; …

As domestic oil and gas fields approach maturity or even abandonment, new methods are being tested to add life to the fields. One area being addressed is the reduction of water production to extend the economic life of a field. In many fields a very common problem is permeability heterogeneity from matrix variations, fractures, or both. Conventional procedures to remediate high water rates in fractured networks, including cement squeezing, openhole packers, and liners are generally unsuccessful. The objective of this project was to test the viability of using sequential treatment of a production well with a cross-linked polymer to restrict water production from highly permeable and fractured zones. The field used for testing was the Ashley Valley field in northeastern Utah. The process proposed for testing in this field was the sequential application of small batches of a cross-linked polymer, chromium (III) polyacrylamide polymer (Marcit{trademark}). First, the highest permeability fractures were to be blocked, followed progressively by smaller fractures, and finally the higher permeability matrix channels. The initial application of this polymer in September 1997 in the Ashley Valley (AV) well No.2 did increase oil production while decreasing both water production and the relative permeability to water. The successive application …