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Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

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In situ reheat is an alternative to traditional gas turbine reheat design in which fuel is fed through airfoils rather than in a bulky discrete combustor separating HP and LP turbines. The goals are to achieve increased power output and/or efficiency without higher emissions. In this program the scientific basis for achieving burnout with low emissions has been explored. In Task 1, Blade Path Aerodynamics, design options were evaluated using CFD in terms of burnout, increase of power output, and possible hot streaking. It was concluded that Vane 1 injection in a conventional 4-stage turbine was preferred. Vane 2 injection after vane 1 injection was possible, but of marginal benefit. In Task 2, Combustion and Emissions, detailed chemical kinetics modeling, validated by Task 3, Sub-Scale Testing, experiments, resulted in the same conclusions, with the added conclusion that some increase in emissions was expected. In Task 4, Conceptual Design and Development Plan, Siemens Westinghouse power cycle analysis software was used to evaluate alternative in situ reheat design options. Only single stage reheat, via vane 1, was found to have merit, consistent with prior Tasks. Unifying the results of all the tasks, a conceptual design for single stage reheat utilizing 24 holes, …

Daily newspaper from Sapulpa, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Perry, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Envelope 'C' high-level waste simulants were prepared to represent the chemical composition of the supernates of two tanks located at the Hanford Site in Washington State. Experiments were conducted with these simulants to determine the impact of several chemical and physical parameters on the phenomena of post-filtration precipitation. Baseline experiments were conducted for flow sheet conditions, which involved a reaction of each simulant with 0.075 M strontium nitrate, 0.05 M sodium permanganate, and 1.0 M added sodium hydroxide at 50 degrees Celsius for four hours. Simulants were filtered and stored in the dark under a nitrogen blanket. Chemical and physical parameters investigated were categorized as either reaction or filtrate variables. Reaction variables examined the effect of reaction temperature, free sodium hydroxide concentration, reagent concentrations, and shear level during the precipitation reaction on post-filtration solids formation. Filtrate variables examined the effects of light intensity, temperature of the filtrate, filtration at 50 degrees Celsius, filter pore size, and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) on post-filtration solids formation. Experiments were designed to study both primary effects and secondary effects of the parameters. Data presented for the primary effects study indicated that post-filtration solids formed with all treatments examined given sufficient time. However, in the short …

Interview with Jesse F. Stovall, Jr., a soldier in the US Marine Corps during WWII. He answers questions about his time in the Marines and his experiences overseas.

Hydrological and geochemical monitoring are key components of site characterization and CO2 plume monitoring for a pilot test to inject CO2 into a brine-bearing sand of the fluvial-deltaic Frio formation in the upper Texas Gulf Coast. In situ, injected CO2 forms a supercritical phase that has gas-like properties (low density and viscosity) compared to the surrounding brine, while some CO2 dissolves in the brine. The pilot test employs one injection well and one monitor well, with continuous pressure and flow-rate monitoring in both wells, and continuous surface fluid sampling and periodic down-hole fluid sampling from the monitor well. Pre-injection site-characterization includes pump tests with pressure-transient analysis to estimate single-phase flow properties, establish hydraulic connectivity between the wells, determine appropriate boundary conditions, and analyze ambient phase conditions within the formation. Additionally, a pre-injection tracer test furnishes estimates of kinematic porosity and the geometry of flow paths between injection and monitor wells under single-phase conditions. Pre-injection geochemical sampling provides a baseline for subsequent geochemical monitoring and helps determine the optimal tracers to accompany CO2 injection. During CO2 injection, hydrological monitoring enables estimation of two-phase flow properties and helps track the movement of the injected CO2 plume, while geochemical sampling provides direct evidence …

The results of the environmental surveillance program conducted at Site A/Plot M in the Palos Forest Preserve area for Calendar Year 2003 are presented. Based on the results of the 1976-1978 radiological characterization of the site, a determination was made that a surveillance program be established. The characterization study determined that very low levels of hydrogen-3 (as tritiated water) had migrated from the burial ground and were present in two nearby hand-pumped picnic wells. The current surveillance program began in 1980 and consists of sample collection and analysis of surface and subsurface water. The results of the analyses are used to (1) monitor the migration pathway of water from the burial ground (Plot M) to the handpumped picnic wells, (2) establish if buried radionuclides other than hydrogen-3 have migrated, and (3) monitor the presence of radioactive and chemically hazardous materials in the environment of the area. Hydrogen-3 in the Red Gate Woods picnic wells was still detected this year, but the average and maximum concentrations were significantly less than found earlier. Hydrogen-3 continues to be detected in a number of wells, boreholes, dolomite holes, and a surface stream. Analyses since 1984 have indicated the presence of low levels of strontium-90 …

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The federal market has been a source of strong energy service company (ESCO) industry growth over the last decade as traditional MUSH markets municipal/state governments, universities, schools and hospitals have matured. Federal alternative financing programs Utility Energy Services Contracts (UESC) and Department of Energy (DOE) Super, Army and Air Force Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC) have enabled this growth, but recent events threaten the ESPC programs. We compare the federal and MUSH markets by analyzing {approx} ;1550 completed projects and interviewing ESCO representatives. Federal ESPC market activity is estimated at {approx} ;$1.6 billion (B) over 10-15 years; activity in 2002 was {approx} ;$230 million (M). MUSH markets have produced {approx} ; $12-16B in projects over 20 years, and {approx} ;$0.8-1.0B in 2002. Federal sector projects have longer average contract terms than MUSH (14 vs. 9.5 years respectively). Federal projects are larger (median costs are $1.85M vs. $0.98M for MUSH), but costs per square foot are lower (median costs are $2.08/ft2 vs. $2.93/ft2 for MUSH), and annual energy savings are higher (18 vs. 14 kBtu/ft2). Non-energy savings are more often counted in federal projects (58 percent vs. 35 percent of MUSH projects) but when counted represent a higher proportion of savings …

A salt supernate waste (Tank 48H) generated at the Savannah River Site (SRS) during demonstration of In Tank Precipitation (ITP) process for Cs removal contains nitrates, nitrites, and sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB). This slurry must be pre-processed in order to reduce the impacts of the nitrate and organic species on subsequent vitrification in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). Fluidized Bed Steam Reforming (FBSR) is a candidate technology for destroying the nitrates, nitrites, and organics (NaTPB) prior to melting. Bench scale tests were designed and conducted at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to demonstrate that bench scale testing can adequately reproduce the CO/CO2 and H2/H2O fugacities representative of the FBSR process and form the appropriate product phases. Carbonate and silicate product phases that were compatible with DWPF vitrification were achieved in the bench scale testing and test parameters were optimized for a pilot scale FBSR demonstration.

Efficacy of stabilizing Ce, Co, and Pb by adding apatite and zero-valent Fe (Fe(0)) to contaminated wetland sediments was quantified under oxidizing and reducing conditions. The redox status and the general water chemistry of the oxidized and reduced treatments differed greatly, yet the influences of the amendments on contaminant stabilization were quite similar; both amendments significantly (p less than or equal to 0.05) reduced aqueous contaminant concentrations. Based on resin sorption studies and thermodynamic calculations, Ce existed primarily as cationic and to a smaller extent, anionic species, and Co existed almost as cationic, neutral, and organically complexed species. Based on a series of varying selective extractions, almost 50 wt-percentage of the Co and Pb were already strongly bound to the sediment, thereby limiting the potential (and need) of affecting additional immobilization through the use of amendments.

Over 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of wetlands such as L-Lake; Par Pond; Ponds A, 2, 4, 5, and B; canals; and several creeks (e.g. Steel Creek, Lower Three Runs, and Pen Branch) on the Savannah River Site (SRS) are contaminated with 560 Ci of 137Cs. These environmentally sensitive wetlands pose a significant remediation challenge to the Department of Energy (DOE). A new technology is needed to avoid environmentally destructive remediation. Current muck and truck technologies destroy the sensitive ecosystems, and may increase dose to workers. Because of relatively low amount of clay and weak 137Cs retention capabilities of kaolinite dominant sediments on the SRS, 137Cs has a greater bioavailability here than at any other DOE site. We have previously shown that naturally occurring illite minerals, with a high complexing capability for 137Cs, can sequester 137Cs and reduce its bioavailability when applied to 137Cs contaminated wetlands. Previous research showed that an in situ remediation method using illite minerals reduced 137Cs concentrations in the water 25- to 30-fold, in aquatic plants 3- to 5-fold, and in fish 2- to 3-fold. During this funding period (Fy03) we re-sampled study sites in Pond A and R-Canal that had been treated in 2001 with illite …

Recently, studies of the Platte River watershed have gained significant attention from federal and Nebraska, USA, state agencies due to the importance of groundwater/surface-water interactions under drought conditions. Using archive data from a 1983 pumping test, Chen and Chen (2003) interpret the hydraulic properties of the alluvium and a streambed of the Platte River near Kearney, Nebraska, and compare their data with results of other studies performed over the past several years. Three important inconsistencies of this article will be highlighted here: (1) misuse of the analytical model of Hunt (1999), (2) departure of their results from previously published data, and (3) unsatisfactory explanation of these anomalous results.

Gasoline prices have been extremely volatile for well over a year, with three significant price spikes focusing the attention of consumers and policy makers on the gas pump. This report discusses the issue of gas price fluctuations, focusing on crude oil inventory and other factors.

State policymakers have been concerned about the uninsured for a number of years and have pursued many strategies to help expand health care coverage. To understand the strategies undertaken by states and their successes and failures, CRS contracted with the Institute for Health Care Research and Policy at Georgetown University to conduct a 50 state survey. The findings of that survey are presented here.

Electron-impact ionization of the hydrogen atom is the prototypical three-body Coulomb breakup problem in quantum mechanics. The combination of subtle correlation effects and the difficult boundary conditions required to describe two electrons in the continuum have made this one of the outstanding challenges of atomic physics. A complete solution of this problem in the form of a ''reduction to computation'' of all aspects of the physics is given by the application of exterior complex scaling, a modern variant of the mathematical tool of analytic continuation of the electronic coordinates into the complex plane that was used historically to establish the formal analytic properties of the scattering matrix. This review first discusses the essential difficulties of the three-body Coulomb breakup problem in quantum mechanics. It then describes the formal basis of exterior complex scaling of electronic coordinates as well as the details of its numerical implementation using a variety of methods including finite difference, finite elements, discrete variable representations, and B-splines. Given these numerical implementations of exterior complex scaling, the scattering wave function can be generated with arbitrary accuracy on any finite volume in the space of electronic coordinates, but there remains the fundamental problem of extracting the breakup amplitudes from …

The Pennsylvania State University, under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory will establish, promote, and manage a national industry-driven Stripper Well Consortium (SWC) that will be focused on improving the production performance of domestic petroleum and/or natural gas stripper wells. The consortium creates a partnership with the U.S. petroleum and natural gas industries and trade associations, state funding agencies, academia, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory. This report serves as the thirteenth quarterly technical progress report for the SWC. Key activities for this reporting period included: (1) hosting three fall technology transfer meetings in Wyoming, Texas, and Pennsylvania, (2) releasing the 2004 SWC request-for-proposal (RFP), and (3) initial planning of the SWC spring meeting in Golden Colorado for selecting the 2004 SWC projects. The Fall technology transfer meetings attracted 100+ attendees between the three workshops. The SWC membership which attended the Casper, Wyoming workshop was able to see several SWC-funded projects operating in the field at the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center. The SWC is nearing the end of its initial funding cycle. The Consortium has a solid membership foundation and a demonstrated ability to review and select projects that have relevancy to meet the …

The Pennsylvania State University, under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory will establish, promote, and manage a national industry-driven Stripper Well Consortium (SWC) that will be focused on improving the production performance of domestic petroleum and/or natural gas stripper wells. The consortium creates a partnership with the U.S. petroleum and natural gas industries and trade associations, state funding agencies, academia, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory. This report serves as the twelfth quarterly technical progress report for the SWC. Key activities for this reporting period focused on organizing and hosting three fall technology transfer meetings that will be held in Wyoming, Texas, and Pennsylvania. In addition, work has started on developing the 2004 SWC request-for-proposals which will be released during the next reporting period. During this reporting period, the efforts were focused primarily on the organizing the SWC fall technology transfer meetings.

Video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.