Methane (CH{sub 4}) in natural gas is a major energy source in the U.S., and is used extensively on Alaska's North Slope, including the oilfields in Prudhoe Bay, the community of Barrow, and the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska (NPRA). Smaller villages, however, are dependent on imported diesel fuel for both power and heating, resulting in some of the highest energy costs in the U.S. and crippling local economies. Numerous CH{sub 4} gas seeps have been observed on wetlands near Atqasuk, Alaska (in the NPRA), and initial measurements have indicated flow rates of 3,000-5,000 ft{sup 3} day{sup -1} (60-100 kg CH{sub 4} day{sup -1}). Gas samples collected in 1996 indicated biogenic origin, although more recent sampling indicated a mixture of biogenic and thermogenic gas. In this study, we (1) quantified the amount of CH{sub 4} generated by several seeps and evaluated their potential use as an unconventional gas source for the village of Atqasuk; (2) collected gas and analyzed its composition from multiple seeps several miles apart to see if the source is the same, or if gas is being generated locally from isolated biogenic sources; and (3) assessed the potential magnitude of natural CH{sub 4} gas seeps for future use …

Various laboratory tests were carried at the R & D facility of BJ Services in Tomball, TX with BJ Services staff to predict and evaluate the performance of the Ceramicrete slurry for its effective use in permafrost cementing operations. Although other standards such as those of the American Standard for Testing Materials (ASTM) and Construction Specification Institute (CSI) exist, all these tests were standardized by the API. A summary of the tests traditionally used in the cement slurry design as well as the API tests reference document are provided in Table 7. All of these tests were performed within the scope of this research to evaluate properties of the Ceramicrete.

The G{sub 2}-MSSM is a model of particle physics coupled to moduli fields with interesting phenomenology both for colliders and astrophysical experiments. In this paper we consider a more general model--whose moduli Kahler potential is a completely arbitrary G{sub 2}-holonomy Kahler potential and whose matter Kahler potential is also more general. We prove that the vacuum structure and spectrum of BSM particles is largely unchanged in this much more general class of theories. In particular, gaugino masses are still suppressed relative to the gravitino mass and moduli masses. We also consider the effects of higher order corrections to the matter Kahler potential and find a connection between the nature of the LSP and flavor effects.

This report summarizes the progress made during the August 1, 2006 - May 31, 2008 award period under Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-05NT42614 for the U. S. Department of Energy/National Energy Technology Laboratory (USDOE/NETL) entitled 'SECA Coal Based Systems'. The initial overall objective of this program was to design, develop, and demonstrate multi-MW integrated gasification fuel cell (IGFC) power plants with >50% overall efficiency from coal (HHV) to AC power. The focus of the program was to develop low-cost, high performance, modular solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology to support coal gas IGFC power systems. After a detailed GE internal review of the SOFC technology, the program was de-scoped at GE's request. The primary objective of this program was then focused on developing a performance degradation mitigation path for high performing, cost-effective solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). There were two initial major objectives in this program. These were: (1) Develop and optimize a design of a >100 MWe integrated gasification fuel cell (IGFC) power plant; (2) Resolve identified barrier issues concerning the long-term economic performance of SOFC. The program focused on designing and cost estimating the IGFC system and resolving technical and economic barrier issues relating to SOFC. In doing so, manufacturing …

Multicomponent seismic data are composed of three independent vector-based seismic wave modes. These wave modes are, compressional mode (P), and shear modes SV and SH. The three modes are generated using three orthogonal source-displacement vectors and then recorded using three orthogonal vector sensors. The components travel through the earth at differing velocities and directions. The velocities of SH and SV as they travel through the subsurface differ by only a few percent, but the velocities of SV and SH (Vs) are appreciably lower than the P-wave velocity (Vp). The velocity ratio Vp/Vs varies by an order of magnitude in the earth from a value of 15 to 1.5 depending on the degree of sedimentary lithification. The data used in this study were acquired by nine-component (9C) vertical seismic profile (VSP), using three orthogonal vector sources. The 9C vertical seismic profile is capable of generating P-wave mode and the fundamental S-wave mode (SH-SH and SV-SV) directly at the source station and permits the basic components of elastic wavefield (P, SH-SH and SV-SV) to be separated from one another for the purposes of imaging. Analysis and interpretations of data from the study area show that incident full-elastic seismic wavefield is capable of …

This is a letter report summarizing work performed in FY2008 to determine the rates of carbon tetrachloride hydrolysis at temperatures close to actual groundwater temperatures. The report describes the project, the methodology, and the results obtained since the project's inception in FY2006. Measurements of hydrolysis rates in homogeneous solution have been completed for temperaturs of 70 C through 40 C, with additional data available at 30 C and 20 C. These results show no difference between the rates in deionized H2O and in filter-sterilized Hanford-Site groundwater. Moreover, the rates measured are 2-3 times slower than predicted from the open literature. Measurements of rates involving sterile suspensions of Hanford-Site sediment in Hanford-Site groundwater, however, show faster hydrolysis at temperatures below 40 C. Extrapolation of the current data available suggests a six-fold increase in rate would be expected at groundwater temperature of 16 C due to the presence of the sediment. This result translates into a 78-year half-life, rather than the 470-680 year half-life that would be predicted from rate determinations in homogeneous solution. The hydrolysis rate data at 20 C, in contrast to those at higher temperatures, are preliminary and have low statistical power. While significant (p < 0.05) differences between …

A total of 79 urine samples, 3 blank fecal and 5 spiked artificial fecal samples were submitted during the report period (April 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008) to General Engineering Laboratories, South Carolina by the Hanford Internal Dosimetry Program (IDP) to check the accuracy, precision, and detection levels of their analyses. Urine analyses for tritium, Sr, 238Pu, 239Pu, 241Am, 243Am 235U, 238U, elemental uranium and fecal analyses for 241Am, 238Pu and 239Pu were tested this year. The number of QC urine samples submitted during the report period represented 1.8% of the total samples submitted. In addition to the samples provided by IDP, GEL was also required to conduct their own QC program, and submit the results of analyses to IDP. About 35% of the analyses processed by GEL during the third year of this contract were quality control samples. GEL tested the performance of 24 radioisotopes, all of which met or exceeded the specifications in the Statement of Work within statistical uncertainty (Table 4). IDP concluded that GEL was performing well for all analyses tested, and concerns identified earlier were satisfactorily resolved.

ABETI/IWESS is a project carried out by Carnegie Mellon's Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics, the CBPD, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy/EERE, to design, procure, install, operate, and evaluate an energy supply system, an ESS, that will provide power, cooling, heating and ventilation for CBPD's Intelligent Workplace, the IW. The energy sources for this system, the IWESS, are solar radiation and bioDiesel fuel. The components of this overall system are: (1) a solar driven cooling and heating system for the IW comprising solar receivers, an absorption chiller, heat recovery exchanger, and circulation pump; (2) a bioDiesel fueled engine generator with heat recovery exchangers, one on the exhaust to provide steam and the other on the engine coolant to provide heated water; (3) a ventilation system including an enthalpy recovery wheel, an air based heat pump, an active desiccant wheel, and an air circulation fan; and (4) various convective and radiant cooling/heating units and ventilation air diffusers distributed throughout the IW. The goal of the ABETI/IWESS project is to demonstrate an energy supply system for a building space that will provide a healthy, comfortable environment for the occupants and that will reduce the quantity of energy consumed in the …

With the full BABAR data sample of 465 million B{bar B} pairs, they observe the decays B{sup {+-}} {yields} {psi}K{sub 1}(1270){sup {+-}} and B{sup {+-}} {yields} {psi}K*{sub 2}(1430){sup {+-}}. They measure the branching fractions (6.1 {+-} 1.6 {+-} 1.1) x 10{sup -6} and (8.4 {+-} 1.9 {+-} 0.9) x 10{sup -6} and the fractions of longitudinal polarization 0.46{sub -0.13-0.07}{sup +0.12+0.03} and 0.80{sub -0.10}{sup +0.09} {+-} 0.03, respectively. They also report on the B{sup {+-}} {yields} {psi}K*{sub 0}(1430){sup {+-}} decay branching fraction of (7.0 {+-} 1.3 {+-} 0.9) x 10{sup -6} and several parameters sensitive to CP violation and interference in the above three decays. Upper limits are placed on the B{sup {+-}} decay rates to final states with {psi} and K{sub 1}(1400){sup {+-}}, K*(1410){sup {+-}}, K{sub 2}(1770){sup {+-}}, or K{sub 2}(1820){sup {+-}}. Understanding the observed polarization pattern requires amplitude contributions from an uncertain source.

Previous work on intact thylakoid membranes showed that transient formation of a zeaxanthin radical cation was correlated with regulation of photosynthetic light-harvesting via energy-dependent quenching. A molecular mechanism for such quenching was proposed to involve charge transfer within a chlorophyll-zeaxanthin heterodimer. Using near infrared (880-1100 nm) transient absorption spectroscopy, we demonstrate that carotenoid (mainly zeaxanthin) radical cation generation occurs solely in isolated minor light-harvesting complexes that bind zeaxanthin, consistent with the engagement of charge transfer quenching therein. We estimated that less than 0.5percent of the isolated minor complexes undergo charge transfer quenching in vitro, whereas the fraction of minor complexes estimated to be engaged in charge transfer quenching in isolated thylakoids was more than 80 times higher. We conclude that minor complexes which bind zeaxanthin are sites of charge transfer quenching in vivo and that they can assume Non-quenching and Quenching conformations, the equilibrium LHC(N)&lt;--&gt; LHC(Q) of which is modulated by the transthylakoid pH gradient, the PsbS protein, and protein-protein interactions.

The Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory was created by the University of Alaska Fairbanks in response to a congressionally mandated funding opportunity through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), specifically to encourage research partnerships between the university, the Alaskan energy industry, and the DOE. The enabling legislation permitted research in a broad variety of topics particularly of interest to Alaska, including providing more efficient and economical electrical power generation in rural villages, as well as research in coal, oil, and gas. The contract was managed as a cooperative research agreement, with active project monitoring and management from the DOE. In the eight years of this partnership, approximately 30 projects were funded and completed. These projects, which were selected using an industry panel of Alaskan energy industry engineers and managers, cover a wide range of topics, such as diesel engine efficiency, fuel cells, coal combustion, methane gas hydrates, heavy oil recovery, and water issues associated with ice road construction in the oil fields of the North Slope. Each project was managed as a separate DOE contract, and the final technical report for each completed project is included with this final report. The intent of this process was to address the energy …

This paper describes the results of the analyses of High Level Waste (HLW) sludge slurry samples and of the calculations necessary to decay the radionuclides to meet the reporting requirement in the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications (WAPS) [1]. The concentrations of 45 radionuclides were measured. The results of these analyses provide input for radioactive decay calculations used to project the radionuclide inventory at the specified index years, 2015 and 3115. This information is necessary to complete the Production Records at Savannah River Site's Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) so that the final glass product resulting from Macrobatch 5 (MB5) can eventually be submitted to a Federal Repository. Five of the necessary input radionuclides for the decay calculations could not be measured directly due to their low concentrations and/or analytical interferences. These isotopes are Nb-93m, Pd-107, Cd-113m, Cs-135, and Cm-248. Methods for calculating these species from concentrations of appropriate other radionuclides will be discussed. Also the average age of the MB5 HLW had to be calculated from decay of Sr-90 in order to predict the initial concentration of Nb-93m. As a result of the measurements and calculations, thirty-one WAPS reportable radioactive isotopes were identified for MB5. The total activity of MB5 …

To encourage, facilitate and accelerate the development of tight gas reservoirs in the Appalachian basin, the geological surveys in Pennsylvania and West Virginia collected widely dispersed data on five gas plays and formatted these data into a large database that can be accessed by individual well or by play. The database and delivery system that were developed can be applied to any of the 30 gas plays that have been defined in the basin, but for this project, data compilation was restricted to the following: the Mississippian-Devonian Berea/Murrysville sandstone play and the Upper Devonian Venango, Bradford and Elk sandstone plays in Pennsylvania and West Virginia; and the 'Clinton'/Medina sandstone play in northwestern Pennsylvania. In addition, some data were collected on the Tuscarora Sandstone play in West Virginia, which is the lateral equivalent of the Medina Sandstone in Pennsylvania. Modern geophysical logs are the most common and cost-effective tools for evaluating reservoirs. Therefore, all of the well logs in the libraries of the two surveys from wells that had penetrated the key plays were scanned, generating nearly 75,000 scanned e-log files from more than 40,000 wells. A standard file-naming convention for scanned logs was developed, which includes the well API number, …

We have outlined how, by an intuitive approach, the on- and off-momentum dynamic aperture for a synchrotron light source can be estimated from a nonlinear system of algebraic equations for the sextupole/multipole strengths. The approach has only two free parameters: the relative weight for resonance vs. tune shift terms and the tune footprint for stable trajectories in a modern third generation synchrotron light source. In other words, we have established a control theory approach for the medium term (10{sup 3} turns) stability for a dynamic system described by a nonlinear system of ordinary differential equations. Equipped with a predictive, quantitative model for stability, we have then evaluated how to improve the control of the dynamics by analyzing and modifying the properties of the corresponding algebraic system. In particular, by changing the number- and characteristics of the parameters, i.e., we have not evaluated how the underlying (linear) optics could be improved. We have also validated our conjectures by numerical simulations with a realistic model. Presumably, our conclusions, summarized in Section 1.0, are a direct result of the presented analysis and observations.

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has pursued a research program for producing activated carbon from North Dakota lignite that can be competitive with commercial-grade activated carbon. As part of this effort, small-scale production of activated carbon was produced from Fort Union lignite. A conceptual design of a commercial activated carbon production plant was drawn, and a market assessment was performed to determine likely revenue streams for the produced carbon. Activated carbon was produced from lignite coal in both laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactors and in a small pilot-scale rotary kiln. The EERC was successfully able to upgrade the laboratory-scale activated carbon production system to a pilot-scale rotary kiln system. The activated carbon produced from North Dakota lignite was superior to commercial grade DARCO{reg_sign} FGD and Rheinbraun's HOK activated coke product with respect to iodine number. The iodine number of North Dakota lignite-derived activated carbon was between 600 and 800 mg I{sub 2}/g, whereas the iodine number of DARCO FGD was between 500 and 600 mg I{sub 2}/g, and the iodine number of Rheinbraun's HOK activated coke product was around 275 mg I{sub 2}/g. The EERC performed both bench-scale and pilot-scale mercury capture tests using the activated carbon made under various …

Effective overlap of computation and communication is a well understood technique for latency hiding and can yield significant performance gains for applications on high-end computers. In this report, we describe an instrumentation framework developed for message-passing systems to characterize the degree of overlap of communication with computation in the execution of parallel applications. The inability to obtain precise time-stamps for pertinent communication events is a significant problem, and is addressed by generation of minimum and maximum bounds on achieved overlap. The overlap measures can aid application developers and system designers in investigating scalability issues. The approach has been used to instrument two MPI implementations as well as the ARMCI system. The implementation resides entirely within the communication library and thus integrates well with existing approaches that operate outside the library. The utility of the framework is demonstrated by analyzing communication-computation overlap for micro-benchmarks and the NAS benchmarks, and the insights obtained are used to modify the NAS SP benchmark, resulting in improved overlap.

Effective overlap of computation and communication is a well understood technique for latency hiding and can yield significant performance gains for applications on high-end computers. In this report, we describe an instrumentation framework developed for messagepassing systems to characterize the degree of overlap of communication with computation in the execution of parallel applications. The inability to obtain precise time-stamps for pertinent communication events is a significant problem, and is addressed by generation of minimum and maximum bounds on achieved overlap. The overlap measures can aid application developers and system designers in investigating scalability issues. The approach has been used to instrument two MPI implementations as well as the ARMCI system. The implementation resides entirely within the communication library and thus integrates well with existing approaches that operate outside the library. The utility of the framework is demonstrated by analyzing communication-computation overlap for micro-benchmarks and the NAS benchmarks, and the insights obtained are used to modify the NAS SP benchmark, resulting in improved overlap.

A primary goal of terrorism is to instill a sense of fear and vulnerability in a population and to erode confidence in government and law enforcement agencies to protect citizens against future attacks. In recognition of its importance, the Department of Homeland Security includes public confidence as one of the metrics it uses to assess the consequences of terrorist attacks. Hence, several factors--including a detailed understanding of the variations in public confidence among individuals, by type of terrorist event, and as a function of time--are critical to developing this metric. In this exploratory study, a questionnaire was designed, tested, and administered to small groups of individuals to measure public confidence in the ability of federal, state, and local governments and their public safety agencies to prevent acts of terrorism. Data were collected from the groups before and after they watched mock television news broadcasts portraying a smallpox attack, a series of suicide bomber attacks, a refinery bombing, and cyber intrusions on financial institutions that resulted in identity theft and financial losses. Our findings include the following: (a) the subjects can be classified into at least three distinct groups on the basis of their baseline outlook--optimistic, pessimistic, and unaffected; (b) the …

This study investigated potential biological effects of produced water contamination derived from occasional surface overflow and possible subsurface intrusion at an oil production site along the shore of Skiatook Lake, Oklahoma. We monitored basic chemistry and acute toxicity to a suite of standard aquatic test species (fathead minnow-Pimephales promelas, Daphnia pulex, Daphnia magna, and Ceriodaphnia dubia) in produced water and in samples taken from shallow groundwater wells on the site. Toxicity identification evaluations and ion toxicity modeling were used to identify toxic constituents in the samples. Lake sediment at the oil production site and at a reference site were also analyzed for brine intrusion chemically and by testing sediment toxicity using the benthic invertebrates, Chironomus dilutus, and Hyallela azteca. Sediment quality was also assessed with in situ survival and growth studies with H. azteca and the Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea, and by benthic macroinvertebrate community sampling. The produced water was acutely toxic to the aquatic test organisms at concentrations ranging from 1% to 10% of the whole produced water sample. Toxicity identification evaluation and ion toxicity modeling indicated major ion salts and hydrocarbons were the primary mixture toxicants. The standardized test species used in the laboratory bioassays exhibited differences in …

The effect of fuel burnup on the embrittlement of various cladding alloys was examined with laboratory tests conducted under conditions relevant to loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). The cladding materials tested were Zircaloy-4, Zircaloy-2, ZIRLO, M5, and E110. Tests were performed with specimens sectioned from as-fabricated cladding, from prehydrided (surrogate for high-burnup) cladding, and from high-burnup fuel rods which had been irradiated in commercial reactors. The tests were designed to determine for each cladding material the ductile-to-brittle transition as a function of steam oxidation temperature, weight gain due to oxidation, hydrogen content, pre-transient cladding thickness, and pre-transient corrosion-layer thickness. For short, defueled cladding specimens oxidized at 1000-1200 C, ring compression tests were performed to determine post-quench ductility at {le} 135 C. The effect of breakaway oxidation on embrittlement was also examined for short specimens oxidized at 800-1000 C. Among other findings, embrittlement was found to be sensitive to fabrication processes--especially surface finish--but insensitive to alloy constituents for these dilute zirconium alloys used as cladding materials. It was also demonstrated that burnup effects on embrittlement are largely due to hydrogen that is absorbed in the cladding during normal operation. Some tests were also performed with longer, fueled-and-pressurized cladding segments subjected to LOCA-relevant heating …

Western Research Institute (WRI), in conjunction with Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (WFEC), has teamed with Clean Air Engineering of Pittsburgh PA to conduct a mercury monitoring program at the WEFC Hugo plant in Oklahoma. Sponsored by US Department of Energy Cooperative Agreement DE-FC-26-98FT40323, the program included the following members of the Subbituminous Energy Coalition (SEC) as co-sponsors: Missouri Basin Power Project; DTE Energy; Entergy; Grand River Dam Authority; and Nebraska Public Power District. This research effort had five objectives: (1) determine the mass balance of mercury for subbituminous coal-fired power plant; (2) assess the distribution of mercury species in the flue gas (3) perform a comparison of three different Hg test methods; (4) investigate the long-term (six months) mercury variability at a subbituminous coal-fired power plant; and (5) assess operation and maintenance of the Method 324 and Horiba CEMS utilizing plant personnel.

This document is the final report for Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-04NT42314, 'Kinetics Study of Mercury Reactions in FGD Liquors'. The project was co-funded by the U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory and EPRI. The objective of the project has been to determine the mechanisms and kinetics of the aqueous reactions of mercury absorbed by wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems, and develop a kinetics model to predict mercury reactions in wet FGD systems. The model may be used to determine optimum wet FGD design and operating conditions to maximize mercury capture in wet FGD systems. Initially, a series of bench-top, liquid-phase reactor tests were conducted and mercury species concentrations were measured by UV/visible light spectroscopy to determine reactant and byproduct concentrations over time. Other measurement methods, such as atomic absorption, were used to measure concentrations of vapor-phase elemental mercury, that cannot be measured by UV/visible light spectroscopy. Next, a series of bench-scale wet FGD simulation tests were conducted. Because of the significant effects of sulfite concentration on mercury re-emission rates, new methods were developed for operating and controlling the bench-scale FGD experiments. Approximately 140 bench-scale wet FGD tests were conducted and several unusual and pertinent effects of process chemistry on mercury …

According to its original Statement of Work (SOW), the overarching objective of this project is: 'To enhance substantially the understanding of the fundamental dynamics of nonequilibrium high-brightness beams with space charge.' Our work and results over the past three and half years have been both intense and fruitful. Inasmuch as this project is inextricably linked to a larger, growing research program - that of the Beam Physics and Astrophysics Group (BPAG) - the progress that it has made possible cannot easily be separated from the global picture. Thus, this summary report includes major sections on 'global' developments and on those that can be regarded as specific to this project.

This document provides the algorithms for CHP system performance monitoring and commissioning verification (CxV). It starts by presenting system-level and component-level performance metrics, followed by descriptions of algorithms for performance monitoring and commissioning verification, using the metric presented earlier. Verification of commissioning is accomplished essentially by comparing actual measured performance to benchmarks for performance provided by the system integrator and/or component manufacturers. The results of these comparisons are then automatically interpreted to provide conclusions regarding whether the CHP system and its components have been properly commissioned and where problems are found, guidance is provided for corrections. A discussion of uncertainty handling is then provided, which is followed by a description of how simulations models can be used to generate data for testing the algorithms. A model is described for simulating a CHP system consisting of a micro-turbine, an exhaust-gas heat recovery unit that produces hot water, a absorption chiller and a cooling tower. The process for using this model for generating data for testing the algorithms for a selected set of faults is described. The next section applies the algorithms developed to CHP laboratory and field data to illustrate their use. The report then concludes with a discussion of the …