Tasks reported on this term include optimization of chlorided Pt- alumina catalysts, testing of the optimum Pt/Cl alumina catalysts, preparation and testing of zirconia superacid catalyst. (VC)

In this report, we present an improved, feasible and potentially cost effective method of cleaning and beneficiating ultrafine coal. Increased mechanization of mining methods and the need towards depyritization, and demineralization have led to an increase in the quantity of coal fines generated in recent times. For example, the amount of {minus}100 mesh coal occurring in coal preparation plant feeds now typically varies from 5 to 25% of the total feed. Environmental constraints coupled with the greatly increased cost of coal have made it increasingly important to recover more of these fines. Our method chemically modifies the surface of such coals by a series of gaseous phase treatments employing Friedel-Crafts reactions. By using olefins (ethene, propene and butene) and hydrogen chloride catalyst at elevated temperature, the surface hydrophobicity of coal is enhanced. This increased hydrophobicity is manifest in surface phenomena which reflect conditions at the solid/liquid interphase (zeta potential) and those which reflect conditions at the solid/liquid/gas interphases (contact angle, wettability and floatability).

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the United States Olympic Committee for the year ended December 31, 1997, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) community assistance program for minimizing the impact of downsizing its contractor workforce, focusing on: (1) how much funding DOE had committed to spend and spent in support of its worker and community assistance program for fiscal years (FY) 1994 through 1998; (2) who received benefits during FY 1997 and FY 1998; (3) comparing DOE's separation benefits with the benefit packages of other federal and nonfederal organizations; and (4) what effect DOE's criteria had on determining which communities received assistance."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Women's Army Corps Veterans Association for the fiscal year June 30, 1998, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) progress in implementing performance-based contracting at its national laboratories, focusing on: (1) the status of performance-based contracting in DOE's national laboratory contracts; and (2) DOE's efforts to determine the impact of performance-based contracting."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Transportation's (DOT) performance plan for fiscal year (FY) 2000, focusing on: (1) the usefulness of DOT's plan in providing a clear picture of intended performance across the Department; (2) the strategies and resources that DOT will use to achieve its goals; and (3) whether DOT's performance information will be credible."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on: (1) the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) monitoring of general aviation airports' compliance with federal land-use requirements; and (2) FAA's use of enforcement tools to resolve cases of noncompliance."

At the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) pulses of protons accelerated in a synchrotron produce pulses of fast neutrons via the spallation process in an enriched uranium target. After moderation, the resulting pulses of slow neutrons are directed into beams which serve a variety of neutron scattering instruments. Currently there are thirteen neutron scattering instruments in operation or under development at IPNS, and six of these use position-sensitive neutron detectors (PSDs). These PSDs are: a 30 cm {times} 30 cm, {approximately}3 mm resolution, neutron Anger camera area PSD with {sup 6}Li-glass scintillator; a 2.5 cm dia, {approximately}0.7 mm resolution, microchannel-plate area PSD with {sup 6}Li-glass scintillator; a 20 cm {times} 20 cm, {approximately}5 mm resolution, {sup 3}He proportional counter area PSD; a 40 cm {times} 40 cm, {approximately}4 mm resolution, {sup 3}He proportional counter area PSD; a flat 20 cm long, {approximately}1.6 mm resolution, {sup 3}He proportional counter linear PSD; and 160 cylindrical {sup 3}He proportional counter linear PSDs, each of which is 1.27 cm in dia 60 cm long and has {approximately}14 mm resolution. These detectors, in addition to being position-sensitive, resolve the time of the neutron capture with {approximately}1 {mu}s precision for neutron time-of-flight measurements. This paper will …

Objective is to understand the mechanisms governing nonequilibrium plasma atomistic or molecular deposition of hard face coatings. Laser diagnostic methods include coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) and laser-induced fluorescence. TiB[sub 2] and diamonds were used as the hard face coating materials. Diborane was used as precursor to TiB[sub 2].

The project on biotechnology of indirect liquefaction was focused on conversion of coal derived synthesis gas to liquid fuels using a two-stage, acidogenic and solventogenic, anaerobic bioconversion process. The acidogenic fermentation used a novel and versatile organism, Butyribacterium methylotrophicum, which was fully capable of using CO as the sole carbon and energy source for organic acid production. In extended batch CO fermentations the organism was induced to produce butyrate at the expense of acetate at low pH values. Long-term, steady-state operation was achieved during continuous CO fermentations with this organism, and at low pH values (a pH of 6.0 or less) minor amounts of butanol and ethanol were produced. During continuous, steady-state fermentations of CO with cell recycle, concentrations of mixed acids and alcohols were achieved (approximately 12 g/l and 2 g/l, respectively) which are high enough for efficient conversion in stage two of the indirect liquefaction process. The metabolic pathway to produce 4-carbon alcohols from CO was a novel discovery and is believed to be unique to our CO strain of B. methylotrophicum. In the solventogenic phase, the parent strain ATCC 4259 of Clostridium acetobutylicum was mutagenized using nitrosoguanidine and ethyl methane sulfonate. The E-604 mutant strain of Clostridium …

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a juvenile court's authority under Family Code section 51.12(b) to "control the conditions and terms of a county contract with a private corporation regarding the operation of the county juvenile detention facility (RQ-921)

Objective is to understand the mechanisms governing nonequilibrium plasma atomistic or molecular deposition of hard face coatings. Laser diagnostic methods include coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) and laser-induced fluorescence. TiB{sub 2} and diamonds were used as the hard face coating materials. Diborane was used as precursor to TiB{sub 2}.

The project on biotechnology of indirect liquefaction was focused on conversion of coal derived synthesis gas to liquid fuels using a two-stage, acidogenic and solventogenic, anaerobic bioconversion process. The acidogenic fermentation used a novel and versatile organism, Butyribacterium methylotrophicum, which was fully capable of using CO as the sole carbon and energy source for organic acid production. In extended batch CO fermentations the organism was induced to produce butyrate at the expense of acetate at low pH values. Long-term, steady-state operation was achieved during continuous CO fermentations with this organism, and at low pH values (a pH of 6.0 or less) minor amounts of butanol and ethanol were produced. During continuous, steady-state fermentations of CO with cell recycle, concentrations of mixed acids and alcohols were achieved (approximately 12 g/l and 2 g/l, respectively) which are high enough for efficient conversion in stage two of the indirect liquefaction process. The metabolic pathway to produce 4-carbon alcohols from CO was a novel discovery and is believed to be unique to our CO strain of B. methylotrophicum. In the solventogenic phase, the parent strain ATCC 4259 of Clostridium acetobutylicum was mutagenized using nitrosoguanidine and ethyl methane sulfonate. The E-604 mutant strain of Clostridium …

We have measured solute trapping of Sn in Al over a wide enough range of velocities to make a quantitative test of theory. The Continuous Growth Model of Aziz is the only one-parameter model that fits the data. We have also measured the diffusive speed - the growth rate at which interfacial partitioning is in mid-transition between equilibrium partitioning and complete solute trapping - for several solutes in A1. We have found an inverse correlation between the equilibrium partition coefficient and the diffusive speed. Taken together, these results give us heretofore unprecedented predictive capability in modeling rapid solidification processing. We have also examined theoretically short-range diffusion-limited growth, characteristic of incomplete solute trapping, and interface-limited growth, characteristic of complete solute trapping, in alloy solidification and have shown that the two regimes fall naturally out of a single unified theory of solidification.

Research and development in support of the DWPF began during the 1970`s at the Savannah River Technology Center (formerly the Savannah River Laboratory). A large amount of data relevant to compliance with the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications (WAPS) was generated prior to the preparation and issue of the WAPS. Thus, most of this data was not generated under a quality assurance program which meets the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management`s requirements. The DWPF has developed a plan for qualification of existing data sets which will be used to establish compliance with the WAPS, which is reported here. In this document, the existing data sets which will be used for compliance are identified, and the method(s) of qualification of each data set for use in the Waste Form Qualification Report is defined. This document thus provides a link between the detailed descriptions of all of the compliance activities in the Waste Form Compliance Plans (WCP), and the requirements for qualification of existing data sets used for compliance purposes. All of these data sets will be qualified by the end of Qualification Runs in the DWPF.

Letter opinion issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Can the county legally buy culverts and resell them to private citizens? ; Can the county legally buy culverts and resell them to property owners for use in accessing private property from a county road? ; When the county purchases a steel culvert and installs it on the county right of way going onto private driveways is it legal for the property owners to reimburse the county for the cost of the steel culvert? ; When a property owner needs a culvert installed to access his private property from a county road is he responsible for purchasing the culvert or is the county responsible? To whom does the culvert belong?

Fossil resins occurring in the Wasatch Plateau coal field are composed mainly of aliphatic components, partially aromatized multi-cyclic terpenoids and a few oxygen functional groups (such as {minus}OH and {minus}COOH). The solvent extracted resins show the presence of a relatively large number of methyl groups when compared to the methylene groups, and this indicates the presence of extensive tertiary carbon and/or highly branching chains. In contrast coal consists primarily of aromatic ring structures, various oxygen functional groups ({minus}OH, >C=O, {minus}C{minus}O) and few aliphatic chains. The color difference observed among the four resin types is explained by the presence of chromophores (aromatized polyterpenoid) and also by the presence of finely dispersed coal particle inclusions in the resin matrix. The hexane soluble resin fraction has few aromatic compounds when compared to the hexane insoluble but toluene soluble resin fraction.

Hydrogen generation data obtained from IDMS runs PX4 and PX5 will be used to determine a bases for a deflagration/detonation simulation in the DWPF CPC. This simulation is necessary due to the new chemistry associated with the Late Wash/ Nitric Acid flowsheet and process modifications associated with the presence of H{sub 2} in the offgas. The simulation will be performed by Professor Van Brunt from the University of South Carolina. The scenario which leads up to the deflagration/detonation simulation will be chosen such that the following conditions apply. The SRAT is filled to its maximum operating level with 9,600 gal of sludge, which corresponds to the minimum vapor space above the sludge. The SRAT is at the boiling point, producing H{sub 2} at a very low rate (about 10 % of the peak) and 15 scfm of air inleakage is entering the SRAT. Then, the H{sub 2} generation rate will be allowed to increase exponentially (catalyst activation) until it readies the peak H{sub 2} generation rate of the IDMS run, after which the H{sub 2} generation rate will be allowed to decay exponentially (catalyst deactivation) until the total amount of H2 produced is between 85 and 100% of that produced …

This report is a guide to basic sources useful in tracking federal legislation and regulations. It has been prepared primarily for the use of constituents who wish to follow the federal government's legislative or regulatory activities at the local level. Brief annotations for the selected printed, telephone, electronic, and related sources describe their scope, focus, and frequency, include publisher contact information, and provide Internet addresses where available.

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