Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Innovative Materials and Processes for Advanced Carbon Capture Technologies (IMPACCT) program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses the development of synthetic catalysts as part of the "Catalytic Improvement of Solvent Capture Systems" project.

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Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Innovative Materials and Processes for Advanced Carbon Capture Technologies (IMPACCT) program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses a process for carbon capture through desublimation as part of the "Cryogenic Carbon Capture" project.

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Innovative Materials and Processes for Advanced Carbon Capture Technologies (IMPACCT) program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses turning carbon dioxide exhaust into a solid as part of the "Chemical and Biological Catalytic Enhancement of Weathering of Silicate Minerals as Novel Carbon Capture and Storage" project.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (Environmental Management [EM], Office of Packaging and Transportation [EM-45]) Packaging and Certification Program (DOE PCP) has developed a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking and monitoring system, called ARG-US, for the management of nuclear materials packages during transportation and storage. The performance of the ARG-US RFID equipment and system has been fully tested in two demonstration projects in April 2008 and August 2009. With the strong support of DOE-SR and DOE PCP, a field testing program was completed in Savannah River Site's K-Area Material Storage (KAMS) Facility, an active Category I Plutonium Storage Facility, in 2010. As the next step (Phase II) of continued vault testing for the ARG-US system, the Savannah River Site K Area Material Storage facility has placed the ARG-US RFIDs into the 910B storage vault for operational testing. This latest version (Mark III) of the Argonne RFID system now has the capability to measure radiation dose and dose rate. This paper will report field testing progress of the ARG-US RFID equipment in KAMS, the operability and reliability trend results associated with the applications of the system, and discuss the potential benefits in enhancing safety, security and materials accountability. The purpose of …

Reactive Gas Recycling (RGR) technology development has been initiated at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), with a stretch-goal to develop a fully dry recycling technology for Used Nuclear Fuel (UNF). This approach is attractive due to the potential of targeted gas-phase treatment steps to reduce footprint and secondary waste volumes associated with separations relying primarily on traditional technologies, so long as the fluorinators employed in the reaction are recycled for use in the reactors or are optimized for conversion of fluorinator reactant. The developed fluorination via SF{sub 6}, similar to the case for other fluorinators such as NF{sub 3}, can be used to address multiple fuel forms and downstream cycles including continued processing for LWR via fluorination or incorporation into a aqueous process (e.g. modified FLUOREX) or for subsequent pyro treatment to be used in advanced gas reactor designs such metal- or gas-cooled reactors. This report details the most recent experimental results on the reaction of SF{sub 6} with various fission product surrogate materials in the form of oxides and metals, including uranium oxides using a high-temperature DTA apparatus capable of temperatures in excess of 1000{deg}C . The experimental results indicate that the majority of the fission products form stable …

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Rare Earth Alternatives in Critical Technologies (REACT) program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses a high-current superconducting wire as part of the "High Performance, Low Cost Superconducting Wires and Coils for High Power Wind Generators" project.

This report summarizes the activities of the Baylor University Experimental High Energy Physics (HEP) group on the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) experiment from August 15, 2005 to May 31, 2012. Led by the Principal Investigator (Dr. Jay R. Dittmann), the Baylor HEP group has actively pursued a variety of cutting-edge measurements from proton-antiproton collisions at the energy frontier.

Characteristic K-α x-rays used for single-pulse XRD are conventionally produced by a 37-stage high-voltage Marx pulse generator coupled to a vacuum needle-and-washer x-ray diode via coaxial transmission line. A large field-of-view x-ray image plate detection system typically enables observation of several Debye-Scherrer rings. Recently, we have developed a fiber-optic reducer, coupled to a CCD camera, to obtain low-noise, large field-of-view images. The direct beam spot is produced by bremsstrahlung radiation attenuated by a twomillimeter tungsten beam stop. Determination of the direct beam position is necessary to perform the ring integration.

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Thermal energy storage systems using phase change materials were evaluated for trough systems that use oil, steam, and high temperature salts as heat transfer fluids. A variety of eutectic salts and metal alloys were considered as phase change materials in a cascaded arrangement. Literature values of specific heat, latent heat, density, and other thermophysical properties were used in initial analyses. Testing laboratories were contracted to measure properties for candidate materials for comparison to the literature and for updating the models. A TRNSYS model from Phase 1 was further developed for optimizing the system, including a novel control algorithm. A concept for increasing the bulk thermal conductivity of the phase change system was developed using expanded metal sheets. Outside companies were contracted to design and cost systems using platecoil heat exchangers immersed in the phase change material. Laboratory evaluations of the one-dimensional and three-dimensional behavior of expanded metal sheets in a low conductivity medium were used to optimize the amount of thermal conductivity enhancement. The thermal energy storage systems were compared to baseline conventional systems. The best phase change system found in this project, which was for the high temperature plant, had a projected cost of $25.2 per kWhth, The best …

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The use of fillers in printing and writing papers has become a prerequisite for competing in a global market to reduce the cost of materials. Use of calcium carbonates (ranging from 18% to 30%) as filler is a common practice in the paper industry but the choices of fillers for each type of papers vary widely according to its use. The market for uncoated digital printing paper is one that continues to introduce exciting growth projections. and it is important to understand the effect that new manufacturing methods of calcium carbonates have on the energy efficiency and paper production. Research conducted under this award showed that the new fiber filler composite material has the potential to increase the paper filler content by up to 5% without losing mechanical properties. Benefits of the technology can be summarized as follows for a 1% filler increase per metric ton of paper produced: (i) production cost savings over $12, (ii) Energy savings of 100,900 btu, (iii) CO{sub 2} emission savings of 33 lbs, and additional savings for wood preparation, pulping, recovery of 203593 btu with a 46lbs of CO{sub 2} emission savings per 1% filler increase. In addition the technology has the potential to …

Solar ADEPT Project: Satcon is developing a compact, lightweight power conversion device that is capable of taking utility-scale solar power and outputting it directly into the electric utility grid at distribution voltage levels—eliminating the need for large transformers. Transformers “step up” the voltage of the power that is generated by a solar power system so it can be efficiently transported through transmission lines and eventually “stepped down” to usable voltages before it enters homes and businesses. Power companies step up the voltage because less electricity is lost along transmission lines when the voltage is high and current is low. Satcon’s new power conversion devices will eliminate these heavy transformers and connect a utility-scale solar power system directly to the grid. Satcon’s modular devices are designed to ensure reliability—if one device fails it can be bypassed and the system can continue to run.

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the High Energy Advanced Thermal Storage (HEATS) program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses an advanced metal-hydrides-based thermal battery as part of the "A New Generation of High Density Thermal Battery Based on Advanced Metal Hydrides" project.

Our experiments are directed toward the understanding of the physics of rf breakdown in systems that can be used to accelerate electron beams at {approx}11.4 GHz. The structure geometries have apertures, stored energy per cell, and rf pulse duration close to that of the NLC or CLIC. The breakdown rate is the main parameter that we use to compare rf breakdown behavior for different structures at a given set of rf pulse parameters (pulse shape and peak power) at 60 Hz repetition rate. In our experiments, the typical range of the breakdown rate is from one per few hours to {approx}100 per hour. To date we have tested 29 structures. We consistently found that after the initial conditioning, the behavior of the breakdown rate is reproducible for structures of the same geometry and material, and the breakdown rate dependence on peak magnetic fields is stronger than on peak surface electric fields for structures of different geometries. Below we report the main results from tests of seven structures made from hard copper, soft copper alloys and hard-copper alloys. Additional details on these and other structures will be discussed in future publications.

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The Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site processes high-level radioactive waste from the processing of nuclear materials that contains dissolved and precipitated metals and radionuclides. Vitrification of this waste into borosilicate glass for ultimate disposal at a geologic repository involves chemically modifying the waste to make it compatible with the glass melter system. Pretreatment steps include removal of excess aluminum by dissolution and washing, and processing with formic and nitric acids to: 1) adjust the reduction-oxidation (redox) potential in the glass melter to reduce radionuclide volatility and improve melt rate; 2) adjust feed rheology; and 3) reduce by steam stripping the amount of mercury that must be processed in the melter. Elimination of formic acid in pretreatment has been studied to eliminate the production of hydrogen in the pretreatment systems, which requires nuclear grade monitoring equipment. An alternative reductant, glycolic acid, has been studied as a substitute for formic acid. However, in the melter, the potential for greater formation of flammable gases exists with glycolic acid. Melter flammability is difficult to control because flammable mixtures can be formed during surges in offgases that both increase the amount of flammable species and decrease the temperature in the vapor …

The objective of this project was to reduce the technical risk for a hydrostatic transmission based drivetrain for high-power utility-size wind turbines. A theoretical study has been performed to validate the reduction of cost of energy (CoE) for the wind turbine, identify risk mitigation strategies for the drive system and critical components, namely the pump, shaft connection and hydrostatic transmission (HST) controls and address additional benefits such as reduced deployment costs, improved torque density and improved mean time between repairs (MTBR).

This Plan presents progress toward the metering goals shared by all national laboratories and discusses PNNL's contemporary approach to the installation of new meters. In addition, the Plan discusses the data analysis techniques with which PNNL is working to mature using endless data streams made available as a result of increased meter deployment.

This program applied reservoir cathode technology to increase the lifetime of cesiated tungsten photocathodes. Cesiated tungsten photocathodes provide a quantum efficiency of approximately 0.08% when cesium is initially applied to the surface. During operation, however, the cesium evaporates from the surface, resulting in a gradual decrease in quantum efficiency. After 4-6 hours of operation, the efficiency drop to below useful levels, requiring recoating on the emission surface. This program developed a cathode geometry where cesium could be continuously diffused to the surface at a rate matching the evaporation rate. This results in constant current emission until the cesium in the reservoir is depleted. Measurements of the evaporation rate indicated that the reservoir should provide cesium for more than 30,000 hours of continuous operation. This is orders of magnitude longer operation then previously available. Experiments also demonstrated that the photocathode could be rejuvenated following contamination from a vacuum leak. Recoating of the emission surface demonstrated that the initial quantum efficiency could be recovered.

Methods and algorithms are developed to enable the accurate analysis of problems that exhibit interacting physical processes with uncertainties. These uncertainties can pertain either to each of the physical processes or to the manner in which they depend on each others. These problems are cast within a polynomial chaos framework and their solution then involves either solving a large system of algebraic equations or a high dimensional numerical quadrature. In both cases, the curse of dimensionality is manifested. Procedures are developed for the efficient evaluation of the resulting linear equations that advantage of the block sparse structure of these equations, resulting in a block recursive Schur complement construction. In addition, embedded quadratures are constructed that permit the evaluation of very high-dimensional integrals using low-dimensional quadratures adapted to particular quantities of interest. The low-dimensional integration is carried out in a transformed measure space in which the quantity of interest is low-dimensional. Finally, a procedure is also developed to discover a low-dimensional manifold, embedded in the initial high-dimensional one, in which scalar quantities of interest exist. This approach permits the functional expression of the reduced space in terms of the original space, thus permitting cross-scale sensitivity analysis.

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) performed experiments on qualification material for use in the Interim Salt Disposition Program (ISDP) Batch 6 processing. This qualification material was a set of six samples from Tank 21H in October 2012. This sample was used as a real waste demonstration of the Actinide Removal Process (ARP) and the Extraction-Scrub-Strip (ESS) tests process. The Tank 21H sample was contacted with a reduced amount (0.2 g/L) of MST and characterized for strontium and actinide removal at 0 and 8 hour time intervals in this salt batch. {sup 237}Np and {sup 243}Am were both observed to be below detection limits in the source material, and so these results are not reported in this report. The plutonium and uranium samples had decontamination factor (DF) values that were on par or slightly better than we expected from Batch 5. The strontium DF values are slightly lower than expected but still in an acceptable range. The Extraction, Scrub, and Strip (ESS) testing demonstrated cesium removal, stripping and scrubbing within the acceptable range. Overall, the testing indicated that cesium removal is comparable to prior batches at MCU.