The energy of the observed maximum of the 250 keV resonance in the total neutron cross section of /sup 6/Li is measured to be 244.5 +- 1 keV relative to the velocity of light. The observed peak magnitude is 11.20 +- 0.20 b.

The policy of the United States Atomic Energy Commission is to take custody of all commercial high-level radioactive wastes and maintain control of them in perpetuity. This policy (Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 50, Appendix F) requires that the high-level wastes from nuclear fuels reprocessing plants be solidified within five years after reprocessing and then shipped to a federal repository within ten years after reprocessing. Ultimate disposal sites and/or methods have not yet been selected and are not expected to be ready when waste deliveries begin about 1983. Therefore, the AEC plans to build an interim storage facility, called Retrievable Surface Storage Facility (RSSF), to store and isolate the waste from man and his environment until the suitability of the permanent repository is demonstrated and public acceptance has been established. Meantime, the AEC is proceeding with the study and development of an ultimate disposal method. Bedded salt is being considered for ultimate waste disposal, and work is in progress to develop a Bedded Salt Pilot Plant to demonstrate its acceptability. The pilot plant will permit in situ verification of laboratory work on the interaction of heat and radioactivity of the waste with the salt and surroundings. One concept …

The improvement and technical development of several promising methods for desulfurizing and recovering fine coal was continued. These methods include froth flotation, selective oil agglomeration, pelletization, and a chemical desulfurization process which involves leaching fine coal with a hot dilute solution of sodium carbonate containing dissolved oxygen or air under pressure. Numerous laboratory experiments and measurements were conducted in the areas of froth flotation, selective oil agglomeration and chemical desulfurization. The results showed that when pyrites are leached with an alkaline solution containing dissolved oxygen, the sulfur is extracted in the form of soluble sulfates and the iron is converted to ferric oxide or hematite. It was also shown that the rate of conversion of pyritic sulfur to soluble sulfates depends on the oxygen partial pressure with the rate increasing as the partial pressure is raised. Results which could lead to major improvements in the froth flotation method of separating coal and pyrites included the successful demonstration of an oxidative chemical pretreatment process which would greatly reduce the floatability of pyrite particles without greatly affecting the floatability of coal. Also conditions were identified which would aid in the selection of suitable cationic and anionic flotation collectors for effecting a better …

Advanced fuel cell research and development activities at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) during the period January to March 1977 is described. Efforts have been directed toward understanding and improvement of molten carbonate electrolyte fuel cells operating at temperatures near 650/sup 0/C. A primary focus of the work has been on developing electrolyte structures which have high strength and conductivity, as well as good electrolyte retention, and on developing methods of synthesis for electrolyte structures that are amenable to mass production. Several synthesis methods have been investigated, and at least one appears to yield a highly desirable product and to greatly simplify production. Cell testing is essential for understanding and evaluating individual component behavior and the interactions of the components under realistic operating conditions. Most of the testing to date has been conducted in a 2/sup 3///sub 4/-in.-dia cylindrical cell with Type 316 stainless steel housings and current collectors, a nickel anode, and a nickel oxide cathode. Reproducible cell operation has been achieved in these cells, and operational parameters have been brought under control. Necessary improvements in cell components have been defined, and a systematic program of optimization has begun. Components evaluation and development include post-test analysis and evaluation of all …

Air quality impacts of construction activities and induced housing growth as a result of construction activities were evaluated for four possible facilities in the LWR fuel cycle: a fuel reprocessing facility, fuel storage facility, fuel fabrication plant, and a nuclear power plant. Since the fuel reprocessing facility would require the largest labor force, the impacts of construction of that facility were evaluated in detail.

To determine the outage time allowable for a typical 1 of 2 redundant valve configuration, a Markov model was created to analyze the various operating states for the valves. Since no performance criteria have been specified, an availability model was constructed with regard to the valve outage.

A program to determine if non-metallic materials such as polymers, concrete polymer composites, and refractory cements can be utilized as materials of construction in geothermal processes is in progress. To date, several high temperature polymer concrete systems have been formulated, laboratory and field tests performed in brine, flashing brine, and steam at temperatures up to 260/sup 0/C, and economic studies started. Laboratory data for exposure times greater than 2 years are available. Results are also available from field exposures of up to 18 months in four geothermal environments. Good durability is indicated. Work at two of these sites is continuing. A test has recently been completed in the Imperial Valley and another test is in progress.

Bipole-dipole (B-D) resistivity mapping has been widely used as a reconnaissance method in geothermal exploration. In this technique, apparent resistivities are plotted at roving dipole receiver locations and the current source (bipole) is left fixed. Interpretation to date has been in terms of simple layered, dike, vertical contact, or sphere models. In the case of more complicated two-dimensional models the interpretation is much more ambiguous and the detection of buried conductors depends very much on the choice of transmitter location. Since apparent resistivities taken on a line collinear with the bipole are roughly equivalent to the apparent resistivities for one sounding in a dipole-dipole (D-D) pseudo-section, the two methods have been compared for several two-dimensional models. A buried quarter space and a buried horizontal block of rectangular cross section, with or without an overburden layer, have been used in the comparison. Unless the target is very shallow or close to the bipole or dipole, the resolution of the horizontal position or depth extent for the B-D method is very poor. A further experiment of calculating a residual map by subtracting the half-space or layered half-space response from the response of the buried models was also unsuccessful in improving the interpretability …

Processes are being developed to immobilize high-level radioactive wastes in glass for increased safety during handling, storage and final disposal. A concurrent program is the characterization of the waste-containing glasses produced by these processes, particularly in relation to their expected long-term behavior as affected by thermal and radiation-induced alteration of the glass. A compilation of characterization data is presented for low-melting (less than 1100/sup 0/C) borosilicate waste glasses, which may contain 33 wt percent or more waste and which can be melted in situ in their stainless steel storage canisters. The data demonstrate that these low-melting glasses are relatively unaffected by the radiation doses to which they are exposed. The data also show that thermally induced devitrification and phase separation can be minimized by proper selection of glass composition.

Information is presented concerning safety, compliance, and documentation; core nuclear design; ACPR upgrade and console development; mechanical design; fuel element design; fuel element fabrication; secondary fuel materials studies; driver core fuel element; and diagnostic system.

This massive hydraulic fracturing treatment was performed on the Ferguson 1A, a marginal Bend Conglomerate gas producer. It commenced on September 14, 1976, and concluded on September 16, 1976. The casing ruptured on September 14, after placing 87,000 gal foam, 67,000 lb 100 mesh sand, 52,000 gal emulsion, and 151,000 lb 10-20 sand. Repair and clean up operations were completed on the 16th and an additional 51,800 gal of foam, 38,000 lb 100 mesh sand, 146,000 gal emulsion, and 250,000 lb 10-20 mesh sand were pumped. The well has been recovering the frac load since September 17, 1976, and has recovered 3,426 bbl out of 7,144 bbl total load. Initial measured gas flow was 135 Mcf/D but has declined to 15 Mcf/D currently. It appears that this technique is probably not economically feasible.

A method for determining the pressure versus internal energy coordinates of the liquid-vapor saturation curve is applied to the study of UO/sub 2/. The experimental details and results of an initial series of tests are described. A comparison of the measurement results to models of the UO/sub 2/ equation of state illustrates the role of the heat capacity in describing the P--E characteristics of the state surface. A discussion of the available heat capacity information suggests that additional modeling and measurements of the heat capacity may be needed to give a complete temperature and energy dependent state surface description. Because of these modeling uncertainties, a method of thermodynamically describing the P(V, E) state surface entirely through the use of dynamic vapor measurements is given. Such a model satisfies transient thermomechanical analysis requirements. Next the effect of the state surface on one type of core disruptive reactor analysis is examined. And finally, the property determinations and models for UO/sub 2/ are reviewed with requirements for future work being outlined.

This report is a supplement to the original report, published in 1968, as revised. The Benchmark Problem Book is intended to serve as a source book of solutions to mathematically well-defined problems for which either analytical or very accurate approximate solutions are known. This supplement contains problems in eight new areas: two-dimensional (R-z) reactor model; multidimensional (Hex-z) HTGR model; PWR thermal hydraulics--flow between two channels with different heat fluxes; multidimensional (x-y-z) LWR model; neutron transport in a cylindrical ''black'' rod; neutron transport in a BWR rod bundle; multidimensional (x-y-z) BWR model; and neutronic depletion benchmark problems. This supplement contains only the additional pages and those requiring modification. (RWR)

A preliminary study has been completed for the assessment of solvent extraction for coal gasifier wastewater treatment. This study shows very favorable economics; wastewater contaminants have a market value of about $45.00 per 1000 gallons of water to be treated while treatment costs are about $1.25 to $2.50 per 1000 gallons. Measurements of distribution coefficients between water and various solvents has been completed for m-dihydroxybenzene (resorcinol) and is in progress for o- and p-dihydroxybenzene, pyridine, o-cresol, and naphthol. A very high distribution coefficient of 40 was found for m-dihydroxybenzene between water and octanone-2 (methyl heptyl ketone).

To enable easy comparison, all the plutonium shipping evaluations have used the same bases. In each, the results have been related to a future time--the early 1980s--when plutonium shipments are expected to be more frequent. The characteristics of the nuclear economy used in this analysis are: A total of 18 metric tons (MT) of plutonium is shipped annually, via the mode being evaluated. 100 kg of plutonium are transported per shipment. For air shipment, a truck and air segment are considered. The average shipping distance per shipment is 1,422 miles with 14 percent of the distance being by truck. Shipping systems and regulations are the same as in 1974. PuO/sub 2/ is shipped in 6M containers. The use of other shipping conditions could result in different risks than reported here. For the purposes of this study, plutonium dioxide was assumed to be carried exclusively in the 15-gal version of the 6M container. Unless otherwise noted, all references to 6M containers in the report refer to this particular size. Based on the shipping assumptions, the likelihood that an aircraft carrying a shipment will be involved in an accident is estimated to be about once in 450 years. For the projected shipping …

A critical review is presented of the technology and economics for coupling a very high-temperature gas-cooled reactor to a variety of process applications. It is concluded that nuclear steam reforming of light hydrocarbons for coal conversion could be a near-term alternative and that direct nuclear coal gasification could be a future consideration. Thermochemical water splitting appears to be more costly and its availability farther in the future than the coal-conversion systems. Nuclear steelmaking is competitive with the direct reduction of iron ore from conventional coal-conversion processes but not competitive with the reforming of natural gas at present gas prices. Nuclear process heat for petroleum refining, even with the necessary backup systems, is competitive with fossil energy sources. The processing with nuclear heat of oil shale and tar sands is of marginal economic importance. An analysis of peaking power applications using nuclear heat was also made. It is concluded that steam reforming methane for energy storage and production of peaking power is not a viable economic alternative, but that energy storage with a high-temperature heat transfer salt (HTS) is competitive with conventional peaking systems. An examination of the materials required in process heat exchangers is made.

The Automated equipment management system for Organization 9500 is a series of computer programs designed to perform the following functions: schedule several kinds of preventive maintenance on selected items of equipment, including electrical and mechanical tests, and adjustments; maintain an up-to-date repair and maintenance history of the items charged to the organization as required by ERDA regulations; and maintain an up-to-date file of data to supplement the data in the corporate inventory master file. This data is intended for management use in studies, special reports, budget requests, etc. It also provides a check for the data most likely to change in the corporate master file to insure accuracy through a feedback loop. The system is resident on the UNIVAC-1108 computer. It is in UNIVAC ANS COBOL (Field data).

An automatic, continuous flow, gas analysis system was designed to monitor metabolic rates of terrestrial vertebrates over relatively long periods of time, such as daily cycles, under field conditions in the absence of the investigator. The gas analysis system described in this report used an infrared absorption analyzer for carbon dioxide and a paramagnetic analyzer for oxygen. The simultaneous measurement of CO/sub 2/ production and O/sub 2/ consumption by an organism permitted the direct calculation of the respiratory quotient (RQ), an important index in determining metabolic rates. This gas analysis system was used to examine the daily metabolic rates of three species of small mammals (chipmunks, field mice, and shrews) under natural seasonal temperature regimes at the Walker Branch Watershed study site of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The system was also designed and used in conjunction with the D/sub 2//sup 18/O isotope turnover method of measuring metabolism of free-living animals.

A Bayesian-Zero-Failure (BAZE) reliability demonstration testing procedure is presented. The method is developed for an exponential failure-time model and a gamma prior distribution on the failure-rate. A simple graphical approach using percentiles is used to fit the prior distribution. The procedure is given in an easily applied step-by-step form which does not require the use of a computer for its implementation. The BAZE approach is used to obtain sample test plans for selected components of nuclear reactor safety systems.

This report describes the operation of the Bilevel Alarm Monitoring Multiplexer used in the Adaptive Intrusion Data System (AIDS) to transfer and control alarm signals being sent to the Nova 2 computer, the Memory Controlled Data Processor, and its own integral Display Panel. The multiplexer can handle 48 alarm channels and format the alarms into binary formats compatible with the destination of the alarm data.

A large scale laboratory system was constructed to evaluate the methane yields from various organic materials. The initial substrate for these studies was beef feed lot manure. Methane yields ranged from 0.11 to 0.259 m/sup 3/ per kg volatile solids fed with a fermentation temperature of 58/sup 0/C. The gas yield for a given manure was a function of retention time. However, fresh manure produced substantially more gas than manure that had been on the lots for several months. Retention times of 3.7 days and loadings of 8.76 kg per m/sup 3/ per day resulted in stable operation. The results of a separate study of the effect of reactor type on methane production showed that if a balanced population of organisms can be maintained in the initial stage, a multi-stage fermentation is more efficient than a complete-mix system. However, when the system is stressed, failure of the multi-stage system is more rapid. If the objective is to maximize the conversion of solids to methane, a staged system will produce more methane per unit volume of reactor. If the objective is to maximize methane production per unit volume of reactor, a single stage complete-mix reactor operating at near the critical retention …

Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is one of several solar energy options being considered by the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA). The OTEC concept utilizes the thermal difference between warm surface and cool, deep water in tropical oceans to operate a heat engine to produce either electricity or energy-intensive chemicals. Several OTEC system designs, both open and closed cycle, have been suggested. It is estimated that by the year 2020, 4 to 6% of the anticipated energy needs of the United States could be supplied by OTEC. However, primary biological films that reduce heat transfer at heat exchange surfaces are a major limiting factor to successful development of OTEC technology. Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratories (PNL) is managing an ERDA program aimed to define, prevent, and/or alleviate, potential biofouling problems associated with OTEC systems. Extensive research concerning open ocean biofouling and its control will be necessary. The OTEC concept, its history and potential advantages are discussed; various overall system designs are reviewed; and the biological limitations on OTEC development are dicussed. 33 references.

The objectives of this project are to optimize a modular process to convert cellulosic wastes to butanol and other oil-sparing chemicals. Research to date has focused on developing analytical methods, establishing a good data base and improving cellulase yields. Reliable assay methods for the Thermoactinomyces cellulase complex have been developed, measuring glucose and reducing sugar from filter paper and Avicel for total cellulase activity, viscosity change with carboxymethyl cellulose for the endoglucanase activity, and fluorescence change with methylumbelliferyl-..beta..-D-glucopyranoside for ..beta..-glucosidase activity. Isoelectric focusing within the range pH 3.5 to 6.0 has proved to be a quick and useful means of determining effective cellulase complex composition. About 10 different proteins are present in the fermentation broth. Detailed procedures for uv and near uv plus 8-methoxy-psoralen mutagenesis have been developed, and four mutants having 50% greater activity than the parent YX strain have been isolated. Cellulase production by Thermoactinomyces is growth related and is maximum when growth stops at 12 to 16 hours with 1 to 5% Avicel at pH 7.0 to 7.2 and 55/sup 0/C. A multistage fermenter has been assembled for optimization of butanol versus acetone production by Cl. acetobutylicum. A preliminary economic assessment, currently indicating butanol at just above …

Progress is reported for the applications of {sup 11}C, {sup 195m}Pt, and {sup 123m}Te. Of note in this report period is the presentation of images of rat adrenals with a {sup 123m}Te-labeled steriod and an investigation of steriod structural parameters which affect adrenal concentration. Two new {sup 195m}Pt-labeled compounds have been prepared for evaluation as chemotherapeutic agents.