This five-year report describes activities of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska Regional Bioenergy Program between 1985 and 1990. Begun in 1979, this Regional Bioenergy Program became the model for the nation's four other regional bioenergy programs in 1983. Within the time span of this report, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska Regional Bioenergy Program has undertaken a number of applied research and technology projects, and supported and guided the work of its five participating state energy programs. During this period, the Regional Bioenergy Program has brought together public- and private-sector organizations to promote the use of local biomass and municipal-waste energy resources and technologies. This report claims information on the mission, goals and accomplishments of the Regional Bioenergy Program. It describes the biomass projects conducted by the individual states of the region, and summarizes the results of the programs technical studies. Publications from both the state and regional projects are listed. The report goes on to consider future efforts of the Regional Bioenergy Program under its challenging assignment. Research activities include: forest residue estimates; Landsat biomass mapping; woody biomass plantations; industrial wood-fuel market; residential space heating with wood; materials recovery of residues; co-firing wood chips with coal; biomass fuel characterization; wood-boosted …

This Corrective Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) has been developed in accordance with the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) that was agreed to by the US Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV); the State of Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP); and the US Department of Defense (FFACO, 1996). The CAIP is a document that provides or references all of the specific information for investigation activities associated with Corrective Action Units (CAUs) or Corrective Action Sites (CASs). According to the FFACO (1996), CASs are sites potentially requiring corrective action(s) and may include solid waste management units or individual disposal or release sites. A CAU consists of one or more CASs grouped together based on geography, technical similarity, or agency responsibility for the purpose of determining corrective actions. This CAIP contains the environmental sample collection objectives and the criteria for conducting site investigation activities at the CAU 321 Area 22 Weather Station Fuel Storage, CAS 22-99-05 Fuel Storage Area. For purposes of this discussion, this site will be referred to as either CAU 321 or the Fuel Storage Area. The Fuel Storage Area is located in Area 22 of the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The NTS is approximately 105 …

This preclosure work plan describes the condition of the dangerous waste treatment storage, and/or disposal (TSD) unit after completion of the B Plant Complex decommissioning Transition Phase preclosure activities. This description includes waste characteristics, waste types, locations, and associated hazards. The goal to be met by the Transition Phase preclosure activities is to place the TSD unit into a safe and environmentally secure condition for the long-term Surveillance and Maintenance (S&M) Phase of the facility decommissioning process. This preclosure work plan has been prepared in accordance with Section 8.0 of the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement) (Ecology et al. 1996). The preclosure work plan is one of three critical Transition Phase documents, the other two being: B Plant End Points Document (WHC-SD-WM-TPP-054) and B Plant S&M plan. These documents are prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) and its contractors with the involvement of Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology). The tanks and vessels addressed by this preclosure work plan are limited to those tanks end vessels included on the B Plant Complex Part A, Form 3, Permit Application (DOE/RL-88-21). The criteria for determining which tanks or vessels are in the Part …

The research completed and in progress for the first period of this grant is reviewed. Specific scattering scenarios for TFTR and JET and ITER were studied. The Lodestar scattering code, SKATR, was upgraded to include anisotropic energetic ion distributions and an analytic diffraction formulation was completed. Research continues on JET studies and upgrading the code for JET and ITER relevant conditions.

The research completed and in progress for the first period of this grant is reviewed. Specific scattering scenarios for TFTR and JET and ITER were studied. The Lodestar scattering code, SKATR, was upgraded to include anisotropic energetic ion distributions and an analytic diffraction formulation was completed. Research continues on JET studies and upgrading the code for JET and ITER relevant conditions.

Lodestar has been an active participant in the low power Collective Thomson Scattering (CTS) diagnostic at TFTR in collaboration with MIT. Extensive studies were conducted regarding the use of gyrotron scattering as a low cost diagnostic for both energetic ions and alpha particles on TFTR. The numerical scattering code has been improved and compared with similar code developed at JET. The authors have participated and assisted in the CTS experiments through onsite visits and have successfully performed most of the data analysis tasks remotely. Through their analysis on the initial data base accumulated, they are able to understand qualitatively the general features of the anomalous large scattered signal, have proposed an explanation for its generation mechanism, and have suggested a potential new use of CTS as an edge diagnostic.

A remediation of a gas cylinder disposal pit at Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico has recently been completed. The cleanup prevented possible spontaneous releases of hazardous gases from corroded cylinders that may have affected nearby active test areas at Sandia`s Technical Area III. Special waste management, safety, and quality plans were developed and strictly implemented for this project. The project was conceived from a waste management perspective, and waste minimization and management were built into the planning and implementation phases. The site layout was planned to accommodate light and heavy equipment, storage of large quantities of suspect soil, and special areas to stage and treat gases and reactive chemicals removed from the pit, as well as radiation protection areas. Excavation was a tightly controlled activity using experienced gas cylinder and reactive chemical specialists. Hazardous operations were conducted at night under lights, to allow nearby daytime operations to function unhindered. The quality assurance plan provided specific control of, and documentation for, critical decisions, as well as the record of daily operations. Both hand and heavy equipment excavation techniques were utilized. Hand excavation techniques were utilized. Hand excavation techniques allows sealed glass containers to be exhumed unharmed. In the end, several dozen …

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Headquarters and associated contractors have developed an IBM PC-based software package that estimates costs, schedules, and public and occupational health risks for a range of mixed-waste management options. A key application of the software package is the comparison of various waste-treatment options documented in the draft Site Treatment Plans prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Facility Compliance Act of 1992. This automated Systems Analysis Methodology consists of a user interface for configuring complexwide or site-specific waste-management options; calculational algorithms for cost, schedule and risk; and user-selected graphical or tabular output of results. The mixed-waste management activities modeled in the automated Systems Analysis Methodology include waste storage, characterization, handling, transportation, treatment, and disposal. Analyses of treatment options identified in the draft Site Treatment Plans suggest potential cost and schedule savings from consolidation of proposed treatment facilities. This paper presents an overview of the automated Systems Analysis Methodology.

Using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 79 pb{sup -1}, D0 has searched for events containing multiple jets and large missing transverse energy in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.8 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. Observing no significant excess beyond what is expected from the standard model, they set limits on the masses of squarks and gluinos and on the model parameters m{sub 0} and m{sub 1/2}, in the framework of the minimal low-energy supergravity models of supersymmetry. For tan {beta} = 2 and A{sub 0} = 0, with {mu} < 0, they exclude all models with m{sub q} {approx} < 250 GeV/c{sup 2}. For models with equal squark and gluino masses, they exclude m < 260 GeV/c{sup 2}.

Wet chemical etching of GaN, InN, AlN, InAlN and InGaN was investigated in various acid and base solutions at temperatures up to 75 C. Only KOH-based solutions were found to etch AlN and InAlN. No etchants were found for the other nitrides, emphasizing their extreme lack of chemical reactivity. The native oxide on most of the nitrides could be removed in potassium tetraborate at 75 C, or HCl/H{sub 2}O at 25 C.

After investigating a number of materials, we discovered that an ABS plastic doped with a conducting polymer performs well as the resistive electrode in a narrow gap RPC (resistive plate chamber). Operating in the streamer mode, we find efficiencies of 90-96% with low noise and low strip multiplicities. We have also studied a variety of operating gases and found that a mixture containing SF{sub 6}, a non-ozone depleting gas, argon and isobutane gives good streamer mode performance, even with isobutane concentrations of 20% or less.

This project seeks to develop a technique, based on coal surface properties, for highly dispersing catalysts in coal for gasification and to investigate the potential of using potassium carbonate and calcium acetate mixtures as catalysts for coal gasification. The lower cost and higher catalytic activity of the latter compound will produce economic benefits by reducing the amount of K{sub 2}CO{sub 3} required for high coal char reactivities. As was shown in previous reports, coal loading with potassium or calcium at different pHs produced CO{sub 2} gasification activities which increased in the order pH 6 > pH 10 {much_gt} pH 1. The current report shows that a similar trend was obtained when calcium and potassium were simultaneously loaded and char reaction times were less than about 75 min. Beyond this time, the coal impregnated with catalyst at pH 1 became more reactive, reaching 100% conversion after 1.5h. X-ray diffraction analysis suggest that the catalysts are well dispersed around pH 1 and 6 whereas reduced dispersion as obtained at pH 10. The reactivities are independent of the surface areas of the coals.

This project seeks to develop a technique, based on coal surface properties, for highly dispersing catalysts in coal for gasification and to investigate the potential of using potassium carbonate and calcium acetate mixtures as catalysts for coal gasification. The lower cost and higher catalytic activity of the latter compound will produce economic benefits by reducing the amount of K{sub 2}CO{sub 3} required for high coal char reactivities. As was shown in previous reports, coal loading with potassium or calcium at different pHs produced CO{sub 2} gasification activities which increased in the order pH 6 > pH 10 {much gt} pH 1. The current report shows that a similar trend was obtained when calcium and potassium were simultaneously loaded and char reaction times were less than about 75 min. Beyond this time, the coal impregnated with catalyst at pH 1 became more reactive, reaching 100% conversion after 1.5h. X-ray diffraction analysis suggest that the catalysts are well dispersed around pH 1 and 6 whereas reduced dispersion as obtained at pH 10. The reactivities are independent of the surface areas of the coals.

The objectives were to determine the elastic constants of thin films deposited on substrates, to measure residual stress and to detect and characterize defects in thin film substrate configurations. There are many present and potential applications of configurations consisting of a thin film deposited on a substrate. Thin films that are deposited to improve the hardness and/or the thermal properties of surfaces were of principal interest in this work. Thin film technology does, however, also include high {Tc} superconductor films, films for magnetic recording, superlattices and films for band-gap engineering and quantum devices. The studies that were carried out on this project also have relevance to these applications. Both the film and the substrate are generally anisotropic. A line-focus acoustic microscope has been used to measure the speed of surface acoustic waves (SAW) in the thin film/substrate system. This microscope has unique advantages for measurements in anisotropic media. Analytical and numerical techniques have been employed to extract the desired information on the thin film from the measured SAW data. Results include: (1) analytical and numerical techniques for the direct problem and for inverse methods; (2) measurements of homogeneous and superlattice film constants; (3) investigation of the effect of surface roughness …

The current project was initiated in 1991, and full details of the scope of the project are contained in the original proposal. that original proposal was reviewed and approved for three years funding. Progress made in 1991-92 and 1992-93 was described in annual Progress Reports and Statements of Work. This document summarizes progress made over the duration of the project, but with an emphasis on the final year`s (1993-94) results. Several of the important experiments are ongoing, to the extent that alternative funding could be arranged, and analyses of data from several of the earlier completed experiments is continuing. Therefore, this Final Report is also intermediary in nature, and additional results from this project will be reported in the open literature in the future. The overall objectives of the project were: (1) to examine experimentally, for major crop species, the interacting effects of CO{sub 2} concentration, temperature, and water availability on plant growth and development, (2) to model these interactions, and (3) to continue developing physiologically-based mechanistic models for predicting crop response to increased CO{sub 2} concentration and future global climate change.

The primary objective of this pre-feasibility evaluation is to examine the economic and technical feasibility of replacing distillate fuel with local waste biomass in the village of Verkhni-Ozerski, Arkhangelsk Region, Russia. This village is evaluated as a pilot location representing the off-grid villages in the Russian Northern Territories. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has agreed to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Fuel and Energy (MFE). MFE has identified the Northern Territories as a priority area requiring NREL`s assistance. The program initially affects about 900 off-grid villages. Biomass and wind energy, and to a lesser extent small hydro (depending on resource availability) are expected to play the dominant role in the program, Geothermal energy may also have a role in the Russian Far East. The Arkhangelsk, Kariela, and Krasnoyarsk Regions, all in the Russian Northern Territories, have abundant forest resources and forest products industries, making them strong candidates for implementation of small-scale waste biomass-to-energy projects. The 900 or so villages included in the renewable energy program span nine administrative regions and autonomous republics. The regional authorities in the Northern Territories proposed these villages to MFE for consideration in the renewable energy program according to the following selection criteria: …

Results of geological, volcanological, hydrogeochemical, and geophysical field studies conducted in 1988 and 1989 at the Tecuamburro volcano geothermal site in Guatemala indicated that there is a substantial shallow heat source beneath the area of youngest volcanism. To obtain information on subsurface temperatures and temperature gradients, stratigraphy, hydrothermal alteration, fracturing, and possible inflows of hydrothermal fluids, a geothermal gradient core hole (TCB-1) was drilled to 808 m low on the northern flank of the Tecuamburro volcano Complex, 300 km south of a 300-m-diameter phreatic crater, Laguna Ixpaco, dated at 2,910 years. Gases from acid-sulfate springs near Laguna Ixpaco consistently yield maximum estimated subsurface temperatures of 250--300{degrees}C. The temperature versus depth curve from TCB-1 does not show isothermal conditions and the calculated thermal gradients from 500--800 m is 230{degrees}C/km. Bottom hole temperature is 238{degrees}C. Calculated heat flow values are nearly 9 heat flow units (HFU). The integration of results from the TCB-1 gradient core hole with results from field studies provides strong evidence that the Tecuamburro area holds great promise for containing a commercial geothermal resource.

Precipitation collectors were installed at 14 locations on the Pajarito Plateau and surrounding areas to study variations in chemistry, stable isotopes and tritium for the years 1990 to 1993. The volume of precipitation was measured and samples were collected and analyzed every three to four months. All precipitation samples contain <2.50 mg/kg Cl and have pH values ranging from 5.4 to 6.7. The stable isotope ({delta}D/{delta}{sup 18}O) results record seasonal variations in precipitation as the weather patterns shift from sources in the Pacific Ocean to sources in the Gulf of Mexico. The stable isotope results also show isotopic variations due to elevation differences among the collection points. The tritium contents ({sup 3}H) in rain samples vary from 6.54 T.U. to 141 T.U. Contouring of high tritium values (e.g. >20 T.U.) from each collection period clearly shows that Laboratory activities release some tritium to the atmosphere. The effect of these releases are well below the limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water (about 6200 T.U.). The magnitude of the releases is apparently greatest during the summer months. However, anomalous tritium values are detected as far north as Espahola, New Mexico for many collection periods. Tritium releases by the …

High-purity tantalum single crystal cylinders oriented with [011] parallel to the cylinder axis were deformed 10, 20, and 30 percent in compression. The engineering stress-strain curve exhibited an up-turn at strains greater than {approximately}20% while the samples took on an ellipsoidal shape during testing, elongated along the [100] direction with almost no dimensional change along [0{bar 1}1]. Two orthogonal planes were selected for characterization using Orientation Imaging Microscopy (OIM): one plane containing [100] and [011] (longitudinal) and the other in the plane containing [0{bar 1}1] and [011] (transverse). OIM revealed patterns of alternating crystal rotations that develop as a function of strain and exhibit evolving length scales. The spacing and magnitude of these alternating misorientations increases in number density and decreases in spacing with increasing strain. Classical crystal plasticity calculations were performed to simulate the effects of compression deformation with and without the presence of friction. The calculated stress-strain response, local lattice reorientations, and specimen shape are compared with experiment.

Two cleaning processes, one aqueous and one nonaqueous, were investigated as potential replacements for the vapor degreasing process using 1,1,1 trichloroethane (TCA) for hybrid microcircuit assemblies. The aqueous process was based upon saponification chemistry. A 10% solution of either Kester 5768 or Armakleen 2001, heated to 140 F, was sprayed on the hybrid at 450 psig and a flow rate of 5 gpm through a specially designed nozzle which created microdroplets. The nonaqueous process was based upon dissolution chemistry and used d-limonene as the solvent in an immersion and spray process. The d-limonene solvent was followed by an isopropyl alcohol spray rinse to remove the excess d-limonene. The aqueous microdroplet process was found to be successful only for solder reflow profiles that did not exceed 210 C. Furthermore, removal of component marking was a problem and the spray pressure had to be reduced to 130 psig to eliminate damage to capacitor end caps. The d-limonene cleaning was found to be successful for solder reflow temperature up to 250 C when using a four-step cleaning process. The four steps included refluxing the hybrid at 80 C, followed by soaking the hybrid in d-limonene which is heated to 80 C, followed by …

Microstructure of a sample of Inconel X-750 damaged by ISCC (intergranular stress corrosion cracking) was examined after fatigue precracking in a high-temperature environment of deaerated water. Orientation imaging microscopy was used to reveal the microstructure adjacent to the crack path. General high-angle boundaries were found to be most susceptible to cracking. An ordering of the susceptibilities to ISCC damage was proposed; all boundaries have been classified into one of 12 categories. A model is proposed to predict the crack path for ISCC based on ex situ record of damage probabilities. The cracking is modeled as a Markov chain on a regular hexagonal array of grain boundaries representing the connectivity of the network.

DUPoly, depleted uranium (DU) powder microencapsulated in a low-density polyethylene binder, has been demonstrated as an innovative and efficient recycle product, a very durable high density material with significant commercial appeal. DUPoly was successfully prepared using uranium tetrafluoride (UF{sub 4}) ''green salt'' obtained from Fluor Daniel-Fernald, a U.S. Department of Energy reprocessing facility near Cincinnati, Ohio. Samples containing up to 90 wt% UF{sub 4} were produced using a single screw plastics extruder, with sample densities of up to 3.97 {+-} 0.08 g/cm{sup 3} measured. Compressive strength of as-prepared samples (50-90 wt% UF4 ) ranged from 1682 {+-} 116 psi (11.6 {+-} 0.8 MPa) to 3145 {+-} 57 psi (21.7 {+-} 0.4 MPa). Water immersion testing for a period of 90 days produced no visible degradation of the samples. Leach rates were low, ranging from 0.02 % (2.74 x 10{sup {minus}6} gm/gm/d) for 50 wt% UF{sub 4} samples to 0.72 % (7.98 x 10{sup {minus}5} gm/gm/d) for 90 wt% samples. Sample strength was not compromised by water immersion. DUPoly samples containing uranium trioxide (UO{sub 3}), a DU reprocessing byproduct material stockpiled at the Savannah River Site, were gamma irradiated to 1 x 10{sup 9} rad with no visible deterioration. Compressive strength …

The National Low Level Waste Management Program at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory has published a report containing key information about selected radionuclides that are most likely to contribute significantly to the radiation exposures estimated from a performance assessment of a low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal facility. The information includes physical and chemical characteristics, production means, waste forms, behavior of the radionuclide in soils, plants, groundwater, and air, and biological effects in animals and humans. The radionuclides included in this study comprise all of the nuclides specifically listed in 10CFR61.55, Tables 1 and 2, 3 H, 14 C, 59 Ni, 60 Co, 63 Ni, 90 Sr, 94 Nb, 99 Tc, 129 I, 137 Cs, 241 Pu, and 242 Cm. Other key radionuclides addressed in the report include 237 Np, 238 U, 239 Pu, and 241 Am. This paper summarizes key information contained within this report.

A program has been initiated to assess, renovate, document and certify tank farm field equipment for year 2000 compliance. The program is necessary to assure no adverse effects occur in tank farm operations as a result of equipment malfunction due to what is widely known as the ''millennium bug''. This document elaborates the protocols for reviewing field equipment lists and tank farm drawings for the purpose of identifying and resolving year 2000 compliance problems in tank farm equipment.