Our general objective is to further the development of efficient continuous mild coal gasification processes. Our efforts this year have been in four main areas. A new thrust has been to identify and develop efficient processes to separate the vapor product stream into particulate-free liquid and mist-free gas. We continued work aimed at predicting heat transfer rates (hence throughput) in externally-heated twin-screw pyrolyzers. We sought to provide technical support for the design, installation, startup, and operation of the DOE-sponsored 500 kg/hr twin-screw mild gasification unit at Coal Technology Corporation (CTC). A smaller laboratory effort had the objective of identifying and testing the reaction mechanisms of sulfur species during coal pyrolysis. Detailed subproject objectives are given in their respective sections. 20 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted a thorough and complete investigation of possible misconduct by management of the Los Angeles District Attorney's Bureau of Family Support Operations (BFSO)."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO responded to congressional questions regarding its June 24, 1999, testimony on the need for stronger information security management, focusing on: (1) the effectiveness of federal agencies' implementation of the 1987 Computer Security Act; (2) what gaps the Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) No. 63 will fill within existing federal programs that would improve the security of federal computer systems; (3) how GAO's Information Security Management guide differ from existing National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) issued guidelines and bulletins, and how agencies responded to the guidelines; and (4) whether the 1992 information security audits conducted by NIST and National Security Agency (NSA) were effective and useful and whether NIST and NSA should perform these audits on a regular basis."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO followed up on its report on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) fiscal year (FY) 1998 financial statements."

NATO's Partnership for Peace program seeks to encourage eligible states, above all the states of the former Warsaw Pact and the former Soviet Union, to build democracy and undertake greater responsibilities in international security. The program could open the door to, but does not promise, NATO membership. U.S. and NATO relations with Russia are likely to be the determining factor in deciding whether states move from Partnership to NATO membership.

The overall objective of the Full-Scale Demonstration of Low-NO{sub x} Cell Burner Retrofit project is to demonstrate the cost-effective reduction of NO{sub x} generated by a large based-loaded (70% capacity factor or greater), coal-fired utility boiler. Specific objectives include: (1) At least 50% NO{sub x} reduction over standard two-nozzle cell burners, without degradation of boiler performance or life; (2) Acquire and evaluate emission and boiler performance data before and after the retrofit to determine NO{sub x} reduction and impact on overall boiler performance; (3) Demonstrate that the retrofit of Low-NO{sub x} Cell Burners in boilers currently equipped with cell burners, is a cost-effective alternative to any other emerging, or commercially-available, NO{sub x} control technology.

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, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a taxing unit is required to pay interest on refunds made on or after June 15, 1989 (RQ-1894)

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, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the United States Postal Service’s change in designation from “second-class” to “periodicals” class affects Texas law (ID# 38824)

The overall objective of the Full-Scale Demonstration of Low-NO{sub x} Cell Burner Retrofit project is to demonstrate the cost-effective reduction of NO{sub x} generated by a large based-loaded (70% capacity factor or greater), coal-fired utility boiler. Specific objectives include: (1) At least 50% NO{sub x} reduction over standard two-nozzle cell burners, without degradation of boiler performance or life; (2) Acquire and evaluate emission and boiler performance data before and after the retrofit to determine NO{sub x} reduction and impact on overall boiler performance; (3) Demonstrate that the retrofit of Low-NO{sub x} Cell Burners in boilers currently equipped with cell burners, is a cost-effective alternative to any other emerging, or commercially-available, NO{sub x} control technology.

The need for better assessments of the ``external`` benefits and costs of environmental effects of various fuel cycles was identified during the development of the National Energy Strategy. The growing importance of this issue was emphasized by US Department of Energy (DOE) management because over half of the states were already pursuing some form of social costing in electricity regulation and a well-established technical basis for such decisions was lacking. This issue was identified as a major area of controversy--both scientifically and politically--in developing energy policies at the state and national level. In 1989, the DOE`s Office of Domestic and International Energy Policy commissioned a study of the external environmental damages and benefits of the major fuel cycles involved in electric power generation. Over the next 3-year period, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Resources for the Future conducted the study and produced a series of documents (fuel cycle documents) evaluating the costs of environmental damages of the coal, oil, natural gas, biomass, hydroelectric, and nuclear fuel cycles, as well as the Background Document on methodological issues. These documents described work that took almost 3 years and $2.5 million to complete and whose implications could be far reaching. In 1992, the …

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Authority of a commissioners court to set salaries for employees of a juvenile probation department and related questions (RQ-963)

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The support system is designed to support the gravitational, magnetic, and thermal contraction loads associated with the cold mass weighing 1.46 metric tons (3210 Ibm). The loading constraints are listed in Table 1. The support system consists of axial members (axial supports) to provide longitudinal stiffness and nearly tangential members (radial supports) to provide radial stiffness. The members connect the outer support cylinder to the flat annular bulkheads of the vacuum vessel. See Figures 1 through 3 for additional details on the supports. Six axial compression-tension supports are located on the chimney end of the cryostat only. Six radial tension supports are located on each end. Both types of members are fabricated of Inconel 718 and have a design safety factor of 4 on the ultimate strength at 300 K. The axial supports are also designed for a buckling safety factor of 4 for the operating loads. Shipping stops will be installed to prevent the axial supports from going into compression during transportation. Axial and radial contraction of the coil support cylinder is accommodated by spherical bearings on both ends ofeach support member.

The purpose of this calculation is to document the WAPDEG version 3.09 (CRWMS M&O 1998b). Software Routine Report for WAPDEG (Version 3.09) simulations used to analyze waste package degradation and failure under the repository exposure conditions characterized by a two-tier thermal loading repository design. Also documented is the post-processing of these results into tables of waste-package-degradation-time histories suitable for use as input into the Integrated Probabilistic Simulator for Environmental Systems (RIP) version 5.19.01 (Golder Associates 1998) computer program. Specifically, the WAPDEG simulations discussed in this calculation correspond to waste package emplacement conditions (repository environment and design) as defined in the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (CRWMS M&O 1998a). Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (TSPA-VA) Analyses Technical Basis Document--Chapter 5, Waste Package Degradation Modeling And Abstraction, pp. 5-27 to 5-29, with the exception that a two-tier thermal loading design feature as specified in the License Application Design Selection (LADS) study was analyzed. The particular design feature evaluated in this report is a modification of the repository horizon elevation and layout within the Topopah Springs Member of Yucca Mountain. Specifically, the modification consists of adding a second level, 50-m above the base case repository layout. Two options were considered, representing two variations …

In 1997, the US public and private sectors invested $205.7 billion in R&D. Private sector investments in R&D increased 34% between 1990 and 1997; over the same period the federal government decreased its expenditures by 15% in real terms. Projections of outyear federal budgets indicate the federal government will continue to reduce its investments in R&D for the foreseeable future. Defense R&D continues to be the largest area of concentration for federal government's R&D investments, with defense R&D accounting for 54% of all federal R&D outlays in 1998. Defense R&D is funded at a level which is there times higher than health R&D. Health R&D has experienced the largest inflation-adjusted increases of any federal R&D program, up 21% in real terms since 1990. US national (i.e., public and private) investments in energy R&D currently stand at a 23-year low of $4.4 billion in 1996. Federal support for energy R&D has declined 22% in real terms between 1990 and 1996. Federal energy R&D investments are also undergoing changes in priority. Fossil energy R&D programs are at the beginning of a potentially significant change away from ''clean coal'' technology development programs and towards more fundamental research on ways to decarbonize fossil fuels …

In 1997, the public and private sectors in Japan invested $90.3 billion in R and D. Japan is the second largest supporter of R and D after the United States. A very large percentage (79.4%) of all R and D in Japan is supported by the private sector. The prolonged economic recession that has plagued the Japanese economy for most of the 1990s has significantly reduced the scale of the Japanese R and D effort compared to what it would have been had the economy been more robust. The Japanese government has recently attempted to bring the economy out of this recession through the use of economic stimulus packages. These stimulus packages have contained significant new funding for R and D, although it is apparent that much of the funding is going to R and D programs and R and D construction projects with very near tern payoff and not to the support of longer term R and D. In 1998, the Japanese government devoted 13.7% of all public R and D funds to the support of energy R and D. The priority accorded to energy R and D in Japan is significantly higher than in any other industrialized nation. …

We have been studying the use of spectral imagery to locate targets in spectrally interfering backgrounds. In making performance estimates for various sensors it has become evident that some calculations are unreliable because of overflying. Hence, we began a thorough study of the problem of overfitting in multivariate classification. In this paper we present some model based results describing the problem. From the model we know the ideal covariance matrix, the ideal discriminant vector, and the ideal classification performance. We then investigate how experimental conditions such as noise, number of bands, and number of samples cause discrepancies from the ideal results. We also suggest ways to discover and alleviate overfitting.

The objective of the Fossil Energy Advanced Research and Technology Development (AR and TD) Materials program is to conduct research and development on materials for longer-term fossil energy applications as well as for generic needs of various fossil fuel technologies. These needs have prompted research aimed toward a better understanding of material behavior in fossil energy environments and the development of new materials capable of substantial enhancement of plant operations, reliability, and efficiency.

This report describes the design, construction, and preliminary results of an experiment that studies imbibition displacement in two fracture blocks. Multiphase (oil/water) displacements will be conducted at the same rate on three core configurations. The configurations are a compact core, a two-block system with a 1 mm spacer between the blocks, and a two-block system with no spacer. The blocks are sealed in epoxy so that saturation measurements can be made throughout the displacement experiments using a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner. Preliminary results are presented from a water/air experiment. These results suggest that it is incorrect to assume negligible capillary continuity between matrix blocks as is often done.

The fluid transfer parameters between rock matrix and fracture are not well known. Consequently, simulation of fractured reservoirs uses, in general, very crude and unproven hypotheses such as zero capillary pressure in the fracture and/or relative permeability linear with saturation. In order to improve the understanding of flow in fractured media, an experimental study was conducted and numerical simulations of the experiments were made. A laboratory flow apparatus was built to obtain data on water- air imbibition and oil-water drainage displacements in horizontal single-fractured block systems. For this purpose, two configurations have been used: a two-block system with a 1 mm spacer between the blocks, and a two-block system with no spacer. During the experiments, porosity and saturation measurements along the cores have been made utilizing an X-ray Computerized Tomography (CT) scanner. Saturation images were reconstructed in 3-D to observe matrix-fracture interactions. Differences in fluid saturations and relative permeabilities caused by changes in fracture width have also been analyzed.

Steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is an effective method of producing heavy oil and bitumen. In a typical SAGD approach, steam is injected into a horizontal well located directly above a horizontal producer. A steam chamber grows around the injection well and helps displace heated oil toward the production well. Single-well (SW) SAGD attempts to create a similar process using only one horizontal well. This may include steam injection from the toe of the horizontal well with production at the heel. Obvious advantages of SW-SAGD include cost savings and utility in relatively thin reservoirs. However, the process is technically challenging. To improve early-time response of SW-SAGD, it is necessary to heat the near-wellbore area to reduce oil viscosity and allow gravity drainage to take place. Ideally heating should occur with minimal circulation or bypassing of stream. Since project economics are sensitive to early production response, we are interested in optimizing the start -up procedure.