The objective of this research project was to acquire, process, and interpret multiple high-resolution 3-D compressional wave and 2-D, 2-C shear wave seismic data in the hopes of observing changes in fluid characteristics in an oil field before, during, and after the miscible carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) flood that began around December 1, 2003, as part of the DOE-sponsored Class Revisit Project (DOE No.DE-AC26-00BC15124). Unique and key to this imaging activity is the high-resolution nature of the seismic data, minimal deployment design, and the temporal sampling throughout the flood. The 900-m-deep test reservoir is located in central Kansas oomoldic limestones of the Lansing-Kansas City Group, deposited on a shallow marine shelf in Pennsylvanian time. After 30 months of seismic monitoring, one baseline and eight monitor surveys clearly detected changes that appear consistent with movement of CO{sub 2} as modeled with fluid simulators and observed in production data. Attribute analysis was a very useful tool in enhancing changes in seismic character present, but difficult to interpret on time amplitude slices. Lessons learned from and tools/techniques developed during this project will allow high-resolution seismic imaging to be routinely applied to many CO{sub 2} injection programs in a large percentage of shallow carbonate …

This report describes the impacts from emissions of radionuclides at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for calendar year 2006. This report fulfills the requirements established by the Radionuclide National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (Rad-NESHAP). This report is prepared by LANL's Rad-NESHAP compliance team, part of the Environmental Protection Division. The information in this report is required under the Clean Air Act and is being reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The highest effective dose equivalent (EDE) to an off-site member of the public was calculated using procedures specified by the EPA and described in this report. LANL's EDE was 0.47 mrem for 2006. The annual limit established by the EPA is 10 mrem per year. During calendar year 2006, LANL continuously monitored radionuclide emissions at 28 release points, or stacks. The Laboratory estimates emissions from an additional 58 release points using radionuclide usage source terms. Also, LANL uses a network of air samplers around the Laboratory perimeter to monitor ambient airborne levels of radionuclides. To provide data for dispersion modeling and dose assessment, LANL maintains and operates meteorological monitoring systems. From these measurement systems, a comprehensive evaluation is conducted to calculate the EDE for the Laboratory. …

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory, B&W and Air Liquide are developing and optimizing the oxy-combustion process for retrofitting existing boilers as well as new plants. The main objectives of the project is to: (1) demonstrate the feasibility of the oxy-combustion technology with flue gas recycle in a 5-million Btu/hr coal-fired pilot boiler, (2) measure its performances in terms of emissions and boiler efficiency while selecting the right oxygen injection and flue gas recycle strategies, and (3) perform technical and economic feasibility studies for application of the technology in demonstration and commercial scale boilers. This document summarizes the work performed during the period of performance of the project (Oct 2002 to June 2007). Detailed technical results are reported in corresponding topical reports that are attached as an appendix to this report. Task 1 (Site Preparation) has been completed in 2003. The experimental pilot-scale O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} combustion tests of Task 2 (experimental test performance) has been completed in Q2 2004. Process simulation and cost assessment of Task 3 (Techno-Economic Study) has been completed in Q1 2005. The topical report on Task 3 has been finalized and submitted to DOE in Q3 2005. The calculations …

Comprehensive test ban monitoring in terms of location and discrimination has progressed significantly in recent years. However, the characterization of sources and the estimation of low yields remains a particular challenge.

This white paper provides an overview and status report of the thermal-hydraulic nuclear research and development, both experimental and computational, conducted predominantly at Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne from the early 1970s through the early 1990s was the Department of Energy's (DOE's) lead lab for thermal-hydraulic development of Liquid Metal Reactors (LMRs). During the 1970s and into the mid-1980s, Argonne conducted thermal-hydraulic studies and experiments on individual reactor components supporting the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II), Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), and the Clinch River Breeder Reactor (CRBR). From the mid-1980s and into the early 1990s, Argonne conducted studies on phenomena related to forced- and natural-convection thermal buoyancy in complete in-vessel models of the General Electric (GE) Prototype Reactor Inherently Safe Module (PRISM) and Rockwell International (RI) Sodium Advanced Fast Reactor (SAFR). These two reactor initiatives involved Argonne working closely with U.S. industry and DOE. This paper describes the very important impact of thermal hydraulics dominated by thermal buoyancy forces on reactor global operation and on the behavior/performance of individual components during postulated off-normal accident events with low flow. Utilizing Argonne's LMR expertise and design knowledge is vital to the further development of safe, reliable, and high-performance LMRs. Argonne believes there remains …

Argonne National Laboratory founded the Laboratory Computing Resource Center in the spring of 2002 to help meet pressing program needs for computational modeling, simulation, and analysis. The guiding mission is to provide critical computing resources that accelerate the development of high-performance computing expertise, applications, and computations to meet the Laboratory's challenging science and engineering missions. The first goal of the LCRC was to deploy a mid-range supercomputing facility to support the unmet computational needs of the Laboratory. To this end, in September 2002, the Laboratory purchased a 350-node computing cluster from Linux NetworX. This cluster, named 'Jazz', achieved over a teraflop of computing power (10{sup 12} floating-point calculations per second) on standard tests, making it the Laboratory's first terascale computing system and one of the fifty fastest computers in the world at the time. Jazz was made available to early users in November 2002 while the system was undergoing development and configuration. In April 2003, Jazz was officially made available for production operation. Since then, the Jazz user community has grown steadily. By the end of fiscal year 2005, there were 62 active projects on Jazz involving over 320 scientists and engineers. These projects represent a wide cross-section of Laboratory …

Western Research Institute (WRI) of Laramie, Wyoming and AeRock, LLC of Eagar, Arizona (formerly of Bellevue, Washington) partnered, under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (U.S. DOE-NETL), to support the development of rapid-setting, ash-based, fiber-incorporated ''green'' building products. Green building materials are a rapidly growing trend in the building and construction industry in the US. A two phase project was implemented wherein Phase I assessed, through chemical and physical testing, ash, ash-based cement and fiber composites exhibiting superior structural performance when applied to the AeRock mixing and extrusion process and involved the conduct of pilot-scale production trials of AeRock products, and wherein Phase II involved the design, construction, and operation of a commercial-scale plant to confirm production issues and to produce panels for performance evaluations. Phase I optimized the composite ingredients including ash-based cement, Class F and Class C DFGD ash, and various fiber reinforcements. Additives, such as retardants and accelerators, were also evaluated as related to extruder performance. The optimized composite from the Phase I effort was characterized by a modulus of rupture (MOR) measured between 1,931 and 2,221 psi flexural strength, comparable to other wood and non-wood building materials. Continuous extrusion of the …

The principal research effort for Year 2 of Phase 2 (Concept Demonstration) of the project is Mesozoic (Bossier) petroleum system characterization and modeling and refined resource assessment. The necessary software applications have been acquired to accomplish this work. No major problems have been encountered to date, and the project is on schedule.

Predictions of increasing levels of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) and the specter of global warming have intensified research efforts to identify ways to sequester carbon. A number of novel avenues of research are being considered, including bioprocessing methods to promote and accelerate biosequestration of CO{sub 2} from the environment through the growth of organisms such as coccolithophorids, which are capable of sequestering CO{sub 2} relatively permanently. Calcium and magnesium carbonates are currently the only proven, long-term storage reservoirs for carbon. Whereas organic carbon is readily oxidized and releases CO2 through microbial decomposition on land and in the sea, carbonates can sequester carbon over geologic time scales. This proposal investigates the use of coccolithophorids - single-celled, marine algae that are the major global producers of calcium carbonate - to sequester CO{sub 2} emissions from power plants. Cultivation of coccolithophorids for calcium carbonate (CaCO{sub 3}) precipitation is environmentally benign and results in a stable product with potential commercial value. Because this method of carbon sequestration does not impact natural ecosystem dynamics, it avoids controversial issues of public acceptability and legality associated with other options such as direct injection of CO{sub 2} into the sea and ocean fertilization. Consequently, cultivation of coccolithophorids …

Regenerable sorbents based on sodium carbonate (Na{sub 2}CO{sub 3}) can be used to separate carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) from coal-fired power plant flue gas. Upon thermal regeneration and condensation of water vapor, CO{sub 2} is released in a concentrated form that is suitable for reuse or sequestration. During the research project described in this report, the technical feasibility and economic viability of a thermal-swing CO{sub 2} separation process based on dry, regenerable, carbonate sorbents was confirmed. This process was designated as RTI's Dry Carbonate Process. RTI tested the Dry Carbonate Process through various research phases including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA); bench-scale fixed-bed, bench-scale fluidized-bed, bench-scale co-current downflow reactor testing; pilot-scale entrained-bed testing; and bench-scale demonstration testing with actual coal-fired flue gas. All phases of testing showed the feasibility of the process to capture greater than 90% of the CO{sub 2} present in coal-fired flue gas. Attrition-resistant sorbents were developed, and these sorbents were found to retain their CO{sub 2} removal activity through multiple cycles of adsorption and regeneration. The sodium carbonate-based sorbents developed by RTI react with CO{sub 2} and water vapor at temperatures below 80 C to form sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and/or Wegscheider's salt. This reaction is reversed at temperatures …

A new process, phase enhanced absorption, was invented. The method is carried out in an absorber, where a liquid carrier (aqueous solution), an organic mixture (or organic compound), and a gas mixture containing a gas to be absorbed are introduced from an inlet. Since the organic mixture is immiscible or at least partially immiscible with the liquid carrier, the organic mixture forms a layer or small parcels between the liquid carrier and the gas mixture. The organic mixture in the absorber improves mass transfer efficiency of the system and increases the absorption rate of the gas. The organic mixture serves as a transportation media. The gas is finally accumulated in the liquid carrier as in a conventional gas-liquid absorption system. The presence of the organic layer does not hinder the regeneration of the liquid carrier or recovery of the gas because the organic layer is removed by a settler after the absorption process is completed. In another aspect, the system exhibited increased gas-liquid separation efficiency, thereby reducing the costs of operation and maintenance. Our study focused on the search of the organic layer or transportation layer to enhance the absorption rate of carbon dioxide. The following systems were studied, (1) …

This program developed the Kurchatov Institute’s CREBCOM (CRiteria and Experimentally Based COMbustion) code to the point where it could be commercialized and marketed for the special applications described above, as well as for general purpose combustion calculations. The CREBCOM code uses a different approach to model the explosion phenomenon. The code models, with full 3D gas dynamics, the development of an explosion in three characteristics regimes: a) slow flames, b) fast flames, and c) detonation. The transition from one regime to another is governed by a set of empirical criteria and correlations. As part of the commercialization, the code was validated with the use of experimental data. The experimental data covered a range of thermodynamic initial conditions and apparatus scale. Proprietary experimental data were provided to the Kurchatov Institute by the DuPont for this purpose. The flame acceleration and detonation data was obtained from experiments in methane and oxygen enriched air mixtures carried out in two vessels with diameters of 20 and 27 cm. The experimental data covers a wide spectrum of initial temperature (20-525C) and pressure (1-3 atm). As part of this program, the Kurchatov Institute performed experiments in a 52 cm vessel in mixtures of methane-air at room …

Eolian sands are the main Pennsylvanian Tensleep Sandstone reservoir rocks, and were deposited in a near-shore environment interbedded with near-shore marine and sabkha calcareous and dolomitic rocks. Within the Tensleep, numerous cycles are characterized by basal marine or sabkha calcareous sandstone or dolomitic sandstone overlain by porous and permeable eolian sandstone, which in turn is capped by marine sandstone. The cycles represent the interplay of near-shore marine, sabkha, and eolian environments. On the west side of the project area, both the lower and upper Tensleep are present and the total thickness reaches a maximum of about 240 ft. The lower Tensleep is 100 to 120 ft thick and consists of a sequence of repeating cycles of limey shallow marine sandstone, sandy limestone, and sandy dolomite. The upper Tensleep is generally characterized by cycles of sandy limestone or dolomite, overlain by light-colored, eolian dune sandstone capped by marine limey sandstone. In the central and eastern parts of the project area, only the lower Tensleep is present, but here eolian sandstones are in cycles much like those in the west in the upper Tensleep. The lower Tensleep is quite variable in thickness, ranging from about 25 ft to over 200 ft. Oil …

In chapter 1, the studies focused on the development of novel sorbents for reducing the carbon dioxide emissions at high temperatures. Our studies focused on cesium doped CaO sorbents with respect to other major flue gas compounds in a wide temperature range. The thermo-gravimetric analysis of sorbents with loadings of CaO doped on 20 wt% cesium demonstrated high CO{sub 2} sorption uptakes (up to 66 wt% CO{sub 2}/sorbent). It is remarkable to note that zero adsorption affinity for N{sub 2}, O{sub 2}, H{sub 2}O and NO at temperatures as high as 600 C was observed. For water vapor and nitrogen oxide we observed a positive effect for CO{sub 2} adsorption. In the presence of steam, the CO{sub 2} adsorption increased to the highest adsorption capacity of 77 wt% CO{sub 2}/sorbent. In the presence of nitrogen oxide, the final CO{sub 2} uptake remained same, but the rate of adsorption was higher at the initial stages (10%) than the case where no nitrogen oxide was fed. In chapter 2, Ca(NO{sub 3}){sub 2} {center_dot} 4H{sub 2}O, CaO, Ca(OH){sub 2}, CaCO{sub 3}, and Ca(CH{sub 3}COO){sub 2} {center_dot} H{sub 2}O were used as precursors for synthesis of CaO sorbents on this work. The sorbents prepared …

This project aimed at synthesis of a new inorganic dual-phase carbonate membrane for high temperature CO{sub 2} separation. Metal-carbonate dual-phase membranes were prepared by the direct infiltration method and the synthesis conditions were optimized. Permeation tests for CO{sub 2} and N{sub 2} from 450-750 C showed very low permeances of those two gases through the dual-phase membrane, which was expected due to the lack of ionization of those two particular gases. Permeance of the CO{sub 2} and O{sub 2} mixture was much higher, indicating that the gases do form an ionic species, CO{sub 3}{sup 2-}, enhancing transport through the membrane. However, at temperatures in excess of 650 C, the permeance of CO{sub 3}{sup 2-} decreased rapidly, while predictions showed that permeance should have continued to increase with temperature. XRD data obtained from used membrane indicated that lithium iron oxides formed on the support surface. This lithium iron oxide layer has a very low conductivity, which drastically reduces the flow of electrons to the CO{sub 2}/O{sub 2} gas mixture; thus limiting the formation of the ionic species required for transport through the membrane. These results indicated that the use of stainless steel supports in a high temperature oxidative environment can lead …

Our work developed a unique set of in vivo spectroscopic tools that have allowed us to probe the importance of 1) The effects of storage of proton motive force (pmf ) in the form of both electric field (Δψ) and pH difference (ΔpH); 2) alteration in the stoichiometry of proton pumping to electron transfer at key steps; 3) the influence of changes in the conductivity for proton efflux from the thylakoid of the ATP synthase; 4) the mechanisms of steps of the electron transfer process that pump protons; and 5) the mechanisms by which reactive O{sub 2} is generated as a side reaction to photosynthesis, and how these processes are minimized.

Hunton formation in Oklahoma has been the subject of attention for the last ten years. The new interest started with the drilling of the West Carney field in 1995 in Lincoln County. Subsequently, many other operators have expanded the search for oil and gas in Hunton formation in other parts of Oklahoma. These fields exhibit many unique production characteristics, including: (1) decreasing water-oil or water-gas ratio over time; (2) decreasing gas-oil ratio followed by an increase; (3) poor prediction capability of the reserves based on the log data; and (4) low geological connectivity but high hydrodynamic connectivity. The purpose of this investigation is to understand the principal mechanisms affecting the production, and propose methods by which we can optimize the production from fields with similar characteristics.

This report provides a legal analysis of the recent Court ruling as well as background information on federal sentencing guidelines.

Forest products provide essential resources for human civilization, including energy and materials. In processing forest products, however, unwanted byproducts, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are generated. The goal of this study was to develop a cost effective and reliable air pollution control system to reduce VOC and HAP emissions from pulp, paper and paperboard mills and solid wood product facilities. Specifically, this work focused on the removal of VOCs and HAPs from high volume low concentration (HVLC) gases, particularly methanol since it is the largest HAP constituent in these gases. Three technologies were developed and tested at the bench-scale: (1) A novel composite material of activated carbon coated with a photocatalyst titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) (referred to as TiO{sub 2}-coated activated carbon or TiO{sub 2}/AC), (2) a novel silica gel impregnated with nanosized TiO{sub 2} (referred to as silica-titania composites or STC), and (3) biofiltration. A pilot-scale reactor was also fabricated and tested for methanol removal using the TiO{sub 2}/AC and STC. The technical feasibility of removing methanol with TiO{sub 2}/AC was studied using a composite synthesized via a spay desiccation method. The removal of methanol consists of two consecutive operation steps: removal of …

This document reports the results of groundwater monitoring in September 2005 and March 2006 at the grain storage facility formerly operated at Morrill, Kansas, by the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA). These activities were the first and second twice yearly sampling events of the two-year monitoring program approved by the CCC/USDA and Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) project managers. The monitoring network sampled in September 2005 consisted of 9 monitoring wells (MW1S-MW5S and MW1D [installed in the mid 1990s] and MW6S-MW8S [installed in 2004]), plus 3 private wells (Isch, Rillinger, and Stone). The groundwater samples collected in this first event were analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), dissolved hydrogen, and additional groundwater parameters to aid in evaluating the potential for reductive dechlorination processes. After the monitoring in September 2005, Argonne recommended expansion of the initial monitoring network. Previous sampling (August 2004) had already suggested that the initial network was inadequate to delineate the extent of the carbon tetrachloride plume. With the approval of the CCC/USDA and KDHE project managers, the monitoring network was expanded in January 2006 through the installation of 3 additional monitoring wells (MW9S-MW11S). Details of the monitoring well installations are …

Gas storage is a critical element in the natural gas industry. Producers, transmission and distribution companies, marketers, and end users all benefit directly from the load balancing function of storage. The unbundling process has fundamentally changed the way storage is used and valued. As an unbundled service, the value of storage is being recovered at rates that reflect its value. Moreover, the marketplace has differentiated between various types of storage services and has increasingly rewarded flexibility, safety, and reliability. The size of the natural gas market has increased and is projected to continue to increase towards 30 trillion cubic feet over the next 10 to 15 years. Much of this increase is projected to come from electric generation, particularly peaking units. Gas storage, particularly the flexible services that are most suited to electric loads, is crucial in meeting the needs of these new markets. To address the gas storage needs of the natural gas industry, an industry-driven consortium was created--the Gas Storage Technology Consortium (GSTC). The objective of the GSTC is to provide a means to accomplish industry-driven research and development designed to enhance the operational flexibility and deliverability of the nation's gas storage system, and provide a cost-effective, safe, …

Trace amounts of mercury are found in all coals. During combustion, or during thermal treatment in advanced coal processes, this mercury is vaporized and can be released to the atmosphere with the ultimate combustion products. This has been a cause for concern for a number of years, and has resulted in a determination by the EPA to regulate and control these emissions. Present technology does not, however, provide inexpensive ways to capture or remove mercury. Mercury that exits the furnace in the oxidized form (HgCl{sub 2}) is known to much more easily captured in existing pollution control equipment (e.g., wet scrubbers for SO{sub 2}), principally due to its high solubility in water. Work funded by DOE has helped understand the chemical kinetic processes that lead to mercury oxidation in furnaces. The scenario is as follows. In the flame the mercury is quantitatively vaporized as elemental mercury. Also, the chlorine in the fuel is released as HCl. The direct reaction Hg+HCl is, however, far too slow to be of practical consequence in oxidation. The high temperature region does supports a small concentration of atomic chlorine. As the gases cool (either in the furnace convective passes, in the quench prior to cold …

This nineteenth quarterly status report for the Hybrid Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) project, DOE Award DE-FC04-02AL68080 presents the project status at the end of June 2007, and covers activities in the nineteenth project quarter, April 2007 – June 2007.

It has been known that use of the hydrogen selective membrane as a reactor (MR) could potentially improve the efficiency of the water shift reaction (WGS), one of the least efficient unit operations for production of high purity hydrogen from syngas. However, no membrane reactor technology has been reduced to industrial practice thus far, in particular for a large-scale operation. This implementation and commercialization barrier is attributed to the lack of a commercially viable hydrogen selective membrane with (1) material stability under the application environment and (2) suitability for large-scale operation. Thus, in this project, we have focused on (1) the deposition of the hydrogen selective carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane we have developed on commercially available membranes as substrate, and (2) the demonstration of the economic viability of the proposed WGS-MR for hydrogen production from coal-based syngas. The commercial stainless steel (SS) porous substrate (i.e., ZrO{sub 2}/SS from Pall Corp.) was evaluated comprehensively as the 1st choice for the deposition of the CMS membrane for hydrogen separation. The CMS membrane synthesis protocol we developed previously for the ceramic substrate was adapted here for the stainless steel substrate. Unfortunately no successful hydrogen selective membranes had been prepared during Yr I …