In response to pending regulation to control mercury emissions in the United States and Canada, several projects have been conducted to perform accurate mass balances at pulverized coal (pc)-fired utilities. Part of the mercury mass balance always includes total gaseous mercury as well as a determination of the speciation of the mercury emissions and a concentration bound to the particulate matter. This information then becomes useful in applying mercury control strategies, since the elemental mercury has traditionally been difficult to control by most technologies. In this instance, oxidation technologies have proven most beneficial for increased capture. Despite many years of mercury measurement and control projects at pc-fired units, far less work has been done on circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) units, which are able to combust a variety of feedstocks, including cofiring coal with biomass. Indeed, these units have proven to be more problematic because it is very difficult to obtain a reliable mercury mass balance. These units tend to have very different temperature profiles than pc-fired utility boilers. The flexibility of CFB units also tends to be an issue when a mercury balance is determined, since the mercury inputs to the system come from the bed material and a variety of …

Sub-micron sized airborne particulate matter is not collected well on regular quartz or glass fiber filter papers. We used a micro-orifice uniform deposit impactor (MOUDI) to size fractionate particulate matter (PM) into six size fractions and deposit it on specially designed high purity thin aluminum disks. The MOUDI separated PM into fractions 56-100 nm, 100-180 nm, 180-320 nm, 320-560 nm, 560-1000 nm, and 1000-1800 nm. Since MOUDI have low flow rates, it takes several days to collect sufficient carbon on 47 mm foil disks. The small carbon mass (20-200 microgram C) and large aluminum substrate ({approx}25 mg Al) presents several challenges to production of graphite targets for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) analysis. The Al foil consumes large amounts of oxygen as it is heated and tends to melt into quartz combustion tubes, causing gas leaks. We describe sample processing techniques to reliably produce graphitic targets for {sup 14}C-AMS analysis of PM deposited on Al impact foils.

Pd-based membrane reactor offers the possibility of combining reaction and separation in a single operation at high temperatures to overcome the equilibrium limitations experienced in conventional reactor configurations. In this project to develop a defect-free and hermally-stable Pd-film on microporous stainless steel (MPSS) support for H2-separation and membrane reactor applications, the electroless plating process was revisited with an aim to improve the membrane morphology. Specifically, this study includes; (a) an improvement f activation step using Pulse Laser Deposition (PLD), (b) development of a novel surfactant induced electroless plating (SIEP) for depositing robust Pd-film on microporous support, and (c) application of Pd-membrane as membrane reactor in steam methanol reforming (SMR) reactions.

Detailed investigations were carried out to investigate the removal of mercury using a variety of substrates at elevated temperature under reducing conditions. Sorbents tested mainly comprised 6A, 7A, 1B, 2B, and metals from the periodic table. The new high-surface halogen-treated carbon sorbents performed exceptionally well on the bench scale at relatively high temperatures (400 C). The new sorbents could be incorporated into a gas cleanup technology for fuel gas, where the gas is cooled to medium temperatures. Other work in this task focused on halogen-containing sorbents prepared on a carbon support. Similar sorbents had been previously found to be superior for mercury in flue gas. All granular sorbents were conducted in fixed beds heated at 350 and 400 C with 10 vol% hydrogen in a nitrogen stream containing 34.8 {mu}g/m{sup 3} of Hg{sup 0}.

Increasing the solar reflectance of the urban surface reduce its solar heat gain, lowers its temperatures, and decreases its outflow of thermal infrared radiation into the atmosphere. This process of 'negative radiative forcing' can help counter the effects of global warming. In addition, cool roofs reduce cooling-energy use in air conditioned buildings and increase comfort in unconditioned buildings; and cool roofs and cool pavements mitigate summer urban heat islands, improving outdoor air quality and comfort. Installing cool roofs and cool pavements in cities worldwide is a compelling win-win-win activity that can be undertaken immediately, outside of international negotiations to cap CO{sub 2} emissions. We propose an international campaign to use solar reflective materials when roofs and pavements are built or resurfaced in temperate and tropical regions.

In response to the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) of 2005, Black Hills Power (BHP) initiated testing of a calcium chloride (CaCl{sub 2}) injection method in their Wygen 1 (Gillette, WY) coal-fired power plant to help lower mercury emissions. In 2006, Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) was contracted to test their CaCl{sub 2} technology in-situ by adding a CaCl{sub 2} solution onto the raw, pre-pulverized coal during normal operation of Wygen 1. Follow-up tests were conducted by BHP in 2007. Data were collected from these two time periods and analyzed by a collaborative investigation team from Western Research Institute (WRI) and the University of Wyoming (UW) to see if there were any effects on the current air pollution control systems. During a CaCl{sub 2} injection period in 2007, corrosion was monitored in the flue and recycle ash system by placing corrosion coupons in strategic locations to test if corrosion was enhanced by the CaCl{sub 2} injection. While the CaCl{sub 2} produced a reduction in stack mercury levels, there was some evidence of beneficial impacts on the removal of SO{sub 2} from the flue gas during CaCl{sub 2} injection. Data on NOx remained inconclusive. It was also discovered that corrosion was enhanced …

Recharge provides the primary driving force for transporting contaminants from the vadose zone to underlying aquifer systems. Quantification of recharge rates is important for assessing contaminant transport and fate and for evaluating remediation alternatives. This report describes the status of soil water balance and recharge monitoring performed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory at the Hanford Site for Fiscal Year 2009. Previously reported data for Fiscal Years 2004 - 2008 are updated with data collected in Fiscal Year 2009 and summarized.

The quantification of carbon fluxes between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere is of scientific importance and also relevant to climate-policy making. Eddy covariance flux towers provide continuous measurements of ecosystem-level exchange of carbon dioxide spanning diurnal, synoptic, seasonal, and interannual time scales. However, these measurements only represent the fluxes at the scale of the tower footprint. Here we used remotely-sensed data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to upscale gross primary productivity (GPP) data from eddy covariance flux towers to the continental scale. We first combined GPP and MODIS data for 42 AmeriFlux towers encompassing a wide range of ecosystem and climate types to develop a predictive GPP model using a regression tree approach. The predictive model was trained using observed GPP over the period 2000-2004, and was validated using observed GPP over the period 2005-2006 and leave-one-out cross-validation. Our model predicted GPP fairly well at the site level. We then used the model to estimate GPP for each 1 km x 1 km cell across the U.S. for each 8-day interval over the period from February 2000 to December 2006 using MODIS data. Our GPP estimates provide a spatially and temporally continuous measure of gross primary production …

Research is being conducted for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to assess the effectiveness and reliability of advanced nondestructive examination (NDE) methods for the inspection of light water reactor components. The scope of this research encompasses primary system pressure boundary materials including cast austenitic stainless steels (CASS); dissimilar metal welds; piping with corrosion-resistant cladding; weld overlays, inlays and onlays; and far-side examinations of austenitic piping welds. A primary objective of this work is to evaluate various NDE methods to assess their ability to detect, localize, and size cracks in coarse-grained steel components. In this effort, PNNL supports cooperation with Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA) to assess reliable inspection of CASS materials. The NRC Project Manager has established a cooperative effort with the Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN). CEA, under funding from IRSN, are supporting collaborative efforts with the NRC and PNNL. Regarding its work on the NDE of materials, CEA is providing its modeling software (CIVA) in exchange for PNNL offering expertise and data related to phased-array detection and sizing, acoustic attenuation, and back scattering on CASS materials. This collaboration benefits the NRC because CEA performs research and development …

The coupling magnet for the Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment has a self-inductance of 592 H and the magnet stored energy of 13 MJ at a full current of 210 A for the worst operation case of the MICE channel. The high level of stored energy in the magnet can cause high peak temperature during a quench and induce considerable impact of stresses. One test coil was built in order to validate the design method and to practice the stress and strain situation to occur in the coupling coil. In this study, the analysis on stress redistribution during a quench with sub-divided winding was performed. The stress variation may bring about failure of impregnating material such as epoxy resin, which is the curse of a new normal zone arising. Spring models for impregnating epoxy and fiber-glass cloth in the coil were used to evaluate the mechanical disturbance by impregnated materials failure. This paper presents the detailed dynamic stress and stability analysis to assess the stress distribution during the quench process and to check whether the transient loads are acceptable for the magnet.

Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of the zoonotic disease tularemia, has recently gained increased attention due to the emergence of tularemia in geographical areas where the disease has been previously unknown, and the organism's potential as a bioterrorism agent. Although F. tularensis has an extremely broad host range, the bacterial reservoir in nature has not been conclusively identified. In this study, the ability of virulent F. tularensis strains to survive and replicate in the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii was explored. We observe that A. castellanii trophozoites rapidly encyst in response to F. tularensis infection and that this rapid encystment phenotype (REP) is caused by factor(s) secreted by amoebae and/or F. tularensis into the co-culture media. Further, our results indicate that in contrast to LVS, virulent strains of F. tularensis can survive in A. castellanii cysts for at least 3 weeks post infection and that induction of rapid amoeba encystment is essential for survival. In addition, our data indicate that pathogenic F. tularensis strains block lysosomal fusion in A. castellanii. Taken together, these data suggest that the interactions between F. tularensis strains and amoeba may play a role in the environmental persistence of F. tularensis.

Modification of a high energy particle distribution by a spectrum of low amplitude modes is investigated using a guiding center code. Only through resonance are modes effective in modifying the distribution. Diagnostics are used to illustrate the mode-particle interaction and to find which effects are relevant in producing significant resonance, including kinetic Poincare plots and plots showing those orbits with time averaged mode-particle energy transfer. Effects of pitch angle scattering and drag are studied, as well as plasma rotation and time dependence of the equilibrium and mode frequencies. A specific example of changes observed in a DIII-D deuterium beam distribution in the presence of low amplitude experimentally validated Toroidal Alfven (TAE) eigenmodes and Reversed Shear Alfven (RSAE) eigenmodes is examined in detail. Comparison with experimental data shows that multiple low amplitude modes can account for significant modification of high energy beam particle distributions. It is found that there is a stochastic threshold for beam profile modification, and that the experimental amplitudes are only slightly above this threshold.

The project team's goal for the Wireless and Sensing Solution Advancing Industrial Efficiency award (DE-FC36-04GO14002) was to develop, demonstrate, and test a number of leading edge technologies that could enable the emergence of wireless sensor and sampling systems for the industrial market space. This effort combined initiatives in advanced sensor development, configurable sampling and deployment platforms, and robust wireless communications to address critical obstacles in enabling enhanced industrial efficiency.

The Department of Energy (DOE) desires to ship Model 9975-85 and Model 9975-96 Packages loaded with Pu/U metal and Pu/U oxide materials as identified in new Content Envelopes C.10 and C.11. The new Content Envelopes C.10 and C.11 consist of radioisotopes and impurities that are similar to the existing C.3, Pu/U metal, and C.4, Pu/U oxide, Content Envelopes but that list the radioisotopes as gram values in lieu of the existing weight percent of radioactive material mass values listed for the C.3 and C.4 Content Envelopes. Authorization for shipment requires acceptance of this report by the DOE-Headquarters (HQ) Certifying Official (EM-10/EM-2) as an Addendum to WSRC-SA-2002-00008, Revision 0, S-SARA-G-00001, Addendum 1, Revision 0, and S-SARA-G-00002 Addendum 2, Revision 1, of the Model 9975-85 Package Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP). This Addendum also applies to S-SARP-G-00003, Revision 0, of the Model 9975-96 Package SARP. These documents are collectively referred to as the existing Model 9975 Package SARP. The safety basis described addresses specific supplements to the currently approved safety basis. Justification is made for shipping the new Content Envelopes C.10 and C.11 under this Addendum. Following acceptance of this Addendum by EM-10/EM-2 and subsequent revision to the current Certificates of …

The Hanford Site began as part of the United States Manhattan Project to research, test and build atomic weapons during World War II. The original 670-square mile Hanford Site, then known as the Hanford Engineer Works, was the last of three top-secret sites constructed in order to produce enriched uranium and plutonium for the world's first nuclear weapons. B Reactor, located about 45 miles northwest of Richland, Washington, is the world's first full-scale nuclear reactor. Not only was B Reactor a first-of-a-kind engineering structure, it was built and fully functional in just 11 months. Eventually, the shoreline of the Columbia River in southeastern Washington State held nine nuclear reactors at the height of Hanford's nuclear defense production during the Cold War era. The B Reactor was shut down in 1968. During the 1980's, the U.S. Department of Energy began removing B Reactor's support facilities. The reactor building, the river pumphouse and the reactor stack are the only facilities that remain. Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Richland Operations Office offers escorted public access to B Reactor along a designated tour route. The National Park Service (NPS) is studying preservation and interpretation options for sites associated with the Manhattan Project. …

This paper provides new regression models for demand reduction of Demand Response programs for the purpose of ex ante evaluation of the programs and screening for recruiting customer enrollment into the programs. The proposed regression models employ load sensitivity to outside air temperature and representative load pattern derived from cluster analysis of customer baseline load as explanatory variables. The proposed models examined their performances from the viewpoint of validity of explanatory variables and fitness of regressions, using actual load profile data of Pacific Gas and Electric Company's commercial and industrial customers who participated in the 2008 Critical Peak Pricing program including Manual and Automated Demand Response.

The large N{sub c} limit provides a good phenomenology of meson spectra and interactions, I discuss some problems with applying the large N{sub c} approximation to the description of baryons, and point out a number of apparent paradoxes and phenomenological difficulties.

The Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management award was used to establish the organization and initiate investigations of hazardous waste issues along the U.S.-Mexico border. Scientific investigations conducted during the execution of this grant contributed significant data and established new sampling protocols to the dimension, frequency and severity of hazardous materials (e.g., heavy metals) along the U.S.-Mexico border. Additionally, new protocols and assessments with distinct Homeland Security implications were embedded thus establishing a baseline that will be significant for related investigations in the future.

This document contains a specification for a standard XML document format called an information package that can be used to store information and the context required to understand and use that information in information management systems and other types of information archives. An information package consists of packaged information, a set of information metadata that describes the packaged information, and an XML signature that protects the packaged information. The information package described in this specification was designed to be used to store Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) information and includes the metadata required for that information: a unique package identifier, information marking that conforms to DOE and NNSA requirements, and access control metadata. Information package metadata can also include information search terms, package history, and notes. Packaged information can be text content, binary content, and the contents of files and other containers. A single information package can contain multiple types of information. All content not in a text form compatible with XML must be in a text encoding such as base64. Package information is protected by a digital XML signature that can be used to determine whether the information has changed since it was signed …

The Terascale Optimal PDE Solvers (TOPS) Integrated Software Infrastructure Center (ISIC) was created to develop and implement algorithms and support scientific investigations performed by DOE-sponsored researchers. These simulations often involve the solution of partial differential equations (PDEs) on terascale computers. The TOPS Center researched, developed and deployed an integrated toolkit of open-source, optimal complexity solvers for the nonlinear partial differential equations that arise in many DOE application areas, including fusion, accelerator design, global climate change and reactive chemistry. The algorithms created as part of this project were also designed to reduce current computational bottlenecks by orders of magnitude on terascale computers, enabling scientific simulation on a scale heretofore impossible.

The International Sherwood Theory Meeting is a yearly meeting that focuses on the theory of magnetically confined fusion plasmas. There are many topics of common interest in fusion plasma systems and space and astrophysical plasmas. These common topics include such key topics as magnetic reconnection, the dynamo, turbulence and transport and particle heating and acceleration. One of the major participants of the April APS meeting is the APS Division of Astrophysics (DAP). The goal of having the Sherwood Meeting jointly with the April meeting was to promote discussion of topics of common interest in fusion and space and astrophysics. Scientists from the DAP, the Division of Plasma Physics (DPP), the Topical Group on Plasma Astrophysics (GPAP) and Sherwood worked together closely to produce a joint program that addressed areas of common interest. Four sessions of invited talks were sponsored jointly by the DAP, DPP and GPAP on laboratory experiments related to astrophysics. Plasma scientists working in theory and computation play a key role in connecting these laboratory experiments to the very disparate conditions found in fusion and astrophysical systems. Thus, the attendees of the Sherwood Theory meeting were critical to facilitating this effort at cross-disciplinary communication. Noteworthy were the selection …

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) performed pilot-scale hydraulic/chemical testing of spherical resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) ion exchange (IX) resin for the River Protection Project-Hanford Tank Waste Treatment & Immobilization Plant (WTP) Project. The RF resin hydraulic cycle testing was conducted in two pilot-scale IX columns, 1/4 and 1/2 scale. A total of twenty-three hydraulic/chemical cycles were successfully completed on the spherical RF resin. Sixteen of these cycles were completed in the 24-inch IX Column (1/2 scale column). Hydraulic testing showed that the permeability of the RF resin remained essentially constant, with no observed trend in the reduction of the permeability as the number of cycles increased. The permeability during the pilot-scale testing was 3 times better than the design requirements of the WTP full-scale IX system. The RF resin bed showed no tendency to form fissures or pack more densely as the number of cycles increased. Particle size measurements of the RF resin showed no indication of particle size change (for a given chemical) with cycles and essentially no fines formation. The permeability of the resin bed was uniform with respect to changes in bed depth. Upflow Regeneration and Simulant Introduction in the IX columns revealed another RF resin benefit; negligible …

The Coal Ash Resources Research Consortium{reg_sign} (CARRC{reg_sign}, pronounced 'cars') is the core coal combustion product (CCP) research group at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC). CARRC focuses on performing fundamental and applied scientific and engineering research emphasizing the environmentally safe, economical use of CCPs. CARRC member organizations, which include utilities and marketers, are key to developing industry-driven research in the area of CCP utilization and ensuring its successful application. The U.S. Department of Energy is a partner in CARRC through the EERC Jointly Sponsored Research Program, which provides matching funds for industrial member contributions and facilitates an increased level of effort in CARRC. CARRC tasks were designed to provide information on CCP performance, including environmental performance, engineering performance, favorable economics, and improved life cycle of products and projects. CARRC technical research tasks are developed based on member input and prioritization. CARRC special projects are developed with members and nonmembers to provide similar information and to support activities, including the assembly and interpretation of data, support for standards development and technology transfer, and facilitating product development and testing. CARRC activities from 2007 to 2009 included a range of research tasks, with primary work performed in laboratory tasks developed to answer …

Neutralized drift compression offers an effective method for particle beam focusing and current amplification. In neutralized drift compression, a linear radial and longitudinal velocity drift is applied to a beam pulse, so that the beam pulse compresses as it drifts in the drift-compression section. The beam intensity can increase more than a factor of 100 in both the radial and longitudinal directions, resulting in more than 10,000 times increase in the beam number density during this process. The self-electric and self-magnetic fields can prevent tight ballistic focusing and have to be neutralized by supplying neutralizing electrons. This paper presents a survey of the present theoretical understanding of the drift compression process and plasma neutralization of intense particle beams. The optimal configuration of focusing and neutralizing elements is discussed in this paper.