CANAL EMERGES FROM EAST SIDE OF MTR BUILDING. "EXTRA" LENGTH ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

CANAL EMERGES FROM EAST SIDE OF MTR BUILDING. "EXTRA" LENGTH WAS TO STORE SPENT FUEL THAT WOULD ACCUMULATE BEFORE THE CHEMICAL PROCESSING PLANT WAS READY TO PROCESS IT. INL NEGATIVE NO. 1659. Unknown Photographer, 3/9/1951 - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Test Reactor Area, Materials & Engineering Test Reactors, Scoville, Butte County, ID

Radiological Impact of Tritium from Gaseous Effluent Releases at Cook Nuclear Power Plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Joshua Allan

The purpose of this study was to investigate the washout of tritiated water by snow and rain from gaseous effluent releases at Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant. Primary concepts studied were determination of washout coefficients for rainfall and snowfall; correlations between rainfall and snow fall tritium concentrations with tritium concentrations in the spent fuel pool, reactor cooling systems, and tritium release rates; and calculations of received doses from the process of recapture. The dose calculations are under the assumption of a maximally exposed individual to get the most conservative estimate of the effect that washout of tritiated water has on individuals around the plant site. This study is in addition to previous work that has been conducted at Cook Nuclear Power Plant for several years. The calculated washout coefficients were typically within the range of 1x10-7s -1 to 1x10-5s-1. A strong correlation between tritium concentration within the spent fuel pool and the tritium release rates was determined.

76 FR 40403 - R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC, R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, R.E. Ginna Independent Spent...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-08

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50-244; Docket No. 72-67] R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC, R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, R.E. Ginna Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Notice of... Facility Operating License No. DPR-18, for the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant (Ginna), currently held by R...

Impact of Distillery Spent Wash Irrigation on Agricultural Soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jadhav, Ramanand N.; Sarode, Dhananjay B.; Narkhede, Sachin D.; Khatik, Vasimshaikh A.; Attarde, Sanjay B.

2011-07-01

The disposal of wastes from industrial sources is becoming a serious problem throughout the world. In India, a total of approximately 40 million m3 of distillery spent wash is generated annually from 295 distilleries. The distillery spent wash is acidic and high levels of biological oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand and contains nutrient elements such as potassium (K), nitrogen (N), and phosphorous (P). It is used as a source of plant nutrients and organic matter for various agricultural crops. It is usually applied to arable land near the distilleries as irrigation water or as a soil amendment. However, indiscriminate disposal of it has resulted in adverse impact on soil environments. This paper aims to identify the impact of distillery spent wash application for irrigation and on soil environment. The distillery spent wash can be a good source of nutrients necessary for plant growth. Application of various concentrations of spent wash on plant species was studied. A plot having 20-30% concentration of spent wash observed good growth. At higher doses, spent wash application is found harmful to crop growth and soil fertility and its use at lower doses remarkably improves germination and growth of crops.

A comparative study of the treatment of ethylene plant spent caustic by neutralization and classical and advanced oxidation.

PubMed

Hawari, Alaa; Ramadan, Hasanat; Abu-Reesh, Ibrahim; Ouederni, Mabrouk

2015-03-15

The treatment of spent caustic produced from an ethylene plant was investigated. In the case of neutralization alone it was found that the maximum removal of sulfide was at pH values below 5.5. The higher percentage removal of sulfides (99% at pH = 1.5) was accompanied with the highest COD removal (88%). For classical oxidation using H2O2 the maximum COD removal percentage reached 89% at pH = 2.5 and at a hydrogen peroxide concentration of 19 mM/L. For the advanced oxidation using Fenton's process it was found that the maximum COD removal of 96.5% was achieved at a hydrogen peroxide/ferrous sulfate ratio of (7:1). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Isolation and characterization of a resident tolerant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain from a spent sulfite liquor fermentation plant

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Spent Sulfite Liquor (SSL) from wood pulping facilities is a sugar rich effluent that can be used as feedstock for ethanol production. However, depending on the pulping process conditions, the release of monosaccharides also generates a range of compounds that negatively affect microbial fermentation. In the present study, we investigated whether endogenous yeasts in SSL-based ethanol plant could represent a source of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains with a naturally acquired tolerance towards this inhibitory environment. Two isolation processes were performed, before and after the re-inoculation of the plant with a commercial baker’s yeast strain. The isolates were clustered by DNA fingerprinting and a recurrent Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain, different from the inoculated commercial baker’s yeast strain, was isolated. The strain, named TMB3720, flocculated heavily and presented high furaldehyde reductase activity. During fermentation of undiluted SSL, TMB3720 displayed a 4-fold higher ethanol production rate and 1.8-fold higher ethanol yield as compared to the commercial baker’s yeast. Another non-Saccharomyces cerevisiae species, identified as the pentose utilizing Pichia galeiformis, was also recovered in the last tanks of the process where the hexose to pentose sugar ratio and the inhibitory pressure are expected to be the lowest. PMID:23237549

Submerged passively-safe power plant

DOEpatents

Herring, J. Stephen

1993-01-01

The invention as presented consists of a submerged passively-safe power station including a pressurized water reactor capable of generating at least 600 MW of electricity, encased in a double hull vessel, and provides fresh water by using the spent thermal energy in a multistage flash desalination process.

Adsorption of Ni(II) onto Chemically Modified Spent Grated Coconut (Cocos Nucifera)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamzah, F. I.; Khalid, K.; Hanafiah, M. A. K. M.

2017-06-01

A new adsorbent of plant waste origin from coconut processing food factory was explored for removing Ni(II) from aqueous solutions. Several parameters such as pH, dosage, concentration and contact time were studied to obtain optimum conditions for treatment of Ni(II) contaminated wastewater. Spent grated coconut (Cocos nucifera) treated with sulfuric acid (SSGC) showed good adsorption capacity for Ni(II) ion. The amount adsorbed was affected by solution pH with the highest value achieved at pH 5. Other optimum conditions found were; dosage of 0.02 g, and 60 min of equilibrium time. Ni(II) adsorption obeyed the pseudo-second order kinetic model which suggested that chemisorption mechanism occurred in the adsorption process. The equilibrium data presented a better fitting to the Langmuir isotherm model, an indication that monolayer adsorption occurred onto a homogeneous surface. The maximum adsorption capacity, qmax was 97.09 mg g-1, thus SSGC can be classified as good and comparable with other plant waste adsorbents.

Sulfuric acid baking and leaching of spent Co-Mo/Al2O3 catalyst.

PubMed

Kim, Hong-In; Park, Kyung-Ho; Mishra, Devabrata

2009-07-30

Dissolution of metals from a pre-oxidized refinery plant spent Co-Mo/Al(2)O(3) catalyst have been tried through low temperature (200-450 degrees C) sulfuric acid baking followed by mild leaching process. Direct sulfuric acid leaching of the same sample, resulted poor Al and Mo recoveries, whereas leaching after sulfuric acid baking significantly improved the recoveries of above two metals. The pre-oxidized spent catalyst, obtained from a Korean refinery plant found to contain 40% Al, 9.92% Mo, 2.28% Co, 2.5% C and trace amount of other elements such as Fe, Ni, S and P. XRD results indicated the host matrix to be poorly crystalline gamma- Al(2)O(3). The effect of various baking parameters such as catalyst-to-acid ratio, baking temperature and baking time on percentage dissolutions of metals has been studied. It was observed that, metals dissolution increases with increase in the baking temperature up to 300 degrees C, then decreases with further increase in the baking temperature. Under optimum baking condition more than 90% Co and Mo, and 93% Al could be dissolved from the spent catalyst with the following leaching condition: H(2)SO(4)=2% (v/v), temperature=95 degrees C, time=60 min and Pulp density=5%.

Submerged passively-safe power plant

DOEpatents

Herring, J.S.

1993-09-21

The invention as presented consists of a submerged passively-safe power station including a pressurized water reactor capable of generating at least 600 MW of electricity, encased in a double hull vessel, and provides fresh water by using the spent thermal energy in a multistage flash desalination process. 8 figures.

The BATENUS process for recycling mixed battery waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fröhlich, Siegmund; Sewing, Dirk

The first large-scale battery recycling facility implementing the hydrometallurgical BATENUS technology is expected to go into operation by 1996. The plant will be situated in Schönebeck/Sachsen-Anhalt, and has a projected maximum capacity of 7500 tons of spent batteries per year. The engineering is being carried out by Keramchemie GmbH and the plant will be operated by Batterierecycling Schönebeck GmbH. The BATENUS process was developed by Pira GmbH, a research institute in Stühlingen, Germany, during a period of five years. This new process combines hydrometallurgical operations in a nearly closed reagent cycle that involves electrochemical and membrane techniques. Effluent emissions are minimized to the greatest possible extent. Process validity has been proven in a series of pilot plant testings. After mechanical separation of the casing materials like ferrous and nonferrous metals, paper and plastics, the subsequent hydrometallurgical recovery yields zinc, copper, nickel and cadmium. The other products are manganese carbonate and a mixture of manganese oxide with carbon black. Mercury is immobilized by absorption on a selective ion-exchange resin. The BATENUS process is a master process for the hydrometallurgical reclamation of metals from secondary raw materials. It has found its first application in the treatment of spent consumer batteries (i.e., mixtures of zinc-carbon, alkaline manganese, lithium, nickel-cadmium cells, etc.). As a result of its modular process design, the individual steps can be modified easily and adapted to accommodate variations in the contents of the secondary raw materials. Further applications of this highly flexible technology are planned for the future.

Proliferation resistance assessment of various methods of spent nuclear fuel storage and disposal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kollar, Lenka

Many countries are planning to build or already are building new nuclear power plants to match their growing energy needs. Since all nuclear power plants handle nuclear materials that could potentially be converted and used for nuclear weapons, they each present a nuclear proliferation risk. Spent nuclear fuel presents the largest build-up of nuclear material at a power plant. This is a proliferation risk because spent fuel contains plutonium that can be chemically separated and used for a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards spent fuel in all non-nuclear weapons states that are party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Various safeguards methods are in use at nuclear power plants and research is underway to develop safeguards methods for spent fuel in centralized storage or underground storage and disposal. Each method of spent fuel storage presents different proliferation risks due to the nature of the storage method and the safeguards techniques that are utilized. Previous proliferation resistance and proliferation risk assessments have mainly compared nuclear material through the whole fuel cycle and not specifically focused on spent fuel storage. This project evaluates the proliferation resistance of the three main types of spent fuel storage: spent fuel pool, dry cask storage, and geological repository. The proliferation resistance assessment methodology that is used in this project is adopted from previous work and altered to be applicable to spent fuel storage. The assessment methodology utilizes various intrinsic and extrinsic proliferation-resistant attributes for each spent fuel storage type. These attributes are used to calculate a total proliferation resistant (PR) value. The maximum PR value is 1.00 and a greater number means that the facility is more proliferation resistant. Current data for spent fuel storage in the United States and around the world was collected. The PR values obtained from this data are 0.49 for the spent fuel pool, 0.42 for dry cask storage, 0.36 for the operating geological repository, and 0.28 for the closed geological repository. Therefore, the spent fuel pool is currently the most proliferation resistant method for storing spent fuel. The extrinsic attributes, mainly involving safeguards measures, affect the total PR value the most. As a result, several recommendations are made to improve the proliferation resistance of spent fuel. These recommendations include employing more advanced safeguards measures, such as verification techniques and remote monitoring, for dry cask storage and the geological repository. Dry cask storage facilities should also be located at the plant and in a secure building to minimize the proliferation risk. Finally, the cost-benefit analysis of increased safeguards needs to be considered. Taking these recommendations into account, the PR values of dry cask storage and the closed geological would be significantly increased, to 0.57 and 0.51, respectively. As a result, with increased safeguards to the safeguards level of the spent fuel pool, dry cask storage would be the most proliferation resistant method to store spent fuel. Therefore, the IAEA should continue to develop remote monitoring and cask storage verification techniques in order to improve the proliferation resistance of spent fuel.

Development of a material processing plant for lunar soil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goettsch, Ulix; Ousterhout, Karl

1992-01-01

Currently there is considerable interest in developing in-situ materials processing plants for both the Moon and Mars. Two of the most important aspects of developing such a materials processing plant is the overall system design and the integration of the different technologies into a reliable, lightweight, and cost-effective unit. The concept of an autonomous materials processing plant that is capable of producing useful substances from lunar regolith was developed. In order for such a materials processing plant to be considered as a viable option, it must be totally self-contained, able to operate autonomously, cost effective, light weight, and fault tolerant. In order to assess the impact of different technologies on the overall systems design and integration, a one-half scale model was constructed that is capable of scooping up (or digging) lunar soil, transferring the soil to a solar furnace, heating the soil in the furnace to liberate the gasses, and transferring the spent soil to a 'tile' processing center. All aspects of the control system are handled by a 386 class PC via D/A, A/D, and DSP (Digital Signal Processor) control cards.

Carotenoids of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown on soil enriched with spent coffee grounds.

PubMed

Cruz, Rebeca; Baptista, Paula; Cunha, Sara; Pereira, José Alberto; Casal, Susana

2012-02-07

The impact of spent coffee grounds on carotenoid and chlorophyll content in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata) was evaluated. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted with spent coffee amounts ranging from 0% to 20% (v/v). All evaluated pigments increased proportionally to spent coffee amounts. Lutein and β-carotene levels increased up to 90% and 72%, respectively, while chlorophylls increased up to 61%. Biomass was also improved in the presence of 2.5% to 10% spent coffee, decreasing for higher amounts. Nevertheless, all plants were characterized by lower organic nitrogen content than the control ones, inversely to the spent coffee amounts, pointing to possible induced stress. Collected data suggests that plants nutritional features, with regards to these bioactive compounds, can be improved by the presence of low amounts of spent coffee grounds (up to 10%). This observation is particularly important because soil amendment with spent coffee grounds is becoming increasingly common within domestic agriculture. Still, further studies on the detailed influence of spent coffee bioactive compounds are mandatory, particularly regarding caffeine.

CONTROL OF SULFUR EMISSIONS FROM OIL SHALE RETORTING USING SPEND SHALE ABSORPTION

EPA Science Inventory

The paper gives results of a detailed engineering evaluation of the potential for using an absorption on spent shale process (ASSP) for controlling sulfur emissions from oil shale plants. The evaluation analyzes the potential effectiveness and cost of absorbing SO2 on combusted s...

AP1000{sup R} nuclear power plant safety overview for spent fuel cooling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gorgemans, J.; Mulhollem, L.; Glavin, J.

2012-07-01

The AP1000{sup R} plant is an 1100-MWe class pressurized water reactor with passive safety features and extensive plant simplifications that enhance construction, operation, maintenance, safety and costs. The AP1000 design uses passive features to mitigate design basis accidents. The passive safety systems are designed to function without safety-grade support systems such as AC power, component cooling water, service water or HVAC. Furthermore, these passive features 'fail safe' during a non-LOCA event such that DC power and instrumentation are not required. The AP1000 also has simple, active, defense-in-depth systems to support normal plant operations. These active systems provide the first levelmore » of defense against more probable events and they provide investment protection, reduce the demands on the passive features and support the probabilistic risk assessment. The AP1000 passive safety approach allows the plant to achieve and maintain safe shutdown in case of an accident for 72 hours without operator action, meeting the expectations provided in the U.S. Utility Requirement Document and the European Utility Requirements for passive plants. Limited operator actions are required to maintain safe conditions in the spent fuel pool via passive means. In line with the AP1000 approach to safety described above, the AP1000 plant design features multiple, diverse lines of defense to ensure spent fuel cooling can be maintained for design-basis events and beyond design-basis accidents. During normal and abnormal conditions, defense-in-depth and other systems provide highly reliable spent fuel pool cooling. They rely on off-site AC power or the on-site standby diesel generators. For unlikely design basis events with an extended loss of AC power (i.e., station blackout) or loss of heat sink or both, spent fuel cooling can still be provided indefinitely: - Passive systems, requiring minimal or no operator actions, are sufficient for at least 72 hours under all possible pool heat load conditions. - After 3 days, several different means are provided to continue spent fuel cooling using installed plant equipment as well as off-site equipment with built-in connections. Even for beyond design basis accidents with postulated pool damage and multiple failures in the passive safety-related systems and in the defense-in-depth active systems, the AP1000 multiple spent fuel pool spray and fill systems provide additional lines of defense to prevent spent fuel damage. (authors)« less

Knowledge-based and model-based hybrid methodology for comprehensive waste minimization in electroplating plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Keqin

1999-11-01

The electroplating industry of over 10,000 planting plants nationwide is one of the major waste generators in the industry. Large quantities of wastewater, spent solvents, spent process solutions, and sludge are the major wastes generated daily in plants, which costs the industry tremendously for waste treatment and disposal and hinders the further development of the industry. It becomes, therefore, an urgent need for the industry to identify technically most effective and economically most attractive methodologies and technologies to minimize the waste, while the production competitiveness can be still maintained. This dissertation aims at developing a novel WM methodology using artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, and fundamental knowledge in chemical engineering, and an intelligent decision support tool. The WM methodology consists of two parts: the heuristic knowledge-based qualitative WM decision analysis and support methodology and fundamental knowledge-based quantitative process analysis methodology for waste reduction. In the former, a large number of WM strategies are represented as fuzzy rules. This becomes the main part of the knowledge base in the decision support tool, WMEP-Advisor. In the latter, various first-principles-based process dynamic models are developed. These models can characterize all three major types of operations in an electroplating plant, i.e., cleaning, rinsing, and plating. This development allows us to perform a thorough process analysis on bath efficiency, chemical consumption, wastewater generation, sludge generation, etc. Additional models are developed for quantifying drag-out and evaporation that are critical for waste reduction. The models are validated through numerous industrial experiments in a typical plating line of an industrial partner. The unique contribution of this research is that it is the first time for the electroplating industry to (i) use systematically available WM strategies, (ii) know quantitatively and accurately what is going on in each tank, and (iii) identify all WM opportunities through process improvement. This work has formed a solid foundation for the further development of powerful WM technologies for comprehensive WM in the following decade.

Methodology and Software for Gross Defect Detection of Spent Nuclear Fuel at the Atucha-I Reactor [Novel Methodology and Software for Spent Fuel Gross Defect Detection at the Atucha-I Reactor

DOE PAGES

Sitaraman, Shivakumar; Ham, Young S.; Gharibyan, Narek; ...

2017-03-27

Here, fuel assemblies in the spent fuel pool are stored by suspending them in two vertically stacked layers at the Atucha Unit 1 nuclear power plant (Atucha-I). This introduces the unique problem of verifying the presence of fuel in either layer without physically moving the fuel assemblies. Given that the facility uses both natural uranium and slightly enriched uranium at 0.85 wt% 235U and has been in operation since 1974, a wide range of burnups and cooling times can exist in any given pool. A gross defect detection tool, the spent fuel neutron counter (SFNC), has been used at themore » site to verify the presence of fuel up to burnups of 8000 MWd/t. At higher discharge burnups, the existing signal processing software of the tool was found to fail due to nonlinearity of the source term with burnup.« less

Methodology and Software for Gross Defect Detection of Spent Nuclear Fuel at the Atucha-I Reactor [Novel Methodology and Software for Spent Fuel Gross Defect Detection at the Atucha-I Reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sitaraman, Shivakumar; Ham, Young S.; Gharibyan, Narek

Here, fuel assemblies in the spent fuel pool are stored by suspending them in two vertically stacked layers at the Atucha Unit 1 nuclear power plant (Atucha-I). This introduces the unique problem of verifying the presence of fuel in either layer without physically moving the fuel assemblies. Given that the facility uses both natural uranium and slightly enriched uranium at 0.85 wt% 235U and has been in operation since 1974, a wide range of burnups and cooling times can exist in any given pool. A gross defect detection tool, the spent fuel neutron counter (SFNC), has been used at themore » site to verify the presence of fuel up to burnups of 8000 MWd/t. At higher discharge burnups, the existing signal processing software of the tool was found to fail due to nonlinearity of the source term with burnup.« less

Spent fuel cask handling at an operating nuclear power plant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pal, A.C.

1988-01-01

The importance of spent fuel handling at operating nuclear power plants cannot be overstated. Because of its highly radioactive nature, however, spent fuel must be handled in thick, lead-lined containers or casks. Thus, all casks for spent fuel handling are heavy loads by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's definition, and any load-drop must be evaluated for its potential to damage safety-related equipment. Nuclear Regulatory Guide NUREG-0612 prescribes the regulatory requirements of alternative heavy-load-handling methodologies such as (a) by providing cranes that meet the requirements of NUREG-0554, which shall be called the soft path, or (b) by providing protective devices atmore » all postulated load-drop areas to prevent any damage to safety-related equipment, which shall be called the hard path. The work reported in this paper relates to cask handling at New York Power Authority's James A. FitzPatrick (JAF) plant.« less

Suggestion on the safety classification of spent fuel dry storage in China’s pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ting; Qu, Yunhuan; Meng, De; Zhang, Qiaoer; Lu, Xinhua

2018-01-01

China’s spent fuel storage in the pressurized water reactors(PWR) is stored with wet storage way. With the rapid development of nuclear power industry, China’s NPPs(NPPs) will not be able to meet the problem of the production of spent fuel. Currently the world’s major nuclear power countries use dry storage as a way of spent fuel storage, so in recent years, China study on additional spent fuel dry storage system mainly. Part of the PWR NPP is ready to apply for additional spent fuel dry storage system. It also need to safety classificate to spent fuel dry storage facilities in PWR, but there is no standard for safety classification of spent fuel dry storage facilities in China. Because the storage facilities of the spent fuel dry storage are not part of the NPP, the classification standard of China’s NPPs is not applicable. This paper proposes the safety classification suggestion of the spent fuel dry storage for China’s PWR NPP, through to the study on China’s safety classification principles of PWR NPP in “Classification for the items of pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants (GB/T 17569-2013)”, and safety classification about spent fuel dry storage system in NUREG/CR - 6407 in the United States.

W-007H B Plant Process Condensate Treatment Facility. Revision 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rippy, G.L.

1995-01-20

B Plant Process Condensate (BCP) liquid effluent stream is the condensed vapors originating from the operation of the B Plant low-level liquid waste concentration system. In the past, the BCP stream was discharged into the soil column under a compliance plan which expired January 1, 1987. Currently, the BCP stream is inactive, awaiting restart of the E-23-3 Concentrator. B Plant Steam Condensate (BCS) liquid effluent stream is the spent steam condensate used to supply heat to the E-23-3 Concentrator. The tube bundles in the E-23-3 Concentrator discharge to the BCS. In the past, the BCS stream was discharged into themore » soil column. Currently, the BCS stream is inactive. This project shall provide liquid effluent systems (BCP/BCS/BCE) capable of operating for a minimum of 20 years, which does not include the anticipated decontamination and decommissioning (D and D) period.« less

Oil refinery hazardous effluents minimization by membrane filtration: An on-site pilot plant study.

PubMed

Santos, Bruno; Crespo, João G; Santos, Maria António; Velizarov, Svetlozar

2016-10-01

Experiments for treating two different types of hazardous oil refinery effluents were performed in order to avoid/minimize their adverse impacts on the environment. First, refinery wastewater was subjected to ultrafiltration using a ceramic membrane, treatment, which did not provide an adequate reduction of the polar oil and grease content below the maximal contaminant level allowed. Therefore the option of reducing the polar oil and grease contamination at its main emission source point in the refinery - the spent caustic originating from the refinery kerosene caustic washing unit - using an alkaline-resistant nanofiltration polymeric membrane treatment was tested. It was found that at a constant operating pressure and temperature, 99.9% of the oil and grease and 97.7% of the COD content were rejected at this emission point. Moreover, no noticeable membrane fouling or permeate flux decrease were registered until a spent caustic volume concentration factor of 3. These results allow for a reuse of the purified permeate in the refinery operations, instead of a fresh caustic solution, which besides the improved safety and environmentally related benefits, can result in significant savings of 1.5 M€ per year at the current prices for the biggest Portuguese oil refinery. The capital investment needed for nanofiltration treatment of the spent caustic is estimated to be less than 10% of that associated with the conventional wet air oxidation treatment of the spent caustic that is greater than 9 M€. The payback period was estimated to be 1.1 years. The operating costs for the two treatment options are similar, but the reuse of the nanofiltration spent caustic concentrate for refinery pH control applications can further reduce the operating expenditures. Overall, the pilot plant results obtained and the process economics evaluation data indicate a safer, environmentally friendly and highly competitive solution offered by the proposed nanofiltration treatment, thus representing a promising alternative to the use of conventional spent caustic treatment units. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

75 FR 57535 - Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company; Haddam Neck Plant; Notice of Issuance of Amendment To...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-21

... Company; Haddam Neck Plant; Notice of Issuance of Amendment To Operating License No. DPR-61 AGENCY... . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Haddam Neck completed the transfer of their spent fuel to the independent spent fuel..., held by CYAPC for the possession of the Haddam Neck facility pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50 and for the...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Townsend, M.W.

The Monsanto Chemical Company operates a plastics and resins plant located in Addyston, Ohio. The process equipment requires routine rinsing with technical grade acetone between batches. Due to the volumes of spent acetone generated and the associated RCRA hazardous waste regulations, the plant sought to recycle and reuse the acetone to reduce the purchase cost of virgin acetone and the cost of spent acetone disposal. One of the first options explored was package unit distillation units. The cost of these units was in the $20--$30,000 range in 1989 dollars. Even though the cost of a package unit was not deemedmore » unreasonable, there were additional costs and concerns that led to elimination of this option. The unit would have required additional manpower to operate and maintain, i.e., at least a fraction of an operator and mechanic. For plant safety reasons, it was desired to operate this package unit outside the production building, thus construction of an outbuilding would have added to the expense of the project. Additionally, there were concerns of package unit reliability. During this evaluation, tractor-trailer mounted distillation units were discovered. The portable units were equipped with either thin-film evaporator technology capable of processing 240 to 480 gallons per hour, or pot still (batch) distillation technology capable of rates from 120 to 240 gallons per hour. Both units were constructed of stainless steel.« less

76 FR 54261 - Carolina Power & Light; H.B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit No. 2; HBRSEP Independent Spent...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-31

... via electronic submission through the NRC E-Filing system. Requests for a hearing and petitions for... entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139, August 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory...

76 FR 53970 - Carolina Power & Light; Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Units 1 and 2; Independent Spent Fuel...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-30

... submission through the NRC E-Filing system. Requests for a hearing and petitions for leave to intervene... participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139, August 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents...

Full-scale radium-removal system for a small community. Research report, 1 October 1985-30 September 1987

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lauch, R.P.; Mangelson, K.A.

1988-08-01

A radium-removal treatment plant was constructed for the small community of Redhill Forest in the central mountains of Colorado. The plant consists of iron removal using oxidation, filtration, and settling; radium and hardness removal using ion exchange; and radium removal from the waste brine using Dow Chemical Company's Radium Selective Complexer (RSC). The raw water comes from deep wells and has naturally occuring radium and iron concentrations of about 30-40 pC/L and 7-10 mg/L, respectively, and is aerated before entering the main treatment plant to remove radon gas and carbon dioxide. A unique feature of the plant is the processmore » that removes radium from the waste brine. The process removes only radium from the spent ion-exchange regeneration water by permanently complexing the radium on the RSC. The RSC is replaced when exhausted and sent to a final disposal site that is acceptable to state regulatory agencies. The overall plant reduces radium from about 35 pCi/L to less than 4 pCi/L. The RSC system has consistently removed over 99% of the radium from the spent ion exchange regenerant. The average inflow radium concentration to the RSC was about 1180 pCi/L, and the average effluent was about 9 pCi/L.« less

Timely topics on spent fuel storage

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Selin, I.

1994-12-31

The history of spent fuel management in this country has taken several turns, with a final resolution still out of reach. Several repository programs started, stalled ans stopped. The latest effort at Yucca Mountain is progressing but, at best, is years from the early phases of licensing, much less the actual underground disposal of spent fuel. A monitored retrieval storage [MRS] facility was expected to start accepting commercial spent fuel beginning in 1998, but no such facility is clearly on the horizon. All of these recent developments changed the circumstances that we face in spent fuel management. The obvious conclusionmore » is that an increasing number of plants, both operating and permanently shut-down reactors, will have to provide for additional spent fuel storage on-site for a longer period than originally planned, and even after plant decommissioning, prudence requires that provision be made for continual, stand-alone, on-site storage. After pool capacity is reached, most utilities opt for some sort of dry storage. But the dry storage option has triggered an unprecedented amount of local opposition at many sites, further taxing NRC and industry resources.« less

The Need for Integrating the Back End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle in the United States of America

DOE PAGES

Bonano, Evaristo J.; Kalinina, Elena A.; Swift, Peter N.

2018-02-26

Current practice for commercial spent nuclear fuel management in the United States of America (US) includes storage of spent fuel in both pools and dry storage cask systems at nuclear power plants. Most storage pools are filled to their operational capacity, and management of the approximately 2,200 metric tons of spent fuel newly discharged each year requires transferring older and cooler fuel from pools into dry storage. In the absence of a repository that can accept spent fuel for permanent disposal, projections indicate that the US will have approximately 134,000 metric tons of spent fuel in dry storage by mid-centurymore » when the last plants in the current reactor fleet are decommissioned. Current designs for storage systems rely on large dual-purpose (storage and transportation) canisters that are not optimized for disposal. Various options exist in the US for improving integration of management practices across the entire back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.« less

The Need for Integrating the Back End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle in the United States of America

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bonano, Evaristo J.; Kalinina, Elena A.; Swift, Peter N.

Current practice for commercial spent nuclear fuel management in the United States of America (US) includes storage of spent fuel in both pools and dry storage cask systems at nuclear power plants. Most storage pools are filled to their operational capacity, and management of the approximately 2,200 metric tons of spent fuel newly discharged each year requires transferring older and cooler fuel from pools into dry storage. In the absence of a repository that can accept spent fuel for permanent disposal, projections indicate that the US will have approximately 134,000 metric tons of spent fuel in dry storage by mid-centurymore » when the last plants in the current reactor fleet are decommissioned. Current designs for storage systems rely on large dual-purpose (storage and transportation) canisters that are not optimized for disposal. Various options exist in the US for improving integration of management practices across the entire back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.« less

Spent Nuclear Fuel

EIA Publications

2015-01-01

Spent nuclear fuel data are collected by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) for the Department of Energy's Office of Standard Contract Management (Office of the General Counsel) on the Form GC-859, "Nuclear Fuel Data Survey." The data include detailed characteristics of spent nuclear fuel discharged from commercial U.S. nuclear power plants and currently stored at commercial sites in the United States. Utilities were not required to report spent nuclear fuel assemblies shipped to away-from-reactor, off-site facilities.

The measurement of U(VI) and Np(IV) mass transfer in a single stage centrifugal contactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

May, I.; Birkett, E. J.; Denniss, I. S.; Gaubert, E. T.; Jobson, M.

2000-07-01

BNFL currently operates two reprocessing plants for the conversion of spent nuclear fuel into uranium and plutonium products for fabrication into uranium oxide and mixed uranium and plutonium oxide (MOX) fuels. To safeguard the future commercial viability of this process, BNFL is developing novel single cycle flowsheets that can be operated in conjunction with intensified centrifugal contactors.

76 FR 22935 - Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, LLC Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Notice of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-25

... accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139, August 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires... requirements of E-Filing, at least ten (10) days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact... may attempt to use other software not listed on the Web site, but should note that the NRC's E-Filing...

Regional and global contributions of anthropogenic iodine-129 in monthly deposition samples collected in North East Japan between 2006 and 2015.

PubMed

Hasegawa, Hidenao; Kakiuchi, Hideki; Akata, Naofumi; Ohtsuka, Yoshihito; Hisamatsu, Shun'ichi

2017-05-01

We measured the monthly atmospheric deposition flux of 129 I at Rokkasho, Aomori, Japan-the location of a commercial spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant-from 2006 to 2015 to assess the impact of the plant on environmental 129 I levels. The plant is now under final safety assessment by a national authority after test operation using actual spent nuclear fuel. During cutting and chemical processing in test operations from April 2006 to October 2008, 129 I was discharged to the atmosphere and detected in our deposition samples. 129 I deposition fluxes largely followed the discharge pattern of 129 I from the plant to the atmosphere, and most of the deposited 129 I originated from the plant. In and after 2009, 129 I deposition fluxes decreased dramatically to reach the background level; the 129 I deposition fluxes at Rokkasho were almost the same as those at Hirosaki, where an additional sampling point was set up as a background site 85 km from the plant in 2011. The background 129 I deposition fluxes showed seasonal variation-high in winter and low in the other seasons-at both Rokkasho and Hirosaki. The results of a backward trajectory analysis of the air mass at Rokkasho suggested that reprocessing plants in Europe were the origins of the high 129 I flux in winter. The contribution of 129 I released from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident to the 129 I deposition flux at Rokkasho in 2011 was small on the basis of the 129 I/ 131 I activity ratio. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dataset on the cost estimation for spent filter backwash water (SFBW) treatment.

PubMed

Ebrahimi, Afshin; Mahdavi, Mokhtar; Pirsaheb, Meghdad; Alimohammadi, Fariborz; Mahvi, Amir Hossein

2017-12-01

The dataset presented in this article are related to the research article entitled "Hybrid coagulation-UF processes for spent filter backwash water treatment: a comparison studies for PAFCl and FeCl 3 as a pre-treatment" (Ebrahimi et al., 2017) [1]. This article reports the cost estimation for treating produced spent filter backwash water (SFBW) during water treatment in Isfahan- Iran by various methods including primary sedimentation, coagulation & flocculation, second clarification, ultra filtration (UF) and recirculation of settled SFBW to water treatment plant (WTP) entrance. Coagulation conducted by PAFCl and FeCl 3 as pre polymerized and traditional coagulants. Cost estimation showed that contrary to expectations, the recirculation of settled SFBW to WTP entrance is more expensive than other method and it costs about $ 37,814,817.6. Versus the cheapest option related to separate primary sedimentation, coagulation & flocculation in WTP. This option cost about $ 4,757,200 and $ 950,213 when FeCl3 and PAFCl used as coagulant, respectively.

Plant security during decommissioning; challenges and lessons learned from German phase out decision

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Renner, Andrea; Esch, Markus

2013-07-01

Purpose of this paper is to point out the security challenges that may occur during the decommissioning, based on the issues and lessons learned from the German phase out decision. Though national regulations may be different in other countries the basic problems and issues will be the same. Therefore presented solutions will be applicable in other countries as well. The radioactive material remaining at the NPP during decommissioning has the most influence on how the security measures have to be designed. The radioactive material defines the risk potential of the plant and this determines the needed security level. The followingmore » aspects have been challenging in Germany: - Scenarios varying from those, used for plants in operation, due to changed operating conditions - Spent fuel will stay in the spent fuel pool for a quite long period before it can be removed from the plant. Risk potential of the plant stays high and requires a high level of security measures - Security measures according to the existing operating license have to stay in place as they are, unless the first license for decommissioning is given respective the spent fuel is removed from the plant site. This even led to the question if improvements of security measures, planned and announced with focus on a plant remaining in operation for another couple of years, need to be done although they will not be required after removing the spent fuel from the plant. A further important aspect for the security design is the fact that a plant under decommissioning has completely different and strongly varying operating procedures, compared to the stable ones of an operating plant. This leads to different needs concerning workspace, infrastructure on plant site, access to buildings etc. An optimized and highly flexible security concept is needed to ensure an adequate level of security as well as an efficient decommissioning. A deep analysis of the vital plant functions, depending on the different decommissioning stages, is required to determine the vital equipment, its location and its need for protection. (authors)« less

Experience gained with the Synroc demonstration plant at ANSTO and its relevance to plutonium immobilization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jostsons, A.; Ridal, A.; Mercer, D.J.

1996-05-01

The Synroc Demonstration Plant (SDP) was designed and constructed at Lucas Heights to demonstrate the feasibility of Synroc production on a commercial scale (10 kg/hr) with simulated Purex liquid HLW. Since commissioning of the SDP in 1987, over 6000 kg of Synroc has been fabricated with a range of feeds and waste loadings. The SDP utilises uniaxial hot-pressing to consolidate Synroc. Pressureless sintering and hot-isostatic pressing have also been studied at smaller scales. The results of this extensive process development have been incorporated in a conceptual design for a radioactive plant to condition HLW from a reprocessing plant with amore » capacity to treat 800 tpa of spent LWR fuel. Synroic containing TRU, including Pu, and fission products has been fabricated and characterised in a glove-box facility and hot cells, respectively. The extensive experience in processing of Synroc over the past 15 years is summarised and its relevance to immobilization of surplus plutonium is discussed.« less

Planning for youth days: planting the SEED to get youth outdoors in nature

Treesearch

Deborah J. Chavez; John D. Fehr

2009-01-01

In a statewide survey in Oregon, parents indicated how much time their child spent relative to their own outdoor childhood experiences. The results indicated children spent as much time as their parents at that age in structured outdoor activities, such as organized sports, but they spent much less time than their parents did at that age in outdoor chores and...

Site dose calculations for the INEEL/TMI-2 storage facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, K.B.

1997-12-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is licensing an independent spent-fuel storage installation (ISFSI) for the Three Mile Island unit 2 (TMI-2) core debris to be constructed at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) site at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) using the NUHOMS spent-fuel storage system. This paper describes the site dose calculations, performed in support of the license application, that estimate exposures both on the site and for members of the public. These calculations are unusual for dry-storage facilities in that they must account for effluents from the system in addition to skyshine from themore » ISFSI. The purpose of the analysis was to demonstrate compliance with the 10 CFR 20 and 10 CFR 72.104 exposure limits.« less

Modeling evaporation from spent nuclear fuel storage pools: A diffusion approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hugo, Bruce Robert

Accurate prediction of evaporative losses from light water reactor nuclear power plant (NPP) spent fuel storage pools (SFPs) is important for activities ranging from sizing of water makeup systems during NPP design to predicting the time available to supply emergency makeup water following severe accidents. Existing correlations for predicting evaporation from water surfaces are only optimized for conditions typical of swimming pools. This new approach modeling evaporation as a diffusion process has yielded an evaporation rate model that provided a better fit of published high temperature evaporation data and measurements from two SFPs than other published evaporation correlations. Insights from treating evaporation as a diffusion process include correcting for the effects of air flow and solutes on evaporation rate. An accurate modeling of the effects of air flow on evaporation rate is required to explain the observed temperature data from the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 SFP during the 2011 loss of cooling event; the diffusion model of evaporation provides a significantly better fit to this data than existing evaporation models.

Iron and aluminium oxides containing industrial wastes as adsorbents of heavy metals: Application possibilities and limitations.

PubMed

Jacukowicz-Sobala, Irena; Ociński, Daniel; Kociołek-Balawejder, Elżbieta

2015-07-01

Industrial wastes with a high iron or aluminium oxide content are produced in huge quantities as by-products of water treatment (water treatment residuals), bauxite processing (red mud) and hard and brown coal burning in power plants (fly ash). Although they vary in their composition, the wastes have one thing in common--a high content of amorphous iron and/or aluminium oxides with a large specific surface area, whereby this group of wastes shows very good adsorbability towards heavy metals, arsenates, selenates, etc. But their physical form makes their utilisation quite difficult, since it is not easy to separate the spent sorbent from the solution and high bed hydraulic resistances occur in dynamic regime processes. Nevertheless, because of the potential benefits of utilising the wastes in industrial effluent treatment, this issue attracts much attention today. This study describes in detail the waste generation processes, the chemical structure of the wastes, their physicochemical properties, and the mechanisms of fixing heavy metals and semimetals on the surface of iron and aluminium oxides. Typical compositions of wastes generated in selected industrial plants are given. A detailed survey of the literature on the adsorption applications of the wastes, including methods of their thermal and chemical activation, as well as regeneration of the spent sorbents, is presented. The existing and potential ways of modifying the physical form of the discussed group of wastes, making it possible to overcome the basic limitation on their practical use, are discussed. © The Author(s) 2015.

10 CFR 51.95 - Postconstruction environmental impact statements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... the storage of spent fuel for the nuclear power plant within the scope of the generic determination in... a license to store spent fuel at a nuclear power reactor after expiration of the operating or... Section 51.95 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REGULATIONS FOR...

10 CFR 51.95 - Postconstruction environmental impact statements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... the storage of spent fuel for the nuclear power plant within the scope of the generic determination in... a license to store spent fuel at a nuclear power reactor after expiration of the operating or... Section 51.95 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REGULATIONS FOR...

Microbial community analysis in the autotrophic denitrification process using spent sulfidic caustic by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of PCR-amplified genes.

PubMed

Lee, J-H; Lee, S-M; Choi, G-C; Park, H-S; Kang, D-H; Park, J-J

2011-01-01

Spent sulfidic caustic (SSC) produced from petrochemical plants contains a high concentration of hydrogen sulfide and alkalinity, and some almost non-biodegradable organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX). SSC is mainly incinerated with auxiliary fuel, leading to secondary pollution problems. The reuse of this waste is becoming increasingly important from economic and environmental viewpoints. To denitrify wastewater with low COD/N ratio, additional carbon sources are required. Thus, autotrophic denitrification has attracted increasing attention. In this study, SSC was injected as an electron donor for sulfur-based autotrophic denitrification in the modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) process. The efficiencies of nitrification, COD, and total nitrogen (TN) removal were evaluated with varying SSC dosage. Adequate SSC injection exhibited stable autotrophic denitrification. No BTEX were detected in the monitored BTEX concentrations of the effluent. To analyse the microbial community of the MLE process, PCR-DGGE based on 16 S rDNA with EUB primers, TD primers and nirK gene with nirK primers was performed in order to elucidate the application of the MLE process to SSC.

Ni-MH spent batteries: a raw material to produce Ni-Co alloys.

PubMed

Lupi, Carla; Pilone, Daniela

2002-01-01

Ni-MH spent batteries are heterogeneous and complex materials, so any kind of metallurgical recovery process needs a mechanical pre-treatment at least to separate irony materials and recyclable plastic materials (like ABS) respectively, in order to get additional profit from this saleable scrap, as well as minimize waste arising from the braking separation process. Pyrometallurgical processing is not suitable to treat Ni-MH batteries mainly because of Rare Earths losses in the slag. On the other hand, the hydrometallurgical method, that offers better opportunities in terms of recovery yield and higher purity of Ni, Co, and RE, requires several process steps as shown in technical literature. The main problems during leach liquor purification are the removal of elements such as Mn, Zn, Cd, dissolved during the leaching step, and the separation of Ni from Co. In the present work, the latter problem is overcome by co-deposition of a Ni-35/40%w Co alloy of good quality. The experiments carried out in a laboratory scale pilot-plant show that a current efficiency higher than 91% can be reached in long duration electrowinning tests performed at 50 degrees C and 4.3 catholyte pH.

Effect of pig manure on the chemical composition and microbial diversity during co-composting with spent mushroom substrate and rice husks.

PubMed

Meng, Xingyao; Liu, Bin; Xi, Chen; Luo, Xiaosha; Yuan, Xufeng; Wang, Xiaofen; Zhu, Wanbin; Wang, Hongliang; Cui, Zongjun

2018-03-01

In this study, the impact of pig manure on the maturity of compost consisting of spent mushroom substrate and rice husks was accessed. The results showed that the addition of pig manure (SMS-PM) reached 50°C 5days earlier and lasted 15days longer than without pig manure (SMS). Furthermore, the addition of pig manure improved nutrition and germination index. High-throughput 16S rRNA pyrosequencing was used to evaluate the bacterial and fungal composition during the composting process of SMS-PM compared to SMS alone. The SMS treatment showed a relatively higher abundance of carbon-degrading microbes (Bacillaceae and Thermomyces) and plant pathogenic fungi (Sordariomycetes_unclassified) at the end of the compost. In contrast, the SMS-PM showed an increased bacterial diversity with anti-pathogen (Pseudomonas). The results indicated that the addition of pig manure improved the decomposition of refractory carbon from the spent mushroom substrate and promoted the maturity and nutritional content of the compost product. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Desorption of micropollutant from spent carbon filters used for water purifier.

PubMed

Kwon, Da-Sol; Tak, So-Yeon; Lee, Jung-Eun; Kim, Moon-Kyung; Lee, Young Hwa; Han, Doo Won; Kang, Sanghyeon; Zoh, Kyung-Duk

2017-07-01

In this study, to examine the accumulated micropollutants in the spent carbon filter used in the water purifier, first, the method to desorb micropollutant from the activated carbon was developed and optimized. Then, using this optimized desorption conditions, we examined which micropollutants exist in spent carbon filters collected from houses in different regions in Korea where water purifiers were used. A total of 11 micropollutants (caffeine (CFF), acetaminophen (ACT), sulfamethazine (SMA), sulfamethoxazole (SMZ), metoprolol (MTP), carbamazepine (CBM), naproxen (NPX), bisphenol-A (BPA), ibuprofen (IBU), diclofenac (DCF), and triclocarban (TCB)) were analyzed using LC/MS-MS from the spent carbon filters. CFF, NPX, and DCF had the highest detection frequencies (>60%) in the carbon filters (n = 100), whereas SMA, SMZ, and MTP were only detected in the carbon filters, but not in the tap waters (n = 25), indicating that these micropollutants, which exist less than the detection limit in tap water, were accumulated in the carbon filters. The regional micropollutant detection patterns in the carbon filters showed higher levels of micropollutants, especially NPX, BPA, IBU, and DCF, in carbon filters collected in the Han River and Nakdong River basins where large cities exist. The levels of micropollutants in the carbon filter were generally lower in the regions where advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) were employed at nearby water treatment plants (WTPs), indicating that AOP process in WTP is quite effective in removing micropollutant. Our results suggest that desorption of micropollutant from the carbon filter used can be a tool to identify micropollutants present in tap water with trace amounts or below the detection limit.

Effect of a dual-purpose cask payload increment of spent fuel assemblies from VVER 1000 Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant on basket criticality.

PubMed

Rezaeian, M; Kamali, J

2017-01-01

Dual-purpose casks can be utilized for dry interim storage and transportation of the highly radioactive spent fuel assemblies (SFAs) of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Criticality safety analysis was carried out using the MCNP code for the cask containing 12, 18, or 19 SFAs. The basket materials of borated stainless steel and Boral (Al-B 4 C) were investigated, and the minimum required receptacle pitch of the basket was determined. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nuclear Power Plant Security and Vulnerabilities

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-18

Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage , Public Report...systems that prevent hot nuclear fuel from melting even after the chain reaction has stopped, and storage facilities for highly radioactive spent nuclear ... nuclear fuel cycle facilities must defend against to prevent radiological sabotage and theft of strategic special nuclear material. NRC licensees use

Process for the recycling of alkaline and zinc-carbon spent batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferella, Francesco; De Michelis, Ida; Vegliò, Francesco

In this paper a recycling process for the recovery of zinc and manganese from spent alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries is proposed. Laboratory tests are performed to obtain a purified pregnant solution from which metallic zinc (purity 99.6%) can be recovered by electrolysis; manganese is recovered as a mixture of oxides by roasting of solid residue coming from the leaching stage. Nearly 99% of zinc and 20% of manganese are extracted after 3 h, at 80 °C with 10% w/v pulp density and 1.5 M sulphuric acid concentration. The leach liquor is purified by a selective precipitation of iron, whereas metallic impurities, such as copper, nickel and cadmium are removed by cementation with zinc powder. The solid residue of leaching is roasted for 30 min at 900 °C, removing graphite completely and obtaining a mixture of Mn 3O 4 and Mn 2O 3 with 70% grade of Mn. After that a technical-economic assessment is carried out for a recycling plant with a feed capacity of 5000 t y -1 of only alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries. This analysis shows the economic feasibility of that plant, supposing a battery price surcharge of 0.5 € kg -1, with a return on investment of 34.5%, gross margin of 35.8% and around 3 years payback time.

Report of results of benchmarking survey of central heating operations at NASA centers and various corporations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, Thomas R.

1995-01-01

In recent years, Total Quality Management has swept across the country. Many companies and the Government have started looking at every aspect on how business is done and how money is spent. The idea or goal is to provide a service that is better, faster and cheaper. The first step in this process is to document or measure the process or operation as it stands now. For Lewis Research Center, this report is the first step in the analysis of heating plant operations. This report establishes the original benchmark that can be referred to in the future. The report also provides a comparison to other organization's heating plants to help in the brainstorming of new ideas. The next step is to propose and implement changes that would meet the goals as mentioned above. After the changes have been implemented the measuring process starts over again. This provides for a continuous improvement process.

48 CFR 852.271-72 - Time spent by counselee in counseling process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... counseling process. 852.271-72 Section 852.271-72 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF... Clauses 852.271-72 Time spent by counselee in counseling process. As prescribed in 871.212, insert the following clause: Time Spent by Counselee in Counseling Process (APR 1984) The contractor agrees that no...

48 CFR 852.271-72 - Time spent by counselee in counseling process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... counseling process. 852.271-72 Section 852.271-72 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF... Clauses 852.271-72 Time spent by counselee in counseling process. As prescribed in 871.212, insert the following clause: Time Spent by Counselee in Counseling Process (APR 1984) The contractor agrees that no...

48 CFR 852.271-72 - Time spent by counselee in counseling process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... counseling process. 852.271-72 Section 852.271-72 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF... Clauses 852.271-72 Time spent by counselee in counseling process. As prescribed in 871.212, insert the following clause: Time Spent by Counselee in Counseling Process (APR 1984) The contractor agrees that no...

48 CFR 852.271-72 - Time spent by counselee in counseling process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... counseling process. 852.271-72 Section 852.271-72 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF... Clauses 852.271-72 Time spent by counselee in counseling process. As prescribed in 871.212, insert the following clause: Time Spent by Counselee in Counseling Process (APR 1984) The contractor agrees that no...

48 CFR 852.271-72 - Time spent by counselee in counseling process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... counseling process. 852.271-72 Section 852.271-72 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF... Clauses 852.271-72 Time spent by counselee in counseling process. As prescribed in 871.212, insert the following clause: Time Spent by Counselee in Counseling Process (APR 1984) The contractor agrees that no...

40 CFR 63.1082 - What definitions do I need to know?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... includes direct-contact cooling water. Spent caustic waste stream means the continuously flowing process... compounds from process streams, typically cracked gas. The spent caustic waste stream does not include spent..., and the C4 butadiene storage equipment; and spent wash water from the C4 crude butadiene carbonyl wash...

40 CFR 63.1082 - What definitions do I need to know?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... includes direct-contact cooling water. Spent caustic waste stream means the continuously flowing process... compounds from process streams, typically cracked gas. The spent caustic waste stream does not include spent..., and the C4 butadiene storage equipment; and spent wash water from the C4 crude butadiene carbonyl wash...

40 CFR 63.1082 - What definitions do I need to know?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... includes direct-contact cooling water. Spent caustic waste stream means the continuously flowing process... compounds from process streams, typically cracked gas. The spent caustic waste stream does not include spent..., and the C4 butadiene storage equipment; and spent wash water from the C4 crude butadiene carbonyl wash...

40 CFR 63.1082 - What definitions do I need to know?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... includes direct-contact cooling water. Spent caustic waste stream means the continuously flowing process... compounds from process streams, typically cracked gas. The spent caustic waste stream does not include spent..., and the C4 butadiene storage equipment; and spent wash water from the C4 crude butadiene carbonyl wash...

Linking plant ecology and long-term hydrology to improve wetland restoration success

Treesearch

P.V. Caldwell; M.J. Vepraskas; J.D. Gregory; R.W. Skaggs; R.L. Huffman

2011-01-01

Although millions of dollars are spent restoring wetlands, failures are common, in part because the planted vegetation cannot survive in the restored hydrology. Wetland restoration would be more successful if the hydrologic requirements of wetland plant communities were known so that the most appropriate plants could be selected for the range of projected hydrology at...

Neutron field characterization at the independent spent fuel storage installation of the Trillo nuclear power plant.

PubMed

Campo, Xandra; Méndez, Roberto; Embid, Miguel; Ortego, Alberto; Novo, Manuel; Sanz, Javier

2018-05-01

Neutron fields inside and outside the independent spent fuel storage installation of Trillo Nuclear Power Plant are characterized exhaustively in terms of neutron spectra and ambient dose equivalent, measured by Bonner sphere system and LB6411 monitor. Measurements are consistent with storage casks and building shield characteristics, and also with casks distribution inside the building. Outer values at least five times lower than dose limit for free access area are found. Measurements with LB6411 and spectrometer are consistent with each other. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

75 FR 880 - Sunshine Act; Notice of Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-06

... County Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2), LBP-09-10 (Tentative) e. Detroit Edison Co. (Fermi Power Plant Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation), LBP-09-20 (Aug. 21, 2009), Docket No. 72-72-EA..., Petition for Review of LBP-09-7 (Tentative) g. Tennessee Valley Authority (Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant...

Gasification of Wood and Non-wood Waste of Timber Production as Perspectives for Development of Bioenergy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kislukhina, Irina A.; Rybakova, Olga G.

2018-03-01

The article deals with biomass gasification technology using the gasification plant running on wood chips and pellets, produced from essential oils waste (waste of coniferous boughs). During the study, the authors solved the process task of improving the quality of the product gas derived from non-wood waste of timber production (coniferous boughs) due to the extraction of essential oils and the subsequent thermal processing of spent coniferous boughs at a temperature of 250-300°C degrees without oxygen immediately before pelleting. The paper provides the improved biomass gasification process scheme including the grinding of coniferous boughs, essential oil distillation and thermal treatment of coniferous boughs waste and pelletizing.

Flowsheet Analysis of U-Pu Co-Crystallization Process as a New Reprocessing System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shunji Homma; Jun-ichi Ishii; Jiro Koga

2006-07-01

A new fuel reprocessing system by U-Pu co-crystallization process is proposed and examined by flowsheet analysis. This reprocessing system is based on the fact that hexavalent plutonium in nitric acid solution is co-crystallized with uranyl nitrate, whereas it is not crystallized when uranyl nitrate does not exist in the solution. The system consists of five steps: dissolution of spent fuel, plutonium oxidation, U-Pu co-crystallization as a co-decontamination, re-dissolution of the crystals, and U re-crystallization as a U-Pu separation. The system requires a recycling of the mother liquor from the U-Pu co-crystallization step and the appropriate recycle ratio is determined bymore » flowsheet analysis such that the satisfactory decontamination is achieved. Further flowsheet study using four different compositions of LWR spent fuels demonstrates that the constant ratio of plutonium to uranium in mother liquor from the re-crystallization step is achieved for every composition by controlling the temperature. It is also demonstrated by comparing to the Purex process that the size of the plant based on the proposed system is significantly reduced. (authors)« less

Used fuel storage monitoring using novel 4He scintillation fast neutron detectors and neutron energy discrimination analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelley, Ryan P.

With an increasing quantity of spent nuclear fuel being stored at power plants across the United States, the demand exists for a new method of cask monitoring. Certifying these casks for transportation and long-term storage is a unique dilemma: their sealed nature lends added security, but at the cost of requiring non-invasive measurement techniques to verify their contents. This research will design and develop a new method of passively scanning spent fuel casks using 4He scintillation detectors to make this process more accurate. 4He detectors are a relatively new technological development whose full capabilities have not yet been exploited. These detectors take advantage of the high 4He cross section for elastic scattering at fast neutron energies, particularly the resonance around 1 MeV. If one of these elastic scattering interactions occurs within the detector, the 4He nucleus takes energy from the incident neutron, then de-excites by scintillation. Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs) at either end of the detector tube convert this emitted light into an electrical signal. The goal of this research is to use the neutron spectroscopy features of 4He scintillation detectors to maintain accountability of spent fuel in storage. This project will support spent fuel safeguards and the detection of fissile material, in order to minimize the risk of nuclear proliferation and terrorism.

10 CFR 2.1103 - Scope of subpart K.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... applications for a license under part 72 of this chapter to store spent nuclear fuel in an independent spent... for use at any other nuclear power plant. This subpart shall not apply to proceedings on applications... 10 Energy 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Scope of subpart K. 2.1103 Section 2.1103 Energy NUCLEAR...

10 CFR 2.1103 - Scope of subpart K.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... applications for a license under part 72 of this chapter to store spent nuclear fuel in an independent spent... for use at any other nuclear power plant. This subpart shall not apply to proceedings on applications... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Scope of subpart K. 2.1103 Section 2.1103 Energy NUCLEAR...

78 FR 78411 - Consideration of Approval of Transfer of Renewed Facility Operating Licenses, Materials Licenses...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-26

... licenses for nuclear power plants and spent fuel storage facilities from the current holder, Constellation... Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) Materials License No. SNM-2505; Nine Mile Point Nuclear.... A request for a hearing must be filed by January 15, 2014. Any potential party as defined in Sec. 2...

Evaluation and development plan of NRTA measurement methods for the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, T.K.; Hakkila, E.A.; Flosterbuer, S.F.

Near-real-time accounting (NRTA) has been proposed as a safeguards method at the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (RRP), a large-scale commercial boiling water and pressurized water reactors spent-fuel reprocessing facility. NRTA for RRP requires material balance closures every month. To develop a more effective and practical NRTA system for RRP, we have evaluated NRTA measurement techniques and systems that might be implemented in both the main process and the co-denitration process areas at RRP to analyze the concentrations of plutonium in solutions and mixed oxide powder. Based on the comparative evaluation, including performance, reliability, design criteria, operation methods, maintenance requirements, and estimatedmore » costs for each possible measurement method, recommendations for development were formulated. This paper discusses the evaluations and reports on the recommendation of the NRTA development plan for potential implementation at RRP.« less

Cadmium Recycling in the United States in 2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plachy, Jozef

2003-01-01

Recycling of cadmium is a young and growing industry that has been influenced by environmental concerns and regulatory constraints. Domestic recycling of cadmium began in 1989 as a byproduct of processing of spent nickel-cadmium batteries. In 1995, International Metals Reclamation Co. Inc. expanded its operations by building a dedicated cadmium recycling plant. In 2000, an estimated 13 percent of cadmium consumption in the United States was sourced from recycled cadmium, which is derived mainly from old scrap or, to lesser degree, new scrap. The easiest forms of old scrap to recycle are small spent nickel-cadmium batteries followed by flue dust generated during recycling of galvanized steel and small amounts of alloys that contain cadmium. Most of new scrap is generated during manufacturing processes, such as nickel-cadmium battery production. All other uses of cadmium are in low concentrations and, therefore, difficult to recycle. Consequently, much of this cadmium is dissipated and lost. The amount of cadmium in scrap that was unrecovered in 2000 was estimated to be 2,030 t, and an estimated 285 t was recovered. Recycling efficiency was estimated to be about 15 percent.

Cadmium recycling in the United States in 2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plachy, Jozef

2003-01-01

Recycling of cadmium is a young and growing industry that has been influenced by environmental concerns and regulatory constraints. Domestic recycling of cadmium began in 1989 as a byproduct of processing of spent nickel-cadmium batteries. In 1995, International Metals Reclamation Co. Inc. expanded its operations by building a dedicated cadmium recycling plant. In 2000, an estimated 13 percent of cadmium consumption in the United States was sourced from recycled cadmium, which is derived mainly from old scrap or, to lesser degree, new scrap. The easiest forms of old scrap to recycle are small spent nickel-cadmium batteries followed by flue dust generated during recycling of galvanized steel and small amounts of alloys that contain cadmium. Most of new scrap is generated during manufacturing processes, such as nickel-cadmium battery production. All other uses of cadmium are in low concentrations and, therefore, difficult to recycle. Consequently, much of this cadmium is dissipated and lost. The amount of cadmium in scrap that was unrecovered in 2000 was estimated to be 2,030 metric tons, and an estimated 285 tons was recovered. Recycling efficiency was estimated to be about 15 percent.

Characteristics of nitrogen removal and microbial distribution by application of spent sulfidic caustic in pilot scale wastewater treatment plant.

PubMed

Park, S; Lee, J; Park, J; Byun, I; Park, T; Lee, T

2010-01-01

Since spent sulfidic caustic (SSC) produced from petrochemical industry contains a high concentration of alkalinity and sulfide, it was expected that SSC could be used as an electron donor for autotrophic denitrification. To investigate the nitrogen removal performance, a pilot scale Bardenpho process was operated. The total nitrogen removal efficiency increased as SSC dosage increased, and the highest efficiency was observed as 77.5% when SSC was injected into both anoxic tank (1) and (2). FISH analysis was also performed to shed light on the effect of SSC dosage on the distribution ratio of nitrifying bacteria and Thiobacillus denitrificans. FISH results indicated that the relative distribution ratio of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, Nitrobacter spp., Nitrospira genus and Thiobacillus denitrificans to eubacteria varied little with the pH of the tanks, and SSC injection did not give harmful effect on nitrification efficiency. These results show that SSC can be applied as an electron donor of autotrophic denitrification to biological nitrogen removal process effectively, without any inhibitory effects to nitrifying bacteria and sulfur-utilizing denitrifying bacteria.

Spent Pot Lining Characterization Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ospina, Gustavo; Hassan, Mohamed I.

2017-09-01

Spent pot lining (SPL) management represents a major concern for aluminum smelters. There are two key elements for spent pot lining management: recycling and safe storage. Spent pot lining waste can potentially have beneficial uses in co-firing in cement plants. Also, safe storage of SPL is of utmost importance. Gas generation of SPL reaction with water and ignition sensitivity must be studied. However, determining the feasibility of SPL co-firing and developing the required procedures for safe storage rely on determining experimentally all the necessary SPL properties along with the appropriate test methods, recognized by emissions standards and fire safety design codes. The applicable regulations and relevant SPL properties for this purpose are presented along with the corresponding test methods.

An introduction to the mechanics of performance assessment using examples of calculations done for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant between 1990 and 1992

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rechard, R.P.

1995-10-01

This document provides an overview of the process used to assess the performance of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a proposed repository for transuranic wastes that is located in southeastern New Mexico. The quantitative metrics used in the performance-assessment (PA) process are those put forward in the Environmental Protection Agency`s Environmental Standards for the Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level and Transuranic Radioactive flasks (40 CFR 191). Much has been written about the individual building blocks that comprise the foundation of PA theory and practice, and that WIPP literature is well cited herein. However, the present approachmore » is to provide an accurate, well documented overview of the process, from the perspective of the mechanical steps used to perform the actual PA calculations. Specifically, the preliminary stochastic simulations that comprise the WIPP PAs of 1990, 1991. and 1992 are summarized.« less

A Computer Model of the Evaporator for the Development of an Automatic Control System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozin, K. A.; Efremov, E. V.; Kabrysheva, O. P.; Grachev, M. I.

2016-08-01

For the implementation of a closed nuclear fuel cycle it is necessary to carry out a series of experimental studies to justify the choice of technology. In addition, the operation of the radiochemical plant is impossible without high-quality automatic control systems. In the technologies of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, the method of continuous evaporation is often used for a solution conditioning. Therefore, the effective continuous technological process will depend on the operation of the evaporation equipment. Its essential difference from similar devices is a small size. In this paper the method of mathematic simulation is applied for the investigation of one-effect evaporator with an external heating chamber. Detailed modelling is quite difficult because the phase equilibrium dynamics of the evaporation process is not described. Moreover, there is a relationship with the other process units. The results proved that the study subject is a MIMO plant, nonlinear over separate control channels and not selfbalancing. Adequacy was tested using the experimental data obtained at the laboratory evaporation unit.

Hepa filter dissolution process

DOEpatents

Brewer, Ken N.; Murphy, James A.

1994-01-01

A process for dissolution of spent high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and then combining the complexed filter solution with other radioactive wastes prior to calcining the mixed and blended waste feed. The process is an alternate to a prior method of acid leaching the spent filters which is an inefficient method of treating spent HEPA filters for disposal.

Waste materials derived bio-effectors used as growth promoters for strawberry plants. An agronomic and metabolomic study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasileva, Brankica; Chami, Ziad Al; De Pascali, Sandra; Cavoski, Ivana; Fanizzi, Francesco Paolo

2015-04-01

Recently, a novel concept of bio-effectors has emerged to describe a group of products that are able to improve plant performance more than fertilizers. In this study, three different agro-industrial residues, i.e. brewers' spent grain (BSG), fennel processing residues (FPR) and lemon processing residues (LPR) were chosen as potential bio-effectors. A greenhouse soilless pot experiment was conducted on strawberry plants (Fragaria x ananassa var. Festival) in order to study the effect of BSG, FPR and LPR water extracts, at different concentrations, on plant growth and fruit quality. Their effect was compared with humic-like substances as a positive/reference control (Ctrl+) and with Hoagland solution as a negative control (Ctrl-). Agronomic parameters and the nutrient uptake were measured on shoots, roots and fruits. Metabolomic profiling tests were carried out on leaves, roots and fruit juices through the NMR technique. Plants treated with the FPR extract showed better vegetative growth, while plants treated with the BSG extract gave higher yield and better fruit size. Metabolomic profiling showed that fruits and roots of plants treated with FPR and LPR extracts had higher concentrations of sucrose, malate and acetate, while BSG treated plants had higher concentrations of citrate and β-glucose. In conclusion, according to the results achieved, the bio-effectors used in this study promote plant growth and fruit quality regardless of their nutritional content. Keywords: bio-effectors, agro-industrial waste, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), strawberry, growth promotion, fruit quality.

Attractiveness of Host Plant Volatile Extracts to the Asian Citrus Psyllid, Diaphorina citri, is Reduced by Terpenoids from the Non-Host Cashew.

PubMed

Fancelli, Marilene; Borges, Miguel; Laumann, Raul A; Pickett, John A; Birkett, Michael A; Blassioli-Moraes, Maria C

2018-04-01

Diaphorina citri is a vector of the bacterial causative agent of Huanglongbing (HLB = Citrus greening), a severe disease affecting citrus crops. As there is no known control for HLB, manipulating insect behaviour through deployment of semiochemicals offers a promising opportunity for protecting citrus crops. The behavioural responses of D. citri to plant volatiles, and the identity of these plant volatiles were investigated. Volatiles were collected from host plants Murraya paniculata, Citrus sinensis, C. reshni, C. limettioides, Poncirus trifoliata, and from non-host plants Psidium guajava, Mangifera indica, Anacardium occidentale. In behavioural assays, female D. citri spent more time in the arms containing volatiles from either M. paniculata or C. sinensis compared to the control arms. When D. citri was exposed to volatiles collected from A. occidentale, they preferred the control arm. Volatiles emitted from the other studied plants did not influence the foraging behaviour of D. citri. Chemical analyses of volatile extracts from C. sinensis, M. paniculata, and A. occidentale revealed the presence of the terpenoids (E)-4,8-dimethylnona-1,3,7-triene (DMNT) and (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyltrideca-1,3,7,11-tetraene (TMTT) in higher amounts in A. occidentale. In further behavioural bioassays, female D. citri spent less time in arms containing a synthetic blend of DMNT and TMTT compared to the control arms. Female D. citri also spent less time in arms containing the synthetic blend in combination with volatile extracts from either M. paniculata or C. sinensis compared to the control arms. Results suggest that higher release of the two terpenoids by A. occidentale make this species unattractive to D. citri, and that the terpenoids could be used in reducing colonisation of citrus plants and therefore HLB infection.

78 FR 26401 - Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company, Haddam Neck Plant, Environmental Assessment and Finding...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-06

... Atomic Power Company, Haddam Neck Plant, Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact... Neck Plant (HNP) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). CYAPCO stated that the exemption...-rm/adams.html . From this site, you can access the NRC's ADAMS, which provides text and image files...

10 CFR 51.95 - Postconstruction environmental impact statements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... determined by the Commission, a supplement on the operation of a nuclear power plant will not include a... the storage of spent fuel for the nuclear power plant within the scope of the generic determination in... the renewal of an operating license or combined license for a nuclear power plant under parts 52 or 54...

Comparative UAV and Field Phenotyping to Assess Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Hybrid and Conventional Barley.

PubMed

Kefauver, Shawn C; Vicente, Rubén; Vergara-Díaz, Omar; Fernandez-Gallego, Jose A; Kerfal, Samir; Lopez, Antonio; Melichar, James P E; Serret Molins, María D; Araus, José L

2017-01-01

With the commercialization and increasing availability of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) multiple rotor copters have expanded rapidly in plant phenotyping studies with their ability to provide clear, high resolution images. As such, the traditional bottleneck of plant phenotyping has shifted from data collection to data processing. Fortunately, the necessarily controlled and repetitive design of plant phenotyping allows for the development of semi-automatic computer processing tools that may sufficiently reduce the time spent in data extraction. Here we present a comparison of UAV and field based high throughput plant phenotyping (HTPP) using the free, open-source image analysis software FIJI (Fiji is just ImageJ) using RGB (conventional digital cameras), multispectral and thermal aerial imagery in combination with a matching suite of ground sensors in a study of two hybrids and one conventional barely variety with ten different nitrogen treatments, combining different fertilization levels and application schedules. A detailed correlation network for physiological traits and exploration of the data comparing between treatments and varieties provided insights into crop performance under different management scenarios. Multivariate regression models explained 77.8, 71.6, and 82.7% of the variance in yield from aerial, ground, and combined data sets, respectively.

HEPA filter dissolution process

DOEpatents

Brewer, K.N.; Murphy, J.A.

1994-02-22

A process is described for dissolution of spent high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and then combining the complexed filter solution with other radioactive wastes prior to calcining the mixed and blended waste feed. The process is an alternate to a prior method of acid leaching the spent filters which is an inefficient method of treating spent HEPA filters for disposal. 4 figures.

75 FR 23821 - Final License Renewal Interim Staff Guidance LR-ISG-2009-01: Aging Management of Spent Fuel Pool...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-04

... approach acceptable to the NRC staff for meeting the requirements of 10 CFR part 54. On December 1, 2009... nuclear power plant spent fuel pool neutron-absorbing materials for compliance with part 54... Regulations (10 CFR part 54). The final LR-ISG revises the NRC staff's aging management recommendations...

75 FR 23820 - Notice of Docketing of Amendment Request for Materials License No. SNM-2506; Northern States...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-04

... INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela Longmire, Ph.D., Project Manager, Licensing Branch, Division of Spent Fuel Storage... Generating Plant (PINGP), Unit Nos. 1 and 2, site in Goodhue County, Minnesota. The TN-40 cask is currently..., higher burnup spent fuel used in the PINGP reactor as well as associated changes to the ISFSI's technical...

Nuclear Energy Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-12

Nuclear Waste Storage Act of 2007. Requires commercial nuclear power plants to transfer spent fuel from pools to dry storage ...enrichment, spent fuel recycling (also called reprocessing), and other fuel cycle facilities that could be used to produce nuclear weapons materials...that had used the leased fuel , along with supplies of fresh nuclear fuel , according to the GNEP concept; see [http://www.gnep.energy.gov].

Default operational intervention levels (OILs) for severe nuclear power plant or spent fuel pool emergencies.

PubMed

McKenna, T; Kutkov, V; Vilar Welter, P; Dodd, B; Buglova, E

2013-05-01

Experience and studies show that for an emergency at a nuclear power plant involving severe core damage or damage to the fuel in spent fuel pools, the following actions may need to be taken in order to prevent severe deterministic health effects and reduce stochastic health effects: (1) precautionary protective actions and other response actions for those near the facility (i.e., within the zones identified by the International Atomic Energy Agency) taken immediately upon detection of facility conditions indicating possible severe damage to the fuel in the core or in the spent fuel pool; and (2) protective actions and other response actions taken based on environmental monitoring and sampling results following a release. This paper addresses the second item by providing default operational intervention levels [OILs, which are similar to the U.S. derived response levels (DRLs)] for promptly assessing radioactive material deposition, as well as skin, food, milk and drinking water contamination, following a major release of fission products from the core or spent fuel pool of a light water reactor (LWR) or a high power channel reactor (RBMK), based on the International Atomic Energy Agency's guidance.

Estimation of 85Kr dispersion from the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Japan, using an atmospheric dispersion model.

PubMed

Abe, K; Iyogi, T; Kawabata, H; Chiang, J H; Suwa, H; Hisamatsu, S

2015-11-01

The spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant of Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL) located in Rokkasho, Japan, discharged small amounts of (85)Kr into the atmosphere during final tests of the plant with actual spent fuel from 31 March 2006 to October 2008. During this period, the gamma-ray dose rates due to discharged (85)Kr were higher than the background rates measured at the Institute for Environmental Sciences and at seven monitoring stations of the Aomori prefectural government and JNFL. The dispersion of (85)Kr was simulated by means of the fifth-generation Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model and the CG-MATHEW/ADPIC models (ver. 5.0) with a vertical terrain-following height coordinate. Although the simulated gamma-ray dose rates due to discharged (85)Kr agreed fairly well with measured rates, the agreement between the estimated monthly mean (85)Kr concentrations and the observed concentrations was poor. Improvement of the vertical flow of air may lead to better estimation of (85)Kr dispersion. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds of lettuce improved by espresso coffee residues.

PubMed

Cruz, Rebeca; Gomes, Teresa; Ferreira, Anabela; Mendes, Eulália; Baptista, Paula; Cunha, Sara; Pereira, José Alberto; Ramalhosa, Elsa; Casal, Susana

2014-02-15

The antioxidant activity and individual bioactive compounds of lettuce, cultivated with 2.5-30% (v/v) of fresh or composted espresso spent coffee grounds, were assessed. A progressive enhancement of lettuce's antioxidant capacity, evaluated by radical scavenging effect and reducing power, was exhibited with the increment of fresh spent coffee amounts, while this pattern was not so clear with composted treatments. Total reducing capacity also improved, particularly for low spent coffee concentrations. Additionally, very significant positive correlations were observed for all carotenoids in plants from fresh spent coffee treatments, particularly for violaxanthin, evaluated by HPLC. Furthermore, chlorophyll a was a good discriminating factor between control group and all spent coffee treated samples, while vitamin E was not significantly affected. Espresso spent coffee grounds are a recognised and valuable source of bioactive compounds, proving herein, for the first time, to potentiate the antioxidant pool and quality of the vegetables produced. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study of plasma off-gas treatment from spent ion exchange resin pyrolysis.

PubMed

Castro, Hernán Ariel; Luca, Vittorio; Bianchi, Hugo Luis

2017-03-23

Polystyrene divinylbenzene-based ion exchange resins are employed extensively within nuclear power plants (NPPs) and research reactors for purification and chemical control of the cooling water system. To maintain the highest possible water quality, the resins are regularly replaced as they become contaminated with a range of isotopes derived from compromised fuel elements as well as corrosion and activation products including 14 C, 60 Co, 90 Sr, 129 I, and 137 Cs. Such spent resins constitute a major proportion (in volume terms) of the solid radioactive waste generated by the nuclear industry. Several treatment and conditioning techniques have been developed with a view toward reducing the spent resin volume and generating a stable waste product suitable for long-term storage and disposal. Between them, pyrolysis emerges as an attractive option. Previous work of our group suggests that the pyrolysis treatment of the resins at low temperatures between 300 and 350 °C resulted in a stable waste product with a significant volume reduction (>50%) and characteristics suitable for long-term storage and/or disposal. However, another important issue to take into account is the complexity of the off-gas generated during the process and the different technical alternatives for its conditioning. Ongoing work addresses the characterization of the ion exchange resin treatment's off-gas. Additionally, the application of plasma technology for the treatment of the off-gas current was studied as an alternative to more conventional processes utilizing oil- or gas-fired post-combustion chambers operating at temperatures in excess of 1000 °C. A laboratory-scale flow reactor, using inductively coupled plasma, operating under sub-atmospheric conditions was developed. Fundamental experiments using model compounds have been performed, demonstrating a high destruction and removal ratio (>99.99%) for different reaction media, at low reactor temperatures and moderate power consumption. The role of H 2 O as an important participant of the oxidation mechanisms in plasma conditions was established. The combination of both processes could represent a simple, safe, and effective alternative for treating spent ion exchange resins with a large reduction of generated gaseous byproducts in fuel cycle facilities where processes that utilize open flames are undesirable.

Isolation and Characterization of Gramineae and Fabaceae Soda Lignins

PubMed Central

Domínguez-Robles, Juan; Sánchez, Rafael; Espinosa, Eduardo; Savy, Davide; Mazzei, Pierluigi; Piccolo, Alessandro; Rodríguez, Alejandro

2017-01-01

Some agricultural residues such as wheat or barley straw, as well as certain fast-growing plants like Leucaena leucocephala and Chamaecytisus proliferus, could be used as raw materials for the paper industry as an alternative to traditional plants (eucalyptus, pine, etc.). In the present study, four types of lignin obtained from the spent liquors produced by the pulping processes using the abovementioned feedstocks were isolated and characterized. Lignin samples were acquired through an acid precipitation from these spent liquors. The characterization of the precipitated lignin samples were performed using a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and both liquid- and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to analyse the chemical structure, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for determining the thermal properties. Additionally, chemical composition of lignin fractions was also measured. Even though they were of different botanical origin, all the studied samples except for wheat straw lignin had a similar chemical composition and thermal behaviour, and identical chemical structure. Wheat straw lignin showed a greater amount of Klason lignin and lower carbohydrate content. Furthermore, this lignin sample showed a higher thermal stability and significantly different cross-peak patterns in the 2D-NMR experiments. The molecular structures corresponding to p-coumarate (PCA), ferulate (FA) and cinnamyl aldehyde end-groups (J) were only detected in wheat isolated lignin. PMID:28165411

Isolation and Characterization of Gramineae and Fabaceae Soda Lignins.

PubMed

Domínguez-Robles, Juan; Sánchez, Rafael; Espinosa, Eduardo; Savy, Davide; Mazzei, Pierluigi; Piccolo, Alessandro; Rodríguez, Alejandro

2017-02-04

Some agricultural residues such as wheat or barley straw, as well as certain fast-growing plants like Leucaena leucocephala and Chamaecytisus proliferus , could be used as raw materials for the paper industry as an alternative to traditional plants (eucalyptus, pine, etc.). In the present study, four types of lignin obtained from the spent liquors produced by the pulping processes using the abovementioned feedstocks were isolated and characterized. Lignin samples were acquired through an acid precipitation from these spent liquors. The characterization of the precipitated lignin samples were performed using a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and both liquid- and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to analyse the chemical structure, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for determining the thermal properties. Additionally, chemical composition of lignin fractions was also measured. Even though they were of different botanical origin, all the studied samples except for wheat straw lignin had a similar chemical composition and thermal behaviour, and identical chemical structure. Wheat straw lignin showed a greater amount of Klason lignin and lower carbohydrate content. Furthermore, this lignin sample showed a higher thermal stability and significantly different cross-peak patterns in the 2D-NMR experiments. The molecular structures corresponding to p -coumarate (PCA), ferulate (FA) and cinnamyl aldehyde end-groups (J) were only detected in wheat isolated lignin.

Novel approach to recover cobalt and lithium from spent lithium-ion battery using oxalic acid.

PubMed

Zeng, Xianlai; Li, Jinhui; Shen, Bingyu

2015-09-15

With the booming of consumer electronics (CE) and electric vehicle (EV), a large number of spent lithium-ion battery (LIBs) have been generated worldwide. Resource depletion and environmental concern driven from the sustainable industry of CE and EV have motivated spent LIBs should be recovered urgently. However, the conventional process combined with leaching, precipitating, and filtering was quite complicated to recover cobalt and lithium from spent LIBs. In this work, we developed a novel recovery process, only combined with oxalic acid leaching and filtering. When the optimal parameters for leaching process is controlled at 150 min retention time, 95 °C heating temperature, 15 g L(-1) solid-liquid ratio, and 400 rpm rotation rate, the recovery rate of lithium and cobalt from spent LIBs can reach about 98% and 97%, respectively. Additionally, we also tentatively discovered the leaching mechanism of lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) using oxalic acid, and the leaching order of the sampling LiCoO2 of spent LIBs. All the obtained results can contribute to a short-cut and high-efficiency process of spent LIBs recycling toward a sound closed-loop cycle. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nuclear Energy Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-28

2007. Requires commercial nuclear power plants to transfer spent fuel from pools to dry storage casks and then convey title to the Secretary of Energy...far more economical options for reducing fossil fuel use .15 (For more on federal incentives and the economics of nuclear power, see CRS Report RL33442...uranium enrichment, spent fuel recycling (also called reprocessing), and other fuel cycle facilities that could be used to produce nuclear weapons

NEUTRON CHARACTERIZATION OF ENSA-DPT TYPE SPENT FUEL CASK AT TRILLO NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.

PubMed

Méndez-Villafañe, Roberto; Campo-Blanco, Xandra; Embid, Miguel; Yéboles, César A; Morales, Ramón; Novo, Manuel; Sanz, Javier

2018-04-23

The Neutron Standards Laboratory of CIEMAT has conducted the characterization of the independent spent fuel storage installation at the Trillo Nuclear Power Plant. At this facility, the spent fuel assemblies are stored in ENSA-DPT type dual purpose casks. Neutron characterization was performed by dosimetry measurements with a neutron survey meter (LB6411) inside the facility, around an individual cask and between stored casks, and outside the facility. Spectra measurements were also performed with a Bonner sphere system in order to determine the integral quantities and validate the use of the neutron monitor at the different positions. Inside the facility, measured neutron spectra and neutron ambient dose equivalent rate are consistent with the casks spatial distribution and neutron emission rates, and measurements with both instruments are consistent with each other. Outside the facility, measured neutron ambient dose equivalent rates are well below the 0.5 μSv/h limit established by the nuclear regulatory authority.

ORIGAMI Automator Primer. Automated ORIGEN Source Terms and Spent Fuel Storage Pool Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wieselquist, William A.; Thompson, Adam B.; Bowman, Stephen M.

2016-04-01

Source terms and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage pool decay heat load analyses for operating nuclear power plants require a large number of Oak Ridge Isotope Generation and Depletion (ORIGEN) calculations. SNF source term calculations also require a significant amount of bookkeeping to track quantities such as core and assembly operating histories, spent fuel pool (SFP) residence times, heavy metal masses, and enrichments. The ORIGEN Assembly Isotopics (ORIGAMI) module in the SCALE code system provides a simple scheme for entering these data. However, given the large scope of the analysis, extensive scripting is necessary to convert formats and process datamore » to create thousands of ORIGAMI input files (one per assembly) and to process the results into formats readily usable by follow-on analysis tools. This primer describes a project within the SCALE Fulcrum graphical user interface (GUI) called ORIGAMI Automator that was developed to automate the scripting and bookkeeping in large-scale source term analyses. The ORIGAMI Automator enables the analyst to (1) easily create, view, and edit the reactor site and assembly information, (2) automatically create and run ORIGAMI inputs, and (3) analyze the results from ORIGAMI. ORIGAMI Automator uses the standard ORIGEN binary concentrations files produced by ORIGAMI, with concentrations available at all time points in each assembly’s life. The GUI plots results such as mass, concentration, activity, and decay heat using a powerful new ORIGEN Post-Processing Utility for SCALE (OPUS) GUI component. This document includes a description and user guide for the GUI, a step-by-step tutorial for a simplified scenario, and appendices that document the file structures used.« less

An influential factor for external radiation dose estimation for residents after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident-time spent outdoors for residents in Iitate Village.

PubMed

Ishikawa, Tetsuo; Yasumura, Seiji; Ohtsuru, Akira; Sakai, Akira; Akahane, Keiichi; Yonai, Shunsuke; Sakata, Ritsu; Ozasa, Kotaro; Hayashi, Masayuki; Ohira, Tetsuya; Kamiya, Kenji; Abe, Masafumi

2016-06-01

Many studies have been conducted on radiation doses to residents after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. Time spent outdoors is an influential factor for external dose estimation. Since little information was available on actual time spent outdoors for residents, different values of average time spent outdoors per day have been used in dose estimation studies on the FDNPP accident. The most conservative value of 24 h was sometimes used, while 2.4 h was adopted for indoor workers in the UNSCEAR 2013 report. Fukushima Medical University has been estimating individual external doses received by residents as a part of the Fukushima Health Management Survey by collecting information on the records of moves and activities (the Basic Survey) after the accident from each resident. In the present study, these records were analyzed to estimate an average time spent outdoors per day. As an example, in Iitate Village, its arithmetic mean was 2.08 h (95% CI: 1.64-2.51) for a total of 170 persons selected from respondents to the Basic Survey. This is a much smaller value than commonly assumed. When 2.08 h is used for the external dose estimation, the dose is about 25% (23-26% when using the above 95% CI) less compared with the dose estimated for the commonly used value of 8 h.

Next Generation Safeguards Initiative research to determine the Pu mass in spent fuel assemblies: Purpose, approach, constraints, implementation, and calibration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobin, S. J.; Menlove, H. O.; Swinhoe, M. T.; Schear, M. A.

2011-10-01

The Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI) of the U.S. Department of Energy has funded a multi-lab/multi-university collaboration to quantify the plutonium mass in spent nuclear fuel assemblies and to detect the diversion of pins from them. The goal of this research effort is to quantify the capability of various non-destructive assay (NDA) technologies as well as to train a future generation of safeguards practitioners. This research is "technology driven" in the sense that we will quantify the capabilities of a wide range of safeguards technologies of interest to regulators and policy makers; a key benefit to this approach is that the techniques are being tested in a unified manner. When the results of the Monte Carlo modeling are evaluated and integrated, practical constraints are part of defining the potential context in which a given technology might be applied. This paper organizes the commercial spent fuel safeguard needs into four facility types in order to identify any constraints on the NDA system design. These four facility types are the following: future reprocessing plants, current reprocessing plants, once-through spent fuel repositories, and any other sites that store individual spent fuel assemblies (reactor sites are the most common facility type in this category). Dry storage is not of interest since individual assemblies are not accessible. This paper will overview the purpose and approach of the NGSI spent fuel effort and describe the constraints inherent in commercial fuel facilities. It will conclude by discussing implementation and calibration of measurement systems. This report will also provide some motivation for considering a couple of other safeguards concepts (base measurement and fingerprinting) that might meet the safeguards need but not require the determination of plutonium mass.

Pyrometallurgical Recovery of Platinum Group Metals from Spent Catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Zhiwei; Li, Zhizhong; Lin, Xiaolong; Tang, Huimin; Ye, Lei; Ma, Yutian; Rao, Mingjun; Zhang, Yuanbo; Li, Guanghui; Jiang, Tao

2017-09-01

As an important secondary resource with abundant platinum group metals (PGMs), spent catalysts demand recycling for both economic and environmental benefits. This article reviews the main pyrometallurgical processes for PGM recovery from spent catalysts. Existing processes, including smelting, vaporization, and sintering processes, are discussed based in part on a review of the physiochemical characteristics of PGMs in spent catalysts. The smelting technology, which produces a PGM-containing alloy, is significantly influenced by the addition of various collectors, such as lead, copper, iron, matte, or printed circuit board (PCB), considering their chemical affinities for PGMs. The vaporization process can recover PGMs in vapor form at low temperatures (250-700°C), but it suffers high corrosion and potential environmental and health risks as a result of involvement of the hazardous gases, mainly Cl2 and CO. The sintering process serves as a reforming means for recycling of the spent catalysts by in situ reduction of their oxidized PGMs components. Among these processes, the smelting process seems more promising although its overall performance can be further improved by seeking a suitable target-oriented collector and flux, together with proper pretreatment and process intensification using an external field.

Pyroprocessing of Light Water Reactor Spent Fuels Based on an Electrochemical Reduction Technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ohta, Hirokazu; Inoue, Tadashi; Sakamura, Yoshiharu

A concept of pyroprocessing light water reactor (LWR) spent fuels based on an electrochemical reduction technology is proposed, and the material balance of the processing of mixed oxide (MOX) or high-burnup uranium oxide (UO{sub 2}) spent fuel is evaluated. Furthermore, a burnup analysis for metal fuel fast breeder reactors (FBRs) is conducted on low-decontamination materials recovered by pyroprocessing. In the case of processing MOX spent fuel (40 GWd/t), UO{sub 2} is separately collected for {approx}60 wt% of the spent fuel in advance of the electrochemical reduction step, and the product recovered through the rare earth (RE) removal step, which hasmore » the composition uranium:plutonium:minor actinides:fission products (FPs) = 76.4:18.4:1.7:3.5, can be applied as an ingredient of FBR metal fuel without a further decontamination process. On the other hand, the electroreduced alloy of high-burnup UO{sub 2} spent fuel (48 GWd/t) requires further decontamination of residual FPs by an additional process such as electrorefining even if RE FPs are removed from the alloy because the recovered plutonium (Pu) is accompanied by almost the same amount of FPs in addition to RE. However, the amount of treated materials in the electrorefining step is reduced to {approx}10 wt% of the total spent fuel owing to the prior UO{sub 2} recovery step. These results reveal that the application of electrochemical reduction technology to LWR spent oxide fuel is a promising concept for providing FBR metal fuel by a rationalized process.« less

Assessing the effectiveness of safeguards at a medium-sized spent-fuel reprocessing facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Higinbotham, W.; Fishbone, L.G.; Suda, S.

1983-01-01

In order to evaluate carefully and systematically the effectiveness of safeguards at nuclear-fuel-cycle facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency has adopted a safeguards effectiveness assessment methodology. The methodology has been applied to a well-characterized, medium-sized, spent-fuel reprocessing plant to understand how explicit safeguards inspection procedures would serve to expose conceivable nuclear materials diversion schemes, should such diversion occur.

Neutron radiation characteristics of the IVth generation reactor spent fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedenko, Sergey; Shamanin, Igor; Grachev, Victor; Knyshev, Vladimir; Ukrainets, Olesya; Zorkin, Andrey

2018-03-01

Exploitation of nuclear power plants as well as construction of new generation reactors lead to great accumulation of spent fuel in interim storage facilities at nuclear power plants, and in spent fuel «wet» and «dry» long-term storages. Consequently, handling the fuel needs more attention. The paper is focused on the creation of an efficient computational model used for developing the procedures and regulations of spent nuclear fuel handling in nuclear fuel cycle of the new generation reactor. A Thorium High-temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Unit (HGTRU, Russia) was used as an object for numerical research. Fuel isotopic composition of HGTRU was calculated using the verified code of the MCU-5 program. The analysis of alpha emitters and neutron radiation sources was made. The neutron yield resulting from (α,n)-reactions and at spontaneous fission was calculated. In this work it has been shown that contribution of (α,n)-neutrons is insignificant in case of such (Th,Pu)-fuel composition and HGTRU operation mode, and integral neutron yield can be approximated by the Watt spectral function. Spectral and standardized neutron distributions were achieved by approximation of the list of high-precision nuclear data. The distribution functions were prepared in group and continuous form for further use in calculations according to MNCP, MCU, and SCALE.

Open-cycle magnetohydrodynamic power plant with CO.sub.2 recycling

DOEpatents

Berry, Gregory F.

1991-01-01

A method of converting the chemical energy of fossil fuel to electrical and mechanical energy with a MHD generator. The fossil fuel is mixed with preheated oxygen and carbon dioxide and a conducting seed of potassium carbonate to form a combustive and electrically conductive mixture which is burned in a combustion chamber. The burned combustion mixture is passed through a MHD generator to generate electrical energy. The burned combustion mixture is passed through a diffuser to restore the mixture approximately to atmospheric pressure, leaving a spent combustion mixture which is used to heat oxygen from an air separation plant and recycled carbon dioxide for combustion in a high temperature oxygen preheater and for heating water/steam for producing superheated steam. Relatively pure carbon dioxide is separated from the spent combustion mixture for further purification or for exhaust, while the remainder of the carbon dioxide is recycled from the spent combustion mixture to a carbon dioxide purification plant for removal of water and any nitrous oxides present, leaving a greater than 98% pure carbon dioxide. A portion of the greater then 98% pure carbon dioxide stream is recovered and the remainder is recycled to combine with the oxygen for preheating and combination with the fossil fuel to form a combustion mixture.

Effect of industrial and domestic ash from biomass combustion, and spent coffee grounds, on soil fertility and plant growth: experiments at field conditions.

PubMed

Ribeiro, João Peres; Vicente, Estela Domingos; Gomes, Ana Paula; Nunes, Maria Isabel; Alves, Célia; Tarelho, Luís A C

2017-06-01

An experimental study was conducted at field conditions in order to evaluate the effect of application of ash from biomass combustion on some soil fertility characteristics and plant growth. Application of 7.5 Mg ha -1 industrial fly ash (IA), domestic ash (DA), and a 50:50 mix of domestic ash (DA) and spent coffee grounds (SCG) was made in different soil parcels. Lolium perenne seeds were sown and the grown biomass was harvested and quantified after 60 days. Soil samples from each parcel were also collected after that period and characterized. Both soil and grown biomass samples were analyzed for Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Al contents. Soil pH was determined before and after amendment. All applications rose significantly soil pH. Domestic ash, whether combined with coffee grounds or not, proved to be efficient at supplying available macronutrients Ca, Mg, K, and P to the soil and also reducing availability of Al (more than industrial ash). However, it inhibited plant growth, even more when combined with spent coffee grounds. As regards to elemental abundance in plant tissue, both domestic ash treatments reduced Ca and enhanced Al contents, unlike industrial ash, which proved less harmful for the load applied in the soil. Hence, it was possible to conclude that application load should be a limiting factor for this management option for the studied materials.

Accelerator-driven transmutation of spent fuel elements

DOEpatents

Venneri, Francesco; Williamson, Mark A.; Li, Ning

2002-01-01

An apparatus and method is described for transmuting higher actinides, plutonium and selected fission products in a liquid-fuel subcritical assembly. Uranium may also be enriched, thereby providing new fuel for use in conventional nuclear power plants. An accelerator provides the additional neutrons required to perform the processes. The size of the accelerator needed to complete fuel cycle closure depends on the neutron efficiency of the supported reactors and on the neutron spectrum of the actinide transmutation apparatus. Treatment of spent fuel from light water reactors (LWRs) using uranium-based fuel will require the largest accelerator power, whereas neutron-efficient high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs) or CANDU reactors will require the smallest accelerator power, especially if thorium is introduced into the newly generated fuel according to the teachings of the present invention. Fast spectrum actinide transmutation apparatus (based on liquid-metal fuel) will take full advantage of the accelerator-produced source neutrons and provide maximum utilization of the actinide-generated fission neutrons. However, near-thermal transmutation apparatus will require lower standing

Westinghouse Modular Grinding Process - Enhancement of Volume Reduction for Hot Resin Supercompaction - 13491

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fehrmann, Henning; Aign, Joerg

2013-07-01

In nuclear power plants (NPP) ion exchange (IX) resins are used in several systems for water treatment. Spent resins can contain a significant amount of contaminates which makes treatment for disposal of spent resins mandatory. Several treatment processes are available such as direct immobilization with technologies like cementation, bitumisation, polymer solidification or usage of a high integrity container (HIC). These technologies usually come with a significant increase in final waste volume. The Hot Resin Supercompaction (HRSC) is a thermal treatment process which reduces the resin waste volume significantly. For a mixture of powdered and bead resins the HRSC process hasmore » demonstrated a volume reduction of up to 75 % [1]. For bead resins only the HRSC process is challenging because the bead resins compaction properties are unfavorable. The bead resin material does not form a solid block after compaction and shows a high spring back effect. The volume reduction of bead resins is not as good as for the mixture described in [1]. The compaction properties of bead resin waste can be significantly improved by grinding the beads to powder. The grinding also eliminates the need for a powder additive.Westinghouse has developed a modular grinding process to grind the bead resin to powder. The developed process requires no circulation of resins and enables a selective adjustment of particle size and distribution to achieve optimal results in the HRSC or in any other following process. A special grinding tool setup is use to minimize maintenance and radiation exposure to personnel. (authors)« less

Combined cooling and purification system for nuclear reactor spent fuel pit, refueling cavity, and refueling water storage tank

DOEpatents

Corletti, Michael M.; Lau, Louis K.; Schulz, Terry L.

1993-01-01

The spent fuel pit of a pressured water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plant has sufficient coolant capacity that a safety rated cooling system is not required. A non-safety rated combined cooling and purification system with redundant branches selectively provides simultaneously cooling and purification for the spent fuel pit, the refueling cavity, and the refueling water storage tank, and transfers coolant from the refueling water storage tank to the refueling cavity without it passing through the reactor core. Skimmers on the suction piping of the combined cooling and purification system eliminate the need for separate skimmer circuits with dedicated pumps.

40 CFR 420.91 - Specialized definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... from spent pickling acid solutions. (h) The term acid regeneration means those hydrochloric acid... regeneration processes. (j) The term spent acid solution (or spent pickle liquor) means those solutions of...

40 CFR 420.91 - Specialized definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... from spent pickling acid solutions. (h) The term acid regeneration means those hydrochloric acid... regeneration processes. (j) The term spent acid solution (or spent pickle liquor) means those solutions of...

40 CFR 420.91 - Specialized definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... unreacted acid from spent pickling acid solutions. (h) The term acid regeneration means those hydrochloric... recovery or acid regeneration processes. (j) The term spent acid solution (or spent pickle liquor) means...

An approach to developing an integrated pyroprocessing simulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hyo Jik; Ko, Won Il; Choi, Sung Yeol; Kim, Sung Ki; Kim, In Tae; Lee, Han Soo

2014-02-01

Pyroprocessing has been studied for a decade as one of the promising fuel recycling options in Korea. We have built a pyroprocessing integrated inactive demonstration facility (PRIDE) to assess the feasibility of integrated pyroprocessing technology and scale-up issues of the processing equipment. Even though such facility cannot be replaced with a real integrated facility using spent nuclear fuel (SF), many insights can be obtained in terms of the world's largest integrated pyroprocessing operation. In order to complement or overcome such limited test-based research, a pyroprocessing Modelling and simulation study began in 2011. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) suggested a Modelling architecture for the development of a multi-purpose pyroprocessing simulator consisting of three-tiered models: unit process, operation, and plant-level-model. The unit process model can be addressed using governing equations or empirical equations as a continuous system (CS). In contrast, the operation model describes the operational behaviors as a discrete event system (DES). The plant-level model is an integrated model of the unit process and an operation model with various analysis modules. An interface with different systems, the incorporation of different codes, a process-centered database design, and a dynamic material flow are discussed as necessary components for building a framework of the plant-level model. As a sample model that contains methods decoding the above engineering issues was thoroughly reviewed, the architecture for building the plant-level-model was verified. By analyzing a process and operation-combined model, we showed that the suggested approach is effective for comprehensively understanding an integrated dynamic material flow. This paper addressed the current status of the pyroprocessing Modelling and simulation activity at KAERI, and also predicted its path forward.

An approach to developing an integrated pyroprocessing simulator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Hyo Jik; Ko, Won Il; Choi, Sung Yeol

Pyroprocessing has been studied for a decade as one of the promising fuel recycling options in Korea. We have built a pyroprocessing integrated inactive demonstration facility (PRIDE) to assess the feasibility of integrated pyroprocessing technology and scale-up issues of the processing equipment. Even though such facility cannot be replaced with a real integrated facility using spent nuclear fuel (SF), many insights can be obtained in terms of the world's largest integrated pyroprocessing operation. In order to complement or overcome such limited test-based research, a pyroprocessing Modelling and simulation study began in 2011. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) suggestedmore » a Modelling architecture for the development of a multi-purpose pyroprocessing simulator consisting of three-tiered models: unit process, operation, and plant-level-model. The unit process model can be addressed using governing equations or empirical equations as a continuous system (CS). In contrast, the operation model describes the operational behaviors as a discrete event system (DES). The plant-level model is an integrated model of the unit process and an operation model with various analysis modules. An interface with different systems, the incorporation of different codes, a process-centered database design, and a dynamic material flow are discussed as necessary components for building a framework of the plant-level model. As a sample model that contains methods decoding the above engineering issues was thoroughly reviewed, the architecture for building the plant-level-model was verified. By analyzing a process and operation-combined model, we showed that the suggested approach is effective for comprehensively understanding an integrated dynamic material flow. This paper addressed the current status of the pyroprocessing Modelling and simulation activity at KAERI, and also predicted its path forward.« less

Quantity and management of spent fuel from prototype and research reactors in Germany

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dorr, Sabine; Bollingerfehr, Wilhelm; Filbert, Wolfgang

Within the scope of an R and D project (project identification number FKZ 02 S 8679) sponsored by BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research), the current state of storage and management of fuel elements from prototype and research reactors was established, and an approach for their future storage/management was developed. The spent fuels from prototype and research reactors in Germany that require disposal were specified and were described in regard to their repository-relevant characteristics. As there are currently no casks licensed for disposal in Germany, descriptions of casks that were considered to be suitable were provided. Based on themore » information provided on the spent fuel from prototype and research reactors and the potential casks, a technical disposal concept was developed. In this context, concepts to integrate the spent fuel from prototype and research reactors into existing disposal concepts for spent fuel from German nuclear power plants and for waste from reprocessing were developed for salt and clay formations. (authors)« less

Spent coffee enhanced biomethane potential via an integrated hydrothermal carbonization-anaerobic digestion process.

PubMed

Codignole Luz, Fábio; Volpe, Maurizio; Fiori, Luca; Manni, Alessandro; Cordiner, Stefano; Mulone, Vincenzo; Rocco, Vittorio

2018-05-01

This study reports the implications of using spent coffee hydrochar as substrate for anaerobic digestion (AD) processes. Three different spent coffee hydrochars produced at 180, 220 and 250 °C, 1 h residence time, were investigated for their biomethane potential in AD process inoculated with cow manure. Spent coffee hydrochars were characterized in terms of ultimate, proximate and higher heating value (HHV), and their theoretical bio-methane yield evaluated using Boyle-Buswell equation and compared to the experimental values. The results were then analyzed using the modified Gompertz equation to determine the main AD evolution parameters. Different hydrochar properties were related to AD process performances. AD of spent coffee hydrochars produced at 180 °C showed the highest biomethane production rate (46 mL CH 4 /gVS . d), a biomethane potential of 491 mL/gVS (AD lasting 25 days), and a biomethane gas daily composition of about 70%. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

One-step separation by thermal treatment and cobalt acid-leaching from spent lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mu, Deying

2017-10-01

Lithium-ion batteries are extensively used in portable storage devices and automobiles, therefore the environment and resource problems caused by spent lithium ion batteries have become increasingly severe. This paper focuses on the recovery process of spent lithium cobalt oxide active material and comes up with reasonable processes and the best conditions for cobalt leaching ultimately.

Advanced chemical hydride-based hydrogen generation/storage system for fuel cell vehicles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Breault, R.W.; Rolfe, J.

1998-08-01

Because of the inherent advantages of high efficiency, environmental acceptability, and high modularity, fuel cells are potentially attractive power supplies. Worldwide concerns over clean environments have revitalized research efforts on developing fuel cell vehicles (FCV). As a result of intensive research efforts, most of the subsystem technology for FCV`s are currently well established. These include: high power density PEM fuel cells, control systems, thermal management technology, and secondary power sources for hybrid operation. For mobile applications, however, supply of hydrogen or fuel for fuel cell operation poses a significant logistic problem. To supply high purity hydrogen for FCV operation, Thermomore » Power`s Advanced Technology Group is developing an advanced hydrogen storage technology. In this approach, a metal hydride/organic slurry is used as the hydrogen carrier and storage media. At the point of use, high purity hydrogen will be produced by reacting the metal hydride/organic slurry with water. In addition, Thermo Power has conceived the paths for recovery and regeneration of the spent hydride (practically metal hydroxide). The fluid-like nature of the spent hydride/organic slurry will provide a unique opportunity for pumping, transporting, and storing these materials. The final product of the program will be a user-friendly and relatively high energy storage density hydrogen supply system for fuel cell operation. In addition, the spent hydride can relatively easily be collected at the pumping station and regenerated utilizing renewable sources, such as biomass, natural, or coal, at the central processing plants. Therefore, the entire process will be economically favorable and environmentally friendly.« less

Occupational asthma in a steel coating plant.

PubMed

Venables, K M; Dally, M B; Burge, P S; Pickering, C A; Newman Taylor, A J

1985-08-01

An outbreak of occupational asthma, of unknown cause and extent, was detected in a steel coating plant. In 1979 a cross-sectional study which defined occupational asthma in terms of respiratory symptoms detected 21 people with suggestive symptoms among the 221 studied. They all worked in the coating shop, but the plastic coatings used at the plant contained many potential sensitising agents that might have caused the asthma. All 21 developed their symptoms after 1971, and it was found that in this year a supplier had modified a coating allowing, at the temperatures used in the process, toluene di-isocyanate to be liberated. Two of the symptomatic subjects were tested by inhalation of the isocyanate and showed asthmatic reactions and other subjects were found to have asthma related to periods spent at work by records of peak expiratory flow rate. Over half the 21 had a symptom free latent period after first exposure of three years or less, a pattern not seen in other subjects with respiratory symptoms. After the isocyanate had been removed from the process 17 of these subjects became asymptomatic or improved, a greater proportion than in other subjects with respiratory symptoms.

Plant maintenance and plant life extension issue, 2006

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Agnihotri, Newal

The focus of the March-April issue is on plant maintenance and plant life extension. Major articles/reports in this issue include: Spent fuel: myths and facts, by Jeffrey S. Merrifield, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Critical pipe replacement procedure, by Geoff Gilmore, Climax Portable Machine Tools Inc.; Improving maintenance performance, by Larry Meyer and Joe Giuffre, DC Cook Nuclear Plant, American Electric Power; Equipment deficiency intolerance index, by Douglas F. Helms, Tennessee Valley Authority; Plant profile: I and C modernization at Dukovany, by Josef Rosol, CEZ Dukovany NPP, Czech Republic; and, Report: new plant activities.

Processes for washing a spent ion exchange bed and for treating biomass-derived pyrolysis oil, and apparatuses for treating biomass-derived pyrolysis oil

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baird, Lance Awender; Brandvold, Timothy A.

Processes and apparatuses for washing a spent ion exchange bed and for treating biomass-derived pyrolysis oil are provided herein. An exemplary process for washing a spent ion exchange bed employed in purification of biomass-derived pyrolysis oil includes the step of providing a ion-depleted pyrolysis oil stream having an original oxygen content. The ion-depleted pyrolysis oil stream is partially hydrotreated to reduce the oxygen content thereof, thereby producing a partially hydrotreated pyrolysis oil stream having a residual oxygen content that is less than the original oxygen content. At least a portion of the partially hydrotreated pyrolysis oil stream is passed throughmore » the spent ion exchange bed. Water is passed through the spent ion exchange bed after passing at least the portion of the partially hydrotreated pyrolysis oil stream therethrough.« less

Corrosion-Resistant Ti- xNb- xZr Alloys for Nitric Acid Applications in Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manivasagam, Geetha; Anbarasan, V.; Kamachi Mudali, U.; Raj, Baldev

2011-09-01

This article reports the development, microstructure, and corrosion behavior of two new alloys such as Ti-4Nb-4Zr and Ti-2Nb-2Zr in boiling nitric acid environment. The corrosion test was carried out in the liquid, vapor, and condensate phases of 11.5 M nitric acid, and the potentiodynamic anodic polarization studies were performed at room temperature for both alloys. The samples subjected to three-phase corrosion testing were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDAX). As Ti-2Nb-2Zr alloy exhibited inferior corrosion behavior in comparison to Ti-4Nb-4Zr in all three phases, weldability and heat treatment studies were carried out only on Ti-4Nb-4Zr alloy. The weldability of the new alloy was evaluated using tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding processes, and the welded specimen was thereafter tested for its corrosion behavior in all three phases. The results of the present investigation revealed that the newly developed near alpha Ti-4Nb-4Zr alloy possessed superior corrosion resistance in all three phases and excellent weldability compared to conventional alloys used for nitric acid application in spent nuclear reprocessing plants. Further, the corrosion resistance of the beta heat-treated Ti-4Nb-4Zr alloy was superior when compared to the sample heat treated in the alpha + beta phase.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of beer brewers' spent grain and the influence of pretreatments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beldman, G.; Hennekam, J.; Voragen, A.G.J.

1987-01-01

The enzymatic saccharification of plant material has been shown to be of interest in various fields, such as the production of fruit juices and the utilization of biomass. A combination of cellulase, pectinase, and hemicellulases is usually used because of the chemical composition of the matrix of plant cell walls. For apples, beet pulp, and potato fiber, almost a complete hydrolysis of polysaccharides is obtained by combining cellulase and pectinase. For nonparenchymatic tissue, the situation is somewhat different: pectin is a minor component and the hemicellulose content is much higher. Enzyme action is restricted by the lignin barrier and bymore » the high crystallinity of cellulose in this material. For such materials, mechanical, thermal, or chemical pretreatments are necessary to achieve efficient hydrolysis. This communication describes various enzymatic treatments and chemical and physical pretreatment, using brewers' spent grain as substrate. Spent grain is the residue of malt and grain which remains in the mash-kettle after the liquefied and saccharified starch has been removed by filtration. (Refs. 15).« less

78 FR 14361 - In the Matter of Luminant Generation Company LLC, Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-05

... Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2 (CPNPP), and its Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Facility... licensee, acting on behalf of Energy Future Holdings Corporation (EFH), Energy Future Competitive Holdings Company (EFCH), Texas Competitive Electric Holdings Company LLC, and Luminant Holding Company LLC, the...

JPRS Report, East Europe.

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-28

place not given; first paragraph is BERLINER ZEI- TUNG introduction] [Text] It would appear farfetched to find a common denominator for a flue gas ... desulfurization plant and a cordless electric shaver. The power plant construction combine constitutes a bridge between the two, because both items... desulfurizing and denitrogenation of a 500 megawatt power plant. During the last few years, they have spent a total of M 20 billion to protect the air from

Combined cooling and purification system for nuclear reactor spent fuel pit, refueling cavity, and refueling water storage tank

DOEpatents

Corletti, M.M.; Lau, L.K.; Schulz, T.L.

1993-12-14

The spent fuel pit of a pressured water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plant has sufficient coolant capacity that a safety rated cooling system is not required. A non-safety rated combined cooling and purification system with redundant branches selectively provides simultaneously cooling and purification for the spent fuel pit, the refueling cavity, and the refueling water storage tank, and transfers coolant from the refueling water storage tank to the refueling cavity without it passing through the reactor core. Skimmers on the suction piping of the combined cooling and purification system eliminate the need for separate skimmer circuits with dedicated pumps. 1 figures.

Chemical and process mineralogical characterizations of spent lithium-ion batteries: an approach by multi-analytical techniques.

PubMed

Zhang, Tao; He, Yaqun; Wang, Fangfang; Ge, Linhan; Zhu, Xiangnan; Li, Hong

2014-06-01

Mineral processing operation is a critical step in any recycling process to realize liberation, separation and concentration of the target parts. Developing effective recycling methods to recover all the valuable parts from spent lithium-ion batteries is in great necessity. The aim of this study is to carefully undertake chemical and process mineralogical characterizations of spent lithium-ion batteries by coupling several analytical techniques to provide basic information for the researches on effective mechanical crushing and separation methods in recycling process. The results show that the grade of Co, Cu and Al is fairly high in spent lithium ion batteries and up to 17.62 wt.%, 7.17 wt.% and 21.60 wt.%. Spent lithium-ion batteries have good selective crushing property, the crushed products could be divided into three parts, they are Al-enriched fraction (+2 mm), Cu and Al-enriched fraction (-2+0.25 mm) and Co and graphite-enriched fraction (-0.25 mm). The mineral phase and chemical state analysis reveal the electrode materials recovered from -0.25 mm size fraction keep the original crystal forms and chemical states in lithium-ion batteries, but the surface of the powders has been coated by a certain kind of hydrocarbon. Based on these results a flowsheet to recycle spent LiBs is proposed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safeguards-by-Design: Guidance for Independent Spent Fuel Dry Storage Installations (ISFSI)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trond Bjornard; Philip C. Durst

2012-05-01

This document summarizes the requirements and best practices for implementing international nuclear safeguards at independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs), also known as Away-from- Reactor (AFR) storage facilities. These installations may provide wet or dry storage of spent fuel, although the safeguards guidance herein focuses on dry storage facilities. In principle, the safeguards guidance applies to both wet and dry storage. The reason for focusing on dry independent spent fuel storage installations is that this is one of the fastest growing nuclear installations worldwide. Independent spent fuel storage installations are typically outside of the safeguards nuclear material balance area (MBA)more » of the reactor. They may be located on the reactor site, but are generally considered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the State Regulator/SSAC to be a separate facility. The need for this guidance is becoming increasingly urgent as more and more nuclear power plants move their spent fuel from resident spent fuel ponds to independent spent fuel storage installations. The safeguards requirements and best practices described herein are also relevant to the design and construction of regional independent spent fuel storage installations that nuclear power plant operators are starting to consider in the absence of a national long-term geological spent fuel repository. The following document has been prepared in support of two of the three foundational pillars for implementing Safeguards-by-Design (SBD). These are: i) defining the relevant safeguards requirements, and ii) defining the best practices for meeting the requirements. This document was prepared with the design of the latest independent dry spent fuel storage installations in mind and was prepared specifically as an aid for designers of commercial nuclear facilities to help them understand the relevant international requirements that follow from a country’s safeguards agreement with the IAEA. If these requirements are understood at the earliest stages of facility design, it will help eliminate the costly retrofit of facilities that has occurred in the past to accommodate nuclear safeguards, and will help the IAEA implement nuclear safeguards worldwide, especially in countries building their first nuclear facilities. It is also hoped that this guidance document will promote discussion between the IAEA, State Regulator/SSAC, Project Design Team, and Facility Owner/Operator at an early stage to ensure that new ISFSIs will be effectively and efficiently safeguarded. This is intended to be a living document, since the international nuclear safeguards requirements may be subject to revision over time. More importantly, the practices by which the requirements are met are continuously modernized by the IAEA and facility operators for greater efficiency and cost effectiveness. As these improvements are made, it is recommended that the subject guidance document be updated and revised accordingly.« less

Options and processes for spent catalyst handling and utilization.

PubMed

Marafi, M; Stanislaus, A

2003-07-18

The quantity of spent hydroprocessing catalysts discarded as solid wastes in the petroleum refining industries has increased remarkably in recent years due to a rapid growth in the hydroprocessing capacity to meet the rising demand for low-sulfur fuels. Due to their toxic nature, spent hydroprocessing catalysts have been branded as hazardous wastes, and the refiners are experiencing pressure from environmental authorities to handle them safely. Several alternative methods such as reclamation of metals, rejuvenation and reuse, disposal in landfills and preparation of useful materials using spent catalysts as raw materials are available to deal with the spent catalyst problem. The technical feasibility as well as the environmental and economic aspects of these options are reviewed. In addition, details of two bench-scale processes, one for rejuvenation of spent hydroprocessing catalysts, and the other for producing non-leachable synthetic aggregate materials that were developed in this laboratory, are presented in this paper.

A qualitative analysis of the neutron population in fresh and spent fuel assemblies during simulated interrogation using the differential die-away technique

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tobin, Stephen J.; Lundkvist, Niklas; Goodsell, Alison V.

In this study, Monte Carlo simulations were performed for the differential die-away (DDA) technique to analyse the time-dependent behaviour of the neutron population in fresh and spent nuclear fuel assemblies as part of the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative Spent Fuel (NGSI-SF) Project. Simulations were performed to investigate both a possibly portable as well as a permanent DDA instrument. Taking advantage of a custom made modification to the MCNPX code, the variation in the neutron population, simultaneously in time and space, was examined. The motivation for this research was to improve the design of the DDA instrument, as it is bemore » ing considered for possible deployment at the Central Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Encapsulation Plant in Sweden (Clab), as well as to assist in the interpretation of the both simulated and measured signals.« less

A qualitative analysis of the neutron population in fresh and spent fuel assemblies during simulated interrogation using the differential die-away technique

DOE PAGES

Tobin, Stephen J.; Lundkvist, Niklas; Goodsell, Alison V.; ...

2015-12-01

In this study, Monte Carlo simulations were performed for the differential die-away (DDA) technique to analyse the time-dependent behaviour of the neutron population in fresh and spent nuclear fuel assemblies as part of the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative Spent Fuel (NGSI-SF) Project. Simulations were performed to investigate both a possibly portable as well as a permanent DDA instrument. Taking advantage of a custom made modification to the MCNPX code, the variation in the neutron population, simultaneously in time and space, was examined. The motivation for this research was to improve the design of the DDA instrument, as it is bemore » ing considered for possible deployment at the Central Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Encapsulation Plant in Sweden (Clab), as well as to assist in the interpretation of the both simulated and measured signals.« less

Acidification of prehydrolysis liquor and spent liquor of neutral sulfite semichemical pulping process.

PubMed

Fatehi, Pedram; Gao, Weijiue; Sun, Yonghui; Dashtban, Mehdi

2016-10-01

Acidification has been commercialized for producing kraft lignin from black liquor of kraft pulping process. This work intended to evaluate the effectiveness of acidification in extracting lignocelluloses from the spent liquor of neutral sulfite semichemical pulping (NSSC) process and from prehydrolysis liquor (PHL) of kraft-based dissolving pulp production process. The results showed that the NSSC and PHL spent liquors had some lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCC), and that the square weighted counts of particles with a chord length of 50-150μm in the spent liquors were significantly increased as pH dropped to 1.5. Interestingly, the acidification reduced the lignosulfonate/lignin content of NSSC and PHL by 13% or 20%, while dropped their oligosugars content by 75% and 38%, respectively. On a dry basis, the precipitates had more carbon, hydrogen and a high heating value of 18-22MJ/kg, but less oxygen, than spent liquors. The precipitates of PHL could be used as fuel. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Sensors Enable Plants to Text Message Farmers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2013-01-01

Long-term human spaceflight means long-term menu planning. Since every pound of cargo comes with a steep price tag, NASA has long researched technologies and techniques to allow astronauts to grow their own food, both on the journey and in some cases at their destination. Sustainable food technologies designed for space have resulted in spinoffs that improve the nutrition, safety, and durability of food on Earth. There are of course tradeoffs involved in making astronauts part-time farmers. Any time spent tending plants is time that can t be spent elsewhere: collecting data, exploring, performing routine maintenance, or sleeping. And as scarce as time is for astronauts, resources are even more limited. It is highly practical, therefore, to ensure that farming in space is as automated and precise as possible.

The application of biosorption for production of micronutrient fertilizers based on waste biomass.

PubMed

Tuhy, Łukasz; Samoraj, Mateusz; Michalak, Izabela; Chojnacka, Katarzyna

2014-10-01

In the present paper, new environmental-friendly fertilizer components were produced in biosorption process by the enrichment of the biomass with zinc, essential in plant cultivation. The obtained new preparations can be used as controlled release micronutrient fertilizers because microelements are bound to the functional groups present in the cell wall structures of the biomass. It is assumed that new fertilizing materials will be characterized by higher bioavailability, gradual release of micronutrients required by plants, and lower leaching to groundwater. The biological origin of the material used in plant fertilization results in the elimination of toxic effect towards plants and groundwater mainly caused by low biodegradability of fertilizers. Utilitarian properties of new formulations enable to reduce negative implications of fertilizers for environmental quality and influence ecological health. In this work, the utilitarian properties of materials such as peat, bark, seaweeds, seaweed post-extraction residues, and spent mushroom substrate enriched via biosorption with Zn(II) ions were examined in germination tests on Lepidium sativum. Obtained results were compared with conventional fertilizers-inorganic salt and chelate. It was shown that zinc fertilization led to biofortification of plant in these micronutrients. Moreover, the mass of plants fertilized with zinc was higher than in the control group.

Method and apparatus for bio-regenerative life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cullingford, Hatice S. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

A life support system is disclosed for human habitation (cabin) which has a bioregenerative capability through the use of a plant habitat (greenhouse) whereby oxygen-rich air from the greenhouse is processed and used in the cabin and carbon dioxide-rich air from the cabin is used in the greenhouse. Moisture from the air of both cabin and greenhouse is processed and reused in both. Wash water from the cabin is processed and reused in the cabin as hygiene water, and urine from the cabin is processed and used in the greenhouse. Spent water from the greenhouse is processed and reused in the greenhouse. Portions of the processing cycles are separated between cabin and greenhouse in order to reduce to a minimum cross contamination of the two habitat systems. Other portions of the processing cycles are common to both cabin and greenhouse. The use of bioregenerative techniques permits a substantial reduction of the total consumables used by the life support system.

Process Waste Assessment, Mechanics Shop

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Phillips, N.M.

1993-05-01

This Process Waste Assessment was conducted to evaluate hazardous wastes generated in the Mechanics Shop. The Mechanics Shop maintains and repairs motorized vehicles and equipment on the SNL/California site, to include motorized carts, backhoes, street sweepers, trash truck, portable emergency generators, trencher, portable crane, and man lifts. The major hazardous waste streams routinely generated by the Mechanics Shop are used oil, spent off filters, oily rags, and spent batteries. The used off and spent off filters make up a significant portion of the overall hazardous waste stream. Waste oil and spent batteries are sent off-site for recycling. The rags andmore » spent on filters are not recycled. They are disposed of as hazardous waste. Mechanics Shop personnel continuously look for opportunities to minimize hazardous wastes.« less

Westinghouse Cementation Facility of Solid Waste Treatment System - 13503

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jacobs, Torsten; Aign, Joerg

2013-07-01

During NPP operation, several waste streams are generated, caused by different technical and physical processes. Besides others, liquid waste represents one of the major types of waste. Depending on national regulation for storage and disposal of radioactive waste, solidification can be one specific requirement. To accommodate the global request for waste treatment systems Westinghouse developed several specific treatment processes for the different types of waste. In the period of 2006 to 2008 Westinghouse awarded several contracts for the design and delivery of waste treatment systems related to the latest CPR-1000 nuclear power plants. One of these contracts contains the deliverymore » of four Cementation Facilities for waste treatment, s.c. 'Follow on Cementations' dedicated to three locations, HongYanHe, NingDe and YangJiang, of new CPR-1000 nuclear power stations in the People's Republic of China. Previously, Westinghouse delivered a similar cementation facility to the CPR-1000 plant LingAo II, in Daya Bay, PR China. This plant already passed the hot functioning tests successfully in June 2012 and is now ready and released for regular operation. The 'Follow on plants' are designed to package three 'typical' kind of radioactive waste: evaporator concentrates, spent resins and filter cartridges. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview on the Westinghouse experience to design and execution of cementation facilities. (authors)« less

Recovery of valuable materials from spent NIMH batteries using spouted bed elutriation.

PubMed

Tanabe, Eduardo H; Schlemmer, Diego F; Aguiar, Mônica L; Dotto, Guilherme L; Bertuol, Daniel A

2016-04-15

In recent years, a great increase in the generation of spent batteries occurred. Then, efficient recycling ways and correct disposal of hazardous wastes are necessary. An alternative to recover the valuable materials from spent NiMH batteries is the spouted bed elutriation. The aim of this study was to apply the mechanical processing (grinding and sieving) followed by spouted bed elutriation to separate the valuable materials present in spent NiMH batteries. The results of the manual characterization showed that about 62 wt.% of the batteries are composed by positive and negative electrodes. After the mechanical separation processes (grinding, sieving and spouted bed elutriation), three different fractions were obtained: 24.21 wt.% of metals, 28.20 wt.% of polymers and 42.00 wt.% of powder (the positive and negative electrodes). It was demonstrated that the different materials present in the spent NiMH batteries can be efficiently separated using a simple and inexpensive mechanical processing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of plant residues for improving soil fertility, pod nutrients, root growth and pod weight of okra (Abelmoschus esculentum L).

PubMed

Moyin-Jesu, Emmanuel Ibukunoluwa

2007-08-01

The effect of wood ash, sawdust, ground cocoa husk, spent grain and rice bran upon root development, ash content, pod yield and nutrient status and soil fertility for okra (Abelmoschus esculentum L NHAe 47 variety) was studied. The five organic fertilizer treatments were compared to chemical fertilizer (400kg/ha/crop NPK 15-15-15) and unfertilized controls in four field experiments replicated four times in a randomized complete block design. The results showed that the application of 6tha(-1) of plant residues increased (P<0.05) the soil N, P, K, Ca, Mg, pH, and SOM; pod N, P, K, Ca, Mg and ash; root length; and pod yield of okra in all four experiments relative to the control treatment. For instance, spent grain treatment increased the okra pod yield by 99%, 33%, 50%, 49%, 65% and 67% compared to control, NPK, wood ash, cocoa husk, rice bran and sawdust treatments respectively. In the stepwise regression, out of the total R(2) value of 0.83 for the soil nutrients to the pod yield of okra; soil N accounted for 50% of the soil fertility improvement and yield of okra. Spent grain, wood ash and cocoa husk were the most effective in improving okra pod weight, pod nutrients, ash content, root length and soil fertility whereas the rice bran and sawdust were the least effective. This was because the spent grain, wood ash and cocoa husk had lower C/N ratio and higher nutrient composition than rice bran and sawdust, thus, the former enhanced an increase in pod nutrients, composition for better human dietary intake, increased the root length, pod weight of okra and improved soil fertility and plant nutrition crop. The significance of the increases in okra mineral nutrition concentration by plant residues is that consumers will consume more of these minerals in their meals and monetarily spend less for purchasing vitamins and mineral supplement drugs to meet health requirements. In addition, the increase in plant nutrition and soil fertility would help to reduce the high cost of buying synthetic inorganic fertilizers and maintain the long term productivity of soils for sustainable cultivation of okra.

U.S. sent fuel shipment experience by rail

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Colborn, K.

2007-07-01

As planning for the large scale shipment of spent nuclear fuel to Yucca Mountain proceeds to address these challenges, actual shipments of spent fuel in other venues continues to provide proof that domestic rail spent fuel shipments can proceed safely and effectively. This paper presents some examples of recently completed spent fuel shipments, and the shipment of large low-level radioactive waste shipments offering lessons learned that may be beneficial to the planning process for large scale spent fuel shipments in the US. (authors)

Uranium oxide fuel cycle analysis in VVER-1000 with VISTA simulation code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirekhtiary, Seyedeh Fatemeh; Abbasi, Akbar

2018-02-01

The VVER-1000 Nuclear power plant generates about 20-25 tons of spent fuel per year. In this research, the fuel transmutation of Uranium Oxide (UOX) fuel was calculated by using of nuclear fuel cycle simulation system (VISTA) code. In this simulation, we evaluated the back end components fuel cycle. The back end component calculations are Spent Fuel (SF), Actinide Inventory (AI) and Fission Product (FP) radioisotopes. The SF, AI and FP values were obtained 23.792178 ton/y, 22.811139 ton/y, 0.981039 ton/y, respectively. The obtained value of spent fuel, major actinide, and minor actinide and fission products were 23.8 ton/year, 22.795 ton/year, 0.024 ton/year and 0.981 ton/year, respectively.

[Interactive effect of spent mushroom compost and rhamnolipids to enhance the efficiency of alfalfa remediation of aged PAHs contaminated soil].

PubMed

Zhang, Jing; Lin, Xian-Gui; Li, Xuan-Zhen; Yin, Rui

2010-10-01

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of the most widespread organic pollutants, which distributed widely in soil and sediment. Pot experiment was conducted to improve efficiency of phytoremediation using alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in aged PAHs contaminated soil by introducing spent mushroom compost and rhamnolipids. Plant biomass, PAHs concentrations, number of soil microorganism, soil enzyme activity and soil microbial functional diversity were determined after 60 days of alfalfa growth. The results showed that within 60 days, removal ratio of PAHs in treatment of alfalfa alone (AL) reached to 14.43%, while removal ratio of PAHs in treatments of "GZ + RH0.5, + AL" and "GZ + RH1.0 + AL" reached to 32.64% and 36.95%, which were 115.45% and 156.06% higher than that of phytoremediation. Contrasted to the control, the treatment of "GZ + RH1.0 + AL" had more plant biomass than others, shoot and root dry weight were 1.05 g/pot and 0.20 g/pot, respectively. During the process of phytoremediation, the number of soil bacteria and fungi were greatly increased by "GZ + RH1.0 + AL" and reached to 31.37 x 10(6) CFU x g(-1) and 5.86 x 10(6) CFU x g(-1), especially the number of PAHs-degrading bacteria reached to 39.57 x 10(5) MPN x g(-1), which were 29 times more than control treatment and 4 times more than treatment of alfalfa alone (AL). Moreover, soil dehydrogenase activity and the functional diversity of soil microbial community were increased significantly by the treatment of "GZ + RH1.0 + AL", respectively. Therefore, interaction of spent mushroom compost and rhamnolipids to enhance the phytoremediation efficiency had satisfied results in removal aged PAHs from an agricultural soil, the feasibility of this method needed to be further proved by large-area scale field experiment.

Techno-commercial aspects of food irradiation in India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Arun; Madhusoodanan, P.

2012-08-01

Research and development work has been carried out at Food Technology Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Center for more than past fifty years. After establishing potential commercial applications, a lot of time and efforts were spent on proving the wholesomeness and nutritional adequacy of irradiated foods. The first approval from health authorities came in 1994 for processing potato, onion and spices. Additional commodities were approved in 1998 and 2001, bringing the list of commodities to more than 20. Two technology demonstration plants were set up by the government, one for high dose applications like microbial decontamination of spices and dry vegetables in 2000, and another for low dose applications, like sprout inhibition and insect disinfestation, in 2003. In 2004, irradiation was approved as a quarantine measure. This enabled export of mango to USA after a gap of 18 years in 2007. More than a dozen plants have now been set up by private entrepreneurs in the country.

Savannah River Site Spent Nuclear Fuel Management Final Environmental Impact Statement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

N /A

The proposed DOE action considered in this environmental impact statement (EIS) is to implement appropriate processes for the safe and efficient management of spent nuclear fuel and targets at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken County, South Carolina, including placing these materials in forms suitable for ultimate disposition. Options to treat, package, and store this material are discussed. The material included in this EIS consists of approximately 68 metric tons heavy metal (MTHM) of spent nuclear fuel 20 MTHM of aluminum-based spent nuclear fuel at SRS, as much as 28 MTHM of aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel from foreign andmore » domestic research reactors to be shipped to SRS through 2035, and 20 MTHM of stainless-steel or zirconium-clad spent nuclear fuel and some Americium/Curium Targets stored at SRS. Alternatives considered in this EIS encompass a range of new packaging, new processing, and conventional processing technologies, as well as the No Action Alternative. A preferred alternative is identified in which DOE would prepare about 97% by volume (about 60% by mass) of the aluminum-based fuel for disposition using a melt and dilute treatment process. The remaining 3% by volume (about 40% by mass) would be managed using chemical separation. Impacts are assessed primarily in the areas of water resources, air resources, public and worker health, waste management, socioeconomic, and cumulative impacts.« less

Operation TOMODACHI: A Model for American Disaster Response Efforts and the Collective use of Military Forces Abroad

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

Plant in Fukushima Daiichi (approximately 170 miles North of Tokyo). The plant consisted of six nuclear reactors and a series of spent-fuel pools...should be praised for the decision to allow family members to voluntarily evacuate areas within 200 miles of the Fukushima - Daiichi Nuclear Plant... Disaster ” (power point presentation, Airlift Tanker Association, Nashville, TN, November 4, 2011) 3 Hisaya Sugiyama, “AIA Summary of Fukushima

40 CFR 141.76 - Recycle provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... recycle spent filter backwash water, thickener supernatant, or liquids from dewatering processes must meet... the State in writing by Decemeber 8, 2003, if the system recycles spent filter backwash water... the origin of all flows which are recycled (including, but not limited to, spent filter backwash water...

40 CFR 141.76 - Recycle provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... recycle spent filter backwash water, thickener supernatant, or liquids from dewatering processes must meet... the State in writing by Decemeber 8, 2003, if the system recycles spent filter backwash water... the origin of all flows which are recycled (including, but not limited to, spent filter backwash water...

40 CFR 141.76 - Recycle provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... recycle spent filter backwash water, thickener supernatant, or liquids from dewatering processes must meet... the State in writing by Decemeber 8, 2003, if the system recycles spent filter backwash water... the origin of all flows which are recycled (including, but not limited to, spent filter backwash water...

40 CFR 141.76 - Recycle provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... recycle spent filter backwash water, thickener supernatant, or liquids from dewatering processes must meet... the State in writing by Decemeber 8, 2003, if the system recycles spent filter backwash water... the origin of all flows which are recycled (including, but not limited to, spent filter backwash water...

40 CFR 141.76 - Recycle provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... recycle spent filter backwash water, thickener supernatant, or liquids from dewatering processes must meet... the State in writing by Decemeber 8, 2003, if the system recycles spent filter backwash water... the origin of all flows which are recycled (including, but not limited to, spent filter backwash water...

Organic soil production from urban soil, spent mushroom substrate, and other additives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pham, Nhung Thi Ha

2017-09-01

In recent years, spent mushroom substrate (SMS) is becoming the huge problem in environmental pollution issues from mushroom production. However, SMS is also a nutrient-rich ogranic material with available nutrients and high porosity. Therefore, the value of products made from SMS should be exploited to take full advantage of agricultural by-product, support organic agriculture development without environmental pollution. The research has built 5 experimental formulas (4 mixed formulas and 1 control formulas with only urban soil). The analysis results of soil samples from mixed formulas and the control formula witness a significant increase in moisture and OM of mixed formulas (moisture from 36-42%, OM from 5.5-6.9%) after 20 treatment days, and N-P-K contents are also improved remarkably. 60 days later, soil nutrients in mixed formulas continue to rise, with highest OM (8.679%) at CT1; N (0.154%) at CT4; K2O (0,698%) and P2O5 (0,172%) at CT3, in addition, heavy metal contents in all formulas are under standard limit. Synthetic assessment of all norms indicates that the best organic soil product comes from CT3. The pak choi planting experiments are performed show that the growth of plants cultivated on organic soil products made from mixed formulas are much better than plants are grown on initially soil, and they also have no pestilent insect. Specially, pak choi planted on organic soil from CT3 have sharp developing with excellent tolerance ability, quantity and area of leaves are high. Thus, CT3 is the most suitable formula to increase soil nutrients, to solve spent mushroom subtrate streament problems after harvest, and for sustainable agricultural development.

Bio-effectors from waste materials as growth promoters for tomato plants, an agronomic and metabolomic study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abou Chehade, Lara; Chami, Ziad Al; De Pascali, Sandra; Cavoski, Ivana; Fanizzi, Francesco Paolo

2015-04-01

In organic farming, where nutrient management is constrained and sustainability is claimed, bio-effectors pave their way. Considering selected bio-effectors, this study integrates metabolomics to agronomy in depicting induced relevant phenomena. Extracts of three agro-industrial wastes (Lemon processing residues, Fennel processing residues and Brewer's spent grain) are being investigated as sources of bio-effectors for the third trial consequently. Corresponding individual and mixture aqueous extracts are assessed for their synergistic and/or single agronomic and qualitative performances on soil-grown tomato, compared to both a control and humic acid treatments. A metabolomic profiling of tomato fruits via the Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, as holistic indicator of fruit quality and extract-induced responses, complements crop productivity and organoleptic/nutritional qualitative analyses. Results are expected to show mainly an enhancement of the fruit qualitative traits, and to confirm partly the previous results of better crop productivity and metabolism enhancement. Waste-derived bio-effectors could be, accordingly, demonstrated as potential candidates of plant-enhancing substances. Keywords: bio-effectors, organic farming, agro-industrial wastes, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), tomato.

Prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni in eggs and poultry meat in New York State.

PubMed

Baker, R C; Paredes, M D; Qureshi, R A

1987-11-01

The presence of Campylobacter jejuni was tested for but not isolated from any of 276 eggs sampled from 23 egg farms in New York State. The presence of C. jejuni was evaluated in broilers, kosher broilers, spent layers, Peking ducks, and turkeys. Four of five poultry dressing plants tested showed positive growth of C. jejuni on the 25-carcass samples at various stages of processing. Twenty to 100% of live birds sampled contained C. jejuni on the skin but 90 to 100% were contaminated after scalding and defeathering operations from contaminated birds and equipment. A three to four-fold increase in carcass contamination was observed after evisceration. The number of C. jejuni on the carcasses decreased after washing and chilling. The organisms did not survive the salting, rinsing, and chilling operations in a kosher processing plant. Several pieces of equipment, i.e., shackles, eviscerating troughs, and cooling tanks were contaminated with C. jejuni. This study illustrates how C. jejuni may be transmitted from the live bird to the final poultry product.

Disposal of spent fuel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blomeke, J O; Ferguson, D E; Croff, A G

1978-01-01

Based on preliminary analyses, spent fuel assemblies are an acceptable form for waste disposal. The following studies appear necessary to bring our knowledge of spent fuel as a final disposal form to a level comparable with that of the solidified wastes from reprocessing: 1. A complete systems analysis is needed of spent fuel disposition from reactor discharge to final isolation in a repository. 2. Since it appears desirable to encase the spent fuel assembly in a metal canister, candidate materials for this container need to be studied. 3. It is highly likely that some ''filler'' material will be needed betweenmore » the fuel elements and the can. 4. Leachability, stability, and waste-rock interaction studies should be carried out on the fuels. The major disadvantages of spent fuel as a disposal form are the lower maximum heat loading, 60 kW/acre versus 150 kW/acre for high-level waste from a reprocessing plant; the greater long-term potential hazard due to the larger quantities of plutonium and uranium introduced into a repository; and the possibility of criticality in case the repository is breached. The major advantages are the lower cost and increased near-term safety resulting from eliminating reprocessing and the treatment and handling of the wastes therefrom.« less

Oxalic Acid from Lentinula edodes Culture Filtrate: Antimicrobial Activity on Phytopathogenic Bacteria and Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses

PubMed Central

Kwak, A-Min; Lee, In-Kyoung; Lee, Sang-Yeop

2016-01-01

The culture filtrate of Lentinula edodes shows potent antimicrobial activity against the plant pathogenic bacteria Ralstonia solanacearum. Bioassay-guided fractionation was conducted using Diaion HP-20 column chromatography, and the insoluble active compound was not adsorbed on the resin. Further fractionation by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) suggested that the active compounds were organic acids. Nine organic acids were detected in the culture filtrate of L. edodes; oxalic acid was the major component and exhibited antibacterial activity against nine different phytopathogenic bacteria. Quantitative analysis by HPLC revealed that the content of oxalic acid was higher in the water extract from spent mushroom substrate than in liquid culture. This suggests that the water extract of spent L. edodes substrate is an eco-friendly control agent for plant diseases. PMID:28154495

Developing a concept for a national used fuel interim storage facility in the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lewis, Donald Wayne

2013-07-01

In the United States (U.S.) the nuclear waste issue has plagued the nuclear industry for decades. Originally, spent fuel was to be reprocessed but with the threat of nuclear proliferation, spent fuel reprocessing has been eliminated, at least for now. In 1983, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 [1] was established, authorizing development of one or more spent fuel and high-level nuclear waste geological repositories and a consolidated national storage facility, called a 'Monitored Retrievable Storage' facility, that could store the spent nuclear fuel until it could be placed into the geological repository. Plans were under way to buildmore » a geological repository, Yucca Mountain, but with the decision by President Obama to terminate the development of Yucca Mountain, a consolidated national storage facility that can store spent fuel for an interim period until a new repository is established has become very important. Since reactor sites have not been able to wait for the government to come up with a storage or disposal location, spent fuel remains in wet or dry storage at each nuclear plant. The purpose of this paper is to present a concept developed to address the DOE's goals stated above. This concept was developed over the past few months by collaboration between the DOE and industry experts that have experience in designing spent nuclear fuel facilities. The paper examines the current spent fuel storage conditions at shutdown reactor sites, operating reactor sites, and the type of storage systems (transportable versus non-transportable, welded or bolted). The concept lays out the basis for a pilot storage facility to house spent fuel from shutdown reactor sites and then how the pilot facility can be enlarged to a larger full scale consolidated interim storage facility. (authors)« less

Experimental Study of the Influence of the Concentration of Organic Water-Coal Fuel Components on the Integral Ignition Characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vershinina, K. Yu.; Kuznetsov, G. V.; Strizhak, P. A.

2017-01-01

To enlarge the power raw material base, the processes of stable initiation of combustion of drops of organic watercoal fuels have been investigated. For the main components, we used filter cakes (coal processing waste), anthracite, bituminous and brown coals of brands D and B2, water, and spent machine, turbine, and transformer oils. We have established the influence of concentrations of components on the minimum (limiting) ignition temperatures of organic water-coal fuels and the ignition delay times of drops of fuel components with initial sizes of 0.25-1.5 mm. Investigations were carried out for oxidizer temperatures of 600-1100 K and its velocities of 0.5-5 m/s characteristic of units, aggregates, and large and small power plants. We have determined the characteristic differences of organic water-coal fuel from water-coal fuel and the close laws of the investigated processes for these fuels.

Tracking of Nuclear Production using Indigenous Species: Final LDRD Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alam, Todd Michael; Alam, Mary Kathleen; McIntyre, Sarah K.

Our LDRD research project sought to develop an analytical method for detection of chemicals used in nuclear materials processing. Our approach is distinctly different than current research involving hardware-based sensors. By utilizing the response of indigenous species of plants and/or animals surrounding (or within) a nuclear processing facility, we propose tracking 'suspicious molecules' relevant to nuclear materials processing. As proof of concept, we have examined TBP, tributylphosphate, used in uranium enrichment as well as plutonium extraction from spent nuclear fuels. We will compare TBP to the TPP (triphenylphosphate) analog to determine the uniqueness of the metabonomic response. We show thatmore » there is a unique metabonomic response within our animal model to TBP. The TBP signature can further be delineated from that of TPP. We have also developed unique methods of instrumental transfer for metabonomic data sets.« less

Watkins: Store spent fuel at federal sites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tompkins, B.

If the Department of Energy under the Clinton Administration decides to follow the strategy of departing Energy Secretary James Watkins, spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from utilities would be stored at federal sites starting in 1998. In what amounts to an admission that a monitored retrievable storage (MRS) facility will not be ready to accept SNF by 1998, Watkins proposed in a December 17 letter to Senator J. Bennett Johnston that current work on an MRS be terminated, and that efforts be redirected toward standardized spent-fuel container design. According to the DOE's Samantha Williams, however, the Waste Negotiator's Office will continuemore » its activities, and the new strategy is intended to supplement the ongoing MRS work. She also said that DOE Undersecretary Hugo Pomrehn confirmed this in a statement to the Nuclear Waste TEchnical Review Board during its meeting on January 5. The motivation for the new strategic actions is in part related to the passage of the National Energy Policy Act of 1992, which envisions the continued use of nuclear power in the overall US energy plan. Watkins points out, however, that in order for nuclear power to remain a viable alternative, the management and disposal of spent commercial nuclear fuel is essential to avoid premature and unwarranted shutdowns of operating nuclear plants, to permit renewals of existing plant licenses to provide life extensions from 40 to 60 years, and to enable new orders of advanced-design nuclear plants. In addition, the new strategy is required, according to Watkins, because the Office of the Nuclear Waste Negotiator has been unsuccessful in identifying a voluntary host site for an MRS after two years of efforts to that end. David Leroy, the Negotiator, disagrees with this statement, and has noted that it still may be possible to present a candidate host site for the MRS to Congress by June 1993.« less

78 FR 20625 - Spent Nuclear Fuel Management at the Savannah River Site

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-05

... processing is a chemical separations process that involves dissolving spent fuel in nitric acid and... Engineering Laboratory Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Programs Final Environmental Impact... chemical properties, and radionuclide inventory. The fuel groups and the seven technologies that could be...

Leaching behavior of lanthanum, nickel and iron from spent catalyst using inorganic acids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Astuti, W.; Prilitasari, N. M.; Iskandar, Y.; Bratakusuma, D.; Petrus, H. T. B. M.

2018-01-01

Highly technological applications of rare earth metals (REs) and scarcity of supply have become an incentive torecover the REs from various resources, which include high grade and low grade ores, as well as recycledwaste materials. Spent hydrocracking catalyst contain lanthanum and a variety of valuable metals such as nickel and iron. This study investigated the recovery of lanthanum, nickel and iron from spent hydrocracking catalyst by leaching using various inorganic acid (sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and nitric acid). The effect of acid concentration, type of acid and leaching temperature was conducted to study the leaching behavior of each valuable metal from spent-catalyst. It has been shown that it is possible to recover more than 90% of lanthanum, however the leaching efficiency of nickel and iron in this process was very low. It can be concluded that the leaching process is selective for lanthanum recovery from hydrocracking spent-catalyst.

Remote fabrication and irradiation test of recycled nuclear fuel prepared by the oxidation and reduction of spent oxide fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin Ryu, Ho; Chan Song, Kee; Il Park, Geun; Won Lee, Jung; Seung Yang, Myung

2005-02-01

A direct dry recycling process was developed in order to reuse spent pressurized light water reactor (LWR) nuclear fuel in CANDU reactors without the separation of sensitive nuclear materials such as plutonium. The benefits of the dry recycling process are the saving of uranium resources and the reduction of spent fuel accumulation as well as a higher proliferation resistance. In the process of direct dry recycling, fuel pellets separated from spent LWR fuel rods are oxidized from UO2 to U3O8 at 500 °C in an air atmosphere and reduced into UO2 at 700 °C in a hydrogen atmosphere, which is called OREOX (oxidation and reduction of oxide fuel). The pellets are pulverized during the oxidation and reduction processes due to the phase transformation between cubic UO2 and orthorhombic U3O8. Using the oxide powder prepared from the OREOX process, the compaction and sintering processes are performed in a remote manner in a shielded hot cell due to the high radioactivity of the spent fuel. Most of the fission gas and volatile fission products are removed during the OREOX and sintering processes. The mini-elements fabricated by the direct dry recycling process are irradiated in the HANARO research reactor for the performance evaluation of the recycled fuel pellets. Post-irradiation examination of the irradiated fuel showed that microstructural evolution and fission gas release behavior of the dry-recycled fuel were similar to high burnup UO2 fuel.

77 FR 11169 - In the Matter of Exelon Corporation; Constellation Energy Group, Inc.; R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-24

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2009-0192; Docket Nos. 50-244 and 72-67; License No. DPR-18; Docket No. 72-67; General License] In the Matter of Exelon Corporation; Constellation Energy Group, Inc.; R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC; R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant; R.E. Ginna Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Order Approving...

Senate examines measures to improve nuclear safety following Japan disaster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2012-03-01

One year after Japan suffered a devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the resulting tsunami and nuclear disaster, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has taken a number of measures to try to ensure that nuclear plants in the United States are safe from natural hazards. At a U.S. Senate hearing on 15 March, NRC chair Gregory Jaczko announced that the commission had issued three key orders and several requests for information on 12 March that plant licensees must follow, and that NRC also plans to take additional actions. However, the commission is not moving quickly enough in some areas, such as ensuring that all plants are safe from seismic hazards, including those in areas with low seismic activity, according to Jaczko's testimony before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) and the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety. The 12 March orders require licensees to have strategies to maintain or restore core cooling, containment, and spent-fuel pool cooling capabilities "following a beyond-design-basis extreme natural event" and have a reliable indication of the water level in spent-fuel storage pools.

Current state of nuclear fuel cycles in nuclear engineering and trends in their development according to the environmental safety requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vislov, I. S.; Pischulin, V. P.; Kladiev, S. N.; Slobodyan, S. M.

2016-08-01

The state and trends in the development of nuclear fuel cycles in nuclear engineering, taking into account the ecological aspects of using nuclear power plants, are considered. An analysis of advantages and disadvantages of nuclear engineering, compared with thermal engineering based on organic fuel types, was carried out. Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) reprocessing is an important task in the nuclear industry, since fuel unloaded from modern reactors of any type contains a large amount of radioactive elements that are harmful to the environment. On the other hand, the newly generated isotopes of uranium and plutonium should be reused to fabricate new nuclear fuel. The spent nuclear fuel also includes other types of fission products. Conditions for SNF handling are determined by ecological and economic factors. When choosing a certain handling method, one should assess these factors at all stages of its implementation. There are two main methods of SNF handling: open nuclear fuel cycle, with spent nuclear fuel assemblies (NFAs) that are held in storage facilities with their consequent disposal, and closed nuclear fuel cycle, with separation of uranium and plutonium, their purification from fission products, and use for producing new fuel batches. The development of effective closed fuel cycles using mixed uranium-plutonium fuel can provide a successful development of the nuclear industry only under the conditions of implementation of novel effective technological treatment processes that meet strict requirements of environmental safety and reliability of process equipment being applied. The diversity of technological processes is determined by different types of NFA devices and construction materials being used, as well as by the composition that depends on nuclear fuel components and operational conditions for assemblies in the nuclear power reactor. This work provides an overview of technological processes of SNF treatment and methods of handling of nuclear fuel assemblies. Based on analysis of modern engineering solutions on SNF regeneration, it has been concluded that new reprocessing technologies should meet the ecological safety requirements, provide a more extensive use of the resource base of nuclear engineering, allow the production of valuable and trace elements on an industrial scale, and decrease radioactive waste release.

40 CFR 430.03 - Best management practices (BMPs) for spent pulping liquor, soap, and turpentine management, spill...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... spent pulping liquor, soap, and turpentine management, spill prevention, and control. 430.03 Section 430... management practices (BMPs) for spent pulping liquor, soap, and turpentine management, spill prevention, and... Liquor, Soap, and Turpentine Service: Any process vessel, storage tank, pumping system, evaporator, heat...

40 CFR 430.03 - Best management practices (BMPs) for spent pulping liquor, soap, and turpentine management, spill...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... spent pulping liquor, soap, and turpentine management, spill prevention, and control. 430.03 Section 430... management practices (BMPs) for spent pulping liquor, soap, and turpentine management, spill prevention, and... Liquor, Soap, and Turpentine Service: Any process vessel, storage tank, pumping system, evaporator, heat...

Continuous process electrorefiner

DOEpatents

Herceg, Joseph E [Naperville, IL; Saiveau, James G [Hickory Hills, IL; Krajtl, Lubomir [Woodridge, IL

2006-08-29

A new device is provided for the electrorefining of uranium in spent metallic nuclear fuels by the separation of unreacted zirconium, noble metal fission products, transuranic elements, and uranium from spent fuel rods. The process comprises an electrorefiner cell. The cell includes a drum-shaped cathode horizontally immersed about half-way into an electrolyte salt bath. A conveyor belt comprising segmented perforated metal plates transports spent fuel into the salt bath. The anode comprises the conveyor belt, the containment vessel, and the spent fuel. Uranium and transuranic elements such as plutonium (Pu) are oxidized at the anode, and, subsequently, the uranium is reduced to uranium metal at the cathode. A mechanical cutter above the surface of the salt bath removes the deposited uranium metal from the cathode.

Calculation of the process of vacuum drying of a metal-concrete container with spent nuclear fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karyakin, Yu. E.; Lavrent'ev, S. A.; Pavlyukevich, N. V.; Pletnev, A. A.; Fedorovich, E. D.

2012-01-01

An algorithm and results of calculation of the process of vacuum drying of a metal-concrete container intended for long-term "dry" storage of spent nuclear fuel are presented. A calculated substantiation of the initial amount of moisture in the container is given.

Feasible variants for intermediate storage of the spent fuel obtained at NPP Cernavoda, Romania

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Radu, M.; Popescu, G.

1993-12-31

The 5 CANDU-PHW Reactors of 600 Standard type of Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant are under construction and the first unit is expected to be commissioned in 1995, group 2 following after 2 years, and then groups 3, 4 and 5 one each year. In this study there are presented feasible variants for intermediate storage of spent fuel, obtained during 30 years of operation from the stations at Cernavoda. From the solutions applied worldwide, both dry and wet storage have been taken into account. In any of the two variants, a unique intermediate storage will be provided and the storage buildingmore » was proposed to be built in 4 different stages. As a first estimation, considering the fact that, by now Romania has only one nuclear plant of CANDU fuel type the dry variant seems to be the best.« less

The effect of sintering time on recycled magnesia brick from kiln of the cement plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aji, B. B.; Rosalina, D.; Azhar; Amin, M.

2018-01-01

This research aim was to investigate the effect of sintering time on reuse waste of magnesia brick from the rotary kiln of the cement plant. Reuse of the magnesia brick was carried out by mixed the kaolin as the binder. Spent refractory was used as aggregate with the composition of 85% spent refractory and 15% kaolin clay, respectively. The reuse brick then was molded with the size of 5x5x5 cm using hydraulic press under a load of 10 tons in order to forms green body. Green body then dried and sintered at 1200 °C with time variation of 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours and 10 hours, respectively. Thus, for comparison reuse brick was tested to its apparent porosity, the bulk density, and Cold Crushing Strength (CCS). The effect of kaolin addition as binder was also discussed.

Effect of a medicinal plant (Passiflora incarnata L) on sleep

PubMed Central

Guerrero, Fructuoso Ayala; Medina, Graciela Mexicano

2017-01-01

INTRODUCTION Extracts of the plant Passiflora incarnata L. (Passifloraceae) were administered intraperitoneally in order to test its effects on sleep. METHOD Experiments were carried out on chronically implanted male adult wistar rats to obtain cerebral (EEG), ocular (EOG) and muscular (EMG) activities throughout their states of vigilance. Polygraphic recordings were taken during 9 continuous hours before and after the extract administration (500 mg/kg). RESULTS Passiflora incarnata induced a significant increment in the total sleep time (p<0.05). This increment was due to an increase in the time spent by animals in slow wave sleep (SWS). Concomitantly, a significant decrement in wakefulness (W) was observed (p<0.05). In contrast, time spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep showed a decreasing tendency, since both its frequency and mean duration were reduced. CONCLUSIONS The extracts obtained from Passiflora incarnata can be considered as appropriated sleep inducers. PMID:29410738

Effect of a medicinal plant (Passiflora incarnata L) on sleep.

PubMed

Guerrero, Fructuoso Ayala; Medina, Graciela Mexicano

2017-01-01

Extracts of the plant Passiflora incarnata L. (Passifloraceae) were administered intraperitoneally in order to test its effects on sleep. Experiments were carried out on chronically implanted male adult wistar rats to obtain cerebral (EEG), ocular (EOG) and muscular (EMG) activities throughout their states of vigilance. Polygraphic recordings were taken during 9 continuous hours before and after the extract administration (500 mg/kg). Passiflora incarnata induced a significant increment in the total sleep time ( p <0.05). This increment was due to an increase in the time spent by animals in slow wave sleep (SWS). Concomitantly, a significant decrement in wakefulness (W) was observed ( p <0.05). In contrast, time spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep showed a decreasing tendency, since both its frequency and mean duration were reduced. The extracts obtained from Passiflora incarnata can be considered as appropriated sleep inducers.

Control of a laser inertial confinement fusion-fission power plant

DOEpatents

Moses, Edward I.; Latkowski, Jeffery F.; Kramer, Kevin J.

2015-10-27

A laser inertial-confinement fusion-fission energy power plant is described. The fusion-fission hybrid system uses inertial confinement fusion to produce neutrons from a fusion reaction of deuterium and tritium. The fusion neutrons drive a sub-critical blanket of fissile or fertile fuel. A coolant circulated through the fuel extracts heat from the fuel that is used to generate electricity. The inertial confinement fusion reaction can be implemented using central hot spot or fast ignition fusion, and direct or indirect drive. The fusion neutrons result in ultra-deep burn-up of the fuel in the fission blanket, thus enabling the burning of nuclear waste. Fuels include depleted uranium, natural uranium, enriched uranium, spent nuclear fuel, thorium, and weapons grade plutonium. LIFE engines can meet worldwide electricity needs in a safe and sustainable manner, while drastically shrinking the highly undesirable stockpiles of depleted uranium, spent nuclear fuel and excess weapons materials.

Selective-placement burial of drilling fluids: 2. Effects on buffalograss and fourwing saltbrush. [Atriplex canescens; Buchloe dactyloides

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McFarland, M.L.; Hartmann, S.; Ueckert, D.N.

Surface disposal of spent drilling fluids used in petroleum and natural gas exploration causes surface soil contamination that severely inhibits secondary plant succession and artificial revegetation efforts. Selective-placement burial was evaluated at two locations in western Texas for on-site disposal of drilling fluids in arid and semiarid regions. Establishment, yield, and chemical composition of fourwing saltbrush (Atriplex canescens (Pursh Nutt.)) and buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.) transplants on undisturbed soils and on plots with spent drilling fluids and cuttings buried 30, 90 (with and without a 30-cm coarse limestone capillary barrier) and 150 cm were compared. Survival of both speciesmore » was 97 to 100% 17 months after planting on plots with buried drilling wastes. Canopy cover and aboveground biomass of fourwing saltbrush were greater over buried drilling wastes than on untreated plots, whereas canopy cover and aboveground biomass of buffalograss were not affected by the treatments. Significant increases in Na, M, and Mg concentrations in buffalograss after 17 months on plots with drilling fluids buried 30 cm deep at one location indicated plant uptake of some drilling fluid constituents. Elevated Zn concentrations in fourwing saltbush indicated that a portion of the Zn in the drilling fluids was available for plant uptake, while no evidence of plant accumulation of Ba, Cr, Cu, or Ni from drilling fluids was detected.« less

The stem cell laboratory: design, equipment, and oversight.

PubMed

Wesselschmidt, Robin L; Schwartz, Philip H

2011-01-01

This chapter describes some of the major issues to be considered when setting up a laboratory for the culture of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). The process of establishing a hPSC laboratory can be divided into two equally important parts. One is completely administrative and includes developing protocols, seeking approval, and establishing reporting processes and documentation. The other part of establishing a hPSC laboratory involves the physical plant and includes design, equipment and personnel. Proper planning of laboratory operations and proper design of the physical layout of the stem cell laboratory so that meets the scope of planned operations is a major undertaking, but the time spent upfront will pay long-term returns in operational efficiency and effectiveness. A well-planned, organized, and properly equipped laboratory supports research activities by increasing efficiency and reducing lost time and wasted resources.

Re-manufacture of cobalt-manganese-bromide as a liquid catalyst from spent catalyst containing cobalt generated from petrochemical processes via hydrometallurgy.

PubMed

Joo, Sung-Ho; Shin, Dong Ju; Oh, Chang Hyun; Wang, Jei-Pil; Shin, Shun Myung

2016-11-15

Cobalt and manganese have been the subject of individual separation studies because their fields of application are different. However, this study shows that high-value products can be manufactured in the form of a cobalt-manganese-bromide (CMB) liquid catalyst by simultaneously recovering cobalt and manganese. Na-bis-(2,4,4-tri-methyl-pentyl)phosphinic acid was employed in order to manufacture the CMB liquid catalyst from the spent catalyst generated from petroleum chemistry processes. The pH-isotherm, degree of saponification of solvent and separation factor values were investigated. ΔpH50 and separation factor values show that Co and Mn can be separated from impurities such as Mg and Ca. Further, the extraction stages and organic/aqueous ratio isotherms were investigated using counter-current simulation extraction batch tests. To prepare CMB from a loaded organic phase obtained in a stripping study using hydrogen bromide, the Co and Mn were completely stripped and concentrated by a factor of 6 using a 2M hydrogen bromide solution. When compared with manufactured and commercial CMB, the CMB liquid catalyst could be produced by supplying a shortage of Mn in the form of manganese bromide. Finally, the method of manufacture of CMB was subjected to a real pilot plant test. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

No time to waste organic waste: Nanosizing converts remains of food processing into refined materials.

PubMed

Griffin, Sharoon; Sarfraz, Muhammad; Farida, Verda; Nasim, Muhammad Jawad; Ebokaiwe, Azubuike P; Keck, Cornelia M; Jacob, Claus

2018-03-15

Modern food processing results in considerable amounts of side-products, such as grape seeds, walnut shells, spent coffee grounds, and harvested tomato plants. These materials are still rich in valuable and biologically active substances and therefore of interest from the perspective of waste management and "up-cycling". In contrast to traditional, often time consuming and low-value uses, such as vermicomposting and anaerobic digestion, the complete conversion into nanosuspensions unlocks considerable potentials of and new applications for such already spent organic materials without the need of extraction and without producing any additional waste. In this study, nanosuspensions were produced using a sequence of milling and homogenization methods, including High Speed Stirring (HSS) and High Pressure Homogenization (HPH) which reduced the size of the particles to 200-400 nm. The resulting nanosuspensions demonstrated nematicidal and antimicrobial activity and their antioxidant activities exceeded the ones of the bulk materials. In the future, this simple nanosizing approach may fulfil several important objectives, such as reducing and turning readily available waste into new value and eventually closing a crucial cycle of agricultural products returning to their fields - with a resounding ecological impact in the fields of medicine, agriculture, cosmetics and fermentation. Moreover, up-cycling via nanosizing adds an economical promise of increased value to residue-free waste management. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toward zero waste to landfill: an effective method for recycling zeolite waste from refinery industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Homchuen, K.; Anuwattana, R.; Limphitakphong, N.; Chavalparit, O.

2017-07-01

One-third of landfill waste of refinery plant in Thailand was spent chloride zeolite, which wastes a huge of land, cost and time for handling. Toward zero waste to landfill, this study was aimed at determining an effective method for recycling zeolite waste by comparing the chemical process with the electrochemical process. To investigate the optimum conditions of both processes, concentration of chemical solution and reaction time were carried out for the former, while the latter varied in term of current density, initial pH of water, and reaction time. The results stated that regenerating zeolite waste from refinery industry in Thailand should be done through the chemical process with alkaline solution because it provided the best chloride adsorption efficiency with cost the least. A successful recycling will be beneficial not only in reducing the amount of landfill waste but also in reducing material and disposal costs and consumption of natural resources as well.

Method For Processing Spent (Trn,Zr)N Fuel

DOEpatents

Miller, William E.; Richmann, Michael K.

2004-07-27

A new process for recycling spent nuclear fuels, in particular, mixed nitrides of transuranic elements and zirconium. The process consists of two electrorefiner cells in series configuration. A transuranic element such as plutonium is reduced at the cathode in the first cell, zirconium at the cathode in the second cell, and nitrogen-15 is released and captured for reuse to make transuranic and zirconium nitrides.

NDE of copper canisters for long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel from the Swedish nuclear power plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stepinski, Tadeusz

2003-07-01

Sweden has been intensively developing methods for long term storage of spent fuel from the nuclear power plants for twenty-five years. A dedicated research program has been initiated and conducted by the Swedish company SKB (Swedish Nuclear Fuels and Waste Management Co.). After the interim storage SKB plans to encapsulate spent nuclear fuel in copper canisters that will be placed at a deep repository located in bedrock. The canisters filled with fuel rods will be sealed by an electron beam weld. This paper presents three complementary NDE techniques used for assessing the sealing weld in copper canisters, radiography, ultrasound, and eddy current. A powerful X-ray source and a digital detector are used for the radiography. An ultrasonic array system consisting of a phased ultrasonic array and a multi-channel electronics is used for the ultrasonic examination. The array system enables electronic focusing and rapid electronic scanning eliminating the use of a complicated mechanical scanner. A specially designed eddy current probe capable of detecting small voids at the depth up to 4 mm in copper is used for the eddy current inspection. Presently, all the NDE techniques are verified in SKB's Canister Laboratory where full scale canisters are welded and examined.

Electrorefining process and apparatus for recovery of uranium and a mixture of uranium and plutonium from spent fuels

DOEpatents

Ackerman, John P.; Miller, William E.

1989-01-01

An electrorefining process and apparatus for the recovery of uranium and a mixture of uranium and plutonium from spent fuel using an electrolytic cell having a lower molten cadmium pool containing spent nuclear fuel, an intermediate electrolyte pool, an anode basket containing spent fuel, and two cathodes, the first cathode composed of either a solid alloy or molten cadmium and the second cathode composed of molten cadmium. Using this cell, additional amounts of uranium and plutonium from the anode basket are dissolved in the lower molten cadmium pool, and then substantially pure uranium is electrolytically transported and deposited on the first alloy or molten cadmium cathode. Subsequently, a mixture of uranium and plutonium is electrotransported and deposited on the second molten cadmium cathode.

Electrorefining process and apparatus for recovery of uranium and a mixture of uranium and plutonium from spent fuels

DOEpatents

Ackerman, J.P.; Miller, W.E.

1987-11-05

An electrorefining process and apparatus for the recovery of uranium and a mixture of uranium and plutonium from spent fuels is disclosed using an electrolytic cell having a lower molten cadmium pool containing spent nuclear fuel, an intermediate electrolyte pool, an anode basket containing spent fuels, two cathodes and electrical power means connected to the anode basket, cathodes and lower molten cadmium pool for providing electrical power to the cell. Using this cell, additional amounts of uranium and plutonium from the anode basket are dissolved in the lower molten cadmium pool, and then purified uranium is electrolytically transported and deposited on a first molten cadmium cathode. Subsequently, a mixture of uranium and plutonium is electrotransported and deposited on a second cathode. 3 figs.

76 FR 34007 - Draft Regulatory Basis for a Potential Rulemaking on Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Facilities

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-10

... processes are more akin to fuel cycle processes. This framework was established in the 1970's to license the... nuclear power globally and close the nuclear fuel cycle through reprocessing spent fuel and deploying fast... Accounting;'' and a Nuclear Energy Institute white [[Page 34009

Processing fissile material mixtures containing zirconium and/or carbon

DOEpatents

Johnson, Michael Ernest; Maloney, Martin David

2013-07-02

A method of processing spent TRIZO-coated nuclear fuel may include adding fluoride to complex zirconium present in a dissolved TRIZO-coated fuel. Complexing the zirconium with fluoride may reduce or eliminate the potential for zirconium to interfere with the extraction of uranium and/or transuranics from fission materials in the spent nuclear fuel.

Aspects of remote maintenance in an FRG reprocessing plant from the manufacturer's viewpoint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zeitzchel, G.; Tennie, M.; Saal, G.

In April 1986 a consortium led by Kraftwerk Union AG was commissioned by the German society for nuclear fuel reprocessing (DWK) to build the first West German commercial reprocessing plant for spent fuel assemblies. The main result of the planning efforts regarding remote maintenance operations inside the main process building was the introduction of FEMO technology (FEMO is an acronym based on German for remote handling modular technique). According to this technology the two cells in which the actual reprocessing (which is based on the PUREX technique) takes place are provided with frames to accommodate the process components (tanks, pumps,more » agitators, etc.), each frame together with the components which it supports forming one module. The two cells are inaccessible and windowless. For handling operations each cell is equipped with an overhead crane and a crane-like manipulator carrier system (MTS) with power manipulator. Viewing of the operations from outside the cells is made possible by television (TV) cameras installed at the crane, the MTS, and the manipulator. This paper addresses some examples of problems that still need to be solved in connection with FEMO handling. In particular, the need for close cooperation between the equipment operator, the component designer, the process engineer, the planning engineer, and the licensing authorities will be demonstrated.« less

Method for maximizing shale oil recovery from an underground formation

DOEpatents

Sisemore, Clyde J.

1980-01-01

A method for maximizing shale oil recovery from an underground oil shale formation which has previously been processed by in situ retorting such that there is provided in the formation a column of substantially intact oil shale intervening between adjacent spent retorts, which method includes the steps of back filling the spent retorts with an aqueous slurry of spent shale. The slurry is permitted to harden into a cement-like substance which stabilizes the spent retorts. Shale oil is then recovered from the intervening column of intact oil shale by retorting the column in situ, the stabilized spent retorts providing support for the newly developed retorts.

Nuclear Fuel Traces Definition in Storage Ponds of Research VVR-2 and OR Reactors in NRC 'Kurchatov Institute'

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stepanov, Alexey; Simirskii, Iurii; Stepanov, Vyacheslav

2015-07-01

The Gas Plant complex is the experimental base of the Institute of Nuclear Reactors, which is part of the Kurchatov Institute. In 1954 the commissioning of the first Soviet water-cooled water-moderated research reactor VVR-2 on enriched uranium, and until 1983 the complex operated two research water-cooled water-moderated reactors 3 MW (VVR-2) and 300 kW (OR) capacity, which were dismantled in connection with the overall upgrades of the complex. The complex has three storage ponds in the reactor building. They are sub-surface vessels filled with water (the volume of water in each is about 6 m{sup 3}). In 2007-2013 the spentmore » nuclear fuel from storages was removed for processing to 'Mayk'. Survey of Storage Ponds by Underwater Collimated Spectrometric System shows a considerable layer of slime on the bottom of ponds and traces of spent nuclear fuel in one of the storage. For determination qualitative and the quantitative composition of radionuclide we made complex α-, β-, γ- spectrometric research of water and bottom slimes from Gas Plant complex storage ponds. We found the spent nuclear fuel in water and bottom slime in all storage ponds. Specific activity of radionuclides in the bottom slime exceeded specific activity of radionuclides in the ponds water and was closed to levels of high radioactive waste. Analysis of the obtained data and data from earlier investigation of reactor MR storage ponds showed distinctions of specific activity of uranium and plutonium radionuclides. (authors)« less

Process for recycling mixed-cathode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries and kinetics of leaching.

PubMed

Li, Li; Bian, Yifan; Zhang, Xiaoxiao; Guan, Yibiao; Fan, Ersha; Wu, Feng; Chen, Renjie

2018-01-01

A "grave-to-cradle" process for the recycling of spent mixed-cathode materials (LiCoO 2 , LiCo 1/3 Ni 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 , and LiMn 2 O 4 ) has been proposed. The process comprises an acid leaching followed by the resynthesis of a cathode material from the resulting leachate. Spent cathode materials were leached in citric acid (C 6 H 8 O 7 ) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). Optimal leaching conditions were obtained at a leaching temperature of 90 °C, a H 2 O 2 concentration of 1.5 vol%, a leaching time of 60 min, a pulp density of 20 g L -1 , and a citric acid concentration of 0.5 M. The leaching efficiencies of Li, Co, Ni, and Mn exceeded 95%. The leachate was used to resynthesize new LiCo 1/3 Ni 1/3 Mn 1/3 O 2 material by using a sol-gel method. A comparison of the electrochemical properties of the resynthesized material (NCM-spent) with that synthesized directly from original chemicals (NCM-syn) indicated that the initial discharge capacity of NCM-spent at 0.2 C was 152.8 mA h g -1 , which was higher than the 149.8 mA h g -1 of NCM-syn. After 160 cycles, the discharge capacities of the NCM-spent and NCM-syn were 140.7 mA h g -1 and 121.2 mA h g -1 , respectively. After discharge at 1 C for 300 cycles, the NCM-spent material remained a higher capacity of 113.2 mA h g -1 than the NCM-syn (78.4 mA h g -1 ). The better performance of the NCM-spent resulted from trace Al doping. A new formulation based on the shrinking-core model was proposed to explain the kinetics of the leaching process. The activation energies of the Li, Co, Ni, and Mn leaching were calculated to be 66.86, 86.57, 49.46, and 45.23 kJ mol -1 , respectively, which indicates that the leaching was a chemical reaction-controlled process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hybrid coagulation-UF processes for spent filter backwash water treatment: a comparison studies for PAFCl and FeCl3 as a pre-treatment.

PubMed

Ebrahimi, Afshin; Amin, Mohammad Mehdi; Pourzamani, Hamidreza; Hajizadeh, Yaghoub; Mahvi, Amir Hossein; Mahdavi, Mokhtar; Rad, Mohammad Hassan Rabie

2017-08-01

In this study, the reclamation of clean water from spent filter backwash water (SFBW) was investigated through pilot-scale experiments. The pilot plant consisted of pre-sedimentation, coagulation, flocculation, clarification, and ultrafiltration (UF). Two coagulants of PAFCl and FeCl 3 were investigated with respect to their performance on treated SFBW quality and UF membrane fouling. At the optimum dose of PAFCl and FeCl 3 turbidity removal of 99.6 and 99.4% was attained, respectively. PAFCl resulted in an optimum UV 254 , TOC, and DOC removal of 80, 83.6, and 72.7%, respectively, and FeCl 3 caused the removal of those parameters by 76.7, 80.9, and 65.9%, respectively. PAFCl removed hydrophilic and transphilic constituent better than FeCl 3 , but FeCl 3 had, to some extent, higher affinities to a hydrophobic fraction. It was concluded that PAFCl showed a better coagulation performance in most cases and caused a lower membrane fouling rate compared to FeCl 3 . Finally, the treated SFBW with both coagulant-UF systems met the drinking water standards.

Impact of nuclear data uncertainty on safety calculations for spent nuclear fuel geological disposal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrero, J. J.; Rochman, D.; Leray, O.; Vasiliev, A.; Pecchia, M.; Ferroukhi, H.; Caruso, S.

2017-09-01

In the design of a spent nuclear fuel disposal system, one necessary condition is to show that the configuration remains subcritical at time of emplacement but also during long periods covering up to 1,000,000 years. In the context of criticality safety applying burn-up credit, k-eff eigenvalue calculations are affected by nuclear data uncertainty mainly in the burnup calculations simulating reactor operation and in the criticality calculation for the disposal canister loaded with the spent fuel assemblies. The impact of nuclear data uncertainty should be included in the k-eff value estimation to enforce safety. Estimations of the uncertainty in the discharge compositions from the CASMO5 burn-up calculation phase are employed in the final MCNP6 criticality computations for the intact canister configuration; in between, SERPENT2 is employed to get the spent fuel composition along the decay periods. In this paper, nuclear data uncertainty was propagated by Monte Carlo sampling in the burn-up, decay and criticality calculation phases and representative values for fuel operated in a Swiss PWR plant will be presented as an estimation of its impact.

EURATOM safeguards efforts in the development of spent fuel verification methods by non-destructive assay

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matloch, L.; Vaccaro, S.; Couland, M.

The back end of the nuclear fuel cycle continues to develop. The European Commission, particularly the Nuclear Safeguards Directorate of the Directorate General for Energy, implements Euratom safeguards and needs to adapt to this situation. The verification methods for spent nuclear fuel, which EURATOM inspectors can use, require continuous improvement. Whereas the Euratom on-site laboratories provide accurate verification results for fuel undergoing reprocessing, the situation is different for spent fuel which is destined for final storage. In particular, new needs arise from the increasing number of cask loadings for interim dry storage and the advanced plans for the construction ofmore » encapsulation plants and geological repositories. Various scenarios present verification challenges. In this context, EURATOM Safeguards, often in cooperation with other stakeholders, is committed to further improvement of NDA methods for spent fuel verification. In this effort EURATOM plays various roles, ranging from definition of inspection needs to direct participation in development of measurement systems, including support of research in the framework of international agreements and via the EC Support Program to the IAEA. This paper presents recent progress in selected NDA methods. These methods have been conceived to satisfy different spent fuel verification needs, ranging from attribute testing to pin-level partial defect verification. (authors)« less

Method of separating and recovering uranium and related cations from spent Purex-type systems

DOEpatents

Mailen, J.C.; Tallent, O.K.

1987-02-25

A process for separating uranium and related cations from a spent Purex-type solvent extraction system which contains degradation complexes of tributylphosphate wherein the system is subjected to an ion-exchange process prior to a sodium carbonate scrubbing step. A further embodiment comprises recovery of the separated uranium and related cations. 5 figs.

Evaluation of Time Spent by Pharmacists and Nurses Based on the Location of Pharmacist Involvement in Medication History Collection.

PubMed

Chhabra, Anmol; Quinn, Andrea; Ries, Amanda

2018-01-01

Accurate history collection is integral to medication reconciliation. Studies support pharmacy involvement in the process, but assessment of global time spent is limited. The authors hypothesized the location of a medication-focused interview would impact time spent. The objective was to compare time spent by pharmacists and nurses based on the location of a medication-focused interview. Time spent by the interviewing pharmacist, admitting nurse, and centralized pharmacist verifying admission orders was collected. Patient groups were based on whether the interview was conducted in the emergency department (ED) or medical floor. The primary end point was a composite of the 3 time points. Secondary end points were individual time components and number and types of transcription discrepancies identified during medical floor interviews. Pharmacists and nurses spent an average of ten fewer minutes per ED patient versus a medical floor patient ( P = .028). Secondary end points were not statistically significant. Transcription discrepancies were identified at a rate of 1 in 4 medications. Post hoc analysis revealed the time spent by pharmacists and nurses was 2.4 minutes shorter per medication when interviewed in the ED ( P < .001). The primary outcome was statistically and clinically significant. Limitations included inability to blind and lack of cost-saving analysis. Pharmacist involvement in ED medication reconciliation leads to time savings during the admission process.

Size effects on acid bisulfite pretreatment efficiency: multiple product yields in spent liquor and enzymatic digestibility of pretreated solids

Treesearch

Yalan Liu; Jinwu Wang; Michael P. Wolcott

2017-01-01

Currently, feedstock size effects on chemical pretreatment performance were not clear due to the complexity of the pretreatment process and multiple evaluation standards such as the sugar recovery in spent liquor or enzymatic digestibility. In this study, we evaluated the size effects by various ways: the sugar recovery and coproduct yields in spent liquor, the...

Application of co-anaerobic digester's effluent for sustainable agriculture and aquaculture in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

PubMed

Nguyen, V C N; Fricke, K

2015-01-01

This investigation studied the application of digester effluent from co-digestion of pig manure and spent mushroom substrate as a fertilizer for leaf mustard planting and as feed for Tilapia fish growing. The fish raising experiment was set up in 1 × 1 × 1 m hapa conditions (triplicate for each treatment) with the density of 10 individiual per hapa; the fish weight and length were measured every 10 days for 50 continuous days. The leaf mustard was planted in real conditions at farmer's garden with normal cultivation style, and the weight and length of the plant were measured four times during the growing period. The study result shows that the harvest yield of leaf mustard fertilized by the digester effluent was 5.4 times higher than that by an inorganic fertilizer (IF). In addition to its contribution to a higher yield, the digester effluent accelerated the flower formation and shortened cultivation duration. For Tilapia fish culture, the growing rate of fish in the treatments supplied with 50% digester effluent + 50% commercial food (CF) was not significantly different in comparison to the fish cultivation with 100% CF. The result strongly confirms that the digester effluent from a co-digestion biogas plant of pig dung and spent mushroom compost is possible to be used as an organic fertilizer well for not only vegetable planting but also fish culture.

Water Extract from Spent Mushroom Substrate of Hericium erinaceus Suppresses Bacterial Wilt Disease of Tomato

PubMed Central

Kwak, A Min; Min, Kyeong Jin; Lee, Sang Yeop

2015-01-01

Culture filtrates of six different edible mushroom species were screened for antimicrobial activity against tomato wilt bacteria Ralstonia solanacearum B3. Hericium erinaceus, Lentinula edodes (Sanjo 701), Grifola frondosa, and Hypsizygus marmoreus showed antibacterial activity against the bacteria. Water, n-butanol, and ethyl acetate extracts of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) of H. erinaceus exhibited high antibacterial activity against different phytopathogenic bacteria: Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, R. solanacearum, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, X. campestris pv. campestris, X. axonopodis pv. vesicatoria, X. axonopodis pv. citiri, and X. axonopodis pv. glycine. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that water extracts of SMS (WESMS) of H. erinaceus induced expressions of plant defense genes encoding β-1,3-glucanase (GluA) and pathogenesis-related protein-1a (PR-1a), associated with systemic acquired resistance. Furthermore, WESMS also suppressed tomato wilt disease caused by R. solanacearum by 85% in seedlings and promoted growth (height, leaf number, and fresh weight of the root and shoot) of tomato plants. These findings suggest the WESMS of H. erinaceus has the potential to suppress bacterial wilt disease of tomato through multiple effects including antibacterial activity, plant growth promotion, and defense gene induction. PMID:26539048

Comparison of accelerometer-measured sedentary behavior, and light- and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity in white- and blue-collar workers in a Japanese manufacturing plant.

PubMed

Fukushima, Noritoshi; Kitabayashi, Makiko; Kikuchi, Hiroyuki; Sasai, Hiroyuki; Oka, Koichiro; Nakata, Yoshio; Tanaka, Shigeho; Inoue, Shigeru

2018-05-25

The times spent in sedentary behavior (SB) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are independently associated with health outcomes; however, objective data on physical activity levels including SB among different occupations is limited. We compared accelerometer-measured times spent in SB, light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and MVPA, and the patterns associated with prolonged bouts of SB between white- and blue-collar workers. The study population consisted of 102 full-time plant workers (54 white-collar and 48 blue-collar) who wore a triaxial accelerometer during waking hours for 5 working days. Accelerometer-measured activity levels were categorized as SB (≤1.5 metabolic equivalents (METs)), LPA (1.6-2.9 METs), and MVPA (≥3.0 METs). A sedentary bout was defined as consecutive minutes during which the accelerometer registered less than ≤1.5 METs. Accelerometer variables were compared between white- and blue-collar workers through analysis of covariance. During working hours, white-collar workers spent significantly more time in SB and less time in LPA than blue-collar workers (SB: 6.4 h vs. 4.8 h, 73% vs. 55% of total work time; LPA: 1.9 h vs. 3.5 h, 22% vs. 40% of total work time, p<.001), whereas the MVPA time was similar between the groups. White-collar workers spent significantly more SB time in prolonged sedentary bouts (≥30 min) compared to blue-collar workers. During leisure time, the SB, LPA, and MVPA times were similar between the groups. White-collar workers have significantly longer SB times than blue-collar workers during work hours, and do not compensate for their excess SB during work by reducing SB during leisure time.

Process and apparatus for recovery of fissionable materials from spent reactor fuel by anodic dissolution

DOEpatents

Tomczuk, Zygmunt; Miller, William E.; Wolson, Raymond D.; Gay, Eddie C.

1991-01-01

An electrochemical process and apparatus for the recovery of uranium and plutonium from spent metal clad fuel pins is disclosed. The process uses secondary reactions between U.sup.+4 cations and elemental uranium at the anode to increase reaction rates and improve anodic efficiency compared to prior art processes. In another embodiment of the process, secondary reactions between Cd.sup.+2 cations and elemental uranium to form uranium cations and elemental cadmium also assists in oxidizing the uranium at the anode.

77 FR 65417 - Northern States Power Company (Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant Independent Spent Fuel...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-26

..., documents, and other materials shall continue to be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule. See 10 CFR 2.302 et seq. Issued at Rockville, Maryland, October 22, 2012. E. Roy Hawkens, Chief...

75 FR 34181 - Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company, Haddam Neck Plant, Independent Spent Fuel Storage...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-16

... Specification (TS) Surveillance Requirement 3.1.6.1 to verify the operability of the concrete cask heat removal... Specification (TS) Surveillance Requirement 3.1.6.1 to verify the operability of the concrete cask heat removal...

Novel Approach for in Situ Recovery of Lithium Carbonate from Spent Lithium Ion Batteries Using Vacuum Metallurgy.

PubMed

Xiao, Jiefeng; Li, Jia; Xu, Zhenming

2017-10-17

Lithium is a rare metal because of geographical scarcity and technical barrier. Recycling lithium resource from spent lithium ion batteries (LIBs) is significant for lithium deficiency and environmental protection. A novel approach for recycling lithium element as Li 2 CO 3 from spent LIBs is proposed. First, the electrode materials preobtained by mechanical separation are pyrolyzed under enclosed vacuum condition. During this process the Li is released as Li 2 CO 3 from the crystal structure of lithium transition metal oxides due to the collapse of the oxygen framework. An optimal Li recovery rate of 81.90% is achieved at 973 K for 30 min with a solid-to-liquid ratio of 25 g L -1 , and the purity rate of Li 2 CO 3 is 99.7%. The collapsed mechanism is then presented to explain the release of lithium element during the vacuum pyrolysis. Three types of spent LIBs including LiMn 2 O 4 , LiCoO 2 , and LiCo x Mn y Ni z O 2 are processed to prove the validity of in situ recycling Li 2 CO 3 from spent LIBs under enclosed vacuum condition. Finally, an economic assessment is taken to prove that this recycling process is positive.

Sorption of estrogens and pesticides from aqueous solution by a humic acid and raw and processed plant materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loffredo, Elisabetta; Taskin, Eren

2016-04-01

The huge number of organic contaminants released in water as a consequence of anthropogenic activities have detrimental effects to environmental systems and human health. Industrial products and byproducts, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, detergents and so on impose increasing costs for wastewater decontamination. Adsorption techniques can be successfully used for the treatment of wastewaters to remove contaminants of various nature. Humic acids (HA) have well-known adsorptive capacities towards hydrophilic and, especially, hydrophobic compounds. In the recent years, alternative low-cost adsorbents, especially originated from agricultural wastes and food industries residues, such as wood chips, almond and coconut shells, peanut and rice husks, are under investigation. Biochar is also considered a promising and relatively low-cost adsorbent, even if there are still knowledge gaps about the influence of feedstock type, pyrolysis conditions, physical and chemical properties on its potential and safe use. In the present work, a HA from a green compost was used along with three other materials of plant origin to remove two estrogens, 4-tert-octylphenol and 17-β-estradiol, and two pesticides, carbaryl and fenuron, from an aqueous solution. The four molecules were spiked in water each at a concentration of 1 mg L-1. The materials were: a biochar obtained from 100% red spruce pellet pyrolysed at 550 °C, spent coffee grounds and spent tea leaves. Kinetics curves and adsorption isotherms studies were performed using a batch equilibrium method. Adsorption data obtained for each compound were fitted to a linear equation and non-linear Freundlich and Langmuir models. Kinetics data of the four compounds onto all adsorbents showed an initial very rapid adsorption which was completed in few hours when it reached equilibrium. The two estrogens were adsorbed onto all materials more quickly than the two less hydrophobic pesticides. Significant differences among adsorbents and the compounds concerned both the model of adsorption and quantitative aspects. Biochar demonstrated an optimum adsorption capability for both estrogens and pesticides, which was comparable to that of HA or even higher. The trend of adsorption varied with the model and the compound, approximately it was: biochar ≥ HA > spent coffee grounds > spent tea leaves. A marked adsorption efficiency (high values of the sorption constants) was shown by all materials for the contaminants. That suggests a valuable and cost effective exploitation of such materials for the removal of hazardous contaminants from aqueous wastes before their worthwhile recycle.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ibarra, Luis; Sanders, David; Yang, Haori

The main goal of this study is to evaluate the long-term seismic performance of freestanding and anchored Dry Storage Casks (DSCs) using experimental tests on a shaking table, as well as comprehensive numerical evaluations that include the cask-pad-soil system. The study focuses on the dynamic performance of vertical DSCs, which can be designed as free-standing structures resting on a reinforced concrete foundation pad, or casks anchored to a foundation pad. The spent nuclear fuel (SNF) at nuclear power plants (NPPs) is initially stored in fuel-storage pools to control the fuel temperature. After several years, the fuel assemblies are transferred tomore » DSCs at sites contiguous to the plant, known as Interim Spent Fuel Storage Installations (ISFSIs). The regulations for these storage systems (10 CFR 72) ensure adequate passive heat removal and radiation shielding during normal operations, off-normal events, and accident scenarios. The integrity of the DSCs is important, even if the overpack does not breach, because eventually the spent fuel-rods need to be shipped either to a reprocessing plant or a repository. DSCs have been considered as a temporary storage solution, and usually are licensed for 20 years, although they can be relicensed for operating periods of up to 60 years. In recent years, DSCs have been reevaluated as a potential mid-term solution, in which the operating period may be extended for up to 300 years. At the same time, recent seismic events have underlined the significant risks DSCs are exposed. The consideration of DCSs for storing spent fuel for hundreds of years has created new challenges. In the case of seismic hazard, longer-term operating periods not only lead to larger horizontal accelerations, but also increase the relative effect of vertical accelerations that usually are disregarded for smaller seismic events. These larger seismic demands could lead to casks sliding and tipping over, impacting the concrete pad or adjacent casks. The casks may also slide and collide with other casks or structural components. Also, the different DSC components may impact each other during these events. This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of DSCs subjected to these extreme demands, including the effect of vertical accelerations, and soilstructure interaction.« less

Effects of Person- and Process-Focused Feedback on Prosocial Behavior in Middle Childhood

PubMed Central

Dunsmore, Julie C.

2014-01-01

Effects of person- and process-focused feedback, parental lay theories, and prosocial self-concept on children’s prosocial behavior were investigated with 143 9- and 10-year-old children who participated in a single session. Parents reported entity (person-focused) and incremental (process-focused) beliefs related to prosocial behavior. Children completed measures of prosocial self-concept, then participated in a virtual online chat with child actors who asked for help with service projects. After completing the chat, children could assist with the service projects. In the first cohort, children were randomly assigned to receive person-focused, process-focused, or control feedback about sympathy. In the second cohort, with newly-recruited families, children received no feedback. When given process-focused feedback, children spent less time spent helping and worked on fewer service projects. When given no feedback, children spent less time helping when parents held incremental (process-focused) beliefs. Children with higher prosocial self-concept who received no feedback worked on more service projects. PMID:25684859

Review of Potential Candidate Stabilization Technologies for Liquid and Solid Secondary Waste Streams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pierce, Eric M.; Mattigod, Shas V.; Westsik, Joseph H.

2010-01-30

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has initiated a waste form testing program to support the long-term durability evaluation of a waste form for secondary wastes generated from the treatment and immobilization of Hanford radioactive tank wastes. The purpose of the work discussed in this report is to identify candidate stabilization technologies and getters that have the potential to successfully treat the secondary waste stream liquid effluent, mainly from off-gas scrubbers and spent solids, produced by the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). Down-selection to the most promising stabilization processes/waste forms is needed to support the design of a solidificationmore » treatment unit (STU) to be added to the Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF). To support key decision processes, an initial screening of the secondary liquid waste forms must be completed by February 2010.« less

The Stem Cell Laboratory: Design, Equipment, and Oversight

PubMed Central

Wesselschmidt, Robin L.; Schwartz, Philip H.

2013-01-01

This chapter describes some of the major issues to be considered when setting up a laboratory for the culture of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). The process of establishing a hPSC laboratory can be divided into two equally important parts. One is completely administrative and includes developing protocols, seeking approval, and establishing reporting processes and documentation. The other part of establishing a hPSC laboratory involves the physical plant and includes design, equipment and personnel. Proper planning of laboratory operations and proper design of the physical layout of the stem cell laboratory so that meets the scope of planned operations is a major undertaking, but the time spent upfront will pay long-term returns in operational efficiency and effectiveness. A well-planned, organized, and properly equipped laboratory supports research activities by increasing efficiency and reducing lost time and wasted resources. PMID:21822863

Evaluating the Effect from Constructing Binary Geothermal Power Units Based on Spent Petroleum and Gas Boreholes in the South Regions of Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alkhasov, A. B.; Alkhasova, D. A.

2018-02-01

The article substantiates the possibility of efficiently harnessing the geothermal resources available in the North Caucasian region through constructing binary geothermal power plants (GeoTPPs) using idle petroleum and gas wells. The power capacities of GeoTPPs are evaluated, and the basic characteristics of these power plants in case of constructing them in the promising areas are determined. The overall useful GeoTPP capacity equal to approximately 330 MW can be obtained from using the entire fleet of idle wells available in these areas. Diagrams confirming the possibility of reaching the optimal flowrate of geothermal heat carrier circulating in the geothermal circulation system loop are presented. This flowrate corresponds to a binary GeoTPP's maximal useful power output. The article shows, taking the Ternair geothermal field as an example, that it is inefficient to use medium-enthalpy thermal waters for generating energy at a binary GeoTPP involving reinjection of a spent heat carrier. It is shown that good prospects can be expected from applying a hybrid geothermal and combined-cycle technology, by means of which it is possible to use lowenthalpy (80-100°C) thermal waters for generating electricity in a highly efficient manner. In accordance with such technology, geothermal heat is used in the binary GeoTPP cycle for heating low-boiling working fluid to its evaporation temperature. The working fluid is evaporated and superheated by using the heat of exhaust gases from a gas turbine power unit. Owing to combined use of the thermal water heat potential and the heat of exhaust gases from a gas turbine power plant in a hybrid process system, it becomes possible to obtain high power performance indicators of hybrid geothermal and combined-cycle power plants. This conclusion is confirmed by the results from numerical evaluations carried out as applied to the Ternair geothermal field. With the fully harnessed resource potential of the Ternair field, the total capacity of hybrid geothermal and combined-cycle power plants may reach 60 MW, a level that would make it possible to relieve a significant part of energy, environmental, economic, and social problems faced by the city of Makhachkala.

Simultaneous removal of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides from combustion gases

DOEpatents

Clay, David T.; Lynn, Scott

1976-10-19

A process for the simultaneous removal of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides from power plant stack gases comprising contacting the stack gases with a supported iron oxide catalyst/absorbent in the presence of sufficient reducing agent selected from the group consisting of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and mixtures thereof, to provide a net reducing atmosphere in the SO.sub.x /NO.sub.x removal zone. The sulfur oxides are removed by absorption substantially as iron sulfide, and nitrogen oxides are removed by catalytic reduction to nitrogen and ammonia. The spent iron oxide catalyst/absorbent is regenerated by oxidation and is recycled to the contacting zone. Sulfur dioxide is also produced during regeneration and can be utilized in the production of sulfuric acid and/or sulfur.

Process for immobilizing plutonium into vitreous ceramic waste forms

DOEpatents

Feng, Xiangdong; Einziger, Robert E.

1997-01-01

Disclosed is a method for converting spent nuclear fuel and surplus plutonium into a vitreous ceramic final waste form wherein spent nuclear fuel is bound in a crystalline matrix which is in turn bound within glass.

Process for immobilizing plutonium into vitreous ceramic waste forms

DOEpatents

Feng, X.; Einziger, R.E.

1997-08-12

Disclosed is a method for converting spent nuclear fuel and surplus plutonium into a vitreous ceramic final waste form wherein spent nuclear fuel is bound in a crystalline matrix which is in turn bound within glass.

Process for immobilizing plutonium into vitreous ceramic waste forms

DOEpatents

Feng, X.; Einziger, R.E.

1997-01-28

Disclosed is a method for converting spent nuclear fuel and surplus plutonium into a vitreous ceramic final waste form wherein spent nuclear fuel is bound in a crystalline matrix which is in turn bound within glass.

Use of glucose as reductant to recover Co from spent lithium ions batteries.

PubMed

Meng, Qi; Zhang, Yingjie; Dong, Peng

2017-06-01

A hydrometallurgical leaching process has been developed for recovery of Co and Li from cathode material (LiCoO 2 ) collected from spent LIBs using a mix solution of glucose and phosphoric acid. The spent LiCoO 2 before and after leaching process are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. A leaching rate of about 98% Co and nearly 100% Li is presented with 1.5mol/L phosphoric acid and 0.02mol/L glucose at 80°C in about 2h. During leaching process, glucose was oxidized into monocarboxylic acid with reduction of Co(III) to Co(II). Co in solution was recovered as Co-oxalate after leaching process. Using glucose as reductant to dissolve LiCoO 2 with chelating agent of phosphoric acid is achieved here. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

77 FR 75065 - Rescinding Spent Fuel Pool Exclusion Regulations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-19

... subpart A, appendix B], because * * * many of the implications of the Fukushima accident for the Pilgrim... plant (NPP), in light of significant new information revealed by the Fukushima accident.'' The petitioner states that ``significant new information yielded by the Fukushima accident shows fundamental...

[Effects of spent mushroom compost on greenhouse cabbage growth under soil salt stress].

PubMed

Wang, Qiu-Ling; Wu, Liang-Huan; Dong, Lan-Xue; Chen, Zai-Ming; Wang, Zhong-Qiang

2011-05-01

A pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of spent mushroom compost (SMC) in alleviating greenhouse soil secondary salinization and cabbage salt stress. With the amendment of SMC, the salinized soil after 60 day cabbage cultivation had a pH value close to 7.0, its organic matter and available phosphorous contents increased significantly, and the increment of total water-soluble salt content reduced, compared with the control. When the amendment amount of SMC was 10 g x kg(-1), the increment of soil water soluble salt content was the least, suggesting that appropriate amendment with SMC could reduce the salt accumulation in greenhouse soil. Amendment with SMC increased the cabbage seed germination rate, plant height, plant fresh mass, chlorophyll SPAD value, and vitamin C content, and decreased the proline content significantly. All the results indicated that SMC could improve the growth environment of greenhouse cabbage, and effectively alleviate the detrimental effect of salt stress.

Frequent water drinking by Zanzibar red colobus (Procolobus kirkii) in a mangrove forest refuge.

PubMed

Nowak, Katarzyna

2008-11-01

Isolated populations of Procolobus kirkii on Uzi Island, Zanzibar, use Rhizophora mucronata-dominated mangrove forest for refuge. Three groups, observed over 14 months, spent up to 85% of total observation time in mangroves with brief excursions to adjacent upland coral rag forest, habitat degraded by human cutting. A large proportion of monkeys' diets consisted of plant parts of five mangrove species. Water drinking was common and 326 water-drinking events were recorded at a rate of up to 0.87 drinks hr(-1). Groups used different strategies to obtain water including licking dew, drinking from treeholes, licking rain off leaves and tree trunks, and drinking from coral rock crevices with Cercopithecus mitis albogularis. Drinking frequency increased with time spent in and consumption of mangroves. Strategies for obtaining water were group-specific and likely the result of learning. Drinking appeared to be an acquired behavior in movement-restricted groups living in a habitat with low plant species diversity and limited salty foods. Copyright 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Bio-effectors from waste materials as growth promoters, an agronomic and metabolomic study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alwanney, Deaa; Chami, Ziad Al; Angelica De Pascali, Sandra; Cavoski, Ivana; Fanizzi, Francesco Paolo

2014-05-01

Nowadays, improving plant performance by providing growth promoters is a main concern of the organic agriculture. As a consequence of increased food demands, more efficient and alternatives of the current plant nutrition strategies are becoming urgent. Recently, a novel concept "bio-effectors" raised on to describe a group of products that are able to improve plant performance and do not belong to fertilizers or pesticides. Agro-Food processing residues are promising materials as bio-effector. Three plant-derived materials: brewers' spent grain (BSG), fennel processing residues (FPR) and lemon processing residues (LPR) were chosen as bio-effector candidates. Plant-derived materials were characterized in term of total macro and micronutrients content. Green extraction methodology and solvent choice (aqueous; ethanol; and aqueous: ethanol mixture 1:1) was based on the extraction yield as main factor. Optimum extracts, to be used on the tomato test plant, were determined using phytotoxicity test (seed germination test) as main constraint. Thereafter, selected extracts were characterized and secondary metabolites profiling were detected by NMR technique. Selected extracts were applied on tomato in a growth chamber at different doses in comparison to humic-like substances as positive control (Ctrl+) and to a Hoagland solution as negative control (Ctrl-). At the end of the experiment, agronomical parameters were determined and NMR-metabolomic profiling were conducted on tomato seedlings. Results are summarized as follow: (i) raw showed an interesting content, either at nutritional or biological level; (ii) aqueous extraction resulted higher yield than other used solvent; (iii) at high extraction ratio (1:25 for BSG; 1:100 for FPR; and 1:200 for LPR) aqueous extracts were not phytotoxic on the tomato test plant; (iv) all aqueous extract are differently rich in nutrients, aminoacids, sugars and low molecular weight molecules; (v) all extract exhibited a growth promotion at low application doses; (vi) regarding plant metabolomics study, all treatments showed a different metabolites in respect to Ctrl- treatment. BSG, LPR and Ctrl+ treatments had similar metabolic profile. Finally, Metabolomic study provided an efficient tool and a key reporter about bio-effectors impact on plants. The visible effect and measured agronomical parameters was emphasized and demonstrated by metabolic profiling which offer insights into the affected plant metabolic pathways. As conclusion, our results supported the prediction that plant derived materials may interfere again in plant production regardless their nutritional content. Keywords: Bio-effectors; Metabolomics; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR); Barley; Fennel; Lemon; Tomato.

Method for calculating the duration of vacuum drying of a metal-concrete container for spent nuclear fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karyakin, Yu. E.; Nekhozhin, M. A.; Pletnev, A. A.

2013-07-01

A method for calculating the quantity of moisture in a metal-concrete container in the process of its charging with spent nuclear fuel is proposed. A computing method and results obtained by it for conservative estimation of the time of vacuum drying of a container charged with spent nuclear fuel by technologies with quantization and without quantization of the lower fuel element cluster are presented. It has been shown that the absence of quantization in loading spent fuel increases several times the time of vacuum drying of the metal-concrete container.

Bioleaching of nickel from spent petroleum catalyst using Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans DSM- 11478.

PubMed

Sharma, Mohita; Bisht, Varsha; Singh, Bina; Jain, Pratiksha; Mandal, Ajoy K; Lal, Banwari; Sarma, Priyangshu M

2015-06-01

The present work deals with optimization of culture conditions and process parameters for bioleaching of spent petroleum catalyst collected from a petroleum refinery. The efficacy of Ni bioleaching from spent petroleum catalyst was determined using pure culture of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans DSM- 11478. The culture conditions of pH, temperature and headspace volume to media volume ratio were optimized. EDX analysis was done to confirm the presence of Ni in the spent catalyst after roasting it to decoke its surface. The optimum temperature for A. thiooxidans DSM-11478 growth was found to be 32 degrees C. The enhanced recovery of nickel at very low pH was attributed to the higher acidic strength of sulfuric acid produced in the culture medium by the bacterium. During the bioleaching process, 89% of the Ni present in the catalyst waste could be successfully recovered in optimized conditions. This environment friendly bioleaching process proved efficient than the chemical method. Taking leads from the lab scale results, bioleaching in larger volumes (1, 5 and 10 L) was also performed to provide guidelines for taking up this technology for in situ industrial waste management.

Recovery of metals from a mixture of various spent batteries by a hydrometallurgical process.

PubMed

Tanong, Kulchaya; Coudert, Lucie; Mercier, Guy; Blais, Jean-Francois

2016-10-01

Spent batteries contain hazardous materials, including numerous metals (cadmium, lead, nickel, zinc, etc.) that are present at high concentrations. Therefore, proper treatment of these wastes is necessary to prevent their harmful effects on human health and the environment. Current recycling processes are mainly applied to treat each type of spent battery separately. In this laboratory study, a hydrometallurgical process has been developed to simultaneously and efficiently solubilize metals from spent batteries. Among the various chemical leaching agents tested, sulfuric acid was found to be the most efficient and cheapest reagent. A Box-Behnken design was used to identify the influence of several parameters (acid concentration, solid/liquid ratio, retention time and number of leaching steps) on the removal of metals from spent batteries. According to the results, the solid/liquid ratio and acid concentration seemed to be the main parameters influencing the solubilization of zinc, manganese, nickel, cadmium and cobalt from spent batteries. According to the results, the highest metal leaching removals were obtained under the optimal leaching conditions (pulp density = 180 g/L (w/v), [H2SO4] = 1 M, number of leaching step = 3 and leaching time = 30 min). Under such optimum conditions, the removal yields obtained were estimated to be 65% for Mn, 99.9% for Cd, 100% for Zn, 74% for Co and 68% for Ni. Further studies will be performed to improve the solubilization of Mn and to selectively recover the metals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Geochemical variability of soils and biogeochemical variability of plants in the Piceance Basin, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tuttle, M.L.; Severson, R.C.; Dean, W.E.; Klusman, R.W.

1986-01-01

Geochemical baselines for native soils and biogeochemical baselines for plants in the Piceance basin provide data that can be used to assess geochemical and biogeochemical effects of oil-shale development, monitor changes in the geochemical and biogeochemical environment during development, and assess the degree of success of rehabilitation of native materials after development. Baseline values for 52 properties in native soils, 15 properties in big sagebrush, and 13 properties in western wheatgrass were established. Our Study revealed statistically significant regional variations of the following properties across the basin: in soil&-aluminum, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, sodium, nickel, phosphorus, lead, scandium, titanium, vanadium, zinc, organic and total carbon, pH, clay, dolomite, sodium feldspar, and DTPA-extractable calcium, cadmium, iron, potassium, manganese, nickel, phosphorus, yttrium, and zinc; in big sagebrush-barium, calcium, copper, magnesium, molybdenum, sodium, strontium, zinc, and ash; and in western wheatgrass-boron, barium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, strontium, zinc, and ash. These variations show up as north-south trends across the basin, or they reflect differences in elevation, hydrology, and soil parent material. Baseline values for properties that do not have statistically significant regional variations can be represented by geometric means and deviations calculated from all values within the basin. Chemical and mineralogical analyses of soil and chemical analyses of western wheatgrass samples from Colorado State University's experimental revegetation plot at Anvil Points provide data useful in assessing potential effects on soil and plant properties when largescale revegetation operations begin. The concentrations of certain properties are related to the presence of topsoil over spent shale in the lysimeters. In soils, calcium, fluorine, lithium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, strontium, carbonate and total carbon, and DTPA-extractable boron, copper, iron, magnesium, and nickel have lower concentrations in topsoil than in the spent oil shale; whereas, silicon, titanium, ytterbium, clay, quartz, and DTPA-extractable potassium have greater concentrations in the topsoil than in the spent oil shale. In western wheatgrass, molybdenum has a lower concentration in grasses growing on the topsoil than in grasses on the spent oil shale; whereas, barium, calcium, manganese, strontium, zinc, and ash have greater concentrations in grasses growing on the topsoil than on the spent oil shale. When compared to baseline values, soils in the revegetation plot are significantly higher in concentrations of lead, zinc, organic and total carbon, and DTP A-extractable cadmium, iron, manganese, nickel, phosphorus, and zinc. Whereas, western wheatgrass grown within the revegetation plot has concentrations which fall within the baseline values established in the regional study. The equations used in predicting concentrations of elements in plants from native and altered sites are cumbersome because of the large number of variables required to adequately predict expected concentrations and are of limited use because many explained only a small proportion of the total variation.

FENTON-DRIVEN CHEMICAL REGENERATION OF MTBE-SPENT GAC

EPA Science Inventory

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)-spent granular activated carbon (GAC) was chemically regenerated utilizing the Fenton mechanism. Two successive GAC regeneration cycles were performed involving iterative adsorption and oxidation processes: MTBE was adsorbed to the GAC, oxidized, r...

Characterization of spent nickel-metal hydride batteries and a preliminary economic evaluation of the recovery processes.

PubMed

Lin, Sheng-Lun; Huang, Kuo-Lin; Wang, I-Ching; Chou, I-Cheng; Kuo, Yi-Ming; Hung, Chung-Hsien; Lin, Chitsan

2016-03-01

Valuable metal materials can be recovered from spent nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. However, little attention has been paid to the metal compositions of individual components of NiMH batteries, although this is important for the selection of the appropriate recycling process. In this study, NiMH batteries were manually disassembled to identify the components and to characterize the metals in each of these. A preliminary economic analysis was also conducted to evaluate the recovery of valuable metals from spent NiMH batteries using thermal melting versus simple mechanical separation. The results of this study show that metallic components account for more than 60% of battery weight. The contents of Ni, Fe, Co, and rare earth elements (REEs) (i.e., valuable metals of interest for recovery) in a single battery were 17.9%, 15.4%, 4.41%, and 17.3%, respectively. Most of the Fe was in the battery components of the steel cathode collector, cathode cap, and anode metal grid, while Ni (>90%) and Co (>90%) were mainly in the electrode active materials (anode and cathode metal powders). About 1.88 g of REEs (Ce, La, and Y) could be obtained from one spent NiMH battery. The estimated profits from recovering valuable metals from spent NiMH batteries by using thermal melting and mechanical processes are 2,329 and 2,531 USD/ton, respectively, when including a subsidy of 1,710 USD/ton. The findings of this study are very useful for further research related to technical and economic evaluations of the recovery of valuable metals from spent NiMH batteries. The spent nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries were manually disassembled and their components were identified. The metals account for more than 60% of battery weight, when Ni, Fe, Co, and rare earth elements (REEs) were 17.9%, 15.4%, 4.41%, and 17.3%, respectively, in a single battery. The estimated profits of recovering valuable metals from NiMH batteries by using thermal melting and mechanical processing are 2,329 and 2,531 USD/ton, respectively, when including a subsidy of 1,710 USD/ton. These findings are very useful to develop or select the recovery methods of valuable metals from spent NiMH batteries.

Integrated Decision-Making Tool to Develop Spent Fuel Strategies for Research Reactors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beatty, Randy L; Harrison, Thomas J

IAEA Member States operating or having previously operated a Research Reactor are responsible for the safe and sustainable management and disposal of associated radioactive waste, including research reactor spent nuclear fuel (RRSNF). This includes the safe disposal of RRSNF or the corresponding equivalent waste returned after spent fuel reprocessing. One key challenge to developing general recommendations lies in the diversity of spent fuel types, locations and national/regional circumstances rather than mass or volume alone. This is especially true given that RRSNF inventories are relatively small, and research reactors are rarely operated at a high power level or duration typical ofmore » commercial power plants. Presently, many countries lack an effective long-term policy for managing RRSNF. This paper presents results of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Coordinated Research Project (CRP) #T33001 on Options and Technologies for Managing the Back End of the Research Reactor Nuclear Fuel Cycle which includes an Integrated Decision Making Tool called BRIDE (Back-end Research reactor Integrated Decision Evaluation). This is a multi-attribute decision-making tool that combines the Total Estimated Cost of each life-cycle scenario with Non-economic factors such as public acceptance, technical maturity etc and ranks optional back-end scenarios specific to member states situations in order to develop a specific member state strategic plan with a preferred or recommended option for managing spent fuel from Research Reactors.« less

Hazardous waste treatment for spent pot liner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xia; Ma, Lei

2018-01-01

The spent pot liner is the largest solid waste produced by the electrolytic aluminum industry, composed of a series of substances that accumulate in the containers with reduced aluminum during the process of bauxite purification and refining. More and more spent pot liner is accumulated and needs to be dealt with. This paper discusses the composition and harm of solid waste. This paper expounds the comprehensive utilization value and disposition of the waste pot liner.

Recent developments - US spent fuel disposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

One of a US utility's major risk factors in continuing to operate a nuclear plant is managing discharged spent fuel. The US Department of Energy (DOE) signed contracts with utilities guaranteeing government acceptance of spent fuel by 1988. However, on December 17, 1992, DOE Secretary Watkins wrote to Sen. J. Bennett Johnston (D-LA), Chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, indicating a reassessment of DOE's programs, the results of which will be presented to Congress in January 1993. He indicated the Department may not be able to meet the 1988 date, because of difficulty in finding a site for the Monitoredmore » Retrievable Storage facility. Watkins indicated that DOE has investigated an interim solution and decided to expedite a program to certify a multi-purpose standardized cask system for spent fuel receipt, storage, transport, and disposal. To meet the expectations of US utilities, DOE is considering a plan to use federal sites for interim storage of the casks. Secretary Watkins recommended the waste program be taken off-budget and put in a revolving fund established to ensure that money already collected from utilities will be available to meet the schedule for completion of the repository.« less

Structural Health Monitoring of Nuclear Spent Fuel Storage Facilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Lingyu

Interim storage of spent nuclear fuel from reactor sites has gained additional importance and urgency for resolving waste-management-related technical issues. To ensure that nuclear power remains clean energy, monitoring has been identified by DOE as a high priority cross-cutting need, necessary to determine and predict the degradation state of the systems, structures, and components (SSCs) important to safety (ITS). Therefore, nondestructive structural condition monitoring becomes a need to be installed on existing or to be integrated into future storage system to quantify the state of health or to guarantee the safe operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) during their extendedmore » life span. In this project, the lead university and the collaborating national laboratory teamed to develop a nuclear structural health monitoring (n-SHM) system based on in-situ piezoelectric sensing technologies that can monitor structural degradation and aging for nuclear spent fuel DCSS and similar structures. We also aimed to identify and quantify possible influences of nuclear spent fuel environment (temperature and radiation) to the piezoelectric sensor system and come up with adequate solutions and guidelines therefore. We have therefore developed analytical model for piezoelectric based n-SHM methods, with considerations of temperature and irradiation influence on the model of sensing and algorithms in acoustic emission (AE), guided ultrasonic waves (GUW), and electromechanical impedance spectroscopy (EMIS). On the other side, experimentally the temperature and irradiation influence on the piezoelectric sensors and sensing capabilities were investigated. Both short-term and long-term irradiation investigation with our collaborating national laboratory were performed. Moreover, we developed multi-modal sensing, validated in laboratory setup, and conducted the testing on the We performed multi-modal sensing development, verification and validation tests on very complex structures including a medium-scale vacuum drying chamber and a small-scale mockup canister available for the desired testing. Our work developed the potential candidate for long term structural health monitoring of spent fuel canister through piezoelectric wafer sensors and provided the sensing methodologies based on AE and GUW methodologies. It overall provides an innovative system and methodology for enhancing the safe operation of nuclear power plant. All major accomplishments planned in the original proposal were successfully achieved.« less

The AP1000{sup R} nuclear power plant innovative features for extended station blackout mitigation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vereb, F.; Winters, J.; Schulz, T.

2012-07-01

Station Blackout (SBO) is defined as 'a condition wherein a nuclear power plant sustains a loss of all offsite electric power system concurrent with turbine trip and unavailability of all onsite emergency alternating current (AC) power system. Station blackout does not include the loss of available AC power to buses fed by station batteries through inverters or by alternate AC sources as defined in this section, nor does it assume a concurrent single failure or design basis accident...' in accordance with Reference 1. In this paper, the innovative features of the AP1000 plant design are described with their operation inmore » the scenario of an extended station blackout event. General operation of the passive safety systems are described as well as the unique features which allow the AP1000 plant to cope for at least 7 days during station blackout. Points of emphasis will include: - Passive safety system operation during SBO - 'Fail-safe' nature of key passive safety system valves; automatically places the valve in a conservatively safe alignment even in case of multiple failures in all power supply systems, including normal AC and battery backup - Passive Spent Fuel Pool cooling and makeup water supply during SBO - Robustness of AP1000 plant due to the location of key systems, structures and components required for Safe Shutdown - Diverse means of supplying makeup water to the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCS) and the Spent Fuel Pool (SFP) through use of an engineered, safety-related piping interface and portable equipment, as well as with permanently installed onsite ancillary equipment. (authors)« less

Lemna minor tolerance to metal-working fluid residues: implications for rhizoremediation.

PubMed

Grijalbo, L; Becerril, J M; Barrutia, O; Gutierrez-Mañero, J; Lucas Garcia, J A

2016-07-01

For the first time in the literature, duckweed (Lemna minor) tolerance (alone or in combination with a consortium of bacteria) to spent metal-working fluid (MWF) was assessed, together with its capacity to reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of this residue. In a preliminary study, L. minor response to pre-treated MWF residue (ptMWF) and vacuum-distilled MWF water (MWFw) was tested. Plants were able to grow in both residues at different COD levels tested (up to 2300 mg·l(-1) ), showing few toxicity symptoms (mainly growth inhibition). Plant response to MWFw was more regular and dose responsive than when exposed to ptMWF. Moreover, COD reduction was less significant in ptMWF. Thus, based on these preliminary results, a second study was conducted using MWFw to test the effectiveness of inoculation with a bacterial consortium isolated from a membrane bioreactor fed with the same residue. After 5 days of exposure, COD in solutions containing inoculated plants was significantly lower than in non-inoculated ones. Moreover, inoculation reduced β+γ-tocopherol levels in MWFw-exposed plants, suggesting pollutant imposed stress was reduced. We therefore conclude from that L. minor is highly tolerant to spent MWF residues and that this species can be very useful, together with the appropriate bacterial consortium, in reducing COD of this residue under local legislation limits and thus minimise its potential environmental impact. Interestingly, the lipophilic antioxidant tocopherol (especially the sum of β+γ isomers) proved to be an effective plant biomarker of pollution. © 2016 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

An environmental benign process for cobalt and lithium recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries by mechanochemical approach.

PubMed

Wang, Meng-Meng; Zhang, Cong-Cong; Zhang, Fu-Shen

2016-05-01

In the current study, an environmental benign process namely mechanochemical approach was developed for cobalt and lithium recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The main merit of the process was that neither corrosive acid nor strong oxidant was applied. In the proposed process, lithium cobalt oxide (obtained from spent LIBs) was firstly co-grinded with various additives in a hermetic ball milling system, then Co and Li could be easily recovered by a water leaching procedure. It was found that EDTA was the most suitable co-grinding reagent, and 98% of Co and 99% of Li were respectively recovered under optimum conditions: LiCoO2 to EDTA mass ratio 1:4, milling time 4h, rotary speed 600r/min and ball-to-powder mass ratio 80:1, respectively. Mechanisms study implied that lone pair electrons provided by two nitrogen atoms and four hydroxyl oxygen atoms of EDTA could enter the empty orbit of Co and Li by solid-solid reaction, thus forming stable and water-soluble metal chelates Li-EDTA and Co-EDTA. Moreover, the separation of Co and Li could be achieved through a chemical precipitation approach. This study provides a high efficiency and environmentally friendly process for Co and Li recovery from spent LIBs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monte Carlo simulations of safeguards neutron counter for oxide reduction process feed material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Hee; Lee, Chaehun; Oh, Jong-Myeong; An, Su Jung; Ahn, Seong-Kyu; Park, Se-Hwan; Ku, Jeong-Hoe

2016-10-01

One of the options for spent-fuel management in Korea is pyroprocessing whose main process flow is the head-end process followed by oxide reduction, electrorefining, and electrowining. In the present study, a well-type passive neutron coincidence counter, namely, the ACP (Advanced spent fuel Conditioning Process) safeguards neutron counter (ASNC), was redesigned for safeguards of a hot-cell facility related to the oxide reduction process. To this end, first, the isotopic composition, gamma/neutron emission yield and energy spectrum of the feed material ( i.e., the UO2 porous pellet) were calculated using the OrigenARP code. Then, the proper thickness of the gammaray shield was determined, both by irradiation testing at a standard dosimetry laboratory and by MCNP6 simulations using the parameters obtained from the OrigenARP calculation. Finally, the neutron coincidence counter's calibration curve for 100- to 1000-g porous pellets, in consideration of the process batch size, was determined through simulations. Based on these simulation results, the neutron counter currently is under construction. In the near future, it will be installed in a hot cell and tested with spent fuel materials.

Effects of marigold on the behavior, survival, and nutrient reserves of Aphidius platensis

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Marigolds (Tagetes erecta L.) suppress nematodes and are attractive companion plants, but their role in biological control is unknown. We evaluated how exposure to marigold blooms impacts the aphid parasitoid, Aphidius platensis Brethes. Female wasps previously exposed to marigold spent more time wa...

Project SQUID. A Program of Fundamental Research on Liquid Rocket and Pulse Jet Propulsion

DTIC Science & Technology

1947-04-01

Young of Aerojet Engineering Corporation. Con- siderable time was spent with Mr. Pelton , of Aerojet Engineering Corporation, discussing the...UNAMOUNCtO iBranEjp (Ota«») , "Brooklyn Polytechnic Jnst. AUTHOB(S) DIVISION, poirer Plants, Jet and Turbine (5) SECTION. Testing (17) I

Water-sensitivity of cotton growth stages

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

All irrigations during a season are not equal in terms of providing economic return on the money spent to irrigate cotton. This article provides a brief description of the effect of water stress on cotton during the different growth stages of the plant and the relative benefit of irrigating to relie...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Iseki, Tadahiro; Inaba, Makoto; Takahashi, Naoki

During the second and third steps of Active Test at Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (RRP), the performances of the Separation Facility have been checked; (A) diluent washing efficiency, (B) plutonium stripping efficiency, (C) decontamination factor of fission products and (D) plutonium and uranium leakage into raffinate and spent solvent. Test results were equivalent to or better than expected. (authors)

Civilian Control and Military Effectiveness: Defense Reforms in Argentina and Chile

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

how much money is spent on defense does not demonstrate control. What demonstrates true control is the institutionalized process of formulating the...allow the civilian leadership, executive or legislative, to control how the money is spent.20 This may be a function of the civilians not knowing how...they want the money to be spent, as they do not all have written defense priorities to align defense spending to. The most helpful addition to

United States Air Force Shale Oil to Fuels. Phase II.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-11-01

and modified so that any off-gas from the LPS, stripper column, product drums, spent caustic drums, and sample ports would be sent to the caustic ...product, or in the spent caustic . After the desalted Paraho shale oil was processed in Production Run No. 2, the catalyst bed was flushed with light cycle...58 20 First-Stage Hydrotreating of Occidental Shale Oil -- Spent Catalyst Analysis - Run 1 ....... 59 21 First-Stage Hydrotreating of Occidental

Hazardous Waste Minimization Initiation Decision Report. Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-06-01

different treatment and disposal practices for spent caustic materials. In some cases, the material is placed in drums and sent to DRMO for disposal or to a...often available. As at some Navy facilities, waste caustic may be neutralized with spent acid at the process line with the effluent sent to the IWTP...3-111 PART II - Spent Battery Electrolyte .... 3-112 PART III- Battery Acid Sludges ........ 3-113 3.13.3 Disposal of Wastes from Battery Repair and

Optimization of spent fuel pool weir gate driving mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Chao; Du, Lin; Tao, Xinlei; Wang, Shijie; Shang, Ertao; Yu, Jianjiang

2018-04-01

Spent fuel pool is crucial facility for fuel storage and nuclear safety, and the spent fuel pool weir gate is the key related equipment. In order to achieve a goal of more efficient driving force transfer, loading during the opening/closing process is analyzed and an optimized calculation method for dimensions of driving mechanism is proposed. The result of optimizing example shows that the method can be applied to weir gates' design with similar driving mechanism.

WASTE TREATABILITY TESTS OF SPENT SOLVENT AND OTHER ORGANIC WASTEWATERS

EPA Science Inventory

Some commercial and industrial facilities treat RCRA spent solvent wastewaters by steam stripping, carbon adsorption, and/or biological processes. Thirteen facilities were visited by EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) from June 1985 to September 1986, to conduct sampl...

Decolorization of distillery spent wash effluent by electro oxidation (EC and EF) and Fenton processes: A comparative study.

PubMed

David, Charles; Arivazhagan, M; Tuvakara, Fazaludeen

2015-11-01

In this study, laboratory scale experiments were performed to degrade highly concentrated organic matter in the form of color in the distillery spent wash through batch oxidative methods such as electrocoagulation (EC), electrofenton (EF) and Fenton process. The effect of corresponding operating parameters, namely initial pH: 2-10; current intensity: 1-5A; electrolysis time: 0.5-4h; agitation speed: 100-500rpm; inter-electrode distance: 0.5-4cm and Fenton's reagent dosage: 5-40mg/L was employed for optimizing the process of spent wash color removal. The performance of all the three processes was compared and assessed in terms of percentage color removal. For EC, 79% color removal was achieved using iron electrodes arranged with 0.5cm of inter-electrode space and at optimum conditions of pH 7, 5A current intensity, 300rpm agitation speed and in 2h of electrolysis time. In EF, 44% spent wash decolorization was observed using carbon (graphite) electrodes with an optimum conditions of 0.5cm inter-electrode distance, pH 3, 4A current intensity, 20mg/L FeSO4 and agitation speed of 400rpm for 3h of electrolysis time. By Fenton process, 66% decolorization was attained by Fenton process at optimized conditions of pH 3, 40mg/L of Fenton's reagent and at 500rpm of agitation speed for 4h of treatment time. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Extraction of caustic potash from spent tea for biodiesel Production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulaiman, Sarina; Faiz Che Fisol, Ahmad; Sharikh, Atikah Mohamed; Noraini Jimat, Dzun; Jamal, Parveen

2018-01-01

Biodiesel is an alternative to non-renewable fossil fuels due to its low gas emission and economical value. This study aims to extract caustic potash (KOH) from spent tea and to optimize the transesterfication process based on parameters such as amount of catalyst, reaction temperature and methanol to oil ratio. The spent tea was first dried at 60°C prior to calcination at 600°C for two hours. Caustic Potash were extracted from the calcined spent tea. The transesterification process was done based on Design of Experiments (DOE) to study the effects of amount of catalyst ranging from 0.5 wt % to 2.5 wt %, reaction temperature from 55°C to 65°C and methanol to oil ratio from 6:1 to 12:1 at a constant agitation rate of 300 rpm for three hours. The calcined spent tea produced was recorded the highest at 54.3 wt % and the extracted catalyst was 2.4 wt %. The optimized biodiesel yield recorded was 56.95% at the optimal conditions of 2.5 wt % amount of catalyst, 65°C reaction temperature and 9:1 methanol to oil ratio.

Distillery spent wash: treatment technologies and potential applications.

PubMed

Mohana, Sarayu; Acharya, Bhavik K; Madamwar, Datta

2009-04-15

Distillery spent wash is the unwanted residual liquid waste generated during alcohol production and pollution caused by it is one of the most critical environmental issue. Despite standards imposed on effluent quality, untreated or partially treated effluent very often finds access to watercourses. The distillery wastewater with its characteristic unpleasant odor poses a serious threat to the water quality in several regions around the globe. The ever-increasing generation of distillery spent wash on the one hand and stringent legislative regulations of its disposal on the other has stimulated the need for developing new technologies to process this effluent efficiently and economically. A number of clean up technologies have been put into practice and novel bioremediation approaches for treatment of distillery spent wash are being worked out. Potential microbial (anaerobic and aerobic) as well as physicochemical processes as feasible remediation technologies to combat environmental pollution are being explored. An emerging field in distillery waste management is exploiting its nutritive potential for production of various high value compounds. This review presents an overview of the pollution problems caused by distillery spent wash, the technologies employed globally for its treatment and its alternative use in various biotechnological sectors.

Potentials of biological oxidation processes for the treatment of spent sulfidic caustics containing thiols.

PubMed

Sipma, Jan; Svitelskaya, Anna; van der Mark, Bart; Pol, Look W Hulshoff; Lettinga, Gatze; Buisman, Cees J N; Janssen, Albert J H

2004-12-01

This research focused on the biological treatment of sulfidic spent caustics from refineries, which contain mainly hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol (MT) and ethanethiol (ET). Also various organic compounds can be present such as BTEX. Biological oxidation of 2.5 mM MT in batch experiments occurred after MT was first auto-oxidized into dimethyldisulfide (DMDS) whereafter oxidation into sulfate was completed in 350 h. DMDS as sole substrate was completely oxidized within 40 h. Therefore, DMDS formation seems to play an important role in detoxification of MT. Biological oxidation of ET and buthanethiol was not successful in batch experiments. Complete oxidation of MT and ET was observed in flow-through reactor experiments. Simultaneous oxidation of sulfide and MT was achieved when treating a synthetic spent caustic, containing 10 mM sulfide and 2.5 mM MT, in a bubble column reactor with carrier material at a hydraulic retention time of 6 h. Addition of 7.5 mM phenol, a common pollutant of spent caustics, did not adversely affect the biological oxidation process and phenol was completely removed from the effluent. Finally, three different spent caustics solutions from refineries were successfully treated.

Recycling of waste spent catalyst in road construction and masonry blocks.

PubMed

Taha, Ramzi; Al-Kamyani, Zahran; Al-Jabri, Khalifa; Baawain, Mahad; Al-Shamsi, Khalid

2012-08-30

Waste spent catalyst is generated in Oman as a result of the cracking process of petroleum oil in the Mina Al-Fahl and Sohar Refineries. The disposal of spent catalyst is of a major concern to oil refineries. Stabilized spent catalyst was evaluated for use in road construction as a whole replacement for crushed aggregates in the sub-base and base layers and as a partial replacement for Portland cement in masonry blocks manufacturing. Stabilization is necessary as the waste spent catalyst exists in a powder form and binders are needed to attain the necessary strength required to qualify its use in road construction. Raw spent catalyst was also blended with other virgin aggregates, as a sand or filler replacement, for use in road construction. Compaction, unconfined compressive strength and leaching tests were performed on the stabilized mixtures. For its use in masonry construction, blocks were tested for unconfined compressive strength at various curing periods. Results indicate that the spent catalyst has a promising potential for use in road construction and masonry blocks without causing any negative environmental impacts. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemically assisted phytoextraction: a review of potential soil amendments for increasing plant uptake of heavy metals.

PubMed

Meers, E; Tack, F M G; Van Slycken, S; Ruttens, A; Du Laing, G; Vangronsveld, J; Verloo, M G

2008-01-01

The contamination of soils by trace metals has been an unfortunate sideeffect of industrialization. Some of these contaminants can interfere with vulnerable enduses of soil, such as agriculture or nature, already at relatively low levels of contamination. Reversely, conventional civil-technical soil-remediation techniques are too expensive to remediate extended areas of moderately contaminated soil. Phytoextraction has been proposed as a more economic complementary approach to deal with this specific niche of soil contamination. However, phytoextraction has been shown to be a slow-working process due to the low amounts of metals that can be annually removed from the soil under normal agronomic conditions. Therefore, extensive research has been conducted on process optimization by means of chemically improving plant availability and the uptake of heavy metals. A wide range of potential amendments has been proposed in the literature, with considerable attention being spent on aminopolycarboxylic acids such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). However, these compounds have received increasing criticism due to their environmental persistence and associated risks for leaching. This review presents an overview of potential soil amendments that can be employed for enhancing metal uptake by phytoextraction crops, with a distinct focus on more degradable alternatives to persistent compounds such as EDTA.

Process controls for improving bioleaching performance of both Li and Co from spent lithium ion batteries at high pulp density and its thermodynamics and kinetics exploration.

PubMed

Niu, Zhirui; Zou, Yikan; Xin, Baoping; Chen, Shi; Liu, Changhao; Li, Yuping

2014-08-01

Release of Co and Li from spent lithium ion batteries (LIBs) by bioleaching has attracted growing attentions. However, the pulp density was only 1% or lower, meaning that a huge quantity of media was required for bioleaching. In this work, bioleaching behavior of the spent LIBs at pulp densities ranging from 1% to 4% was investigated and process controls to improve bioleaching performance at pulp density of 2% were explored. The results showed that the pulp density exerted a considerable influence on leaching performance of Co and Li. The bioleaching efficiency decreased respectively from 52% to 10% for Co and from 80% to 37% for Li when pulp density rose from 1% to 4%. However, the maximum extraction efficiency of 89% for Li and 72% for Co was obtained at pulp density of 2% by process controls. Bioleaching of the spent LIBs has much greater potential to occur than traditional chemical leaching based on thermodynamics analysis. The product layer diffusion model described best bioleaching behavior of Co and Li. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recovery of Valuable Metals from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries by Smelting Reduction Process Based on MnO-SiO2-Al2O3 Slag System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guoxing, Ren; Songwen, Xiao; Meiqiu, Xie; Bing, Pan; Youqi, Fan; Fenggang, Wang; Xing, Xia

Plenty of valuable metals, such as cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese and lithium, are present in spent lithium-ion batteries. A novel smelting reduction process based on MnO-SiO2-Al2O3 slag system for spent lithium ion batteries is developed, using pyrolusite ore as the major flux. And Co-Ni-Cu-Fe alloy and manganese-rich slag contained lithium are obtained. The results show that it is reasonable to control MnO/SiO2 ratio in the range of 2.05-3.23 (w/w) and Al2O3 content in 19.23-26.32wt.%, while the MnO and Li2O contents in the manganese-rich slag can reach 47.03 wt.% and 2.63 wt.%, respectively. In the following leaching experiments of the manganese-rich slag by sulphuric acid solution, the recovery efficiency of manganese and lithium can reach up to 79.86% and 94.85%, respectively. Compared with the conventional hydro-pyrometallurgical process of spent lithium-ion batteries, the present can preferably recover Mn and Li besides Co, Ni and Cu.

Government regulation and public opposition create high additional costs for field trials with GM crops in Switzerland.

PubMed

Bernauer, Thomas; Tribaldos, Theresa; Luginbühl, Carolin; Winzeler, Michael

2011-12-01

Field trials with GM crops are not only plant science experiments. They are also social experiments concerning the implications of government imposed regulatory constraints and public opposition for scientific activity. We assess these implications by estimating additional costs due to government regulation and public opposition in a recent set of field trials in Switzerland. We find that for every Euro spent on research, an additional 78 cents were spent on security, an additional 31 cents on biosafety, and an additional 17 cents on government regulatory supervision. Hence the total additional spending due to government regulation and public opposition was around 1.26 Euros for every Euro spent on the research per se. These estimates are conservative; they do not include additional costs that are hard to monetize (e.g. stakeholder information and dialogue activities, involvement of various government agencies). We conclude that further field experiments with GM crops in Switzerland are unlikely unless protected sites are set up to reduce these additional costs.

Lessons Learned in Protection of the Public for the Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

PubMed

Callen, Jessica; Homma, Toshimitsu

2017-06-01

What insights can the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant provide in the reality of decision making on actions to protect the public during a severe reactor and spent fuel pool emergency? In order to answer this question, and with the goal of limiting the consequences of any future emergencies at a nuclear power plant due to severe conditions, this paper presents the main actions taken in response to the emergency in the form of a timeline. The focus of this paper is those insights concerning the progression of an accident due to severe conditions at a light water reactor nuclear power plant that must be understood in order to protect the public.

Thermal hydraulic feasibility assessment of the hot conditioning system and process

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heard, F.J.

1996-10-10

The Spent Nuclear Fuel Project was established to develop engineered solutions for the expedited removal, stabilization, and storage of spent nuclear fuel from the K Basins at the U.S. Department of Energy`s Hanford Site in Richland, Washington. A series of analyses have been completed investigating the thermal-hydraulic performance and feasibility of the proposed Hot Conditioning System and process for the Spent Nuclear Fuel Project. The analyses were performed using a series of thermal-hydraulic models that could respond to all process and safety-related issues that may arise pertaining to the Hot Conditioning System. The subject efforts focus on independently investigating, quantifying,more » and establishing the governing heat production and removal mechanisms, flow distributions within the multi-canister overpack, and performing process simulations for various purge gases under consideration for the Hot Conditioning System, as well as obtaining preliminary results for comparison with and verification of other analyses, and providing technology- based recommendations for consideration and incorporation into the Hot Conditioning System design bases.« less

Governor`s award of excellence for outstanding achievement in waste management. Cape Industries, Wilmington, North Carolina

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1990-12-31

Cape Industries produces Dimethyl Terephthalate (DMT) and Terephthalic Acid (TA) which are used as raw materials in the production of polyester fibers and films. In this process para-cymene is used as a heat transfer fluid for the process equipment. As the para-cymene is circulated through the process and repeatedly reheated to operating temperatures, some thermal degradation of the cymene and minor contamination due to infiltration of the process material occurs. Prior to August 1988 this spent material was purged from the system and shipped off site for reclamation. The spent material was classified as a hazardous waste due to themore » characteristic of ignitability. In early 1988 existing equipment was retrofitted allowing for on site distillation of the spent para-cymene in a closed-loop system. Reclaimed para-cymene is returned to the system for reuse while the still bottoms are used as a feedstock in the production of DMT. No waste material is generated.« less

Depleted uranium startup of spent-fuel treatment operations at ANL-West

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goff, K.M.; Mariani, R.D.; Bonomo, N.L.

1995-12-31

At Argonne National Laboratory-West (ANL-West) there are several thousand kilograms of Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) spent nuclear fuel. This fuel will be treated using an electrometallurgical process in the fuel conditioning facility (FCF) at ANL-West to produce stable waste forms for storage and disposal. The process equipment is undergoing testing with depleted uranium in preparation for irradiated fuel operations during the summer of 1995.

Bread: CDC 7600 program that processes Spent Fuel Test Climax data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hage, G.L.

BREAD will process a family of files copied from a data tape made by Hewlett-Packard equipment employed for data acquisition on the Spent Fuel Test-Climax at NTS. Tapes are delivered to Livermore approximately monthly. The process at this stage consists of four steps: read the binary files and convert from H-P 16-bit words to CDC 7600 60-bit words; check identification and data ranges; write the data in 6-bit ASCII (BCD) format, one data point per line; then sort the file by identifier and time.

Method for shearing spent nuclear fuel assemblies

DOEpatents

Weil, Bradley S.; Watson, Clyde D.

1977-01-01

A method is disclosed for shearing spent nuclear fuel assemblies of the type wherein a plurality of long metal tubes packed with ceramic fuel are supported in a spaced apart relationship within an outer metal shell or shroud which provides structural support to the assembly. Spent nuclear fuel assemblies are first compacted in a stepwise manner between specially designed gag-compactors and then sheared into short segments amenable to chemical processing by shear blades contoured to mate with the compacted surface of the fuel assembly.

In-situ resource utilization activities at the NASA Space Engineering Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramohalli, Kumar

1992-01-01

The paper describes theoretical and experimental research activities at the NASA Space Engineering Research Center aimed at realizing significant cost savings in space missions through the use of locally available resources. The fundamental strategy involves idea generation, scientific screening, feasibility demonstrations, small-scale process plant design, extensive testing, scale-up to realistic production rates, associated controls, and 'packaging', while maintaining sufficient flexibility to respond to national needs in terms of specific applications. Aside from training, the principal activities at the Center include development of a quantitative figure-of-merit to quickly assess the overall mission impact of individual components that constantly change with advancing technologies, extensive tests on a single-cell test bed to produce oxygen from carbon dioxide, and the use of this spent stream to produce methane.

The influence of petroleum products on the methane fermentation process.

PubMed

Choromański, Paweł; Karwowska, Ewa; Łebkowska, Maria

2016-01-15

In this study the influence of the petroleum products: diesel fuel and spent engine oil on the sewage sludge digestion process and biogas production efficiency was investigated. Microbiological, chemical and enzymatic analyses were applied in the survey. It was revealed that the influence of the petroleum derivatives on the effectiveness of the methane fermentation of sewage sludge depends on the type of the petroleum product. Diesel fuel did not limit the biogas production and the methane concentration in the biogas, while spent engine oil significantly reduced the process efficacy. The changes in physical-chemical parameters, excluding COD, did not reflect the effect of the tested substances. The negative influence of petroleum products on individual bacterial groups was observed after 7 days of the process, while after 14 days probably some adaptive mechanisms appeared. The dehydrogenase activity assessment was the most relevant parameter to evaluate the effect of petroleum products contamination. Diesel fuel was probably used as a source of carbon and energy in the process, while the toxic influence was observed in case of spent engine oil. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Potential applications of the white rot fungus Pleurotus in bioregenerative life support systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manukovsky, N. S.; Kovalev, V. S.; Yu, Ch.; Gurevich, Yu. L.; Liu, H.

Earlier we demonstrated the possibility of using soil-like substrate SLS for plant cultivation in bioregenerative life support systems BLSS We suggest dividing the process of SLS bioregeneration at BLSS conditions into two stages At the first stage plant residues should be used for growing of white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus Pleurotus florida etc The fruit bodies could be used as food Spent mushroom compost is carried in SLS and treated by microorganisms and worms at the second stage The possibility of extension of human food ration is only one of the reasons for realization of the suggested two-stage SLS regeneration scheme people s daily consumption of mushrooms is limited to 200 -250 g of wet weight or 20 -25 g of dry weight Multiple tests showed what is more important is that inclusion of mushrooms into the system cycle scheme contributes through various mechanisms to the more stable functioning of vegetative cenosis in general Taking into account the given experimental data we determined the scheme of mushroom module material balance The technological peculiarities of mushroom cultivation at BLSS conditions are being discussed

Gamma and fast neutron radiation monitoring inside spent reactor fuel assemblies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakosi, L.; Tam Nguyen, C.

2007-09-01

Gamma and neutron signatures of spent reactor fuel were monitored by small-size silicon diode and track etch detectors, respectively, in a nuclear power plant (NPP). These signatures, reflecting gross gamma intensity and the 242,244Cm content, contain information on the burn-up (BU) and cooling time (CT) of the fuel. The small size of the detectors allows close access to inside parts of the assemblies out of reach of other methods. A commercial Si diode was encapsulated in a cylindrical steel case and was used for gross γ monitoring. CR-39 detectors were used for neutron measurements. Irradiation exposures at the NPP were implemented in the central dosimetric channel of spent fuel assemblies (SFAs) stored in borated water. Gross γ and neutron axial profiles were taken up by scanning with the aid of a long steel guide tube, lowered down to the spent fuel pond by crane and fitted to the headpiece of the fuel assemblies. Gamma measurements were performed using a long cable introduced in this tube, with the Si diode at the end. A long steel wire was also led through the guide tube, to which a chain of 15 sample holder capsules was attached, each containing a track detector. Gamma dose rates of 0.1-10 kGy h -1, while neutron fluxes in a range of (0.25-26) 10 4 cm -2 s -1 were recorded. The results are in good correlation with those of a calculation for spent fuel neutron yield.

75 FR 24998 - In the Matter of Florida Power and Light Company: Turkey Point Nuclear Plant; Independent Spent...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-06

..., to request (1) a digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or... NRC- issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish an... electronic docket. Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on NRC's public Web...

10 CFR 72.40 - Issuance of license.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Issuance of license. 72.40 Section 72.40 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL... complies with the criteria in subpart E; (3) If on the site of a nuclear power plant or other licensed...

10 CFR 72.40 - Issuance of license.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Issuance of license. 72.40 Section 72.40 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL... complies with the criteria in subpart E; (3) If on the site of a nuclear power plant or other licensed...

10 CFR 72.40 - Issuance of license.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Issuance of license. 72.40 Section 72.40 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL... complies with the criteria in subpart E; (3) If on the site of a nuclear power plant or other licensed...

10 CFR 72.40 - Issuance of license.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Issuance of license. 72.40 Section 72.40 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDEPENDENT STORAGE OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL... complies with the criteria in subpart E; (3) If on the site of a nuclear power plant or other licensed...

The Tree Man: Robert Mazibuko's Story.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bloch, Joanne, Ed.

This book for beginning readers highlights Robert Mazibuko, the "Tree Man," who spent his life teaching people how to enrich the soil and plant vegetables and trees. Born in South Africa in 1904, he lived on a farm, learning to work with livestock, raise crops, and share with the community. In college, his professor of agriculture…

Maximization of organic acids production by Aspergillus niger in a bubble column bioreactor for V and Ni recovery enhancement from power plant residual ash in spent-medium bioleaching experiments.

PubMed

Rasoulnia, P; Mousavi, S M

2016-09-01

Spent-medium bioleaching of V and Ni from a power plant residual ash (PPR ash) was conducted using organic acids produced by Aspergillus niger. The production of organic acids in a bubble column bioreactor was optimized through selecting three most influencing factors. Under optimum condition of aeration rate of 762.5(ml/min), sucrose concentration of 101.9(g/l) and inoculum size of 40(ml/l), respectively 17,185, 4539, 1042 and 502(ppm) of oxalic, gluconic, citric and malic acids were produced. Leaching experiments were carried out using biogenic produced organic acids under leaching environment temperature of 60°C and rotary shaking speed of 135rpm, with various pulp densities of 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9(%w/v). The results showed that biogenic produced organic acids leached V much more efficiently than Ni so that even at high pulp density of 9(%w/v), 83% of V was recovered while Ni recovery yield was 30%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safety assessment methodology in management of spent sealed sources.

PubMed

Mahmoud, Narmine Salah

2005-02-14

Environmental hazards can be caused from radioactive waste after their disposal. It was therefore important that safety assessment methodologies be developed and established to study and estimate the possible hazards, and institute certain safety methodologies that lead and prevent the evolution of these hazards. Spent sealed sources are specific type of radioactive waste. According to IAEA definition, spent sealed sources are unused sources because of activity decay, damage, misuse, loss, or theft. Accidental exposure of humans from spent sealed sources can occur at the moment they become spent and before their disposal. Because of that reason, safety assessment methodologies were tailored to suit the management of spent sealed sources. To provide understanding and confidence of this study, validation analysis was undertaken by considering the scenario of an accident that occurred in Egypt, June 2000 (the Meet-Halfa accident from an iridium-192 source). The text of this work includes consideration related to the safety assessment approaches of spent sealed sources which constitutes assessment context, processes leading an active source to be spent, accident scenarios, mathematical models for dose calculations, and radiological consequences and regulatory criteria. The text also includes a validation study, which was carried out by evaluating a theoretical scenario compared to the real scenario of Meet-Halfa accident depending on the clinical assessment of affected individuals.

Process and apparatus for generating elemental sulfur and re-usable metal oxide from spent metal sulfide sorbents

DOEpatents

Ayala, Raul E.; Gal, Eli

1995-01-01

A process and apparatus for generating elemental sulfur and re-usable metal oxide from spent metal-sulfur compound. Spent metal-sulfur compound is regenerated to re-usable metal oxide by moving a bed of spent metal-sulfur compound progressively through a single regeneration vessel having a first and second regeneration stage and a third cooling and purging stage. The regeneration is carried out and elemental sulfur is generated in the first stage by introducing a first gas of sulfur dioxide which contains oxygen at a concentration less than the stoichiometric amount required for complete oxidation of the spent metal-sulfur compound. A second gas containing sulfur dioxide and excess oxygen at a concentration sufficient for complete oxidation of the partially spent metal-sulfur compound, is introduced into the second regeneration stage. Gaseous sulfur formed in the first regeneration stage is removed prior to introducing the second gas into the second regeneration stage. An oxygen-containing gas is introduced into the third cooling and purging stage. Except for the gaseous sulfur removed from the first stage, the combined gases derived from the regeneration stages which are generally rich in sulfur dioxide and lean in oxygen, are removed from the regenerator as an off-gas and recycled as the first and second gas into the regenerator. Oxygen concentration is controlled by adding air, oxygen-enriched air or pure oxygen to the recycled off-gas.

CHEMICAL SUBSTITUTION FOR 1,1,1-TRICHLOROETHANE AND METHANOL IN AN INDUSTRIAL CLEANING OPERATION

EPA Science Inventory

Hazardous wastes are generated from cold solvent degreasing operations used in many industrial processes. he spent solvents are managed under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). ith the land ban of spent solvents, disposal has become increasingly diff...

CHEMICAL SUBSTITUTION FOR 1,1,1-TRICHLOROETHANE AND METHANOL IN AN INDUSTRIAL CLEANING OPERATION

EPA Science Inventory

Hazardous wastes are generated from cold solvent degreasing operations used in many industrial processes. The spent solvents are managed under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). With the land ban of spent solvents, disposal has become increasingly di...

IRON OPTIMIZATION FOR FENTON-DRIVEN OXIDATION OF MTBE-SPENT GRANULAR ACTIVATED CARBON

EPA Science Inventory

Fenton-driven chemical regeneration of granular activated carbon (GAC) is accomplished through the addition of H2O2 and iron (Fe) to spent GAC. The overall objective of this treatment process is to transform target contaminants into less toxic byproducts, re-establish the sorpti...

40 CFR 261.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

.... Examples are recovery of lead values from spent batteries and regeneration of spent solvents. In addition... different site for recycling, equals at least 75 percent by weight or volume of the amount of that material... they are removed from accumulation for recycling, however. (9) “Excluded scrap metal” is processed...

40 CFR 261.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

.... Examples are recovery of lead values from spent batteries and regeneration of spent solvents. In addition... different site for recycling, equals at least 75 percent by weight or volume of the amount of that material... they are removed from accumulation for recycling, however. (9) “Excluded scrap metal” is processed...

Efficient Degradation of Lignocellulosic Plant Biomass, without Pretreatment, by the Thermophilic Anaerobe “Anaerocellum thermophilum” DSM 6725▿

PubMed Central

Yang, Sung-Jae; Kataeva, Irina; Hamilton-Brehm, Scott D.; Engle, Nancy L.; Tschaplinski, Timothy J.; Doeppke, Crissa; Davis, Mark; Westpheling, Janet; Adams, Michael W. W.

2009-01-01

Very few cultivated microorganisms can degrade lignocellulosic biomass without chemical pretreatment. We show here that “Anaerocellum thermophilum” DSM 6725, an anaerobic bacterium that grows optimally at 75°C, efficiently utilizes various types of untreated plant biomass, as well as crystalline cellulose and xylan. These include hardwoods such as poplar, low-lignin grasses such as napier and Bermuda grasses, and high-lignin grasses such as switchgrass. The organism did not utilize only the soluble fraction of the untreated biomass, since insoluble plant biomass (as well as cellulose and xylan) obtained after washing at 75°C for 18 h also served as a growth substrate. The predominant end products from all growth substrates were hydrogen, acetate, and lactate. Glucose and cellobiose (on crystalline cellulose) and xylose and xylobiose (on xylan) also accumulated in the growth media during growth on the defined substrates but not during growth on the plant biomass. A. thermophilum DSM 6725 grew well on first- and second-spent biomass derived from poplar and switchgrass, where spent biomass is defined as the insoluble growth substrate recovered after the organism has reached late stationary phase. No evidence was found for the direct attachment of A. thermophilum DSM 6725 to the plant biomass. This organism differs from the closely related strain A. thermophilum Z-1320 in its ability to grow on xylose and pectin. Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus DSM 8903 (optimum growth temperature, 70°C), a close relative of A. thermophilum DSM 6725, grew well on switchgrass but not on poplar, indicating a significant difference in the biomass-degrading abilities of these two otherwise very similar organisms. PMID:19465524

Efficient degradation of lignocellulosic plant biomass without pretreatment by the 9 thermophilic anaerobe, Anaerocellum thermophilum DSM 6725

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Sung-Jae; Kataeva, Irina; Hamilton-Brehm, Scott

2009-01-01

Very few cultivated microorganisms can degrade lignocellulosic biomass without chemical pretreatment. We show here that 'Anaerocellum thermophilum' DSM 6725, an anaerobic bacterium that grows optimally at 75 C, efficiently utilizes various types of untreated plant biomass, as well as crystalline cellulose and xylan. These include hardwoods such as poplar, low-lignin grasses such as napier and Bermuda grasses, and high-lignin grasses such as switchgrass. The organism did not utilize only the soluble fraction of the untreated biomass, since insoluble plant biomass (as well as cellulose and xylan) obtained after washing at 75 C for 18 h also served as a growthmore » substrate. The predominant end products from all growth substrates were hydrogen, acetate, and lactate. Glucose and cellobiose (on crystalline cellulose) and xylose and xylobiose (on xylan) also accumulated in the growth media during growth on the defined substrates but not during growth on the plant biomass. A. thermophilum DSM 6725 grew well on first- and second-spent biomass derived from poplar and switchgrass, where spent biomass is defined as the insoluble growth substrate recovered after the organism has reached late stationary phase. No evidence was found for the direct attachment of A. thermophilum DSM 6725 to the plant biomass. This organism differs from the closely related strain A. thermophilum Z-1320 in its ability to grow on xylose and pectin. Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus DSM 8903 (optimum growth temperature, 70 C), a close relative of A. thermophilum DSM 6725, grew well on switchgrass but not on poplar, indicating a significant difference in the biomass-degrading abilities of these two otherwise very similar organisms.« less

Recovery of Metal Values from Spent Zinc-Carbon Dry Cell Batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Majharul Haque; Gulshan, Fahmida; Kurny, A. S. W.

2013-04-01

Spent zinc-carbon dry cell batteries were characterized in the process of recovery of metal values. Zinc, manganese and steel were the major metallic materials constituting 63 % of the weight of spent batteries. Different components of the spent batteries were separately processed to extract the metallic values. A maximum of 92 % of total amount of zinc contained in the anodes could be extracted with a purity of over 99.0 % from the anodes by heating at 600 °C for 10 min in presence of 12 % NH4Cl flux. Spent electrolyte paste containing manganese and zinc as major metallic elements, was leached in sulfuric acid solution in presence of hydrogen peroxide as a reducing agent. The optimum condition for leaching was found to be concentration of sulfuric acid: 2.5 M, concentration of hydrogen peroxide: 10 %, temperature: 60 °C, stirring speed: 600 rpm and solid/liquid ratio 1:12. A maximum of 88 % manganese contained in the paste could be dissolved within 27 min of leaching under the optimized conditions. Dissolution of zinc under the same conditions was 97 %. A maximum of 69.89 % of manganese and 83.29 % of zinc contained in the leach liquor could be precipitated in the form of manganese carbonate and zinc oxalate.

Direct Encapsulation of Spent Ion-exchange Resins at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant, Czech Republic - 12367

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fletcher, Paul; Rima, Steve

2012-07-01

At the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant there are large amounts of spent ion exchange resins contained within storage tanks. These resins are a product of the operation of an Active Water Purification System within the Power Plant. Activity levels of the resins are in the range of 105 to 10{sup 6} Bq/l and the main isotopes present are Co-60, Cs-137, Mn-54 and Ag-110m. In order to maintain storage tank availability throughout the planned lifetime of the Power Plant these resins must be removed and disposed of safely. The storage tanks do not have an effective retrieval route for the resinsmore » and the installed agitation system is inoperable. A proven system for retrieving and directly encapsulating these resins to a standard required for the Czech repository is described, together with an overview of operational performance. Experience gained from this and other projects has highlighted some common challenges relating to the treatment of ion-exchange resins and sludges. There are common approaches that can assist in overcoming these challenges. 1. Transport resin / sludge type waste over as short a distance as possible to avoid issues with line plugging. 2. Transport these wastes once and once only wherever possible. 3. Try to keep the treatment process as simple as possible. With sludge or resin handling equipment consider the physical properties foremost - radiological issues can be addressed within any subsequent design. 4. Consider the use of dry-mix technologies. This avoids the requirement for expensive and complicated grouting plant. 5. Avoid the use of make up water for transport purposes if at all possible - it introduces secondary waste that needs to be treated at additional cost. 6. Consider alternative disposal techniques. SIAL{sup R} is AMEC's preferred technology as we developed it and understand it well - additionally the waste loading factors are much higher than for cement. 7. Consider final waste volumes when selecting the disposal technique. Disposal costs will probably make up the bulk of the total life-time cost for any retrieval / encapsulation project. 8. Have a selection of ion-exchange resin/sludge retrieval techniques available - it is difficult and time consuming to develop a technique that will cope with all eventualities, particularly when there are unknown conditions. It is much more productive to switch retrieval techniques as appropriate to deal with evolving conditions. (authors)« less

Fungal leaching of valuable metals from a power plant residual ash using Penicillium simplicissimum: Evaluation of thermal pretreatment and different bioleaching methods.

PubMed

Rasoulnia, P; Mousavi, S M; Rastegar, S O; Azargoshasb, H

2016-06-01

Each year a tremendous volume of V-Ni rich ashes is produced by fuel oil consuming power plants throughout the world. Recovery of precious metals existing in these ashes is very important from both economic and environmental aspects. The present research was aimed at investigating bioleaching potential of Penicillium simplicissimum for the recovery of metals from power plant residual ash (PPR ash) using different bioleaching methods such as one-step, two-step, and spent-medium bioleaching at 1% (w/v) pulp density. Furthermore, the effects of thermal pretreatment on leaching of V, Ni, and Fe, as major elements present in PPR ash, were studied. Thermal pretreatment at various temperatures removed the carbonaceous and volatile fraction of the ash and affected the fungal growth and metal leachability. The highest extraction yields of V and Ni were achieved for the original PPR ash, using spent-medium bioleaching in which nearly 100% of V and 40% of Ni were extracted. The maximum extraction yield of Fe (48.3%) was obtained for the pretreated PPR ash at 400°C by spent-medium bioleaching. In addition, the fungal growth in pure culture was investigated through measurement of produced organic acids via high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Chemical leaching experiments were performed, using commercial organic acids at the same concentrations as those produced under optimum condition of fungal growth (5237ppm citric, 3666ppm gluconic, 1287ppm oxalic and 188ppm malic acid). It was found that in comparison to chemical leaching, bioleaching improved V and Ni recovery up to 19% and 12%, respectively. Moreover, changes in physical and chemical properties as well as morphology of the samples utilizing appropriate analytical methods such as XRF, XRD, FTIR, and FE-SEM were comprehensively investigated. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water pollution potential of spent oil shale residues. [From USBM, UOC, and TOSCO processes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1971-12-01

Physical properties, including porosity, permeability, particle size distribution, and density of spent shale from three different retorting operations, (TOSCO, USBM, and UOC) have been determined. Slurry experiments were conducted on each of the spent shales and the slurry analyzed for leachable dissolved solids. Percolation experiments were conducted on the TOSCO spent shale and the quantities of dissolved solids leachable determined. The concentrations of the various ionic species in the initial leachate from the column were high. The major constituents, SO/sub 4//sup 2 -/ and Na/sup +/, were present in concentrations of 90,000 and 35,000 mg/l in the initial leachate; howevermore » the succeeding concentrations dropped markedly during the course of the experiment. A computer program was utilized to predict equilibrium concentrations in the leachate from the column. The extent of leaching and erosion of spent shale and the composition and concentration of natural drainage from spent shale have been determined using oil shale residue and simulated rainfall. Concentrations in the runoff from the spent shale have been correlated with runoff rate, precipitation intensity, flow depth, application time, slope, and water temperature. 18 tables, 32 figures.« less

Environmental, health, and safety issues of sodium-sulfur batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles. Volume 2, Battery recycling and disposal

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Corbus, D

1992-09-01

Recycling and disposal of spent sodium-sulfur (Na/S) batteries are important issues that must be addressed as part of the commercialization process of Na/S battery-powered electric vehicles. The use of Na/S batteries in electric vehicles will result in significant environmental benefits, and the disposal of spent batteries should not detract from those benefits. In the United States, waste disposal is regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Understanding these regulations will help in selecting recycling and disposal processes for Na/S batteries that are environmentally acceptable and cost effective. Treatment processes for spent Na/S battery wastes are in the beginningmore » stages of development, so a final evaluation of the impact of RCRA regulations on these treatment processes is not possible. The objectives of tills report on battery recycling and disposal are as follows: Provide an overview of RCRA regulations and requirements as they apply to Na/S battery recycling and disposal so that battery developers can understand what is required of them to comply with these regulations; Analyze existing RCRA regulations for recycling and disposal and anticipated trends in these regulations and perform a preliminary regulatory analysis for potential battery disposal and recycling processes. This report assumes that long-term Na/S battery disposal processes will be capable of handling large quantities of spent batteries. The term disposal includes treatment processes that may incorporate recycling of battery constituents. The environmental regulations analyzed in this report are limited to US regulations. This report gives an overview of RCRA and discusses RCRA regulations governing Na/S battery disposal and a preliminary regulatory analysis for Na/S battery disposal.« less

Molten tin reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel elements. [Patent application; continuous process

DOEpatents

Heckman, R.A.

1980-12-19

A method and apparatus for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel is described. Within a containment vessel, a solid plug of tin and nitride precipitates supports a circulating bath of liquid tin therein. Spent nuclear fuel is immersed in the liquid tin under an atmosphere of nitrogen, resulting in the formation of nitride precipitates. The layer of liquid tin and nitride precipitates which interfaces the plug is solidified and integrated with the plug. Part of the plug is melted, removing nitride precipitates from the containment vessel, while a portion of the plug remains solidified to support te liquid tin and nitride precipitates remaining in the containment vessel. The process is practiced numerous times until substantially all of the precipitated nitrides are removed from the containment vessel.

Method for processing aluminum spent potliner in a graphite electrode ARC furnace

DOEpatents

O'Connor, William K.; Turner, Paul C.; Addison, Gerald W.

2002-12-24

A method of processing spent aluminum pot liner containing carbon, cyanide compositions, fluorides and inorganic oxides. The spent aluminum pot liner is crushed iron oxide is added to form an agglomerated material. The agglomerated material is melted in an electric arc furnace having the electrodes submerged in the molten material to provide a reducing environment during the furnace operation. In the reducing environment, pot liner is oxidized while the iron oxides are reduced to produce iron and a slag substantially free of cyanide compositions and fluorides. An off-gas including carbon oxides and fluorine is treated in an air pollution control system with an afterburner and a scrubber to produce NaF, water and a gas vented to the atmosphere free of cyanide compositions, fluorine and CO.

Experiments and Modeling to Support Field Test Design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, Peter Jacob; Bourret, Suzanne Michelle; Zyvoloski, George Anthony

Disposition of heat-generating nuclear waste (HGNW) remains a continuing technical and sociopolitical challenge. We define HGNW as the combination of both heat generating defense high level waste (DHLW) and civilian spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Numerous concepts for HGNW management have been proposed and examined internationally, including an extensive focus on geologic disposal (c.f. Brunnengräber et al., 2013). One type of proposed geologic material is salt, so chosen because of its viscoplastic deformation that causes self-repair of damage or deformation induced in the salt by waste emplacement activities (Hansen and Leigh, 2011). Salt as a repository material has been tested atmore » several sites around the world, notably the Morsleben facility in Germany (c.f. Fahland and Heusermann, 2013; Wollrath et al., 2014; Fahland et al., 2015) and at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, NM. Evaluating the technical feasibility of a HGNW repository in salt is an ongoing process involving experiments and numerical modeling of many processes at many facilities.« less

Gaston Planté and his invention of the lead-acid battery-The genesis of the first practical rechargeable battery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurzweil, P.

In 1860, the Frenchman Gaston Planté (1834-1889) invented the first practical version of a rechargeable battery based on lead-acid chemistry-the most successful secondary battery of all ages. This article outlines Planté's fundamental concepts that were decisive for later development of practical lead-acid batteries. The 'pile secondaire' was indeed ahead its time in that an appropriate appliance for charging the accumulator was not available. The industrial success came after the invention of the Gramme machine. In 1879, Planté obtained acceptance for his work by publishing a book entitled Recherches sur l' Electricité. He never protected his inventions by patents, and spent much of his fortune on assisting impoverished scientists.

Achievements and Perspectives of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Louvat, D.; Lacoste, A.C.

The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management is the first legal instrument to directly address the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management on a global scale. The Joint Convention entered into force in 2001. This paper describes its process and its main achievements to date. The perspectives to establish of a Global Waste Safety Regime based on the Joint Convention are also discussed. (authors)

Process and apparatus for solvent extraction of oil from oil-containing diatomite ore

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karnofsky, G. B.

1980-12-16

A process for solvent extraction of oil from oil bearing diatomite ore and an apparatus for use therewith, wherein the ore is extracted by countercurrent decantation with a hydrocarbon solvent, solvent is recovered from the extract by multiple effect evaporation followed by stripping, and the spent diatomite is contacted with water to displace a major portion of the solvent therefrom, and solvent is recovered from the aqueous slurry of the spent diatomite by stripping with steam at superatmospheric pressure.

[Energy requirements of workers in the coke chemical industry].

PubMed

Vankhanen, V D; Nelepa, A E

1978-01-01

Energy spent by workers engaged in the basic departments of a coke-chemical plant during working hours and performing operations after the Douglas-Holdeine method was measured and total energy expenditures during separate periods of the day and as a whole determined. Depending upon their jobs the energy spent by the workers during working hours varies within a range of 825 to 1860 Kcal. The energy expenditure during the time outside work, including sleep, amounts to from 1482 up to 1756 Kcal. As concerns the calorific requirements of their alimentation the workers of coke-chemical industry are subdivided into 5 groups of labour-intensity within an interval of from 2500 to 3600 kcal (for men) and from 2200 to 3100 kcal (for women).

An experimental study on Sodalite and SAP matrices for immobilization of spent chloride salt waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giacobbo, Francesca; Da Ros, Mirko; Macerata, Elena; Mariani, Mario; Giola, Marco; De Angelis, Giorgio; Capone, Mauro; Fedeli, Carlo

2018-02-01

In the frame of Generation IV reactors a renewed interest in pyro-processing of spent nuclear fuel is underway. Molten chloride salt waste arising from the recovering of uranium and plutonium through pyro-processing is one of the problematic wastes for direct application of vitrification or ceramization. In this work, Sodalite and SAP have been evaluated and compared as potential matrices for confinement of spent chloride salt waste coming from pyro-processing. To this aim Sodalite and SAP were synthesized both in pure form and mixed with different glass matrices, i.e. commercially available glass frit and borosilicate glass. The confining matrices were loaded with mixed chloride salts to study their retention capacities with respect to the elements of interest. The matrices were characterized and leached for contact times up to 150 days at room temperature and at 90 °C. SEM analyses were also performed in order to compare the matrix surface before and after leaching. Leaching results are discussed and compared in terms of normalized releases with similar results reported in literature. According to this comparative study the SAP matrix with glass frit binder resulted in the best matrix among the ones studied, with respect to retention capacities for both matrix and spent fuel elements.

PCB in the environment: bio-based processes for soil decontamination and management of waste from the industrial production of Pleurotus ostreatus.

PubMed

Siracusa, Giovanna; Becarelli, Simone; Lorenzi, Roberto; Gentini, Alessandro; Di Gregorio, Simona

2017-10-25

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are hazardous soil contaminants for which a bio-based technology for their recovery is essential. The objective of this study was to validate the exploitation of spent mushroom substrate (SMS), a low or null cost organic waste derived from the industrial production of P. ostreatus, as bulking agent in a dynamic biopile pilot plant. The SMS shows potential oxidative capacity towards recalcitrant compounds. The aim was consistent with the design of a process of oxidation of highly chlorinated PCBs, which is independent from their reductive dehalogenation. Feasibility was verified at a mesocosm scale and validated at pilot scale in a dynamic biopile pilot plant treating ten tons of a historically contaminated soil (9.28±0.08mg PCB/kg soil dry weight). Mixing of the SMS with the soil was required for the depletion of the contaminants. At the pilot scale, after eight months of incubation, 94.1% depletion was recorded. A positive correlation between Actinobacteria and Firmicutes active metabolism, soil laccase activity and PCB removal was observed. The SMS was found to be exploitable as a versatile low cost organic substrate capable of activating processes for the oxidation of highly chlorinated PCBs. Moreover, its exploitation as bulking agent in biopiles is a valuable management strategy for the re-utilisation of an organic waste deriving from the industrial cultivation of edible mushrooms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Method for producing hydrocarbon fuels and fuel gas from heavy polynuclear hydrocarbons by the use of molten metal halide catalysts

DOEpatents

Gorin, Everett

1979-01-01

In a process for hydrocracking heavy polynuclear carbonaceous feedstocks to produce lighter hydrocarbon fuels by contacting the heavy feedstocks with hydrogen in the presence of a molten metal halide catalyst in a hydrocracking zone, thereafter separating at least a major portion of the lighter hydrocarbon fuels from the spent molten metal halide and thereafter regenerating the spent molten metal halide by incinerating the spent molten metal halide by combustion of carbon and sulfur compounds in the spent molten metal halide in an incineration zone, the improvement comprising: (a) contacting the heavy feedstocks and hydrogen in the presence of the molten metal halide in the hydrocracking zone at reaction conditions effective to convert from about 60 to about 90 weight percent of the feedstock to lighter hydrocarbon fuels; (b) separating at least a major portion of the lighter hydrocarbon fuels from the spent molten metal halide; (c) contacting the spent molten metal halide with oxygen in a liquid phase gasification zone at a temperature and pressure sufficient to vaporize from about 25 to about 75 weight percent of the spent metal halide, the oxygen being introduced in an amount sufficient to remove from about 60 to about 90 weight percent of the carbon contained in the spent molten metal halide to produce a fuel gas and regenerated metal halide; and (d) incinerating the spent molten metal halide by combusting carbon and sulfur compounds contained therein.

Industrial scale-plant for HLW partitioning in Russia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dzekun, E.G.; Glagolenko, Y.V.; Drojko, E.G.

1996-12-31

Radiochemical plant of PA <> at Ozersk, which was come on line in December 1948 originally for weapon plutonium production and reoriented on the reprocessing of spent fuel, till now keeps on storage HLW of the military program. Application of the vitrification method since 1986 has not essentially reduced HLW volumes. So, as of September 1, 1995 vitrification installations had been processed 9590 m{sup 3} HLW and 235 MCi of radionuclides was included in glass. However only 1100 m{sup 3} and 20.5 MCi is part of waste of the military program. The reason is the fact, that the technology andmore » equipment of vitrification were developed for current waste of Purex-process, for which low contents of corrosion-dangerous impurity to materials of vitrification installation is characteristic of. With reference to HLW, which are growing at PA <> in the course of weapon plutonium production, the program of Science-Research Works includes the following main directions of work. Development of technology and equipment of installations for immobilising HLW with high contents of impurity into a solid form at induction melter. Application of High-temperature Adsorption Method for sorption of radionuclides from HLW on silica gel. Application of Partitioning Method of radionuclides from HLW, based on extraction cesium and strontium into cobalt dicarbollyde or crown-ethers, but also on recovery of cesium radionuclides by sorption on inorganic sorbents. In this paper the results of work on creation of first industrial scale-plant for partitioning HLW by the extraction and sorption methods are reported.« less

40 CFR 471.105 - Pretreatment standards for new sources (PSNS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... (b) Sizing spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSNS Pollutant or pollutant property Maximum for any 1 day... discharge of process wastewater pollutants. (g) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSNS Pollutant... off-pounds) of powder metallurgy parts sawed or ground with emulsions Copper 0.035 0.018 Cyanide 0.005...

40 CFR 471.105 - Pretreatment standards for new sources (PSNS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... (b) Sizing spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSNS Pollutant or pollutant property Maximum for any 1 day... discharge of process wastewater pollutants. (g) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSNS Pollutant... off-pounds) of powder metallurgy parts sawed or ground with emulsions Copper 0.035 0.018 Cyanide 0.005...

40 CFR 471.105 - Pretreatment standards for new sources (PSNS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... (b) Sizing spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSNS Pollutant or pollutant property Maximum for any 1 day... discharge of process wastewater pollutants. (g) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSNS Pollutant... off-pounds) of powder metallurgy parts sawed or ground with emulsions Copper 0.035 0.018 Cyanide 0.005...

40 CFR 471.105 - Pretreatment standards for new sources (PSNS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... (b) Sizing spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSNS Pollutant or pollutant property Maximum for any 1 day... discharge of process wastewater pollutants. (g) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSNS Pollutant... off-pounds) of powder metallurgy parts sawed or ground with emulsions Copper 0.035 0.018 Cyanide 0.005...

40 CFR 471.103 - New source performance standards (NSPS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... times. (b) Sizing spent emulsions. Subpart J—NSPS Pollutant or pollutant property Maximum for any 1 day... discharge of process wastewater pollutants. (g) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart J—NSPS Pollutant... off-pounds) of powder metallurgy parts sawed or ground with emulsions Copper 0.035 0.018 Cyanide 0.005...

40 CFR 471.23 - New source performance standards (NSPS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... magnesium forming process wastewater shall not exceed the following values: (a) Rolling spent emulsions... (pounds per million off-pounds) of magnesium rolled with emulsions Chromium 0.028 0.011 Zinc 0.076 0.032...) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart B—NSPS Pollutant or pollutant property Maximum for any 1 day...

40 CFR 471.23 - New source performance standards (NSPS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... magnesium forming process wastewater shall not exceed the following values: (a) Rolling spent emulsions... (pounds per million off-pounds) of magnesium rolled with emulsions Chromium 0.028 0.011 Zinc 0.076 0.032...) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart B—NSPS Pollutant or pollutant property Maximum for any 1 day...

40 CFR 471.23 - New source performance standards (NSPS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... magnesium forming process wastewater shall not exceed the following values: (a) Rolling spent emulsions... (pounds per million off-pounds) of magnesium rolled with emulsions Chromium 0.028 0.011 Zinc 0.076 0.032...) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart B—NSPS Pollutant or pollutant property Maximum for any 1 day...

The influence of commenting validity, placement, and style on perceptions of computer code trustworthiness: A heuristic-systematic processing approach.

PubMed

Alarcon, Gene M; Gamble, Rose F; Ryan, Tyler J; Walter, Charles; Jessup, Sarah A; Wood, David W; Capiola, August

2018-07-01

Computer programs are a ubiquitous part of modern society, yet little is known about the psychological processes that underlie reviewing code. We applied the heuristic-systematic model (HSM) to investigate the influence of computer code comments on perceptions of code trustworthiness. The study explored the influence of validity, placement, and style of comments in code on trustworthiness perceptions and time spent on code. Results indicated valid comments led to higher trust assessments and more time spent on the code. Properly placed comments led to lower trust assessments and had a marginal effect on time spent on code; however, the effect was no longer significant after controlling for effects of the source code. Low style comments led to marginally higher trustworthiness assessments, but high style comments led to longer time spent on the code. Several interactions were also found. Our findings suggest the relationship between code comments and perceptions of code trustworthiness is not as straightforward as previously thought. Additionally, the current paper extends the HSM to the programming literature. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biogas production from spent rose hips (Rosa canina L.): fraction separation, organic loading and co-digestion with N-rich microbial biomass.

PubMed

Osojnik Črnivec, Ilja Gasan; Muri, Petra; Djinović, Petar; Pintar, Albin

2014-11-01

Complex waste streams originating from extraction processes containing residual organic solvents and increased C/N ratios have not yet been considered as feedstock for biogas production to a great extent. In this study, spent rosehip (Rosa canina L.) solid residue (64%VS, 22 MJ/kg HHV, 30C/1N) was obtained from an industrial ethanol aided extraction process, and extensively examined in an automated batch bioreactor system for biogas production. Fraction separation of the compact lignocellulosic seeds increased the available sugar and ethanol content, resulting in high biogas potential of the sieved residue (516 NL/kg VS'). In co-digestion of spent rosehip substrate with non-deactivated nitrogen rich microbial co-substrates, methanogenesis was favored (Y(m) > 68%(CH4)). In individual digestion of microbial co-substrates, this was not the case, as biogas with 28 vol.% N2 was produced from activated sludge supplement. Therefore, effective inhibition of exogenous microbiota was achieved in the presence of carbonaceous spent rose hip. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dry halide method for separating the components of spent nuclear fuels

DOEpatents

Christian, Jerry Dale; Thomas, Thomas Russell; Kessinger, Glen F.

1998-01-01

The invention is a nonaqueous, single method for processing multiple spent nuclear fuel types by separating the fission- and transuranic products from the nonradioactive and fissile uranium product. The invention has four major operations: exposing the spent fuels to chlorine gas at temperatures preferably greater than 1200.degree. C. to form volatile metal chlorides; removal of the fission product chlorides, transuranic product chlorides, and any nickel chloride and chromium chloride in a molten salt scrubber at approximately 400.degree. C.; fractional condensation of the remaining volatile chlorides at temperatures ranging from 164.degree. C. to 2.degree. C.; and regeneration and recovery of the transferred spent molten salt by vacuum distillation. The residual fission products, transuranic products, and nickel- and chromium chlorides are converted to fluorides or oxides for vitrification. The method offers the significant advantages of a single, compact process that is applicable to most of the diverse nuclear fuels, minimizes secondary wastes, segregates fissile uranium from the high level wastes to resolve potential criticality concerns, segregates nonradioactive wastes from the high level wastes for volume reduction, and produces a common waste form glass or glass-ceramic.

Dry halide method for separating the components of spent nuclear fuels

DOEpatents

Christian, J.D.; Thomas, T.R.; Kessinger, G.F.

1998-06-30

The invention is a nonaqueous, single method for processing multiple spent nuclear fuel types by separating the fission and transuranic products from the nonradioactive and fissile uranium product. The invention has four major operations: exposing the spent fuels to chlorine gas at temperatures preferably greater than 1200 C to form volatile metal chlorides; removal of the fission product chlorides, transuranic product chlorides, and any nickel chloride and chromium chloride in a molten salt scrubber at approximately 400 C; fractional condensation of the remaining volatile chlorides at temperatures ranging from 164 to 2 C; and regeneration and recovery of the transferred spent molten salt by vacuum distillation. The residual fission products, transuranic products, and nickel- and chromium chlorides are converted to fluorides or oxides for vitrification. The method offers the significant advantages of a single, compact process that is applicable to most of the diverse nuclear fuels, minimizes secondary wastes, segregates fissile uranium from the high level wastes to resolve potential criticality concerns, segregates nonradioactive wastes from the high level wastes for volume reduction, and produces a common waste form glass or glass-ceramic. 3 figs.

Spent brewer's yeast extract as an ingredient in cooked hams.

PubMed

Pancrazio, Gaston; Cunha, Sara C; de Pinho, Paula Guedes; Loureiro, Mónica; Meireles, Sónia; Ferreira, Isabel M P L V O; Pinho, Olívia

2016-11-01

This work describes the effect of the incorporation of 1% spent yeast extract into cooked hams. Physical/chemical/sensorial characteristics and changes during 12 and 90days storage were evaluated on control and treated cooked hams processed for 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 or 3h. Spent yeast extract addition increased hardness, chewiness, ash, protein and free amino acid content. Similar volatile profiles were obtained, although there were some quantitative differences. No advantages were observed for increased cooking time. No significant differences were observed for physical and sensorial parameters of cooked hams with spent yeast extract at 12 and 90days post production, but His, aldehydes and esters increased at the end of storage. This behaviour was similar to that observed for control hams. The higher hardness of cooked ham with 1% yeast extract was due to the stronger gel formed during cooking and was maintained during storage. This additive acts as gel stabilizer for cooked ham production and could potentially improve other processing characteristics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Kinetics and thermodynamics of Pb(II) adsorption onto modified spent grain from aqueous solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qingzhu; Chai, Liyuan; Yang, Zhihui; Wang, Qingwei

2009-01-01

Spent grain, a main by-product of the brewing industry, is available in large quantities, but its main application has been limited to animal feeding. Nevertheless, in this study, spent grain modified with 1 M NaCl solution as a novel adsorbent has been used for the adsorption of Pb(II) in aqueous solutions. Isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamics of Pb(II) adsorption onto modified spent grain were studied. The equilibrium data were well fitted with Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevick (D-R) isotherm models. The kinetics of Pb(II) adsorption followed pseudo-second-order model, using the rate constants of pseudo-second-order model, the activation energy ( Ea) of Pb(II) adsorption was determined as 12.33 kJ mol -1 according to the Arrhenius equation. Various thermodynamic parameters such as Δ Gads, Δ Hads and Δ Sads were also calculated. Thermodynamic results indicate that Pb(II) adsorption onto modified spent grain is a spontaneous and endothermic process. Therefore, it can be concluded that modified spent grain as a new effective adsorbent has potential for Pb(II) removal from aqueous solutions.

Local negotiation on compensation siting of the spent nuclear fuel repository in Finland

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kojo, Matti

The aim of the paper is to analyse the local negotiation process between the Municipality of Eurajoki and the nuclear power company Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) and the nuclear waste management company Posiva Oy. The aim of the negotiations was to find an acceptable form of compensation for siting a spent nuclear fuel repository in Olkiluoto, Finland. The paper includes background information on the siting process in Finland, the local political setting in the Municipality of Eurajoki and a description of the negotiation process. The analysis of the negotiations on compensation is important for better understanding the progress of the Finnishmore » siting process. The paper describes the picture of the contest to host the spent nuclear fuel repository. It also provides more information on the relationship between the Municipality of Eurajoki and the power company TVO. The negotiations on compensation and the roles of various players in the negotiations have not been studied in detail because the minutes of the Vuojoki liaison group were not available before the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court in May 2006. (author)« less

Soils and nutrition management for black walnuts

Treesearch

Felix, Jr. Ponder

2004-01-01

Although walnut may survive when planted in unsuitable soils, most likely growth will be slow and the trees will be of poor quality. Sufficient time should be spent locating quality sites for this valuable and high-site demanding species. Undoubtedly, only ideal soil conditions will allow for adequate root expansion and for soil levels of nutrients and water to be...

Pyroprocess for processing spent nuclear fuel

DOEpatents

Miller, William E.; Tomczuk, Zygmunt

2002-01-01

This is a pyroprocess for processing spent nuclear fuel. The spent nuclear fuel is chopped into pieces and placed in a basket which is lowered in to a liquid salt solution. The salt is rich in ZrF.sub.4 and containing alkali or alkaline earth fluorides, and in particular, the salt chosen was LiF-50 mol % ZrF.sub.4 with a eutectic melting point of 500.degree. C. Prior to lowering the basket, the salt is heated to a temperature of between 550.degree. C. and 700.degree. C. in order to obtain a molten solution. After dissolution the oxides of U, Th, rare earth and other like oxides, the salt bath solution is subject to hydro-fluorination to remove the oxygen and then to a fluorination step to remove U as gaseous UF.sub.6. In addition, after dissolution, the basket contains PuO.sub.2 and undissolved parts of the fuel rods, and the basket and its contents are processed to remove the Pu.

Combined oxidative leaching and electrowinning process for mercury recovery from spent fluorescent lamps.

PubMed

Ozgur, Cihan; Coskun, Sezen; Akcil, Ata; Beyhan, Mehmet; Üncü, Ismail Serkan; Civelekoglu, Gokhan

2016-11-01

In this paper, oxidative leaching and electrowinnig processes were performed to recovery of mercury from spent tubular fluorescent lamps. Hypochlorite was found to be effectively used for the leaching of mercury to the solution. Mercury could be leached with an efficiency of 96% using 0.5M/0.2M NaOCl/NaCl reagents at 50°C and pH 7.5 for 2-h. Electrowinning process was conducted on the filtered leaching solutions and over the 81% of mercury was recovered at the graphite electrode using citric acid as a reducing agent. The optimal process conditions were observed as a 6A current intensity, 30g/L of reducing agent concentration, 120min. electrolysis time and pH of 7 at the room temperature. It was found that current intensity and citric acid amount had positive effect for mercury reduction. Recovery of mercury in its elemental form was confirmed by SEM/EDX. Oxidative leaching with NaOCl/NaCl reagent was followed by electrowinning process can be effectively used for the recovery of mercury from spent fluorescent lamps. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hanford Spent Nuclear Fuel Project recommended path forward

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fulton, J.C.

The Spent Nuclear Fuel Project (the Project), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy-commissioned Independent Technical Assessment (ITA) team, has developed engineered alternatives for expedited removal of spent nuclear fuel, including sludge, from the K Basins at Hanford. These alternatives, along with a foreign processing alternative offered by British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL), were extensively reviewed and evaluated. Based on these evaluations, a Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) Recommended Path Forward for K Basins spent nuclear fuel has been developed and is presented in Volume I of this document. The recommendation constitutes an aggressive series of projects to construct andmore » operate systems and facilities to safely retrieve, package, transport, process, and store K Basins fuel and sludge. The overall processing and storage scheme is based on the ITA team`s proposed passivation and vault storage process. A dual purpose staging and vault storage facility provides an innovative feature which allows accelerated removal of fuel and sludge from the basins and minimizes programmatic risks beyond any of the originally proposed alternatives. The projects fit within a regulatory and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) overlay which mandates a two-phased approach to construction and operation of the needed facilities. The two-phase strategy packages and moves K Basins fuel and sludge to a newly constructed Staging and Storage Facility by the year 2000 where it is staged for processing. When an adjoining facility is constructed, the fuel is cycled through a stabilization process and returned to the Staging and Storage Facility for dry interim (40-year) storage. The estimated total expenditure for this Recommended Path Forward, including necessary new construction, operations, and deactivation of Project facilities through 2012, is approximately $1,150 million (unescalated).« less

Organic oxalate as leachant and precipitant for the recovery of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sun Liang; Key Laboratory of Resources Chemistry of Nonferrous Metals, Central South University, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China; Qiu Keqiang, E-mail: qiuwhs@sohu.com

2012-08-15

Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Vacuum pyrolysis as a pretreatment was used to separate cathode material from aluminum foils. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Cobalt and lithium can be leached using oxalate while cobalt can be directly precipitated as cobalt oxalate. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Cobalt and lithium can be separated efficiently from each other only in the oxalate leaching process. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer High reaction efficiency of LiCoO{sub 2} was obtained with oxalate. - Abstract: Spent lithium-ion batteries containing lots of strategic resources such as cobalt and lithium are considered as an attractive secondary resource. In this work, an environmentally compatible process based on vacuum pyrolysis, oxalatemore » leaching and precipitation is applied to recover cobalt and lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries. Oxalate is introduced as leaching reagent meanwhile as precipitant which leaches and precipitates cobalt from LiCoO{sub 2} and CoO directly as CoC{sub 2}O{sub 4}{center_dot}2H{sub 2}O with 1.0 M oxalate solution at 80 Degree-Sign C and solid/liquid ratio of 50 g L{sup -1} for 120 min. The reaction efficiency of more than 98% of LiCoO{sub 2} can be achieved and cobalt and lithium can also be separated efficiently during the hydrometallurgical process. The combined process is simple and adequate for the recovery of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries.« less

Approaches to Deal with Irradiated Graphite in Russia - Proposal for New IAEA CRP on Graphite Waste Management - 12364

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kascheev, Vladimir; Poluektov, Pavel; Ustinov, Oleg

The problems of spent reactor graphite are being shown, the options of its disposal is considered. Burning method is selected as the most efficient and waste-free. It is made a comparison of amounts of {sup 14}C that entering the environment in a natural way during the operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) and as a result of the proposed burning of spent reactor graphite. It is shown the possibility of burning graphite with the arrival of {sup 14}C into the atmosphere within the maximum allowable emissions. This paper analyzes the different ways of spent reactor graphite treatment. It is shownmore » the possibility of its reprocessing by burning method in the air flow. It is estimated the effect of this technology to the overall radiation environment and compared its contribution to the general background radiation due to cosmic radiation and NPPs emission. It is estimated the maximum permissible speeds of burning reactor graphite (for example, RBMK graphite) for areas with different conditions of agricultural activities. (authors)« less

Shipment of spent nuclear fuel from U.S. Navy ships and submarines to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). Hearing before the Subcommittee on Nuclear Deterrence, Arms Control and Defense Intelligence of the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session, July 28, 1993

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1994-12-31

The purpose of the hearing was to review the impact of the U.S. District Court of Idaho ruling prohibiting receipt of spent nuclear fuel by the Department of Energy (DOE). The court`s ruling enjoined the DOE from receiving spent nuclear fuel, including nuclear fuel from naval surface ships and submarines, at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory until such time as the DOE completes an environmental impact statement on the transportation, shipment, processing, and storage of spent fuel. Statements of government officials are included. The text of the Court ruling is also included.

40 CFR 471.104 - Pretreatment standards for existing sources (PSES).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... atomized Copper 9.58 5.040 Cyanide 1.46 0.605 Lead 2.12 1.01 (b) Sizing spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSES... process watewater pollutants. (g) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSES Pollutant or...-pounds) of powder metallurgy parts sawed or ground with emulsions Copper 0.035 0.018 Cyanide 0.005 0.002...

40 CFR 471.104 - Pretreatment standards for existing sources (PSES).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... atomized Copper 9.58 5.040 Cyanide 1.46 0.605 Lead 2.12 1.01 (b) Sizing spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSES... process watewater pollutants. (g) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSES Pollutant or...-pounds) of powder metallurgy parts sawed or ground with emulsions Copper 0.035 0.018 Cyanide 0.005 0.002...

40 CFR 471.104 - Pretreatment standards for existing sources (PSES).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... atomized Copper 9.58 5.040 Cyanide 1.46 0.605 Lead 2.12 1.01 (b) Sizing spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSES... process watewater pollutants. (g) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSES Pollutant or...-pounds) of powder metallurgy parts sawed or ground with emulsions Copper 0.035 0.018 Cyanide 0.005 0.002...

40 CFR 471.104 - Pretreatment standards for existing sources (PSES).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... atomized Copper 9.58 5.040 Cyanide 1.46 0.605 Lead 2.12 1.01 (b) Sizing spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSES... process watewater pollutants. (g) Sawing or grinding spent emulsions. Subpart J—PSES Pollutant or...-pounds) of powder metallurgy parts sawed or ground with emulsions Copper 0.035 0.018 Cyanide 0.005 0.002...

Degradation of tannins in spent coffee grounds by Pleurotus sajor-caju.

PubMed

Wong, Y S; Wang, X

1991-09-01

Pleurotus sajor-caju PL27, a white rot fungus, degraded up to 87% of the tannins in spent coffee grounds as a solid substrate over 32 days. Degradation of tannins was enhanced if potato and dextrose were included. The potential nutritive value of the substrate as animal feed may be improved by this process.

High School Students' Use of Paper-Based and Internet-Based Information Sources in the Engineering Design Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pieper, Jon; Mentzer, Nathan

2013-01-01

Mentzer and Becker (2011) and Becker and Mentzer (2012) demonstrated that high school students engaged in engineering design problems spent more time accessing information and spent more time designing when provided with Internet access. They studied high school students engaged in an engineering design challenge. The two studies attempted to…

Hydrogen transmission/storage with a metal hydride/organic slurry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Breault, R.W.; Rolfe, J.; McClaine, A.

1998-08-01

Thermo Power Corporation has developed a new approach for the production, transmission, and storage of hydrogen. In this approach, a chemical hydride slurry is used as the hydrogen carrier and storage media. The slurry protects the hydride from unanticipated contact with moisture in the air and makes the hydride pumpable. At the point of storage and use, a chemical hydride/water reaction is used to produce high-purity hydrogen. An essential feature of this approach is the recovery and recycle of the spent hydride at centralized processing plants, resulting in an overall low cost for hydrogen. This approach has two clear benefits:more » it greatly improves energy transmission and storage characteristics of hydrogen as a fuel, and it produces the hydrogen carrier efficiently and economically from a low cost carbon source. The preliminary economic analysis of the process indicates that hydrogen can be produced for $3.85 per million Btu based on a carbon cost of $1.42 per million Btu and a plant sized to serve a million cars per day. This compares to current costs of approximately $9.00 per million Btu to produce hydrogen from $3.00 per million Btu natural gas, and $25 per million Btu to produce hydrogen by electrolysis from $0.05 per Kwh electricity. The present standard for production of hydrogen from renewable energy is photovoltaic-electrolysis at $100 to $150 per million Btu.« less

Container for reprocessing and permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies

DOEpatents

Forsberg, Charles W.

1992-01-01

A single canister process container for reprocessing and permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies comprising zirconium-based cladding and fuel, which process container comprises a collapsible container, having side walls that are made of a high temperature alloy and an array of collapsible support means wherein the container is capable of withstanding temperature necessary to oxidize the zirconium-based cladding and having sufficient ductility to maintain integrity when collapsed under pressure. The support means is also capable of maintaining their integrity at temperature necessary to oxide the zirconium-based cladding. The process container also has means to introduce and remove fluids to and from the container.

Legal, institutional, and political issues in transportation of nuclear materials at the back end of the LWR nuclear fuel cycle

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lippek, H.E.; Schuller, C.R.

1979-03-01

A study was conducted to identify major legal and institutional problems and issues in the transportation of spent fuel and associated processing wastes at the back end of the LWR nuclear fuel cycle. (Most of the discussion centers on the transportation of spent fuel, since this activity will involve virtually all of the legal and institutional problems likely to be encountered in moving waste materials, as well.) Actions or approaches that might be pursued to resolve the problems identified in the analysis are suggested. Two scenarios for the industrial-scale transportation of spent fuel and radioactive wastes, taken together, high-light mostmore » of the major problems and issues of a legal and institutional nature that are likely to arise: (1) utilizing the Allied General Nuclear Services (AGNS) facility at Barnwell, SC, as a temporary storage facility for spent fuel; and (2) utilizing AGNS for full-scale commercial reprocessing of spent LWR fuel.« less

Detecting pin diversion from pressurized water reactors spent fuel assemblies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ham, Young S.; Sitaraman, Shivakumar

Detecting diversion of spent fuel from Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) by determining possible diversion including the steps of providing a detector cluster containing gamma ray and neutron detectors, inserting the detector cluster containing the gamma ray and neutron detectors into the spent fuel assembly through the guide tube holes in the spent fuel assembly, measuring gamma ray and neutron radiation responses of the gamma ray and neutron detectors in the guide tube holes, processing the gamma ray and neutron radiation responses at the guide tube locations by normalizing them to the maximum value among each set of responses and takingmore » the ratio of the gamma ray and neutron responses at the guide tube locations and normalizing the ratios to the maximum value among them and producing three signatures, gamma, neutron, and gamma-neutron ratio, based on these normalized values, and producing an output that consists of these signatures that can indicate possible diversion of the pins from the spent fuel assembly.« less

Protein enrichment of brewery spent grain from Rhizopus oligosporus by solid-state fermentation.

PubMed

Canedo, Marianny Silva; de Paula, Fernanda Gomes; da Silva, Flávio Alves; Vendruscolo, Francielo

2016-07-01

Brewery spent grain represents approximately 85 % of total by-products generated in a brewery. Consisting of carbohydrates, fiber, minerals and low amounts of protein, the use of brewery spent grain is limited to the feeding of ruminants; however, its potential use should be investigated. The reuse of this by-product using microorganisms by solid-state fermentation process as the case of protein enrichment by single-cell protein incorporation is an alternative to ensure sustainability and generate commercially interesting products. In this context, the aim of this study was to grow Rhizopus oligosporus in brewery spent grain under different initial moisture contents and nitrogen sources to increase the protein content of the fermented material. After 7 days of fermentation, increase of 2-4 times in the crude protein and soluble protein content was verified, respectively, compared to unfermented brewery spent grain. The kinetics of protein enrichment demonstrated the possibility of application of this technique, which can be a great alternative for use in diets for animals.

Effects of and preference for pay for performance: an analogue analysis.

PubMed

Long, Robert D; Wilder, David A; Betz, Alison; Dutta, Ami

2012-01-01

We examined the effects of 2 payment systems on the rate of check processing and time spent on task by participants in a simulated work setting. Three participants experienced individual pay-for-performance (PFP) without base pay and pay-for-time (PFT) conditions. In the last phase, we asked participants to choose which system they preferred. For all participants, the PFP condition produced higher rates of check processing and more time spent on task than did the PFT condition, but choice of payment system varied both within and across participants.

Radiolytic and Thermal Processes Relevant to Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marschman, Steven C.; Madey,Theodore E.; Haustein, Peter E.

2000-06-01

The purpose of this project is to deliver pertinent information that can be used to make rational decisions about the safety and treatment issues associated with dry storage of spent nuclear fuel materials. In particular, we will establish an understanding of: (1) water interactions with failed-fuel rods and metal-oxide materials; (2) the role of thermal processes and radiolysis (solid-state and interfacial) in the generation of potentially explosive mixtures of gaseous H2 and O2; and (3) the potential role of radiation-assisted corrosion during fuel rod storage.

Process and apparatus for solvent extraction of oil from oil-containing diatomite ore

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karnofsky, G.B.

1979-09-11

A process is described for solvent extraction of oil-bearing diatomite ore. An apparatus is provided for use therewith, wherein the ore is extracted by countercurrent decantation with a hydrocarbon solvent. The solvent is recovered from the extract by multiple effect evaporation followed by stripping, and the spent diatomite is contacted with water to displace a major portion of the solvent therefrom. The solvent is recovered from the aqueous slurry of the spent diatomite by stripping with steam at superatmospheric pressure. 17 claims.

Recovery of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries by ultrasonic-assisted leaching process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Li; Zhai, Longyu; Zhang, Xiaoxiao; Lu, Jun; Chen, Renjie; Wu, Feng; Amine, Khalil

2014-09-01

The anticipated significant use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for energy storage applications in electric grid modernization and vehicle electrification shall generate a large quantity of solid waste that could become potential environmental hazards and waste natural resources. Recycling of the major components from spent LIBs is, therefore, considered desirable to prevent environmental pollution and to recycle valuable metals. This study reports on the application of ultrasonic-assisted technology to the leaching of cobalt and lithium from the cathode active materials of spent LIBs. Three acids were tested for the leaching process: two inorganic acids (H2SO4 and HCl) and one organic acid (citric acid, C6H8O7·H2O). The results show that the leaching of Co and Li is more efficient with citric acid than with the two inorganic acids. More than 96% Co and nearly 100% Li were recovered from spent LIBs. The optimal leaching conditions were 0.5 M citric acid with 0.55 M H2O2, a solid-to-liquid ratio of 25 g L-1, a temperature of 60 °C, leaching time of 5 h, and ultrasonic power of 90 W. The high leaching efficiency is mainly ascribed to the unique cavitation action of the ultrasonic waves. This ultrasonic-assisted leaching process with organic acid is not only effective but also environmentally friendly.

Chemical Characterization of Potentially Prebiotic Oligosaccharides in Brewed Coffee and Spent Coffee Grounds.

PubMed

Tian, Tian; Freeman, Samara; Corey, Mark; German, J Bruce; Barile, Daniela

2017-04-05

Oligosaccharides are indigestible carbohydrates widely present in mammalian milk and in some plants. Milk oligosaccharides are associated with positive health outcomes; however, oligosaccharides in coffee have not been extensively studied. We investigated the oligosaccharides and their monomeric composition in dark roasted coffee beans, brewed coffee, and spent coffee grounds. Oligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization ranging from 3 to 15, and their constituent monosaccharides, were characterized and quantified. The oligosaccharides identified were mainly hexoses (potentially galacto-oligosaccharides and manno-oligosaccharides) containing a heterogeneous mixture of glucose, arabinose, xylose, and rhamnose. The diversity of oligosaccharides composition found in these coffee samples suggests that they could have selective prebiotic activity toward specific bacterial strains able to deconstruct the glycosidic bonds and utilize them as a carbon source.

Transmission of Citrus leprosis virus C by Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes) to Alternative Host Plants Found in Citrus Orchards

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The equivalent of US$ 75 million is spent each year in Brazil to control Brevipalpus phoenicis, a mite vector of Citrus leprosis virus C (CiLV-C). In this study we investigated the possibility that hedgerows, windbreaks, and weeds normally found in citrus orchards could host CiLV-C. Mites reared on ...

76 FR 20722 - In the Matter of Indiana Michigan Power Company; DC Cook Nuclear Plant Independent Spent Fuel...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-13

... Secretary by e-mail at [email protected] , or by telephone at 301-415-1677, to request (1) a digital...-issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish an electronic... docket. Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is available on NRC's public Web site at...

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; environmental consequences fact sheet 07: fire and weeds

Treesearch

Steve Sutherland

2004-01-01

Weed infestations cause an economic loss of $13 billion per year even though $9.5 billion per year is spent on weed control measures. In addition to these economic costs, weeds are replacing native species, altering native plant and animal communities, affecting ecosystem health and function, threatening biodiversity and Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive (TES)...

75 FR 60147 - Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, LLC; Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation; Notice of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-29

... NRC E-Filing rule, which the NRC promulgated on August 28, 2007 (72 FR 49139). All documents filed in... submission of a request for hearing or petition to intervene, must be filed in accordance with the E-Filing rule. The E-Filing rule requires participants to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the...

10 CFR 51.75 - Draft environmental impact statement-construction permit, early site permit, or combined licesne.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... storage of spent fuel for the nuclear power plant within the scope of the generic determination in § 51.23..., and 51.73. The contribution of the environmental effects of the uranium fuel cycle activities....71, 51.72, 51.73, and this section. The contribution of the environmental effects of the uranium fuel...

Community Science Workshops: A Powerful and Feasible Model for Serving Underserved Youth. An Evaluation Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inverness Research Associates, 2007

2007-01-01

The people at Inverness Research Associates spent 12 years studying Community Science Workshops (CSW) in California and in six other states. They gathered statistics on the scale, scope, and cost-efficiency of CSW services to youth. They observed youth at work in the shops--taking apart computers, repairing bikes, growing plants, and so on--and…

Nutrient Supplying Potential of Different Spent Mushroom Substrate Preparations as Soil Amendment in a Potting Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ultra, VU, Jr.; Ong Sotto, JME; Punzalan, MR

2018-03-01

A three consecutive cropping experiment was conducted to evaluate the nutrient supplying potential of different preparations of the spent mushroom substrate as an amendment of growing media for potted plants using pechay as test plant. There are 12 treatment combinations consisted 4 types of growing media containing soil alone and mixtures of soil with fresh SMS (FSMS), weathered SMS (WSMS) and carbonized SMS (CSMS) in combination with 0%, 50% or 100% recommended rate (RR) of nitrogen fertilizer. Succeeding two trials were conducted on the same pots and treatment assignments. The high yield of pechay during the first and second crop was observed on WSMS and CSMS treatments FSMS media produced high yields only during the 3rd crop. Yield was increased by N fertilizer in WSMS and CSMS treatments but not in FSMS. The growth differences is attributed to differences in available nutrients and C/N ratio between treatments. WSMS and CSMS increased the available N while FSMS immobilized N and other nutrients indicting that weathered SMS and carbonized SMS are more suitable as a component of potting media or as soil amendments without detrimental effect on immobilization and availability of nutrients.

UV-catalytic treatment of spent caustic from ethene plant with hydrogen peroxide and ozone oxidation.

PubMed

Yu, Zheng-zhe; Sun, De-zhi; Li, Chang-hai; Shi, Peng-fei; Duan, Xiao-dong; Sun, Guo-rong; Liu, Jun-xin

2004-01-01

The performance of UV/H2O2, UV/O3 and UV/H2O2/O3 oxidation systems for treating spent caustic from an ethylene plant was investigated. In UV/H2O2 system, with the increase of H2O2 dosage, removal efficiencies of COD and the ratio of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) to chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the effluent were increased and a better performance was obtained than the H2O2 system alone. In UV/H2O2 system, removal efficiency of COD reach 68% under the optimum condition, and BOD/COD ratio was significantly increased from 0.22 to 0.52. In UV/O3 system, with the increase of O3 dosage, removal efficiency of COD and BOD/COD ratio were increased, and a better performance was obtained than the O3 system alone. Under the optimum condition, removal efficiency of COD was 54%, and BOD/COD ratio was significantly increased from 0.22 to 0.48. In UV/H2O2/O3 system, COD removal efficiency was found to be 22.0% higher than UV/O3 system.

Defense Response and Suppression of Phytophthora Blight Disease of Pepper by Water Extract from Spent Mushroom Substrate of Lentinula edodes

PubMed Central

Kang, Dae-Sun; Min, Kyong-Jin; Kwak, A-Min; Lee, Sang-Yeop; Kang, Hee-Wan

2017-01-01

The spent mushroom substrate (SMS) of Lentinula edodes that was derived from sawdust bag cultivation was used as materials for controlling Phytophthora blight disease of pepper. Water extract from SMS (WESMS) of L. edodes inhibited mycelial growth of Phytophthora capsici, suppressed Phytophthora blight disease of pepper seedlings by 65% and promoted growth of the plant over 30%. In high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, oxalic acid was detected as the main organic acid compound in WESMS and inhibited the fungal mycelium at a minimum concentration of 200 mg/l. In quantitative real-time PCR, the transcriptional expression of CaBPR1 (PR protein 1), CaBGLU (β-1,3-glucanase), CaPR-4 (PR protein 4), and CaPR-10 (PR protein 10) were significantly enhanced on WESMS and DL-β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) treated pepper leaves. In addition, the salicylic acid content was also increased 4 to 6 folds in the WESMS and BABA treated pepper leaves compared to water treated leaf sample. These findings suggest that WESMS of L. edodes suppress Phytophthora blight disease of pepper through multiple effects including antifungal activity, plant growth promotion, and defense gene induction. PMID:28592945

Defense Response and Suppression of Phytophthora Blight Disease of Pepper by Water Extract from Spent Mushroom Substrate of Lentinula edodes.

PubMed

Kang, Dae-Sun; Min, Kyong-Jin; Kwak, A-Min; Lee, Sang-Yeop; Kang, Hee-Wan

2017-06-01

The spent mushroom substrate (SMS) of Lentinula edodes that was derived from sawdust bag cultivation was used as materials for controlling Phytophthora blight disease of pepper. Water extract from SMS (WESMS) of L. edodes inhibited mycelial growth of Phytophthora capsici , suppressed Phytophthora blight disease of pepper seedlings by 65% and promoted growth of the plant over 30%. In high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, oxalic acid was detected as the main organic acid compound in WESMS and inhibited the fungal mycelium at a minimum concentration of 200 mg/l. In quantitative real-time PCR, the transcriptional expression of CaBPR1 (PR protein 1), CaBGLU (β-1,3-glucanase), CaPR-4 (PR protein 4), and CaPR-10 (PR protein 10) were significantly enhanced on WESMS and DL-β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) treated pepper leaves. In addition, the salicylic acid content was also increased 4 to 6 folds in the WESMS and BABA treated pepper leaves compared to water treated leaf sample. These findings suggest that WESMS of L. edodes suppress Phytophthora blight disease of pepper through multiple effects including antifungal activity, plant growth promotion, and defense gene induction.

BWR Spent Nuclear Fuel Integrity Research and Development Survey for UKABWR Spent Fuel Interim Storage

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bevard, Bruce Balkcom; Mertyurek, Ugur; Belles, Randy

The objective of this report is to identify issues and support documentation and identify and detail existing research on spent fuel dry storage; provide information to support potential R&D for the UKABWR (United Kingdom Advanced Boiling Water Reactor) Spent Fuel Interim Storage (SFIS) Pre-Construction Safety Report; and support development of answers to questions developed by the regulator. Where there are gaps or insufficient data, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has summarized the research planned to provide the necessary data along with the schedule for the research, if known. Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from nuclear power plants has historically been storedmore » on site (wet) in spent fuel pools pending ultimate disposition. Nuclear power users (countries, utilities, vendors) are developing a suite of options and set of supporting analyses that will enable future informed choices about how best to manage these materials. As part of that effort, they are beginning to lay the groundwork for implementing longer-term interim storage of the SNF and the Greater Than Class C (CTCC) waste (dry). Deploying dry storage will require a number of technical issues to be addressed. For the past 4-5 years, ORNL has been supporting the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in identifying these key technical issues, managing the collection of data to be used in issue resolution, and identifying gaps in the needed data. During this effort, ORNL subject matter experts (SMEs) have become expert in understanding what information is publicly available and what gaps in data remain. To ensure the safety of the spent fuel under normal and frequent conditions of wet and subsequent dry storage, intact fuel must be shown to: 1.Maintain fuel cladding integrity; 2.Maintain its geometry for cooling, shielding, and subcriticality; 3.Maintain retrievability, and damaged fuel with pinhole or hairline cracks must be shown not to degrade further. Where PWR (pressurized water reactor) information is utilized or referenced, justification has been provided as to why the data can be utilized for BWR fuel.« less

The effect of urban and rural habitats and resource type on activity budgets of commensal rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Jaman, M Firoj; Huffman, Michael A

2013-01-01

Macaques are characterized by their wide distribution and ability to adapt to a variety of habitats. Activity budgets are affected by habitat type, season, and food availability in relation to differing age-sex class and individual requirements. We conducted a comparative study on two commensal rhesus groups, one living in a rural village and the other in the center of urban Dhaka, Bangladesh. The study was conducted in three different seasons between 2007 and 2009 in order to evaluate how habitat type and season affects their behavioral activities. Differences in food type and its availability between these two habitats were mainly responsible for the variations in activity budgets between groups. Feeding time in the rural group was significantly longer than that in the urban group. In contrast, grooming and object manipulation/play were significantly greater in the urban than the rural group. Seasonal variations in all major behaviors were significantly affected by group, with more time spent feeding in summer than in winter/dry season, and more time spent grooming and moving in winter/dry season than summer in the rural group. In contrast, time spent resting was greater in the monsoon and summer seasons than the winter/dry season in the urban group. Grooming time was greater in the winter/dry season than the monsoon and summer seasons. In both groups, immature of both sexes spent significantly more time on feeding and object manipulation/playing and less time resting than adults. Adult females spent more time grooming than males and immatures, of both sexes, in both groups. Moreover, the rural group spent most of their time feeding on garden/crop produce and wild plant food resources, while the urban group spent more time feeding on provisioned foods. These results showed that differences in the activity budgets of rural and urban dwelling macaques were due largely to the differences in available food resources. Commensal rhesus macaques show a high degree of behavioral flexibility in response to habitat and resource variability, and knowledge of these differences is important for the conservation and management of highly commensal primates.

Estimating the time for dissolution of spent fuel exposed to unlimited water

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leider, H.R.; Nguyen, S.N.; Stout, R.B.

1991-12-01

The release of radionuclides from spent fuel cannot be precisely predicted at this point because a satisfactory dissolution model based on specific chemical processes is not yet available. However, preliminary results on the dissolution rate of UO{sub 2} and spent fuel as a function of temperature and water composition have recently been reported. This information, together with data on fragment size distribution of spent fuel, are used to estimate the dissolution response of spent fuel in excess flowing water within the framework of a simple model. In this model, the reaction/dissolution front advances linearly with time and geometry is preserved.more » This also estimates the dissolution rate of the bulk of the fission products and higher actinides, which are uniformly distributed in the UO{sub 2} matrix and are presumed to dissolve congruently. We have used a fuel fragment distribution actually observed to calculate the time for total dissolution of spent fuel. A worst-case estimate was also made using the initial (maximum) rate of dissolution to predict the total dissolution time. The time for total dissolution of centimeter size particles is estimated to be 5.5 {times} 10{sup 4} years at 25{degrees}C.« less

Porous membrane electrochemical cell for uranium and transuranic recovery from molten salt electrolyte

DOEpatents

Willit, James L [Ratavia, IL

2007-09-11

An improved process and device for the recovery of the minor actinides and the transuranic elements (TRU's) from a molten salt electrolyte. The process involves placing the device, an electrically non-conducting barrier between an anode salt and a cathode salt. The porous barrier allows uranium to diffuse between the anode and cathode, yet slows the diffusion of uranium ions so as to cause depletion of uranium ions in the catholyte. This allows for the eventual preferential deposition of transuranics present in spent nuclear fuel such as Np, Pu, Am, Cm. The device also comprises an uranium oxidation anode. The oxidation anode is solid uranium metal in the form of spent nuclear fuel. The spent fuel is placed in a ferric metal anode basket which serves as the electrical lead or contact between the molten electrolyte and the anodic uranium metal.

Porous membrane electrochemical cell for uranium and transuranic recovery from molten salt electrolyte

DOEpatents

Willit, James L [Batavia, IL

2010-09-21

An improved process and device for the recovery of the minor actinides and the transuranic elements (TRU's) from a molten salt electrolyte. The process involves placing the device, an electrically non-conducting barrier between an anode salt and a cathode salt. The porous barrier allows uranium to diffuse between the anode and cathode, yet slows the diffusion of uranium ions so as to cause depletion of uranium ions in the catholyte. This allows for the eventual preferential deposition of transuranics present in spent nuclear fuel such as Np, Pu, Am, Cm. The device also comprises an uranium oxidation anode. The oxidation anode is solid uranium metal in the form of spent nuclear fuel. The spent fuel is placed in a ferric metal anode basket which serves as the electrical lead or contact between the molten electrolyte and the anodic uranium metal.

U.sup.+4 generation in HTER

DOEpatents

Miller, William E [Naperville, IL; Gay, Eddie C [Park Forest, IL; Tomczuk, Zygmunt [Homer Glen, IL

2006-03-14

A improved device and process for recycling spent nuclear fuels, in particular uranium metal, that facilitates the refinement and recovery of uranium metal from spent metallic nuclear fuels. The electrorefiner device comprises two anodes in predetermined spatial relation to a cathode. The anodese have separate current and voltage controls. A much higher voltage than normal for the electrorefining process is applied to the second anode, thereby facilitating oxidization of uranium (III), U.sup.+, to uranium (IV), U.sup.+4. The current path from the second anode to the cathode is physically shorter than the similar current path from the second anode to the spent nuclear fuel contained in a first anode shaped as a basket. The resulting U.sup.+4 oxidizes and solubilizes rough uranium deposited on the surface of the cathode. A softer uranium metal surface is left on the cathode and is more readily removed by a scraper.

Removal of arsenic compounds from spent catecholated polymer

DOEpatents

Fish, Richard H.

1985-01-01

Described is a process for removing arsenic from petroliferous derived liquids by contacting said liquid at an elevated temperature with a divinylbenzene-crosslinked polystyrene having catechol ligands anchored thereon. Also, described is a process for regenerating spent catecholated polystyrene by removal of the arsenic bound to it from contacting petroliferous liquid as described above and involves: a. treating said spent catecholated polystyrene, at a temperature in the range of about 20.degree. to 100.degree. C. with an aqueous solution of at least one carbonate and/or bicarbonate of ammonium, alkali and alkaline earth metals, said solution having a pH between about 8 and 10 and, b. separating the solids and liquids from each other. Preferably the regeneration treatment is in two steps wherein step (a) is carried out with an aqueous alcoholic carbonate solution containing lower alkyl alcohol, and, steps (a) and (b) are repeated using a bicarbonate.

Waste minimization charges up recycling of spent lead-acid batteries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Queneau, P.B.; Troutman, A.L.

Substantial strides are being made to minimize waste generated form spent lead-acid battery recycling. The Center for Hazardous Materials Research (Pittsburgh) recently investigated the potential for secondary lead smelters to recover lead from battery cases and other materials found at hazardous waste sites. Primary and secondary lead smelters in the U.S. and Canada are processing substantial tons of lead wastes, and meeting regulatory safeguards. Typical lead wastes include contaminated soil, dross and dust by-products from industrial lead consumers, tetraethyl lead residues, chemical manufacturing by-products, leaded glass, china clay waste, munitions residues and pigments. The secondary lead industry also is developingmore » and installing systems to convert process inputs to products with minimum generation of liquid, solid and gaseous wastes. The industry recently has made substantial accomplishments that minimize waste generation during lead production from its bread and butter feedstock--spent lead-acid batteries.« less

``Recycling'' Nuclear Power Plant Waste: Technical Difficulties and Proliferation Concerns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyman, Edwin

2007-04-01

One of the most vexing problems associated with nuclear energy is the inability to find a technically and politically viable solution for the disposal of long-lived radioactive waste. The U.S. plan to develop a geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada is in jeopardy, as a result of managerial incompetence, political opposition and regulatory standards that may be impossible to meet. As a result, there is growing interest in technologies that are claimed to have the potential to drastically reduce the amount of waste that would require geologic burial and the length of time that the waste would require containment. A scenario for such a vision was presented in the December 2005 Scientific American. While details differ, these technologies share a common approach: they require chemical processing of spent fuel to extract plutonium and other long-lived actinide elements, which would then be ``recycled'' into fresh fuel for advanced reactors and ``transmuted'' into shorter-lived fission products. Such a scheme is the basis for the ``Global Nuclear Energy Partnership,'' a major program unveiled by the Department of Energy (DOE) in early 2006. This concept is not new, but has been studied for decades. Major obstacles include fundamental safety issues, engineering feasibility and cost. Perhaps the most important consideration in the post-9/11 era is that these technologies involve the separation of plutonium and other nuclear weapon-usable materials from highly radioactive fission products, providing opportunities for terrorists seeking to obtain nuclear weapons. While DOE claims that it will only utilize processes that do not produce ``separated plutonium,'' it has offered no evidence that such technologies would effectively deter theft. It is doubtful that DOE's scheme can be implemented without an unacceptable increase in the risk of nuclear terrorism.

Coyotes, deer, and wildflowers: diverse evidence points to a trophic cascade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waser, Nickolas M.; Price, Mary V.; Blumstein, Daniel T.; Arózqueta, S. Reneé; Escobar, Betsabé D. Castro; Pickens, Richard; Pistoia, Alessandra

2014-05-01

Spatial gradients in human activity, coyote activity, deer activity, and deer herbivory provide an unusual type of evidence for a trophic cascade. Activity of coyotes, which eat young mule deer (fawns), decreased with proximity to a remote biological field station, indicating that these predators avoided an area of high human activity. In contrast, activity of adult female deer (does) and intensity of herbivory on palatable plant species both increased with proximity to the station and were positively correlated with each other. The gradient in deer activity was not explained by availabilities of preferred habitats or plant species because these did not vary with distance from the station. Does spent less time feeding when they encountered coyote urine next to a feed block, indicating that increased vigilance may contribute, along with avoidance of areas with coyotes, to lower herbivory away from the station. Judging from two palatable wildflower species whose seed crop and seedling recruitment were greatly reduced near the field station, the coyote-deer-wildflower trophic cascade has the potential to influence plant community composition. Our study illustrates the value of a case-history approach, in which different forms of ecological data about a single system are used to develop conceptual models of complex ecological phenomena. Such an iterative model-building process is a common, but underappreciated, way of understanding how ecological systems work.

Status of DOE efforts to renew acceptance of foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Head, C.R.

1997-08-01

This presentation summarizes the efforts being made by the Department of Energy to renew acceptance of spent nuclear fuel shipments from foreign research reactors. The author reviews the actions undertaken in this process in a fairly chronological manner, through the present time, as well as the development of an environmental impact statement to support the proposed actions.

Video Observation as a Tool to Analyze and Modify an Electronics Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coppens, Pieter; Van den Bossche, Johan; De Cock, Mieke

2016-12-01

Laboratories are an important part of science and engineering education, especially in the field of electronics. Yet very little research into the benefits of such labs to student learning exists. In particular, it is not well known what students do and, even more importantly, think during electronics laboratories. Therefore, we conducted a study based on video observation of second year students at 3 university campuses in Belgium during a traditional lab on first order R C filters. In this laboratory, students spent the majority of their time performing measurements, while very little time was spent processing or discussing the results. This in turn resulted in hardly any time spent talking about content knowledge. Based on those observations, a new laboratory was designed that includes a preparation with a virtual oscilloscope, a black box approach during the lab session itself, and a form of quick reporting at the end of the lab. This adjusted laboratory was evaluated using the same methodology and was more successful in the sense that the students spent less time gathering measurements and more time processing and analyzing them, resulting in more content-based discussion.

Removal of arsenic, vanadium and/or nickel compounds from spent catecholated polymer

DOEpatents

Fish, R.H.

1987-04-21

Described is a process for removing arsenic, vanadium, and/or nickel from petroliferous derived liquids by contacting said liquid at an elevated temperature with a divinylbenzene-crosslinked polystyrene having catechol ligands anchored thereon. For vanadium and nickel removal an amine, preferably a diamine is included. Also, described is a process for regenerating spent catecholated polystyrene by removal of the arsenic, vanadium, and/or nickel bound to it from contacting petroliferous liquid as described above and involves: treating the spent polymer containing any vanadium and/or nickel with an aqueous acid to achieve an acid pH; and, separating the solids from the liquid; and then treating said spent catecholated polystyrene, at a temperature in the range of about 20 to 100 C with an aqueous solution of at least one carbonate and/or bicarbonate of ammonium, alkali and alkaline earth metals, said solution having a pH between about 8 and 10; and, separating the solids and liquids from each other. Preferably the regeneration treatment of arsenic containing catecholated polymer is in two steps wherein the first step is carried out with an aqueous alcoholic carbonate solution containing lower alkyl alcohol, and, the steps are repeated using a bicarbonate.

Removal of arsenic, vanadium and/or nickel compounds from spent catecholated polymer

DOEpatents

Fish, Richard H.

1987-01-01

Described is a process for removing arsenic, vanadium, and/or nickel from petroliferous derived liquids by contacting said liquid at an elevated temperature with a divinylbenzene-crosslinked polystyrene having catechol ligands anchored thereon. For vanadium and nickel removal an amine, preferably a diamine is included. Also, described is a process for regenerating spent catecholated polystyrene by removal of the arsenic, vanadium, and/or nickel bound to it from contacting petroliferous liquid as described above and involves: treating the spent polymer containing any vanadium and/or nickel with an aqueous acid to achieve an acid pH; and, separating the solids from the liquid; and then treating said spent catecholated polystyrene, at a temperature in the range of about 20.degree. to 100.degree. C. with an aqueous solution of at least one carbonate and/or bicarbonate of ammonium, alkali and alkaline earth metals, said solution having a pH between about 8 and 10; and, separating the solids and liquids from each other. Preferably the regeneration treatment of arsenic containing catecholated polymer is in two steps wherein the first step is carried out with an aqueous alcoholic carbonate solution containing lower alkyl alcohol, and, the steps are repeated using a bicarbonate.

The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent fuel Management and on the safety of Radioactive Waste Management: A UK Regulator's Perspective

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lacey, D.; Bacon, M.L.

The UK fully supports the objective of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management to achieve and maintain a high level of safety worldwide in spent fuel and radioactive waste management, through the enhancement of national measures and international co-operation, including where appropriate, safety-related co-operation. The UK's Health and Safety Executive, through its Nuclear Safety Directorate (NSD), has been committed to the Convention since the initial negotiations to set up the Convention and provided the president of the first review meeting in 2003. It would be wrong of anymore » nation to believe that they have all the best solutions to managing spent fuel and radioactive waste. The process of compiling reports for the Convention review meetings provides a structured process through which every contracting party can review its provisions against a common set of standards and identify for itself possible areas of improvements. The sharing of reports and the asking and answering of questions then provides a further opportunity for both sharing of experience and learning. The UK was encouraged by the spirit of constructive discussion rather than negative criticism that pervaded the first review meeting that provided an incentive for all to learn and improve. While, as could be expected of the first meeting of such a group, not everything worked as well as could be hoped for, all parties seemed committed to learn from mistakes and to make the process more effective. Lessons were learned from the Nuclear Safety Convention on the process of submitting reports electronically and the UK actively supported aims to use IAEA requirements documents as an additional focus for reports. This should, we hope, provide for even better benchmarking of achievements and provide feedback for improvements of the IAEA requirements where appropriate. In summary, the UK finds the Joint Convention process to be a very positive one that can only improve the worldwide standards of safety in spent fuel and radioactive waste management. (authors)« less

Protective clothing, re-engineering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lorenz, S.M.

1995-11-01

In 1993, Commonwealth Edison spent 5.1 Million dollars for protective clothing materials and services for six power plants. Therefore, it was necessary for ComEd to evaluate their protective clothing programs while also considering the rapid escalation in disposal costs and the potential for on-site storage of waste. Today, I will be discussing the preliminary planning and the outcome of one year`s worth of investigating, reviewing, and calculating for an operation that will save Commonwealth Edison millions of dollars. A Process Engineering Reevaluation Team composed of corporate and power plant personnel was formed to evaluate all aspects of protective clothing materialsmore » and services. Throughout the year, the nine member team consulted clothing manufacturers, commercial laundry operators, and laundry equipment specialists. Faced with a wide range of garment design, types, sizes, materials, and disposal options, we were faced with a considerable challenge. In addition, we had to develop a product that all six sites would agree on. Three areas in particular that the team sought to improve were the material of the clothing, design of the garment, and the ability to share the protective clothing with all six of our nuclear sites.« less

Leaching of metals from end-of-life solar cells.

PubMed

Chakankar, Mital; Su, Chun Hui; Hocheng, Hong

2018-04-10

The issue of recycling waste solar cells is critical with regard to the expanded use of these cells, which increases waste production. Technology establishment for this recycling process is essential with respect to the valuable and hazardous metals present therein. In the present study, the leaching potentials of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Penicillium simplicissimum were assessed for the recovery of metals from spent solar cells, with a focus on retrieval of the valuable metal Te. Batch experiments were performed to explore and compare the metal removal efficiencies of the aforementioned microorganisms using spent media. P. chrysogenum spent medium was found to be most effective, recovering 100% of B, Mg, Si, V, Ni, Zn, and Sr along with 93% of Te at 30 °C, 150 rpm and 1% (w/v) pulp density. Further optimization of the process parameters increased the leaching efficiency, and 100% of Te was recovered at the optimum conditions of 20 °C, 200 rpm shaking speed and 1% (w/v) pulp density. In addition, the recovery of aluminum increased from 31 to 89% upon process optimization. Thus, the process has considerable potential for metal recovery and is environmentally beneficial.

Australia's evolving food practices: a risky mix of continuity and change.

PubMed

Venn, Danielle; Banwell, Cathy; Dixon, Jane

2017-10-01

To investigate trends in five key aspects of Australian food practice which have been implicated in diet-related health risks, specifically energy intake. They are: the replacement of home-prepared foods by commercially prepared foods; consumer reliance on ultra-processed foods; de-structured dining; increased pace of eating; and a decline in commensal eating. Data were from repeated cross-sections from the national Household Expenditure and Time Use Surveys. Trends in food practice aspects were examined using indicators of food expenditure across different food groups and time spent eating and cooking, including where, when and with whom eating activities took place. Australia, 1989-2010. Nationally representative samples of Australian households. The share of the total food budget spent on food away from home rose steadily from 22·8 % in 1989 to 26·5 % in 2010, while spending on ultra-processed foods increased. The basic patterning of meals and the pace of eating changed little, although people spent more time eating alone and at restaurants. Cooking time declined considerably, particularly for women. These changes have occurred over the same time that obesity and diet-related, non-communicable diseases have increased rapidly in Australia. Some aspects are implicated more than others: particularly the shift from domestic cooking to use of pre-prepared and ultra-processed foods, a reduction in time spent in food preparation and cooking, as well as an upsurge in time and money devoted to eating away from home. These are all likely to operate through the higher energy content of commercially prepared, compared with unprocessed or lightly processed, foods.

Mediational influence of spent mushroom compost on phytoremediation of black-oil hydrocarbon polluted soil and response of Megathyrsus maximus Jacq.

PubMed

Asemoloye, Michael Dare; Jonathan, Segun Gbolagade; Jayeola, Adeniyi A; Ahmad, Rafiq

2017-09-15

Ability of a plant to develop different adaptive strategies can also determine its capability for effective soil remediation. In this study, influence of spent mushroom compost (SMC) was tested on the phytoremediation of black oil hydrocarbon polluted soil and the response of Megathyrsus maximus (guinea grass). Studies were carried out in microcosm conditions by mixing different concentration of SMC viz., 10, 20, 30 and 40% in a 5 kg of contaminated soil along with control. Seeds of M. maximus was sown in tray for two weeks and allowed to grow for height of 10 cm and transplanted in to the different experimental pots. Soil nutrient, heavy metal and PAH contents were analyzed before and after the experiment. Ecophysiological and anatomical responses due to the contaminants in the soil by M. Maximus were analyzed after 120 days. Phytomass efficiency, potential photosynthesis (Amax) and contents of chlorophylls (a and b) as well as the total chlorophyll along with anatomical evaluations were recorded. Plant alone (control) reduced the soil heavy metal and PAH contents but further improvements were observed in SMC treatments, similar results were also observed as regards to the plant's phytoremediation efficiency (PE), phytomass and potential photosynthetic rates (m mol O 2  M -2 S -1 ). The plant's root and shoot anatomical responses were enhanced in treatments compared to control, study infers that the treatment enhances the biostimulation and development of adaptive characteristics for M. maximus survival in contaminated soils and promotes its co-degradation of hydrocarbon. SMC supports remediation and as well enhances the anatomical evaluations, we therefore recommend the use of SMC on response of Megathyrsus maximus Jacq for remediation of petrochemical based phytoremediation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of Bio-Regenerative Life Support and Trash-To-Gas Experiment on a 4 Month Mars Simulation Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caraccio, Anne; Poulet, Lucie; Hintze, Paul E.; Miles, John D.

2014-01-01

Future crewed missions to other planets or deep space locations will require regenerative Life Support Systems (LSS) as well as recycling processes for mission waste. Constant resupply of many commodity materials will not be a sustainable option for deep space missions, nor will storing trash on board a vehicle or at a lunar or Martian outpost. The habitable volume will decline as the volume of waste increases. A complete regenerative environmentally controlled life support system (ECLSS) on an extra-terrestrial outpost will likely include physico-chemical and biological technologies, such as bioreactors and greenhouse modules. Physico-chemical LSS do not enable food production and bio-regenerative LSS are not stable enough to be used alone in space. Mission waste that cannot be recycled into the bio-regenerative ECLSS can include excess food, food packaging, clothing, tape, urine and fecal waste. This waste will be sent to a system for converting the trash into the high value products. Two crew members on a 120 day Mars analog simulation, in collaboration with Kennedy Space Centers (KSC) Trash to Gas (TtG) project investigated a semi-closed loop system that treated non-edible biomass and other logistical waste for volume reduction and conversion into useful commodities. The purposes of this study are to show the how plant growth affects the amount of resources required by the habitat and how spent plant material can be recycled. Real-time data was sent to the reactor at KSC in Florida for replicating the analog mission waste for laboratory operation. This paper discusses the 120 day mission plant growth activity, logistical and plant waste management, power and water consumption effects of the plant and logistical waste, and potential energy conversion techniques using KSCs TtG reactor technology.

Investigation of Bio-Regenerative Life Support and Trash-to-Gas Experiment on a 4-Month Mars Simulation Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caraccio, Anne; Poulet, Lucie; Hintze, Paul E.; Miles, John D.

2014-01-01

Future crewed missions to other planets or deep space locations will require regenerative Life Support Systems (LSS) as well as recycling processes for mission waste. Constant resupply of many commodity materials will not be a sustainable option for deep space missions, nor will stowing trash on board a vehicle or at a lunar or Martian outpost. The habitable volume will decline as the volume of waste increases. A complete regenerative environmentally controlled life support system (ECLSS) on an extra-terrestrial outpost will likely include physico-chemical and biological technologies, such as bioreactors and greenhouse modules. Physico-chemical LSS do not enable food production and bio-regenerative LSS are not stable enough to be used alone in space. Mission waste that cannot be recycled into the bio-regenerative ECLSS can include excess food, food packaging, clothing, tape, urine and fecal waste. This waste will be sent to a system for converting the trash into high value products. Two crew members on a 120 day Mars analog simulation, in collaboration with Kennedy Space Centers (KSC) Trash to Gas (TtG) project investigated a semi-closed loop system that treated non-edible biomass and other logistical waste for volume reduction and conversion into useful commodities. The purpose of this study is to show how plant growth affects the amount of resources required by the habitat and how spent plant material can be recycled. Real-time data was sent to the reactor at KSC in Florida for replicating the analog mission waste for laboratory operation. This paper discusses the 120 day mission plant growth activity, logistical and plant waste management, power and water consumption effects of the plant and logistical waste, and potential energy conversion techniques using KSCs TtG technology.

Pyrethroids and Nectar Toxins Have Subtle Effects on the Motor Function, Grooming and Wing Fanning Behaviour of Honeybees (Apis mellifera).

PubMed

Oliver, Caitlin J; Softley, Samantha; Williamson, Sally M; Stevenson, Philip C; Wright, Geraldine A

2015-01-01

Sodium channels, found ubiquitously in animal muscle cells and neurons, are one of the main target sites of many naturally-occurring, insecticidal plant compounds and agricultural pesticides. Pyrethroids, derived from compounds found only in the Asteraceae, are particularly toxic to insects and have been successfully used as pesticides including on flowering crops that are visited by pollinators. Pyrethrins, from which they were derived, occur naturally in the nectar of some flowering plant species. We know relatively little about how such compounds--i.e., compounds that target sodium channels--influence pollinators at low or sub-lethal doses. Here, we exposed individual adult forager honeybees to several compounds that bind to sodium channels to identify whether these compounds affect motor function. Using an assay previously developed to identify the effect of drugs and toxins on individual bees, we investigated how acute exposure to 10 ng doses (1 ppm) of the pyrethroid insecticides (cyfluthrin, tau-fluvalinate, allethrin and permethrin) and the nectar toxins (aconitine and grayanotoxin I) affected honeybee locomotion, grooming and wing fanning behaviour. Bees exposed to these compounds spent more time upside down and fanning their wings. They also had longer bouts of standing still. Bees exposed to the nectar toxin, aconitine, and the pyrethroid, allethrin, also spent less time grooming their antennae. We also found that the concentration of the nectar toxin, grayanotoxin I (GTX), fed to bees affected the time spent upside down (i.e., failure to perform the righting reflex). Our data show that low doses of pyrethroids and other nectar toxins that target sodium channels mainly influence motor function through their effect on the righting reflex of adult worker honeybees.

Adsorptive removal of ascertained and suspected endocrine disruptors from aqueous solution using plant-derived materials.

PubMed

Loffredo, Elisabetta; Taskin, Eren

2017-08-01

The present study deals with the use of low-cost plant-derived materials, namely a biochar, spent coffee grounds, spent tea leaves, and a compost humic acid, for the adsorptive removal from water of two estrogens, 4-tert-octylphenol (OP) and 17-β-estradiol (E2), and two pesticides, carbaryl and fenuron, each spiked at a concentration of 1 mg L -1 . Kinetics and adsorption isotherms have been performed using a batch equilibrium method to measure the sorption capacities of the adsorbents towards the four molecules. Adsorption constants were calculated using the linear, Freundlich, and Langmuir models. Kinetics data obtained evidenced a rapid adsorption of each compound onto both biochar and coffee grounds with the attainment of a steady-state equilibrium in less than 4 h. Significant differences among the adsorbents and the compounds were found regarding the model and the extent of adsorption. In general, the estrogens were adsorbed more quickly and in greater amounts than the less hydrophobic pesticides, following the order: OP > E2 > carbaryl > fenuron. The ranges of Freundlich constants obtained for OP, E2, carbaryl, and fenuron onto the sorbents were 5049-2253, 3385-206, 2491-79, and 822-24 L kg -1 , respectively. The maximum values of constants were obtained for biochar, except for OP that was more adsorbed by spent coffee grounds. Adsorption kinetic data followed a pseudo-second-order model, thus indicating the occurrence of chemical interactions between the compounds and the substrates. The remarkable sorption capacities of all adsorbents towards the four molecules suggest the valuable exploitation of these materials for decontamination purposes, such as the treatment of wastewater before a feasible recycle in soil.

Leaching lithium from the anode electrode materials of spent lithium-ion batteries by hydrochloric acid (HCl).

PubMed

Guo, Yang; Li, Feng; Zhu, Haochen; Li, Guangming; Huang, Juwen; He, Wenzhi

2016-05-01

Spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are considered as an important secondary resource for its high contents of valuable components, such as lithium and cobalt. Currently, studies mainly focus on the recycling of cathode electrodes. There are few studies concentrating on the recovery of anode electrodes. In this work, based on the analysis result of high amount of lithium contained in the anode electrode, the acid leaching process was applied to recycle lithium from anode electrodes of spent LIBs. Hydrochloric acid was introduced as leaching reagent, and hydrogen peroxide as reducing agent. Within the range of experiment performed, hydrogen peroxide was found to have little effect on lithium leaching process. The highest leaching recovery of 99.4wt% Li was obtained at leaching temperature of 80°C, 3M hydrochloric acid and S/L ratio of 1:50g/ml for 90min. The graphite configuration with a better crystal structure obtained after the leaching process can also be recycled. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ultrasound-assisted production of biodiesel and ethanol from spent coffee grounds.

PubMed

Rocha, Maria Valderez Ponte; de Matos, Leonardo José Brandão Lima; Lima, Larissa Pinto de; Figueiredo, Pablo Marciano da Silva; Lucena, Izabelly Larissa; Fernandes, Fabiano André Narciso; Gonçalves, Luciana Rocha Barros

2014-09-01

This study evaluates the production of biodiesel and ethanol from spent coffee grounds (SCG). The extraction of oil from SCG, biodiesel production and ethanol production processes were studied. The liquid-to-solid ratio and temperature were evaluated in the ultrasound-assisted extraction of the oil from SCG. The highest yield (12%) was obtained using 4 mL g(-1) liquid-to-solid ratio at 60°C for 45 min. The process to produce biodiesel showed a yield of 97% into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). The highest glucose yield (192 mg g SCG(-1)) was obtained by hydrolysis with 0.4 mol L(-1) sulfuric acid at 121°C for 15 min. The hydrolysate was used as fermentation medium for ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae obtaining 19.0 g L(-1) at 10h of process of ethanol with a yield of ethanol and productivity of 0.50 g g(-1) and 1.90 g L(-1)h(-1), respectively. Spent coffee grounds were considered a potential feedstock for biodiesel and ethanol production. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oil removal of spent hydrotreating catalyst CoMo/Al2O3 via a facile method with enhanced metal recovery.

PubMed

Yang, Yue; Xu, Shengming; Li, Zhen; Wang, Jianlong; Zhao, Zhongwei; Xu, Zhenghe

2016-11-15

Deoiling process is a key issue for recovering metal values from spent hydrotreating catalysts. The oils can be removed with organic solvents, but the industrialized application of this method is greatly hampered by the high cost and complex processes. Despite the roasting method is simple and low-cost, it generates hardest-to-recycle impurities (CoMoO4 or NiMoO4) and enormous toxic gases. In this study, a novel and facile approach to remove oils from the spent hydrotreating catalysts is developed. Firstly, surface properties of spent catalysts are characterized to reveal the possibility of oil removal. And then, oils are removed with water solution under the conditions of 90°C, 0.1wt% SDS, 2.0wt% NaOH and 10ml/gL/S ratio for 4h. Finally, thermal treatment and leaching tests are carried out to further explore the advantages of oil removal. The results show that no hardest-to-recycle impurity CoMoO4 is found in XPS spectra of thermally treated samples after deoiling and molybdenum is leached completely with sodium carbonate solution. It means that the proposed deoiling method can not only remove oils simply and without enormous harmful gases generating, but also avoid the generation of detrimental impurity and promote recycling of valuable metals from spent hydrotreating catalysts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation Safeguards and Separations Reprocessing Plant Toolkit

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCaskey, Alex; Billings, Jay Jay; de Almeida, Valmor F

2011-08-01

This report details the progress made in the development of the Reprocessing Plant Toolkit (RPTk) for the DOE Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program. RPTk is an ongoing development effort intended to provide users with an extensible, integrated, and scalable software framework for the modeling and simulation of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants by enabling the insertion and coupling of user-developed physicochemical modules of variable fidelity. The NEAMS Safeguards and Separations IPSC (SafeSeps) and the Enabling Computational Technologies (ECT) supporting program element have partnered to release an initial version of the RPTk with a focus on software usabilitymore » and utility. RPTk implements a data flow architecture that is the source of the system's extensibility and scalability. Data flows through physicochemical modules sequentially, with each module importing data, evolving it, and exporting the updated data to the next downstream module. This is accomplished through various architectural abstractions designed to give RPTk true plug-and-play capabilities. A simple application of this architecture, as well as RPTk data flow and evolution, is demonstrated in Section 6 with an application consisting of two coupled physicochemical modules. The remaining sections describe this ongoing work in full, from system vision and design inception to full implementation. Section 3 describes the relevant software development processes used by the RPTk development team. These processes allow the team to manage system complexity and ensure stakeholder satisfaction. This section also details the work done on the RPTk ``black box'' and ``white box'' models, with a special focus on the separation of concerns between the RPTk user interface and application runtime. Section 4 and 5 discuss that application runtime component in more detail, and describe the dependencies, behavior, and rigorous testing of its constituent components.« less

Method for the regeneration of spent molten zinc chloride

DOEpatents

Zielke, Clyde W.; Rosenhoover, William A.

1981-01-01

In a process for regenerating spent molten zinc chloride which has been used in the hydrocracking of coal or ash-containing polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbonaceous materials derived therefrom and which contains zinc chloride, zinc oxide, zinc oxide complexes and ash-containing carbonaceous residue, by incinerating the spent molten zinc chloride to vaporize the zinc chloride for subsequent condensation to produce a purified molten zinc chloride: an improvement comprising the use of clay in the incineration zone to suppress the vaporization of metals other than zinc. Optionally water is used in conjunction with the clay to further suppress the vaporization of metals other than zinc.

Container for reprocessing and permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies

DOEpatents

Forsberg, C.W.

1992-03-24

A single canister process container is described for reprocessing and permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies comprising zirconium-based cladding and fuel, which process container comprises a collapsible container, having side walls that are made of a high temperature alloy and an array of collapsible support means wherein the container is capable of withstanding temperature necessary to oxidize the zirconium-based cladding and having sufficient ductility to maintain integrity when collapsed under pressure. The support means is also capable of maintaining its integrity at a temperature necessary to oxidize the zirconium-based cladding. The process container also has means to introduce and remove fluids to and from the container. 10 figs.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nichols, Ralph L.; Seitz, Roger R.; Dixon, Kenneth L.

The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at Hanford is being constructed to treat 56 million gallons of radioactive waste currently stored in underground tanks at the Hanford site. Operation of the WTP will generate several solid secondary waste (SSW) streams including used process equipment, contaminated tools and instruments, decontamination wastes, high-efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA), carbon adsorption beds, silver mordenite iodine sorbent beds, and spent ion exchange resins (IXr) all of which are to be disposed in the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF). An applied research and development program was developed using a phased approach to incrementally develop the informationmore » necessary to support the IDF PA with each phase of the testing building on results from the previous set of tests and considering new information from the IDF PA calculations. This report contains the results from the exploratory phase, Phase 1 and preliminary results from Phase 2. Phase 3 is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of FY17.« less

Performance of the electronic personal dosemeter for neutron 'Saphydose-N' at different workplaces of nuclear facilities.

PubMed

Lahaye, T; Chau, Q; Ménard, S; Lacoste, V; Muller, H; Luszik-Bhadra, M; Reginatto, M; Bruguier, P

2006-01-01

This paper mainly aims at presenting the measurements and the results obtained with the electronic personal neutron dosemeter Saphydose-N at different facilities. Three campaigns were led in the frame of the European contract EVIDOS ('Evaluation of Individual Dosimetry in Mixed Neutron and Photon Radiation Fields'). The first one consisted in the measurements at the IRSN French research laboratory in reference neutron fields generated by a thermal facility (SIGMA), radionuclide ISO sources ((241)AmBe; (252)Cf; (252)Cf(D(2)O)\\Cd) and a realistic spectrum (CANEL/T400). The second one was performed at the Krümmel Nuclear Power Plant (Germany) close to the boiling water reactor and to a spent fuel transport cask. The third one was realised at Mol (Belgium), at the VENUS Research Reactor and at Belgonucléaire, a fuel processing factory.

Small angle neutron and X-ray studies of carbon structures with metal atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lebedev, V. T.; Szhogina, A. A.; Bairamukov, V. Yu

2017-05-01

Encapsulation of metal atoms inside carbon single-wall cages or within multi-layer cells has been realized using molecular precursors and high temperature processes transforming them into desirable structures. Endohedral fullerenols Fe@C60(OH)X with 3d-metal (iron) have been studied by SANS in aqueous solutions where they form stable globular clusters with radii R C ∼ 10-12 nm and aggregation numbers N C ∼ 104. This self-assembly is a crucial feature of paramagnetic fullerenols as perspective contrast agents for Magneto-Resonance Imaging in medicine. Cellular carbon-metal structures have been created by the pyrolysis of diphthalocyanines of lanthanides and actinides. It was established that these ultra porous matrices consist of globular cells of molecular precursor size (∼ 1 nm) which are aggregated into superstructures. This provides retain of metal atoms inside matrices which may serve for safety storage of spent fuel of nuclear power plants.

New life of recycled rare earth-oxides powders for lighting applications.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlo Ricci, Pier; Murgia, Massimiliano; Carbonaro, Carlo Maria; Sgariotto, Serena; Stagi, Luigi; Corpino, Riccardo; Chiriu, Daniele; Grilli, Maria Luisa

2018-03-01

In this work we analysed the optical and structural properties of Ce:YAG regenerated phosphors. The concentrate resulted as the final product of an industrial recycling process of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and in particular fluorescent powders coming from spent lamps treatment plant. The waste pristine materials were re-utilized without any further purification and or separation process as starting materials to obtain a YAG matrix (Y2Al5O12) doped with Cerium ions. We tested out the recovered concentrate against commercial Ce:YAG phosphors comparing their structural and optical properties by means of XRD measurements and steady time and time resolved luminescence. The analysis reveals that the new phosphors obtained by scrap powder have the same crystal structure as the commercial reference sample and comparable optical properties. In particular, the Ce-related emission efficiency has a quantum yield of about 0.75 when excited at 450 nm, in good agreement with our reference sample and with the one of commercial powder presently exploited in white LED. This achievement strongly suggests the possibility of a new life for the exhausted phosphors and a possible step forward to a complete circular process for lighting equipment.

U.S. Nuclear Cooperation with India: Issues for Congress

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-17

safeguards-irrelevant.” The following facilities and activities were not on the separation list: ! 8 indigenous Indian power reactors ! Fast Breeder ...test Reactor (FTBR) and Prototype Fast Breeder Reactors (PFBR) under construction ! Enrichment facilities ! Spent fuel reprocessing facilities (except...potential use in a bomb. In addition, safeguards on enrichment, reprocessing plants, and breeder reactors would support the 2002 U.S. National Strategy to

Development, Application, and Implementation of RAMCAP to Characterize Nuclear Power Plant Risk From Terrorism

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gaertner, John P.; Teagarden, Grant A.

2006-07-01

In response to increased interest in risk-informed decision making regarding terrorism, EPRI and ERIN Engineering were selected by U.S. DHS and ASME to develop and demonstrate the RAMCAP method for nuclear power plant (NPP) risk assessment. The objective is to characterize plant-specific NPP risk for risk management opportunities and to provide consistent information for DHS decision making. This paper is an update of this project presented at the American Nuclear Society (ANS) International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA05) in September, 2005. The method uses a characterization of risk as a function of Consequence, Vulnerability, and Threat. For eachmore » site, worst case scenarios are developed for each of sixteen benchmark threats. Nuclear RAMCAP hypothesizes that the intent of the perpetrator is to cause offsite radiological consequences. Specific targets are the reactor core, the spent fuel pool, and nuclear spent fuel in a dry storage facility (ISFSI). Results for each scenario are presented as conditional risk for financial loss, early fatalities and early injuries. Expected consequences for each scenario are quantified, while vulnerability is estimated on a relative likelihood scale. Insights for other societal risks are provided. Although threat frequencies are not provided, target attractiveness and threat deterrence are estimated. To assure efficiency, completeness, and consistency; results are documented using standard RAMCAP Evaluator software. Trial applications were successfully performed at four plant sites. Implementation at all other U.S. commercial sites is underway, supported by the Nuclear Sector Coordinating Council (NSCC). Insights from RAMCAP results at 23 U.S. plants completed to date have been compiled and presented to the NSCC. Results are site-specific. Physical security barriers, an armed security force, preparedness for design-basis threats, rugged design against natural hazards, multiple barriers between fuel and environment, accident mitigation capability, severe accident management procedures, and offsite emergency plans are risk-beneficial against all threat types. (authors)« less

Rare Earth Electrochemical Property Measurements and Phase Diagram Development in a Complex Molten Salt Mixture for Molten Salt Recycle

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Jinsuo; Guo, Shaoqiang

Pyroprocessing is a promising alternative for the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel (UNF) that uses electrochemical methods. Compared to the hydrometallurgical reprocessing method, pyroprocessing has many advantages such as reduced volume of radioactive waste, simple waste processing, ability to treat refractory material, and compatibility with fast reactor fuel recycle. The key steps of the process are the electro-refining of the spent metallic fuel in the LiCl-KCl eutectic salt, which can be integrated with an electrolytic reduction step for the reprocessing of spent oxide fuels.

Economic Viability of Brewery Spent Grain as a Biofuel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morrow, Charles

This report summarizes an investigation into the technical feasibility and economic viability of use grain wastes from the beer brewing process as fuel to generate the heat needed in subsequent brewing process. The study finds that while use of spent grain as a biofuel is technically feasible, the economics are not attractive. Economic viability is limited by the underuse of capital equipment. The investment in heating equipment requires a higher utilization that the client brewer currently anticipates. It may be possible in the future that changing factors may swing the decision to a more positive one.

A Novel Process for Recovering Valuable Materials from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dodbiba, Gjergj; Yamaji, Yuta; Murata, Kenji; Okaya, Katsunori; Shibayama, Atsushi; Fujita, Toyohisa

The demand for lithium-ion batteries has been increasing due to the increasing demand for laptop computers, cellular phones, automobiles, etc. The positive electrode of the lithium-ion secondary battery is mainly made of lithium oxides well as cobalt, nickel, manganese, etc. Thus, an effective recycling method not only would collect cobalt and lithium, but also would enable the separation of other materials from the spent batteries. In this work, a novel processing flow sheet is put forward and its efficiency is evaluated. The aim was to obtain pure fractions of various constituents.

Ceramic waste form production and development at ANL-West.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Battisti, T. J.; Goff, K. M.; Bateman, K. J.

2002-08-21

Argonne National Laboratory has developed a method to stabilize spent electrolyte salt discarded from electrorefiners (ER) used to treat spent nuclear fuel. The salt is stabilized in a ceramic using a pressureless consolidation technique. The starting material is zeolite 4A which is used as the host for the fission product and actinide rich salt. Glass frit is added to the salt loaded zeolite before processing to act as a binder. The zeolite 4A is converted to sodalite during processing via pressureless consolidation. This process differs from one used in the past that employed a hot isostatic press. Ceramic is createdmore » at 925 C and atmospheric pressure instead of the high pressures used in hot isostatic pressing. Process flow sheets, off-gas test results, processing equipment, and leech test results are presented.« less

Bioleaching of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion mobile phone batteries using Aspergillus niger

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horeh, N. Bahaloo; Mousavi, S. M.; Shojaosadati, S. A.

2016-07-01

In this paper, a bio-hydrometallurgical route based on fungal activity of Aspergillus niger was evaluated for the detoxification and recovery of Cu, Li, Mn, Al, Co and Ni metals from spent lithium-ion phone mobile batteries under various conditions (one-step, two-step and spent medium bioleaching). The maximum recovery efficiency of 100% for Cu, 95% for Li, 70% for Mn, 65% for Al, 45% for Co, and 38% for Ni was obtained at a pulp density of 1% in spent medium bioleaching. The HPLC results indicated that citric acid in comparison with other detected organic acids (gluconic, oxalic and malic acid) had an important role in the effectiveness of bioleaching using A. niger. The results of FTIR, XRD and FE-SEM analysis of battery powder before and after bioleaching process confirmed that the fungal activities were quite effective. In addition, bioleaching achieved higher removal efficiency for heavy metals than the chemical leaching. This research demonstrated the great potential of bio-hydrometallurgical route to recover heavy metals from spent lithium-ion mobile phone batteries.

Back to the FutureGen?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buchsbaum, L.

2009-04-15

After years of political wrangling, Democrats may green-light the experimental clean coal power plants. The article relates how the project came to be curtailed, how Senator Dick Durbin managed to protect $134 million in funding for FutureGen in Mattoon, and how once Obama was in office a $2 billion line item to fund a 'near zero emissions power plant(s)' was placed in the Senate version of the Stimulus Bill. The final version of the legislation cut the funding to $1 billion for 'fossil energy research and development'. In December 2008 the FutureGen Alliance and the City of Mattoon spent $6.5more » billion to purchase the plants eventual 440 acre site. A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that Bush's inaction may have set back clean coal technology in the US by as much as a decade. If additional funding comes through construction of the plant could start in 2010. 1 fig., 1 photo.« less

Descriptive Study Analyzing Discrepancies in a Software Development Project Change Request (CR) Assessment Process and Recommendations for Process Improvements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cunningham, Kenneth J.

2002-01-01

The Change Request (CR) assessment process is essential in the display development cycle. The assessment process is performed to ensure that the changes stated in the description of the CR match the changes in the actual display requirements. If a discrepancy is found between the CR and the requirements, the CR must be returned to the originator for corrections. Data will be gathered from each of the developers to determine the type of discrepancies and the amount of time spent assessing each CR. This study will determine the most common types of discrepancies and the amount of time spent assessing those issues. The results of the study will provide a foundation for future improvements as well as a baseline for future studies.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ondaro, Manuel

The Jose Cabrera Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was the first commercial power reactor (Westinghouse 1 loop PWR 510 MWth, 160 MWe) commissioned in Spain and provided the base for future development and training. The reactor construction started in 1963 and it was officially on-line by 1969. The NPP operated from 1969 until 2006 when it became the first reactor to be shut down after completing its operational period. The containment is reinforced concrete with a stainless steel head. In 2010 responsibility for D and D was transferred to Enresa to achieve IAEA level 3 (a green field site available formore » unrestricted re-uses) by 2017. Of the total of more than 104,000 tons of materials that will be generated during dismantling, it is estimated that only ∼4,000 tons will be radioactive waste, some of which, 40 t are considered as intermediate level long-lived wastes and the rest (3,960 t) will be categorized as VLLW and ILLW. The Project is divided into five phases: Phase 0 - Removal of fuel and preliminary work.. Phase 1 - Preparatory Activities for D and D. complete. Phase 2 - Dismantling of Major Components. Phase 3 - Removal of Auxiliary Installations, Decontamination and Demolition. Phase 4 - Environmental Restoration. Phase 2, is currently ongoing (50% completed). To manage the diverse aspects of decommissioning operations, Enresa uses an internally developed computerized project management tool. The tool, based on knowledge gathered from other Enresa projects, can process operations management, maintenance operations, materials, waste, storage areas, procedures, work permits, operator dose management and records. Enresa considers that communication is important for both internal and external stakeholder relations and can be used to inform, to neutralize negative opinions and attitudes, to remove false expectations and for training. Enresa has created a new multi-purpose area (exhibition/visitor centre) and encourages visits from the public, local schools, local and national politicians and technical groups. Greenfield is the final end state objective. The total cost of this project, including a 20% contingency as estimated in 2003 is 135 Meuros. This figure does not include the management of the plant spent fuel, which has constituted an independent project that has been completed in 2009 (35 Meuros). Enresa, with 15 staff on site are managing a team of ∼250 workers, 40 of whom belong to the previous operator. The spent fuel is On-Site prior to the final destination in the future Spain Centralized Spent Fuel Installation. (authors)« less

Microbiological characterization of a regenerative life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koenig, D. W.; Bruce, R. J.; Mishra, S. K.; Barta, D. J.; Pierson, D. L.

1994-01-01

A Variable Pressure Plant Growth Chamber (VPGC), at the Johnson Space Center's (JSC) ground based Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS) test bed, was used to produce crops of soil-grown lettuce. The crops and chamber were analyzed for microbiological diversity during lettuce growth and after harvest. Bacterial counts for the rhizosphere, spent nutrient medium, heat exchanger condensate, and atmosphere were approximately 10(exp 11) Colony Forming Units (CFU)/g, 10(exp 5) CFU/ml, 10(exp 5)CFU/ml, and 600 CFU/m sq, repectively. Pseudomonas was the predominant bacterial genus. Numbers of fungi were about 10(exp 5) CFU/g in the rhizosphere, 4-200 CFU/ml in the spent nutient medium, 110 CFU/ml in the heat exchanger condensate, and 3 CFU/cu m in the atmosphere. Fusarium and Trichoderma were the predominant fungal genera.

75 FR 70584 - Criteria for the Certification and Recertification of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-18

...With this document, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recertifies that the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) continues to comply with the ``Environmental Standards for the Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High- Level and Transuranic (TRU) Radioactive Waste.'' EPA initially certified that WIPP met applicable regulatory requirements on May 18, 1998, and the first shipment of waste was received at WIPP on March 26, 1999. The first Compliance Recertification Application (CRA) was submitted by DOE to EPA on March 26, 2004, and the Agency's first recertification decision was issued on March 29, 2006.

Toxicity evaluation of the process effluent streams of a petrochemical industry.

PubMed

Reis, J L R; Dezotti, M; Sant'Anna, G L

2007-02-01

The physico-chemical characteristics and the acute toxicity of several wastewater streams, generated in the industrial production of synthetic rubber, were determined. The acute toxicity was evaluated in bioassays using different organisms: Danio rerio (fish), Lactuca sativa (lettuce) and Brachionus calyciflorus (rotifer). The removal of toxicity attained in the industrial wastewater treatment plant was also determined upstream and downstream of the activated sludge process. The results obtained indicate that the critical streams in terms of acute toxicity are the effluents from the liquid polymer unit and the spent caustic butadiene washing stage. The biological treatment was able to partially remove the toxicity of the industrial wastewater. However, a residual toxicity level persisted in the biotreated wastewater. The results obtained with Lactuca sativa showed a high degree of reproducibility, using root length or germination index as evaluation parameters. The effect of volatile pollutants on the toxicity results obtained with lettuce seeds was assessed, using ethanol as a model compound. Modifications on the assay procedure were proposed. A strong correlation between the toxic responses of Lactuca sativa and Danio rerio was observed for most industrial effluent streams.

Effect of water extract from spent mushroom substrate after Ganoderma balabacense cultivation by using JUNCAO technique on production performance and hematology parameters of dairy cows.

PubMed

Liu, Yanling; Zhao, Chao; Lin, Dongmei; Lin, Hui; Lin, Zhanxi

2015-09-01

The spent mushroom substrate of Ganoderma balabacense cultivation (SMSGB) contains a large amount of bioactive substances. However, the potentials of SMSGB for improving milk production in dairy cows have not been thoroughly studied. In this study, the effects of hot water extract (HWE) from spent mushroom substrate after G. balabacense cultivated with JUNCAO, the herbaceous plants long-known to be suitable for cultivating edible and medicinal fungi, on production performance and hematology parameters of dairy cows, were determined. Holstein dairy cows were fed different doses of HWE. After a 60-day administration period with 100 g/day of HWE, milk yield, milk protein and triglyceride (TG) levels increased by 4.02% (P < 0.01), 4.49% (P < 0.05) and 32.65% (P < 0.05), respectively; somatic cell count (SCC) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were significantly decreased (P < 0.05). The production performance of dairy cows suggests that HWE with SMSGB treatment is effective in improving milk yield (P < 0.01) and hematology parameters of dairy cows, and may be useful as a functional feed additive. © 2015 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

Using an operator training simulator in the undergraduate chemical engineering curriculim

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhattacharyya, D.; Turton, R.; Zitney, S.

2012-01-01

An operator training simulator (OTS) is to the chemical engineer what a flight simulator is to the aerospace engineer. The basis of an OTS is a high-fidelity dynamic model of a chemical process that allows an engineer to simulate start-up, shut-down, and normal operation. It can also be used to test the skill and ability of an engineer or operator to respond and control some unforeseen situation(s) through the use of programmed malfunctions. West Virginia University (WVU) is a member of the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Regional University Alliance (NETL-RUA). Working through the NETL-RUA, the authors have spent the lastmore » four years collaborating on the development of a high-fidelity OTS for an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant with CO{sub 2} capture that is the cornerstone of the AVESTARTM (Advanced Virtual Energy Simulation Training And Research) Center with sister facilities at NETL and WVU in Morgantown, WV. This OTS is capable of real-time dynamic simulation of IGCC plant operation, including start-up, shut-down, and power demand load following. The dynamic simulator and its human machine interfaces (HMIs) are based on the DYNSIM and InTouch software, respectively, from Invensys Operations Management. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the authors’ experiences in using this sophisticated dynamic simulation-based OTS as a hands-on teaching tool in the undergraduate chemical engineering curriculum. At present, the OTS has been used in two separate courses: a new process simulation course and a traditional process control course. In the process simulation course, concepts of steady-state and dynamic simulations were covered prior to exposing the students to the OTS. Moreover, digital logic and the concept of equipment requiring one or more permissive states to be enabled prior to successful operation were also covered. Students were briefed about start-up procedures and the importance of following a predetermined sequence of actions in order to start-up the plant successfully. Student experience with the dynamic simulator consisted of a six-hour training session in which the Claus sulfur capture unit of the IGCC plant was started up. The students were able to operate the simulator through the InTouch-based HMI displays and study and understand the underlying dynamic modeling approach used in the DYNSIM-based simulator. The concepts learned during the training sessions were further reinforced when students developed their own DYNSIM models for a chemical process and wrote a detailed start-up procedure. In the process control course, students learned how the plant responds dynamically to changes in the manipulated inputs, as well as how the control system impacts plant performance, stability, robustness and disturbance rejection characteristics. The OTS provided the opportunity to study the dynamics of complicated, “real-life” process plants consisting of hundreds of pieces of equipment. Students implemented ideal forcing functions, tracked the time-delay through the entire plant, studied the response of open-loop unstable systems, and learned “good practices” in control system design by taking into account the real-world events where significant deviations from the “ideal” or “expected” response can occur. The theory of closed-loop stability was reinforced by implementing limiting proportional gain for stability limits of real plants. Finally, students were divided into several groups where each group was tasked to control a section of the plant within a set of operating limits in the face of disturbances and simulated process faults. At the end of this test, they suggested ways to improve the control system performance based on the theory they learned in class and the hands-on experience they earned while working on the OTS.« less

Characterisation of corn extrudates with the addition of brewers' spent grain as a raw material for the production of functional batters.

PubMed

Żelaziński, Tomasz; Ekielski, Adam; Siwek, Adam; Dardziński, Leszek

2017-01-01

Novel food batters, recommended for various products, are at present manufactured by extru- sion. Thanks to this, it is possible to look for and process new raw materials, if their processing has so far been considered impossible or economically unviable. The purpose of the work was therefore to investigate the extrudates produced from the corn and brewers' spent grain compounds that are subsequently used as raw material for food batter production. The work presents the findings of research on extrusion of corn mixes with varying levels of brewers' spent grains, to the maximum amount of 30%. Tests were conducted using a co-rotating double screw extruder, equipped with a single-outlet matrix with a diameter of 2.5mm. The products obtained were subjected to analysis of their parameters (apparent density, strength parameters, abrasiveness index) and the granulation of a single fraction was checked. The sample for which the percentage content was the highest was subjected to a detailed analysis of particle shape using vision software. It was found that an increase in the content of brewers' spent grains resulted in increased hardness of the products obtained. During the tests it was observed that the increasing hardness of the measured sam- ples is opposite to their abrasion resistance. The maximum decrement of the brasion parameters was seen for extrudates with 30% spent grain addition and was 1.4%, while the minimum decrement values for extrudates with brewers' grain content (10%) amounted to 0.85%. It was noted that this may prove the high brittleness of such products, particularly on the outer surface. It was also observed that lower grindability was recorded for samples produced by extrusion at a temperature of 140°C. On the other hand, higher grindability obtained at a temperature of 120°C may facilitate the grinding of such products, which may be particularly important in the production of food batter. Brewers' spent grains used as an addition to corn groats contribute to substantial changes in the extrudates obtained. It is also possible to produce compact extrudates with a brewers' spent grain content of 30%. After grinding, extrudates with higher brewers' spent grain content are distinguished by more rounded grains. The packing index of the samples indicates the increased accuracy of covering products with such batter, which indicates an advantage of food batters containing brewers' spent grains.

Perchlorate and nitrate treatment by ion exchange integrated with biological brine treatment.

PubMed

Lehman, S Geno; Badruzzaman, Mohammad; Adham, Samer; Roberts, Deborah J; Clifford, Dennis A

2008-02-01

Groundwater contaminated with perchlorate and nitrate was treated in a pilot plant using a commercially available ion exchange (IX) resin. Regenerant brine concentrate from the IX process, containing high perchlorate and nitrate, was treated biologically and the treated brine was reused in IX resin regeneration. The nitrate concentration of the feed water determined the exhaustion lifetime (i.e., regeneration frequency) of the resin; and the regeneration condition was determined by the perchlorate elution profile from the exhausted resin. The biological brine treatment system, using a salt-tolerant perchlorate- and nitrate-reducing culture, was housed in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The biological process consistently reduced perchlorate and nitrate concentrations in the spent brine to below the treatment goals of 500 microg ClO4(-)/L and 0.5mg NO3(-)-N/L determined by equilibrium multicomponent IX modeling. During 20 cycles of regeneration, the system consistently treated the drinking water to below the MCL of nitrate (10 mgNO3(-)-N/L) and the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) notification level of perchlorate (i.e., 6 microg/L). A conceptual cost analysis of the IX process estimated that perchlorate and nitrate treatment using the IX process with biological brine treatment to be approximately 20% less expensive than using the conventional IX with brine disposal.

Closure of regenerative life support systems: results of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barta, D.; Henninger, D.; Edeen, M.; Lewis, J.; Smith, F.; Verostko, C.

Future long duration human exploration missions away from Earth will require closed-loop regenerative life support systems to reduce launch mass reduce dependency on resupply and increase the level of mission self sufficiency Such systems may be based on the integration of biological and physiocochemical processes to produce potable water breathable atmosphere and nutritious food from metabolic and other mission wastes Over the period 1995 to 1998 a series of ground-based tests were conducted at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Johnson Space Center to evaluate the performance of advanced closed-loop life support technologies with real human metabolic and hygiene loads Named the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project LMLSTP four integrated human tests were conducted with increasing duration complexity and closure The first test LMLSTP Phase I was designed to demonstrate the ability of higher plants to revitalize cabin atmosphere A single crew member spent 15 days within an atmospherically closed chamber containing 11 2 square meters of actively growing wheat Atmospheric carbon dioxide and oxygen levels were maintained by control of the rate of photosynthesis through manipulation of light intensity or the availability of carbon dioxide and included integrated physicochemical systems During the second and third tests LMLSTP Phases II IIa four crew members spent 30 days and 60 days respectively in a larger sealed chamber Advanced physicochemical life support hardware was used to regenerate the atmosphere and produce potable water

System for utilizing oil shale fines

DOEpatents

Harak, Arnold E.

1982-01-01

A system is provided for utilizing fines of carbonaceous materials such as particles or pieces of oil shale of about one-half inch or less diameter which are rejected for use in some conventional or prior surface retorting process, which obtains maximum utilization of the energy content of the fines and which produces a waste which is relatively inert and of a size to facilitate disposal. The system includes a cyclone retort (20) which pyrolyzes the fines in the presence of heated gaseous combustion products, the cyclone retort having a first outlet (30) through which vapors can exit that can be cooled to provide oil, and having a second outlet (32) through which spent shale fines are removed. A burner (36) connected to the spent shale outlet of the cyclone retort, burns the spent shale with air, to provide hot combustion products (24) that are carried back to the cyclone retort to supply gaseous combustion products utilized therein. The burner heats the spent shale to a temperature which forms a molten slag, and the molten slag is removed from the burner into a quencher (48) that suddenly cools the molten slag to form granules that are relatively inert and of a size that is convenient to handle for disposal in the ground or in industrial processes.

Recycling metals from lithium ion battery by mechanical separation and vacuum metallurgy.

PubMed

Xiao, Jiefeng; Li, Jia; Xu, Zhengming

2017-09-15

The large-batch application of lithium ion batteries leads to the mass production of spent batteries. So the enhancement of disposal ability of spent lithium ion batteries is becoming very urgent. This study proposes an integrated process to handle bulk spent lithium manganese (LiMn 2 O 4 ) batteries to in situ recycle high value-added products without any additives. By mechanical separation, the mixed electrode materials mainly including binder, graphite and LiMn 2 O 4 are firstly obtained from spent batteries. Then, the reaction characteristics for the oxygen-free roasting of mixed electrode materials are analyzed. And the results show that mixed electrode materials can be in situ converted into manganese oxide (MnO) and lithium carbonate (Li 2 CO 3 ) at 1073K for 45min. In this process, the binder is evaporated and decomposed into gaseous products which can be collected to avoid disposal cost. Finally, 91.30% of Li resource as Li 2 CO 3 is leached from roasted powders by water and then high value-added Li 2 CO 3 crystals are further gained by evaporating the filter liquid. The filter residues are burned in air to remove the graphite and the final residues as manganous-manganic oxide (Mn 3 O 4 ) is obtained. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recovery of Ni Metal from Spent Catalyst with Emulsion Liquid Membrane Using Cyanex 272 as Extractant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuliusman; Huda, M.; Ramadhan, I. T.; Farry, A. R.; Wulandari, P. T.; Alfia, R.

2018-03-01

In this study was conducted to recover nickel metal from spent nickel catalyst resulting from hydrotreating process in petroleum industry. The nickel extraction study with the emulsion liquid membrane using Cyanex 272 as an extractant to extract and separate nickel from the feed phase solution. Feed phase solution was preapred from spent catalyst using sulphuric acid. Liquid membrane consists of a kerosene as diluent, a Span 80 as surfactant, a Cyanex 272 as carrier and sulphuric acid solutions have been used as the stripping solution. The important parameters governing the permeation of nickel and their effect on the separation process have been studied. These parameters are surfactant concentration, extractant concentration feed phase pH. The optimum conditions of the emulsion membrane making process is using 0.06 M Cyanex 272, 8% w/v SPAN 80, 0.05 M H2SO4, internal phase extractant / phase volume ratio: 1/1, and stirring speed 1150 rpm for 60 Minute that can produce emulsion membrane with stability level above 90% after 4 hours. In the extraction process with optimum condition pH 6 for feed phase, ratio of phase emulsion/phase of feed: 1/2, and stirring speed 175 rpm for 15 minutes with result 81.51% nickel was extracted.

K basins sludge removal sludge pretreatment system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, H.L.

1997-06-12

The Spent Nuclear Fuels Program is in the process of planning activities to remove spent nuclear fuel and other materials from the 100-K Basins as a remediation effort for clean closure. The 105 K- East and K-West Basins store spent fuel, sludge, and debris. Sludge has accumulated in the 1 00 K Basins as a result of fuel oxidation and a slight amount of general debris being deposited, by settling, in the basin water. The ultimate intent in removing the sludge and fuel is to eliminate the environmental risk posed by storing fuel at the K Basins. The task formore » this project is to disposition specific constituents of sludge (metallic fuel) to produce a product stream through a pretreatment process that will meet the requirements, including a final particle size acceptable to the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS). The purpose of this task is to develop a preconceptual design package for the K Basin sludge pretreatment system. The process equipment/system is at a preconceptual stage, as shown in sketch ES-SNF-01 , while a more refined process system and material/energy balances are ongoing (all sketches are shown in Appendix C). Thus, the overall process and 0535 associated equipment have been conservatively selected and sized, respectively, to establish the cost basis and equipment layout as shown in sketches ES- SNF-02 through 08.« less

Electrolytic recovery of reactor metal fuel

DOEpatents

Miller, W.E.; Tomczuk, Z.

1994-09-20

A new electrolytic process and apparatus are provided using sodium, cerium or a similar metal in alloy or within a sodium beta or beta[double prime]-alumina sodium ion conductor to electrolytically displace each of the spent fuel metals except for cesium and strontium on a selective basis from the electrolyte to an inert metal cathode. Each of the metals can be deposited separately. An electrolytic transfer of spent fuel into the electrolyte includes a sodium or cerium salt in the electrolyte with sodium or cerium alloy being deposited on the cathode during the transfer of the metals from the spent fuel. The cathode with the deposit of sodium or cerium alloy is then shunted to an anode and the reverse transfer is carried out on a selective basis with each metal being deposited separately at the cathode. The result is that the sodium or cerium needed for the process is regenerated in the first step and no additional source of these reactants is required. 2 figs.

3DD - Three Dimensional Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel - 12449

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dvorakova, Marketa; Slovak, Jiri

2012-07-01

Three dimensional disposal is being considered as a way in which to store long-term spent nuclear fuel in underground disposal facilities in the Czech Republic. This method involves a combination of the two most common internationally recognised disposal methods in order to practically apply the advantages of both whilst, at the same time, eliminating their weaknesses; the method also allows easy removal in case of potential re-use. The proposed method for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel will reduce the areal requirements of future deep geological repositories by more than 30%. It will also simplify the container handling process bymore » using gravitational forces in order to meet requirements concerning the controllability of processes and ensuring operational and nuclear safety. With regard to the issue of the efficient potential removal of waste containers, this project offers an ingenious solution which does not disrupt the overall stability of the original disposal complex. (authors)« less

Electrolytic recovery of reactor metal fuel

DOEpatents

Miller, W.E.; Tomczuk, Z.

1993-02-03

This invention is comprised of a new electrolytic process and apparatus using sodium, cerium or a similar metal in an alloy or within a sodium beta or beta-alumina sodium ion conductor to electrolytically displace each of the spent fuel metals except for Cesium and strontium on a selective basis from the electrolyte to an inert metal cathode. Each of the metals can be deposited separately. An electrolytic transfer of spent fuel into the electrolyte includes a sodium or cerium salt in the electrolyte with sodium or cerium alloy being deposited on the cathode during the transfer of the metals from the spent fuel. The cathode with the deposit of sodium or cerium alloy is then changed to an anode and the reverse transfer is carried out on a selective basis with each metal being deposited separately at the cathode. The result is that the sodium or cerium needed for the process is regenerated in the first step and no additional source of these reactants is required.

Electrolytic recovery of reactor metal fuel

DOEpatents

Miller, William E.; Tomczuk, Zygmunt

1994-01-01

A new electrolytic process and apparatus are provided using sodium, cerium or a similar metal in alloy or within a sodium beta or beta"-alumina sodium ion conductor to electrolytically displace each of the spent fuel metals except for cesium and strontium on a selective basis from the electrolyte to an inert metal cathode. Each of the metals can be deposited separately. An electrolytic transfer of spent fuel into the electrolyte includes a sodium or cerium salt in the electrolyte with sodium or cerium alloy being deposited on the cathode during the transfer of the metals from the spent fuel. The cathode with the deposit of sodium or cerium alloy is then chanted to an anode and the reverse transfer is carried out on a selective basis with each metal being deposited separately at the cathode. The result is that the sodium or cerium needed for the process is regenerated in the first step and no additional source of these reactants is required.

Leaching of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from oil shale processing waste deposit: a long-term field study.

PubMed

Jefimova, Jekaterina; Irha, Natalya; Reinik, Janek; Kirso, Uuve; Steinnes, Eiliv

2014-05-15

The leaching behavior of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from an oil shale processing waste deposit was monitored during 2005-2009. Samples were collected from the deposit using a special device for leachate sampling at field conditions without disturbance of the upper layers. Contents of 16 priority PAHs in leachate samples collected from aged and fresh parts of the deposit were determined by GC-MS. The sum of the detected PAHs in leachates varied significantly throughout the study period: 19-315 μg/l from aged spent shale, and 36-151 μg/l from fresh spent shale. Among the studied PAHs the low-molecular weight compounds phenanthrene, naphthalene, acenaphthylene, and anthracene predominated. Among the high-molecular weight PAHs benzo[a]anthracene and pyrene leached in the highest concentrations. A spent shale deposit is a source of PAHs that could infiltrate into the surrounding environment for a long period of time. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 430.35 - New source performance standards (NSPS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...-chemical (cross recovery) process and/or a combined unbleached kraft and semi-chemical process, wherein the spent semi-chemical cooking liquor is burned within the unbleached kraft chemical recovery system...

United States-Canada Trade and Economic Relationship: Prospects and Challenges

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-29

gap has proven worrisome to Canadian policymakers as it raises questions about Canadian productivity and competitiveness (see box). In terms of...While Canada suffers from productivity problems in other sectors of its economy, its automotive plants are among the most competitive in North America...Canadian tourists spent 56% of their tourist dollars in the United States that year.15 Investment The U.S.-Canada economic relationship is characterized by

Going with the flow Zimpro/Passavant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roy, K.A.

1988-11-01

Over the past decade, changes in the regulatory climate have forced facilities generating effluents to bear the burden of wastewater treatment rather than passing the problem on to a municipal treatment plant or into the country's waterways. As governments spent less and less money on municipal wastewater treatment, executives at Zimpro/Passavant (Rothschild, Wis.), a wastewater treatment firm, turned their attention and efforts to more lucrative markets. This paper discusses their efforts.

Phytoremediation of soil contaminated with used lubricating oil using Jatropha curcas.

PubMed

Agamuthu, P; Abioye, O P; Aziz, A Abdul

2010-07-15

Soil contamination by used lubricating oil from automobiles is a growing concern in many countries, especially in Asian and African continents. Phytoremediation of this polluted soil with non-edible plant like Jatropha curcas offers an environmental friendly and cost-effective method for remediating the polluted soil. In this study, phytoremediation of soil contaminated with 2.5 and 1% (w/w) waste lubricating oil using J. curcas and enhancement with organic wastes [Banana skin (BS), brewery spent grain (BSG) and spent mushroom compost (SMC)] was undertaken for a period of 180 days under room condition. 56.6% and 67.3% loss of waste lubricating oil was recorded in Jatropha remediated soil without organic amendment for 2.5% and 1% contamination, respectively. However addition of organic waste (BSG) to Jatropha remediation rapidly increases the removal of waste lubricating oil to 89.6% and 96.6% in soil contaminated with 2.5% and 1% oil, respectively. Jatropha root did not accumulate hydrocarbons from the soil, but the number of hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria was high in the rhizosphere of the Jatropha plant, thus suggesting that the mechanism of the oil degradation was via rhizodegradation. These studies have proven that J. curcas with organic amendment has a potential in reclaiming hydrocarbon-contaminated soil. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Release of plutonium isotopes into the environment from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident: what is known and what needs to be known.

PubMed

Zheng, Jian; Tagami, Keiko; Uchida, Shigeo

2013-09-03

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident has caused serious contamination in the environment. The release of Pu isotopes renewed considerable public concern because they present a large risk for internal radiation exposure. In this Critical Review, we summarize and analyze published studies related to the release of Pu from the FDNPP accident based on environmental sample analyses and the ORIGEN model simulations. Our analysis emphasizes the environmental distribution of released Pu isotopes, information on Pu isotopic composition for source identification of Pu releases in the FDNPP-damaged reactors or spent fuel pools, and estimation of the amounts of Pu isotopes released from the FDNPP accident. Our analysis indicates that a trace amount of Pu isotopes (∼2 × 10(-5)% of core inventory) was released into the environment from the damaged reactors but not from the spent fuel pools located in the reactor buildings. Regarding the possible Pu contamination in the marine environment, limited studies suggest that no extra Pu input from the FDNPP accident could be detected in the western North Pacific 30 km off the Fukushima coast. Finally, we identified knowledge gaps remained on the release of Pu into the environment and recommended issues for future studies.

Romania: Brand-New Engineering Solutions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ken Allen; Lucian Biro; Nicolae Zamfir

The HEU spent nuclear fuel transport from Romania was a pilot project in the framework of the Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return Program (RRRFR), being the first fully certified spent nuclear fuel shipment by air. The successful implementation of the Romanian shipment also brought various new technology in the program, further used by other participating countries. Until 2009, the RRRFR program repatriated to the Russian Federation HEU spent nuclear fuel of Russian origin from many countries, like Uzbekistan, Czech Republic, Latvia, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Bulgaria. The means of transport used were various; from specialized TK-5 train for the carriage ofmore » Russian TUK-19 transport casks, to platform trains for 20 ft freight ISO containers carrying Czech Skoda VPVR/M casks; from river barge on the Danube, to vessel on the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Initially, in 2005, the transport plan of the HEU spent nuclear fuel from the National Institute for R&D in Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Engineering 'Horia Hulubei' in Magurele, Romania considered a similar scheme, using the specialized TK-5 train transiting Ukraine to the destination point in the Russian Federation, or, as an alternative, using the means and route of the spent nuclear fuel periodically shipped from the Bulgarian nuclear power plant Kosloduy (by barge on the Danube, and by train through Ukraine to the Russian Federation). Due to impossibility to reach an agreement in due time with the transit country, in February 2007 the US, Russian and Romanian project partners decided to adopt the air shipment of the spent nuclear fuel as prime option, eliminating the need for agreements with any transit countries. By this time the spent nuclear fuel inspections were completed, proving the compliance of the burn-up parameters with the international requirements for air shipments of radioactive materials. The short air route avoiding overflying of any other countries except the country of origin and the country of destination also contributed to the decision making in this issue. The efficient project management and cooperation between the three countries (Russia, Romania and USA) made possible, after two and a half years of preparation work, for the first fully certified spent nuclear fuel air shipment to take place on 29th of June 2009, from Romanian airport 'Henri Coanda' to the Russian airport 'Koltsovo' near Yekaterinburg. One day before that, after a record period of 3 weeks of preparation, another HEU cargo was shipped by air from Romanian Institute for Nuclear Research in Pitesti to Russia, containing fresh pellets and therefore making Romania the third HEU-free country in the RRRFR program.« less

Recycling of spent lithium-ion battery with polyvinyl chloride by mechanochemical process.

PubMed

Wang, Meng-Meng; Zhang, Cong-Cong; Zhang, Fu-Shen

2017-09-01

In the present study, cathode materials (C/LiCoO 2 ) of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and waste polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were co-processed via an innovative mechanochemical method, i.e. LiCoO 2 /PVC/Fe was co-grinded followed by water-leaching. This procedure generated recoverable LiCl from Li by the dechlorination of PVC and also generated magnetic CoFe 4 O 6 from Co. The effects of different additives (e.g. alkali metals, non-metal oxides, and zero-valent metals) on (i) the conversion rates of Li and Co and (ii) the dechlorination rate of PVC were investigated, and the reaction mechanisms were explored. It was found that the chlorine atoms in PVC were mechanochemically transformed into chloride ions that bound to the Li in LiCoO 2 to form LiCl. This resulted in reorganization of the Co and Fe crystals to form the magnetic material CoFe 4 O 6 . This study provides a more environmentally-friendly, economical, and straightforward approach for the recycling of spent LIBs and waste PVC compared to traditional processes. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A Generic Individual-Based Spatially Explicit Model as a Novel Tool for Investigating Insect-Plant Interactions: A Case Study of the Behavioural Ecology of Frugivorous Tephritidae

PubMed Central

Wang, Ming; Cribb, Bronwen; Clarke, Anthony R.; Hanan, Jim

2016-01-01

Computational modelling of mechanisms underlying processes in the real world can be of great value in understanding complex biological behaviours. Uptake in general biology and ecology has been rapid. However, it often requires specific data sets that are overly costly in time and resources to collect. The aim of the current study was to test whether a generic behavioural ecology model constructed using published data could give realistic outputs for individual species. An individual-based model was developed using the Pattern-Oriented Modelling (POM) strategy and protocol, based on behavioural rules associated with insect movement choices. Frugivorous Tephritidae (fruit flies) were chosen because of economic significance in global agriculture and the multiple published data sets available for a range of species. The Queensland fruit fly (Qfly), Bactrocera tryoni, was identified as a suitable individual species for testing. Plant canopies with modified architecture were used to run predictive simulations. A field study was then conducted to validate our model predictions on how plant architecture affects fruit flies’ behaviours. Characteristics of plant architecture such as different shapes, e.g., closed-canopy and vase-shaped, affected fly movement patterns and time spent on host fruit. The number of visits to host fruit also differed between the edge and centre in closed-canopy plants. Compared to plant architecture, host fruit has less contribution to effects on flies’ movement patterns. The results from this model, combined with our field study and published empirical data suggest that placing fly traps in the upper canopy at the edge should work best. Such a modelling approach allows rapid testing of ideas about organismal interactions with environmental substrates in silico rather than in vivo, to generate new perspectives. Using published data provides a saving in time and resources. Adjustments for specific questions can be achieved by refinement of parameters based on targeted experiments. PMID:26999285

Computer Based Procedures for Field Workers - FY16 Research Activities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oxstrand, Johanna; Bly, Aaron

The Computer-Based Procedure (CBP) research effort is a part of the Light-Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program, which provides the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long-term, safe, and economical operation of current nuclear power plants. One of the primary missions of the LWRS program is to help the U.S. nuclear industry adopt new technologies and engineering solutions that facilitate the continued safe operation of the plants and extension of the current operating licenses. One area that could yield tremendous savings in increased efficiency and safety is in improving procedure use. A CBP provides the opportunity to incorporate context-driven jobmore » aids, such as drawings, photos, and just-in-time training. The presentation of information in CBPs can be much more flexible and tailored to the task, actual plant condition, and operation mode. The dynamic presentation of the procedure will guide the user down the path of relevant steps, thus minimizing time spent by the field worker to evaluate plant conditions and decisions related to the applicability of each step. This dynamic presentation of the procedure also minimizes the risk of conducting steps out of order and/or incorrectly assessed applicability of steps. This report provides a summary of the main research activities conducted in the Computer-Based Procedures for Field Workers effort since 2012. The main focus of the report is on the research activities conducted in fiscal year 2016. The activities discussed are the Nuclear Electronic Work Packages – Enterprise Requirements initiative, the development of a design guidance for CBPs (which compiles all insights gained through the years of CBP research), the facilitation of vendor studies at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), a pilot study for how to enhance the plant design modification work process, the collection of feedback from a field evaluation study at Plant Vogtle, and path forward to commercialize INL’s CBP system.« less

The use of olfactory and visual cues in host choice by the capsid bugs Lygus rugulipennis Poppius and Liocoris tripustulatus fabricius.

PubMed

Wynde, Fiona J H; Port, Gordon R

2012-01-01

Lygus rugulipennis Poppius and Liocoris tripustulatus Fabricius (Heteroptera: Miridae) are pests of glasshouse cucumber and sweet pepper crops respectively. L. rugulipennis has a wide range of foodplants, but L. tripustulatus is specialised with very few food plants. We report behavioural assessments to investigate whether either species exhibits a preference for salad over wild hosts, and whether the role of olfaction and vision in response to cues from host plants can be distinguished. Olfactory responses to leaves were tested in choice chambers. L. rugulipennis was presented nettle (wild host) and a salad leaf of cucumber or sweet pepper, where the salad leaves had higher nitrogen content. L. tripustulatus was tested with nettle and sweet pepper of two different nitrogen contents. Female L. rugulipennis spent more time on the cucumber salad host, and chose it first most often, but males showed no preference. Neither sex discriminated between sweet pepper or nettle leaves, but males made more first contacts with sweet pepper. Neither sex of L. tripustulatus discriminated between sweet pepper and nettle leaves when the sweet pepper had higher nitrogen. When the plant species contained equivalent nitrogen both sexes spent more time on nettle. There was no difference in first choice made by either sex. When visual stimuli were available, and leaves had equivalent nitrogen, L. rugulipennis showed no preference and L. tripustulatus preferred nettle leaves. We conclude that the generalist L. rugulipennis has the ability to use remote olfactory cues for host choice whereas the specialist L. tripustulatus relies mainly on contact chemosensory and gustatory cues.

The Use of Olfactory and Visual Cues in Host Choice by the Capsid Bugs Lygus rugulipennis Poppius and Liocoris tripustulatus Fabricius

PubMed Central

Wynde, Fiona J. H.; Port, Gordon R.

2012-01-01

Lygus rugulipennis Poppius and Liocoris tripustulatus Fabricius (Heteroptera: Miridae) are pests of glasshouse cucumber and sweet pepper crops respectively. L. rugulipennis has a wide range of foodplants, but L. tripustulatus is specialised with very few food plants. We report behavioural assessments to investigate whether either species exhibits a preference for salad over wild hosts, and whether the role of olfaction and vision in response to cues from host plants can be distinguished. Olfactory responses to leaves were tested in choice chambers. L. rugulipennis was presented nettle (wild host) and a salad leaf of cucumber or sweet pepper, where the salad leaves had higher nitrogen content. L. tripustulatus was tested with nettle and sweet pepper of two different nitrogen contents. Female L. rugulipennis spent more time on the cucumber salad host, and chose it first most often, but males showed no preference. Neither sex discriminated between sweet pepper or nettle leaves, but males made more first contacts with sweet pepper. Neither sex of L. tripustulatus discriminated between sweet pepper and nettle leaves when the sweet pepper had higher nitrogen. When the plant species contained equivalent nitrogen both sexes spent more time on nettle. There was no difference in first choice made by either sex. When visual stimuli were available, and leaves had equivalent nitrogen, L. rugulipennis showed no preference and L. tripustulatus preferred nettle leaves. We conclude that the generalist L. rugulipennis has the ability to use remote olfactory cues for host choice whereas the specialist L. tripustulatus relies mainly on contact chemosensory and gustatory cues. PMID:23226493

Composition variability of spent mushroom compost in Ireland.

PubMed

Jordan, S N; Mullen, G J; Murphy, M C

2008-01-01

Spent mushroom compost (SMC) has proven to be an attractive material for improving soil structure in tilled soils and increasing dry matter production in grassland soils, owing to its high organic matter content and availability of essential plant nutrients. Because of this, it is important to identify the variability in composition of SMC in order to evaluate its merit as a fertilizer/soil conditioner. For this reason, a study was carried out involving the analysis of SMC samples obtained from five mushroom growers using compost from each of the 13 mushroom composting yards currently operating in both Northern Ireland (5 yd) and the Republic of Ireland (8 yd). The selected parameters measured include dry matter, organic matter, total N, P and K, C/N ratio; plant-available P and K, pH, EC, total Ca, Mg, Na, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb; and cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin constituents. Yield of mushroom data were also collected from the selected growers. There were significant differences (P<0.05) within two compost production yards for some parameters, therefore, for the most part, the uniformity of SMC within each yard is relatively consistent. However, significant differences (P<0.05) were evident when comparing SMC obtained from growers supplied with compost from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland independently, particularly among total and available phosphorus and potassium values. The results obtained show that, while SMC has fertilizer merit, its variability of composition must be taken into account when assessing this value. The variability of composition is also of particular interest in the context of recent emphasis on plant nutrient management in agriculture.

Comprehensive evaluation on effective leaching of critical metals from spent lithium-ion batteries.

PubMed

Gao, Wenfang; Liu, Chenming; Cao, Hongbin; Zheng, Xiaohong; Lin, Xiao; Wang, Haijuan; Zhang, Yi; Sun, Zhi

2018-05-01

Recovery of metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has attracted worldwide attention because of issues from both environmental impacts and resource supply. Leaching, for instance using an acidic solution, is a critical step for effective recovery of metals from spent LIBs. To achieve both high leaching efficiency and selectivity of the targeted metals, improved understanding on the interactive features of the materials and leaching solutions is highly required. However, such understanding is still limited at least caused by the variation on physiochemical properties of different leaching solutions. In this research, a comprehensive investigation and evaluation on the leaching process using acidic solutions to recycle spent LIBs is carried out. Through analyzing two important parameters, i.e. leaching speed and recovery rate of the corresponding metals, the effects of hydrogen ion concentration, acid species and concentration on these two parameters were evaluated. It was found that a leachant with organic acids may leach Co and Li from the cathode scrap and leave Al foil as metallic form with high leaching selectivity, while that with inorganic acids typically leach all metals into the solution. Inconsistency between the leaching selectivity and efficiency during spent LIBs recycling is frequently noticed. In order to achieve an optimal status with both high leaching selectivity and efficiency (especially at high solid-to-liquid ratios), it is important to manipulate the average leaching speed and recovery rate of metals to optimize the leaching conditions. Subsequently, it is found that the leaching speed is significantly dependent on the hydrogen ion concentration and the capability of releasing hydrogen ions of the acidic leachant during leaching. With this research, it is expected to improve understanding on controlling the physiochemical properties of a leaching solution and to potentially design processes for spent LIBs recycling with high industrial viability. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of Pleurotus eous Strain P-31 Spent Mushroom Compost (SMC) as Soil Conditioner on the Growth and Yield Performance of Capsicum annuum L. and Solanum lycopersicon L. Seedlings under Greenhouse Conditions in Ghana

PubMed Central

Wiafe-Kwagyan, M; Odamtten, G T

2018-01-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of spent mushroom compost of Pleurotus eous strain P-31 on the growth and yield performance of pepper and tomato seedlings under greenhouse conditions. Sandy loam soil was combined with different percentages of SMC to obtain the following combinations (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30) %. Lower concentrations SMC5, SMC10 and SMC15 promoted vegetative growth (plant height, leaf area, chlorophyll content, number of leaves and axillary branches) of the two test plants. Tomato seedlings grown in SMC10 recorded the highest plant height (50.3 ± 7.2cm); leaf area (378.8 ± 1.2cm2); number of floral buds (51) and flowers (28) whereas SMC5 recorded the highest chlorophyll content 34.1 ± 0.9CCI though SMC15 recorded the highest number of leaves (8). Tomato seedlings grown in SMC30 produced both the maximum number of fruits (8) with corresponding high weight (34.2 ± 7.7g). Pepper seedlings grown in lower concentrations (SMC5–15) recorded the highest plant heights (29.8–30.8cm), chlorophyll content (20.3CCI) and leaf area (53.5–66.2 cm2). Although the different combinations of sandy loam soil and SMC did not significantly (p ≥ 0.05) affect the number of axillary branches developed; different combinations significantly (p ≤ 0.05) affected the number of floral bud, flower and fruit, weight of fruits formed and value of each of these increased with increasing percentage of SMC. Pepper seedlings grown on SMC30 recorded the maximum number of floral buds (32.0 ± 3.6), number of flowers (19.4 ± 1.3), number of fruits (10.8 ± 1.2) and weight of fruits (31.9 ± 3.4g). Tomato seedlings raised on SMC100 (spent mushroom compost only) and soil only did not significantly (p ≥ 0.05) differ from each other however, was statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) from amended sandy loam soil by all criteria investigated. The study shows that SMC provide favourable soil conditioners for the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and foliage crops as it improved growth and yield of tomato and pepper seedlings. PMID:29644023

Separation of uranium from technetium in recovery of spent nuclear fuel

DOEpatents

Pruett, D.J.; McTaggart, D.R.

1983-08-31

Uranium and technetium in the product stream of the Purex process for recovery of uranium in spent nuclear fuel are separated by (1) contacting the aqueous Purex product stream with hydrazine to reduce Tc/sup +7/ therein to a reduced species, and (2) contacting said aqueous stream with an organic phase containing tributyl phosphate and an organic diluent to extract uranium from said aqueous stream into said organic phase.

Refining of Military Jet Fuels from Shale Oil. Part II. Volume III. Above Ground Shale Oil Process Data.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-03-01

system. Regenerator flue gas composi- tion, spent catalyst carbon content and regenerated cata- lyst content are monitored for material balance purposes...and good material balance closures obtained. During each run pro- duct gas samples, regenerator flue gas samples, spent and -85- regenerated...TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF DENITROGENATION AT 2 LHSV ON CO/MO ......................... 26 111-2 TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF DESULFURIZATION AT 2 LHSV ON

Separation of uranium from technetium in recovery of spent nuclear fuel

DOEpatents

Pruett, David J.; McTaggart, Donald R.

1984-01-01

Uranium and technetium in the product stream of the Purex process for recovery of uranium in spent nuclear fuel are separated by (1) contacting the aqueous Purex product stream with hydrazine to reduce Tc.sup.+7 therein to a reduced species, and (2) contacting said aqueous stream with an organic phase containing tributyl phosphate and an organic diluent to extract uranium from said aqueous stream into said organic phase.

Improve protective clothing and reduce radwaste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnstone, G.A.; Fryer, J.; Smith, J.M.

1995-12-31

Nuclear power plants have been reducing radioactive waste production through aggressive volume reduction and control at the point of generation. Waste reduction efforts may, however, have reached a plateau. Certain items, such as protective clothing, are a necessary part of plant operations and cannot be eliminated. There are more than 800,000 sets of protective clothing currently in use at U.S. nuclear plants. Since up to 25% of these garments are removed from service each year, spent protective wear accounts for {approximately}100,000 ft{sup 3} of prevolume reduced waste annually. Furthermore, up to 10% of dry active waste produced at commercial powermore » reactor sites is comprised of exhausted protective clothing and related goods. This report describes the design of protective clothing which lasts longer and is lighter than traditional fabrics.« less

Interactions of a lignin-rich fraction from brewer's spent grain with gut microbiota in vitro.

PubMed

Niemi, Piritta; Aura, Anna-Marja; Maukonen, Johanna; Smeds, Annika I; Mattila, Ismo; Niemelä, Klaus; Tamminen, Tarja; Faulds, Craig B; Buchert, Johanna; Poutanen, Kaisa

2013-07-10

Lignin is a constituent of plant cell walls and thus is classified as part of dietary fiber. However, little is known about the role of lignin in gastrointestinal fermentation. In this work, a lignin-rich fraction was prepared from brewer's spent grain and subjected to an in vitro colon model to study its potential bioconversions and interactions with fecal microbiota. No suppression of microbial conversion by the fraction was observed in the colon model, as measured as short-chain fatty acid production. Furthermore, no inhibition on the growth was observed when the fraction was incubated with strains of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. In fact, the lignin-rich fraction enabled bifidobacteria to survive longer than with glucose. Several transiently appearing phenolic compounds, very likely originating from lignin, were observed during the fermentation. This would indicate that the gut microbiota was able to partially degrade lignin and metabolize the released compounds.

Scale models: A proven cost-effective tool for outage planning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, R.; Segroves, R.

1995-03-01

As generation costs for operating nuclear stations have risen, more nuclear utilities have initiated efforts to improve cost effectiveness. Nuclear plant owners are also being challenged with lower radiation exposure limits and new revised radiation protection related regulations (10 CFR 20), which places further stress on their budgets. As source term reduction activities continue to lower radiation fields, reducing the amount of time spent in radiation fields becomes one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing radiation exposure. An effective approach for minimizing time spent in radiation areas is to use a physical scale model for worker orientation planning andmore » monitoring maintenance, modifications, and outage activities. To meet the challenge of continued reduction in the annual cumulative radiation exposures, new cost-effective tools are required. One field-tested and proven tool is the physical scale model.« less

Accelerator-driven Transmutation of Waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venneri, Francesco

1998-04-01

Nuclear waste from commercial power plants contains large quantities of plutonium, other fissionable actinides, and long-lived fission products that are potential proliferation concerns and create challenges for the long-term storage. Different strategies for dealing with nuclear waste are being followed by various countries because of their geologic situations and their views on nuclear energy, reprocessing and non-proliferation. The current United States policy is to store unprocessed spent reactor fuel in a geologic repository. Other countries are opting for treatment of nuclear waste, including partial utilization of the fissile material contained in the spent fuel, prior to geologic storage. Long-term uncertainties are hampering the acceptability and eventual licensing of a geologic repository for nuclear spent fuel in the US, and driving up its cost. The greatest concerns are with the potential for radiation release and exposure from the spent fuel for tens of thousands of years and the possible diversion and use of the actinides contained in the waste for weapons construction. Taking advantage of the recent breakthroughs in accelerator technology and of the natural flexibility of subcritical systems, the Accelerator-driven Transmutation of Waste (ATW) concept offers the United States and other countries the possibility to greatly reduce plutonium, higher actinides and environmentally hazardous fission products from the waste stream destined for permanent storage. ATW does not eliminate the need for, but instead enhances the viability of permanent waste repositories. Far from being limited to waste destruction, the ATW concept also brings to the table new technologies that could be relevant for next-generation power producing reactors. In the ATW concept, spent fuel would be shipped to the ATW site where the plutonium, transuranics and selected long-lived fission products would be destroyed by fission or transmutation in their first and only pass through the facility, using an accelerator-driven subcritical burner cooled by liquid lead/bismuth and limited pyrochemical treatment of the spent fuel and residual waste. This approach contrasts with the present-day practices of aqueous reprocessing (Europe and Japan), in which high purity plutonium is produced and used in the fabrication of fresh mixed oxide fuel (MOX) that is shipped off-site for use in light water reactors.

Bioleaching of metals from spent refinery petroleum catalyst using moderately thermophilic bacteria: effect of particle size.

PubMed

Srichandan, Haragobinda; Singh, Sradhanjali; Pathak, Ashish; Kim, Dong-Jin; Lee, Seoung-Won; Heyes, Graeme

2014-01-01

The present work investigated the leaching potential of moderately thermophilic bacteria in the recovery of metals from spent petroleum catalyst of varying particle sizes. The batch bioleaching experiments were conducted by employing a mixed consortium of moderate thermophilic bacteria at 45°C and by using five different particle sizes (from 45 to >2000 μm) of acetone-washed spent catalyst. The elemental mapping by FESEM confirmed the presence of Al, Ni, V and Mo along with sulfur in the spent catalyst. During bioleaching, Ni (92-97%) and V (81-91%) were leached in higher concentrations, whereas leaching yields of Al (23-38%) were found to be lowest in all particle sizes investigated. Decreasing the particle size from >2000 μm to 45-106 μm caused an increase in leaching yields of metals during initial hours. However, the final metals leaching yields were almost independent of particle sizes of catalyst. Leaching kinetics was observed to follow the diffusion-controlled model showing the linearity more close than the chemical control. The results of the present study suggested that bioleaching using moderate thermophilic bacteria was highly effective in removing the metals from spent catalyst. Moreover, bioleaching can be conducted using spent catalyst of higher particle size (>2000 μm), thus saving the grinding cost and making process attractive for larger scale application.

Applications in Nuclear Energy Security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheffield, Richard

2009-05-01

A key roadblock to development of additional nuclear power capacity is a concern over management of nuclear waste. Nuclear waste is predominantly comprised of used fuel discharged from operating nuclear reactors. The roughly 100 operating US reactors currently produce about 20% of the US electricity and will create about 87,000 tons of such discharged or ``spent'' fuel over the course of their lifetimes. The long-term radioactivity of the spent fuel drives the need for deep geologic storage that remains stable for millions of years. Nearly all issues related to risks to future generations arising from long-term disposal of such spent nuclear fuel is attributable to approximately the 1% made up primarily of minor actinides. If we can reduce or eliminate this 1% of the spent fuel, then within a few hundred years the toxic nature of the spent fuel drops below that of the natural uranium ore that was originally mined for nuclear fuel. The minor actinides can be efficiently eliminated through nuclear transmutation using as a driver fast-neutrons produced by a spallation process initiated with a high-energy proton beam. This presentation will cover the system design considerations and issues of an accelerator driven transmutation system.

It takes longer than you think: librarian time spent on systematic review tasks*

PubMed Central

Bullers, Krystal; Howard, Allison M.; Hanson, Ardis; Kearns, William D.; Orriola, John J.; Polo, Randall L.; Sakmar, Kristen A.

2018-01-01

Introduction The authors examined the time that medical librarians spent on specific tasks for systematic reviews (SRs): interview process, search strategy development, search strategy translation, documentation, deliverables, search methodology writing, and instruction. We also investigated relationships among the time spent on SR tasks, years of experience, and number of completed SRs to gain a better understanding of the time spent on SR tasks from time, staffing, and project management perspectives. Methods A confidential survey and study description were sent to medical library directors who were members of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries as well as librarians serving members of the Association of American Medical Colleges or American Osteopathic Association. Results Of the 185 participants, 143 (77%) had worked on an SR within the last 5 years. The number of SRs conducted by participants during their careers ranged from 1 to 500, with a median of 5. The major component of time spent was on search strategy development and translation. Average aggregated time for standard tasks was 26.9 hours, with a median of 18.5 hours. Task time was unrelated to the number of SRs but was positively correlated with years of SR experience. Conclusion The time required to conduct the librarian’s discrete tasks in an SR varies substantially, and there are no standard time frames. Librarians with more SR experience spent more time on instruction and interviews; time spent on all other tasks varied widely. Librarians also can expect to spend a significant amount of their time on search strategy development, translation, and writing. PMID:29632442

Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Activities for the Spent Fuel Nondestructive Assay Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trellue, Holly Renee; Trahan, Alexis Chanel; McMath, Garrett Earl

The main focus of research in the NA-241 spent fuel nondestructive assay (NDA) project in FY17 has been completing the fabrication and testing of two prototype instruments for upcoming spent fuel measurements at the Clab interim storage facility in Sweden. One is a passive instrument: Differential Die-away Self Interrogation-Passive Neutron Albedo Reactivity (DDSI), and one is an active instrument: Differential Die-Away-Californium Interrogation with Prompt Neutron (DDA). DDSI was fabricated and tested with fresh fuel at Los Alamos National Laboratory in FY15 and FY16, then shipped to Sweden at the beginning of FY17. Research was performed in FY17 to simplify resultsmore » from the data acquisition system, which is complex because signals from 56 different 3He detectors must be processed using list mode data. The DDA instrument was fabricated at the end of FY16. New high count rate electronics better suited for a spent fuel environment (i.e., KM-200 preamplifiers) were built specifically for this instrument in FY17, and new Tygon tubing to house electrical cables was purchased and installed. Fresh fuel tests using the DDA instrument with numerous configurations of fuel rods containing depleted uranium (DU), low enriched uranium (LEU), and LEU with burnable poisons (Gd) were successfully performed and compared to simulations.1 Additionally, members of the spent fuel NDA project team travelled to Sweden for a “spent fuel characterization and decay heat” workshop involving simulations of spent fuel and analysis of uncertainties in decay heat calculations.« less

Pilot study of the development of a theory-based instrument to evaluate the communication process during multidisciplinary team conferences in rheumatology.

PubMed

Verhoef, J; Toussaint, P J; Putter, H; Zwetsloot-Schonk, J H M; Vliet Vlieland, T P M

2005-10-01

Coordinated teams with multidisciplinary team conferences are generally seen as a solution to the management of complex health conditions. However, problems regarding the process of communication during team conferences are reported, such as the absence of a common language or viewpoint and the exchange of irrelevant or repeated information. To determine the outcome of interventions aimed at improving communication during team conferences, a reliable and valid assessment method is needed. To investigate the feasibility of a theory-based measurement instrument for assessing the process of the communication during multidisciplinary team conferences in rheumatology. An observation instrument was developed based on communication theory. The instrument distinguishes three types of communication: (I) grounding activities, (II) coordination of non-team activities, and (III) coordination of team activities. To assess the process of communication during team conferences in a rheumatology clinic with inpatient and day patient facilities, team conferences were videotaped. To determine the inter-rater reliability, in 20 conferences concerning 10 patients with rheumatoid arthritis admitted to the inpatient unit, the instrument was applied by two investigators independently. Content validity was determined by analysing and comparing the results of initial and follow-up team conferences of 25 consecutive patients with rheumatoid arthritis admitted to the day patient unit (Wilcoxon signed rank test). The inter-rater reliability was excellent with the intra-class correlation coefficients being >0.98 for both types I and III communications in 10 initial and 10 follow-up conferences (type II was not observed). An analysis of an additional 25 initial and 86 follow-up team conferences showed that time spent on grounding (type I) made up the greater part of the contents of communication (87% S.D. 14 and 60% S.D. 29 in initial and follow-up conferences, respectively), which is significantly more compared to time spent on co-ordination (p<0.001 and 0.02 for categories II and III, respectively). Moreover, significantly less time spent was spent on grounding in follow-up as compared to initial team conferences, whereas the time spent on coordination (type III) increased (both p-values<0.001). This theory-based measurement instrument for describing and evaluating the communication process during team conferences proved to be reliable and valid in this pilot study. Its usefulness to detect changes in the communication process, e.g. after implementing systems for re-structuring team conferences mediated by ICT applications, should be further examined.

Molten tin reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel elements

DOEpatents

Heckman, Richard A.

1983-01-01

A method and apparatus for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel is described. Within a containment vessel, a solid plug of tin and nitride precipitates supports a circulating bath of liquid tin therein. Spent nuclear fuel is immersed in the liquid tin under an atmosphere of nitrogen, resulting in the formation of nitride precipitates. The layer of liquid tin and nitride precipitates which interfaces the plug is solidified and integrated with the plug. Part of the plug is melted, removing nitride precipitates from the containment vessel, while a portion of the plug remains solidified to support the liquid tin and nitride precipitates remaining in the containment vessel. The process is practiced numerous times until substantially all of the precipitated nitrides are removed from the containment vessel.

Chemical and petrochemical industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staszak, Katarzyna

2018-03-01

The potential sources of various metals in chemical and petrochemical processes are discussed. Special emphasis is put on the catalysts used in the industry. Their main applications, compositions, especially metal contents are presented both for fresh and spent ones. The focus is on the main types of metals used in catalysts: the platinum-group metals, the rare-earth elements, and the variety of transition metals. The analysis suggested that chemical and petrochemical sectors can be considered as the secondary source of metals. Because the utilization of spent refinery catalysts for metal recovery is potentially viable, different methods were applied. The conventional approaches used in metal reclamation as hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy, as well as new methods include bioleaching, were described. Some industrial solutions for metal recovery from spent solution were also presented.

Space nuclear reactors — A post-operational disposal strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angelo, Joseph A.; Buden, David

If 100-kWe and multimegawatt-electric class space nuclear reactors are to play a significant role in humanity's push into cislunar and heliocentric space in the next millennium, the obvious advantages of space nuclear power plants should not be denied to space mission planners due to a failure to develop internationally-acceptable post-operational disposal strategies for spent reactor cores. This is true whether the space reactor has shut down at the end of its normal mission lifetime or in response to an onboard system failure/emergency which causes a premature mission termination. Up until now the great majority of aerospace nuclear safety efforts have concentrated on prelaunch, launch and reactor startup activities. In fact, with the exception of the development of the "nuclear safe orbit" (NSO) concept, little technical attention has yet been given to the post-operational disposal of future space reactors. This paper describes the technical alternatives available for the safe, acceptable disposal of space reactors that could be used in a wide variety of space applications in the 21st Century. Post-operational core radioactivity levels for typical advanced design (hundred kWe-class) space reactors are presented as a function of decay time and contrasted to the spent core radionuclide inventory of the SNAP-10A system, the only nuclear reactor operated in space by the United States. The role of a permanent space station, smart robotic systems, and an operating lunar base in support of spent core disposal strategies is also presented, including use of a selected portion of the lunar surface as an internationally-designated spent reactor core repository.

Nuclear power generation and fuel cycle report 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-10-01

This report presents the current status and projections through 2015 of nuclear capacity, generation, and fuel cycle requirements for all countries using nuclear power to generate electricity for commercial use. It also contains information and forecasts of developments in the worldwide nuclear fuel market. Long term projections of U.S. nuclear capacity, generation, and spent fuel discharges for two different scenarios through 2040 are developed. A discussion on decommissioning of nuclear power plants is included.

West Europe Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-04-11

The biggest change has ■ been that the headquarters of the European Command was moved from France to Belgium when de Gaulle pulled France out.: NATO...1980 through 1984, the payments of the GRD amounted to 45 percent of the total expenditures of the EMD, of which about 1.2 billion Swiss francs , or...70 percent (55 percent to private industry and 13 percent to state armaments plants), were spent domestically and 500 million Swiss francs abroad

The Best Defense: Making Maximum Sense of Minimum Deterrence

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

uranium fuel cycles and has unmatched experience in the thorium fuel cycle.25 Published sources claim India produces between 20 and 40kg of plutonium...nuclear energy was moderate at best. Pakistan‘s first reactor , which it received from the United States, did not become operational until 1965.4...In 1974 Pakistan signed an agreement with France to supply a reprocessing plant for extracting plutonium from spent fuel from power reactors

Evaluation and Parameter Analysis of Burn up Calculations for the Assessment of Radioactive Waste - 13187

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fast, Ivan; Aksyutina, Yuliya; Tietze-Jaensch, Holger

2013-07-01

Burn up calculations facilitate a determination of the composition and nuclear inventory of spent nuclear fuel, if operational history is known. In case this information is not available, the total nuclear inventory can be determined by means of destructive or, even on industrial scale, nondestructive measurement methods. For non-destructive measurements however only a few easy-to-measure, so-called key nuclides, are determined due to their characteristic gamma lines or neutron emission. From these measured activities the fuel burn up and cooling time are derived to facilitate the numerical inventory determination of spent fuel elements. Most regulatory bodies require an independent assessment ofmore » nuclear waste properties and their documentation. Prominent part of this assessment is a consistency check of inventory declaration. The waste packages often contain wastes from different types of spent fuels of different history and information about the secondary reactor parameters may not be available. In this case the so-called characteristic fuel burn up and cooling time are determined. These values are obtained from a correlations involving key-nuclides with a certain bandwidth, thus with upper and lower limits. The bandwidth is strongly dependent on secondary reactor parameter such as initial enrichment, temperature and density of the fuel and moderator, hence the reactor type, fuel element geometry and plant operation history. The purpose of our investigation is to look into the scaling and correlation limitations, to define and verify the range of validity and to scrutinize the dependencies and propagation of uncertainties that affect the waste inventory declarations and their independent verification. This is accomplished by numerical assessment and simulation of waste production using well accepted codes SCALE 6.0 and 6.1 to simulate the cooling time and burn up of a spent fuel element. The simulations are benchmarked against spent fuel from the real reactor Obrigheim in Germany for which sufficiently precise experimental reference data are available. (authors)« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

R.A. Wigeland

Abstract: The proposed Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) Program, which is part of the President’s Advanced Energy Initiative, is intended to support a safe, secure, and sustainable expansion of nuclear energy, both domestically and internationally. Domestically, the GNEP Program would promote technologies that support economic, sustained production of nuclear-generated electricity, while reducing the impacts associated with spent nuclear fuel disposal and reducing proliferation risks. The Department of Energy (DOE) proposed action envisions changing the United States nuclear energy fuel cycle from an open (or once-through) fuel cycle—in which nuclear fuel is used in a power plant one time and themore » resulting spent nuclear fuel is stored for eventual disposal in a geologic repository—to a closed fuel cycle in which spent nuclear fuel would be recycled to recover energy-bearing components for use in new nuclear fuel. At this time, DOE has no specific proposed actions for the international component of the GNEP Program. Rather, the United States, through the GNEP Program, is considering various initiatives to work cooperatively with other nations. Such initiatives include the development of grid-appropriate reactors and the development of reliable fuel services (to provide an assured supply of fresh nuclear fuel and assist with the management of the used fuel) for nations who agree to employ nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes, such as electricity generation.« less

Converting Maturing Nuclear Sites to Integrated Power Production Islands

DOE PAGES

Solbrig, Charles W.

2011-01-01

Nuclear islands, which are integrated power production sites, could effectively sequester and safeguard the US stockpile of plutonium. A nuclear island, an evolution of the integral fast reactor, utilizes all the Transuranics (Pu plus minor actinides) produced in power production, and it eliminates all spent fuel shipments to and from the site. This latter attribute requires that fuel reprocessing occur on each site and that fast reactors be built on-site to utilize the TRU. All commercial spent fuel shipments could be eliminated by converting all LWR nuclear power sites to nuclear islands. Existing LWR sites have the added advantage ofmore » already possessing a license to produce nuclear power. Each could contribute to an increase in the nuclear power production by adding one or more fast reactors. Both the TRU and the depleted uranium obtained in reprocessing would be used on-site for fast fuel manufacture. Only fission products would be shipped to a repository for storage. The nuclear island concept could be used to alleviate the strain of LWR plant sites currently approaching or exceeding their spent fuel pool storage capacity. Fast reactor breeding ratio could be designed to convert existing sites to all fast reactors, or keep the majority thermal.« less

Evolution of Regolith Feed Systems for Lunar ISRU 02 Production Plants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, Robert P.; Townsend, Ivan I., III; Mantovani, James G.; Metzger, Philip T.

2010-01-01

The In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) project of the NASA Constellation Program, Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) has been engaged in the design and testing of various Lunar ISRU O2 production plant prototypes that can extract chemically bound oxygen from the minerals in the lunar regolith. This work demands that lunar regolith (or simulants) shall be introduced into the O2 production plant from a holding bin or hopper and subsequently expelled from the ISRU O2 production plant for disposal. This sub-system is called the Regolith Feed System (RFS) which exists in a variety of configurations depending on the O2 production plant oxygen being used (e.g. Hydrogen Reduction, Carbothermal, Molten Oxide Electrolysis). Each configuration may use a different technology and in addition it is desirable to have heat recuperation from the spent hot regolith as an integral part of the RFS. This paper addresses the various RFS and heat recuperation technologies and system configurations that have been developed under the NASA ISRU project since 2007. In addition current design solutions and lessons learned from reduced gravity flight testing will be discussed.

KSC-2011-1921

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-02-28

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Workers at the Solid Rocket Booster Disassembly Facility at Hangar AF on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, accompany the left spent booster, used during space shuttle Discovery's final launch, into the building for processing. The shuttle's two solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware are recovered in the Atlantic Ocean after every launch by Freedom Star and Liberty Star. The boosters impact the Atlantic about seven minutes after liftoff and the retrieval ships are stationed about 10 miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. After the spent segments are processed, they will be transported to Utah, where they will be refurbished and stored, if needed. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Revised analyses of decommissioning for the reference pressurized Water Reactor Power Station. Volume 2, Effects of current regulatory and other considerations on the financial assurance requirements of the decommissioning rule and on estimates of occupational radiation exposure: Appendices, Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Konzek, G.J.; Smith, R.I.; Bierschbach, M.C.

1995-11-01

With the issuance of the final Decommissioning Rule (July 27, 1998), owners and operators of licensed nuclear power plants are required to prepare, and submit to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for review, decommissioning plans and cost estimates. The NRC staff is in need of bases documentation that will assist them in assessing the adequacy of the licensee submittals, from the viewpoint of both the planned actions, including occupational radiation exposure, and the probable costs. The purpose of this reevaluation study is to provide some of the needed bases documentation. This report contains the results of a review andmore » reevaluation of the 1978 PNL decommissioning study of the Trojan nuclear power plant (NUREG/CR-0130), including all identifiable factors and cost assumptions which contribute significantly to the total cost of decommissioning the nuclear power plant for the DECON, SAFSTOR, and ENTOMB decommissioning alternatives. These alternatives now include an initial 5--7 year period during which time the spent fuel is stored in the spent fuel pool, prior to beginning major disassembly or extended safe storage of the plant. Included for information (but not presently part of the license termination cost) is an estimate of the cost to demolish the decontaminated and clean structures on the site and to restore the site to a ``green field`` condition. This report also includes consideration of the NRC requirement that decontamination and decommissioning activities leading to termination of the nuclear license be completed within 60 years of final reactor shutdown, consideration of packaging and disposal requirements for materials whose radionuclide concentrations exceed the limits for Class C low-level waste (i.e., Greater-Than-Class C), and reflects 1993 costs for labor, materials, transport, and disposal activities.« less

Revised analyses of decommissioning for the reference pressurized Water Reactor Power Station. Effects of current regulatory and other considerations on the financial assurance requirements of the decommissioning rule and on estimates of occupational radiation exposure, Volume 1, Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Konzek, G.J.; Smith, R.I.; Bierschbach, M.C.

1995-11-01

With the issuance of the final Decommissioning Rule (July 27, 1988), owners and operators of licensed nuclear power plants are required to prepare, and submit to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for review, decommissioning plans and cost estimates. The NRC staff is in need of bases documentation that will assist them in assessing the adequacy of the licensee submittals, from the viewpoint of both the planned actions, including occupational radiation exposure, and the probable costs. The purpose of this reevaluation study is to provide some of the needed bases documentation. This report contains the results of a review andmore » reevaluation of the {prime}978 PNL decommissioning study of the Trojan nuclear power plant (NUREG/CR-0130), including all identifiable factors and cost assumptions which contribute significantly to the total cost of decommissioning the nuclear power plant for the DECON, SAFSTOR, and ENTOMB decommissioning alternatives. These alternatives now include an initial 5--7 year period during which time the spent fuel is stored in the spent fuel pool, prior to beginning major disassembly or extended safe storage of the plant. Included for information (but not presently part of the license termination cost) is an estimate of the cost to demolish the decontaminated and clean structures on the site and to restore the site to a ``green field`` condition. This report also includes consideration of the NRC requirement that decontamination and decommissioning activities leading to termination of the nuclear license be completed within 60 years of final reactor shutdown, consideration of packaging and disposal requirements for materials whose radionuclide concentrations exceed the limits for Class C low-level waste (i.e., Greater-Than-Class C), and reflects 1993 costs for labor, materials, transport, and disposal activities.« less

40 CFR 261.31 - Hazardous wastes from non-specific sources.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... free radical catalyzed processes. These chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons are those having carbon... spent desiccant wastes from the production of certain chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, by free radical catalyzed processes. These chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons are those having carbon chain...

40 CFR 261.31 - Hazardous wastes from non-specific sources.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... free radical catalyzed processes. These chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons are those having carbon... spent desiccant wastes from the production of certain chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, by free radical catalyzed processes. These chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons are those having carbon chain...

Soluble Graphene Nanosheets from Recycled Graphite of Spent Lithium Ion Batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Liangliang; Liu, Xiya; Wan, Chuanyun; Ye, Xiangrong; Wu, Fanhong

2018-02-01

Soluble graphene nanosheets are fabricated from recycled graphite of spent lithium ion batteries through a modified Hammers process followed by deoxygenation with NaOH-KOH eutectic. Ultrasonic exfoliation in N-methyl-pyrrolidone indicates the loosened graphene layers in recycled graphite are prone to exfoliation. Reduction of the exfoliated graphene oxide sheets was conducted in molten NaOH-KOH eutectic at different temperatures. The results show that molten NaOH-KOH effectively eliminates the unsaturated oxygen-containing moieties from the exfoliated graphene oxide sheets while creating more hydroxyl functional groups. Higher temperature treatment is more prone to remove hydroxyls while producing the shrinkage on the surface of graphene sheets. Graphene sheet with a good solubility is produced when the graphene oxide is heat-treated at 220 °C for 10 h. After reduction, the graphene oxide sheets exhibit excellent dispersibility or solubility in water, ethanol and other polar solvents, therefore being highly desirable for solution processing of graphene materials. Such study not only identifies a high-quality stockpile to prepare soluble graphene but also paves a feasible alternative of graphite recycling from spent lithium batteries.

Spent caustic oxidation using electro-generated Fenton's reagent in a batch reactor.

PubMed

Rodriguez, Nicolas; Hansen, Henrik K; Nunez, Patricio; Guzman, Jaime

2008-07-01

This work shows the results of four Electro-Fenton laboratory tests to reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD) in spent caustic solutions. The treatment consisted of (i) a pH reduction followed by (ii) an Electro-Fenton process, which was analyzed in this work. The Fenton's reagent was produced in a specially designed reactor, where the waste stream flowed through a labyrinth made by ferrous plates. These plates acted as sacrificial anodes-releasing Fe(2 +) cations to the solution, where H(2)O(2) was also added. The Electro-Fenton process was analyzed varying the ferrous ion concentration ([Fe(+ 2)]), the spent caustic's initial temperature and the initial pH. Close to 95% removal of COD (from 8800 mg L(- 1)) was achieved at a pH of 4, a temperature of 40 degrees C and 100 mg L(- 1) of Fe(+ 2) (applying 1 A). Two models were considered to simulate the behavior of the reactor considering (i) axial dispersion and (ii) kinetic rate, respectively. The model that was based on kinetics, proved to be the slightly closest fit to the experimental values.

Processing of spent Ni-MH batteries for the recovery of cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements bearing materials by means of a chemical and electrochemical sequential process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delvasto, P.; Orta Rodríguez, R.; Blanco, S.

2016-02-01

Rechargeable Ni-MH batteries contain strategic metal values which are worth to be recovered. In the present work, a preliminary sequential chemical and electrochemical procedure is proposed, in order to reclaim materials bearing Ni, Co and rare earth elements (REE) from Ni-MH spent batteries. Initially, spent batteries are disassembled to separate the electrode materials (anode and cathode), which are then leached with an aqueous solution of 5w% sulphuric acid. The metal content of this solution is checked by atomic absorption spectrometry techniques. The obtained solution is pH-adjusted (with NaOH), until pH is between 4.0 and 4.3; then, it is heated up to 70°C to precipitate a rare earth elements sulphate (Nd, La, Pr, Ce), as determined by means of x-ray fluorescence techniques. The solids-free solution is then electrolyzed, in order to recover a Ni-Co alloy. The electrolysis conditions were established through a cyclic voltammetry technique.

Radioactive Waste Management, its Global Implication on Societies, and Political Impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsui, Kazuaki

2009-05-01

Reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Japan is under commissioning at the end of 2008, and it starts soon to reprocess about 800 Mt of spent fuel per annum, which have been stored at each nuclear power plant sites in Japan. Fission products together with minor actinides separated from uranium and plutonium in the spent fuel contain almost all radioactivity of it and will be vitrified with glass matrix, which then will fill the canisters. The canisters with the high level radioactive waste (HLW) are so hot in both thermal and radiological meanings that they have to be cooled off for decades before bringing out to any destination. Where is the final destination for HLW in Japan, which is located at the rim of the Pacific Ocean with volcanoes? Although geological formation in Japan is not so static and rather active as the other parts of the planet, experts concluded with some intensive studies and researches that there will be a lot of variety of geological formations even in Japan which can host the HLW for so long times of more than million years. Then an organization to implement HLW disposal program was set up and started to campaign for volunteers to accept the survey on geological suitability for HLW disposal. Some local governments wanted to apply, but were crashed down by local and neighbor governments and residents. The above development is not peculiar only to Japan, but generally speaking more or less common for those with radioactive waste programs. This is why the radioactive waste management is not any more science and technology issue but socio-political one. It does not mean further R&D on geological disposal is not any more necessary, but rather we, each of us, should face much more sincerely the societal and political issues caused by the development of the science and technology. Second topic might be how effective partitioning and transformation technology may be to reduce the burden of waste disposal and denature the waste toxicity? The third one might be the proposal of international nuclear fuel centers which supply nuclear fuel to the nuclear power plants in the region and take back spent fuel which will be reprocessed to recover useful energy resources of uranium and plutonium. This may help non proliferation issue due to world nuclear development beyond renaissance.

Energy Security: From Deal Killers to Game Changers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orbach, Raymond L.

2010-03-01

Five ``deal killers'' for achieving energy security will be addressed: 1) Global warming and CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion, 2) Intermittent energy sources (wind, solar) and the presence and stability of the grid, 3) Penetration of plant defenses to produce transportation fuels from biomass, 4) Mimicking nature: artificial photosynthesis for solar energy-to-fuels, and 5) Spent fuel from nuclear power reactors. Basic research can lead to ``game changers'' for these five fields: 1) Carbon capture and storage through enhanced oil and gas recovery, 2) Electrical energy storage for base-load electricity through batteries and supercapacitors, 3) Genetic modification of the plant cell wall, and catalytic methods for conversion of plant sugars to fuels, 4) Separation of solar-induced electrons from holes, and catalysis to produce fuels, and 5) Closing the nuclear fuel cycle. The present state for each of these game changers will be summarized, and future research opportunities discussed.

The shutdown reactor: Optimizing spent fuel storage cost

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pennington, C.W.

1995-12-31

Several studies have indicated that the most prudent way to store fuel at a shutdown reactor site safely and economically is through the use of a dry storage facility licensed under 10CFR72. While such storage is certainly safe, is it true that the dry ISFSI represents the safest and most economical approach for the utility? While no one is really able to answer that question definitely, as yet, Holtec has studied this issue for some time and believes that both an economic and safety case can be made for an optimization strategy that calls for the use of both wetmore » and dry ISFSI storage of spent fuel at some plants. For the sake of brevity, this paper summarizes some of Holtec`s findings with respect to the economics of maintaining some fuel in wet storage at a shutdown reactor. The safety issue, or more importantly the perception of safety of spent fuel in wet storage, still varies too much with the eye of the beholder, and until a more rigorous presentation of safety analyses can be made in a regulatory setting, it is not practically useful to argue about how many angels can sit on the head of a safety-related pin. Holtec is prepared to present such analyses, but this does not appear to be the proper venue. Thus, this paper simply looks at certain economic elements of a wet ISFSI at a shutdown reactor to make a prima facie case that wet storage has some attractiveness at a shutdown reactor and should not be rejected out of hand. Indeed, an optimization study at certain plants may well show the economic vitality of keeping some fuel in the pool and converting the NRC licensing coverage from 10CFR50 to 10CFR72. If the economics look attractive, then the safety issue may be confronted with a compelling interest.« less

Spent lithium-ion battery recycling - Reductive ammonia leaching of metals from cathode scrap by sodium sulphite.

PubMed

Zheng, Xiaohong; Gao, Wenfang; Zhang, Xihua; He, Mingming; Lin, Xiao; Cao, Hongbin; Zhang, Yi; Sun, Zhi

2017-02-01

Recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries has attracted wide attention because of their high content of valuable and hazardous metals. One of the difficulties for effective metal recovery is the separation of different metals from the solution after leaching. In this research, a full hydrometallurgical process is developed to selectively recover valuable metals (Ni, Co and Li) from cathode scrap of spent lithium ion batteries. By introducing ammonia-ammonium sulphate as the leaching solution and sodium sulphite as the reductant, the total selectivity of Ni, Co and Li in the first-step leaching solution is more than 98.6% while it for Mn is only 1.36%. In detail understanding of the selective leaching process is carried out by investigating the effects of parameters such as leaching reagent composition, leaching time (0-480min), agitation speed (200-700rpm), pulp density (10-50g/L) and temperature (323-353K). It was found that Mn is primarily reduced from Mn 4+ into Mn 2+ into the solution as [Formula: see text] while it subsequently precipitates out into the residue in the form of (NH 4 ) 2 Mn(SO 3 ) 2 ·H 2 O. Ni, Co and Li are leached and remain in the solution either as metallic ion or amine complexes. The optimised leaching conditions can be further obtained and the leaching kinetics is found to be chemical reaction control under current leaching conditions. As a result, this research is potentially beneficial for further optimisation of the spent lithium ion battery recycling process after incorporating with metal extraction from the leaching solution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Activated carbon from pyrolysis of brewer's spent grain: Production and adsorption properties.

PubMed

Vanreppelen, Kenny; Vanderheyden, Sara; Kuppens, Tom; Schreurs, Sonja; Yperman, Jan; Carleer, Robert

2014-07-01

Brewer's spent grain is a low cost residue generated by the brewing industry. Its chemical composition (high nitrogen content 4.35 wt.%, fibres, etc.) makes it very useful for the production of added value in situ nitrogenised activated carbon. The composition of brewer's spent grain revealed high amounts of cellulose (20.8 wt.%), hemicellulose (48.78 wt.%) and lignin (11.3 wt.%). The fat, ethanol extractives and ash accounted for 8.17 wt.%, 4.7 wt.% and 3.2 wt.%, respectively. Different activated carbons were produced in a lab-scale pyrolysis/activation reactor by applying several heat and steam activation profiles on brewer's spent grain. Activated carbon yields from 16.1 to 23.6 wt.% with high N-contents (> 2 wt.%) were obtained. The efficiency of the prepared activated carbons for phenol adsorption was studied as a function of different parameters: pH, contact time and carbon dosage relative to two commercial activated carbons. The equilibrium isotherms were described by the non-linear Langmuir and Freundlich models, and the kinetic results were fitted using the pseudo-first-order model and the pseudo-second-order model. The feasibility of an activated carbon production facility (onsite and offsite) that processes brewer's spent grain for different input feeds is evaluated based on a techno-economic model for estimating the net present value. Even though the model assumptions start from a rather pessimistic scenario, encouraging results for a profitable production of activated carbon using brewer's spent grain are obtained. © The Author(s) 2014.

Effect of different rates of spent coffee grounds (SCG) on composting process, gaseous emissions and quality of end-product.

PubMed

Santos, Cátia; Fonseca, João; Aires, Alfredo; Coutinho, João; Trindade, Henrique

2017-01-01

The use of spent coffee grounds (SCG) in composting for organic farming is a viable way of valorising these agro-industrial residues. In the present study, four treatments with different amounts of spent coffee grounds (SCG) were established, namely, C 0 (Control), C 10 , C 20 and C 40 , containing 0, 10, 20 and 40% of SCG (DM), respectively; and their effects on the composting process and the end-product quality characteristics were evaluated. The mixtures were completed with Acacia dealbata L. shoots and wheat straw. At different time intervals during composting, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions were measured and selected physicochemical characteristics of the composts were evaluated. During the composting process, all treatments showed a substantial decrease in total phenolics and total tannins, and an important increase in gallic acid. Emissions of greenhouse gases were very low and no significant difference between the treatments was registered. The results indicated that SCG may be successfully composted in all proportions. However C 40 , was the treatment which combined better conditions of composting, lower GHG emissions and better quality of end product. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spent fuel treatment at ANL-West

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goff, K.M.; Benedict, R.W.; Levinskas, D.

1994-12-31

At Argonne National Laboratory-West (ANL-West) there are several thousand kilograms of metallic spent nuclear fuel containing bond sodium. This fuel will be treated in the Fuel Cycle Facility at ANL-West to produce stable waste forms for storage and disposal. The treatment operations will employ a pyrochemical process that also has applications for treating most of the fuel types within the Department of Energy complex. The treatment equipment is in its last stage of readiness, and operations will begin in the Fall of 1994.

Refining of Military Jet Fuels from Shale Oil. Volume I. Part II. Preparation of Laboratory-Scale Fuel Samples.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-03-01

ON SPEC Meeting Specifications *1 OXY Test Series on In Situ Shale Oil P Pressure (P + N) Paraffins and Naphthenes PHO Test Series on Above-Ground...material, the crude shale is heated and processed through caustic desalt- ing similar to conventional technology. The desalted oil is mixed with recycle...with hot regenerated catalyst. Spent catalyst and oil vapors are disengaqed by -.eans of high temperature cyclones. The spent catalyst first passes

Laser-enhanced chemical reactions and the liquid state. II. Possible applications to nuclear fuel reprocessing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DePoorter, G.L.; Rofer-DePoorter, C.K.

1976-01-01

Laser photochemistry is surveyed as a possible improvement upon the Purex process for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. Most of the components of spent nuclear fuel are photochemically active, and lasers can be used to selectively excite individual chemical species. The great variety of chemical species present and the degree of separation that must be achieved present difficulties in reprocessing. Lasers may be able to improve the necessary separations by photochemical reaction or effects on rates and equilibria of reactions. (auth)

Method of increasing the deterrent to proliferation of nuclear fuels

DOEpatents

Rampolla, Donald S.

1982-01-01

A process of recycling protactinium-231 to enhance the utilization of radioactively hot uranium-232 in nuclear fuel for the purpose of making both fresh and spent fuel more resistant to proliferation. The uranium-232 may be obtained by the irradiation of protactinium-231 which is normally found in the spent fuel rods of a thorium base nuclear reactor. The production of protactinium-231 and uranium-232 would be made possible by the use of the thorium uranium-233 fuel cycle in power reactors.

Removing Al and regenerating caustic soda from the spent washing liquor of Al etching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barakat, M. A.; El-Sheikh, S. M.; Farghly, F. E.

2005-08-01

Spent liquor from washing of aluminum section materials after etching with caustic soda (NaOH) has been treated. Aluminum was removed from the liquor and caustic soda was regenerated by adding precipitating agents to hydrolyze sodium aluminate (Na2AlO2), separating the aluminumprecipitate, and concentrating free NaOH in the resulting solution for reuse in the etching process. Four systems were investigated: hydrated lime [Ca(OH)2], hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), H2O2/Ca(OH)2 mixture, and dry lime (CaO). Results revealed that CaO was more efficient in the removal of aluminum from the spent liquor with a higher hydrolyzing rate of Na2AlO2 than Ca(OH)2, H2O2, or their mixture.

Process for disposing of radioactive wastes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grantham, L.F.; Gray, R.L.; McCoy, L.R.

1988-05-03

A process for removing water from the pores of spent, contaminated radioactive ion exchange resins and encasing radionuclides entrapped within the pores of the resins, the process is described consisting essentially of the sequential steps of: (a) heating the spent ion exchange resins at a temperature of from about 100/sup 0/C to about 150/sup 0/C to remove water from within and fill the pores of the ion exchange resins by heating the ion exchange resins for from about 46 to about 610 hours at a temperature at which the pores of the resins are sealed while avoiding any fusing ormore » melting of the ion exchange resins to encase radionuclides contained within the resins; and (b) cooling the resins to obtain dry, flowable ion exchange resins having radionuclides encased within sealed polymeric spheres.« less

Biostimulants from food processing by-products: agronomic, quality and metabolic impacts on organic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.).

PubMed

Abou Chehade, Lara; Al Chami, Ziad; De Pascali, Sandra Angelica; Cavoski, Ivana; Fanizzi, Francesco Paolo

2018-03-01

Biostimulants have recently gained increased attention due to their multiple benefits for sustainable agriculture. In this study, three food processing by-products - fennel processing residues (FPR), lemon processing residues (LPR) and brewer's spent grain (BSG) - were investigated as potential sources of biostimulants. Their aqueous extracts as individual and associated applications were assessed for their effects on agronomic, quality and metabolic performance of organic tomato in comparison to extract of humic substances (HS) and untreated control (CTRL). Only FPR extracts stimulated shoot growth and tomato dry matter content, whereas all candidates improved tomato yield. FPR and BSG increased fruit mineral content and BSG-FPR-LPR in combination enhanced titratable acidity. FPR-treated fruits had also 20% more vitamin C than CTRL, and higher phenol content was obtained in those of BSG-LPR. Fruit metabolomic profile showed the tendency of all extracts, except BSG-LPR, to increase tomato citric acid and to decrease β-glucose and methanol concentrations. The analysis revealed accordingly the indispensable role of FPR in combined applications for inducing an HS-like response in fruits. The results were indicative of the biostimulant activity of these extracts and demonstrated them, particularly FPR, as promising candidates for enhancing plant productivity and fruit quality. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Quantifying faculty teaching time in a department of obstetrics and gynecology.

PubMed

Emmons, S

1998-10-01

The goal of this project was to develop a reproducible system that measures quantity and quality of teaching in unduplicated hours, such that comparisons of teaching activities could be drawn within and across departments. Such a system could be used for allocating teaching monies and for assessing teaching as part of the promotion and tenure process. Various teaching activities, including time spent in clinic, rounds, and doing procedures, were enumerated. The faculty were surveyed about their opinions on the proportion of clinical time spent in teaching. The literature also was reviewed. Based on analysis of the faculty survey and the literature, a series of calculations were developed to divide clinical time among resident teaching, medical student teaching, and patient care. The only input needed was total time spent in the various clinical activities, time spent in didactic activities, and the resident procedure database. This article describes a simple and fair database system to calculate time spent teaching from activities such as clinic, ward rounds, labor and delivery, and surgery. The teaching portfolio database calculates teaching as a proportion of the faculty member's total activities. The end product is a report that provides a reproducible yearly summary of faculty teaching time per activity and per type of learner.

Enhanced recovery of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries through optimization of organic acids produced by Aspergillus niger.

PubMed

Bahaloo-Horeh, Nazanin; Mousavi, Seyyed Mohammad

2017-02-01

In the present study, spent medium bioleaching method was performed using organic acids produced by Aspergillus niger to dissolve Ni, Co, Mn, Li, Cu and Al from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Response surface methodology was used to investigate the effects and interactions between the effective factors of sucrose concentration, initial pH, and inoculum size to optimize organic acid production. Maximum citric acid, malic acid, and gluconic acid concentrations of 26,478, 1832.53 and 8433.76ppm, respectively, and a minimum oxalic acid concentration of 305.558ppm were obtained under optimal conditions of 116.90 (gl -1 ) sucrose concentration, 3.45% (vv -1 ) inoculum size, and a pH value of 5.44. Biogenically-produced organic acids are used for leaching of spent LIBs at different pulp densities. The highest metal recovery of 100% Cu, 100% Li, 77% Mn, and 75% Al occurred at 2% (wv -1 ) pulp density; 64% Co and 54% Ni recovery occurred at 1% (wv -1 ) pulp density. The bioleaching of metals from spent LIBs can decrease the environmental impact of this waste. The results of this study suggest that the process can be used for large scale industrial purposes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Concurrent removal of elemental mercury and SO2 from flue gas using a thiol-impregnated CaCO3-based adsorbent: a full factorial design study.

PubMed

Balasundaram, Karthik; Sharma, Mukesh

2018-06-01

Mercury (Hg) emitted from coal-based thermal power plants (CTPPs) can accumulate and bio-magnify in the food chain, thereby posing a risk to humans and wildlife. The central idea of this study was to develop an adsorbent which can concurrently remove elemental mercury (Hg 0 ) and SO 2 emitted from coal-based thermal power plants (CTPPs) in a single unit operation. Specifically, a composite adsorbent of CaCO 3 impregnated with 2-mercaptobenimidazole (2-MBI) (referred to as modified calcium carbonate (MCC)) was developed. While 2-MBI having sulfur functional group could selectively adsorb Hg 0 , CaCO 3 could remove SO 2 . Performance of the adsorbent was evaluated in terms of (i) removal (%) of Hg 0 and SO 2 , (ii) adsorption mechanism, (iii) adsorption kinetics, and (iv) leaching potential of mercury from spent adsorbent. The adsorption studies were performed using a 2 2 full factorial design of experiments with 15 ppbV of Hg 0 and 600 ppmV of SO 2 . Two factors, (i) reaction temperature (80 and 120 °C; temperature range in flue gas) and (ii) mass of 2-MBI (10 and 15 wt%), were investigated for the removal of Hg 0 and SO 2 (as %). The maximum Hg 0 and SO 2 removal was 86 and 93%, respectively. The results of XPS characterization showed that chemisorption is the predominant mechanism of Hg 0 and SO 2 adsorption on MCC. The Hg 0 adsorption on MCC followed Elovich kinetic model which is also indicative of chemisorption on heterogeneous surface. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) and synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP) leached mercury from the spent adsorbent were within the acceptable levels defined in these tests. The engineering significance of this study is that the 2-MBI-modified CaCO 3 -based adsorbent has potential for concurrent removal of Hg 0 and SO 2 in a single unit operation. With only minor process modifications, the newly developed adsorbent can replace CaCO 3 in the flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) system.

Approximate methods in gamma-ray skyshine calculations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Faw, R.E.; Roseberry, M.L.; Shultis, J.K.

1985-11-01

Gamma-ray skyshine, an important component of the radiation field in the environment of a nuclear power plant, has recently been studied in relation to storage of spent fuel and nuclear waste. This paper reviews benchmark skyshine experiments and transport calculations against which computational procedures may be tested. The paper also addresses the applicability of simplified computational methods involving single-scattering approximations. One such method, suitable for microcomputer implementation, is described and results are compared with other work.

Fundamental and applied aspects of the chemistry of radioactive iodine in gas and aqueous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulyukhin, Sergei A.

2012-10-01

The results of investigations carried out in the past 15-20 years in the chemistry of radioactive iodine in the gas phase and in aqueous media of various compositions are described systematically and analyzed. The prospects for practical application of the obtained data in various fields of nuclear power industry including accidents at nuclear power plants and enterprises engaged in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing are estimated. The bibliography includes 206 references.

Biodegradation of endocrine disruptors in urban wastewater using Pleurotus ostreatus bioreactor.

PubMed

Křesinová, Zdena; Linhartová, Lucie; Filipová, Alena; Ezechiáš, Martin; Mašín, Pavel; Cajthaml, Tomáš

2018-07-25

The white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus HK 35, which is also an edible industrial mushroom commonly cultivated in farms, was tested in the degradation of typical representatives of endocrine disrupters (EDCs; bisphenol A, estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol, 17α-ethinylestradiol, triclosan and 4-n-nonylphenol); its degradation efficiency under model laboratory conditions was greater than 90% within 12 days and better than that of another published strain P. ostreatus 3004. A spent mushroom substrate from a local farm was tested for its applicability in various batch and trickle-bed reactors in degrading EDCs in model fortified and real communal wastewater. The reactors were tested under various regimes including a pilot-scale trickle-bed reactor, which was finally tested at a wastewater treatment plant. The result revealed that the spent substrate is an efficient biodegradation agent, where the fungus was usually able to remove about 95% of EDCs together with suppression of the estrogenic activity of the sample. The results showed the fungus was able to operate in the presence of bacterial microflora in wastewater without any substantial negative effects on the degradation abilities. Finally, a pilot-scale trickle-bed reactor was installed in a wastewater treatment plant and successfully operated for 10days, where the bioreactor was able to remove more than 76% of EDCs present in the wastewater. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrated biodepuration of pesticide-contaminated wastewaters from the fruit-packaging industry using biobeds: Bioaugmentation, risk assessment and optimized management.

PubMed

Karas, Panagiotis A; Perruchon, Chiara; Karanasios, Evangelos; Papadopoulou, Evangelia S; Manthou, Elena; Sitra, Stefania; Ehaliotis, Constantinos; Karpouzas, Dimitrios G

2016-12-15

Wastewaters from fruit-packaging plants contain high loads of toxic and persistent pesticides and should be treated on site. We evaluated the depuration performance of five pilot biobeds against those effluents. In addition we tested bioaugmentation with bacterial inocula as a strategy for optimization of their depuration capacity. Finally we determined the composition and functional dynamics of the microbial community via q-PCR. Practical issues were also addressed including the risk associated with the direct environmental disposal of biobed-treated effluents and decontamination methods for the spent packing material. Biobeds showed high depuration capacity (>99.5%) against all pesticides with bioaugmentation maximizing their depuration performance against the persistent fungicide thiabendazole (TBZ). This was followed by a significant increase in the abundance of bacteria, fungi and of catabolic genes of aromatic compounds catA and pcaH. Bioaugmentation was the most potent decontamination method for spent packing material with composting being an effective alternative. Risk assessment based on practical scenarios (pome and citrus fruit-packaging plants) and the depuration performance of the pilot biobeds showed that discharge of the treated effluents into an 0.1-ha disposal site did not entail an environmental risk, except for TBZ-containing effluents where a larger disposal area (0.2ha) or bioaugmentation alleviated the risk. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Treatment of G1 Baskets at the CEA Marcoule Site - 12027

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fourquet, Line; Boya, Didier

2012-07-01

In the dismantling program for the first-generation French reactors in accordance with the nonproliferation treaty, the CEA is in charge of cleanup and dismantling operations for the facilities at Marcoule, including the decladding units. The G1 decladding was built between 1955 and 1957 in order to de-clad spent fuel elements from the G1 plutonium-producing reactor and prepare them for dissolution. The facility was also used for interim storage of G1, G2 and G3 fuel dissolution baskets, which had been used during plant operation for transfer (from the decladding facility to the UP1 plant) and/or dissolution of spent fuel elements. Onemore » of the cleanup projects involves recovery of the baskets, which will be cut up, sorted, and conditioned in metal bins. The bins will be immobilized with cement grout, then transferred to the onsite solid waste conditioning facility (CDS) and to the repository operated by the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (ANDRA). The project is now in progress, after special safety permits were issued and measurement stations and dedicated tools were developed to handle all types of baskets (which differed according to their origin and use). The disposal of all the baskets is scheduled to last 2 years and will produce 55 metal waste bins. (authors)« less

Field-scale application of spent sulfidic caustic as a source of alternative electron donor for autotrophic denitrification.

PubMed

Lee, Jae-Ho; Park, Jeung-Jin; Choi, Gi-Choong; Byun, Im-Gyu; Park, Tae-Joo; Lee, Tae-Ho

2013-01-01

Biological reuse of spent sulfidic caustic (SSC) originating from oil refineries is a promising method for the petrochemical industry because of low handling cost. SSC typically contains high concentrations of sulfur, with the most dominant sulfur compounds being sulfide (S(2-)). SSC is also characterized by a high pH and elevated alkalinity up to 5-15% by weight. Because of these characteristics, SSC can be used for denitrification of NO3(-)-N in the biological nitrogen removal process as both the electron donor and buffering agent in sulfur-utilizing autotrophic denitrification. In this study, two kinds of SSC (SSC I, SSC II) produced from two petrochemical companies were used for autotrophic denitrification in a field-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The effluent total nitrogen (TN) concentration in this process was about 10.5 mg/L without any external carbon sources and the nitrification efficiency was low, about 93.0%, because of alkalinity deficiency in the influent. The injection of SSC I, but not SSC II, promoted nitrification efficiency, which was attributed to the difference in the NaOH/S ratio between SSC I and II. SSC was injected based on sulfide concentration of SSC required to denitrify NO3(-)-N in the WWTP. SSC I had higher NaOH/S than SSC II and thus could supply more alkalinity for nitrification than SSC II. On the other hand, additional TN removal of about 9.0% was achieved with the injection of both SSCs. However, denitrification efficiency was not proportionally increased with increasing SSC injection because of NO3(-)-N deficiency in the anoxic tank due to the limited capacity of the recycling pump. For the same reason, sulfate concentration, which is the end product of sulfur-utilizing autotrophic denitrificaiton in the effluent, was also not increased with increasing SSC injection.

The use of solar energy can enhance the conversion of carbon dioxide into energy-rich products: stepping towards artificial photosynthesis.

PubMed

Aresta, Michele; Dibenedetto, Angela; Angelini, Antonella

2013-08-13

The need to cut CO₂ emission into the atmosphere is pushing scientists and technologists to discover and implement new strategies that may be effective for controlling the CO₂ atmospheric level (and its possible effects on climate change). One option is the capture of CO₂ from power plant flue gases or other industrial processes to avoid it entering the atmosphere. The captured CO₂ can be either disposed in natural fields (geological cavities, spent gas or oil wells, coal beads, aquifers; even oceans have been proposed) or used as a source of carbon in synthetic processes. In this paper, we present the options for CO₂ utilization and make an analysis of possible solutions for the conversion of large volumes of CO₂ by either combining it with H₂, that must be generated from water, or by directly converting it into fuels by electrolysis in water using solar energy. A CO₂-H₂-based economy may address the issue of reducing the environmental burden of energy production, also saving fossil carbon for future generations. The integration of CO₂ capture and utilization with CO₂ capture and storage would result in a more economically and energetically viable practice of CO₂ capture.

Enhancement of NRC station blackout requirements for nuclear power plants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McConnell, M. W.

2012-07-01

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) established a Near-Term Task Force (NTTF) in response to Commission direction to conduct a systematic and methodical review of NRC processes and regulations to determine whether the agency should make additional improvements to its regulatory system and to make recommendations to the Commission for its policy direction, in light of the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. The NTTF's review resulted in a set of recommendations that took a balanced approach to defense-in-depth as applied to low-likelihood, high-consequence events such as prolonged station blackout (SBO) resulting from severe natural phenomena. Part 50,more » Section 63, of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 'Loss of All Alternating Current Power,' currently requires that each nuclear power plant must be able to cool the reactor core and maintain containment integrity for a specified duration of an SBO. The SBO duration and mitigation strategy for each nuclear power plant is site specific and is based on the robustness of the local transmission system and the transmission system operator's capability to restore offsite power to the nuclear power plant. With regard to SBO, the NTTF recommended that the NRC strengthen SBO mitigation capability at all operating and new reactors for design-basis and beyond-design-basis external events. The NTTF also recommended strengthening emergency preparedness for prolonged SBO and multi-unit events. These recommendations, taken together, are intended to clarify and strengthen US nuclear reactor safety regarding protection against and mitigation of the consequences of natural disasters and emergency preparedness during SBO. The focus of this paper is on the existing SBO requirements and NRC initiatives to strengthen SBO capability at all operating and new reactors to address prolonged SBO stemming from design-basis and beyond-design-basis external events. The NRC initiatives are intended to enhance core and spent fuel pool cooling, reactor coolant system integrity, and containment integrity. (authors)« less

Recycling of spent adsorbents for oxyanions and heavy metal ions in the production of ceramics.

PubMed

Verbinnen, Bram; Block, Chantal; Van Caneghem, Jo; Vandecasteele, Carlo

2015-11-01

Spent adsorbents for oxyanion forming elements and heavy metals are classified as hazardous materials and they are typically treated by stabilization/solidification before landfilling. The use of lime or cement for stabilization/solidification entails a high environmental impact and landfilling costs are high. This paper shows that mixing spent adsorbents in the raw material for the production of ceramic materials is a valuable alternative to stabilize oxyanion forming elements and heavy metals. The produced ceramics can be used as construction material, avoiding the high economic and environmental impact of stabilization/solidification followed by landfilling. To study the stabilization of oxyanion forming elements and heavy metals during the production process, two series of experiments were performed. In the first series of experiments, the main pollutant, Mo was adsorbed onto iron-based adsorbents, which were then mixed with industrial sludge (3 w/w%) and heated at 1100°C for 30 min. Mo was chosen, as this element is easily adsorbed onto iron-based adsorbents and it is the element that is the most difficult to stabilize (i.e. the highest temperatures need to be reached before the concentrations in the leachate are reduced). Leaching concentration from the 97/3 sludge/adsorbent mixture before heating ranged between 85 and 154 mg/kg; after the heating process they were reduced to 0.42-1.48 mg/kg. Mo was actually stabilized, as the total Mo concentration after addition was not affected by the heat treatment. In the second series of experiments, the sludge was spiked with other heavy metals and oxyanion forming elements (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb) in concentrations 5 times higher than the initial concentrations; after heat treatment the leachate concentrations were below the regulatory limit values. The incorporation of spent adsorbents in ceramic materials is a valuable and sustainable alternative to the existing treatment methods, saving raw materials in the ceramics production process and avoiding the use of stabilizing agents. Besides, spent adsorbents added to the raw material for ceramic products, may improve their aesthetic and structural properties. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Herbivore-induced callose deposition on the sieve plates of rice: an important mechanism for host resistance.

PubMed

Hao, Peiying; Liu, Caixiang; Wang, Yuanyuan; Chen, Rongzhi; Tang, Ming; Du, Bo; Zhu, Lili; He, Guangcun

2008-04-01

The brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stål; BPH) is a specialist herbivore on rice (Oryza sativa) that ingests phloem sap from the plant through its stylet mouthparts. Electronic penetration graphs revealed that BPH insects spent more time wandering over plants carrying the resistance genes Bph14 and Bph15, but less time ingesting phloem than they did on susceptible plants. They also showed that their feeding was frequently interrupted. Tests with [(14)C]sucrose showed that insects ingested much less phloem sap from the resistant than the susceptible plants. BPH feeding up-regulated callose synthase genes and induced callose deposition in the sieve tubes at the point where the stylet was inserted. The compact callose remained intact in the resistant plants, but genes encoding beta-1,3-glucanases were activated, causing unplugging of the sieve tube occlusions in susceptible plants. Continuing ingestion led to a remarkable reduction in the susceptible plants' sucrose content and activation of the RAmy3D gene, leading to starch hydrolysis and ultimately carbohydrate deprivation in the plants. Our results demonstrate that BPH feeding induces the deposition of callose on sieve plates in rice and that this is an important defense mechanism that prevents insects from ingesting phloem sap. In response, however, the BPH can unplug sieve tube occlusions by activating beta-1,3-glucanase genes in rice plants.

EnergySolution's Clive Disposal Facility Operational Research Model - 13475

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nissley, Paul; Berry, Joanne

2013-07-01

EnergySolutions owns and operates a licensed, commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal facility located in Clive, Utah. The Clive site receives low-level radioactive waste from various locations within the United States via bulk truck, containerised truck, enclosed truck, bulk rail-cars, rail boxcars, and rail inter-modals. Waste packages are unloaded, characterized, processed, and disposed of at the Clive site. Examples of low-level radioactive waste arriving at Clive include, but are not limited to, contaminated soil/debris, spent nuclear power plant components, and medical waste. Generators of low-level radioactive waste typically include nuclear power plants, hospitals, national laboratories, and various United States government operatedmore » waste sites. Over the past few years, poor economic conditions have significantly reduced the number of shipments to Clive. With less revenue coming in from processing shipments, Clive needed to keep its expenses down if it was going to maintain past levels of profitability. The Operational Research group of EnergySolutions were asked to develop a simulation model to help identify any improvement opportunities that would increase overall operating efficiency and reduce costs at the Clive Facility. The Clive operations research model simulates the receipt, movement, and processing requirements of shipments arriving at the facility. The model includes shipment schedules, processing times of various waste types, labor requirements, shift schedules, and site equipment availability. The Clive operations research model has been developed using the WITNESS{sup TM} process simulation software, which is developed by the Lanner Group. The major goals of this project were to: - identify processing bottlenecks that could reduce the turnaround time from shipment arrival to disposal; - evaluate the use (or idle time) of labor and equipment; - project future operational requirements under different forecasted scenarios. By identifying processing bottlenecks and unused equipment and/or labor, improvements to operating efficiency could be determined and appropriate cost saving measures implemented. Model runs forecasting various scenarios helped illustrate potential impacts of certain conditions (e.g. 20% decrease in shipments arrived), variables (e.g. 20% decrease in labor), or other possible situations. (authors)« less

Recovery Act:Rural Cooperative Geothermal development Electric & Agriculture

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Culp, Elzie Lynn

Surprise Valley Electric, a small rural electric cooperative serving northeast California and southern Oregon, developed a 3mw binary geothermal electric generating plant on a cooperative member's ranch. The geothermal resource had been discovered in 1980 when the ranch was developing supplemental irrigation water wells. The 240°F resource was used for irrigation until developed through this project for generation of electricity. A portion of the spent geothermal fluid is now used for irrigation in season and is available for other purposes, such as greenhouse agriculture, aquaculture and direct heating of community buildings. Surprise Valley Electric describes many of the challenges amore » small rural electric cooperative encountered and managed to develop a geothermal generating plant.« less

System analyses on advanced nuclear fuel cycle and waste management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheon, Myeongguk

To evaluate the impacts of accelerator-driven transmutation of waste (ATW) fuel cycle on a geological repository, two mathematical models are developed: a reactor system analysis model and a high-level waste (HLW) conditioning model. With the former, fission products and residual trans-uranium (TRU) contained in HLW generated from a reference ATW plant operations are quantified and the reduction of TRU inventory included in commercial spent-nuclear fuel (CSNF) is evaluated. With the latter, an optimized waste loading and composition in solidification of HLW are determined and the volume reduction of waste packages associated with CSNF is evaluated. WACOM, a reactor system analysis code developed in this study for burnup calculation, is validated by ORIGEN2.1 and MCNP. WACOM is used to perform multicycle analysis for the reference lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) cooled transmuter. By applying the results of this analysis to the reference ATW deployment scenario considered in the ATW roadmap, the HLW generated from the ATW fuel cycle is quantified and the reduction of TRU inventory contained in CSNF is evaluated. A linear programming (LP) model has been developed for determination of an optimized waste loading and composition in solidification of HLW. The model has been applied to a US-defense HLW. The optimum waste loading evaluated by the LP model was compared with that estimated by the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) in the US and a good agreement was observed. The LP model was then applied to the volume reduction of waste packages associated with CSNF. Based on the obtained reduction factors, the expansion of Yucca Mountain Repository (YMR) capacity is evaluated. It is found that with the reference ATW system, the TRU contained in CSNF could be reduced by a factor of ˜170 in terms of inventory and by a factor of ˜40 in terms of toxicity under the assumed scenario. The number of waste packages related to CSNF could be reduced by a factor of ˜8 in terms of volume and by factor of ˜10 on the basis of electricity generation when a sufficient cooling time for discharged spent fuel and zero process chemicals in HLW are assumed. The expansion factor of Yucca Mountain Repository capacity is estimated to be a factor of 2.4, much smaller than the reduction factor of CSNF waste packages, due to the existence of DOE-owned spent fuel and HLW. The YMR, however, could support 10 times greater electricity generation as long as the statutory capacity of DOE-owned SNF and HLW remains unchanged. This study also showed that the reduction of the number of waste packages could strongly be subject to the heat generation rate of HLW and the amount of process chemicals contained in HLW. For a greater reduction of the number of waste packages, a sufficient cooling time for discharged fuel and efforts to minimize the amount of process chemicals contained in HLW are crucial.

Speciation analysis and leaching behaviors of selected trace elements in spent SCR catalyst.

PubMed

Dai, Zejun; Wang, Lele; Tang, Hao; Sun, Zhijun; Liu, Wei; Sun, Yi; Su, Sheng; Hu, Song; Wang, Yi; Xu, Kai; Liu, Liang; Ling, Peng; Xiang, Jun

2018-09-01

This study investigated heavy metal chemical speciation and leaching behavior from a board-type spent selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst containing high concentrations of vanadium, chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, and lead. A three-step sequential extraction method, standard toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP), and leaching characteristic tests have been performed. It was found that the mobility of six heavy metals in the spent SCR catalyst was significantly different. The mobility of the six heavy metals exhibited the following order: Ni > Zn > V > Cr > As > Cu. Meanwhile, TCLP test results revealed relatively high Zn and Cr leaching rate of 83.20% and 10.35%, respectively. It was found that leaching rate was positively correlated with available contents (sum of acid soluble, reducible and oxidizable fractions). Leaching characteristics tests indicated that pH substantially affected the leaching of these heavy metals. In particular, the leaching of Cr, Ni, Cu, and Zn was positively influenced by strong acid, while V and As were easily released in the presence of strong acid and strong alkali (pH < 3 or pH > 11). In terms of kinetics, the leaching of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and As within the spent catalyst was dominated by erosion and dissolution processes, which were rapid reaction processes. V was released in large amounts within 1 h, but its leaching amount sharply decreased with time due to readsorption. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radiation induced dissolution of UO 2 based nuclear fuel - A critical review of predictive modelling approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eriksen, Trygve E.; Shoesmith, David W.; Jonsson, Mats

2012-01-01

Radiation induced dissolution of uranium dioxide (UO 2) nuclear fuel and the consequent release of radionuclides to intruding groundwater are key-processes in the safety analysis of future deep geological repositories for spent nuclear fuel. For several decades, these processes have been studied experimentally using both spent fuel and various types of simulated spent fuels. The latter have been employed since it is difficult to draw mechanistic conclusions from real spent nuclear fuel experiments. Several predictive modelling approaches have been developed over the last two decades. These models are largely based on experimental observations. In this work we have performed a critical review of the modelling approaches developed based on the large body of chemical and electrochemical experimental data. The main conclusions are: (1) the use of measured interfacial rate constants give results in generally good agreement with experimental results compared to simulations where homogeneous rate constants are used; (2) the use of spatial dose rate distributions is particularly important when simulating the behaviour over short time periods; and (3) the steady-state approach (the rate of oxidant consumption is equal to the rate of oxidant production) provides a simple but fairly accurate alternative, but errors in the reaction mechanism and in the kinetic parameters used may not be revealed by simple benchmarking. It is essential to use experimentally determined rate constants and verified reaction mechanisms, irrespective of whether the approach is chemical or electrochemical.

Hydrometallurgical recovery of metal values from sulfuric acid leaching liquor of spent lithium-ion batteries.

PubMed

Chen, Xiangping; Chen, Yongbin; Zhou, Tao; Liu, Depei; Hu, Hang; Fan, Shaoyun

2015-04-01

Environmentally hazardous substances contained in spent Li-ion batteries, such as heavy metals and nocuous organics, will pose a threat to the environment and human health. On the other hand, the sustainable recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries may bring about environmental and economic benefits. In this study, a hydrometallurgical process was adopted for the comprehensive recovery of nickel, manganese, cobalt and lithium from sulfuric acid leaching liquor from waste cathode materials of spent lithium-ion batteries. First, nickel ions were selectively precipitated and recovered using dimethylglyoxime reagent. Recycled dimethylglyoxime could be re-used as precipitant for nickel and revealed similar precipitation performance compared with fresh dimethylglyoxime. Then the separation of manganese and cobalt was conducted by solvent extraction method using cobalt loaded D2EHPA. And McCabe-Thiele isotherm was employed for the prediction of the degree of separation and the number of extraction stages needed at specific experimental conditions. Finally, cobalt and lithium were sequentially precipitated and recovered as CoC2O4 ⋅ 2H2O and Li2CO3 using ammonium oxalate solution and saturated sodium carbonate solution, respectively. Recovery efficiencies could be attained as follows: 98.7% for Ni; 97.1% for Mn, 98.2% for Co and 81.0% for Li under optimized experimental conditions. This hydrometallurgical process may promise a candidate for the effective separation and recovery of metal values from the sulfuric acid leaching liquor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Generation and detection of metal ions and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions from the pretreatment processes for recycling spent lithium-ion batteries.

PubMed

Li, Jia; Wang, Guangxu; Xu, Zhenming

2016-06-01

The recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries brings benefits to both economic and environmental terms, but it can also lead to contaminants in a workshop environment. This study focused on metals, non-metals and volatile organic compounds generated by the discharging and dismantling pretreatment processes which are prerequisite for recycling spent lithium-ion batteries. After discharging in NaCl solution, metal contents in supernate and concentrated liquor were detected. Among results of condition #2, #3, #4 and #5, supernate and concentrated liquor contain high levels of Na, Al, Fe; middle levels of Co, Li, Cu, Ca, Zn; and low levels of Mn, Sn, Cr, Zn, Ba, K, Mg, V. The Hg, Ag, Cr and V are not detected in any of the analyzed supernate. 10wt% NaCl solution was a better discharging condition for high discharge efficiency, less possible harm to environment. To collect the gas released from dismantled LIB belts, a set of gas collecting system devices was designed independently. Two predominant organic vapour compounds were dimethyl carbonate (4.298mgh(-1)) and tert-amylbenzene (0.749mgh(-1)) from one dismantled battery cell. To make sure the concentrations of dimethyl carbonate under recommended industrial exposure limit (REL) of 100mgL(-1), for a workshop on dismantling capacity of 1000kg spent LIBs, the minimum flow rate of ventilating pump should be 235.16m(3)h(-1). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of sustainable dye adsorption system using nutraceutical industrial fennel seed spent-studies using Congo red dye.

PubMed

Taqui, Syed Noeman; Yahya, Rosiyah; Hassan, Aziz; Nayak, Nayan; Syed, Akheel Ahmed

2017-07-03

Fennel seed spent (FSS)-an inexpensive nutraceutical industrial spent has been used as an efficient biosorbent for the removal of Congo red (CR) from aqueous media. Results show that the conditions for maximum adsorption would be pH 2-4 and 30°C were ideal for maximum adsorption. Based on regression fitting of the data, it was determined that the Sips isotherm (R 2 = 0.994, χ 2 = 0.5) adequately described the mechanism of adsorption, suggesting that the adsorption occurs homogeneously with favorable interaction between layers with favorable interaction between layers. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the adsorption is favorable (negative values for ΔG°) and endothermic (ΔH° = 12-20 kJ mol -1 ) for initial dye concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 ppm. The low ΔH° value indicates that the adsorption is a physical process involving weak chemical interactions like hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions. The kinetics revealed that the adsorption process showed pseudo-second-order tendencies with the equal influence of intraparticle as well as film diffusion. The scanning electron microscopy images of FSS show a highly fibrous matrix with a hierarchical porous structure. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis of the spent confirmed the presence of cellulosic and lignocellulosic matter, giving it both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. The investigations indicate that FSS is a cost-effective and efficient biosorbent for the remediation of toxic CR dye.

Micro-milling of spent granular activated carbon for its possible reuse as an adsorbent: Remaining capacity and characteristics.

PubMed

Pan, Long; Takagi, Yuichi; Matsui, Yoshihiko; Matsushita, Taku; Shirasaki, Nobutaka

2017-05-01

We milled granular activated carbons (GACs) that had been used for 0-9 years in water treatment plants and produced carbon particles with different sizes and ages: powdered activated carbons (PAC, median diameter 12-42 μm), superfine PAC (SPAC, 0.9-3.5 μm), and submicron-sized SPAC (SSPAC, 220-290 nm). The fact that SPAC produced from 1-year-old GAC and SSPAC from 2-year-old GAC removed 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) from water with an efficiency similar to that of virgin PAC after a carbon contact time of 30 min suggests that spent GAC could be reused for water treatment after being milled. This potential for reuse was created by increasing the equilibrium adsorption capacity via reduction of the carbon particle size and improving the adsorption kinetics. During long-term (>1 year) use in GAC beds, the volume of pores in the carbon, particularly pores with widths of 0.6-0.9 nm, was greatly reduced. The equilibrium adsorption capacities of the carbon for compounds with molecular sizes in this range could therefore decrease with increasing carbon age. Among these compounds, the decreases of capacities were prominent for hydrophobic compounds, including MIB. For hydrophobic compounds, however, the equilibrium adsorption capacities could be increased with decreasing carbon particle size. The iodine number, among other indices, was best correlated with the equilibrium adsorption capacity of the MIB and would be a good index to assess the remaining MIB adsorption capacity of spent carbon. Spent GAC can possibly be reused as SPAC or SSPAC if its iodine number is ≥ 600 mg/g. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Succinic acid-based leaching system: A sustainable process for recovery of valuable metals from spent Li-ion batteries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Li; Qu, Wenjie; Zhang, Xiaoxiao

A hydrometallurgical method involving natural organic acid leaching has been developed for recovery of lithium and cobalt from the cathode active materials in spent lithium-ion batteries. Succinic acid is employed as leaching agent and H2O2 as reductant. The cobalt and lithium contents from the succinic acid-based treatment of spent batteries are determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy to calculate the leaching efficiency. The spent LiCoO2 samples after calcination and the residues after leaching are characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that nearly 100% of cobalt and more than 96% of lithium are leached undermore » optimal conditions: succinic acid concentration of 1.5 mol L-1, H2O2 content of 4 vol.%, solid-to-liquid ratio of 15 g L-1, temperature of 70 °C, and reaction time of 40 min. Results are also given for fitting of the experimental data to acid leaching kinetic models.« less

Process Waste Assessment Machine and Fabrication Shop

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Phillips, N.M.

1993-03-01

This Process Waste Assessment was conducted to evaluate hazardous wastes generated in the Machine and Fabrication Shop at Sandia National Laboratories, Bonding 913, Room 119. Spent machine coolant is the major hazardous chemical waste generated in this facility. The volume of spent coolant generated is approximately 150 gallons/month. It is sent off-site to a recycler, but a reclaiming system for on-site use is being investigated. The Shop`s line management considers hazardous waste minimization very important. A number of steps have already been taken to minimize wastes, including replacement of a hazardous solvent with biodegradable, non-caustic solution and filtration unit; wastemore » segregation; restriction of beryllium-copper alloy machining; and reduction of lead usage.« less

Uranium dioxide electrolysis

DOEpatents

Willit, James L [Batavia, IL; Ackerman, John P [Prescott, AZ; Williamson, Mark A [Naperville, IL

2009-12-29

This is a single stage process for treating spent nuclear fuel from light water reactors. The spent nuclear fuel, uranium oxide, UO.sub.2, is added to a solution of UCl.sub.4 dissolved in molten LiCl. A carbon anode and a metallic cathode is positioned in the molten salt bath. A power source is connected to the electrodes and a voltage greater than or equal to 1.3 volts is applied to the bath. At the anode, the carbon is oxidized to form carbon dioxide and uranium chloride. At the cathode, uranium is electroplated. The uranium chloride at the cathode reacts with more uranium oxide to continue the reaction. The process may also be used with other transuranic oxides and rare earth metal oxides.