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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Selective Gaseous Extraction: Research, Development and Training for Isotope Production, Final Technical Report

General Atomics and the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) completed research and development of selective gaseous extraction of fission products from irradiated fuel, which included training and education of MURR students. The process used porous fuel and after irradiation flowed product gases through the fuel to selectively removed desired fission products with the primary goal of demonstrating the removal of rhodium 105. High removal rates for the ruthenium/rhodium (Ru/Rh), tellurium/iodine (Te/I) and molybdenum/technetium (Mo/Tc) series were demonstrated. The success of this research provides for the reuse of the target for further production, significantly reducing the production of actinide wastes relative to processes that dissolve the target. This effort was conducted under DOE funding (DE-SC0007772). General Atomics objective of the project was to conduct R&D on alternative methods to produce a number of radioactive isotopes currently needed for medical and industry applications to include rhodium-105 and other useful isotopes. Selective gaseous extraction was shown to be effective at removing radioisotopes of the ruthenium/rhodium, tellurium/iodine and molybdenum/technetium decay chains while having trace to no quantities of other fission products or actinides. This adds a new, credible method to the area of certain commercial isotope production beyond current techniques, while providing significant potential reduction of process wastes. Waste reduction, along with reduced processing time/cost provides for superior economic feasibility which may allow domestic production under full cost recovery practices. This provides the potential for improved access to domestically produced isotopes for medical diagnostics and treatment at reduced cost, providing for the public good.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Next Generation Solvent Development for Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction of Cesium

This report summarizes the FY 2010 and 2011 accomplishments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in developing the Next Generation Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction (NG-CSSX) process, referred to commonly as the Next Generation Solvent (NGS), under funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM), Office of Technology Innovation and Development. The primary product of this effort is a process solvent and preliminary flowsheet capable of meeting a target decontamination factor (DF) of 40,000 for worst-case Savannah River Site (SRS) waste with a concentration factor of 15 or higher in the 18-stage equipment configuration of the SRS Modular Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction Unit (MCU). In addition, the NG-CSSX process may be readily adapted for use in the SRS Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) or in supplemental tank-waste treatment at Hanford upon appropriate solvent or flowsheet modifications. Efforts in FY 2010 focused on developing a solvent composition and process flowsheet for MCU implementation. In FY 2011 accomplishments at ORNL involved a wide array of chemical-development activities and testing up through single-stage hydraulic and mass-transfer tests in 5-cm centrifugal contactors. Under subcontract from ORNL, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) designed a preliminary flowsheet using ORNL cesium distribution data, and Tennessee Technological University confirmed a chemical model for cesium distribution ratios (DCs) as a function of feed composition. Inter laboratory efforts were coordinated with complementary engineering tests carried out (and reported separately) by personnel at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and Savannah River Remediation (SRR) with helpful advice by Parsons Engineering and General Atomics on aspects of possible SWPF implementation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2017

High temperature high velocity direct power extraction using an open-cycle oxy-combustion system

The implementation of oxy-fuel technology in fossil-fuel power plants may contribute to increased system efficiencies and a reduction of pollutant emissions. One technology that has potential to utilize the temperature of undiluted oxy-combustion flames is open-cycle magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generators. These systems can be configured as a topping cycle and provide high enthalpy, electrically conductive flows for direct conversion of electricity. This report presents the design and modeling strategies of a MHD combustor operating at temperatures exceeding 3000 K. Throughout the study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models were extensively used as a design and optimization tool. A lab-scale 60 kWth model was designed, manufactured and tested as part of this project. A fully-coupled numerical method was developed in ANSYS FLUENT to characterize the heat transfer in the system. This study revealed that nozzle heat transfer may be predicted through a 40% reduction of the semi-empirical Bartz correlation. Experimental results showed good agreement with the numerical evaluation, with the combustor exhibiting a favorable performance when tested during extended time periods. A transient numerical method was employed to analyze fuel injector geometries for the 60-kW combustor. The ANSYS FLUENT study revealed that counter-swirl inlets achieve a uniform pressure and velocity ratio when the ports of the injector length to diameter ratio (L/D) is 4. An angle of 115 degrees was found to increase distribution efficiency. The findings show that this oxy-combustion concept is capable of providing a high-enthalpy environment for seeding, in order to render the flow to be conductive. Based on previous findings, temperatures in the range of 2800-3000 K may enable magnetohydrodynamic power extraction. The heat loss fraction in this oxy-combustion system, based on CFD and analytical calculations, at optimal operating conditions, was estimated to be less than 10 percent. Furthermore, the heat transfer design removed approximately 7 MW/m2. The results observed in the lab-scale system were employed to develop a 1-MW scaled prototype. Scaling methods were based on critical design criteria found in similar systems, aimed at replicating combustion flow fields and reducing possible instabilities. A numerical simulation of the combustor wall was developed for a combined thermal steady model and static structural model. This combined model was developed predict combined stress parameters within the wall during testing conditions. Both models were developed within ANSYS FEA software package. The relative accuracy presented as well major performance parameters are discussed to assess the design's validity and ensure safety. The scaled prototype was manufactured through selective laser melting (SLM)-based additive manufacturing to reduce lead times and increase geometrical complexity. Additional CFD models were developed to optimize coolant manifold system parameters and perform a parametric study on channel geometry. An investigation on coolant manifold geometry demonstrated improvements in channel flow distribution when enlarging manifold lengths and increasing the number of tubes feeding into the flow. A three-dimensional model based on a single channel was developed to capture the effect of variable properties and thermal stratification. All cases in the simulation exhibited higher wall temperatures and lower convective coefficients than those determined through 1-D analytical equations. This implies that pressure and velocity safety factors must be implemented during system operation. Overall, the findings made in this investigation are thought to be of value to researchers and industrial practitioners when designing oxy-fuel direct power extraction systems operating at temperatures exceeding 3000 K. In addition to this, the implementation of the developed technology at pilot and commercial scales could result in a significant improvement in the efficiencies of heritage and next-generation power cycles.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Extraction of Uranium from Seawater: Design and Testing of a Symbiotic System

The U.S. Department of Energy in October 2014 awarded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) a Nuclear Energy University Program grant (DE-NE0008268) to investigate the design and testing of a symbiotic system to harvest uranium from seawater. As defined in the proposal, the goals for the project are: 1. Address the design of machines for seawater uranium mining. 2. Develop design rules for a uranium harvesting system that would be integrated into an offshore wind power tower. 3. Fabricate a 1/50th size scale prototype for bench and pool-testing to verify initial analysis and theory. 4. Design, build, and test a second 1/10th size scale prototype in the ocean for more comprehensive testing and validation. This report describes work done as part of DE-NE0008268 from 10/01/2014 to 11/30/2017 entitled, “Extraction of Uranium from Seawater: Design and Testing of a Symbiotic System.” This effort is part of the Seawater Uranium Recovery Program. This report details the publications and presentations to date on the project, an introduction to the project’s goals and background research into previous work done to achieve these goals thus far. From there, the report describes an algorithm developed during the project used to optimize the adsorption of uranium by changing mechanical parameters such as immersion time and adsorbent reuses is described. Next, a design tool developed as part of the project to determine the global feasibility of symbiotic uranium harvesting systems. Additionally, the report details work done on shell enclosures for uranium adsorption. Moving on, the results from the design, building, and testing of a 1/50th physical scale prototype of a highly feasible symbiotic uranium harvester is described. Then, the report describes the results from flume experiment used to determine the affect of enclosure shells on the uptake of uranium by the adsorbent they enclose. From there the report details the design of a Symbiotic Machine for Ocean uRanium Extraction (SMORE). Next, the results of the 1/10th scale physical scale prototype of a highly feasible symbiotic uranium harvester are presented. The report then details the design and results of an experiment to examine the hydrodynamic effects of a uranium harvester on the offshore wind turbine it is attached to using a 1/150th Froude scale tow tank test. Finally, the report details the results of an initial cost-analysis for the production of uranium from seawater from such a symbiotic device.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Rapid Sensing to Facilitate Purification of Rare Earth Element-Containing Process Streams Produced Through Membrane-Assisted Solvent Extraction

The development of an economically competitive domestic supply of rare earth elements and yttrium (REY) is necessary for our nation’s economic growth and national security. The achievement of a secure domestic supply of REY requires not only the development of effective processes for recovery of REY from naturally occurring materials and/or recycled products, but also the development of downstream processes for the ultimate production of high-REY content solids. An impediment to the development of such processes is the scarcity of analytical methods that provide rapid determination of the process stream compositions. In this work, a membrane-based extraction process was used to selectively recover REYs from a dilute solution in the presence of much higher concentrations of Ca and Al. In tandem, the use of a portable spectrometer equipped with an immobilized zinc adeninate benzene tricarboxylate metal-organic framework sensing material makes possible the rapid detection of the presence of ppm concentrations of Tb and Eu in both weakly acidic and strongly acidic process streams within minutes. A solvent extraction processing time of 15-60 min maximized REY selectivity over gangue ions while achieving up to 80% REY and minimal gangue ion recovery. Taken together, these experiments highlight not only an innovative method for REY purification but also the importance of inexpensive, portable characterization methods for near real-time analysis of REY content.

Membrane-assisted solvent extraction↗
DOE OSTI2026

Final Scientific/Technical Report: Simultaneous Lithium Extraction and Thin-Film Deposition of Lithium Metal for Low-Cost, High-Energy Anodes from Brine Resources

This report describes the scale-up and pilot validation of Alpha-En's Reductive Lithium Extraction (RLE) process, which directly converts lithium ions from aqueous brine-derived feedstocks into thin-film lithium metal anodes, demonstrating greater than 50% extraction efficiency, battery performance matching or exceeding commercial lithium metal controls in coin and pouch cells, and continuous roll-to-roll production of a meter-scale lithium metal anode strip.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

gRNA-SeqRET: a universal tool for targeted and genome-scale gRNA design and sequence extraction for prokaryotes and eukaryotes

High-throughput genetic screening is frequently employed to rapidly associate gene with phenotype and establish sequence-function relationships. With the advent of CRISPR technology, and the ability to functionally interrogate previously genetically recalcitrant organisms, non-model organisms can be investigated using pooled guide RNA (gRNA) libraries and sequencing-based assays to quantitatively assess fitness of every targeted locus in parallel. To aid the construction of pooled gRNA assemblies, we have developed an in silico design workflow for gRNA selection using the gRNA Sequence Region Extraction Tool (gRNA-SeqRET). Built upon the previously developed CCTop, gRNA-SeqRET enables automated, scalable design of gRNA libraries that target user-specified regions or whole genomes of any prokaryote or eukaryote. Additionally, gRNA-SeqRET automates the bulk extraction of any regions of sequence relative to genes or other features, aiding in the design of homology arms for insertion or deletion constructs. We also assess in silico the application of a designed gRNA library to other closely related genomes and demonstrate that for very closely related organisms Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI) > 95% a large fraction of the library may be of relevance. The gRNA-SeqRET web application pipeline can be accessed at https://grna.jgi.doe.gov. The source code is comprised of freely available software tools and customized Python scripts, and is available at https://bitbucket.org/berkeleylab/grnadesigner/src/master/ under a modified BSD open-source license (https://bitbucket.org/berkeleylab/grnadesigner).

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Equation Discovery Using Fast Function Extraction: a Deterministic Symbolic Regression Approach

Advances in machine learning (ML) coupled with increased computational power have enabled identification of patterns in data extracted from complex systems. ML algorithms are actively being sought in recovering physical models or mathematical equations from data. This is a highly valuable technique where models cannot be built using physical reasoning alone. In this paper, we investigate the application of fast function extraction (FFX), a fast, scalable, deterministic symbolic regression algorithm to recover partial differential equations (PDEs). FFX identifies active bases among a huge set of candidate basis functions and their corresponding coefficients from recorded snapshot data. This approach uses a sparsity-promoting technique from compressive sensing and sparse optimization called pathwise regularized learning to perform feature selection and parameter estimation. Furthermore, it recovers several models of varying complexity (number of basis terms). FFX finally filters out many identified models using non-dominated sorting and forms a Pareto front consisting of optimal models with respect to minimizing complexity and test accuracy. Numerical experiments are carried out to recover several ubiquitous PDEs such as wave and heat equations among linear PDEs and Burgers, Korteweg–de Vries (KdV), and Kawahara equations among higher-order nonlinear PDEs. Additional simulations are conducted on the same PDEs under noisy conditions to test the robustness of the proposed approach.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Open Data and Deep Semantic Segmentation for Automated Extraction of Building Footprints

Advances in machine learning and computer vision, combined with increased access to unstructured data (e.g., images and text), have created an opportunity for automated extraction of building characteristics, cost-effectively, and at scale. These characteristics are relevant to a variety of urban and energy applications, yet are time consuming and costly to acquire with today’s manual methods. Several recent research studies have shown that in comparison to more traditional methods that are based on features engineering approach, an end-to-end learning approach based on deep learning algorithms significantly improved the accuracy of automatic building footprint extraction from remote sensing images. However, these studies used limited benchmark datasets that have been carefully curated and labeled. How the accuracy of these deep learning-based approach holds when using less curated training data has not received enough attention. The aim of this work is to leverage the openly available data to automatically generate a larger training dataset with more variability in term of regions and type of cities, which can be used to build more accurate deep learning models. In contrast to most benchmark datasets, the gathered data have not been manually curated. Thus, the training dataset is not perfectly clean in terms of remote sensing images exactly matching the ground truth building’s foot-print. A workflow that includes data pre-processing, deep learning semantic segmentation modeling, and results post-processing is introduced and applied to a dataset that include remote sensing images from 15 cities and five counties from various region of the USA, which include 8,607,677 buildings. The accuracy of the proposed approach was measured on an out of sample testing dataset corresponding to 364,000 buildings from three USA cities. The results favorably compared to those obtained from Microsoft’s recently released US building footprint dataset.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2011

SOLVENT EXTRACTION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE U.S. FUEL CYCLE PROGRAM

Treatment or processing of used nuclear fuel to recycle uranium and plutonium has historically been accomplished using the well known PUREX process. The PUREX process has been used on an industrial scale for over 60 years in the nuclear industry. Research is underway to develop advanced separation methods for the recovery of other used fuel components, such as the minor actinides (Np, Am, Cm) for possible transmutation in fast spectrum reactors, or other constituents (e.g. Cs, Sr, transition metals, lanthanides) to help facilitate effective waste management options. This paper will provide an overview of new solvent extraction processes developed for advanced nuclear fuel cycles, and summarize recent experimental results. This will include the utilization of new extractants for selective separation of target metals and new processes developed to selectively recover one or more elements from used fuel.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Automatic Labeling for Entity Extraction in Cyber Security

Timely analysis of cyber-security information necessitates automated information extraction from unstructured text. While state-of-the-art extraction methods produce extremely accurate results, they require ample training data, which is generally unavailable for specialized applications, such as detecting security related entities; moreover, manual annotation of corpora is very costly and often not a viable solution. In response, we develop a very precise method to automatically label text from several data sources by leveraging related, domain-specific, structured data and provide public access to a corpus annotated with cyber-security entities. Next, we implement a Maximum Entropy Model trained with the average perceptron on a portion of our corpus (~750,000 words) and achieve near perfect precision, recall, and accuracy, with training times under 17 seconds.

Automatic Labeling↗
DOE OSTI2013

LL/ILW: Post-Qualification of Old Waste through Non-Destructive Extraction of Barrels from Cement Shields - 13535

Currently there is a large number of radioactive waste drums entombed in cement shields at German nuclear power plants. These concrete containers used in the past for the waste are not approved for the final repository. Compliance with current acceptance criteria of the final repository has to be proven by qualification measures on the waste. To meet these criteria, a new declaration and new packing is necessary. A simple non-destructive extraction of about 2000 drums from their concrete shields is not possible. So different methods were tested to find a way of non-destructive extraction of old waste drums from cement shields and therefore reduce the final repository volume and final repository costs by using a container accepted and approved for Konrad. The main objective was to build a mobile system to offer this service to nuclear plant stations. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2013

Peculiarities of highly burned-up NPP SNF reprocessing and new approach to simulation of solvent extraction processes

Substantiation, general description and performance characteristics of a reprocessing flowsheet for WWER-1000 spent fuel with burn-up >60 GW*day/t U is given. Pu and U losses were <0.1%, separation factor > 10{sup 4}; their decontamination factor from γ-emitting fission products was 4*10{sup 4} and 3*10{sup 7}, respectively. Zr, Tc, Np removal was >98% at U and Pu losses <0.05%. A new approach to simulation of extraction equilibrium has been developed. It is based on a set of simultaneous chemical reactions characterized by apparent concentration constants. A software package was created for simulation of spent fuel component distribution in multistage countercurrent extraction processes in the presence of salting out agents. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Gadolinium speciation with Tetradentate, N-donor extractants for minor actinide/lanthanide separation: an XRD, mass spectrometry and EPR study

The hydrophobic organic molecules CyMe{sub 4}-BTPhen (1) and CyMe{sub 4}-BTBP (2) have been developed and tuned over many years to be able to separate the trivalent actinides from the trivalent lanthanides (Ln) selectively in bi-phasic solvent extraction processes for the separation of the long-lived radio-toxic minor actinides from spent nuclear fuel. The ability of these N-donor ligands to perform this separation is poorly understood, as is their speciation with the metal ions when extracted into the organic phase. Our previous work has shown Ln{sup 3+} speciation to be largely 1:2 Ln:L in nature with another small molecule, either water or nitrate, occupying a cavity between the tetradentate bound N-donor ligands. The identity of the small molecule changes across the lanthanide series, and here we continue investigations into this speciation. Complexes of these N-donor ligands with Gd{sup 3+} have been synthesised and characterised by X-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry and EPR spectroscopy. We show that the N-donor ligands have no effect on the electronic configuration of Gd{sup 3+} and that the lanthanide contraction with the steric rigidity of the N-donor ligand appears to determine the size of the cavity between the coordinated ligands. This in turn appears to control the identity of the small molecule on the ninth site in the 1:2 Gd:L species. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2013

New method of uranium and plutonium extraction in reprocessing of the spent nuclear fuel

It is shown that a two-stage process of uranium and plutonium extraction during the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel solves the problem of obtaining a high-concentrated extract without increasing the loss risk with raffinate and avoids the accumulation of plutonium in the unit. A possible further optimization of the process would be the creation of steps inside the stages.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Assessing Soil Vapor Extraction Remediation Performance and Closure: A Review - 12188

Soil vapor extraction (SVE) is a baseline remediation approach for volatile contaminants. While SVE is generally effective for removal of contaminants from higher permeability portions of the vadose zone, contamination in low-permeability zones can persist due to mass transfer processes that limit the removal effectiveness. Thus, a diminishing rate of contaminant extraction over time is typically observed, yet contamination may remain in low-permeability zones. Under these conditions, SVE performance needs to be evaluated to determine whether the system should be optimized, terminated, or transitioned to another technology to replace or augment SVE. Methodologies have been developed to quantify SVE performance over time and to evaluate the impact of persistent vadose zone contamination sources on groundwater quality. Recently, these methods have applied mass flux/discharge concepts to quantify contaminant source strength. Methods include field measurement techniques using the SVE system to quantify source strength and predictive analyses with analytical and numerical models to evaluate the impact of the contaminant source on groundwater. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

Efforts to Improve Efficiency of Extraction Well Operation at the Fernald Preserve, Harrison, Ohio - 16177

The Fernald Preserve, a former uranium processing facility that produced high-purity uranium metal products during the Cold War, is located in southwest Ohio. The facility became a US Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management (LM) site in November 2006, following completion of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act environmental remediation and site restoration (with the exception of groundwater). When the site was turned over to LM, approximately 76.5 ha of the Great Miami Aquifer remained contaminated with uranium above the final remediation level of 30 μg/L. Here, uranium contamination is being removed from groundwater in the Great Miami Aquifer through a pump-and-treat operation, which is predicted to continue until 2033. Twenty extraction wells pump about 30 million liters per day. Operation of the system is impacted by iron in the groundwater that promotes iron fouling of the well pumps, motors, and screens. The design of the well field evolved over 21 years and reflected a conservative system that could respond to a wide range of pumping conditions. For instance, some of the extraction wells were sized with pumps and motors that would allow the well to pump up to 1890 L/min (500 gpm) if warranted. The added flexibility, though, came at the cost of operational efficiency. We describe the efforts that have been taken by LM since the Fernald site was transferred to LM to mitigate the operational impacts from the iron fouling aquifer conditions and improve the efficiency of the well-field operation. Variable-frequency drives were installed at six wells to replace flow control valves. Several wells with oversized pumps and motors were changed from 24-hour per day operation to 8-hour per day operation to allow the pumps to operate closer to their design flow rates. Pumps and motors were 'right-sized' at many wells to improve pumping efficiency. The process used to rehabilitate (or clean) well screens was improved, and a process was developed to clean pumps without having to pull them from the well. To reduce pressure drops, improvements were also made to the configuration of the discharge piping. A new control system was installed for each well to allow local control and local tracking of energy used. The amount of energy used daily compared to number of gallons pumped provides a method to assess pump performance and determine when action is necessary to restore well pump efficiency. Additionally, the metrics being employed to help quantify well-field efficiency improvements are described, and the benefits achieved by proactively managing the pump-and-treat operation are presented. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

Uranium extraction by apricot shell - 16501

In this paper, use of highly contaminated mine and drainage waters by local residents which lead to increase of doses is described. Uranium concentration in this water is studied. Possibilities of uranium extraction by cheap and local sorbent (almonds, peach and apricot shells) were investigated. It is revealed that apricot shell has very good sorption properties for uranium extraction. Detailed sorption parameters of apricot shell are described. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗