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DOE OSTI2025

Burn severity and vegetation type control phosphorus concentration, molecular composition, and mobilization

Shifting phosphorus (P) dynamics after wildfires can have cascading impacts from terrestrial to aquatic environments. However, it is unclear whether shifts in P composition or P concentration are responsible for changes in P dynamics post-fire. We used laboratory leaching experiments of Douglas fir forest and sagebrush shrubland chars to examine how the potential mobility of P compounds is influenced by different burn severities. Burning produced a 6.9- and 29-fold increase in particulate P mobilization but a 3.8- and 30.5-fold decrease in aqueous P released for Douglas fir forest and sagebrush shrubland, respectively. The mechanisms driving particulate- and dissolved-phase P compound mobilization were contrasting. Phosphorus compound mobilization in the particulate phase was controlled by solid char total P concentrations, while the aqueous phase was driven by solubility changes of molecular species. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) on the solid chars indicated that organic orthophosphate monoester and diester species were thermally mineralized to inorganic P moieties with burning in both vegetation types, which decreases P solubility. This coincided with the production of calcium- and magnesium-bound inorganic P compounds. With increasing burn severity there were systematic shifts in P concentration and composition – higher-severity chars mobilized P compounds in the particulate phase, although the magnitude of change was vegetation-specific. Our results indicate a post-fire transformation to both the composition of the solid charred material and how P compounds are mobilized, which may influence its environmental cycling and fate.

31P solution-state NMR↗

DOE OSTI2022

Los Alamos National Laboratory Floodplain Assessment for the West Road Post and Cable Fencing Project

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is proposing to take action at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to install post and cable or in-kind barriers along West Road at selected locations near the Los Alamos County ice-skating rink in Los Alamos Canyon (Figure 1). The proposed project is intended to improve vehicular and pedestrian safety on West Road by reducing traffic hazards associated with unsafe roadside parking and reduce wildland fire hazards associated with vehicles driving and parking on vegetation. West Road crosses approximately 0.35 miles (mi.) (1,900 feet (ft.)) of the Los Alamos Canyon floodplain at the bottom of Los Alamos Canyon. Project activities within the floodplain include blocking access to the informal roadside parking along either side of West Road in Los Alamos Canyon.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

PFAS Removal by Ion Exchange Resins: Background and Knowledge Gaps with Respect to the Hanford Site

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been a rising concern for the past two decades, with the United States Department of Defense and Environmental Protection Agency investing millions of dollars in research into remediation and clean-up technologies. Due to the environmental persistence, toxicity, biological uptake, and ongoing changes in both federal and state regulatory space, understanding the fate and transport of PFAS compounds has been of growing concern to the US Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE’s Hanford Site is investigating historical use of PFAS and will be doing site characterization for PFAS. Thus, PFAS have not yet been identified as a contaminant concern in regulatory documents. Based on historical records that mention the discharge of aqueous film-forming foam containing PFAS and having on-site fire stations (a risk factor for PFAS contamination), it seems likely that environmental releases of PFAS may have occurred. Pump and treat (P&T) remediation is the selected remedy for multiple groundwater contaminant plumes at Hanford. These P&T systems use ion exchange (IX) as a component of aboveground treatment, with the specific resins depending on the target contaminants. There is potential that these IX resins may be able to remove PFAS from groundwater, but investigation is needed to understand affinity/selectivity and removal capacity given the groundwater composition and the operating conditions. This report provides background on PFAS uses and chemistry, then provides a review of IX resin applications for PFAS, identifying knowledge gaps. Recommendations are provided regarding research needed to address knowledge gaps and acquire information needed to propose IX as a future PFAS remediation technology at the Hanford Site, as well as other U.S. Department of Energy sites. Generally, PFAS compounds are fluorinated substances that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon – with a few noted exceptions, any chemical with at least a perfluorinated methyl group (–CF3) or a perfluorinated methylene group (–CF2–) is a PFAS. These chemical compounds are characterized as non-biodegradable, non-reactive, non-photolytic, and hydrolysis resistant. This makes them highly recalcitrant within the environment, however polyfluoroalkyl materials are less recalcitrant as the carbon chains contain C–H bonds which are more easily broken than carbon – fluorine (C–F) bonds. The backbone carbon structures are commonly punctuated with a head group, the most well-known of them are perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid, which possess a sulfonate and a carboxylate group, respectively. IX resins are marketed for the removal of PFAS from water systems and industrial water, however, the mechanism of removal is not as well understood as for anion or cation removal. A better understanding of the mechanism of removal would enable the development of IX resins that have improved specificity for PFAS removal. Four knowledge gaps were identified: 1) the effect of dissolved ions on the IX resin PFAS removal effectiveness, 2) the effect of additional primary contaminants of concern (PCOCs) or secondary contaminants of concern (SCOCs) on the effectiveness of PFAS via IX resin, 3) the mechanisms of PFAS removal from water, and 4) practical solutions to IX resin regeneration and waste disposal.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2021

Compatibility of Steels in Supercritical CO2 at 450°-650°C

Supercritical CO2 (sCO2) power cycles, particularly direct-fired cycles, have the possibility of revolutionizing clean fossil energy. However, in the lower temperature sections of the cycle, lower cost steels are needed in order to lower the cost of the sCO2 technology. Representative 9 and 12%Cr steels and conventional and advanced austenitic steels are being evaluated at 450-650°C using mass change, bulk carbon (C) content and room temperature tensile properties to determine the maximum use temperatures for both direct- and indirect-fired sCO2 cycles. After 1000 h exposures in research grade (RG) sCO2 at 300 bar and RG sCO2 with 1% O2 and 0.1% H2O additions, the results suggest that increasing the Cr content from 9 to 12% yielded no signficant benefit under these conditions but the higher Cr and Ni contents in S31025 provided better compatibility in RG sCO2 at 650°C but limited benefit at 550°C with impurities. For S31609, the formation of Fe-rich oxide after exposure to RG sCO2 at 650°C resulted in both an increase in the bulk C content and a large drop in room temperature ductility. The evidence suggests thin, protective oxides prevented C ingress in these conditions.

Pint, Bruce↗

DOE OSTI2021

Impact of Non-Steady State Operation on Cooling Water Consumption at Coal- and Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants

Increased renewable energy penetration in the electricity grid in coming decades will result in more frequent cycling at thermal power plants. Simultaneously, thermal power plants may face water scarcity with declining availability of cooling water. Therefore, to enhance thermal power plants’ resiliency to water shortages it is important to understand how non-steady conditions due to cycling will impact cooling water consumption and withdrawal intensity. Non-steady operation at power plants has been previously shown to decrease power plant thermal efficiency. Energy balance models have also demonstrated that a decrease in thermal efficiency is expected to increase cooling water consumption intensity. Furthermore, past work has used operating hours data to show idling and cycling gaps where cooling systems operate more than corresponding generators. As a result, an increase in cycling behavior may impact cooling water consumption and withdrawal intensity. This study uses data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to quantify the impact of cycling cooling water consumption intensity for recirculating cooling systems and withdrawal intensity for once-through cooling systems using energy balance and statistical approaches. In a novel application of a fixed effects model to study the effect of temperature on cooling water consumption and withdrawal intensity, this study finds temperature was consistently expected to increase consumption intensity and withdrawal intensity. Non-steady state conditions do not increase cooling water consumption intensity with statistical significance across unit types. However, additional validation of cooling water data is required to confirm these observed trends due to the sensitivity of these findings to model form and concerns with data quality of the dependent variables, cooling water consumption and withdrawal.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Fission gas trapped in Chornobyl fuel microparticles reveals details of reactor operations

The isotopic ratios of fission gas would provide important source information of a nuclear fuel sample found in the environment. However, it is believed that during a reactor accident like Chornobyl all fission gas is lost and that the radioactive particles found in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone today are depleted in gases by the initial explosion and subsequent fire. We disprove this hypothesis by detection and analysis of trapped krypton and xenon in these particles. Our analysis of krypton and xenon isotopes by noble gas mass spectroscopy in combination with resonance ionization mass spectrometry establishes that important information about reactor operations like age, neutron flux and plutonium fission fraction can still be reconstructed from individual micrometer-sized particles even after decades of weathering in the environment.

Chornobyl↗

DOE OSTI2023

South Africa National Cooling Plan

South Africa is committed to preserving the environment and addressing climate change related issues based on science and equity. In 2019, South Africa ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to reduce the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to simultaneously protect the ozone layer and contribute to mitigating climate change. In 2015, South Africa also signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement to fight against climate change and committed to achieve a “peak, plateau and decline” greenhouse gas (GHG) trajectory at a level between 398 and 614 MtCO2e/year by 20301. In 2021 revised target ranges of 398-510 Mt CO 2 -eq for 2025, and 398-440 Mt CO 2 -eq for 2030 were issued, as well as aspiring to reach a net zero carbon economy by 2050. Addressing the environmental impacts of cooling products converges the objectives of these two treaties. Cooling products are the main source of HFC use and they consume a significant amount of electricity produced from emission intensive coal fired power plants. South Africa’s efforts to mitigate global warming can therefore be amplified if the energy efficiency (EE) of cooling products is improved at the same time a refrigerant transition from HFC is considered. Synergistic actions with respect to sustainable cooling access across sectors will have a higher impact than actions taken in isolation.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2023

An Inventory of AI-ready Benchmark Data for US Fires, Heatwaves, and Droughts

Extreme weather events, including fires, heatwaves, and droughts, have significant impacts on earth, environmental, and energy systems. Mechanistic and predictive understanding, as well as probabilistic risk assessment of these extreme weather events, are crucial for detecting, planning for, and responding to these extremes. Records of extreme weather events provide an important data source for understanding present and future extremes, but the existing data needs preprocessing before it can be used for analysis. Moreover, there are many nonstandard metrics defining the levels of severity or impacts of extremes. In this study, we compile a comprehensive benchmark data inventory of extreme weather events, including fires, heatwaves, and droughts. The dataset covers the period from 2001 to 2020 with a daily temporal resolution and a spatial resolution of 0.5°×0.5° (~55km×55km) over the continental United States (CONUS), and a spatial resolution of 1km × 1km over the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region, together with the co-located and relevant meteorological variables. By exploring and summarizing the spatial and temporal patterns of these extremes in various forms of marginal, conditional, and joint probability distributions, we gain a better understanding of the characteristics of climate extremes. The resulting AI/ML-ready data products can be readily applied to ML-based research, fostering and encouraging AI/ML research in the field of extreme weather. This study can contribute significantly to the advancement of extreme weather research, aiding researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in developing improved preparedness and response strategies to protect communities and ecosystems from the adverse impacts of extreme weather events.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Internal carburization and scale formation on austenitic steels in supercritical carbon dioxide

Direct-fired supercritical CO 2 (sCO 2 ) power cycles are being commercialised to revolutionise fossil energy as a low-emission power source. In order to lower the cost of this technology, less expensive steels are needed in the lower temperature segments of the cycle. However, there are concerns about internal carburisation of steels in sCO 2 . A consistent observation is that thin, Cr-rich oxides appear to reduce C ingress compared to thick Fe-rich oxides formed on 9–12% Cr ferritic-martensitic steels. Advanced austenitic stainless steels (SS) like alloy 709 (20Cr-25Ni) are able to continue to form Cr-rich oxides at 650°C, while a conventional type 316 H SS formed a Fe-rich scale. The C diffusion profiles in SS specimens were quantified at 550°C–650°C using glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy and electron probe microanalysis. Analytical transmission electron microscopy was used to compare the thin protective Cr-rich oxide formed on alloy 709 in sCO 2 at 650°C to that formed in ambient air.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Study of the Heater-Coil Electrical Insulation for the HL-LHC Low Beta Quadrupoles

In the framework of the HL-LHC project, the present LHC low-β superconducting quadrupoles will be substituted with higher performance Nb 3 Sn magnets (MQXF) with 11.4 T coil peak field. MQXF coils are impregnated with epoxy resin to reduce risk of stress concentration on the brittle conductor. The magnet quench protection is provided by CLIQ and quench heaters to ensure a redundant system. Quench heaters are impregnated with the coils in order to have suitable thermal contact with them, and to prevent the hot spot temperature from exceeding 350K during normal operation in case of a quench. Quench heaters are insulated from the coil by S-2 Glass and polyimide. Here, the test of the first MQXF prototype (4 m long) MQXFAP1 was stopped by a coil-to-ground short circuit triggered by a heater-to-coil short. This issue triggered a root analysis of the causes of this short. Here we prove that the use of a non-conforming cloth in coil impregnation, further weakened by non-conforming high voltage test, has triggered the shorts. Moreover, we present an analysis of the heater-to-coil insulation strength, showing the role of blistering phenomena and how they are triggered by a combination of magnet powering and heater firing.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Environmental Compatibility Issues for Ni-Based Alloys in Direct-Fired Supercritical CO2 Power Cycles

Direct-fired supercritical CO2 (sCO2) power cycles offer potential for high-efficiency power generation from natural gas and other fossil fuels with built-in carbon capture. Ni-based superalloys are the leading candidates for the hottest portions of these systems, where they must endure long-term exposure to high-temperature, high-pressure, high-velocity, impure CO2-rich environments. Herein we describe results of various experimental testing campaigns conduced at NETL showing that under such conditions, several simultaneously occurring degradation modes may be active including surface oxidation, alloy carburization, and oxide volatilization. It will be shown that the rates of degradation can be strongly affected by the alloy composition, impurities in the CO2, manufacturing method (wrought vs additive), and other factors. The influence of these factors in controlling alloy degradation are discussed in the context of potential compatibility issues for components in real sCO2 systems, such as compact heat exchangers. Finally, as a potential remedial measure, ongoing work involving protective coatings suitable for complex geometries is presented.

alloy oxidation↗

DOE OSTI2023

INL Soil Contamination Areas - Wildland Fire Radiological Hazards

The largest wildland fire on the INL occurred in 2019 and initiated a reassessment of the hazard of wildfires burning through soil contamination areas. In 2020 during the COVID shutdown, the INL Emergency Management Group and the Radiological Control Group worked together to re-evaluate the hazards from these soil contamination areas that were last evaluated in 2001. The new soil sample data was examined, and the areas were mapped for radiation intensity. A new evaluation of the radiological hazards due to wildfire was completed and issued because of this work. This presentation will describe the work and the methodologies used to complete this re-evaluation.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

DOE OSTI2025

lllinois Storage Corridor CarbonSAFE Phase III: Pre-drilling Site Assessment: Prairie State Generating Company

The Illinois Storage Corridor project will drill a stratigraphic test well as part of the Illinois Storage Corridor CarbonSAFE Phase 3 project near the Prairie State Generating Company coal-fired power plant near Marissa, Illinois. The pre-drilling site evaluation has considered the primary target reservoirs, the Potosi Dolomite and St. Peter Sandstone, and primary seal, the Maquoketa Group. Data to be collected from the well include core, fluid samples, in situ well tests, geophysical logs intended to provide information on lithologic, geomechanical, and geophysical characteristics to determine the feasibility for the geologic sequestration of 50 million metric tons or more of injected carbon dioxide. The planned drilling site has been evaluated using available subsurface geologic data and analyses from the Illinois Basin. These data provide lithologic and structural information, shallow groundwater resource distribution, location of known nearby wellbores, and regional drilling characteristics. The data were used to generate geologic structure and isopach maps for the target reservoir and caprock strata and for prognosing the tops of major lithologic units to aid drilling and coring procedures. The regional analyses indicate that no known structural features are expected to negatively impact the target storage reservoir or caprock. No protected and sensitive areas, groundwater resources, or existing resource development are expected to be impacted by the proposed well drilling activities. The well is planned to be drilled to a total depth of approximately 5,600 feet (1,707 m) and terminate in the Precambrian. Cores (up to 5 intervals) will be collected from the Maquoketa Group, confining units above the St. Peter Sandstone, St. Peter Sandstone, confining units of the Potosi Dolomite and the Potosi Dolomite. Water samples will be attempted to be collected from the St. Peter Sandstone and Potosi Dolomite. Potential impact on drilling progress is a lost circulation zone in the Potosi Dolomite, which has been demonstrated to have intermittent cavernous porosity from karstification elsewhere in the Illinois Basin. This document also presents a preliminary coring and sampling program, proposed logging suite, and well testing program, all of which will be reviewed during drilling.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2025

Quantitative Risk Assessment for Fuel Cell Electric Bus Hydrogen Storage and Refueling Facility

It is necessary to understand the safety implications and risk mitigation options for fuel cell electric bus fleet deployment, especially for related facilities responsible for operations such as production, storage, compression, and dispensing of hydrogen for use by the buses. In this report, we present a quantitative risk assessment for a potential fuel cell electric bus fleet that was motivated by efforts to improve resilience at the Portland International Airport but can be applicable to a range of hydrogen case studies and use cases. We estimated risk for a facility that produces, stores, compresses, and dispenses hydrogen for the fleet of buses, with a focus on individual risk to people in terms of annual frequency of fatality. We considered the frequency of hydrogen leaks that could result in harmful physical outcomes like jet fires or explosions, and the consequences of those outcomes for people. We created customized fault trees to calculate the frequencies of different sizes of leaks and event sequence diagrams to calculate ignition probabilities for the various leak sizes. We also leveraged the HyRAM+ toolkit to use these inputs to calculate overall risk for the facility, which we separated into one section responsible for producing, storing, and compressing hydrogen, and one section responsible for dispensing the hydrogen to the buses. We found that the dispensing area seemed to have a higher risk than the production/storage/compression area of the facility, largely because of the inclusion of a component with a high leak frequency (the heat exchanger used to cool the hydrogen before entering the vehicle, to prevent overheating and expansion of hydrogen in the onboard tank). For the example production and refueling facility we evaluated and the data we used for the analysis, the leak frequency had a larger impact on the risk differences between the two sections on the facility, compared to the physical outcome consequence, which was slightly different due to the varying fuel conditions, but not substantially different. Actions can be taken to prevent these hazards (e.g., lowering leak frequencies in system components) or to mitigate the consequences if they do occur (e.g., installing barriers to protect people if ignition events occur). The choice of which actions to take depends not only on safety considerations but also on space, time, staffing, feasibility, and financial constraints. Therefore, the quantitative risk assessment approach can help understand relative risk contributions from different components, leak sizes, consequences, and human actions, to prioritize risk reduction strategies and balance these parameters. The outcomes of this report may be useful for a variety of stakeholders working in the hydrogen, transportation, vehicle, and aviation sector, including those responsible for aspects like facility design, operations, and regulations. There is not a single value of risk that determines whether a hypothetical system is “safe” or not. The insights about risk mitigations may be leveraged, and the quantitative risk assessment approach can be applied to other case studies to understand risk priorities and contributions specific to different FCEB and hydrogen facility uses.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2021

Depowering of Batteries to Reduce Cost of Ownership

(1) Executive Summary: End of life batteries (EOLBs) present a cost and safety liability for their owners and stakeholders. This is due flammability, energy, and power with EOLBs. Current approaches include cumbersome, expensive packaging, specialized shipping, regulated storage, and they are responsible for over half of the cost of recycling. They all expensively and inadequately address symptoms. OnTo has developed and proven a simple way to resolve the problem systemically, through depowering of lithium-ion batteries (and most any battery other than lead). The low-cost process removes flammability, power, and energy in EOLBs through non-toxic chemical processing. The opportunity for commerce of inert scrap is at least $5 billion greater than the commerce in hazardous scrap, all made possible through OnTo’s technology for efficiency and safety. (2) Depowering Improves Safety and Decreases Cost of Battery Ownership: OnTo’s depowering technology will remove half of the cost of EOLB management and recycling. Without this technology, EOLB recycling will always be a liability. EOLB is hazardous due to inherent flammability of electrolyte and lithium. The shipping and commerce of EOLBs is costly and dangerous all along the chain of custody from owner, dealership/shop, shipper, second-life sorter, (shipper again), and finally to the destination facility recycler. OnTo’s depowering service renders inert most any EOLB packs, modules, and cells. The technology uses a brief, non-toxic treatment applicable to most any chemistry. The industry needs a safe, simple, modular, and inexpensive method to render EOLBs as inert scrap. OnTo’s deactivation system is scalable to the needs of any customer along the EOLB chain of custody. (3) Evidence of Successful Depowering: Untreated batteries will catch fire and explode under abuse conditions such as heat or crush. Slide 2 below shows that untreated batteries will blow-up and expel their internal components with heating, after OnTo’s depowering treatment, the same battery is inert with the same heat treatment (Fig. 7 in the slide). Depowering also removes electrolyte reactivity, eliminating the production of HF and other toxins (Fig 6. in the slide) The depowering process is applicable to large, 26 Ah cells. Fig. 5 in the slide shows the removal of all the electrolyte from whole cells. Removal of flammable material from an EOLB contributes to the inert behavior. OnTo developed this technology through a project supported by the US Department of Energy EERE program, with partners including Seattle King County Metro Transit. While OnTo has generated evidence of successful depowering of batteries, in 2020, a follow-on voucher opportunity for third party analysis of depowered cells and materials was approved through CalTestBed. The expertise of the battery and materials research groups at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will characterize these depowered cells to provide better understanding of the materials level changes in depowering. (4) Pilot Plant for Depowering EOLBs: Making the spoke work in hub-and-spoke While other companies are marketing the hub-and-spoke approach for recycling EOLBs, they rely on dangerous, expensive shredding methods with flimsy IP protection. OnTo offers the only patented, proven ability to depower EOLBs from most any chemistry – at half of the capital cost required for shredding, while eliminating the liability, danger, and waste streams inherent with shredding. The proposed commercial pilot facility is (5) OnTo Technology LLC Company: OnTo develops advanced battery recycling innovations that produce manufacturing quality electrode materials from recycled batteries. Their patented Cathode-healing™ and Deactivation/Depowering processes improve safety and reduce the cost of recycling. OnTo’s breakthrough technologies produce advanced materials for manufacturing batteries useful in applications from portable power to electric vehicles. Contact: Steve Sloop OnTo Technology LLC, 63221 Service Road, STE F, Bend, OR 97703, ssloop@onto-technology.com , 541-389-7897

deactivation↗

DOE OSTI2022

Wastewater Recycling Using a Hygroscopic Cooling System

This project by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), Baltimore Aircoil Company (BAC), and Great River Energy (GRE) evaluated the concept of recycling wastewater at a coal-fired power plant using a hygroscopic cooling system, which is an evaporative cooling technology analogous to conventional cooling towers, except that sparingly soluble dissolved solids are precipitated and removed as waste solids instead of purging them with a liquid blowdown stream. This technology can maximize the use of plant makeup water by obtaining useful evaporative cooling from wastewater while minimizing the volume of wastes needing disposal. Experimental activities were conducted in two phases, a laboratory-based evaluation of the properties of wastewater from the host site, GRE’s Coal Creek Station near Underwood, North Dakota, and a field test of a small pilot hygroscopic cooling system at the host site power plant. Findings from the laboratory study informed the design of the pilot system and the system’s field test performance served as the basis for a techno-economic analysis (TEA) of the hygroscopic recycling concept. At the preferred operating conditions identified during the TEA, the wet-bulb approach temperature of the tower was 7.3°C (13°F) and the volume of blowdown produced by the plant was reduced to 5.4% of its incoming volume. Waste solids produced during field testing were classified as nonhazardous waste based on the measured hazardous element content and evaluation of their leaching potential. However, to qualify as a solid for landfill disposal i.e., as determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s paint filter test, it appears that a dewatering step beyond hydrocyclone separation is needed. The baseline levelized cost of wastewater disposal (LCWD) for hygroscopic wastewater recycling was estimated to be $\$ $3.69–$\$ $3.72 per m3 of plant blowdown. Capital cost was estimated to contribute over 54% to the LCWD, and parameters that impact capital cost such as the heat exchange coil material of construction and the tower’s wet-bulb approach temperature were identified as having the greatest impact on overall LCWD. A LCWD estimate prepared for the same application but using thermomechanical brine evaporation was almost 40% higher than that calculated for hygroscopic cooling, despite recovering distilled-quality water for reuse, while the LCWD for disposal-only, deep well injection was estimated to be 30% lower compared to hygroscopic wastewater recycling.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2020

Geographic Information System Based Emergency Response Training Assessments for DOE Radioactive Materials Transport - 20027

Safety and security are priorities of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) radioactive materials shipping campaigns. In the more than 70-year history of domestic transport of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), there has never been a transportation-related radiological injury. To support transportation planning, among the tools that DOE uses is the Stakeholder Tool for Assessing Radioactive Transportation (START). START contains geospatial data and transportation route analyses capabilities designed to support a range of DOE transportation planning initiatives. One of those functions is the capability to support emergency response planning and training for State and Tribal jurisdictions located on routes used for DOE shipments of radioactive materials. As part of the Department's commitment to public safety, DOE provides federally-funded radiological response training to emergency responders along DOE radioactive materials transportation corridors through its Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program (TEPP). START contains spatial data representing the locations and emergency-response capabilities of fire departments, police, hospitals, State emergency response centers, and where TEPP-trained personnel are based. The START tool supports State and Tribal users' ability to evaluate emergency-response coverage on active and potential DOE radioactive materials transport routes through their jurisdictions, provide expected response times to reach the scene of an incident, identify equipment available to support a response, and identify the number of response personnel and their respective training levels. In addition, START can be used to identify gaps in coverage along a transportation corridor where additional radiological emergency response training may be needed. This paper describes the data, features, and functionality DOE uses to provide a resource for emergency response training needs assessments for States and Tribes along active and potential routes for transporting radioactive materials, and illustrates its use. It also discusses future plans to integrate TEPP and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) radiological training data to provide a more comprehensive source of geospatial information on personnel who have received equivalent radiological response training. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2021

MULTIPHYSICS-MODELING OF FIRE-INDUCED URANIUM AEROSOL FORMATION – A-POSTERIORI BENCHMARKING OF EXPERIMENTS

The formulation and solution of a model that properly described the temperature profiles of uranium in fire conditions was prepared, verified and validated, to support a-posteriori benchmarking of historical experiments. Data from the multi-physics model combined with data regression from the experiments provides a useful tool for exploring sources of potential bias in historical experiments. The approaches used are augmented by visual observations and photographic evidence allowing for correlations between various phenomena, independent of whether or not that specific phenomena are part of the validated model. In this manner, the validated model is a tool for a-posteriori benchmarking, and not a model designed to replicate the experimental output exactly for any specific experiment. For experiments like the Clark (2015) experiments, this integrated model (including chemistry) demonstrated that the largest bias was associated in the metallurgy of the coupons. The model developed does serve as a basis for defending which of the historical alloys tested are the most appropriate for any other alloy being considered (e.g., one that has not yet been tested). The model identifies key reactions that impact uranium chemistry and can significantly bias experimental results. Through use of the model and energy balances, data from historical experiments by Elder and Tinkle (1980) were regressed and benchmarked. This study identifies that all uranium alloys are not equal and that there are distinct differences between the dominant alloys representing distinct metallurgical phases.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗