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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Results of the International Energy Agency Bioenergy Round Robin on the Analysis of Heteroatoms in Biomass Liquefaction Oils

A round robin study evaluating the analysis of biomass liquefaction oils (BLOs) from fast pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) was performed, involving fifteen laboratories in seven countries in order to assess the current status of analytical techniques for the determination of nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine content in BLOs and evaluate potential differences in origin (i.e. fast pyrolysis vs HTL). The BLOs were produced from a range of feedstocks including pine, mixed softwoods, forest residues, micro-algae, miscanthus, and wheat straw to cover a variety in nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine content and speciation. Nine samples were distributed, comprised of eight separate BLOs and one blind duplicate produced by five producers. The samples were analyzed for water, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine content. No analytical test method was mandated; laboratories were encouraged to utilize whichever method they determined would be most applicable, relying on the existing body of BLO literature as a guide. The results of this round robin study are presented in this paper. The results of the carbon, hydrogen, and water measurements as reference analyses had relative standard deviations (2.9%, 3.5, and 5.6%, respectively) that were comparable to those found in past round robin studies on fast pyrolysis bio-oil. The analysis of nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine showed higher levels of variability. Laboratories mostly chose the same method for water, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen determination whereas there were a variety of methods chosen for sulfur and chlorine determination. The results suggest that specific analytical methods for the determination of nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine should be further refined to ensure reproducible and accurate results for BLO analysis due to their importance on emissions, material selection, and catalyst activity.

Biomass, IEA Bioenergy, pyrolysis, hydrothermal li↗
DOE OSTI2026

Deriving effective electrode–ion interactions from free-energy profiles at electrochemical interfaces

Understanding ion adsorption at electrified metal–electrolyte interfaces is essential for accurate modeling of electrochemical systems. Here, in this study, we systematically investigate the free energy profiles of Na + , Cl − , and F − ions at the Au(111)–water interface using enhanced sampling molecular dynamics with both classical force fields and machine-learned interatomic potentials (MLIPs). Our classical metadynamics results reveal a strong dependence of predicted ion adsorption on the Lennard-Jones parameters, highlighting that—without due care—standard mixing rules can lead to qualitatively incorrect descriptions of ion–metal interactions. We present a systematic methodology for tuning the cross term LJ parameters to control adsorption energetics in agreement with more accurate models. As a surrogate for an ab initio model, we employed the recently released Universal Models for Atoms MLIP, which validates classical trends and displays strong specific adsorption for chloride, weak adsorption for fluoride, and no specific adsorption for sodium, in agreement with experimental and theoretical expectations. By integrating molecular-level adsorption free energies into continuum models of the electric double layer, we show that specific ion adsorption substantially alters the interfacial ion population, the potential of zero charge, and the differential capacitance of the system. Our results underscore the critical importance of force field parameterization and advanced interatomic potentials for the predictive modeling of ion-specific effects at electrified interfaces and provide a robust framework for bridging molecular simulations and continuum electrochemical models.

Roncoroni, Fabrice [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab↗
DOE OSTI2022

Impact of salinity origin on microbial communities in saline springs within the Illinois Basin, USA

Abstract Saline springs within the Illinois Basin result from the discharge of deep‐seated evaporated seawater (brine) and likely contain diverse and complex microbial communities that are poorly understood. In this study, seven saline/mineral springs with different geochemical characteristics and salinity origins were investigated using geochemical and molecular microbiological analyses to reveal the composition of microbial communities inhabiting springs and their key controlling factors. The 16S rRNA sequencing results demonstrated that each spring harbours a unique microbial community influenced by its geochemical properties and subsurface conditions. The microbial communities in springs that originated from Cambrian/Ordovician strata, which are deep confined units that have limited recharge from overlying formations, share a greater similarity in community composition and have a higher species richness and more overlapped taxa than those that originated from shallower Pennsylvanian strata, which are subject to extensive regional surface and groundwater recharge. The microbial distribution along the spring flow paths at the surface indicates that 59.8%–94.2% of total sequences in sedimentary samples originated from spring water, highlighting the role of springs in influencing microbiota in the immediate terrestrial environment. The results indicate that the springs introduce microbiota with a high biodiversity into surface terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems, potentially affecting microbial reservoirs in downstream ecosystems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

FY22 Progress on Multicontinuum Methods in Containment

Estimation of two-phase fluid flow properties is important to understand and predict water and gas movement through the vadose zone for agricultural, hydrogeological, and engineering applications, such as containment transport and/or containment of gases in the subsurface. To estimate rock fluid flow properties and subsequently predict physically realistic processes such as patterns and timing of water, gas, and energy (e.g., heat) movement in the subsurface, laboratory spontaneous water imbibition with simultaneous temperature measurement and numerical modeling methods are presented in the FY22 progress report. A multiple-overlapping-continua conceptual model is used to explain and predict observed complex multi-phenomenological laboratory test behavior during spontaneous imbibition experiments. This report primarily addresses two complexities that arise during the experiments: 1) capturing the late-time behavior of spontaneous imbibition tests with dual porosity; and 2) understanding the thermal perturbation observed at or ahead of the imbibing wetting front, which are associated with adsorption of water in initially dry samples. We use numerical approaches to explore some of these issues, but also lay out a plan for further laboratory experimentation and modeling to best understand and leverage these unique observations.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Survey of Thirteen Novel Pseudomonas putida Bacteriophages

Bacteriophages have been widely investigated as a promising treatment of food, medical equipment, and humans colonized by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Phages pose particular interest in combating those bacteria which form biofilms, such as the medically important human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and several plant pathogens, including P. syringae . In an undergraduate lab course, P. putida was used as the host to isolate novel anti-pseudomonal bacteriophages. Environmental samples of soil and water were collected, and purified phage isolates were obtained. After Illumina sequencing, genomes of these phages were assembled de novo and annotated. Assembled genomes were compared with known genomes in the literature and GenBank to identify taxonomic relations and to refine their functional annotations. The thirteen phages described are sipho-, myo-, and podoviruses in several families of Caudoviricetes , spanning several novel genera, with genomes ranging from 40,000 to 96,000 bp. One phage (DDSR119) is unique and is the first reported P. putida siphovirus. The remaining 12 can be clustered into four distinct groups. Six are highly related to each other and to previously described Autotranscriptaviridae phages: Waldo5, PlaquesPlease, and Laces98 all belong to the Waldovirus genus, whereas Stalingrad, Bosely, and Stamos belong to the Troedvirus genus. Zuri was previously classified as the founding member of a new genus Zurivirus within the family Schitoviridae . Ebordelon and Holyagarpour each represent different species within Zurivirus , whereas Meara is a more distantly related member of the Schitoviridae . Dolphis and Jeremy are similar enough to form a genus but have only a few distant relatives among sequenced phages and are notable for being temperate. We identified the lysis cassettes in all 13 phages, compared tail spike structures, and found auxiliary metabolic genes in several. Studies like these, which isolate and characterize infectious virions, enable the identification of novel proteins and molecular systems and also provide the raw materials for further study, evaluation, and manipulation of phage proteins and their hosts.

Pseudomonas putida↗
DOE OSTI2022

Nuclide inventory validation: radiochemical assay data quality and modeling challenges in benchmark models development

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is conducting radiochemical assay experiments, using high-precision analytical protocols validated with a comprehensive quality assurance plan, to expand the nuclide inventory validation basis for high burnup spent nuclear fuel. Preliminary measurement data for key actinides and fission products in two pressurized water reactor spent fuel samples are being used to investigate the impact of measurement data uncertainty on the sample burnup estimation. These measurement data are also being used to examine the impact of assumptions applied when developing best-estimate computational models to simulate fuel irradiation history. The simulations are being performed using depletion capabilities in the SCALE code system. Comparison of calculated and measured nuclide concentrations shows good agreement for the considered nuclides. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2021

CY2020 Annual Closure Monitoring Report for Corrective Action Unit 98: Frenchman Flat, Underground Test Area, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada (January 2020–December 2020, Revision 1)

This report presents the results of monitoring conducted for water quality, water levels, and institutional controls in calendar year (CY) 2020 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Management (EM) Nevada Program’s Underground Test Area (UGTA) Activity at Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 98, Frenchman Flat (FF), at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), Nevada (Figure 1-1). This report also presents analytical laboratory results (including results of quality assurance/quality control samples, such as field duplicates [FDs]); and verification of use restrictions (URs), institutional controls, and water use. Groundwater samples were collected; water levels were measured; and well site surveillance was conducted in support of the Underground Test Area (UGTA) Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 98: Frenchman Flat, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada (NNSA/NFO, 2016) and its ensuing Records of Technical Change (ROTCs).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Coupled Biotic-Abiotic Processes Control Biogeochemical Cycling of Dissolved Organic Matter in the Columbia River Hyporheic Zone

A critical component of assessing the impacts of climate change on watershed ecosystems involves understanding the role that dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays in driving whole ecosystem metabolism. The hyporheic zone—a biogeochemical control point where ground water and river water mix—is characterized by high DOM turnover and microbial activity and is responsible for a large fraction of lotic respiration. Yet, the dynamic nature of this ecotone provides a challenging but important environment to parse out different DOM influences on watershed function and net carbon and nutrient fluxes. We used high-resolution Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry to provide a detailed molecular characterization of DOM and its transformation pathways in the Columbia river watershed. Samples were collected from ground water (adjacent unconfined aquifer underlying the Hanford 300 Area), Columbia river water, and its hyporheic zone. The hyporheic zone was sampled at five locations to capture spatial heterogeneity within the hyporheic zone. Our results revealed that abiotic transformation pathways (e.g., carboxylation), potentially driven by abiotic factors such as sunlight, in both the ground water and river water are likely influencing DOM availability to the hyporheic zone, which could then be coupled with biotic processes for enhanced microbial activity. The ground water profile revealed high rates of N and S transformations via abiotic reactions. The river profile showed enhanced abiotic photodegradation of lignin-like molecules that subsequently entered the hyporheic zone as low molecular weight, more degraded compounds. While the compounds in river water were in part bio-unavailable, some were further shown to increase rates of microbial respiration. Together, river water and ground water enhance microbial activity within the hyporheic zone, regardless of river stage, as shown by elevated putative amino-acid transformations and the abundance of amino-sugar and protein-like compounds. This enhanced microbial activity is further dependent on the composition of ground water and river water inputs. Our results further suggest that abiotic controls on DOM should be incorporated into predictive modeling for understanding watershed dynamics, especially as climate variability and land use could affect light exposure and changes to ground water essential elements, both shown to impact the Columbia river hyporheic zone.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Molecular Iodine Interactions with Metal Substrates: Towards the Understanding of Iodine Interactions in the Environment Following a Nuclear Accident

In order to evaluate the potential impacts to the public from radioiodine in a nuclear event, it is vital to expand our understanding of the interaction of molecular iodine with various surfaces. There are many potential surfaces that iodine could interact with in and around a nuclear facility, including stainless steel. This study, carried out at ambient temperature, pressure and humidity, demonstrates the highly adsorptive nature of molecular iodine on two types of austenitic stainless steel, 304L and 316L. In the authors review of available literature, Fe is the only metal in stainless steel that is assumed to react with gas-phase molecular iodine. By using a novel approach which combines Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) with surface Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) there is evidence of the formation of metal iodides that have not previously been verified or quantified. Samples exposed to gaseous molecular iodine formed an iodine containing corrosion product visible by scanning electron microcopy (SEM). Evaluation of the metals in the corrosion region using EDS was compared to a water leach of the same samples analyzed using ICP-OES. A comparison of the results provide evidence that the water leachate is representative of the corrosion layer and not the base material. Furthermore, it provides confirmation of metal iodide formation with minor stainless-steel constituents including: FeI2, NiI2, MnI2 and CrI2.

Beck, Chelsie L.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Depth-resolved soil data from DOE-LM Riverton Wyoming site, April-September 2017

Averaged (from 3 to 5 replicates) and QA/QC:d data for soil cores taken roughly every month in the period April 5 to September 13 in 2017 at a location close to DOE Legacy Management well 855 at the Riverton, Wyoming floodplain site. The groundwater at this site exhibits persistent U, Mo, and sulfate plumes and is one of the field sites in focus for the SLAC Groundwater Quality SFA program. Cores were separated into 5-20 cm segments based on soil horizonation and each segment was subsampled for microbial analyses (data available at the NCBI Single Read Archive (SRA) Database, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/, BioProject ID# PRJNA626616) in addition to the soil analyses included in this dataset. The soil analyses dataset includes aerobic and anaerobic respiration rate estimates (MicroResp method), water content estimates (on collected samples, not in situ), total C, N, S, Ca, K, Mg, Na, Fe, As, Mo, U, and organic-C concentrations, water extractable concentrations of the same elements, and HCl-extractable Fe(II) concentrations.There are four files included in this data package: metadataFile.csv, avgDataFile.csv, methodFile.csv, and RVT2017soilData.xlsx. The excel file contains the same information as the individual csv-files (in separate tabs).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Physical and chemical effects of isopropanol exchange in cement-based materials

Drying cement-based materials is a necessary step to characterize the microstructure by microscopy, adsorption, or mercury intrusion. The isopropanol (IPA) exchange method is commonly used to replace the pore solution prior to drying, as it reduces the capillary pressure and thereby helps to preserve the microstructure of the hydrated cementitious materials. However, some physical and chemical effects of IPA on hydration products have been reported. These effects cannot be completely avoided, but can be reduced by shortening the exchange duration, in particular for effects on ettringite. This study carried out experiments with different exchange durations and IPA removal techniques to address research gaps in the literature. For 1-mm cubes of cement paste with IPA diffusion coefficient of 1 × 10{sup −11} m{sup 2}/s, the compared exchange durations are 5 min, 15 min (value from the literature), 40 min (when the mixture at the sample center achieves 95% of the drop in surface tension from water to IPA), 80 min (when the IPA/water mixture at the sample center reaches an azeotrope), 5 h (when over 99% IPA is replaced at the sample center), and 24 h (prolonged exchange). After IPA exchange, samples were either directly dried at 40 °C with flushing N{sub 2} or washed by diethyl ether prior to N{sub 2} drying. Even though the exchange duration of 40 and 80 min, in theory, can reduce the damage from capillary pressure, the nitrogen adsorption results do not show any advantage in preventing microstructural alteration. The 5-h exchange provided results similar to the 24-h exchange, but the latter induced slightly more serious chemical effects resulting from the longer contact of IPA with hydration products. In addition, the compared IPA removal techniques do not show significant differences. Therefore, this study suggests using small samples (~1 mm) for microstructural studies following IPA exchange for a period corresponding to the time when 99% of the water (mole fraction) at the sample center is replaced.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Solvent Dynamics Are Critical to Understanding Carbon Dioxide Dissolution and Hydration in Water

Simulations of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in water may aid in understanding the impact of its accumulation in aquatic environments and help advance technologies for carbon capture and utilization (via, e.g., mineralization). Quantum mechanical (QM) simulations based on static molecular models with polarizable continuum solvation poorly reproduce the energetics of CO 2 hydration to form carbonic acid in water, independent of the level of QM theory employed. Only with density-functional-theory-based molecular dynamics and rare-event sampling, followed by energy corrections based on embedded correlated wavefunction theory (in conjunction with density functional embedding theory), can a close agreement between theory and experiment be achieved. Such multilevel simulations can serve as benchmarks for simpler, less costly models, giving insight into potential errors of the latter. The strong influence of sampling/averaging over dynamical solvent configurations on the energetics stems from the difference in polarity of both the transition state and product (both polar) versus the reactant (nonpolar). When a solute undergoes a change in polarity during reaction, affecting its interaction with the solvent, careful assessment of the energetic contribution of the solvent response to this change is critical. Here, we show that static models (without structural sampling) that incorporate three explicit water molecules can yield far superior results than models with more explicit water molecules because fewer water molecules yield less configurational artifacts. Static models intelligently incorporating both explicit (molecules directly participating in the reaction) and implicit solvation, along with a proper QM theory, e.g., CCSD(T) for closed-shell systems, can close the accuracy gap between static and dynamic models.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Comparison of Groundwater Sampling Technologies, Including Passive Diffusion Sampling, for Radionuclide Contamination - 20205

Using traditional high-flow purge methods for long-term water quality monitoring of deep groundwater wells can be expensive, affect contaminant migration, and produce excessive volumes of discharge water that can be difficult to manage. The use of low-flow pumping methods and depth discrete bailers (DDBs) can reduce the cost of sampling deep groundwater wells. In general, using different pumping methods to obtain reproducible and representative groundwater can be challenging. Passive diffusion samplers (PDSs) have successfully been used in long-term monitoring for volatile organic compounds, major ions, and trace-elements, but application has been limited for stable and radioactive isotopes. Beginning in 2018, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducted three sampling events to test the ability of PDSs and DDBs to obtain reproducible and representative groundwater samples. The sampled well is completed in a regional, permeable carbonate aquifer and is one in a set of wells that have historically been used for tritium tracer testing. All samples were obtained at 180 m (590 ft) below land surface (bls) in a 13.97 cm (5.5 inch) uncased well that has a total depth of 202 m (662 ft) bls. The first sampling event deployed a regenerated cellulose dialysis membrane (RCDM) PDS for 14 days with deionized water as the blank. The second sampling event deployed a RCDM for 27 days also with deionized water as the blank. The third sampling event deployed a Dual Membrane (DM) PDS for 65 days using a blank of tritium-dead carbonate water. The DM PDS was used to assess the effect of longer term deployment on tritium concentrations and address whether or not the PDSs reached equilibrium with ambient groundwater. The day after each of the three passive samplers were retrieved a DDB was used to obtain discrete non-integrated groundwater samples. For each DDB sampling day, the bailer was lowered into the well 10 consecutive times to determine if the water chemistry changed from the first to the last bailed sample. Quality assurance samples including blanks and duplicates were obtained during all three sampling events. All blank waters had tritium concentrations less than 21±33 pCi/L. Major ion (e.g. calcium, chloride, sodium, and sulfate) results were compared between all samples obtained with RCDM and DDB. Major ion concentrations showed a coefficient of variation of less than 6% between all RCDM and DDB samples; however, the coefficient of variation between the different deployment times and the two different methods for trace-element concentrations was much larger, particularly for manganese (82%), lead (41%), and zinc (33%). Stable isotope values were compared between the RCDM and DDB samples. The DDB sample results all fell within analytical uncertainty and were considered representative of the formation groundwater. The stable isotope values from the RCDM samples indicated that a longer deployment time was necessary to gain equilibrium and to obtain representative groundwater samples. Tritium results from groundwater samples obtained from the RCDM, DM, and DDB indicate that groundwaters obtained with PDSs produced tritium concentrations 2 to 3 times higher (between 1,426 and 3,060±87 pCi/L) than groundwaters obtained with a DDB (479 to 1,219±51 pCi/L). The longer the passive diffusion samplers were deployed, the higher the tritium concentration, suggesting that equilibrium with tritium was not reached within a 27-day deployment. DDB samples showed tritium results declining from the first to the last bailed sample for all three sampling events. This research suggests that tritium results from groundwater samples obtained from PDSs are more reproducible than samples obtained from DDBs. Also, PDSs likely do not accumulate isotopes of water but rather equilibrate with the ambient groundwater. On the other hand, both PDSs and DDBs were able to provide representative groundwater samples for major ions and have the potential to produce representative groundwater samples for stable isotopes of water (δD and δ{sup 18}O). Utilizing the most effective method for sampling groundwater is important for long-term groundwater monitoring. Quantifying the ability of passive diffusion groundwater samplers to obtain representative radioactive chemistry samples will help determine if these methods can be a useful alternative to pumping and purging wells for long-term monitoring. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2021

Flume and single-pass washing systems for fresh-cut produce processing: Disinfection by-products evaluation

Free chlorine is widely used in fresh-cut produce washing to minimize microbial cross-contamination, but its application can also lead to the formation of harmful disinfection byproducts (DBPs). This study compared DBPs in process water and washed produce during commercial operation. Samples of shredded lettuce and diced cabbages washed in chlorinated water in the traditional double-flume wash and novel immersion-free single-pass wash systems were collected at multiple time points and locations from the processing lines. A suite of 33 conventional and emerging DBPs, including 4 trihalomethanes (THMs), 9 haloacetic acids (HAAs), 9 nitrogenous DBPs (N-DBPs), and 11 carbonaceous DBPs (C-DBPs), were investigated. Overall, N-DBPs and HAAs dominated the concentration of detected DBPs. Wash water in the flumes contained 7–111 folds higher DBP levels compared to that in the single-pass system, with the abundance of DBPs following the order of N-DBPs > HAAs > C-DBPs > THMs. DBPs were detected on washed produce, presenting primarily in the forms of N-DBPs and HAAs followed by C-DBPs and THMs. While higher levels of DBPs were detected in flume-washed produce, the final potable water rinse significantly reduced the DBP concentration in these products. The concentrations of THMs and HAAs on these washed products were used to estimate potential exposure via consumption of fresh-cut produce and the levels were below the daily allowable exposure for drinking water standard established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The detected high concentration and potential toxicity of N-DBPs indicate the need for further research. Here, the findings of this study advance the understanding of the formation and removal of DBPs during wash processes, and identify additional research opportunities for further reduction in DBPs and food safety improvement.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Results of the Analyses of SMECT Mercury Sample Collected During Mercury Pump (MB1) Functional Check

A pump added to remove mercury from the sump of the Slurry Mix Evaporator Condensate Tank (SMECT) in DWPF was successfully tested in 2020, resulting in a sample of contaminated mercury obtained from the Mercury Purification Process (MPP) cell. The mercury in the sump of the SMECT was present as a result of steam stripping of sludge slurry in the Sludge Receipt and Adjustment Tank (SRAT) at DWPF. A schematic of the MPP system provided by DWPF personnel is shown in Appendix A. DWPF personnel supplied the following detailed description of the Hg sampling: “The sample provided is the result of DWPF extraction of mercury by means of the Mercury Pump-Water Cart. The Mercury Pump extracted the sample from the SMECT mercury sump. The pump uses pressurized water to transfer a small amount of mercury to a leachate bucket located at the Lab Mercury cell. The mercury and water were allowed to be self separated, and mercury was gravity decanted from the leachate bucket.” DWPF personnel indicate that the leachate bucket is equipped with both a top stopcock/drain and a lower/bottom stopcock/drain from which the mercury was decanted or drained out, while the separated water layer remained above the mercury during draining. The DWPF customer requested SRNL to analyze the sample for the following: gross alpha/nonvolatile beta analysis and perform a Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) per the Environmental Protection Agency's Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste: Physical/Chemical Methods, SW-846. While the TCLP was preferred, a Total Metals analysis of the eight Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) metals was deemed acceptable.2 The analytical data collected on this mercury sample will be used in planning for sample disposition as well to start a profile for future Hg disposition of Hg collected from steam stripping.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

TEM Specimen Manufacturing to Support Analysis of IASCC Mechanisms in Irradiated Austenitic Steels – Light-Water– Relevant Materials

The present report describes the manufacturing of samples for advanced microstructure studies of mechanisms of irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) in the materials of light-water reactor (LWR) internal components. The samples were manufactured via FIB (focused ion beam milling) from 4-point-bend specimens subjected to oxidation and mechanical loading in a simulated LWR environment (primary water, PW). The corrosion tests were conducted at the University of Michigan (UM), and the tested specimens were transported to ORNL to perform FIB work. Finally, the manufactured FIB specimens were shipped back to the UM for microstructure characterization. Section 1 in the report provides a brief introduction; Section 2 describes materials, their in-service and irradiation history, and the geometry of specimens for IASCC testing. Section 3 documents typical work steps (specimen mapping) and reports the number of manufactured FIB objects. Section 4 briefly describes the preliminary results of microstructure analysis performed at the University of Michigan and highlights the key findings. The summary and conclusions section discusses future possible future steps and generalizes the obtained results, their unique character, and their importance for the nuclear industry.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Microfracture-pore structure characterization and water-rock interaction in three lithofacies of the Lower Eagle Ford Formation

The microfracture-pore structures and water-rock interactions of eight samples of three typical lithofacies (three limestone, three wackestone, and two mudstone) from the Lower Eagle Ford Formation have been investigated using an integrated methodology. The methods used were X-ray diffraction (XRD), total organic carbon (TOC) content, pyrolysis, thin-section petrography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), spontaneous water imbibition, and water vapor & nitrogen physisorption. Petrophysical properties such as organic richness, maturity, mineral composition, types and patterns of microfractures and pores, porosity, pore-throat size distribution, pore size distribution, pore connectivity, water adsorption and desorption behavior were determined from these methods, and the results compared among the three lithofacies. For example, the three limestone EAS samples and three wackestone DM samples show a low porosity range from 2.02–3.35%, whereas the two mudstone VRU samples exhibit a much large average porosity of 11.7% by MIP results. Nitrogen physisorption results show that pore size distributions have a good similarity in N2 adsorption volume for the samples with similar lithology. Microfractures are morphologically divided into seven types, with their definitions & pictorial examples presented and possible formation mechanisms proposed. In addition, the water vapor physisorption behavior and their controlling factors are discussed. Here, the water adsorption capacity shows a positive relationship (R 2 = 0.90) with clay content and a negative relationship (R 2 = 0.99) with carbonate content. In general, this integrated study of microfracture-pore structure characterization and water-rock interaction provides some insights of water vapor adsorption behavior in different lithofacies and whether microfractures could be an important pathway for fluid flow.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nevada National Security Site - E-Tunnel Wastewater Disposal System: Fourth Quarter 2019

This report includes the results of monthly inspections and monitoring for October, November, and December 2019. Monthly inspections and monitoring were conducted on October 15, November 26, and December 18, 2019. Inspections include a visual assessment of the berms, ponding, water levels relative to the overflow pipes, tunneling or burrowing into the berms, soil conditions on and around the berms, erosion or sloughing of the slopes of the berms, seeps at the toe of the berms, deep-rooting botanicals on the berms, and fencing. Monthly monitoring includes measurements of the instantaneous flow rate, hydrogen ion activity (pH), and specific conductance of the E-Tunnel Wastewater Disposal System (ETDS) discharge. Annual sample results of the effluent water from the ETDS are also included in this report. The effluent sample was collected on September 11, 2019, and analyzed for the parameters listed in Table 1-B of Permit NEV 96021. In addition, Permit NEV 96021 requires the collection and analysis of representative groundwater samples from Well ER 12-1 every 24 months. This summary report provides the information pertaining to the sampling and analysis of groundwater samples collected on April 10, 2019.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗