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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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At least 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Automatic Search of Cataclysmic Variables Based on LightGBM in LAMOST-DR7

The search for special and rare celestial objects has always played an important role in astronomy. Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) are special and rare binary systems with accretion disks. Most CVs are in the quiescent period, and their spectra have the emission lines of Balmer series, HeI, and HeII. A few CVs in the outburst period have the absorption lines of Balmer series. Owing to the scarcity of numbers, expanding the spectral data of CVs is of positive significance for studying the formation of accretion disks and the evolution of binary star system models. At present, the research for astronomical spectra has entered the era of Big Data. The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopy Telescope (LAMOST) has produced more than tens of millions of spectral data. the latest released LAMOST-DR7 includes 10.6 million low-resolution spectral data in 4926 sky regions, providing ideal data support for searching CV candidates. To process and analyze the massive amounts of spectral data, this study employed the Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) algorithm, which is based on the ensemble tree model to automatically conduct the search in LAMOST-DR7. Finally, 225 CV candidates were found and four new CV candidates were verified by SIMBAD and published catalogs. This study also built the Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT), Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) models and used Accuracy, Precision, Recall, the F1-score, and the ROC curve to compare the four models comprehensively. Experimental results showed that LightGBM is more efficient. The search for CVs based on LightGBM not only enriches the existing CV spectral library, but also provides a reference for the data mining of other rare celestial objects in massive spectral data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

MIC-SVM: Designing A Highly Efficient Support Vector Machine For Advanced Modern Multi-Core and Many-Core Architectures

Support Vector Machine (SVM) has been widely used in data-mining and Big Data applications as modern commercial databases start to attach an increasing importance to the analytic capabilities. In recent years, SVM was adapted to the field of High Performance Computing for power/performance prediction, auto-tuning, and runtime scheduling. However, even at the risk of losing prediction accuracy due to insufficient runtime information, researchers can only afford to apply offline model training to avoid significant runtime training overhead. To address the challenges above, we designed and implemented MICSVM, a highly efficient parallel SVM for x86 based multi-core and many core architectures, such as the Intel Ivy Bridge CPUs and Intel Xeon Phi coprocessor (MIC).

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2019

MAC: Memory Access Coalescer for 3D-Stacked Memory

Emerging data-intensive applications, such as graph analytics and data mining, exhibit irregular memory access patterns. Research has shown that with these memory-bound applications, traditional cache-based processor architectures, which exploit locality and regular patterns to mitigate the memory-wall issue, are inefficient. Meantime, novel 3D-stacked memory devices, such as Hybrid Mem- ory Cube (HMC) and High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), promise significant increases in bandwidth that appear extremely appealing for memory-bound applications. However, conventional memory interfaces designed for cache-based architectures and JEDEC DDR devices fit poorly with the 3D-stacked memory, which leads to significant under-utilization of the promised high bandwidth. As a response to these issues, in this paper we propose MAC (Memory Access Coalescer), a coalescing unit for the 3D-stacked memory. We discuss the design and implementation of MAC, in the context of a custom designed cache-less architecture targeted at data-intensive, irregular applications. Through a custom simulation infrastructure based on the RISC-V toolchain, we show that MAC achieves a coalescing efficiency of 52.85% on average. It improves the performance of the memory system by 60.73% on average for a large set of irregular workloads.

Wang, Xi↗
DOE OSTI2016

A Scalable Method for Extracting Soiling Rates from PV Production Data

We present a method for analyzing time series production data from photovoltaic systems to extract the rate at which energy yield is affected by the accumulation of dust, dirt, and other forms of soiling. We describe an approach that is based on prevailing methods which consider the change in energy production during dry periods. The method described here builds upon these methods by considering a statistical sample of soiling intervals from each site under consideration. The method enables straightforward application to a large number of sites with minimal parameterization of data-filtering requirements. Furthermore, it enables statistical confidence intervals and comparisons between sites.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

North American Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Database Development - Phase II

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are used in a wide range of applications, including cell phones, laptops, power tools, electric vehicles, and grid storage, and are essential for economic growth and addressing climate change. However, the significant demand for LIBs has led to supply chain issues for the United States, as China dominates the processing of battery materials and battery production. To address this concern, NAATBatt International, a trade association of North American battery companies, supported the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in developing a database of companies that mine, process, manufacture, reuse, and recycle batteries in North America. The purpose of this database was to identify strengths and gaps in the supply chain, so that private-government partnerships could develop strategies to create a competitive LIB supply chain in the US. NREL published the first version of this database in 2021 and the second version in 2022. The database includes companies that have a manufacturing facility in North America and are engaged in materials, cells, packs, end-of-life management, as well as those involved in LIB battery modeling, distribution, service and repair, and R&D. In this presentation, we will discuss our approach to collecting data and categorizing various segments and products. We will also provide a summary of the data and present various maps to illustrate the distribution of companies in the database.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Structural Evolution of the Hogback Monocline and Its Tectonic Significance in the San Juan Basin

The San Juan Basin is recognized as a Laramide foreland basin. It is located within the Colorado Plateau, a broad tectonic province characterized by a thick sedimentary sequence that was segmented into smaller sub basins during the Late Cretaceous to Paleogene Laramide orogeny. The Hogback Monocline lies along the northwestern margin of the San Juan Basin and is considered a Laramide-age structure formed in response to compressional stress. In this study, we interpret surface and subsurface datasets to construct a structural geological model and evaluate its tectonic significance. Through seismic data, we identify key fault and fold geometries at depth. The seismic dataset used in this study was reprocessed in depth and constrained with well log velocity data to enhance seismic imaging quality. Additionally, we performed well log correlations to identify formation tops and assess variations in basin infill and thickness geometry. A series of structural cross-sections, constructed using seismic data and a high density of boreholes, are presented to evaluate geometric variations along the structure and its evolution during basin development. Furthermore, kinematic restoration and forward modeling analyses were conducted to validate our structural interpretation. This work suggests that the Hogback Monocline formed through fault-propagation folding and flexural slip affecting the pre-Laramide sedimentary sequence under compressional stresses associated with the Laramide orogeny. This structure is interpreted as a high-angle reverse fault that influenced the geometry of the late basin infill. Additionally, monocline bending along the structure may have been controlled by fault relay systems and, in some cases, influenced by strike-slip faulting.

Reyes, Martin [New Mexico Bureau o fGeology and Mi↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development and Validation of an Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Process for Source Water

Throughout Northern Appalachia and surrounding regions, hundreds of abandoned mine sites exist which frequently are the source of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). AMD typically contains metal ions in solution with sulfate ions which have been leached from the mine. These large volumes of water, if treated to a minimum standard, may be of use in Hydraulic Fracturing (HF) or other industrial processes. This project’s focus is to evaluate an AMD water treatment technology for the purpose of providing treated AMD as an alternative source of water for HF operations. The HydroFlex™ technology allows the conversion of a previous environmental liability into an asset while reducing stress on potable water sources. The technology achieves greater than 95% water recovery, while removing sulfate to concentrations below 100 mg/L and common metals (e.g., iron and aluminum) below 1 mg/L. The project is intended to demonstrate the capability of the process to provide AMD as alternative source water for HF operations. The second budget period of the project has been completed during which Battelle conducted two individual test campaigns in the field. The first test campaign demonstrated the ability of the HydroFlex system to remove sulfate to levels below 100 mg/L, meeting the requirements indicated by industry stakeholders for use of the treated AMD as source water. The second test campaign consisted of a series of focused confirmatory tests aimed at gathering additional data to refine the economic projections for the process. Throughout the project, regular communications were held with a group of project stakeholders to ensure alignment of the project objectives with industry requirements. Finally, the process byproduct generated by the HydroFlex process was evaluated for the treatment of produced water against commercial treatment chemicals. It was found that the process byproduct achieved similar results for produced water treatment as the chemicals currently in use. Further, the process byproduct demonstrated better settling characteristics in bench scale testing. The field testing conducted in the second project budget period demonstrated the ability of the HydroFlex technology to meet industry requirements for AMD water chemical composition so that it can be used as source water in HF activities. System and operational improvements were identified in an additional series of confirmatory tests to achieve competitive cost targets. Finally, the application of the HydroFlex process byproduct in produced water treatment was demonstrated, further supporting the commercial implementation of the technology. Overall, the project results demonstrate a path to the economic treatment of AMD to support its increased use as source water in HF, particularly in regions with limited local freshwater availability.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF IMPACT AND ABRASION EROSIONS AT LOW VELOCITIES AND COMPARISON TO CFD SIMULATIONS

Wear and erosion damage of materials due to interaction of the surface with solid particles is a major issue in various industries. This phenomenon is common in mining, and oil and gas production, causing damages worth millions of dollars annually. Erosion is becoming a critical issue in renewable technologies as well such as concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) systems. In some CSP systems, solid particles can be used to absorb solar energy and enhance the heat storage. However, these particles may cause significant amount of wear to system components while falling down the power tower at high temperatures. This damage can be costly, and therefore, investigating solid particle erosion in CSP systems is of utmost importance. In collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories, the erosion durability of particle-based Generation 3 (GEN3) CSP system are being investigated both experimentally and numerically. In order to develop models to predict the life time of such systems, erosion under low temperature and low particle impact velocity conditions are investigated. Impact erosion and abrasion erosion experiments are conducted for low velocity and low temperature conditions for various candidate particles and containment materials. The impact erosion testing is conducted for three different containment material including Stainless Steel 316, special refractory material, and Inconel 740H with CARBOBEAD HSP 40/70 ceramic particles and UNIWEST 430 silica quartz erodent particles. All this data will enable us to better model the erosion behavior of these materials and provides a data base to investigate erosion at high temperatures experienced in CSP systems. At low temperatures and low velocities the softer refractory material exhibited greater erosion by an order-of-magnitude when compared to the harder Inconel 740H and Stainless Steel 316 materials. The overall erosion ratio for all the candidate materials was of the order of 10 -7 kg/kg. We also investigated wear in containment materials from sliding of particles over the surfaces at very low angles, also referred to as abrasion. For the velocities expected in a typical 1MW CSP plant, visible surface wear was noted, but the overall mass loss per unit surface area was found to be dependent on the hardness of the containment material tested. In this manuscript, we also present Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and erosion prediction of low velocity impact erosion. These results are compared with the experimental data to evaluate the ability of available erosion models for predicting erosion under these conditions.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Using choice architecture to exploit a university Distinct Urban Mine

Highlights: • More than USD 11 million lie within this UK DUM for small household appliances. • Different collection systems should be established for working or broken appliances. • Consumer behaviour should inform choice architecture. •DUM evaluations should inform future collection system investments. - Abstract: There are widespread concerns regarding the potential future scarcity of ferrous and non-ferrous materials. However, there are already potentially rich reserves of secondary materials via high ownership of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) in economically-developed nations. Young people are particularly high consumers of EEE, thus university students and campuses may present an opportunity to harness this potential. University Distinct Urban Mines (DUM) may be used to exemplify how potential reserves of secondary metals may be exploited, and could contribute to the transition from a linear to a circular economy. This study aimed to evaluate small household appliances (SHA) DUM from a UK university, with the objectives to identify and quantify student households’ SHA ownership, WEEE recycling, stockpiling and discarding habits amongst student households, assess and evaluate the monetary potential of SHA DUM at UK level, and propose methods to exploit DUM for universities in the UK. To this purpose, a quantitative survey was undertaken to measure students’ ownership and discarding behaviour with respect to SHA. The amounts of ferrous and non-ferrous materials were then estimated and converted to monetary values from secondary materials market data to appraise the SHA DUM overall value. Thirty-five per cent of SHA are discarded in the general refuse. Broken personal care appliances (PCA) tend to be discarded due to hygiene and small size factors. When in working order, SHA tend to be equally reused, recycled or stockpiled. We conclude that a total of 189 tonnes of ferrous and non-ferrous materials were available via discarding or being stockpiled at the University of Southampton. Extrapolated to UK higher education level, discarded and stockpiled SHA represent a potential worth ∼USD 11 million. To initiate DUM exploitation within Higher Education campuses, we suggest improving users’ choice architecture by providing collection methods specific to broken SHA.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

An Exploratory Data Mining Investigation for Constructing a Publicly Sourced Dataset of Foreign Hypersonic Tests

This document details a data mining exercise that resulted in an exploratory dataset of publicly reported foreign (non-US) hypersonic vehicle test events. Using a combination of targeted English language searches and country-specific queries, the study aggregates information from digital news media, official press releases, and social media posts. The resulting list of events captures the publicly available accounts of foreign hypersonic tests, although it does not represent an exhaustive record. Limitations such as inconsistent reporting, translation challenges, and the inherently provisional nature of open-source data are acknowledged. This dataset serves as an initial reference point for further inquiries into high-speed atmospheric phenomena and may facilitate future efforts to correlate these events with geophysical measurements.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Characterization of Intrinsic Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors by In-core and Furnace Testing

Increased research and development in nuclear technology has raised the demand for novel sensors and instrumentation to meet data objectives, and survive in different conditions and environments, beyond conventional light water reactor (LWR) environments. Expediting the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies by developing, demonstrating, and qualifying advanced reactor fuel forms necessitates a deeper understanding of how irradiation affects fuels and materials' performance. To achieve a more comprehensive understanding of fuels and materials performance, researchers require more specialized experiments and measurements. The demand for innovative sensors to support nuclear fuel development arises from the complexity of materials' behavior under irradiation and the challenges of deploying instrumentation in Material Test Reactors (MTRs) for irradiation tests. Additionally, measurements of material properties require integrated measurement systems to characterize thermal properties, mechanical properties, chemistry, and microstructure [1]. Among the potential measurement techniques, optical fiber-based sensors have been identified as potential sensors to measure different physical phenomena such as temperature, strain, pressure, and fluid level. Optical fiber sensors have the capability to provide multi-sensing and multiplexing instrumentation, allowing the measurement of different physical parameters within a single sensor configuration, and transmitting data collected at multiple locations through a single fiber. They offer immunity to electromagnetic interference, electrical passivity, compatibility with various sensing methodologies, and cost-effectiveness. Beyond their widespread use in telecommunications, silica fiber-based instruments are utilized in industrial applications, even at temperatures reaching 300?400°C, such as distributed temperature sensing in oil and gas recovery. The Department of Energy (DOE) is interested in using fiber optics to support fuel cycle development [2]. Fiber optics are an excellent candidate for harsh environment sensing, including sensing at very high temperatures (1900oC for sapphire optical fibers). Distributed fiber optic sensing has been deployed in other harsh environments like coal gasification plants [3]. Distributed strain sensing, which operates similarly to distributed temperature sensing, has been deployed to monitor underground mines and fibers have been imbedded in soil to monitor sink-hole development [4][5]. The application of fiber optic sensors to advanced reactor development is a promising area of research.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Uniaxial Creep as a Control on Mercury Intrusion Capillary Pressure in Consolidating Rock Salt

The nature of geologic disposal of nuclear waste in salt formations requires validated and verified two-phase flow models of transport of brine and gas through intact, damaged, and consolidating crushed salt. Such models exist in other realms of subsurface engineering for other lithologic classes (oil and gas, carbon sequestration etc. for clastics and carbonates) but have never been experimentally validated and parameterized for salt repository scenarios or performance assessment. Models for waste release scenarios in salt back-fill require phenomenological expressions for capillary pressure and relative permeability that are expected to change with degree of consolidation, and require experimental measurement to parameterize and validate. This report describes a preliminary assessment of the influence of consolidation (i.e. volume strain or porosity) on capillary entry pressure in two phase systems using mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP). This is to both determine the potential usefulness of the mercury intrusion porosimetry method, but also to enable a better experimental design for these tests. Salt consolidation experiments are performed using novel titanium oedometers, or uniaxial compression cells often used in soil mechanics, using sieved run-of-mine salt from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) as starting material. Twelve tests are performed with various starting amounts of brine pore saturation, with axial stresses up to 6.2 MPa (~900 psi) and temperatures to 90°C. This corresponds to UFD Work Package 15SN08180211 milestone “FY:15 Transport Properties of Run-of-Mine Salt Backfill – Unconsolidated to Consolidated”. Samples exposed to uniaxial compression undergo time-dependent consolidation, or creep, to various degrees. Creep volume strain-time relations obey simple log-time behavior through the range of porosities (~50 to 2% as measured); creep strain rate increases with temperature and applied stress as expected. Mercury porosimetry is used to determine characteristic capillary pressure curves from a series of consolidation tests and show characteristic saturation-capillary pressure curves that follow the common van Genuchten (1978, 1980) formulation at low stresses. Higher capillary pressure data are suspect due to the large potential for sample damage, including fluid inclusion decrepitation and pore collapse. Data are supportive of use of the Leverett “J” function (Leverett, 1941) to use for scaling characteristic curves at different degrees of consolidation, but better permeability determinations are needed to support this hypothesis. Recommendations for further and refined testing are made with the goal of developing a self- consistent set of constitutive laws for granular salt consolidation and multiphase (brine-air) flow.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2014

Discovery of Disease Co-occurrence Patterns from Electronic Healthcare Reimbursement Claims Data

Effective public health surveillance is important for national secu- rity. With novel emerging infectious diseases being reported across different parts of the world, there is a need to build effective bio- surveillance systems that can track, monitor and report such events in a timely manner. Additionally, there is a need to identify sus- ceptible geographic regions/populations where these diseases may have a significant impact and design preemptive strategies to tackle them. With the digitization of health related information through electronic health records (EHR) and electronic healthcare claim re- imbursements (eHCR), there is a tremendous opportunity to ex- ploit these datasets for public health surveillance. In this paper, we present our analysis on the use of eHCR data for bio-surveillance by studying the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic flu season. We present a novel approach to extract spatial and temporal patterns of flu in- cidence across the United States (US) from eHCRs and find that a small, but distinct set of break-out patterns govern the flu and asthma incidence rates across the entire country. Further, we ob- serve a distinct temporal lag in the onset of flu when compared to asthma across geographic regions in the US. The patterns extracted from the data collectively indicate how these break-out patterns are coupled, even though the flu represents an infectious disease whereas asthma represents a typical chronic condition. Taken to- gether, our approach demonstrates how mining eHCRs can provide novel insights in tackling public health concerns.

data analytics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Prevalence and diversity of TAL effector-like proteins in fungal endosymbiotic Mycetohabitans spp.

EndofungalMycetohabitans(formerlyBurkholderia) spp. rely on a type III secretion system to deliver mostly unidentified effector proteins when colonizing their host fungus,Rhizopus microsporus. The one known secreted effector family fromMycetohabitansconsists of homologues of transcription activator-like (TAL) effectors, which are used by plant pathogenicXanthomonasandRalstoniaspp. to activate host genes that promote disease. These ‘BurkholderiaTAL-like (Btl)’ proteins bind corresponding specific DNA sequences in a predictable manner, but their genomic target(s) and impact on transcription in the fungus are unknown. Recent phenotyping of Btl mutants of twoMycetohabitansstrains revealed that the single Btl in oneMycetohabitans endofungorumstrain enhances fungal membrane stress tolerance, while others in aMycetohabitans rhizoxinicastrain promote bacterial colonization of the fungus. The phenotypic diversity underscores the need to assess the sequence diversity and, given that sequence diversity translates to DNA targeting specificity, the functional diversity of Btl proteins. Using a dual approach to maximize capture of Btl protein sequences for our analysis, we sequenced and assembled nineMycetohabitansspp. genomes using long-read PacBio technology and also mined available short-read Illumina fungal–bacterial metagenomes. We show thatbtlgenes are present across diverseMycetohabitansstrains from Mucoromycota fungal hosts yet vary in sequences and predicted DNA binding specificity. Phylogenetic analysis revealed distinct clades of Btl proteins and suggested thatMycetohabitansmight contain more species than previously recognized. Within our data set, Btl proteins were more conserved acrossM. rhizoxinicastrains than acrossM. endofungorum, but there was also evidence of greater overall strain diversity within the latter clade. Overall, the results suggest that Btl proteins contribute to bacterial–fungal symbioses in myriad ways.

Genetics & Heredity↗
DOE OSTI2015

Text Stream Trend Analysis using Multiscale Visual Analytics with Applications to Social Media Systems

In this paper, we introduce a new visual analytics system, called Matisse, that allows exploration of global trends in textual information streams with specific application to social media platforms. Despite the potential for real-time situational awareness using these services, interactive analysis of such semi-structured textual information is a challenge due to the high-throughput and high-velocity properties. Matisse addresses these challenges through the following contributions: (1) robust stream data management, (2) automated sen- timent/emotion analytics, (3) inferential temporal, geospatial, and term-frequency visualizations, and (4) a flexible drill-down interaction scheme that progresses from macroscale to microscale views. In addition to describing these contributions, our work-in-progress paper concludes with a practical case study focused on the analysis of Twitter 1% sample stream information captured during the week of the Boston Marathon bombings.

interaction↗
DOE OSTI2018

Economical and Environmentally Benign Extraction of Rare Earth Elements (REES) from Coal & Coal Byproducts

This final report provides a complete summary of the activities, results, analytical discussion, and overall evaluation of the project titled “Economical and Environmentally Benign Extraction of Rare Earth Elements (REES) from Coal & Coal Byproducts” under DOE Award Number DE-FE-0027155 that started in March 2016 and ended December 2017. Fly ash was selected as the coal-byproduct source material due to fact that it is readily available with no need for extensive methods to obtain the material, it is produced in large quantities (>50 million tons per year) and had REE concentrations similar to other coal-byproducts. The selected fly ash used throughout this project was from the Mill Creek power generating facility operated by Louisville Gas and Electric located in Louisville, KY and was subjected to a variety of physical and chemical characterization tests. Results from fusion extractions showed that the selected fly-ash had a TREE+Y concentration of 480 ppm with critical REEs concentration of 200 ppm. The fly ash had an outlook ratio of 1.25 and an estimated value of $16-$18 worth of salable REEs per 1-tonne of fly ash. Additional characterizations by optical evaluation, QEMSCAN, XRD, size fractionation, and SEM analysis showed the fly ash consisted of small glassy spherules with a size range between 1 to 110 µm (ave. diam. of 13 um), was heterogeneous in chemical composition (main crystalline phases: aluminum oxides and iron oxides) and was primarily an amorphous material (75 to 80%). A simple stepped approach was completed to estimate the total REE resource quantity. The approach included REE characterization of the representative samples, evaluation of fly-ash availability, and final determination estimated resource availability with regards to REE grade on a regional and national scale. This data represents the best available information and is based upon the assumptions that the power generating facility where the fly-ash was obtained will use the same coal sources (actual mines were identified), the coal materials will have relatively consistent REE concentrations, and the REE extraction process developed during this project can achieve 42% REE recovery (validated and confirmed). Calculations indicated that the estimated REE resource is approximately 175,000 tonnes with a current estimated value of $3,330MM. The proposed REE extraction and production process developed during this project used four fundamental steps; 1) fly-ash pretreatment to enhance REE extraction, 2) REE extraction by acid digestion, 3) REE separation/concentration by carbon adsorption and column chromatography, and 4) REE oxide production. Secondary processing steps to manage process residuals and additional processing techniques to produce value-added products were incorporated into the process during the project. These secondary steps were not only necessary to manage residuals, but also provided additional revenue streams that offset operational and capital expenditures. The process produces one value product stream (production of zeolite Na-P1), a solids waste stream, and one liquid stream that met RCRA discharge requirements. Based upon final design criteria and operational parameters, the proposed system could produce approximately 200 grams of REOs from 1-tonne of fly-ash, thereby representing a TREE+Y recovery of 42% (project target of > 25%). A detailed economic model was developed to evaluate both CAPEX and OPEX estimates for systems with varying capacities between 100 kg to 200 tonnes of fly ash processed per day. Using a standard system capacity of 10 tonne/day system, capital costs were estimated at $88/kg fly ash while operating costs were estimated at approximately $450/kg fly ash. This operating cost estimate includes a revenue of $495/tonne of fly ash processed from the value-added product produced from the system (zeolite Na-P1). Although operating cost savings due to zeolite production were significant, the capital + operating cost for a 10 tonne system was more expensive than the total dollar value of REEs present in the fly ash material. Specifically, the estimated cost per 1-tonne of fly ash treated is approximately $540 while the estimated value of REEs in the fly ash is $18-$20/tonne. This is an excessive difference showing that the proposed process is not economically feasible strictly on the basis of REE revenue compared to extraction costs. Although the current proposed system does not produce sufficient quantities of REEs or additional revenue sources to offset operational and capital costs, supplementary factors including US strategic concerns, commercial demands, and defense department requirements must be factored. At this time, the process developed during this project provides foundational information for future development of simple processes that require low capital investment and one that will extract a valuable quality and quantity of REE oxides from industrial waste.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2016

TagDigger: user-friendly extraction of read counts from GBS and RAD-seq data

In genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) and restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq), read depth is important for assessing the quality of genotype calls and estimating allele dosage in polyploids. However, existing pipelines for GBS and RAD-seq do not provide read counts in formats that are both accurate and easy to access. Additionally, although existing pipelines allow previously-mined SNPs to be genotyped on new samples, they do not allow the user to manually specify a subset of loci to examine. Pipelines that do not use a reference genome assign arbitrary names to SNPs, making meta-analysis across projects difficult. We created the software TagDigger, which includes three programs for analyzing GBS and RAD-seq data. The first script, tagdigger_interactive.py, rapidly extracts read counts and genotypes from FASTQ files using user supplied sets of barcodes and tags. Input and output is in CSV format so that it can be opened by spreadsheet software. Tag sequences can also be imported from the Stacks, TASSEL-GBSv2, TASSEL-UNEAK, or pyRAD pipelines, and a separate file can be imported listing the names of markers to retain. A second script, tag_manager.py, consolidates marker names and sequences across multiple projects. A third script, barcode_splitter.py, assists with preparing FASTQ data for deposit in a public archive by splitting FASTQ files by barcode and generating MD5 checksums for the resulting files. TagDigger is open-source and freely available software written in Python 3. It uses a scalable, rapid search algorithm that can process over 100 million FASTQ reads per hour. TagDigger will run on a laptop with any operating system, does not consume hard drive space with intermediate files, and does not require programming skill to use.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Cognitive analysis of metabolomics data for systems biology

Cognitive computing is revolutionizing the way big data are processed and integrated, with artificial intelligence (AI) natural language processing (NLP) platforms helping researchers to efficiently search and digest the vast scientific literature. Most available platforms have been developed for biomedical researchers, but new NLP tools are emerging for biologists in other fields and an important example is metabolomics. NLP provides literature-based contextualization of metabolic features that decreases the time and expert-level subject knowledge required during the prioritization, identification and interpretation steps in the metabolomics data analysis pipeline. Here, we describe and demonstrate four workflows that combine metabolomics data with NLP-based literature searches of scientific databases to aid in the analysis of metabolomics data and their biological interpretation. Additionally, the four procedures can be used in isolation or consecutively, depending on the research questions. The first, used for initial metabolite annotation and prioritization, creates a list of metabolites that would be interesting for follow-up. The second workflow finds literature evidence of the activity of metabolites and metabolic pathways in governing the biological condition on a systems biology level. The third is used to identify candidate biomarkers, and the fourth looks for metabolic conditions or drug-repurposing targets that the two diseases have in common. The protocol can take 1–4 h or more to complete, depending on the processing time of the various software used.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗