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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 397 records · Page 22
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Optimized Illuminance Operation-A Light-Driven Dilution Strategy to Improve Microalgae Biomass Productivity

Periodic dilution is a necessary operation to avoid light limitation due to self-shading as the culture grows dense. However, environmental conditions are constantly changing in outdoor cultivation systems, making it difficult to determine the optimal dilution rate. To address this challenge, this study evaluated a dilution approach based on light penetration to optimize illuminance (OptiLum) in the culture. Biomass concentration was controlled via sensor-feedback directed dilution to ensure that light reaching the bottom of the culture was maintained above the compensation intensity. Under replicated outdoor pond conditions, by keeping the entire culture within a net-positive photosynthetic zone, the OptiLum operation improved the biomass productivities of two top-performing strains, Picochlorum celeri and Tetraselmis striata, by 95 % and 86 %, respectively, compared to conventional semi-continuous batch cultivation. The dilution rate varied daily and was dynamically adjusted based on the light status within the culture, which is concurrently influenced by weather, culture density, and growth rate. The techno-economic analysis showed that the OptiLum operation could reduce biomass production cost by as much as 24 % and 33 % for P. celeri and T. striata, respectively, assuming a low-cost dewatering approach with initial gravity settling of biomass can be realized for both strains. However, a more costly two-stage dewatering strategy, comprising only membranes and centrifuges, may be necessary for non-settling strains, such as P. celeri, which would alternatively increase production costs by 23 % for the OptiLum case. The results demonstrated that the proposed OptiLum operation is a promising approach to improve biomass productivity and lower production cost via weather-responsive and self-adjusting dilution.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Application of spectroscopic evidence to diffuse layer model (DLM) parameter estimation for cation adsorption onto ferrihydrite in single- and bi-solute systems

The diffuse layer model (DLM) is one of the most frequently used surface complexation models (SCM) for predicting cation adsorption onto ferrihydrite. However, the DLM with its existing database sometimes fails to predict cation adsorption, especially in multi-solute systems. Notably, the failure is often attributed to inaccurate selection of the surface complexes and/or underestimation of the site density for DLM formulation. DLM simulations of batch adsorption data conducted with cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc on ferrihydrite in CO2 free systems demonstrates the ability of the DLM to fit single-solute data reasonably well but highlights its limitations with respect to predicting bi-solute data. Modifications to the DLM were made in two steps. First, spectroscopic evidence was used to guide cation complexation reactions at the ferrihydrite surface. Second, surface characteristics (reactive site density, specific surface area, and acidity constants) of ferrihydrite were updated according to recent literature. The results from this study suggest that when spectroscopic verification is employed and surface site density is increased, a simple two-site DLM can predict cation adsorption on ferrihydrite in single-solute systems for pH data above 3.5 and in most of the bi-solute systems tested.

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

Mobilization of trace metals from caprock and formation rocks at the Illinois Basin – Decatur Project demonstration site under geological carbon dioxide sequestration conditions

One concern for geologic CO 2 sequestration is the potential leakage of CO 2 or CO 2 -saturated brine containing trace metals into overlying aquifers, which poses the risk of adversely affecting underground sources of drinking water. In this work, rock and brine samples collected in the Illinois Basin – Decatur Project (IBDP), a large-scale geological CO 2 sequestration demonstration project in Decatur, Illinois, USA, as well as synthetic brine samples were used to understand the mobilization of trace metals as a result of CO 2 –rock–brine interactions under IBDP-specific conditions (50 °C and 20.6 MPa). Rock sample characterization indicated that, at the IBDP site, trace metal concentrations were greatest in cap rock samples from the Eau Claire Formation, compared with those from formations above and below this Formation. The natural brine samples collected from the Mt. Simon Sandstone reservoir were highly reducing and saline, with trace metal concentrations up to 680 times greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-prescribed drinking water standards. Batch leaching experiments indicated that both trace metal mobilization from rock and immobilization from the brine occurred when high-pressure CO 2 was introduced into the rock-brine system. The amounts of metals mobilized from the rock generally accounted for <5% of the total metals in the rock, but for some metals, including Ni, Pb, and Tl, up to 63% of the metals in the rock were mobilized to the brine. Leaching of trace metals into synthetic brines was different from that into the natural brine. The results of this study provided current information on the trace element sources and will help in risk simulations and experimental design to further evaluate potential impact of leakage on groundwater quality, which is important for future GCS projects to consider for monitoring and containment assurance purposes.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Insights into the Surface Electronic Structure and Catalytic Activity of InO x /Au(111) Inverse Catalysts for CO 2 Hydrogenation to Methanol

In this article, the direct conversion of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into methanol (CH 3 OH) via low-temperature hydrogenation is crucial for recycling anthropogenic CO 2 emissions and producing fuels or high value chemicals. Nevertheless, it continues to be a great challenge due to the trade-off between selectivity and catalytic activity. For CO 2 hydrogenation, In 2 O 3 catalysts are known for their high CH 3 OH selectivity. Subsequent studies explored depositing metals on In 2 O 3 to enhance CO 2 conversion. Despite extensive research on metal (M) supported In 2 O 3 catalysts, the role of In-M alloys and M/In 2 O 3 interfaces in CO 2 activation and CH 3 OH selectivity remains unclear. In this work, we have examined the behavior of In/Au(111) alloys and InO x /Au(111) inverse systems during CO 2 hydrogenation using synchrotron-based ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) and catalytic tests in a batch reactor. Indium forms alloys with Au(111) after deposition. The In-Au(111) alloys display high reactivity towards CO 2 and can dissociate the molecule at room temperature to generate InO x nanostructures. At very low coverages of In (≤ 0.05 ML), the InO x nanostructures are not stable under CO 2 hydrogenation conditions and the active In-Au(111) alloys produces mainly CO and little methanol. An increase in indium coverage to 0.3 ML led to stable InOx nanostructures under CO 2 hydrogenation conditions. These InO x /Au(111) catalysts displayed a high selectivity (~ 80 %) towards CH 3 OH production and an activity for CO 2 conversion that was at least 10 times larger than that of plain In 2 O 3 or Cu(111) and Cu/ZnO(000$\overline{1)}$ benchmark catalysts. The results of AP-XPS show that InO x /Au(111) produces methanol via methoxy intermediates. Inverse oxide/metal catalysts containing InOx open up a possibility for improving CO 2 → CH 3 OH conversion in processes associated with the control of environmental pollution and the production of high value chemicals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Viscosity of the Mercurian Magma Ocean: Implications of Sulfur-Free and Sulfur-Bearing Magma Oceans for Differentiation and Crustal Petrogenesis

Mercury is believed to have had a magma ocean in its early evolution whose solidification dynamics contributed to the planet’s present day surface composition. The surface is characterized by two main geological provinces; the Northern Smooth Plains (NSP),and the Heavily Cratered Terrain (HCT) and Intercratered Terrian (IcT). These provinces are defined by the differences in morphology, composition, and age. The NSP are located in the northern hemisphere and have low Mg/Si, Ca/Si, and S/Si ratios and high Al/Si ratios, and are compositionally analogous to a magnesian alkali basalt. The HCT/IcT cover the majority of the planet and are older than the NSP, and are characterized by high Mg/Si, Ca/Si, and S/Si ratios and low Al/Si ratios. The dichotomy in surface composition motivates the study into the structure of the mantle as a product of magma ocean solidification. Two important and interrelated parameters that determine the efficiency of crystal fractionation during magma ocean solidification are convection vigor and viscosity of the magma ocean. Crystal suspension in a cooling magma ocean could be efficient or inefficient which suggests two end member possibilities for magma ocean solidification. The first is the formation of a compositionally stratified mantle reflecting a cumulate sequence produced along a fractional liquid line of descent. The second is the formation of a well-mixed, batch crystallized mantle by high viscosity and/or vigorously convecting magma ocean. Determining which of these end members, or where on the spectrum between them is most relevant to Mercury’s magma ocean can be experimentally constrained through high P-T falling-sphere viscometry experiments.

Mouser, M. D.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Mixing Study for the Modification of H-Canyon Tank 31 and 32 Recirculation Lines Via M-Star®

As a part of the Accelerated Basin De-Inventory (ABD) program Tanks 31 or 32 will be re-purposed to support increasing the number of annual Material Test Reactor (MTR) and High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) dissolutions. The proposed plan will allow Tanks 31 or 32 to be used as the dissolver cold chemical solution makeup tank and storage tank. The dissolver cold chemicals are 50% nitric acid, process water, mercuric nitrate, and gadolinium nitrate. Tanks 31 and 32 are 9 ft. (outer diameter) x 36 ft, horizontal, and can hold approximately 56,000 liters (15,000 gallons) each. One full volume of Tanks 31 or 32 can support 4 HFIR 6.4D equivalent batches. Both tanks are equipped with liquid level instrumentation. Tank 31 is equipped with 1 pump used for transfer and recirculation while Tank 32 is equipped with two pumps, one for transfer and the other for recirculation. Each of the pumps is equipped with sample taps. The tanks do not have specific gravity instrumentation, an agitator, or a sampler. Piping modifications will also be performed to supply the tank with cold chemicals. The current dissolver chemical composition is 5.0 -8.5M HNO3 and ~0.2 g Gd/L. The recirculating pump connected to Tank 31 is rated for a flowrate 175 gpm while the pump connected to Tank 32 is rated for a flowrate 50 gpm.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Predicting Morphological Evolution during Coprecipitation of MnCO 3 Battery Cathode Precursors Using Multiscale Simulations Aided by Targeted Synthesis

The performance of lithium-ion batteries is intimately linked to both the structure and the morphology of the cathode material, which in turn is critically linked to the synthesis conditions. However, few studies focus on understanding synthesis, especially during the coprecipitation of metal oxide precursors, a process that largely determines the final morphology of the material. In this paper, we go beyond the typical equilibrium particle shape analysis conducted in the literature and incorporate kinetic aspects of morphology evolution. We perform these studies using controlled synthesis on a well-defined metal salt system (MnCO 3 ) combined with multiscale simulations and high-resolution microscopy. Results show that with increasing metal concentration, the particles transition from rhombohedral to cubic to spherical shapes. Computational analysis using density functional theory (DFT) reveals that rhombohedral shaped particles evolve under equilibrium conditions. Phase field techniques indicate that at higher metal concentrations, fast growth kinetics of the precipitates result in the transition to cubic and, subsequently, spherical shapes, accompanied by a decrease in particle size. This study, while limited to the one metal salt system, provides an approach to shed light on the synthesis process of mixed transition metal salts, gradient materials, and other cathode materials of interest to the battery community.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Engineering Clostridium cellulovorans for highly selective n ‐butanol production from cellulose in consolidated bioprocessing

Abstract Cellulosic n ‐butanol from renewable lignocellulosic biomass has gained increased interest. Previously, we have engineered Clostridium cellulovorans , a cellulolytic acidogen, to overexpress the bifunctional butyraldehyde/butanol dehydrogenase gene adh E2 from C. acetobutylicum for n ‐butanol production from crystalline cellulose. However, butanol production by this engineered strain had a relatively low yield of approximately 0.22 g/g cellulose due to the coproduction of ethanol and acids. We hypothesized that strengthening the carbon flux through the central butyryl‐CoA biosynthesis pathway and increasing intracellular NADH availability in C. cellulovorans adh E2 would enhance n ‐butanol production. In this study, thiolase ( thl A CA ) from C. acetobutylicum and 3‐hydroxybutyryl‐CoA dehydrogenase ( hbd CT ) from C. tyrobutyricum were overexpressed in C. cellulovorans adh E2 to increase the flux from acetyl‐CoA to butyryl‐CoA. In addition, ferredoxin‐NAD(P) + oxidoreductase ( fnr ), which can regenerate the intracellular NAD(P)H and thus increase butanol biosynthesis, was also overexpressed. Metabolic flux analyses showed that mutants overexpressing these genes had a significantly increased carbon flux toward butyryl‐CoA, which resulted in increased production of butyrate and butanol. The addition of methyl viologen as an electron carrier in batch fermentation further directed more carbon flux towards n ‐butanol biosynthesis due to increased reducing equivalent or NADH. The engineered strain C. cellulovorans adh E2‐ fnr CA ‐ thl A CA ‐ hbd CT produced n ‐butanol from cellulose at a 50% higher yield (0.34 g/g), the highest ever obtained in batch fermentation by any known bacterial strain. The engineered C. cellulovorans is thus a promising host for n ‐butanol production from cellulosic biomass in consolidated bioprocessing.

Bao, Teng↗
DOE OSTI2024

Sustainable production of 2,3,5,6-Tetramethylpyrazine at high titer in engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum

The industrial amino acid production workhorse, Corynebacterium glutamicum naturally produces low levels of 2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), a valuable flavor, fragrance, and commodity chemical. Here, we demonstrate TMP production (~0.8 g L –1 ) in C. glutamicum type strain ATCC13032 via overexpression of acetolactate synthase and/or α-acetolactate decarboxylase from Lactococcus lactis in CGXII minimal medium supplemented with 40 g L –1 glucose. This engineered strain also demonstrated growth and TMP production when the minimal medium was supplemented with up to 40% (v v –1 ) hydrolysates derived from ionic liquid-pretreated sorghum biomass. Further, a key objective was to take the fully engineered strain developed in this study and interrogate medium parameters that influence the production of TMP, a critical post-strain engineering optimization. Design of experiments in a high-throughput plate format identified glucose, urea, and their ratio as significant components affecting TMP production. These two components were further optimized using response surface methodology. In the optimized CGXII medium, the engineered strain could produce up to 3.56 g L –1 TMP (4-fold enhancement in titers and 2-fold enhancement in yield, mol mol –1 ) from 80 g L –1 glucose and 11.9 g L –1 urea in shake flask batch cultivation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Data for Pilot-Scale Processing of Miscanthus x giganteus for Recovery of Anthocyanins Integrated with Production of Microbial Lipids and Lignin-Rich Residue

Chemical-free hydrothermal pretreatment of Miscanthus x giganteus (Mxg) at the lab scale using high liquid-to-solid ratios resulted in the recovery of anthocyanins and enhanced enzymatic digestibility of residual biomass. In this study, the process is scaled up by using a continuous hydrothermal pretreatment reactor operated at a low liquid-to-solid ratio (50 % w/w solids) as an important step towards commercialization. Anthocyanin yield was 70 % w/w at the pilot scale (50 kg of Mxg), compared to the 94 % w/w yield achieved at the lab scale (0.5 g of Mxg). The pretreated biomass was subsequently refined mechanically using a disc mill to increase the accessibility of cellulose by cellulases. Enzymatic saccharification of the pretreated and disc-milled residue yielded 238 g/L sugar concentration by operating in fed-batch mode at 50 % w/v solids content. Two strains of Rhodosporidium toruloides were evaluated for converting the hydrolysate sugars into microbial lipids, and strain Y-6987 had the highest lipid titer (11.0 g/L). Further, the residue left after enzymatic saccharification was determined to be enriched 1.7-fold in the lignin content. This lignin-rich residue has value as a feedstock for the production of sustainable aviation fuel precursors and other high-value lignin-based chemicals. Hence the proposed biorefinery based on Mxg creates an opportunity for generating revenue from multiple high-value products. As the demand for biofuels and biobased products is rising, the biorefinery products from Mxg would create a niche in the industrial sector.

Conversion↗
DOE OSTI2024

Accelerating science: The usage of commercial clouds in ATLAS Distributed Computing

The ATLAS experiment at CERN is one of the largest scientific machines built to date and will have ever growing computing needs as the Large Hadron Collider collects an increasingly larger volume of data over the next 20 years. ATLAS is conducting R&D projects on Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud as complementary resources for distributed computing, focusing on some of the key features of commercial clouds: lightweight operation, elasticity and availability of multiple chip architectures. The proof of concept phases have concluded with the cloud-native, vendoragnostic integration with the experiment’s data and workload management frameworks. Google Cloud has been used to evaluate elastic batch computing, ramping up ephemeral clusters of up to O(100k) cores to process tasks requiring quick turnaround. Amazon Web Services has been exploited for the successful physics validation of the Athena simulation software on ARM processors. We have also set up an interactive facility for physics analysis allowing endusers to spin up private, on-demand clusters for parallel computing with up to 4 000 cores, or run GPU enabled notebooks and jobs for machine learning applications. The success of the proof of concept phases has led to the extension of the Google Cloud project, where ATLAS will study the total cost of ownership of a production cloud site during 15 months with 10k cores on average, fully integrated with distributed grid computing resources and continue the R&D projects.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Utilization of formic acid by extremely thermoacidophilic archaea species

The exploration of novel hosts with the ability to assimilate formic acid, a C1 substrate that can be produced from renewable electrons and CO 2 , is of great relevance for developing novel and sustainable biomanufacturing platforms. Formatotrophs can use formic acid or formate as a carbon and/or reducing power source. Formatotrophy has typically been studied in neutrophilic microorganisms because formic acid toxicity increases in acidic environments below the pKa of 3.75 (25°C). Because of this toxicity challenge, utilization of formic acid as either a carbon or energy source has been largely unexplored in thermoacidophiles, species that possess the ability to produce a variety of metabolites and enzymes of high biotechnological relevance. Here we investigate the capacity of several thermoacidophilic archaea species from the Sulfolobales order to tolerate and metabolize formic acid. Metallosphaera prunae, Sulfolobus metallicus and Sulfolobus acidocaldarium were found to metabolize and grow with 1–2 mM of formic acid in batch cultivations. Formic acid was co-utilized by this species alongside physiological electron donors, including ferrous iron. To enhance formic acid utilization while maintaining aqueous concentrations below the toxicity threshold, we developed a bioreactor culturing method based on a sequential formic acid feeding strategy. By dosing small amounts of formic acid sequentially and feeding H 2 as co-substrate, M. prunae could utilize a total of 16.3 mM of formic acid and grow to higher cell densities than when H 2 was supplied as a sole electron donor. These results demonstrate the viability of culturing thermoacidophilic species with formic acid as an auxiliary substrate in bioreactors to obtain higher cell densities than those yielded by conventional autotrophic conditions. Our work underscores the significance of formic acid metabolism in extreme habitats and holds promise for biotechnological applications in the realm of sustainable energy production and environmental remediation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Simulant Development of Potential 200 West Area Waste Feeds

Preliminary planning for retrieval, qualification, and pretreatment of waste in Hanford’s 200 West Area (200W) has begun as part of the West Area Risk Management project. Experimental studies to technically mature pretreatment process operations will likely be needed because of the uniqueness of 200W waste. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory formulated five simulants to represent 200W-qualified feed based on the preliminary flowsheet provided by Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC. The simulant recipes were devised using applicable historical information as a reference point to support the use of the flowsheet waste vectors, which were combined into five distinct groups. These five groups formed the basis for the liquid composition targets that were adapted into recipes using charged-balanced salt species. The liquid phase recipes were batched in 1-L quantities and analyzed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Once confirmed to be stable, the liquid solutions were tested for compatibility with candidate solid components. Specific solid components were recommended based on cross-examining the proposed solid phases in the flowsheet with relevant data from the literature. Mixtures of solid components were added to aliquots of the liquid batches and sub-sampled to measure particle size distribution. The measured distribution was compared to independently created benchmark distributions appropriate for each simulant. This process was iterated until a solid phase composition that resulted in a representative particle size distribution was found. After the final compositions were confirmed, a suite of chemical and physical characterization data was collected. This report describes the simulant basis, formulation methodology, laboratory measurements, and data collected for the recipes recommended to represent 200W waste feeds.

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

APNN-TC: Accelerating Arbitrary Precision Neural Networks on Ampere GPU Tensor Cores

Over the years, accelerating neural networks with quantization has been widely studied. Unfortunately, prior efforts with diverse precisions (e.g., 1-bit weights and 2-bit activations) are usually restricted by limited precision support on GPUs (e.g., int1 and int4). To break such restrictions, we introduce the first Arbitrary Precision Neural Network framework (APNN-TC) to fully exploit quantization benefits on Ampere GPU Tensor Cores. Specifically, APNN-TC first incorporates a novel emulation algorithm to support arbitrary short bit-width computation with int1 compute primitives and XOR/AND Boolean operations. Second, APNN-TC integrates arbitrary precision layer designs to efficiently map our emulation algorithm to Tensor Cores with novel batching strategies and specialized memory organization. Third, APNN-TC embodies a novel arbitrary precision NN design to minimize memory access across layers and further improve performance. Extensive evaluations show that APNN-TC can achieve significant speedup over CUTLASS kernels and various NN models, such as ResNet and VGG.

Feng, Boyuan↗
DOE OSTI2025

Theoretical and kinetic modeling study of H 2 S pyrolysis

Hydrogen sulfide pyrolysis was investigated theoretically and through chemical kinetic modeling. Reactions on the SHH potential energy surface, primarily S + H 2 (+Ar) ⇌ H 2 S (+ Ar) (R1) and S + H 2 ⇌ SH + H (R6b) were characterized by ab initio calculations. Results for k 1 were in good agreement with experiment, but deviated strongly below 2000 K from values previously used in modeling. Collider efficiencies for H 2 S, S 2 , and N 2 compared to Ar were calculated for R1. Hydrogen sulfide decomposition experiments reported in literature were re-examined in terms of an updated detailed chemical kinetic model. Concentration profiles for the atomic S at high temperature in shock tubes supported the present value of k 1 and served to constrain the rate constants for reaction of S with SH and H 2 S. To explain results from batch and flow reactors, conducted at high H 2 S concentrations in the 900–1400 K range, a very fast rate constant was required for HSS + H ⇌ SH + SH. Under dilute conditions, the gas-phase chemistry was too slow to compete and the decomposition of H 2 S was controlled by loss on the reactor surface.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Geochemical Modeling of Celestite (SrSO 4 ) Precipitation and Reactive Transport in Shales

Celestite (SrSO 4 ) precipitation is a prevalent example of secondary sulfate mineral scaling issues in hydraulic fracturing systems, particularly in basins where large concentrations of naturally occurring strontium are present. Herein, we present a validated and flexible geochemical model capable of predicting celestite formation under such unconventional environments. Simulations were built using CrunchFlow and guided by experimental data derived from batch reactors. These data allowed the constraint of key kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for celestite precipitation under relevant synthetic hydraulic fracturing fluid conditions. Effects of ionic strength, saturation index, and the presence of additives were considered in the combined experimental and modeling construction. This geochemical model was then expanded into a more complex system where interactions between hydraulic fracturing fluids and shale rocks were allowed to occur subject to diffusive transport. We find that the carbonate content of a given shale and the presence of persulfate breaker in the system strongly impact the location and extent of celestite formation. The results of this study provide a novel multicomponent reactive transport model that may be used to guide future experimental design in the pursuit of celestite and other sulfate mineral scale mitigation under extreme conditions typical of hydraulic fracturing in shale formations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

ZAM Modeling Study to Support the Tank Closure Cesium Removal (TCCR) 1A Unit

Currently at the Savannah River Site (SRS), the Tank Closure Cesium Removal (TCCR) is an “at-tank” process designed to remove cesium from aqueous tank waste. Cesium will be removed by ion exchange using the engineered IONSIV® R9120 form of Crystalline Silicotitanate (CST) media. The current TCCR design has two columns online in a lead-lag configuration to optimize media usage and achieve the target decontamination. Once the lead column is saturated with cesium, it will be removed from service, the lag column will rotate into the lead position, and a new column with fresh ion-exchange media will be placed into the lag position. The TCCR process for cesium removal from Tank 10H is detailed in X-SOW-H- 00002. Demonstration of the system began in early calendar year 2019 with two batches of salt solution generated by dissolving saltcake in Tank 10H, followed by processing of these batches through the TCCR system. A third TCCR Tank 10H dissolved saltcake batch is scheduled for processing soon. Upon completion of the demonstration with Tank 10H dissolved saltcake, Tank 9H salt solution will be transferred to Tank 10H and subsequently processed through the TCCR unit with new CST media (referred to as R9120-B 30x60) added to new IX columns. The TCCR processing campaign of Tank 9H salt solution is referred to as TCCR-1A .

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2026

Analytical workflow dependence of experimental observables for uranium chemistries

In this work, we investigated how the sequencing of laboratory analytical methods used for chemical and morphological characterization influences analytical findings for particulate materials relevant to the nuclear fuel cycle, including UO2, U3O8, studtite (UO2O2·4H2O), and β-UO3, in the context of nuclear forensic analysis. Particles of each chemistry obtained from consistent production batches were exposed to Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy in varying orders to elucidate how the order in which the techniques are applied influences morphological and chemical observations as a function of particle size. The results indicate that particles from all four chemistries exposed to high-resolution electron imaging before Raman spectral analysis demonstrate optical vibrational spectral changes that reduce accurate interpretation of the underlying chemistry via Raman spectral analysis. We hypothesize that these changes are due to the thermal load of the electron beam imparted to the sample being unable to be dissipated by materials with poor thermal conduction properties. Results from this study will aid in determining best practices for forensic analysis procedures to reduce uncertainty in chemical determination of unknown particulate samples.

Manns, Rebecca [University of Nevada, Las Vegas]↗