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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Self-sorting in supramolecular assemblies

Supramolecular self-assembly enables living organisms to form highly functional hierarchical structures with individual components self-organized across multiple length scales. This has inspired work on multicomponent supramolecular materials to understand factors behind co-assembly versus self-sorting of molecules. We report here on a supramolecular system comprised of negatively charged peptide amphiphile (PA) molecules, in which only a tiny fraction of the molecules (0.7 mol%) were covalently conjugated to one of two different fluorophores, half to fluorescein isothiocyanate (FTIC) and the other half to tetramethylrhodamine (TAMRA). Confocal microscopy of the system revealed self-sorting of the two different fluorescent PA molecules, where TAMRA PA is concentrated in micron-scale domains while FITC PA remains dispersed throughout the sample. From Förster resonance energy transfer and fluorescence recovery experiments, we conclude that conjugation of the negatively charged FITC to PA significantly disrupts its co-assembly with the 99.3 mol% of unlabeled molecules, which are responsible for formation of micron-scale domains. Conversely, conjugation of the zwitterionic TAMRA causes no such disruption. Interestingly, this dissimilar behavior between FITC and TAMRA PA causes them to self-sort at large length scales in the supramolecular system, mediated not by specific interactions among the individual fluorophores but instead by their different propensities to co-assemble with the majority component. We also found that greater ionic strength in the aqueous environment of the system promotes mixing by lowering the electrostatic barriers involved in self-sorting. Furthermore, our results demonstrate great thermodynamic subtlety in the driving forces that mediate self-sorting versus co-assembly in supramolecular peptide assemblies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

ER retention is imposed by COPII protein sorting and attenuated by 4-phenylbutyrate

Native cargo proteins exit the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in COPII-coated vesicles, whereas resident and misfolded proteins are substantially excluded from vesicles by a retention mechanism that remains unresolved. We probed the ER retention process using the proteostasis regulator 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA), which we show targets COPII protein to reduce the stringency of retention. 4-PBA competes with p24 proteins to bind COPII. When p24 protein uptake is blocked, COPII vesicles package resident proteins and an ER-trapped mutant LDL receptor. We further show that 4-PBA triggers the secretion of a KDEL-tagged luminal resident, implying that a compromised retention mechanism causes saturation of the KDEL retrieval system. The results indicate that stringent ER retention requires the COPII coat machinery to actively sort biosynthetic cargo from diffusible misfolded and resident ER proteins.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Radiological Soil Sorting Considerations and Applications - 19363

A number of methods are available for soil sorting, specifically sorting of radiological materials. These methods have been applied from the Feasibility Study stage of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) in pilot study operations to full scale operations in the post Record of Decision stages at Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) sites. This application of sorting at multiple sites and under many different conditions has provided the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with many challenges and lessons learned. Mechanical soil sorting has had varying degrees of success and many factors have been evaluated. Some factors include the type of material that is best suited for sorting, contaminant distribution, and pre-screening of materials. Community acceptance is another non-technical issue that can be key in applying sorting to a FUSRAP cleanup. This paper will discuss multiple types of radiological soil sorting to include reversing belt conveyor, segmented gate, and manual as well as technical considerations and the factors impacting each type. Additionally, how and when soil sorting is applied to FUSRAP operations is discussed. The FUSRAP is conducted in accordance with CERCLA and the impacts to how sorting is applied in terms of considering it treatment under CERCLA will also be discussed. This paper and presentation will be useful for any project considering using radiological soil sorting. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Use of machine learning to analyze chemistry card sort tasks

Education researchers are deeply interested in understanding the way students organize their knowledge. Card sort tasks, which require students to group concepts, are one mechanism to infer a student’s organizational strategy. However, the limited resolution of card sort tasks means they necessarily miss some of the nuance in a student’s strategy. Here in this work, we propose new machine learning strategies that leverage a potentially richer source of student thinking: free-form written language justifications associated with student sorts. Using data from a university chemistry card sort task, we use vectorized representations of language and unsupervised learning techniques to generate qualitatively interpretable clusters, which can provide unique insight in how students organize their knowledge. We compared these to machine learning analysis of the students’ sorts themselves. Machine learning-generated clusters revealed different organizational strategies than those built into the task; for example, sorts by difficulty or even discipline. There were also many more categories generated by machine learning for what we would identify as more novice-like sorts and justifications than originally built into the task, suggesting students’ organizational strategies converge when they become more expert-like. Finally, we learned that categories generated by machine learning for students’ justifications did not always match the categories for their sorts, and these cases highlight the need for future research on students’ organizational strategies, both manually and aided by machine learning. In sum, the use of machine learning to analyze results from a card sort task has helped us gain a more nuanced understanding of students’ expertise, and demonstrates a promising tool to add to existing analytic methods for card sorts.

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

Engineering Supramolecular Polymer Conformation for Efficient Carbon Nanotube Sorting

Supramolecular polymer sorting is a promising approach to separating single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by electronic type. Unlike conjugated polymers, they can be easily removed from the CNTs after sorting by breaking the supramolecular bonds, allowing for isolation of electronically pristine CNTs as well as facile recycling of the sorting polymer. However, little is understood about how supramolecular polymer properties affect CNT sorting. Herein, chain stoppers are used to engineer the conformation of a supramolecular sorting polymer, thereby elucidating the relationship between sorting efficacy and polymer conformation. Through NMR and UV–vis spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and thermodynamic modeling, it is shown that this supramolecular polymer exhibits ring–chain equilibrium, and that this equilibrium can be skewed toward chains by the addition of chain stoppers. Furthermore, by controlling the stopper–monomer ratio, the sorting yield can be doubled from 7% to 14% without compromising the semiconducting purity (>99%) or properties of sorted CNTs.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Comparative environmental evaluation of construction waste management through different waste sorting systems in Hong Kong

Highlights: • Environmental performance of building CWM through different sorting systems was evaluated by LCA. • Environmental impacts of CWM systems depend on the composition of waste. • Significant environmental benefits are observed for CWM through on-site sorting system. • On-site sorting promotes materials recovery and reduces waste disposal into landfill sites. - Abstract: This study aimed to compare the environmental performance of building construction waste management (CWM) systems in Hong Kong. Life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was applied to evaluate the performance of CWM systems holistically based on primary data collected from two real building construction sites and secondary data obtained from the literature. Different waste recovery rates were applied based on compositions and material flow to assess the influence on the environmental performance of CWM systems. The system boundary includes all stages of the life cycle of building construction waste (including transportation, sorting, public fill or landfill disposal, recovery and reuse, and transformation and valorization into secondary products). A substitutional LCA approach was applied for capturing the environmental gains due to the utilizations of recovered materials. The results showed that the CWM system by using off-site sorting and direct landfilling resulted in significant environmental impacts. However, a considerable net environmental benefit was observed through an on-site sorting system. For example, about 18–30 kg CO{sub 2} eq. greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission were induced for managing 1 t of construction waste through off-site sorting and direct landfilling, whereas significant GHGs emission could be potentially avoided (considered as a credit −126 to −182 kg CO{sub 2} eq.) for an on-site sorting system due to the higher recycling potential. Although the environmental benefits mainly depend on the waste compositions and their sortability, the analysis conducted in this study can serve as guidelines to design an effective and resource-efficient building CWM system.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

Measuring, Cutting and Sorting Irradiated Control Rods to Limit the Volume of Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste - 17001

During operation, the PWR control rods are either completely extracted (scram or safety rods) or partially inserted in the operating zone of the core (fine control or operating rods). At the nominal rating conditions or close to them, the operating zone is limited to some steps of insertion in the order of a few tens of cm. In fact, only the lower part of the control rods are subjected to a significant neutron flux with an impact on the neutron activation and so on the waste classification (Low Level Short-lived Waste versus Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste). Our calculative as well as experimental experience confirms the significant presence of radionuclides in the control rods, but only in the lower parts. Measuring, cutting and finally sorting control rod scraps can reduce the volume of Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste planned for our storage deposit facility. This paper presents the EDF/DP2D methodologies followed to determine the sort criteria between the Low Level Short-lived Waste versus the Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste zones for the Silver-Indium-Cadmium control rods. The irradiated control rods are stored in cases without their head. Each case can contain several control rods, and the cases are stored under water in the fuel assembly pool. To calculate the radioactive inventories, we have developed a calculation scheme which is composed of a 3-dimensional mapping of the neutron flux, a calculation of the evolution of the isotopic compositions under neutron flux and finally a comparison between calculated and measured values. The main hypotheses of the control rods calculation take into account: - 3-dimensional geometry and 3-dimensional neutron sources distribution, - the isotopic compositions including impurities, - the history of irradiation resulting mainly from the daily power production, the positions of the control rods in the loading patterns and the positions in the axial operating zone. In order to validate the calculations, measurements were made 20 meters under water in the fuel assembly pool. The experimental results show the presence of many gamma emitter radionuclides. Only Ag-108m was retained for validating the calculations. This is due to the fact that silver is considered as the 'standard' chemical element for our control rods and silver produces Ag-108m which is a long-lived gamma emitter radionuclide. The analysis of the calculated results and the measured values allow us to build a simplified physics model for the simulation of the control rods activation. Finally three sort criteria can be proposed: - Without measurement devices, the sorting is based on an empirical sort criterion. Cuttings must then be made on the 2 back-ends of the control rod pins. This option is due to the difficulty in knowing the orientation of the pins in the storage cases. The cutting lines are placed at approximately 1 m from the 2 back-ends of the pins. This approach does not allow a great optimization of the sorting, less than 50% of the length of the control rods can be saved from Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste storage. - With a simple dose rate measurement device, the knowledge of the orientation of the pins in the storage cases allows us to limit cuttings to the lower part of the control rods. Depending on the 'top to tail' cases, between approximately 50% and 75% of the length of the control rods can be saved from Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste storage. - With an accurate measurement device, the sorting can be based on a specific activity of Ag-108m. Over 4400 Bq/g of Ag-108m (corresponding to the Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste limit), the control rod pieces can be considered as a long-lived waste. The measurements must be made over the 2 back-ends of control rod pins to examine the cases of 'top to tail' storage. This approach allows a great optimization of the sorting. Depending on the history of irradiation, more than 75% of the length of the control rods can be saved from Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste storage. (author)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

Optimization of SAMtools sorting using OpenMP tasks

SAMtools is a widely-used genomics application for post-processing high-throughput sequence alignment data. Such sequence alignment data are commonly sorted to make downstream analysis more efficient. However, this sorting process itself can be computationally- and I/O-intensive: high-throughput sequence alignment files in the de facto standard binary alignment/map (BAM) format can be many gigabytes in size, and may need to be decompressed before sorting and compressed afterwards. As a result, BAM-file sorting can be a bottleneck in genomics workflows. Here, this paper describes a case study on the performance analysis and optimization of SAMtools for sorting large BAM files. OpenMP task parallelism and memory optimization techniques resulted in a speedup of 5.9X versus the upstream SAMtools 1.3.1 for an internal (in-memory) sort of 24.6 GiB of compressed BAM data (102.6 GiB uncompressed) with 32 processor cores, while a 1.98X speedup was achieved for an external (out-of-core) sort of a 271.4 GiB BAM file.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Radiological Soil Sorting Pilot Study Results - Middlesex Municipal Landfill - 19394

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) conducted a pilot scale study of radiological sorting technology at the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) Middlesex Municipal Landfill (MML) site in Middlesex, New Jersey. Residual uranium ore pieces or 'nuggets' and associated soil contamination are present at the MML site as a result of the nation's early atomic energy program. Study questions and objectives of the MML Pilot Study project were to 1) evaluate the accuracy with which contaminated soils can be separated from uncontaminated soils using a radiologic soil sorting system, 2) determine the optimal full-scale operational process throughput rate that might reasonably be achieved, 3) determine the waste volume reduction that might be expected when operating at full scale, and 4) help establish the feasibility of implementing soil sorting as a potential remedy to other areas of the site. To accomplish the objectives soils were processed through the sorting system in a series of 30 different sorting experimental (test) runs utilizing approximately 917 cubic meters [1200 cubic yards (CY)] of material. The test runs included varying parameters such as belt speeds, soil layer thicknesses, and alarm criteria, all in varying combinations. Test runs also included engineered tests to evaluate point source segregation issues. This paper presents the challenges, results, lessons learned, and recommendations of the radiological soil sorting pilot study. The technical aspects and evaluation of the results of the test runs will also be discussed. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Techno-Economic Impact of a Smart Battery Sorting System

Create analytical framework to capture costs and benefits of the automated sorting into battery recycling including the development and deployment of various types of battery recycling technologies such as pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical, and direct recycling. Li Industries, Inc. is a Virginia startup company focused on reinventing how lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are recycled. Li Industries is focused on developing direct LIB recycling and automated battery sorting technologies in order to reduce the environmental impact of the LIB lifecycle. This work is to be conducted in support of the American-Made Challenges Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize. Li Industries and NREL will work together to understand how novel technologies, such as those being developed by Li Industries, can impact the development and economics of the battery recycling industry. This voucher is being used to evaluate the profitability of an automated sorting system developed by Li Industries and the potential effect this increased value could have on the domestic lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling industries in the United States. NREL has developed the Lithium-Ion Battery Resources Assessment (LIBRA) system dynamics model to project the future viability of the US LIB manufacturing and recycling industries under varying technoeconomic conditions and battery adoption scenarios over the coming decades. Additional logic was added to LIBRA to analyze the role automated sorting of recycling feedstock could play in the buildout of the industry and the impacts it has on the recovery of end-of-life (EOL) battery materials. This report summarizes the outcomes of this modeling analysis in the US context through a series of sensitivity analyses run for a range of values of a given input dimension and compared across the unsorted or automated sorting cases for LIB recycling feedstock. For greater detail on the process and analysis, the researchers are publishing a forthcoming journal article titled Techno-Economic Impact of a Smart Battery Sorting System for Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling and Mineral Recovery in the United States by Weigl, et al. In the event the article is not accepted by any currently seeking publication in academic or industry journal, it may be published by NREL. CRADA benefit to DOE, Participant, and US Taxpayer: assists laboratory in achieving programmatic scope competencies, uses the laboratory's core competencies.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-throughput single-cell sorting by stimulated Raman-activated cell ejection

Raman-activated cell sorting isolates single cells in a nondestructive and label-free manner, but its throughput is limited by small spontaneous Raman scattering cross section. Coherent Raman scattering integrated with microfluidics enables high-throughput cell analysis, but faces challenges with small cells (<3 μm) and tissue sections. Here, we report stimulated Raman-activated cell ejection (S-RACE) that enables high-throughput single-cell sorting by integrating stimulated Raman imaging, in situ image decomposition, and laser-induced cell ejection. S-RACE allows ejection of live bacteria or fungi guided by their Raman signatures. Furthermore, S-RACE successfully sorted lipid-richRhodotorula glutiniscells from a cell mixture with a throughput of ~13 cells per second, and the sorting results were confirmed by downstream quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Beyond single cells, S-RACE shows high compatibility with tissue sections. Incorporating a closed-loop feedback control circuit further enables real-time SRS imaging-identification-ejection. In summary, S-RACE opens exciting opportunities for diverse single-cell sorting applications.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2018

Flexible File Sort Utility

This program sorts a text file alphabetically (forward or reverse). It supports both in-memory sorts for smaller files and use of temporary swap files for large files. It can alternatively sort on a column in a tab-delimited or comma-separated file. The column sort mode also supports numeric sorting.

Monroe, Matthew↗
DOE OSTI2019

Material sorting system

A material sorting system sorts materials, such as scrap pieces composed of unknown metal alloys, as a function of their detected x-ray fluorescence. The x-ray fluorescence may be converted into an elemental composition signature that is then compared to an elemental composition signature of a reference material in order to identify and/or classify each of the materials, which are then sorted into separate groups based on such an identification/classification. The material sorting system may include an in-line x-ray tube having a plurality of separate x-ray sources, each of which can irradiate a separate stream of materials to be sorted.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Material sorting using a vision system

A material sorting system sorts materials utilizing a vision system that implements a machine learning system in order to identify or classify each of the materials, which are then sorted into separate groups based on such an identification or classification. The material sorting system may include an x-ray fluorescence system to perform a classification of the materials in combination with the vision system, whereby the classification efforts of the vision system and x-ray fluorescence system are combined in order to classify and sort the materials.

Kumar, Nalin↗
DOE OSTI2025

Alloy selective optical sorting of mixed post-consumer aluminum scrap streams

Shredded post-consumer non-ferrous scrap stream, also known as Zorba, contains a mixture of cast and wrought aluminum pieces with very different compositions. Cast Al pieces, with their high Si, Cu and Fe content, are a major contaminant in wrought scrap fraction, which results in downcycling of the mixed cast + wrought scrap into non-structural cast Al alloys and parts. Here, in this paper, we introduce a chemical treatment method to color-code scrap aluminum pieces by alloy family and demonstrate low-cost optical sorting of cast from wrought pieces to upgrade the scrap stream. We utilized non-acidic chemical solutions that react with (i.e., etch) the scrap pieces to produce colors based on the Al alloy chemistry of a given piece. Cast pieces with high Si and Cu fractions turned black, whereas the much leaner wrought pieces remained unreacted. We showed > 95% sorting efficiency of mixed cast and wrought pieces using a repurposed low-cost optical sorter originally designed for food sorting. We also colored wrought Al pieces by alloy families, such as 5xxx and 6xxx, using a two-step chemical etching technique, which has the potential to create a circular supply chain in which wrought aluminum alloys are sorted from the mixed scrap stream and recycled back to high-value wrought products such as sheets, extrusions, and forgings with minimal contamination from cast scrap.

Aluminum↗