Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories Research Articles

Chemical and toxicological aspects of coal liquefaction and other complex mixtures

Chemists, biologists, and ecologists at Battelle's Pacific Northwest Laboratories are developing a data base to aid engineers in the safe design of coal liquefaction process options. Objectives of this effort have been to (1) identify and evaluate long-term health and environmental issues, (2) evaluate options to permit environmentally acceptable design, and (3) assess risk to man and the environment from deployment of a large-scale coal liquefaction industry. Chemically complex materials produced by various coal liquefaction processes, and under various stages of process design and operating conditions, have been screened for potential health and environmental effects. Biologically active materials have been fractionated and rescreened. Chemical constituents of biologically active fractions have been identified, and the environmental fate of problematic agents is currently being determined. This approach, linking engineering and life sciences research, is also relevant to the development of other energy technologies and industries that produce chemically complex materials. Results indicate that full-boiling-range coal-derived liquids are generally more active than shale oil and petroleum crudes in biological and ecological test systems. Several biologically active agents have been identified, including primary aromatic amines (PAA), polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and phenols. Some components of coal-derived materials are taken up by biota and metabolized. Hydrotreating, a refining or upgrading process, reduces PAA, PAH, and phenol content, as well as mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, and toxicity of coal liquids. Selective distillation restricts PAA and PAH content, as well as mutagenicity and carcinogenicity to high-boiling-range coal liquids. Other process conditions (i.e., extraction severity, catalyst age, etc.) and environmental factors influence chemical characteristics and biological activity of coal-derived materials. Eliminating toxic input of coal liquids to ecological test systems results in partial system recovery. Recent findings indicate that biological responses to a particular chemical agent vary, depending on whether that material is presented to the organism or environment as a pure compound or in a complex mixture. Thus, results of studies with pure compounds cannot be used alone to predict effects of complex mixtures. The research approach described here provides guidance to solve environmental problems before regulatory agencies require limitations or facility construction is completed, and costs of process changes are higher. This prospective strategy can be applied to the development of any technology or the environmentally safe utilization of any resource.

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A comparison of economic evaluation models as applied to geothermal energy technology

Several cost estimation and financial cash flow models have been applied to a series of geothermal case studies. In order to draw conclusions about relative performance and applicability of these models to geothermal projects, the consistency of results was assessed. The model outputs of principal interest in this study were net present value, internal rate of return, or levelized breakeven price. The models used were VENVAL, a DuPont, Inc. venture analysis model; the Geothermal Probabilistic Cost Model (GPC Model) and the Alternative Power Systems Economic Analysis Model (APSEAM), which were developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); the MITRE Corporation's Geothermal Loan Guarantee Cash Flow Model (GCFM); and the GEOCOST and GEOCITY geothermal models developed by Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories. The case studies to which the models were applied include a geothermal reservoir at Heber, CA; a geothermal electric power plant to be located at the Heber site; an alcohol fuels production facility to be built at Raft River, ID; and a direct-use, district heating system in Susanville, CA.

NATO postdoctoral fellows

Three of the 50 people receiving North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Postdoctoral Fellowships in Science will study geophysics or a geophysics‐related discipline. The fellowships, announced by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of State, are awarded to young scientists for full‐time postgraduate study abroad at institutions and laboratories in NATO countries or in countries that cooperate with NATO.Gordon N. Shudofsky, currently studying at Princeton University, plans to do geophysics research at the State University at Utrecht in The Netherlands. Hsueh‐tze Lee, currently at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, will study biological oceanography at the Station Zoologique, France (Villefranch‐surmer). Charles D. Whiteman, now at the Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory, will study atmospheric sciences at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.

Computer analysis of nuclear waste glass composition effects on leaching

Borosilicate glasses have been under development for many years as the solid form of immobilization of high-level radioactive wastes. These studies have resulted in the leach testing of many compositions of glass frits with differing percentages and compositions of real and simulated wastes. Because of the large number of components (30-50) in these materials it has been very difficult to compare results and generalize as to the effects of composition on leach rates. Until the last few years, comparison was also inhibited by the use of dissimilar leach tests in the various labs around the world. The large number of possible combinations of compositional variables also made comparison of the large volume of data difficult without computer assistance. Several events during the last few years have eliminated these difficulties. Numerous laboratories have adopted the MCC-1 static leach test for comparative testing of nuclear waste glasses and have shared results for this comparison. These labs include: Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Savannah Laboratory and the University of Florida Materials Science Laboratory in the U.S.; SKBF/ Project KBS in Sweden; and Marcoule Laboratory and the Laboratorie de Verres, CNRS and the University of Montpellier in France. Also, the recent increase in the availabilitymore » of micro-computers has provided the capability for easy storage, calculation, access and manipulation of data, with the ability to produce time dependence and ternary compositional plots of leach rates through the use of remotely operated data plotters.« less

Airborne Detection of Acidic Sulfate Aerosol Using an ATR Impactor

As a first step in determining how aerosol acidity varies with altitude, studies were conducted using a new instrument called an ATR impactor installed aboard the Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory's DC-3 aircraft. This instrument combines collection of the aerosol by inertial impaction with infrared spectroscopic analysis by the highly sensitive ATR technique. Results from several series of flights have revealed the occurrence of acidic sulfate aloft, while simultaneously collected ground-level samples contained only neutral ammonium sulfate. Acidic sulfate was detected in aerosol samples collected on four of the five flights conducted in the Chicago area during the spring of 1981.

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Comment

An interesting development in paint technology is the news of a paint that is virtually impossible to remove, which has been developed at Battelle's Pacific Northwest Laboratories in the USA.

Categorical Data Analysis: Some Reflections on the Log Linear Model and Logistic Regression. Part II: Data Analysis

'School of Clinical Medicine and Department of Health and Safety Education, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA; 2Department ofBiostatistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514, USA; 3School of Mathematical Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia; 4Department ofEpidemiology and Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA; SEnergy Systems Department, Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.

A Method for Analyzing 233U in Biological Samples*

Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory P.O. Box 999 Richland, WA 99352 (Received 26 December 1979; accepted 5 March 1980) *Biology Department. †Physical Sciences Department.

Mortality and Movements of Mule Deer Fawns in Washington

Thirty-nine mule deer fawns (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) were captured in south-central Washington in 1977. The fawns were 1-24 days old and weighed 2.9-9.7 kg. The average age at capture was 6.9 ? 5.2 days. Fawns were located daily May through August, and monthly through December. Average distance traveled by fawns from the previous day's location during an approximate 24-hour period for the Ist 3 months of life was highly variable and averaged 438 m. The mean home range was 257 ha for fawns approximately 60 days old or older. Total mortality was 14 out of 26 radio-instrumented fawns. Predation by coyotes (Canis latrans) accounted for 10 of the losses. Drowning caused 3 deaths, and circulatory collapse accounted for 1 death. Combined fawn mortality was 54%. High variability in average daily distance traveled by individual fawns indicates that age is not reliable as the sole factor for predicting fawn movements. Intensive coyote removal on the study area probably would not substantially reduce total mortality in the fawn population. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 44(2):381-388 This study addressed factors responsible for neonatal mortality of radio-instrumented mule deer in south-central Washington. The research was conducted on the United States Department of Energy Hanford Reservation. To the north and east, the reservation is bounded by the Columbia River. Hunting has not been permitted on the Benton County portion of the Hanford Reservation since the federal government took control of the land in 1943. However, coyote control programs continued through 1970. The Hanford Reservation has not been used for agriculture or ranching during the past 30 years, and unauthorized personnel are not permitted on the area. All known past and current studies of natural mortality of mule deer fawns have been or are being conducted in areas open to seasonal hunting of mule deer and unregulated predator control programs. An ideal area for studies of natural mortality should feature special characteristics such as a nonmigratory herd of mule deer; minimal disturbance or harassment by man; absence of hunting of deer and coyote; absence of coyote control programs; lack of competition for forage between deer and livestock; and no alternate large prey species, such as sheep, for coyote populations. The Hanford Reservation closely approximates these special characteristics. We acknowledge and thank the following: K. Gano, C. McShane, M. LaRiviere, B. Goins, and L. Leschner for assistance with fawn capture and tagging; J. J. England, Colorado State University Diagnostic Laboratory, for necropsy and analysis for fawn diseases; D. Beaty of Telonics Telemetry-Electronics Consultants; C. Sauer and T. Dyal for manuscript preparation; the Northwest College and University Association for Science, Richland, Washington, for personnel funding; Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories of Richland, Washington, for materials and funding; and W. H. Rickard of Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories for counsel, supervision, and support throughout the course of this study. 'Work performed by Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories under Department of Energy Contract EY-76-C-06-1830 on the Hanford National Environmental Research Park, Richland, Washington. J. Wildl. Manage. 44(2):1980 381 This content downloaded from 128.193.8.24 on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 19:01:47 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 382 MULE DEER FAWN MORTALITY AND MOVEMENTS* Steigers and Flinders

Critical Experiments with Solid Neutron Absorbers and Water-Moderated Fast Test Reactor Fuel Pins

A series of experiments was performed at the Battelle-Pacific Northwest Laboratories on water-flooded arrays of Fast Test Reactor fuel elements (PuO/sub 2/-UO/sub 2/) intermixed with solid neutron absorbers. The objective of these experiments was to provide reliable experiment data that could be used to benchmark computer codes and calculational schemes commonly used in criticality analysis of such systems. The neutron absorbers used were cadmium and Boral plates and gadolinium cylindrical rods. Critical array sizes were determined for square lattice pitches ranging from 9.7 to 24.9 mm, corresponding to water-to-fuel volume ratios of 3.5 to approx. 31 (hydrogen atom to fissile atom ratios of 58 to 473). For both systems, poisoned and unpoisoned, the minimum number of rods required for criticality occurred at a lattice pitch of approx. 20.5 mm, which also corresponds to a water-to-fuel volume ratio of 20.5.

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Determination of Extremely Low-Level Radioiodine in Milk

The determination procedure for extremely low-level radio-iodine (131I) in milk ( (23) × 10-9 μCi/ml) which corresponds to 15 mrem/yr of exposure dose for thyroid of a critical person (i.e. a baby) were published recently by both United States Atomic Energy Com-mission and Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories. However, error of determination, lower limit of detection and time required for preconcentration and radiation counting were not shown. Therefore we examined these conditions for those two kinds of methods to know whether they are useful for practical performance or not.(1) Recovery of iodine in milk was about 7075 % in both methods.(2) Lower limit of detection of 131I in milk was 6.7 x 10-11 μCi/ml with 30.4% of CV for counting. The determination conditions are : (1) sample volume 4l, (2) counting time 1, 000 min (16 2/3 hr), (3) iodine recovery 70 (4) efficiency of β-ray counting 30 %, background counting 0.8 cpm.(3) In case of two-sample treatment in parallel, it took about 1.52 days for preconcentration procedure, and about 45 days for over-all determination.(4) From the result mentioned above, it was clarified that extremely low-level radioiodine in milk which corresponds to 15 mrem/yr could be practically carried out by the both methods with experimental conditions mentioned in (2).

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Superconducting generators for utility power systems

The concept of a superconducting ac generator for utility power system applications has been of interest for a number of years, but it has not been until recently that definitive feasibility studies have been made. Although these studies are not yet complete, it appears that among the advantages to be accrued will be reduced size and weight, higher efficiency, lower capital cost, and greater stability. In addition to these detailed design programs at Westinghouse and General Electric, the Electric Power Research Institute is sponsoring exploratory research for even more advanced generating concepts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve University, and Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories. If successful, the ac superconducting generator may well be the first large scale commercial application of superconductivity. In part, this is because the anticipated advantages should occur at present power generation levels (∼1000 MVA), rather than at future power levels.

History of Fissile Array Measurements in the United States

The first measurements with arrays of fissile metal were performed at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in 1947 and the first with fissile solutions were performed at the Oak Ridge Critical Experiments Facility in 1949. Since then, there have been many other significant experiments at several U.S. laboratories including, in addition, Rocky Flats, Battelle-Pacific Northwest Laboratory, and the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Array tests were the primary sources of data used in developing criticality criteria for fissile-process plants, and they provided the basis for several empirical storage models that are still in use. Some of the experimental data also serve to validate Monte Carlo neutron transport calculations now used extensively by the nuclear safety engineer in the design of storage and processing facilities. It is felt that there should be additional experimental data for further validation of calculational methods relied upon for criticality safety evaluation. The deficient areas include low-/sup 235/U-enriched uranium, /sup 233/U with and without thorium, and plutonium--uranium mixtures. Also, critical data are lacking for arrays with the concrete reflectors normally found in process-plant environments, and additional experiments on concrete-reflected arrays are needed.

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