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Sample records for u-avlis production plant

  1. AVLIS Production Plant Project Management Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    The AVLIS Production Plant is designated as a Major System Acquisition (in accordance with DOE Order 4240.IC) to deploy Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) technology at the Oak Ridge, Tennessee site, in support of the US Uranium Enrichment Program. The AVLIS Production Plant Project will deploy AVLIS technology by performing the design, construction, and startup of a production plant that will meet capacity production requirements of the Uranium Enrichment Program. The AVLIS Production Plant Project Management Plan has been developed to outline plans, baselines, and control systems to be employed in managing the AVLIS Production Plant Project and to define the roles and responsibilities of project participants. Participants will develop and maintain detailed procedures for implementing the management and control systems in agreement with this plan. This baseline document defines the system that measures work performed and costs incurred. This plan was developed by the AVLIS Production Plant Project staff of Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in accordance with applicable DOE directives, orders and notices. 38 figures, 19 tables

  2. AVLIS Production Plant work breakdown structure and Dictionary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    The work breakdown structure has been prepared for the AVLIS Production Plant to define, organize, and identify the work efforts and is summarized in Fig. 1-1 for the top three project levels. The work breakdown structure itself is intended to be the primary organizational tool of the AVLIS Production Plant and is consistent with the overall AVLIS Program Work Breakdown Structure. It is designed to provide a framework for definition and accounting of all of the elements that are required for the eventual design, procurement, and construction of the AVLIS Production Plant. During the present phase of the AVLIS Project, the conceptual engineering phase, the work breakdown structure is intended to be the master structure and project organizer of documents, designs, and cost estimates. As the master project organizer, the key role of the work breakdown structure is to provide the mechanism for developing completeness in AVLIS cost estimates and design development of all hardware and systems. The work breakdown structure provides the framework for tracking, on a one-to-one basis, the component design criteria, systems requirements, design concepts, design drawings, performance projections, and conceptual cost estimates. It also serves as a vehicle for contract reporting. 12 figures, 2 tables

  3. Evaluation of a dry process for conversion of U-AVLIS product to UF6. Milestone U361

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-05-01

    A technical and engineering evaluation has been completed for a dry UF 6 production system to convert the product of an initial two-line U-AVLIS plant. The objective of the study has been to develop a better understanding of process design requirements, capital and operating costs, and demonstration requirements for this alternate process. This report summarizes the results of the study and presents various comparisons between the baseline and alternate processes, building on the information contained in UF 6 Product Alternatives Review Committee -- Final Report. It also provides additional information on flowsheet variations for the dry route which may warrant further consideration. The information developed by this study and conceptual design information for the baseline process will be combined with information to be developed by the U-AVLIS program and by industrial participants over the next twelve months to permit a further comparison of the baseline and alternate processes in terms of cost, risk, and compatibility with U-AVLIS deployment schedules and strategies. This comparative information will be used to make a final process flowsheet selection for the initial U-AVLIS plant by March 1993. The process studied is the alternate UF 6 production flowsheet. Process steps are (1) electron-beam distillation to reduce enriched product iron content from about 10 wt % or less, (2) hydrofluorination of the metal to UF 4 , (3) fluorination of UF 4 to UF 6 , (4) cold trap collection of the UF 6 product, (5) UF 6 purification by distillation, and (6) final blending and packaging of the purified UF 6 in cylinders. A preliminary system design has been prepared for the dry UF 6 production process based on currently available technical information. For some process steps, such information is quite limited. Comparisons have been made between this alternate process and the baseline plant process for UF 6 production

  4. AVLIS production plant waste management plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    Following the executive summary, this document contains the following: (1) waste management facilities design objectives; (2) AVLIS production plant wastes; (3) waste management design criteria; (4) waste management plan description; and (5) waste management plan implementation. 17 figures, 18 tables

  5. Evaluation of a dry process for conversion of U-AVLIS product to UF{sub 6}. Milestone U361

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1992-05-01

    A technical and engineering evaluation has been completed for a dry UF{sub 6} production system to convert the product of an initial two-line U-AVLIS plant. The objective of the study has been to develop a better understanding of process design requirements, capital and operating costs, and demonstration requirements for this alternate process. This report summarizes the results of the study and presents various comparisons between the baseline and alternate processes, building on the information contained in UF{sub 6} Product Alternatives Review Committee -- Final Report. It also provides additional information on flowsheet variations for the dry route which may warrant further consideration. The information developed by this study and conceptual design information for the baseline process will be combined with information to be developed by the U-AVLIS program and by industrial participants over the next twelve months to permit a further comparison of the baseline and alternate processes in terms of cost, risk, and compatibility with U-AVLIS deployment schedules and strategies. This comparative information will be used to make a final process flowsheet selection for the initial U-AVLIS plant by March 1993. The process studied is the alternate UF{sub 6} production flowsheet. Process steps are (1) electron-beam distillation to reduce enriched product iron content from about 10 wt % or less, (2) hydrofluorination of the metal to UF{sub 4}, (3) fluorination of UF{sub 4} to UF{sub 6}, (4) cold trap collection of the UF{sub 6} product, (5) UF{sub 6} purification by distillation, and (6) final blending and packaging of the purified UF{sub 6} in cylinders. A preliminary system design has been prepared for the dry UF{sub 6} production process based on currently available technical information. For some process steps, such information is quite limited. Comparisons have been made between this alternate process and the baseline plant process for UF{sub 6} production.

  6. AVLIS Production Plant Preliminary Quality Assurance Plan and Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    This preliminary Quality Assurance Plan and Assessment establishes the Quality Assurance requirements for the AVLIS Production Plant Project. The Quality Assurance Plan defines the management approach, organization, interfaces, and controls that will be used in order to provide adequate confidence that the AVLIS Production Plant design, procurement, construction, fabrication, installation, start-up, and operation are accomplished within established goals and objectives. The Quality Assurance Program defined in this document includes a system for assessing those elements of the project whose failure would have a significant impact on safety, environment, schedule, cost, or overall plant objectives. As elements of the project are assessed, classifications are provided to establish and assure that special actions are defined which will eliminate or reduce the probability of occurrence or control the consequences of failure. 8 figures, 18 tables

  7. Environmental site description for a Uranium Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (U-AVLIS) production plant at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marmer, G.J.; Dunn, C.P.; Moeller, K.L.; Pfingston, J.M.; Policastro, A.J.; Yuen, C.R.; Cleland, J.H.

    1991-09-01

    Uranium enrichment in the United States has utilized a diffusion process to preferentially enrich the U-235 isotope in the uranium product. The U-AVLIS process is based on electrostatic extraction of photoionized U-235 atoms from an atomic vapor stream created by electron-beam vaporization of uranium metal alloy. The U-235 atoms are ionized when precisely tuned laser light -- of appropriate power, spectral, and temporal characteristics -- illuminates the uranium vapor and selectively photoionizes the U-235 isotope. A programmatic document for use in screening DOE site to locate a U-AVLIS production plant was developed and implemented in two parts. The first part consisted of a series of screening analyses, based on exclusionary and other criteria, that identified a reasonable number of candidate sites. These sites were subjected to a more rigorous and detailed comparative analysis for the purpose of developing a short list of reasonable alternative sites for later environmental examination. This environmental site description (ESD) provides a detailed description of the PGDP site and vicinity suitable for use in an environmental impact statement (EIS). The report is based on existing literature, data collected at the site, and information collected by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) staff during a site visit. 65 refs., 15 tabs

  8. Environmental site description for a Uranium Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (U-AVLIS) production plant at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marmer, G.J.; Dunn, C.P.; Moeller, K.L.; Pfingston, J.M.; Policastro, A.J.; Yuen, C.R.; Cleland, J.H. (ed.)

    1991-09-01

    Uranium enrichment in the United States has utilized a diffusion process to preferentially enrich the U-235 isotope in the uranium product. The U-AVLIS process is based on electrostatic extraction of photoionized U-235 atoms from an atomic vapor stream created by electron-beam vaporization of uranium metal alloy. The U-235 atoms are ionized when precisely tuned laser light -- of appropriate power, spectral, and temporal characteristics -- illuminates the uranium vapor and selectively photoionizes the U-235 isotope. A programmatic document for use in screening DOE site to locate a U-AVLIS production plant was developed and implemented in two parts. The first part consisted of a series of screening analyses, based on exclusionary and other criteria, that identified a reasonable number of candidate sites. These sites were subjected to a more rigorous and detailed comparative analysis for the purpose of developing a short list of reasonable alternative sites for later environmental examination. This environmental site description (ESD) provides a detailed description of the PGDP site and vicinity suitable for use in an environmental impact statement (EIS). The report is based on existing literature, data collected at the site, and information collected by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) staff during a site visit. 65 refs., 15 tabs.

  9. Environmental site description for a Uranium Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (U-AVLIS) production plant at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marmer, G.J.; Dunn, C.P.; Filley, T.H.; Moeller, K.L.; Pfingston, J.M.; Policastro, A.J.; Cleland, J.H.

    1991-09-01

    Uranium enrichment in the United States has utilized a diffusion process to preferentially enrich the U-235 isotope in the uranium product. In the 1970s, the US Department of Energy (DOE) began investigating more efficient and cost-effective enrichment technologies. In January 1990, the Secretary of Energy approved a plan for the demonstration and deployment of the Uranium Atomic Vapor Laser isotope Separation (U-AVLIS) technology with the near-term goal to provide the necessary information to make a deployment decision by November 1992. Initial facility operation is anticipated for 1999. A programmatic document for use in screening DOE sites to locate a U-AVLIS production plant was developed and implemented in two parts. The first part consisted of a series of screening analyses, based on exclusionary and other criteria, that identified a reasonable number of candidate sites. The final evaluation, which included sensitivity studies, identified the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) site, the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) site, and the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) site as having significant advantages over the other sites considered. This environmental site description (ESD) provides a detailed description of the PORTS site and vicinity suitable for use in an environmental impact statement (EIS). This report is based on existing literature, data collected at the site, and information collected by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) staff during site visits. The organization of the ESD is as follows. Topics addressed in Sec. 2 include a general site description and the disciplines of geology, water resources, biotic resources, air resources, noise, cultural resources, land use. Socioeconomics, and waste management. Identification of any additional data that would be required for an EIS is presented in Sec. 3

  10. Environmental site description for a Uranium Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (U-AVLIS) production plant at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marmer, G.J.; Dunn, C.P.; Filley, T.H.; Moeller, K.L.; Pfingston, J.M.; Policastro, A.J.; Cleland, J.H.

    1991-09-01

    Uranium enrichment in the United States has utilized a diffusion process to preferentially enrich the U-235 isotope in the uranium product. In the 1970s, the US Department of Energy (DOE) began investigating more efficient and cost-effective enrichment technologies. In January 1990, the Secretary of Energy approved a plan for the demonstration and deployment of the Uranium Atomic Vapor Laser isotope Separation (U-AVLIS) technology with the near-term goal to provide the necessary information to make a deployment decision by November 1992. Initial facility operation is anticipated for 1999. A programmatic document for use in screening DOE sites to locate a U-AVLIS production plant was developed and implemented in two parts. The first part consisted of a series of screening analyses, based on exclusionary and other criteria, that identified a reasonable number of candidate sites. The final evaluation, which included sensitivity studies, identified the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) site, the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) site, and the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) site as having significant advantages over the other sites considered. This environmental site description (ESD) provides a detailed description of the PORTS site and vicinity suitable for use in an environmental impact statement (EIS). This report is based on existing literature, data collected at the site, and information collected by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) staff during site visits. The organization of the ESD is as follows. Topics addressed in Sec. 2 include a general site description and the disciplines of geology, water resources, biotic resources, air resources, noise, cultural resources, land use. Socioeconomics, and waste management. Identification of any additional data that would be required for an EIS is presented in Sec. 3.

  11. Environmental site description for a Uranium Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (U-AVLIS) production plant at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant Site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-09-01

    In January 1990, the Secretary of Energy approved a plan for the demonstration and deployment of the Uranium Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (U-AVLIS) technology, with the near-term goal to provide the necessary information to make a deployment decision by November 1992. The U-AVLIS process is based on electrostatic extraction of photoionized U-235 atoms from an atomic vapor stream created by electron-beam vaporization of uranium metal alloy. A programmatic document for use in screening DOE sites to locate the U-AVLIS production plant was developed and implemented in two parts (Wolsko et al. 1991). The first part consisted of a series of screening analyses, based on exclusionary and other criteria, that identified a reasonable number of candidate sites. These sites were then subjected to a more rigorous and detailed comparative analysis for the purpose of developing a short list of reasonable alternative sites for later environmental examination. This environmental site description (ESD) provides a detailed description of the ORGDP site and vicinity suitable for use in an environmental impact statement (EIS). The report is based on existing literature, data collected at the site, and information collected by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) staff during a site visit. The organization of the ESD is as follows. Topics addressed in Sec. 2 include a general site description and the disciplines of geology, water resources, biotic resources, air resources, noise, cultural resources, land use, socioeconomics, and waste management. Identification of any additional data that would be required for an EIS is presented in Sec. 3. Following the site description and additional data requirements, Sec. 4 provides a short, qualitative assessment of potential environmental issues. 37 refs., 20 figs., 18 tabs.

  12. Environmental site description for a Uranium Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (U-AVLIS) production plant at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-09-01

    In January 1990, the Secretary of Energy approved a plan for the demonstration and deployment of the Uranium Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (U-AVLIS) technology, with the near-term goal to provide the necessary information to make a deployment decision by November 1992. The U-AVLIS process is based on electrostatic extraction of photoionized U-235 atoms from an atomic vapor stream created by electron-beam vaporization of uranium metal alloy. A programmatic document for use in screening DOE sites to locate the U-AVLIS production plant was developed and implemented in two parts (Wolsko et al. 1991). The first part consisted of a series of screening analyses, based on exclusionary and other criteria, that identified a reasonable number of candidate sites. These sites were then subjected to a more rigorous and detailed comparative analysis for the purpose of developing a short list of reasonable alternative sites for later environmental examination. This environmental site description (ESD) provides a detailed description of the ORGDP site and vicinity suitable for use in an environmental impact statement (EIS). The report is based on existing literature, data collected at the site, and information collected by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) staff during a site visit. The organization of the ESD is as follows. Topics addressed in Sec. 2 include a general site description and the disciplines of geology, water resources, biotic resources, air resources, noise, cultural resources, land use, socioeconomics, and waste management. Identification of any additional data that would be required for an EIS is presented in Sec. 3. Following the site description and additional data requirements, Sec. 4 provides a short, qualitative assessment of potential environmental issues. 37 refs., 20 figs., 18 tabs

  13. AVLIS industrial access program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    This document deals with the procurements planned for the construction of an Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) production plant. Several large-scale AVLIS facilities have already been built and tested; a full-scale engineering demonstration facility is currently under construction. The experience gained from these projects provides the procurement basis for the production plant construction and operation. In this document, the status of the AVLIS process procurement is presented from two viewpoints. The AVLIS Production Plant Work Breakdown Structure is referenced at the level of the items to be procured. The availability of suppliers for the items at this level is discussed. In addition, the work that will result from the AVLIS enrichment plant project is broken down by general procurement categories (construction, mechanical equipment, etc.) and the current AVLIS suppliers are listed according to these categories. A large number of companies in all categories are currently providing AVLIS equipment for the Full-Scale Demonstration Facility in Livermore, California. These companies form an existing and expanding supplier network for the AVLIS program. Finally, this document examines the relationship between the AVLIS construction project/operational facility and established commercial suppliers. The goal is to utilize existing industrial capability to meet the needs of the project in a competitive procurement situation. As a result, costs and procurement risks are both reduced because the products provided come from within the AVLIS suppliers' experience base. At the same time, suppliers can benefit by the potential to participate in AVLIS technology spin-off markets. 35 figures

  14. AVLIS industrial access program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1984-11-15

    This document deals with the procurements planned for the construction of an Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) production plant. Several large-scale AVLIS facilities have already been built and tested; a full-scale engineering demonstration facility is currently under construction. The experience gained from these projects provides the procurement basis for the production plant construction and operation. In this document, the status of the AVLIS process procurement is presented from two viewpoints. The AVLIS Production Plant Work Breakdown Structure is referenced at the level of the items to be procured. The availability of suppliers for the items at this level is discussed. In addition, the work that will result from the AVLIS enrichment plant project is broken down by general procurement categories (construction, mechanical equipment, etc.) and the current AVLIS suppliers are listed according to these categories. A large number of companies in all categories are currently providing AVLIS equipment for the Full-Scale Demonstration Facility in Livermore, California. These companies form an existing and expanding supplier network for the AVLIS program. Finally, this document examines the relationship between the AVLIS construction project/operational facility and established commercial suppliers. The goal is to utilize existing industrial capability to meet the needs of the project in a competitive procurement situation. As a result, costs and procurement risks are both reduced because the products provided come from within the AVLIS suppliers' experience base. At the same time, suppliers can benefit by the potential to participate in AVLIS technology spin-off markets. 35 figures.

  15. Feed and product for AVLIS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, T.

    1991-01-01

    Today, fuel cycle organizations around the world, including British Nuclear Fuels, Ltd. (BNFL) are undertaking the development of a new and demanding enrichment technology, customarily referred to by its American Acronym AVLIS (atomic vapor laser isotope separation). Successful commercialization of the technology will threaten established fuel cycle activities and is likely to send shock waves throughout the world industry. The stakes are high for all involved in the civil nuclear industry: do the potential rewards match up? US Department of Energy (US DOE) is regarded as the organization most committed to the early commercialization of AVLIS technology and is aiming to deploy an initial commercial plant within 6 years. However, the timescale is of course subject to a satisfactory technical progress and, no less importantly, continued funding of the necessary development and construction activities. Coupled with the changes that will be needed at the enrichment plant interfaces, the implications for feed supply and product usage, it can be seen that the 1997 target deployment date is an ambitious one. Other organizations are also developing atomic laser enrichment routes, but for the post-2000 timeframe. US DOE's desire to push ahead with early AVLIS deployment has to be seen in this global context. The different feed and product material interface requirements could generate resistance to the use of AVLIS by customers and other fuel cycle companies. The BNFL/URENCO atomic vapor laser enrichment development program is able to profit from USDOE's experience by ensuring very early that it encompasses all fuel cycle aspects. A process is being developed that is optimized from yellowcake to ceramic UO 2 , rather than just the difficult enrichment process. This is far more likely, if it becomes economically competitive, to produce a good match with customer requirements and so reduce the commercial risks of such a decision

  16. AVLIS documentation overview and tables of contents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    Three documents constitute the executive summary series in Data Package III: this document (Documentation Overview and Tables of Contents (E001)) plus the AVLIS Production Plant Executive Summary (E010) and the AVLIS Production Plant Overall Design Report (E020). They provide progressively greater detail on the key information and conclusions contained within the data package. The Executive Summary and Overall Design Report present summaries of each Data Package III document. They are intended to provide a global overview of AVLIS Production Plant deployment including program planning, project management, schedules, engineering design, production, operations, capital cost, and operating cost. The purpose of Overview and Tables of Contents is threefold: to briefly review AVLIS goals for Data Package III documentation, to present an overview of the contents of the data package, and to provide a useful guide to information contained in the numerous documents comprising the package

  17. A database for AVLIS-U method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasaru, Gheorghe

    2000-01-01

    Uranium enrichment is a critical step in transforming natural uranium in nuclear fuel to produce energy. Enrichment accounts for approximately one third of the cost of nuclear fuel and about 10% of the total cost of the electricity generated. Atomic vapor processes work on principle of photo-ionization whereby a powerful laser is used to ionize particular atoms present in a vapor of uranium metal. The positively-charged 235 U ions are then attracted to a negatively-charged plate and collected. The main molecular processes which have been studied work on the principle of photo-dissociation of UF 6 to solid UF 5 , using tuned laser radiation as above. Any process using UF 6 fits that atomic process more readily within the conventional fuel cycle. These two new methods have been the focus of interest for some time. They promise lower energy inputs, lower capital costs and lower tails assays, hence significant economic advantages. The program of work included: - theoretical studies of photon-atom interaction, including the effects of hyperfine structure, magnetic field and cross section; - experimental work to find theoretically favorable transition between the levels in the atom and to measure relevant transition parameters using, initially, low density uranium vapor; - development of techniques for the precision tuning and stabilization of suitable lasers, obtaining the required band width, and amplifying the light to required power; - materials and technology related to high density vapor production; - theoretical and experimental work on the efficient separation of selectively generated ions from a vapor stream. A number of technique (sputtering, electron beam heating, etc.) have been used to produced suitable streams of uranium vapor. For AVLIS-U development, the following five areas of activity were focused on: - vapor production electron guns; - production of laser beams; - selective ionization of 235 U; - separation and collection of tails and product

  18. U-AVLIS feed conversion using continuous metallothermic reduction of UF4: System description and cost estimate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-04-01

    The purpose of this document is to present a system description and develop baseline capital and operating cost estimates for commercial facilities which produced U-Fe feedstock for AVLIS enrichment plants using the continuous fluoride reduction (CFR) process. These costs can then be used together with appropriate economic assumptions to calculate estimated unit costs to the AVLIS plant owner (or utility customer) for such conversion services. Six cases are being examined. All cases assume that the conversion services are performed by a private company at a commercial site which has an existing NRC license to possess source material and which has existing uranium processing operations. The cases differ in terms of annual production capacity and whether the new process system is installed in a new building or in an existing building on the site. The six cases are summarized here

  19. U-AVLIS feed conversion using continuous metallothermic reduction of UF{sub 4}: System description and cost estimate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-04-01

    The purpose of this document is to present a system description and develop baseline capital and operating cost estimates for commercial facilities which produced U-Fe feedstock for AVLIS enrichment plants using the continuous fluoride reduction (CFR) process. These costs can then be used together with appropriate economic assumptions to calculate estimated unit costs to the AVLIS plant owner (or utility customer) for such conversion services. Six cases are being examined. All cases assume that the conversion services are performed by a private company at a commercial site which has an existing NRC license to possess source material and which has existing uranium processing operations. The cases differ in terms of annual production capacity and whether the new process system is installed in a new building or in an existing building on the site. The six cases are summarized here.

  20. AVLIS: a technical and economic forecast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, J.I.; Spaeth, M.L.

    1986-01-01

    The AVLIS process has intrinsically large isotopic selectivity and hence high separative capacity per module. The critical components essential to achieving the high production rates represent a small fraction (approx.10%) of the total capital cost of a production facility, and the reference production designs are based on frequent replacement of these components. The specifications for replacement frequencies in a plant are conservative with respect to our expectations; it is reasonable to expect that, as the plant is operated, the specifications will be exceeded and production costs will continue to fall. Major improvements in separator production rates and laser system efficiencies (approx.power) are expected to occur as a natural evolution in component improvements. With respect to the reference design, such improvements have only marginal economic value, but given the exigencies of moving from engineering demonstration to production operations, we continue to pursue these improvements in order to offset any unforeseen cost increases. Thus, our technical and economic forecasts for the AVLIS process remain very positive. The near-term challenge is to obtain stable funding and a commitment to bring the process to full production conditions within the next five years. If the funding and commitment are not maintained, the team will disperse and the know-how will be lost before it can be translated into production operations. The motivation to preserve the option for low-cost AVLIS SWU production is integrally tied to the motivation to maintain a competitive nuclear option. The US industry can certainly survive without AVLIS, but our tradition as technology leader in the industry will certainly be lost

  1. Physics overview of AVLIS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solarz, R.W.

    1985-02-01

    Atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) represents the largest-scale potential application of tunable lasers that has received serious attention within the chemical physics community. For over a decade the US Department of Energy has funded an aggressive program in AVLIS at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. After extensive research, the underlying physical principles have been identified and optimized, the major technology components have been developed, and the integrated enrichment performance of the process has been tested under realistic conditions. The central physical processes are outlined, progress to date on the technology elements is reviewed, and scaling laws that can be used to scope out new applications are fomulated. The two primary applications of major interest to the Department of Energy are the production of light-water reactor fuel and the conversion of fuel-grade plutonium to weapons-grade material. In FY 1984 the total AVLIS funding level for these two missions was approximately $150M. In addition to these primary missions, a variety of applications exist that all potentially use a common base of AVLIS technology. These include missions such as the enrichment of mercury isotopes to improve fluorescent lamp efficiency, the enrichment of iodine isotopes for medical isotope use, and the cleanup of strontium from defense waste for recovering strontium isotopes for radio-thermal mechanical generators. We will see that the ability to rapidly assess the economic and technical feasibility of each mission is derived from the general applicability of AVLIS physics and AVLIS technology

  2. Integration of the AVLIS (atomic vapor laser isotopic separation) process into the nuclear fuel cycle. [Effect of AVLIS feed requirements on overall fuel cycle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hargrove, R.S.; Knighton, J.B.; Eby, R.S.; Pashley, J.H.; Norman, R.E.

    1986-08-01

    AVLIS RD and D efforts are currently proceeding toward full-scale integrated enrichment demonstrations in the late 1980's and potential plant deployment in the mid 1990's. Since AVLIS requires a uranium metal feed and produces an enriched uranium metal product, some change in current uranium processing practices are necessitated. AVLIS could operate with a UF/sub 6/-in UF/sub 6/-out interface with little effect to the remainder of the fuel cycle. This path, however, does not allow electric utility customers to realize the full potential of low cost AVLIS enrichment. Several alternative processing methods have been identified and evaluated which appear to provide opportunities to make substantial cost savings in the overall fuel cycle. These alternatives involve varying levels of RD and D resources, calendar time, and technical risk to implement and provide these cost reduction opportunities. Both feed conversion contracts and fuel fabricator contracts are long-term entities. Because of these factors, it is not too early to start planning and making decisions on the most advantageous options so that AVLIS can be integrated cost effectively into the fuel cycle. This should offer economic opportunity to all parties involved including DOE, utilities, feed converters, and fuel fabricators. 10 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs.

  3. New Japanese AVLIS R and D program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Y.

    1995-01-01

    In LASER-J, the second phase of AVLIS R and D program has started since April 1993. At the first phase, we developed AVLIS plant components such as CVL, DL, and electron beam guns for a facility having about a one-ton SWU per year capacity and obtained engineering data related to this facility. During the second phase, the next five years or so, we will develop full scale AVLIS hardware. In this session, the R and D results of the first phase and the outline of the R and D program for the second phase will be presented. (author)

  4. AVLIS [Atomic Vapour Laser Isotope Separation] programme powers ahead in the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sewell, P.G.; Haberman, N.

    1988-01-01

    The accomplishments of the AVLIS programme during the past year are described and a development programme initiated by the U.S. designed to lead to a full-scale demonstration of AVLIS by 1992. A possible early deployment option involving the enrichment of reprocessed uranium (REPU) is also examined. (U.K.)

  5. Integration of the AVLIS [atomic vapor laser isotopic separation] process into the nuclear fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hargrove, R.S.; Knighton, J.B.; Eby, R.S.; Pashley, J.H.; Norman, R.E.

    1986-08-01

    AVLIS RD and D efforts are currently proceeding toward full-scale integrated enrichment demonstrations in the late 1980's and potential plant deployment in the mid 1990's. Since AVLIS requires a uranium metal feed and produces an enriched uranium metal product, some change in current uranium processing practices are necessitated. AVLIS could operate with a UF 6 -in UF 6 -out interface with little effect to the remainder of the fuel cycle. This path, however, does not allow electric utility customers to realize the full potential of low cost AVLIS enrichment. Several alternative processing methods have been identified and evaluated which appear to provide opportunities to make substantial cost savings in the overall fuel cycle. These alternatives involve varying levels of RD and D resources, calendar time, and technical risk to implement and provide these cost reduction opportunities. Both feed conversion contracts and fuel fabricator contracts are long-term entities. Because of these factors, it is not too early to start planning and making decisions on the most advantageous options so that AVLIS can be integrated cost effectively into the fuel cycle. This should offer economic opportunity to all parties involved including DOE, utilities, feed converters, and fuel fabricators. 10 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs

  6. Uranium recovery from AVLIS slag

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D'Agostino, A.E.; Mycroft, J.R.; Oliver, A.J.; Schneider, P.G.; Richardson, K.L.

    2000-01-01

    Uranium metal for the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) project was to have been produced by the magnesiothermic reduction of uranium tetrafluoride. The other product from this reaction is a magnesium fluoride slag, which contains fine and entrained natural uranium as metal and oxide. Recovery of the uranium through conventional mill leaching would not give a magnesium residue free of uranium but to achieve more complete uranium recovery requires the destruction of the magnesium fluoride matrix and liberation of the entrapped uranium. Alternate methods of carrying out such treatments and the potential for recovery of other valuable byproducts were examined. Based on the process flowsheets, a number of economic assessments were performed, conclusions were drawn and the preferred processing alternatives were identified. (author)

  7. Wavefront compensation applied to AVLIS laser systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonsiorowski, T.; Wirth, A.

    1995-01-01

    The efficiency of an AVLIS system depends upon the power density and uniformity of the laser system. Because of wavefront aberrations the realized beam quality is not ideal. Wavefront compensation provides a means to improve beam quality and system efficiency. (author)

  8. Appendix B, AVLIS Program: Statement of work May 1, 1994 through July 31, 1994

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-04-01

    While the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) is preparing decisions regarding it's future Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) deployment options, this interim three month plan (through July 31, 1994) is intended to maintain the USEC options for the ultimate deployment of AVLIS technology for enriching uranium, gadolinium (Gd) and possibly erbium (Er). This plan addresses the key activities leading to such commercial deployment while recognizing current, significant funding limitations. The goal of this three month plan is to provide support to the USEC business assessment; assure that facilities, equipment and other property remain functional and retain value; and achieve maximum progress on critical tasks required for future AVLIS deployment if the USEC decides to proceed. This proposed plan continues activities (through July 31, 1994) that could lead to an overall plan for deployment of a uranium and a Gd/Er enrichment facility. This Statement of Work (SOW) is directed toward preserving the technical capabilities and core staff of the AVLIS Program while minimizing program costs and maintaining options for the USEC pending a decision on the future course of direction for the AVLIS Program. The specific activities described in this SOW are: (1) maintenance and surveillance of those AVLIS facilities not required for near-term operations; (2) preparation for future photoionization; (3) long lead preparation for future operations; (4) provide support, as requested by the USEC, for development of strategies and market entry plans for enriched uranium, gadolinium, and possibly erbium; (5) provide support, as requested, for the USEC Advanced Technology Business Evaluation; and (6) continue uranium processing and fuel cycle integration activities

  9. Status of Uranium Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Hao-Lin; Feinberg, R.M.

    1993-06-01

    This report discusses demonstrations of plant-scale hardware embodying AVLIS technology which were completed in 1992. These demonstrations, designed to provide key economic and technical bases for plant deployment, produced significant quantities of low enriched uranium which could be used for civilian power reactor fuel. We are working with industry to address the integration of AVLIS into the fuel cycle. To prepare for deployment, a conceptual design and cost estimate for a uranium enrichment plant were also completed. The U-AVLIS technology is ready for commercialization

  10. Economic assessment model architecture for AGC/AVLIS selection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoglund, R.L.

    1984-01-01

    The economic assessment model architecture described provides the flexibility and completeness in economic analysis that the selection between AGC and AVLIS demands. Process models which are technology-specific will provide the first-order responses of process performance and cost to variations in process parameters. The economics models can be used to test the impacts of alternative deployment scenarios for a technology. Enterprise models provide global figures of merit for evaluating the DOE perspective on the uranium enrichment enterprise, and business analysis models compute the financial parameters from the private investor's viewpoint

  11. Description of the CNEA U308 powder production plant for low enrichment fuel plates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boero, N.L.; Celora, J.; Parodi, C.A.; Pertossi, F.R.; Marajofsky, A.

    1987-01-01

    The design of the 20% enriched U 3 O 8 powder production plant was based on laboratory level experiments. The UF 6 hydrolysis, ADU precipitation, U 3 O 8 conversion processes were used. The equipment, controls and confinement were set not only by the processes but also by safety requirements according to the kind and physical form of the uranium compounds in each stage and criticality considerations. This paper describes the installation, set up and operation of the plant during production. (Author)

  12. Buildup of 236U in the gaseous diffusion plant product

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ford, J.S.

    1975-01-01

    A generalized projection of the average annual 236 U concentration that can be expected in future enriched uranium product from the US-ERDA gaseous diffusion plants when reprocessed fuels become available for cascade feeding is given. It is concluded that the buildup of 236 U is not an ever-increasing function, but approaches a limiting value. Projected concentrations result in only slight separative work losses and present no operational problem to ERDA in supplying light water reactor requirements. The use of recycle uranium from power reactor spent fuels will result in significant savings in natural uranium feed

  13. Pilot-scale demonstration of the modified direct denitration process to prepare uranium oxide for fuel fabrication evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitts, F.G.

    1994-04-01

    The Uranium-Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (U-AVLIS) Program has the objective of developing a cost-competitive enrichment process that will ultimately replace the gaseous diffusion process used in the United States. Current nuclear fuel fabricators are set up to process only the UF 6 product from gaseous diffusion enrichment. Enriched uranium-iron alloy from the U-AVLIS separator system must be chemically converted into an oxide form acceptable to these fabricators to make fuel pellets that meet American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and utility company specifications. A critical step in this conversion is the modified direct denitration (MDD) that has been selected and presented in the AVLIS Conceptual Design for converting purified uranyl nitrate to UO 3 to be shipped to fabricators for making UO 2 pellets for power reactor fuel. This report describes the MDD process, the equipment used, and the experimental work done to demonstrate the conversion of AVLIS product to ceramic-grade UO 3 suitable for making reactor-grade fuel pellets

  14. Application of direct simulation Monte Carlo method for analysis of AVLIS evaporation process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishimura, Akihiko

    1995-01-01

    The computation code of the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method was developed in order to analyze the atomic vapor evaporation in atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS). The atomic excitation temperatures of gadolinium atom were calculated for the model with five low lying states. Calculation results were compared with the experiments obtained by laser absorption spectroscopy. Two types of DSMC simulations which were different in inelastic collision procedure were carried out. It was concluded that the energy transfer was forbidden unless the total energy of the colliding atoms exceeds a threshold value. (author)

  15. Uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-08-01

    This paper reports that in 1990 the Department of Energy began a two-year project to illustrate the technical and economic feasibility of a new uranium enrichment technology-the atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) process. GAO believes that completing the AVLIS demonstration project will provide valuable information about the technical viability and cost of building an AVLIS plant and will keep future plant construction options open. However, Congress should be aware that DOE still needs to adequately demonstrate AVLIS with full-scale equipment and develop convincing cost projects. Program activities, such as the plant-licensing process, that must be completed before a plant is built, could take many years. Further, an updated and expanded uranium enrichment analysis will be needed before any decision is made about building an AVLIS plant. GAO, which has long supported legislation that would restructure DOE's uranium enrichment program as a government corporation, encourages DOE's goal of transferring AVLIS to the corporation. This could reduce the government's financial risk and help ensure that the decision to build an AVLIS plant is based on commercial concerns. DOE, however, has no alternative plans should the government corporation not be formed. Further, by curtailing a planned public access program, which would have given private firms an opportunity to learn about the technology during the demonstration project, DOE may limit its ability to transfer AVLIS to the private sector

  16. Production costs: U.S. hydroelectric power plants, 4th Edition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    The book provides 1991 operation and maintenance expenses for over 800 conventional and pumped-storage hydroelectric power plants. Report shows operator and plant name, plant year-in-service, installed capacity, 1991 net generation, O ampersand M expenses, total production costs and current plant capitalization. Fifty eight percent of the utility-owned hydroelectric plants in the US are covered by this report. Data diskette provides additional capital and production cost accounts and number of employees for each plant

  17. F4U production by electrolytic reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Esteban Duque, A.; Gispert Benach, M.; Hernandez Arroyo, F.; Montes Ponce de Leon, M.; Rojas de Diego, J. L.

    1974-01-01

    As a part of the nuclear fuel cycle program developed at the Spanish Atomic Energy Commission it has been studied the electrolytic reduction of U-VI to U-IV. The effect of the materials, electrolyte concentration, pH, current density, cell size and laboratory scale production is studied. The Pilot Plant and the production data are also described. (Author) 18 refs

  18. [Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    This report summarizes work performed for the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) program from January through July, 1992. Each of the tasks assigned during this period is described, and results are presented. Section I details work on sensitivity matrices for the UDS relay telescope. These matrices show which combination of mirror motions may be performed in order to effect certain changes in beam parameters. In Section II, an analysis is given of transmission through a clipping aperture on the launch telescope deformable mirror. Observed large transmission losses could not be simulated in the analysis. An EXCEL spreadsheet program designed for in situ analysis of UDS optical systems is described in Section III. This spreadsheet permits analysis of changes in beam first-order characteristics due to changes in any optical system parameter, simple optimization to predict mirror motions needed to effect a combination of changes in beam parameters, and plotting of a variety of first-order data. Optical systems may be assembled directly from OSSD data. A CODE V nonsequential model of the UDS optical system is described in Section IV. This uses OSSD data to build the UDS model; mirror coordinates may thus be verified. Section V summarizes observations of relay telescope performance. Possible procedures which allow more accurate assessment of relay telescope performance are given

  19. Uranium metal production by molten salt electrolysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takasawa, Yutaka

    1999-01-01

    Atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) is a promising uranium enrichment technology in the next generation. Electrolytic reduction of uranium oxides into uranium metal is proposed for the preparation of uranium metal as a feed material for AVLIS plant. Considering economical performance, continuos process concept and minimizing the amount of radioactive waste, an electrolytic process for producing uranium metal directly from uranium oxides will offer potential advantages over the existing commercial process. Studies of uranium metal by electrolysis in fluoride salts (BaF 2 -LiF-UF 4 (74-11-15 w/o) at 1150-1200degC, using both a laboratory scale apparatus and an engineering scale one, and continuous casting of uranium metal were carried out in order to decide the optimum operating conditions and the design of the industrial electrolytic cells. (author)

  20. Production costs: U.S. gas turbine ampersand combined-cycle power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This fourth edition of UDI's gas turbine O ampersand M cost report gives 1991 operation and maintenance expenses for over 450 US gas turbine power plants. Modeled on UDI's popular series of O ampersand M cost reports for US steam-electric plants, this report shows operator and plant name, plant year-in-service, installed capacity, 1991 net generation, total fuel expenses, total non-fuel O ampersand M expenses, total production costs, and current plant capitalization. Coverage includes over 90 percent of the utility-owned gas/combustion turbine and combined-cycle plants installed in the country

  1. A 2000-2010 years outlook of isotopic uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasaru, G.

    1998-01-01

    The increase of the installed power in nuclear plants implies the following steps to be achieved: - developing a parallel industry for the nuclear fuel cycle able to ensure a rhythmic supply of natural uranium, possibly an isotopic enrichment of 235 U of around 1.2 - 3.2%, depending on the reactor system; - manufacturing the fuel elements and the operation of cycle back-end, which may, possibly, include a temporary storage of the irradiated fuel; - reprocessing the spend fuel; - radioactive waste processing in view of final disposal, as well as the recovery of un-spent uranium and of plutonium formed. The heavy water reactors of CANDU-PHW does not imply any isotopic enrichment but provides a lower burnup of only 7,000 MW day/tone. An enrichment to 1.2% in 235 U for this type of reactors could increase the burnup up to 20,000 MW day/tone. An advanced method of enriching 235 U is based on the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotop Separation (AVLIS). This procedure called AVLIS has several advantages which are pointed out in this paper, among which: a very high selectivity; high separation factors; a low energy consumption due to the fact that in the conditions of a selective photo ionization, the energy necessary to the process is only 6.2 eV for the separated 235 U atom vs 0.3 MeV in case of inertial separators or 3 MeV in case of gaseous diffusion procedure. With the current laser yields an energy consumption of 100 kWh/SWU is estimated for AVLIS procedures as compared with 2,400 kWh/SWU in case of gaseous diffusion; an almost entire extraction of 235 U, what ensures a more efficient utilisation of nuclear fuel. Due to its modular character and to potential improvement in the equipment which could be achieved, this procedure will ensure a reduction in the investment costs in the construction stage what will make AVLIS a substitute of the classical separation procedures

  2. Separating environmental efficiency into production and abatement efficiency. A nonparametric model with application to U.S. power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hampf, Benjamin

    2011-08-15

    In this paper we present a new approach to evaluate the environmental efficiency of decision making units. We propose a model that describes a two-stage process consisting of a production and an end-of-pipe abatement stage with the environmental efficiency being determined by the efficiency of both stages. Taking the dependencies between the two stages into account, we show how nonparametric methods can be used to measure environmental efficiency and to decompose it into production and abatement efficiency. For an empirical illustration we apply our model to an analysis of U.S. power plants.

  3. Plant Design Nuclear Fuel Element Production Capacity Optimization to Support Nuclear Power Plant in Indonesia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bambang Galung Susanto

    2007-01-01

    The optimization production capacity for designing nuclear fuel element fabrication plant in Indonesia to support the nuclear power plant has been done. From calculation and by assuming that nuclear power plant to be built in Indonesia as much as 12 NPP and having capacity each 1000 MW, the optimum capacity for nuclear fuel element fabrication plant is 710 ton UO 2 /year. The optimum capacity production selected, has considered some aspects such as fraction batch (cycle, n = 3), length of cycle (18 months), discharge burn-up value (Bd) 35,000 up 50,000 MWD/ton U, enriched uranium to be used in the NPP (3.22 % to 4.51 %), future market development for fuel element, and the trend of capacity production selected by advances country to built nuclear fuel element fabrication plant type of PWR. (author)

  4. U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Operating Cost and Experience Summaries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reid, RL

    2003-01-01

    The ''U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Operating Cost and Experience Summaries'' (NUREG/CR-6577, Supp. 2) report has been prepared to provide historical operating cost and experience information on U.S. commercial nuclear power plants during 2000-2001. Costs incurred after initial construction are characterized as annual production costs, which represent fuel and plant operating and maintenance expenses, and capital expenditures related to facility additions/modifications, which are included in the plant capital asset base. As discussed in the report, annual data for these two cost categories were obtained from publicly available reports and must be accepted as having different degrees of accuracy and completeness. Treatment of inconclusive and incomplete data is discussed. As an aid to understanding the fluctuations in the cost histories, operations summaries for each nuclear unit are provided. The intent of these summaries is to identify important operating events; refueling, major maintenance, and other significant outages; operating milestones; and significant licensing or enforcement actions. Information used in the summaries is condensed from operating reports submitted by the licensees, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) database for enforcement actions, and outage reports

  5. Useful to Usable (U2U): Transforming climate information into usable tools to support Midwestern agricultural production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prokopy, L. S.; Widhalm, M.

    2014-12-01

    There is a close connection between weather and climate patterns and successful agricultural production. Therefore, incorporating climate information into farm management is likely to reduce the risk of economic losses and increase profitability. While weather and climate information is becoming ever more abundant and accessible, the use of such information in the agricultural community remains limited. Useful to Usable (U2U): Transforming Climate Variability and Change Information for Cereal Crop Producers is a USDA-NIFA funded research and extension project focused on improving the use of climate information for agricultural production in the Midwestern United States by developing user-driven decision tools and training resources. The U2U team is a diverse and uniquely qualified group of climatologists, crop modelers, agronomists, and social scientists from 9 Midwestern universities and two NOAA Regional Climate Centers. Together, we strive to help producers make better long-term plans on what, when and where to plant and also how to manage crops for maximum yields and minimum environmental damage. To ensure relevance and usability of U2U products, our social science team is using a number of techniques including surveys and focus groups to integrate stakeholder interests, needs, and concerns into all aspects of U2U research. It is through this coupling of physical and social science disciplines that we strive to transform existing climate information into actionable knowledge.

  6. U Plant Aggregate Area Management study technical baseline report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeFord, D.H.; Carpenter, R.W.

    1995-05-01

    This document was prepared in support of an Aggregate Area Management Study of U Plant. It provides a technical baseline of the aggregate area and results from an environmental investigation that was undertaken by the Technical Baseline Section of the Environmental Engineering Group, Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC), which is currently the Waste Site and Facility Research Office, Natural Resources, Bechtel Hanford, Inc. (BHI). It is based upon review and evaluation of numerous Hanford Site current and historical reports, drawings and photographs, supplemented with site inspections and employee interviews. U Plant refers to the 221-U Process Canyon Building, a chemical separation facility constructed during World War II. It also includes the Uranium Oxide (UO 3 ) Plant constructed at the same time as 221-U as an adjunct to the original plutonium separation process but which, like 221-U, was converted for other missions. Waste sites are associated primarily with U Plant's 1952 through 1958 Uranium Metal Recovery Program mission and the U0 3 Plant's ongoing U0 3 mission. Waste sites include cribs, reverse wells, french drains, septic tanks and drain fields, trenches, catch tanks, settling tanks, diversion boxes, a waste vault, and the lines and encasements that connect them. It also includes the U Pond and its feed ditches and an underground tank farm designed for high-level liquid wastes

  7. Decommissioning of U.S. uranium production facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1995-02-01

    From 1980 to 1993, the domestic production of uranium declined from almost 44 million pounds U{sub 3}O{sub 8} to about 3 million pounds. This retrenchment of the U.S. uranium industry resulted in the permanent closing of many uranium-producing facilities. Current low uranium prices, excess world supply, and low expectations for future uranium demand indicate that it is unlikely existing plants will be reopened. Because of this situation, these facilities eventually will have to be decommissioned. The Uranium Mill Tailings and Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA) vests the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with overall responsibility for establishing environmental standards for decommissioning of uranium production facilities. UMTRCA also gave the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) the responsibility for licensing and regulating uranium production and related activities, including decommissioning. Because there are many issues associated with decommissioning-environmental, political, and financial-this report will concentrate on the answers to three questions: (1) What is required? (2) How is the process implemented? (3) What are the costs? Regulatory control is exercised principally through the NRC licensing process. Before receiving a license to construct and operate an uranium producing facility, the applicant is required to present a decommissioning plan to the NRC. Once the plan is approved, the licensee must post a surety to guarantee that funds will be available to execute the plan and reclaim the site. This report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) represents the most comprehensive study on this topic by analyzing data on 33 (out of 43) uranium production facilities located in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

  8. Decommissioning of U.S. uranium production facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-02-01

    From 1980 to 1993, the domestic production of uranium declined from almost 44 million pounds U 3 O 8 to about 3 million pounds. This retrenchment of the U.S. uranium industry resulted in the permanent closing of many uranium-producing facilities. Current low uranium prices, excess world supply, and low expectations for future uranium demand indicate that it is unlikely existing plants will be reopened. Because of this situation, these facilities eventually will have to be decommissioned. The Uranium Mill Tailings and Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA) vests the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with overall responsibility for establishing environmental standards for decommissioning of uranium production facilities. UMTRCA also gave the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) the responsibility for licensing and regulating uranium production and related activities, including decommissioning. Because there are many issues associated with decommissioning-environmental, political, and financial-this report will concentrate on the answers to three questions: (1) What is required? (2) How is the process implemented? (3) What are the costs? Regulatory control is exercised principally through the NRC licensing process. Before receiving a license to construct and operate an uranium producing facility, the applicant is required to present a decommissioning plan to the NRC. Once the plan is approved, the licensee must post a surety to guarantee that funds will be available to execute the plan and reclaim the site. This report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) represents the most comprehensive study on this topic by analyzing data on 33 (out of 43) uranium production facilities located in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington

  9. [Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) program]. Final report, [January--July 1992

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1992-12-04

    This report summarizes work performed for the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) program from January through July, 1992. Each of the tasks assigned during this period is described, and results are presented. Section I details work on sensitivity matrices for the UDS relay telescope. These matrices show which combination of mirror motions may be performed in order to effect certain changes in beam parameters. In Section II, an analysis is given of transmission through a clipping aperture on the launch telescope deformable mirror. Observed large transmission losses could not be simulated in the analysis. An EXCEL spreadsheet program designed for in situ analysis of UDS optical systems is described in Section III. This spreadsheet permits analysis of changes in beam first-order characteristics due to changes in any optical system parameter, simple optimization to predict mirror motions needed to effect a combination of changes in beam parameters, and plotting of a variety of first-order data. Optical systems may be assembled directly from OSSD data. A CODE V nonsequential model of the UDS optical system is described in Section IV. This uses OSSD data to build the UDS model; mirror coordinates may thus be verified. Section V summarizes observations of relay telescope performance. Possible procedures which allow more accurate assessment of relay telescope performance are given.

  10. F{sub 4}U production by electrolytic reduction; Obtencion de UF{sub 4} por reduccion electrolitica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Esteban Duque, A; Gispert Benach, M; Hernandez Arroyo, F; Montes Ponce de Leon, M.; Rojas de Diego, J L

    1974-07-01

    As a part of the nuclear fuel cycle program developed at the Spanish Atomic Energy Commission it has been studied the electrolytic reduction of U-VI to U-IV. The effect of the materials, electrolyte concentration, pH, current density, cell size and laboratory scale production is studied. The Pilot Plant and the production data are also described. (Author) 18 refs.

  11. TRIO-EF a general thermal hydraulics computer code applied to the Avlis process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magnaud, J.P.; Claveau, M.; Coulon, N.; Yala, P.; Guilbaud, D.; Mejane, A.

    1993-01-01

    TRIO(EF is a general purpose Fluid Mechanics 3D Finite Element Code. The system capabilities cover areas such as steady state or transient, laminar or turbulent, isothermal or temperature dependent fluid flows; it is applicable to the study of coupled thermo-fluid problems involving heat conduction and possibly radiative heat transfer. It has been used to study the thermal behaviour of the AVLIS process separation module. In this process, a linear electron beam impinges the free surface of a uranium ingot, generating a two dimensional curtain emission of vapour from a water-cooled crucible. The energy transferred to the metal causes its partial melting, forming a pool where strong convective motion increases heat transfer towards the crucible. In the upper part of the Separation Module, the internal structures are devoted to two main functions: vapor containment and reflux, irradiation and physical separation. They are subjected to very high temperature levels and heat transfer occurs mainly by radiation. Moreover, special attention has to be paid to electron backscattering. These two major points have been simulated numerically with TRIO-EF and the paper presents and comments the results of such a computation, for each of them. After a brief overview of the computer code, two examples of the TRIO-EF capabilities are given: a crucible thermal hydraulics model, a thermal analysis of the internal structures

  12. Cost analysis for application of solidified waste fission product canisters in U.S. Army steam plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sande, W.E.; Bjorklund, W.J.; Brooks, N.A.

    1977-04-01

    The main objectives of the present study are to design steam plants using projected waste fission product canister characteristics, to analyze the overall impact and cost/benefit to the nuclear fuel cycle associated with these plants, and to develop plans for this application if the cost analysis so warrants it. The construction and operation of a steam plant fueled with waste fission product canisters would require the involvement and cooperation of various government agencies and private industry; thus the philosophies of these groups were studied. These philosophies are discussed, followed by a forecast of canister supply, canister characteristics, and strategies for Army canister use. Another section describes the safety and licensing of these steam plants since this affects design and capital costs. The discussion of steam plant design includes boiler concepts, boiler heat transfer, canister temperature distributions, steam plant size, and steam plant operation. Also, canister transportation is discussed since this influences operating costs. Details of economics of Army steam plants are provided including steam plant capital costs, operating costs, fuel reprocessor savings due to Army canister storage, and overall economics. Recommendations are made in the final section

  13. Availability and characteristics of betel products in the U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blank, Melissa; Deshpande, Laxmikant; Balster, Robert L

    2008-09-01

    Betel use involves oral placement of shards of areca nut (Areca catechu palm seed containing the cholinergic agonist arecoline) wrapped with slaked lime in a betel leaf (Piper betle plant) or various chopped or powdered products containing areca nut and/or parts of the betel plant. Additives to this mixture include catechu (areca palm extract), spices/ sweeteners (e.g., saccharin, cloves), and/or tobacco. Betel use is most common in Asia and East India; however, little is known about the availability and characteristics of these products outside of this region. Thus, a representative sample of betel products and additives was purchased in the Richmond, Virginia area. Five venues were visited between March and May, 2006. Products successfully purchased were those containing betel alone (seven), betel/tobacco (three), tobacco alone (four), and additives (four). Most betel products listed ingredients on the packaging, though some did not explicitly distinguish between those with versus without tobacco. Importantly, seven of seven betel alone and one of three betel/tobacco products omitted any health-related warnings. All products were inexpensive and relatively obtainable in the groceries visited. More research is warranted in order to accurately estimate product emergence into the U.S. and other world markets, and the consequent impact on public health.

  14. 7 CFR 302.2 - Movement of plants and plant products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Movement of plants and plant products. 302.2 Section... INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; MOVEMENT OF PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS § 302.2 Movement of plants and plant products. Inspection or documentation of the plant health status of...

  15. Incidence of Listeria spp. in Ready-to-Eat Food Processing Plant Environments Regulated by the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinhard, Robert G; Kalinowski, Robin M; Bodnaruk, Peter W; Eifert, Joseph D; Boyer, Renee R; Duncan, Susan E; Bailey, R Hartford

    2018-06-07

    A multiyear survey of 31 ready-to-eat (RTE) food processing plants in the United States was conducted to determine the incidence of Listeria spp. in various RTE production environments. Samples were collected from 22 RTE plants regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and from 9 RTE food plants regulated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Only nonfood contact surfaces in the RTE manufacturing areas with exposed RTE product were sampled. Each sample was individually analyzed for the presence of Listeria spp. by using a PCR-based rapid assay. In total, 4,829 samples were collected from various locations, including freezers, equipment framework, floors, walls, wall-floor junctures, drains, floor mats, doors, and cleaning tools. Nine (29%) of the facilities had zero samples positive for Listeria spp. in the production environment, whereas 22 (71%) had one or more samples positive for Listeria spp. The total incidence of Listeria spp. in all RTE food plants was 4.5%. The positive rate in plants regulated by the FSIS ranged from 0 to 9.7%, whereas the positive rate in plants regulated by the FDA ranged from 1.2 to 36%.

  16. Site-specific standard request for underground storage tanks 1219-U, 1222-U, 2082-U, and 2068-U at the rust garage facility buildings 9754-1 and 9720-15: Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Facility ID No. 0-010117

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-12-01

    This document represents a Site-specific Standard Request for underground storage tanks (USTs) 1219-U,1222-U and 2082-U previously located at former Building 9754-1, and tank 2086-U previously located at Building 9720-15, Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The tanks previously contained petroleum products. For the purposes of this report, the two building sites will be regarded as a single UST site and will be referred to as the Rust Garage Facility. The current land use associated with the Y-12 Plant is light industrial and the operational period of the plant is projected to be at least 30 years. Thus, potential future residential exposures are not expected to occur for at least 30 years. Based on the degradation coefficient for benzene (the only carcinogenic petroleum constituent detected in soils or groundwater at the Rust Garage Facility), it is expected that the benzene and other contaminants at the site will likely be reduced prior to expiration of the 30-year plant operational period. As the original sources of petroleum contamination have been removed, and the area of petroleum contamination is limited, a site-specific standard is therefore being requested for the Rust Garage Facility

  17. Estimation of build up of dose rate on U3O8 product drum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pandey, J.P.N.; Shinde, A.M.; Deshpande, M.D.

    2008-01-01

    In fuel reprocessing plant, plutonium oxide and uranium oxide (U 3 O 8 ) are products. Approximately 180 kg U 3 O 8 is filled in SS drum and sealed firmly before storage. In PHWR natural uranium (UO 2 ) is used as fuel. In natural uranium, thorium-232 is present as an impurity at few tens of ppm level. During irradiation in power reactors, due to nuclear reaction formation of 232 U from 232 Th takes place. Natural decay of 232 U leads to the formation of 208 Tl. As time passes, there is buildup of 208 Tl and hence increase in dose rate on the drum containing U 3 O 8 . It is essential to estimate the buildup of dose rate considering the external radiological hazards involved during U 3 O 8 drum handling, transportation and fuel fabrication. This paper describes the calculation of dose rate on drum in future years using MCNP code. For dose rate calculation decay of fission product activity which remains as contamination in product and build up of '2 08 Tl from 232 U is considered. Some measured values of dose rate on U 3 O 8 drum are given for the comparisons with estimated dose rate based on MCNP code. (author)

  18. U.S. Nuclear Power Reactor Plant Status

    Data.gov (United States)

    Nuclear Regulatory Commission — Demographic data on U.S. commercial nuclear power reactors, including: plant name/unit number, docket number, location, licensee, reactor/containment type, nuclear...

  19. France makes steady progress with lasers [enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coates, J.-H.; Clerc, M.; Plurien, P.

    1988-01-01

    With the CHEMEX process now a commercially available technology, the French Commissariat a l'Energie (CEA) is focussing its R and D activity on two enrichment processes: gaseous diffusion, and atomic vapour laser isotope separation (AVLIS or SILVA). The SILVA process is being developed, with particular attention being paid to test campaigns undertaken on the pilot unit installed at Saclay. A core of technical know-how is being maintained in gaseous diffusion in order to study the behaviour of, and possible improvements to, the newly named George Besse plant at the Tricastin site. (U.K.)

  20. Western Areas new U plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1982-01-01

    On March 30, 1982 Western Areas Gold Mining Company Limited's uranium plant was officialy opened. The plant is designed to treat 100 000t/month of uranium bearing ore. The majority of this ore is from the Middle Elsburg series, while the miner part comes from routing upgrated Upper Elsburg products into the uranium plant treatment route. The forward leach concept of gold and uranium extraction is adopted, i.e. the gold is extracted before the uranium. The flow of work, instrumentation, electrical installation and other facilities at the plant are also discussed

  1. AVAILABILITY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF BETEL PRODUCTS IN THE U.S.†

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blank, Melissa; Deshpande, Laxmikant; Balster, Robert L.

    2009-01-01

    Betel use involves oral placement of shards of areca nut (Areca catechu palm seed containing the cholinergic agonist arecoline) wrapped with slaked lime in a betel leaf (Piper betle plant) or various chopped or powdered products containing areca nut and/or parts of the betel plant. Additives to this mixture include catechu (areca palm extract), spices/sweeteners (e.g., saccharin, cloves), and/or tobacco. Betel use is most common in Asia and East India; however, little is known about the availability and characteristics of these products outside of this region. Thus, a representative sample of betel products and additives was purchased in the Richmond, Virginia area. Five venues were visited between March and May, 2006. Products successfully purchased were those containing betel alone (seven), betel/tobacco (three), tobacco alone (four), and additives (four). Most betel products listed ingredients on the packaging, though some did not explicitly distinguish between those with versus without tobacco. Importantly, seven of seven betel alone and one of three betel/tobacco products omitted any health-related warnings. All products were inexpensive and relatively obtainable in the groceries visited. More research is warranted in order to accurately estimate product emergence into the U.S. and other world markets, and the consequent impact on public health. PMID:19004423

  2. Auditable safety analysis for the surveillance and maintenance of U plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cuneo, V.J.

    1997-02-01

    This document provides the auditable safety analysis for the post-deactivation, long-term surveillance and maintenance (S ampersand amp;M) phase of the U Plant. The U Plant is an inactive, surplus facility constructed in 1944 as one of three original chemical separations plants. However, U-Plant was never used for its original purpose and was eventually transferred to S ampersand amp;M. In 1957 it was converted to the tributyl phosphate process to recover uranium from the bismuth phosphate process waste. In 1958 it was placed on standby and was used to store inoperable and contaminated equipment from other facilities.This document evaluates the ability of the U Plant to withstand the effects of natural phenomena hazard events and describes the active support systems used to maintain ventilation and/or prevent the spread of contamination. This document also evaluates S ampersand amp;M activities that are routinely required (i.e., the S ampersand amp;M of facility barriers, equipment, structures, and postings [including repair and upgrade]; measures to identify, remove, or repair damaged asbestos; measures to identify, remove, or appropriately manage existing containers of hazardous substances; the performance of spill response measures as needed; and perform nondestructive assaying, waste characterization, and sampling). This document identifies the type and nature of the hazards presented by the U Plant and the specific controls that are required to maintain these hazards at acceptable levels

  3. Drivers of biomass co-firing in U.S. coal-fired power plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael E. Goerndt; Francisco X. Aguilar; Kenneth Skog

    2013-01-01

    Substantial knowledge has been generated in the U.S. about the resource base for forest and other residue-derived biomass for bioenergy including co-firing in power plants. However, a lack of understanding regarding power plant-level operations and manager perceptions of drivers of biomass co-firing remains. This study gathered information from U.S. power plant...

  4. Productivity growth patterns in US dairy products manufacturing plants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geylani, P.C.; Stefanou, S.E.

    2011-01-01

    We analyse the productivity growth patterns in the US dairy products industry using the Census Bureau's plant-level data set. We decompose Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth into the scale and technical change components and analyse variability of plants' productivity by constructing transition

  5. Historical plant cost and annual production expenses for selected electric plants, 1982

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    This publication is a composite of the two prior publications, Hydroelectric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses and Thermal-Electric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses. Beginning in 1979, Thermal-Electric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses contained information on both steam-electric and gas-turbine electric plant construction cost and annual production expenses. The summarized historical plant cost described under Historical Plant Cost in this report is the net cumulative-to-date actual outlays or expenditures for land, structures, and equipment to the utility. Historical plant cost is the initial investment in plant (cumulative to the date of initial commercial operation) plus the costs of all additions to the plant, less the value of retirements. Thus, historical plant cost includes expenditures made over several years, as modifications are made to the plant. Power Production Expenses is the reporting year's plant operation and maintenance expenses, including fuel expenses. These expenses do not include annual fixed charges on plant cost (capital costs) such as interest on debt, depreciation or amortization expenses, and taxes. Consequently, total production expenses and the derived unit costs are not the total cost of producing electric power at the various plants. This publication contains data on installed generating capacity, net generation, net capability, historical plant cost, production expenses, fuel consumption, physical and operating plant characteristics, and other relevant statistical information for selected plants

  6. Bioaccumulation of polonium ({sup 210}Po) and uranium ({sup 234}U, {sup 238}U) in plants around phosphogypsum waste heap in Wislinka (northern Poland)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borylo, A.; Skwarzec, B. [Gdansk Univ. (Poland). Faculty of Chemistry

    2011-07-01

    In the study the activities of polonium {sup 210}Po and uranium {sup 234}U, {sup 238}U in plants, collected near phosphogypsum waste heap in Wis'linka (northern Poland), were determined by using the alpha spectrometry. The obtained results revealed that the concentrations of {sup 210}Po, {sup 234}U, and {sup 238}U in the analyzed plants were differentiated. In the analyzed flora organisms the highest amounts of polonium and uranium were found in ruderal plant samples as well as willow samples (Salix viminalis) from protection zone of phosphogypsum waste heap. The concentrations of {sup 210}Po, {sup 234}U and {sup 238}U in the analyzed plants were higher in roots than in green parts of plants. The higher concentrations of {sup 210}Po and {sup 238}U radionuclides were estimated for hydrophyte (common sedge Carex nigra Reichard), the favourite habitat of which is particularly wet meadow and for plants collected in the vicinity of phosphogypsum waste heap. The major source of polonium and uranium in analyzed plants is root system. The values of {sup 234}U/ {sup 238}U activity ratio in all analyzed plants are closed to one, what indicated that source of uranium in analyzed plants is phosphogypsum. The highest uranium and polonium concentrations were characterized for plants, which are covered with tomentose. The comparability polonium and uranium contents were confirmed in edible plants, but higher accumulation was determined in ripe species than immature species of vegetables. The higher polonium and uranium concentrations were noticed in green parts of plant, the lower in roots. Polonium concentration in cultivated plants samples was not species diverse. Therefore, the significant source of polonium and uranium in analyzed plants is wet and dry atmospheric falls gathering the soil and air dust from phosphogypsum waste dump. The maximum {sup 210}Po and {sup 238}U radionuclides concentrations were found in green parts of red beet (Beta vulgaris esculenta), the

  7. Geographic proximity to coal plants and U.S. public support for extending the Production Tax Credit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldfarb, Jillian L.; Buessing, Marric; Kriner, Douglas L.

    2016-01-01

    The Production Tax Credit (PTC) is an important policy instrument through which the federal government promotes renewable energy development in the United States. However, the efficacy of the PTC is hampered by repeated expirations and short-term extensions, and by the general uncertainty surrounding its future status. We examine the factors driving variation in public support for the extension of the PTC using a nationally representative, internet-based survey. Americans living near a coal-fired power plant are significantly more likely to support extending the PTC than are their peers who are more insulated from the externalities of burning coal. The evidence for this dynamic was strongest and most statistically significant among subjects experimentally primed to think about the adverse health effects of burning coal. Raising awareness of the public health ramifications of generating electricity from fossil fuels holds the potential to increase support for renewable energy policies among those living in proximity to coal plants, even in a highly politicized policy debate. - Highlights: • Proximity to coal power plant increases support for Production Tax Credit. • Attitudes toward global warming influence support for PTC. • Raising awareness of health threat increases PTC support if living near coal plant.

  8. Plant/soil concentration ratios of 226Ra for contrasting sites around an active U mine-mill

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibrahim, S.A.; Whicker, F.W.

    1988-01-01

    Concentrations of 226Ra were determined in native vegetation and underlying substrate (soil and tailings) at various sites around a conventional open-pit, acid leach U production operation in Wyoming. Plant/soil concentration ratios (CRs) for 226Ra were estimated for various sites, including weathered tailings; a tailings impoundment shoreline; downwind from exposed tailings; a mine overburden reclamation area; and several background locations. Radium-226 concentrations for vegetation and substrate and CR values from the perturbed sites were elevated above background. The highest vegetation concentration (1.3 Bq g-1) was found in a grass which had invaded exposed, weathered tailings. Levels of 226Ra in soil and vegetation and CR values decreased with distance from the tailings impoundment edge. CR values varied significantly among sites, but few differences were found between plant species groups. The observed CR values ranged from 0.07 at the background and reclamation areas to 0.4 downwind from the tailings area. Average CR values for plants growing on exposed tailings and within one meter from the impoundment edge were 0.15 and 0.3, respectively. CR values of 226Ra for plants on tailings substrates were comparatively low in contrast to other radionuclides in the U chain. We speculate that in the case of sulfuric acid leached tailings-derived material, 226Ra is sequestered as sulfate, which is highly insoluble relative to the sulfates of the other elements (e.g., U and Th) resulting in reduced availability for plant uptake

  9. Operation of plant to produce Mo-99 from fission products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marques, R.O.; Cristini, P.R.; Marziale, D.P.; Furnari, E.S.; Fernandez, H.O.

    1987-01-01

    As it is well known, the production of Mo-99/Tc-99m generators has an outstanding place in radioisotope programs of the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission. The basic raw material is Mo-99 from fission of U-235. In 1985 the production plant of this radionuclide began to operate, according to an adaptation of the method that was developed in Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe. The present work describes the target irradiation conditions in the reactor RA-3 (mini plates of U/Al alloy with 90% enriched uranium), the flow diagram and the operative conditions of the production process. The containment, filtration and removal conditions of the generated fission gases and the disposal of liquid and solid wastes are also analyzed. On the basis of the experience achieved in the development of more than twenty production processes, process efficiency is analyzed, taking into account the theoretical evaluation resulting from the application of the computer program 'Origin'(ORML) to the conditions of our case. The purity characteristics of the final product are reported (Zr-95 0,1 ppm; Nb-95 1 ppm; Ru-103 20 ppm; I-131 10 ppm) as well as the chemical characteristics that make it suitable to be used in the production of Mo-99/I c-99m generators. (Author)

  10. Analysis of 235U enrichment by chemical exchange in U(IV) - U(VI) system on anionite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raica, Paula; Axente, Damian

    2007-01-01

    Full text: A theoretical study about the 235 U enrichment by chemical exchange method in U(IV)-U(VI) system on anion-exchange resins is presented. The 235 U isotope concentration profiles along the band were numerically calculated using an accurate mathematical model and simulations were carried out for the situation of product and waste withdrawal and feed supply. By means of numerical simulation, an estimation of the migration time, necessary for a desired enrichment degree, was obtained. The required migration distance, the production of uranium 3 at.% 235 U per year and the plant configuration are calculated for different operating conditions. An analysis of the process scale for various experimental conditions is also presented. (authors)

  11. Laser isotope purification of lead for use in semiconductor chip interconnects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scheibner, K.; Haynam, C.; Worden, E.; Esser, B.

    1996-01-01

    Lead, used throughout the electronics industries, typically contains small amounts of radioactive 210 Pb (a daughter product of the planets ubiquitous 238 U) whose 210 Po daughter emits an α-particle that is known to cause soft errors in electronic circuits. The 210 Pb is not separable by chemical means. This paper describes the generic Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) process developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) over the last 20 years, with particular emphasis on recent efforts to develop the process physics and component technologies required to remove the offending 210 Pb using lasers. We have constructed a developmental facility that includes a process laser development area and a test bed for the vaporizer and ion and product collectors. We will be testing much of the equipment and demonstrating pilot scale AVLIS on a surrogate material later this year. Detection of the very low alpha emission even from commercially available low-alpha lead is challenging. LLNL's detection capabilities will be described. The goal of the development of lead purification technology is to demonstrate the capability in FY97, and to deploy a production machine capable of up to several MT/y of isotopically purified material, possible beginning in FY98

  12. 9 CFR 102.5 - U.S. Veterinary Biological Product License.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false U.S. Veterinary Biological Product... BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS § 102.5 U.S. Veterinary Biological Product License. (a) Authorization to produce each biological product shall be specified on a U.S. Veterinary Biological Product License, issued by the...

  13. Maintaining the safe operation of U.S. nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skavdahl, R.E.

    1991-01-01

    The more than one hundred nuclear power plants in the U.S. are a vital resource that provides about 20% of the electrical power production. Although about half the plants are more than 15 years old, there is no evidence of age-related deterioration in any of the key indicators of industry performance; indeed, the continuing improvement in all these indicators shows the industry is maturing, not growing old. The Institute for Nuclear Power Operations's performance assessment and training programs have spurred a heavy industry-wide commitment to improved training. These efforts are the key to excellence in the performance of operations and maintenance personnel. The interface between the reactor and the operator has been improved through control room design reviews, the implementation of a Safety Parameter Display System, and emergency procedure guidelines. These improvements ensure that the operators will be able to perform their functions under any circumstances they may encounter. Led by NUMARC, the industry initiative to improve plant maintenance programs incorporates such elements as the INPO performance standards, enhanced monitoring through the use of the Nuclear Plant Reliability Data System, Reliability Centered Maintenance, and improvements in plant technical specifications. These elements bring the latest available technology to plant maintenance programs. Equipment replacements are frequently made to take advantage of improvements in technology. Aside from the performance enhancements they offer, such replacements also serve to keep the plants young. By leveraging their resources through the owners groups, utilities are able to quickly and efficiently solve problems together that they could not afford to attack individually. Even the highly unlikely hypothetical severe accidents are addressed in a systematic fashion through the application of Probabilistic Risk Assessments. 15 figs

  14. Managing Environmentally-Assisted Fatigue in U. S. Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilman, T. D.

    2014-01-01

    Nuclear plants in the United States were originally licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for 40 years of operation, but most of these plans have or are planning on renewing their license to 60 years. Plants are required by federal law to manage the aging effects of systems, structures and components in the scope of license renewal. One of the aging effects is environmentally-assisted fatigue of the primary system vessels and piping. This article discusses the strategies that U. S. utilities have utilized in order to safety NRC concerns with respect to fatigue damage in nuclear plants. (Author)

  15. A study on possible use of Urtica dioica (common nettle) plants as uranium (234U, 238U) contamination bioindicator near phosphogypsum stockpile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olszewski, Grzegorz; Boryło, Alicja; Skwarzec, Bogdan

    The aim of this study was to determine uranium concentrations in common nettle ( Urtica dioica ) plants and corresponding soils samples which were collected from the area of phosphogypsum stockpile in Wiślinka (northern Poland). The uranium concentrations in roots depended on its concentrations in soils. Calculated BCF and TF values showed that soils characteristics and air deposition affect uranium absorption and that different uranium species have different affinities to U . dioica plants. The values of 234 U/ 238 U activity ratio indicate natural origin of these radioisotopes in analyzed plants. Uranium concentration in plants roots is negatively weakly correlated with distance from phosphogypsum stockpile.

  16. A study on possible use of Urtica dioica (common nettle) plants as uranium (234U, 238U) contamination bioindicator near phosphogypsum stockpile

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olszewski, Grzegorz; Borylo, Alicja; Skwarzec, Bogdan

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine uranium concentrations in common nettle (Urtica dioica) plants and corresponding soils samples which were collected from the area of phosphogypsum stockpile in Wislinka (northern Poland). The uranium concentrations in roots depended on its concentrations in soils. Calculated BCF and TF values showed that soils characteristics and air deposition affect uranium absorption and that different uranium species have different affinities to U. dioica plants. The values of 234 U/ 238 U activity ratio indicate natural origin of these radioisotopes in analyzed plants. Uranium concentration in plants roots is negatively weakly correlated with distance from phosphogypsum stockpile. (author)

  17. Terrestrial plant methane production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mikkelsen, Teis Nørgaard; Bruhn, Dan; Møller, Ian M.

    We evaluate all experimental work published on the phenomenon of aerobic methane (CH4) generation in terrestrial plants. We conclude that the phenomenon is true. Four stimulating factors have been observed to induce aerobic plant CH4 production, i.e. cutting injuries, increasing temperature...... the aerobic methane emission in plants. Future work is needed for establishing the relative contribution of several proven potential CH4 precursors in plant material....

  18. Analysis of license renewal at U.S. Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagayama, Munehiro

    2017-01-01

    The U.S. NRC had implemented the rules for LR (License Renewal) of NPPs (Nuclear Power Plants) and the LR rules allow plus 20-year operation of NPPs adding to initial 40-year term for reactor license. The U.S. NRC has already issued ROL (Renewed Operating License) for over forty NPPs. The Atomic Energy Act do not limit the number of LR, so the fleet of U.S. Nuclear, including agency, industry and academy, is continuing efforts to develop rules for SLR (Subsequent License Renewal). The framework of SLR rules has been developed and there is a plan of implementation of SLR for a pilot plant on FY 2018. The total operating term of a SLR plant is 80-year. The LR/SLR of NPPs is effective for stable power supply, greenhouse gas suppression, maintenance of technology, and securing employment. These profits will return to society. It is important to maintain required function of SSCs (Structure, System, and Components) for period of long term operation of NPPs. The U.S. fleet has established integrated ageing management strategy and each NPPs is developing their maintenance plans for long term operation. These adequate maintenance plans may enable to achieve good capacity factor of LR applied NPPs. In this report, domestic LR position will be considered by referring the good performance of U.S. NPPs which entered long term operation beyond 40-year and some conditions such as energy security. (author)

  19. RTAP evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cupps, K.; Elko, S.; Folta, P. [and others

    1995-01-23

    An in-depth analysis of the RTAP product was undertaken within the CNC associate program to determine the feasibility of utilizing it to replace the current Supervisory Control System that supports the AVLIS program. This document contains the results of that evaluation. With some fundamental redesign the current Supervisory Control system could meet the needs described above. The redesign would require a large amount of software rewriting and would be very time consuming. The higher level functionality (alarming, automation, etc.) would have to wait until its completion. Our current understanding and preliminary testing indicate that using commercial software is the best way to get these new features at the minimum cost to the program. Additional savings will be obtained by moving the maintenance costs of the basic control system from in-house to commercial industry and allowing our developers to concentrate on the unique control areas that require customization. Our current operating system, VMS, has become a hindrance. The UNIX operating system has become the choice for most scientific and engineering systems and we should follow suit. As a result of the commercial system survey referenced above we selected RTAP, a SCADA product developed by Hewlett Packard (HP), as the most favorable product to replace the current supervisory system in AVLIS. It is an extremely open system, with a large, well defined Application Programming Interface (API). This will allow the seamless integration of unique front end devices in the laser area (e.g. Optical Device Controller). RTAP also possesses various functionality that is lacking in our current system: integrated alarming, real-time configurable database, system scalability, and a Sequence Control Language (SQL developed by CPU, an RTAP Channel Partner) that will facilitate the automation necessary to bring the AVLIS process to plant-line operation. It runs on HP-9000, DEC-Alpha, IBM-RS6000 and Sun Workstations.

  20. Study on the radioactivity and soil-to-plant transfer factor of 226Ra, 234U and 238U radionuclides in irrigated farms from the northwestern Saudi Arabia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Hamarneh, Ibrahim F.; Alkhomashi, N.; Almasoud, Fahad I.

    2016-01-01

    The present study addresses the soil-to-plant transfer factors (TFs) of 226 Ra, 234 U and 238 U for 13 types of vegetables and agricultural crops planted under semi-arid environment in the northwestern part of Saudi Arabia. Crop plants along with plant-growing soils were collected from selected farms, which are irrigated from the non-renewable Saq aquifer, and investigated for their radioactivity content by means of alpha spectrometry after applying a radiochemical separation procedure. Hence, TF data for plant roots, green parts (stem and leaves) and fruits were calculated and contrasted to those reported in the literature. Substantial differences were observed in the TFs of Ra and U radioisotopes among plant species. In crop fruits, eggplant exhibited the highest uptake of 226 Ra (TF value of 0.11), while beans (0.16) have the highest TF for 234 U and 238 U. The geometric mean TF values indicated that the crop roots tend to accumulate Ra and U about four to six-folds higher than fruits. The relation between TF values and soil concentrations showed a weak correlation. Activity ratios between radionuclides in crop plants indicated the preferential translocation of U in fruits than Ra even though Ra is more available for root uptake. The fruit/root (F/R) ratios obtained for the investigated plants shown that pepper had the smallest F/R ratios (0.07 ± 0.01, 0.12 ± 0.02 and 0.11 ± 0.02 for 226 Ra, 234 U and 238 U, respectively), while the highest F/R ratios were observed in potatoes (0.71 ± 0.15, 0.44 ± 0.10 and 0.40 ± 0.08 for 226 Ra, 234 U and 238 U, respectively). The TF and F/R ratios data of natural radionuclides in the study region can hopefully improve the scientific knowledge for future studies. - Highlights: • Ra and U isotopes were measured in soils and plant crops in farms in Saudi Arabia. • Ra and U activities in plant roots (R) slightly exceeded that in their fruits (F). • Ra/U activity ratios showed preferential translocation of U

  1. Dry alcohol production plant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanković Mirjana S.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The IGPC Engineering Department designed basic projects for dry alcohol production plant, using technology developed in the IGPC laboratories. Several projects were completed: technological, machine, electrical, automation. On the basis of these projects a production plant with a capacity of 40 m3/y was manufactured, at "Zorka Pharma", Šabac in 1995-1996. The product meets all quality demands, as well as environmental regulations. The dry alcohol production process is fully automatized. There is no waste in the process, neither gaseous, nor liquid. The chosen process provides safe operation according to temperature regime and resistance in the pipes, air purification columns and filters. Working at increased pressure is suitable for evaporation and condensation at increased temperatures. The production process can be controlled manually, which is necessary during start-up, and repairs.

  2. Assessing Metal Exposures in a Community near a Cement Plant in the Northeast U.S.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhao Dong

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Cement production is a major source of metals and metalloids in the environment, while exposures to metals and metalloids may impact human health in the surrounding communities. We recruited 185 participants living in the vicinity of a cement plant in the northeast U.S., and measured the levels of aluminum (Al, arsenic (As, cadmium (Cd, lead (Pb, mercury (Hg, and selenium (Se in blood and Hg in hair samples from them. A questionnaire was used to assess potential sources of Hg exposure. Multivariate regressions and spatial analyses were performed to evaluate the relative importance of different routes of exposures. The metal concentrations in blood or hair samples of our study participants were comparable to the U.S. general or regional population. Smoking contributed significantly to Cd and Pb exposures, and seafood consumption contributed significantly to Hg and As exposures, while variables related to the cement plant were not significantly associated with metal concentrations. Our results suggest that our study population was not at elevated health risk due to metal exposures, and that the contribution of the cement plant to metal exposures in the surrounding community was minimal.

  3. Detection of illicit HEU production in gaseous centrifuge enrichment plants using neutron counting techniques on product cylinders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freeman, Corey R.; Geist, William H.

    2010-01-01

    Innovative and novel safeguards approaches are needed for nuclear energy to meet global energy needs without the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation. Part of these efforts will include creating verification techniques that can monitor uranium enrichment facilities for illicit production of highly-enriched uranium (HEU). Passive nondestructive assay (NDA) techniques will be critical in preventing illicit HEU production because NDA offers the possibility of continuous and unattended monitoring capabilities with limited impact on facility operations. Gaseous centrifuge enrichment plants (GCEP) are commonly used to produce low-enriched uranium (LEU) for reactor fuel. In a GCEP, gaseous UF 6 spins at high velocities in centrifuges to separate the molecules containing 238 U from those containing the lighter 235 U. Unfortunately, the process for creating LEU is inherently the same as HEU, creating a proliferation concern. Insuring that GCEPs are producing declared enrichments poses many difficult challenges. In a GCEP, large cascade halls operating thousands of centrifuges work together to enrich the uranium which makes effective monitoring of the cascade hall economically prohibitive and invasive to plant operations. However, the enriched uranium exiting the cascade hall fills product cylinders where the UF 6 gas sublimes and condenses for easier storage and transportation. These product cylinders hold large quantities of enriched uranium, offering a strong signal for NDA measurement. Neutrons have a large penetrability through materials making their use advantageous compared to gamma techniques where the signal is easily attenuated. One proposed technique for detecting HEU production in a GCEP is using neutron coincidence counting at the product cylinder take off stations. This paper discusses findings from Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) code simulations that examine the feasibility of such a detector.

  4. Methods of dealing with co-products of biofuels in life-cycle analysis and consequent results within the U.S. context

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Michael; Huo Hong; Arora, Salil

    2011-01-01

    Products other than biofuels are produced in biofuel plants. For example, corn ethanol plants produce distillers' grains and solubles. Soybean crushing plants produce soy meal and soy oil, which is used for biodiesel production. Electricity is generated in sugarcane ethanol plants both for internal consumption and export to the electric grid. Future cellulosic ethanol plants could be designed to co-produce electricity with ethanol. It is important to take co-products into account in the life-cycle analysis of biofuels and several methods are available to do so. Although the International Standard Organization's ISO 14040 advocates the system boundary expansion method (also known as the 'displacement method' or the 'substitution method') for life-cycle analyses, application of the method has been limited because of the difficulty in identifying and quantifying potential products to be displaced by biofuel co-products. As a result, some LCA studies and policy-making processes have considered alternative methods. In this paper, we examine the available methods to deal with biofuel co-products, explore the strengths and weaknesses of each method, and present biofuel LCA results with different co-product methods within the U.S. context.

  5. Methods of dealing with co-products of biofuels in life-cycle analysis and consequent results within the U.S. context

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Michael, E-mail: mqwang@anl.gov [Center for Transportation Research, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Huo Hong [Institute of Energy, Environment, and Economics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 (China); Arora, Salil [Center for Transportation Research, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States)

    2011-10-15

    Products other than biofuels are produced in biofuel plants. For example, corn ethanol plants produce distillers' grains and solubles. Soybean crushing plants produce soy meal and soy oil, which is used for biodiesel production. Electricity is generated in sugarcane ethanol plants both for internal consumption and export to the electric grid. Future cellulosic ethanol plants could be designed to co-produce electricity with ethanol. It is important to take co-products into account in the life-cycle analysis of biofuels and several methods are available to do so. Although the International Standard Organization's ISO 14040 advocates the system boundary expansion method (also known as the 'displacement method' or the 'substitution method') for life-cycle analyses, application of the method has been limited because of the difficulty in identifying and quantifying potential products to be displaced by biofuel co-products. As a result, some LCA studies and policy-making processes have considered alternative methods. In this paper, we examine the available methods to deal with biofuel co-products, explore the strengths and weaknesses of each method, and present biofuel LCA results with different co-product methods within the U.S. context.

  6. Review of AVLIS technology for production-scale LIS systems and construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, J.I.; Moses, E.I.

    1983-12-01

    The use of lasers for uranium and/or plutonium isotope separation is expected to be the first application of lasers utilizing specific atomic processes for large-scale materials processing. Specific accomplishments toward the development of production-scale technology for LIS systems will be presented, along with the status of major construction projects. 24 figures

  7. Update on the status of life extension in U.S. Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hevia Ruperez, F.; Lehnert, D.F.; Gregor, F.E.

    1997-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to provide an update on the status of key activities that may affect the plant life extension option for U.S. nuclear power plants and to explain how the progress on the regulatory and technical developments may affect the world-wide nuclear industry. Establishing a predictable and stable regulatory process is the final piece that is needed by U.S. utilities to confidently consider the plant life extension option in their strategic planning. Certain technical issues were also identified in the previous studies where additional investigation would benedict the U.S. nuclear power industry's understanding of an aging effect and/or capability to demonstrate that the aging effect can be effectively managed. It is concluded that the lessons learned from the U.S. industry activities and the associated interactions with the NRC are leading to a positive indication that U.S. utilities believe the differences between the NRC and industry on the implementation of the amended license renewal rule can be successfully resolved and the that many utilities generally are interested in pursuing the life extension option as part of their strategic planning. The methodology and guidance developed in the U.S. for performing integrated plant assessments and evaluating time-limited aging analyses will be of significant interest to utilities and regulators in other countries. They will undoubtedly lay the foundation for an acceptable approach for demonstrating that aging processes are being processes are being effectively managed by plant programs and that safety margins or bases will be maintained during an extended operating period. (Author)

  8. Uptake of actinides and nuclear fission products in graminaceous and nongraminaceous plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ely, Stephanie Lynn

    Radionuclides exist within the environment naturally and also from release during nuclear power and weapons production. The ability of plants to uptake radionuclides may prove beneficial for exploitation in the field of phytoremediation and as a biomonitor within the field of nuclear forensics. The fact that plants have the ability to take up radionuclides as an unintended metabolic process is well known, however, the mechanisms through which uptake occur present large gaps within the current research. Therefore, gaining further knowledge regarding overall plant radionuclide uptake and specific mechanisms may prove as an invaluable tool to enhance phytoremediation and nuclear forensic efforts. Within this work, controlled laboratory experiments were conducted in order to determine any uptake differences between graminaceous (rye grass) and nongraminaceous (cucumber) plants. A matrix of samples were individually spiked with known amounts of Sr, Cs, Th, U as well as ligands of acetate, citrate, DFOB. Uptake was compared through the calculation and analysis of distribution coefficients within the roots and shoots of each plant sample. A variety of trends were observed throughout this study. Overall, it was determined that the cucumber plant takes up slightly higher concentrations within both the roots and the shoots, except for within the Cs set of samples. Within the Cs samples it was determined that uptake was much higher in the rye grass than in the cucumber plant. Therefore, it was concluded that it may be more beneficial to focus on the collection of grasses and other graminaceous plants when the goal is to collect a plant to determine nuclear activity within the vicinity of a facility. This is due to the fact that Cs is generally released at higher concentrations than other radionuclides during the process of nuclear power and energy production. Similarly, grasses may also be desired as the main focus for phytoremediation efforts due to the fact that Cs is a

  9. Atomic vapor laser isotope separation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stern, R.C.; Paisner, J.A.

    1985-01-01

    Atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) is a general and powerful technique. A major present application to the enrichment of uranium for light-water power reactor fuel has been under development for over 10 years. In June 1985 the Department of Energy announced the selection of AVLIS as the technology to meet the nation's future need for the internationally competitive production of uranium separative work. The economic basis for this decision is considered, with an indicated of the constraints placed on the process figures of merit and the process laser system. We then trace an atom through a generic AVLIS separator and give examples of the physical steps encountered, the models used to describe the process physics, the fundamental parameters involved, and the role of diagnostic laser measurements

  10. Wet water glass production plant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanković Mirjana S.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The IGPC Engineering Department designed basic projects for a wet hydrate dissolution plant, using technology developed in the IGPC laboratories. Several projects were completed: technological, machine, electrical, automation. On the basis of these projects, a production plant of a capacity of 75,000 t/y was manufactured, at "Zeolite Mira", Mira (VE, Italy, in 1997. and 1998, increasing detergent zeolite production, from 50,000 to 100,000 t/y. Several goals were realized by designing a wet hydrate dissolution plant. The main goal was increasing the detergent zeolite production. The technological cycle of NaOH was closed, and no effluents emitted, and there is no pollution (except for the filter cake. The wet water glass production process is fully automatized, and the product has uniform quality. The production process can be controlled manually, which is necessary during start - up, and repairs. By installing additional process equipment (centrifugal pumps and heat exchangers technological bottlenecks were overcome, and by adjusting the operation of autoclaves, and water glass filters and also by optimizing the capacities of process equipment.

  11. New salty waffle products "Fish Krekis" with fish & plant semifinished products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fedorova Dina

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The study examines the directions of expansion of the range of wafer snack products of high nutritional value by using fish & plant semifinished products. The study scientifically grounds the benefits of using the new fish & plant semifinished products in manufacturing waffle salty snack products. The data provided in the article prove that the use of the fish & plant semifinished products & herbal ingredients enable a range of the new wafer snack products «Fish krekis» with high content of proteins, organic calcium, fiber and vitamins, with improved consumer properties, as well as more efficient use of Ukrainian raw fish materials.

  12. A HUMAN FACTORS META MODEL FOR U.S. NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CONTROL ROOM MODERNIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joe, Jeffrey C.

    2017-03-01

    Over the last several years, the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) has sponsored human factors research and development (R&D) and human factors engineering (HFE) activities through its Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program to modernize the main control rooms (MCR) of commercial nuclear power plants (NPP). Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in partnership with numerous commercial nuclear utilities, has conducted some of this R&D to enable the life extension of NPPs (i.e., provide the technical basis for the long-term reliability, productivity, safety, and security of U.S. NPPs). From these activities performed to date, a human factors meta model for U.S. NPP control room modernization can now be formulated. This paper discusses this emergent HFE meta model for NPP control room modernization, with the goal of providing an integrated high level roadmap and guidance on how to perform human factors R&D and HFE for those in the U.S. nuclear industry that are engaging in the process of upgrading their MCRs.

  13. An Analysis of the U.S. Wood Products Import Sector: Prospects for Tropical Wood Products Exporters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W.A.R.T.W. Bandara

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The U.S. has dramatically altered its wood product imports and exports during the past few years,and at present, it is the second largest wood product importer in the world. Hence, an understanding ofmarket structures, factors in selecting foreign suppliers, and the emphasis placed on environmentalissues/certification are critical to understand from the perspective of wood products importers in the U.S.This study provides an analysis of the U.S. wood products import sector with special emphasis on currentand future opportunities for tropical wood products exporters to the U.S. market.In this study, 158 wood products importers in the U.S. were surveyed using a mailingquestionnaire. The adjusted response rate was 40.6 percent. Results indicated that most of the respondentswere small to medium scale firms, but major importers of wood products. According to respondents,wood products to the U.S. mainly come from Brazil, Chile, and China. From the importers’ perspective,Brazilian wood products ranked first for its quality followed by wood products from Chile and Finland.Product quality, long term customer relationships, on-time delivery of orders, fair prices, and supplierreputation were the factors deemed important in selecting overseas suppliers. Majority of respondentswere importing certified wood products. FSC, SFI, and ISO 14000 were the mostly accepted certificationprograms. However, certification was not a major factor in foreign supplier selection criteria. Whenconsidered the U.S. wood products importers’ tendency to diversify their products and species imported,attractive opportunities exist for wood products suppliers from tropical countries.

  14. Research on U.S. nuclear power plant major equipment aging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakos, J.T.; Rosinski, S.T.

    1994-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), in cooperation with nuclear power plant utilities and the Nuclear Energy Institute, have prepared equipment aging evaluations of nuclear power plant equipment for life extension considerations. Specifically, these evaluations focused on equipment considered important for plant license renewal (U.S. Code of Federal Regulations 10CFR54). open-quotes Industry Reportsclose quotes (IRs), jointly funded by DOE and EPRI, evaluated the aging of major systems, structures, and components (e.g., reactor pressure vessels, Class I structures, PWR and BWR containments, etc.) and contain a mixture of technical and licensing information. open-quotes Aging Management Guidelinesclose quotes (AMGs), funded by DOE, evaluate aging for commodity types of equipment (e.g., pumps, electrical switchgear, heat exchangers, etc.) and concentrate on technical issues only. AMGs are intended for systems engineers and plant maintenance staff. A significant number of technical issues were resolved during IR interactions with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). However, certain technical issues have not been resolved and are considered open-quotes openclose quotes. Examples include certain issues related to fatigue, neutron irradiation embrittlement, intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) and electrical cable equipment qualification. Direct NRC interaction did not take place during preparation of individual AMGs due to their purely technical nature. The eventual use of AMGs in a future license renewal application will likely require NRC interaction at that time. With a few noted exceptions, the AMG process indicated that current aging management practices of U.S. utilities were effective in preventing age-related degradation. This paper briefly describes the IR and AMG processes and summarizes the unresolved technical issues identified through preparation of the documents

  15. Trend analyses of transformer problems in the U.S. nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimada, Yoshio

    2009-01-01

    Up to 2007, the authors have conducted the trend analyses of trouble events related to main generators, emergency diesel generators, breakers and motors, which are more likely to cause problems than other electric equipments in nuclear power plants. The frequency of trouble events in transformers in domestic nuclear power plants at present is approximately one third of the publicly reported cases in the U.S. However, as the situation of maintenance in Japan in the future will become similar to those in the U.S. if the operating period is extended or the maintenance method is to be shifted from preventive maintenance to condition based maintenance, there is a concern that the frequency of transformer events in Japan will increase in Japan, also. Thus, trend analyses were conducted on transformers events which had not been subject to such analyses, from among electrical equipments which are likely to cause problems. The trend analyses were performed on 23 transformer events which had occurred in the U.S. nuclear power plants in five years from 2003 through 2007 among events reported in the Licensee Event Reports (LERs: event reports submitted to NRC by U.S. nuclear power plants) which have been registered in the nuclear information database of the Institute of Nuclear Safety System, Incorporated's (INSS), as well as 8 events registered in the Nuclear Information Archives (NUCIA), which had occurred in domestic nuclear power plants in five from 2003 through 2007. Lessons learned from the trend analyses of the transformer trouble events in the U.S. revealed that for transformers in general, the maintenance management of tap changers is important, while for the main transformers which are most likely to cause problems, it is vital to prevent the deterioration of insulation and insulating oil. (author)

  16. Initiating Event Rates at U.S. Nuclear Power Plants. 1988 - 2013

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schroeder, John A.; Bower, Gordon R.

    2014-01-01

    Analyzing initiating event rates is important because it indicates performance among plants and also provides inputs to several U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) risk-informed regulatory activities. This report presents an analysis of initiating event frequencies at U.S. commercial nuclear power plants since each plant's low-power license date. The evaluation is based on the operating experience from fiscal year 1988 through 2013 as reported in licensee event reports. Engineers with nuclear power plant experience staff reviewed each event report since the last update to this report for the presence of valid scrams or reactor trips at power. To be included in the study, an event had to meet all of the following criteria: includes an unplanned reactor trip (not a scheduled reactor trip on the daily operations schedule), sequence of events starts when reactor is critical and at or above the point of adding heat, occurs at a U.S. commercial nuclear power plant (excluding Fort St. Vrain and LaCrosse), and is reported by a licensee event report. This report displays occurrence rates (baseline frequencies) for the categories of initiating events that contribute to the NRC's Industry Trends Program. Sixteen initiating event groupings are trended and displayed. Initiators are plotted separately for initiating events with different occurrence rates for boiling water reactors and pressurized water reactors. p-values are given for the possible presence of a trend over the most recent 10 years.

  17. Irrigation water sources and irrigation application methods used by U.S. plant nursery producers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paudel, Krishna P.; Pandit, Mahesh; Hinson, Roger

    2016-02-01

    We examine irrigation water sources and irrigation methods used by U.S. nursery plant producers using nested multinomial fractional regression models. We use data collected from the National Nursery Survey (2009) to identify effects of different firm and sales characteristics on the fraction of water sources and irrigation methods used. We find that regions, sales of plants types, farm income, and farm age have significant roles in what water source is used. Given the fraction of alternative water sources used, results indicated that use of computer, annual sales, region, and the number of IPM practices adopted play an important role in the choice of irrigation method. Based on the findings from this study, government can provide subsidies to nursery producers in water deficit regions to adopt drip irrigation method or use recycled water or combination of both. Additionally, encouraging farmers to adopt IPM may enhance the use of drip irrigation and recycled water in nursery plant production.

  18. Assessing Metal Exposures in a Community near a Cement Plant in the Northeast U.S.

    OpenAIRE

    Zhao Dong; Michael S. Bank; John D. Spengler

    2015-01-01

    Cement production is a major source of metals and metalloids in the environment, while exposures to metals and metalloids may impact human health in the surrounding communities. We recruited 185 participants living in the vicinity of a cement plant in the northeast U.S., and measured the levels of aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and selenium (Se) in blood and Hg in hair samples from them. A questionnaire was used to assess potential sources of Hg exposure...

  19. Production of U3O8 by uranyl formate precipitation and calcination in a full-scale pilot facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kendrick, L.S.; Wilson, W.A.; Mosley, W.C.

    1984-08-01

    The uranyl formate process for the production of U 3 O 8 with a controlled particle size has been extensively studied on a laboratory scale. Based on this study, a pilot-scale facility (the Uranyl Formate Facility) was built to investigate the key steps of the process on a larger scale. These steps were the precipitation of a uranyl formate monohydrate salt and the calcination of this salt to U 3 O 8 . Tests of the facility and process were conducted at conditions recommended by the laboratory-scale studies for a full-scale production facility. These tests demonstrated that U 3 O 8 of the required particle size for the PM process can be produced on a plant scale by the calcination of uranyl formate crystals. The performance of the U 3 O 8 produced by the uranyl formate process in fuel tube fabrication was also investigated. Small-scale extrusion tests of U 3 O 8 -Al cores which used the U 3 O 8 produced in the Uranyl Formate Facility were conducted. These tests demonstrated that the U 3 O 8 quality was satisfactory for the PM process

  20. Medicinal plants: production and biochemical characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chunzhao Liu; Zobayed, S.M.A; Murch, S.J.; Saxena, P.K.

    2002-01-01

    Recent advances in the area of biotechnology offer some possibility for the development of new technologies for the conservation, characterization and mass production of medicinal plant species, (i.e. in vitro cell culture techniques for the mass production of sterile, consistent, standardized medicinal plant materials). This paper discussed the following subjects - plant tissue culture, de novo shoot organogenesis, de novo root organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, large scale propagation in bioreactors and discovery of unique biomolecules

  1. Probabilistic production simulation including CHP plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larsen, H.V.; Palsson, H.; Ravn, H.F.

    1997-04-01

    A probabilistic production simulation method is presented for an energy system containing combined heat and power plants. The method permits incorporation of stochastic failures (forced outages) of the plants and is well suited for analysis of the dimensioning of the system, that is, for finding the appropriate types and capacities of production plants in relation to expansion planning. The method is in the tradition of similar approaches for the analysis of power systems, based on the load duration curve. The present method extends on this by considering a two-dimensional load duration curve where the two dimensions represent heat and power. The method permits the analysis of a combined heat and power system which includes all the basic relevant types of plants, viz., condensing plants, back pressure plants, extraction plants and heat plants. The focus of the method is on the situation where the heat side has priority. This implies that on the power side there may be imbalances between demand and production. The method permits quantification of the expected power overflow, the expected unserviced power demand, and the expected unserviced heat demand. It is shown that a discretization method as well as double Fourier series may be applied in algorithms based on the method. (au) 1 tab., 28 ills., 21 refs.

  2. The Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    This report provides the finding and recommendations on the audit of the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) program. The status of the program was assessed to determine whether the Department was achieving objectives stated in its January 1990 Plan for the Demonstration, Transition and Deployment of AVLIS Technology. Through Fiscal Year 1991, the Department had spent about $1.1 billion to develop AVLIS technology. The January 1990 plan provided for AVLIS to be far enough along by September to enable the Department to make a determination of the technical and economic feasibility of deployment. However, the milestones needed to support that determination were not met. An estimated $550 million would be needed to complete AVLIS engineering development and related testing prior to deployment. The earliest possible deployment date has slipped to beyond the year 2000. It is recommended that the Department reassess the requirement for AVLIS in light of program delays and changes that have taken place in the enrichment market since January 1990. Following the reassessment, a decision should be made to either fully support and promote the actions needed to complete AVLIS development or discontinue support for the program entirely. Management's position is that the Department will successfully complete the AVLIS technology demonstration and that the program should continue until it can be transferred to a Government corporation. Although the auditors recognize that AVLIS may be transferred, there are enough technical and financial uncertainties that a thorough assessment is warranted

  3. Special isotope separation project, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-02-01

    Construction and operation of a Special Isotope Separation (SIS) project using the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) process technology at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) near Idaho Falls, Idaho are proposed. The SIS project would process fuel-grade plutonium administered by the Department of Energy (DOE) into weapon-grade plutonium using AVLIS and supporting chemical processes. The SIS project would require construction and operation of a Laser Support Facility to house the laser system and a Plutonium Processing Facility. The SIS project would be integrated with existing support and waste management facilities at the selected site. The SIS project would provide DOE with the capability of segregating the isotopes of DOE-owned plutonium into specific isotopic concentrations. This capability would provide redundancy in production capacity, technological diversity, and flexibility in DOE's production of nuclear materials for national defense. Use of the INEL site would impact 151,350 square meters (37.4 acres) of land, of which more than 70% has been previously disturbed. During construction, plant and animal habitat associated with a sagebrush vegetation community would be lost. During operation of the SIS facilities, unavoidable radiation exposures would include occupational exposures and exposures to the public from normal atmospheric releases of radioactive materials that would be minimal compared to natural background radiation

  4. Phytoextraction of low level U-contaminated soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vandenhove, H.A.; Hees, M. van

    2002-01-01

    The nuclear fuel cycle may be a source of environmental contamination. Uranium exploitation produces large quantities of wastes but also accidental spills at nuclear fuel production, reprocessing or waste treatment plants have led to soil contamination with uranium. U-contaminated soil is generally excavated, packaged and removed which is a costly enterprise. Soil washing has also shown promising in removing U from contaminated soil, but results in the generation of liquid wastes and the deterioration of soil properties. In contrast, phytoextraction, the use of plants to remove contaminants from polluted soil, allows for in situ treatment and does not generate liquid wastes. Furthermore, the contaminated site is covered by plants during phytoextraction and wind and water erosion will be reduced. The phytoextraction potential depends on the amount of radionuclides extracted and the biomass produced. Hyper-accumulating plants often have a low biomass production. Moreover, uranium soil-to-plant transfer factors (TF: ratio of U concentration in dry plant tissue to concentration in soil) rarely exceed a value of 0.1 gg -1 . With a TF of 0.1 gg -1 and a biomass yield of 15t dry weigh ha -1 only 0.1% of the soil uranium will be annually immobilised in the plant biomass. These figures clearly show that the phytoextraction option is not a feasible remediation option, unless the uranium bioavailability could be drastically increased. It was shown that citric acid addition to highly contaminated U contaminated soil increased the U-accumulation of Brassica juncea 1000-fold. The objective of the present paper is to find out if low level U contaminated soil can be phytoextracted in order to achieve proposed release limits

  5. U.S. Productivity: The Challenges Ahead.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Workforce Economics, 1999

    1999-01-01

    Despite the soaring stock market, low unemployment, and low inflation rate, the long-term prospects for U.S. economic health remain a cause for concern. Labor productivity has slowed since 1973. As a result of this slowdown, many companies are investing in work force development and new equipment to boost productivity. Long-term economic health…

  6. U Plant Geographic Zone Cleanup Prototype

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romine, L.D.; Leary, K.D.; Lackey, M.B.; Robertson, J.R.

    2006-01-01

    The U Plant geographic zone (UPZ) occupies 0.83 square kilometers on the Hanford Site Central Plateau (200 Area). It encompasses the U Plant canyon (221-U Facility), ancillary facilities that supported the canyon, soil waste sites, and underground pipelines. The UPZ cleanup initiative coordinates the cleanup of the major facilities, ancillary facilities, waste sites, and contaminated pipelines (collectively identified as 'cleanup items') within the geographic zone. The UPZ was selected as a geographic cleanup zone prototype for resolving regulatory, technical, and stakeholder issues and demonstrating cleanup methods for several reasons: most of the area is inactive, sufficient characterization information is available to support decisions, cleanup of the high-risk waste sites will help protect the groundwater, and the zone contains a representative cross-section of the types of cleanup actions that will be required in other geographic zones. The UPZ cleanup demonstrates the first of 22 integrated zone cleanup actions on the Hanford Site Central Plateau to address threats to groundwater, the environment, and human health. The UPZ contains more than 100 individual cleanup items. Cleanup actions in the zone will be undertaken using multiple regulatory processes and decision documents. Cleanup actions will include building demolition, waste site and pipeline excavation, and the construction of multiple, large engineered barriers. In some cases, different cleanup actions may be taken at item locations that are immediately adjacent to each other. The cleanup planning and field activities for each cleanup item must be undertaken in a coordinated and cohesive manner to ensure effective execution of the UPZ cleanup initiative. The UPZ zone cleanup implementation plan (ZCIP) [1] was developed to address the need for a fundamental integration tool for UPZ cleanup. As UPZ cleanup planning and implementation moves forward, the ZCIP is intended to be a living document that will

  7. Biodiversity influences plant productivity through niche–efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Jingjing; Zhou, Mo; Tobin, Patrick C.; McGuire, A. David; Reich, Peter B.

    2015-01-01

    The loss of biodiversity is threatening ecosystem productivity and services worldwide, spurring efforts to quantify its effects on the functioning of natural ecosystems. Previous research has focused on the positive role of biodiversity on resource acquisition (i.e., niche complementarity), but a lack of study on resource utilization efficiency, a link between resource and productivity, has rendered it difficult to quantify the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship. Here we demonstrate that biodiversity loss reduces plant productivity, other things held constant, through theory, empirical evidence, and simulations under gradually relaxed assumptions. We developed a theoretical model named niche–efficiency to integrate niche complementarity and a heretofore-ignored mechanism of diminishing marginal productivity in quantifying the effects of biodiversity loss on plant productivity. Based on niche–efficiency, we created a relative productivity metric and a productivity impact index (PII) to assist in biological conservation and resource management. Relative productivity provides a standardized measure of the influence of biodiversity on individual productivity, and PII is a functionally based taxonomic index to assess individual species’ inherent value in maintaining current ecosystem productivity. Empirical evidence from the Alaska boreal forest suggests that every 1% reduction in overall plant diversity could render an average of 0.23% decline in individual tree productivity. Out of the 283 plant species of the region, we found that large woody plants generally have greater PII values than other species. This theoretical model would facilitate the integration of biological conservation in the international campaign against several pressing global issues involving energy use, climate change, and poverty. PMID:25901325

  8. Biodiversity influences plant productivity through niche–efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Jingjing; Zhou, Mo; Tobin, Patrick C.; McGuire, A. David; Reich, Peter B.

    2015-01-01

    The loss of biodiversity is threatening ecosystem productivity and services worldwide, spurring efforts to quantify its effects on the functioning of natural ecosystems. Previous research has focused on the positive role of biodiversity on resource acquisition (i.e., niche complementarity), but a lack of study on resource utilization efficiency, a link between resource and productivity, has rendered it difficult to quantify the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship. Here we demonstrate that biodiversity loss reduces plant productivity, other things held constant, through theory, empirical evidence, and simulations under gradually relaxed assumptions. We developed a theoretical model named niche–efficiency to integrate niche complementarity and a heretofore-ignored mechanism of diminishing marginal productivity in quantifying the effects of biodiversity loss on plant productivity. Based on niche–efficiency, we created a relative productivity metric and a productivity impact index (PII) to assist in biological conservation and resource management. Relative productivity provides a standardized measure of the influence of biodiversity on individual productivity, and PII is a functionally based taxonomic index to assess individual species’ inherent value in maintaining current ecosystem productivity. Empirical evidence from the Alaska boreal forest suggests that every 1% reduction in overall plant diversity could render an average of 0.23% decline in individual tree productivity. Out of the 283 plant species of the region, we found that large woody plants generally have greater PII values than other species. This theoretical model would facilitate the integration of biological conservation in the international campaign against several pressing global issues involving energy use, climate change, and poverty.

  9. Biodiversity influences plant productivity through niche-efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Jingjing; Zhou, Mo; Tobin, Patrick C; McGuire, A David; Reich, Peter B

    2015-05-05

    The loss of biodiversity is threatening ecosystem productivity and services worldwide, spurring efforts to quantify its effects on the functioning of natural ecosystems. Previous research has focused on the positive role of biodiversity on resource acquisition (i.e., niche complementarity), but a lack of study on resource utilization efficiency, a link between resource and productivity, has rendered it difficult to quantify the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationship. Here we demonstrate that biodiversity loss reduces plant productivity, other things held constant, through theory, empirical evidence, and simulations under gradually relaxed assumptions. We developed a theoretical model named niche-efficiency to integrate niche complementarity and a heretofore-ignored mechanism of diminishing marginal productivity in quantifying the effects of biodiversity loss on plant productivity. Based on niche-efficiency, we created a relative productivity metric and a productivity impact index (PII) to assist in biological conservation and resource management. Relative productivity provides a standardized measure of the influence of biodiversity on individual productivity, and PII is a functionally based taxonomic index to assess individual species' inherent value in maintaining current ecosystem productivity. Empirical evidence from the Alaska boreal forest suggests that every 1% reduction in overall plant diversity could render an average of 0.23% decline in individual tree productivity. Out of the 283 plant species of the region, we found that large woody plants generally have greater PII values than other species. This theoretical model would facilitate the integration of biological conservation in the international campaign against several pressing global issues involving energy use, climate change, and poverty.

  10. Current U.S. uranium production costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steyn, J.J.; Douglas, R.F.

    1989-01-01

    The U.S. uranium industry has undergone significant changes in the 1980s. These changes have come about largely as a result of the much slower growth of nuclear power than that initially anticipated and the deployment of an excess uranium supply capacity by 1979. The demand and supply imbalance has led to a substantial build-up in excess inventories which will not be remedied until well into the 1990s. At the same time as domestic inventories were building, large low cost uranium deposits were being discovered and developed in Canada and Australia. Additionally, in the past year or so it has become apparent that low cost uranium from the Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of China will increasingly become a factor in the marketplace. The soft demand, large inventories, and competitive imports, stimulated by the recently ratified U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, have caused the U.S. uranium industry to contract to one-tenth of its size ten years ago, if employment is taken at the gage. In light of the foregoing, this paper examines the current U.S. uranium production cost outlook for the 1990s. It is based on a direct cost analysis of all identifiable uranium deposits, mines, and production centers

  11. Design control for standard U.S. EPRTM plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mathews, Toney A.; Miller, Matthew P.

    2009-01-01

    The U.S. EPR TM design is being reviewed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for reference by utility applicants to build and operate EPR TM nuclear reactors in the United States. While the U.S. EPR TM Design Certification and utility Combined License Applications are being reviewed by the NRC, the AREVA-Bechtel Consortium for Engineering Procurement and Construction is proceeding with developing the detailed design. Multiple, parallel regulatory and engineering activities require carefully prepared documents and rigorous design control processes. This paper will review the design control processes used by the AREVA-Bechtel Consortium. Design control must consider the basic design processes required to achieve an integrated, functional design, as well as design change control. Sources of change and the need to keep design bases and licensing bases consistent must be thoroughly understood. An objective of the U.S. EPR TM reactor deployment program for the United States is to achieve maximum standardization of common features of the plant. Such standardization is necessary for economics, speed-of-construction, and operational efficiencies available from a 'fleet' approach to deployment. (author)

  12. Resins production: batch plant automation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banti, M.; Mauri, G.

    1996-01-01

    Companies that look for automation in their plants without external resources, have at their disposal flexible, custom and easy to use DCS, open towards PLC. In this article it is explained why Hoechts has followed this way of new plants for resins production automation

  13. Dry sample storage system for an analytical laboratory supporting plutonium processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Treibs, H.A.; Hartenstein, S.D.; Griebenow, B.L.; Wade, M.A.

    1990-01-01

    The Special Isotope Separation (SIS) plant is designed to provide removal of undesirable isotopes in fuel grade plutonium by the atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) process. The AVLIS process involves evaporation of plutonium metal, and passage of an intense beam of light from a laser through the plutonium vapor. The laser beam consists of several discrete wavelengths, tuned to the precise wavelength required to ionize the undesired isotopes. These ions are attracted to charged plates, leaving the bulk of the plutonium vapor enriched in the desired isotopes to be collected on a cold plate. Major portions of the process consist of pyrochemical processes, including direct reduction of the plutonium oxide feed material with calcium metal, and aqueous processes for purification of plutonium in residues. The analytical laboratory for the plant is called the Material and Process Control Laboratory (MPCL), and provides for the analysis of solid and liquid process samples

  14. Uranium-236 in light water reactor spent fuel recycled to an enriching plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    de la Garza, A.

    1977-01-01

    The introduction of 236 U to an enriching plant by recycling spent fuel uranium results in enriched products containing 236 U, a parasitic neutron absorber in reactor fuel. Convenient approximate methodology determines 235 236 U, and total uranium flowsheets with associated separative work requirements in enriching plant operations for use by investigators of the light water reactor fuel cycle not having recourse to specialized multicomponent cascade technology. Application of the methodology has been made to compensation of an enriching plant product for 236 U content and to the value at an enriching plant of spent fuel uranium. The approximate methodology was also confirmed with more exact calculations and with some experience with 236 U in an enriching plant

  15. Plant senescence and crop productivity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gregersen, Per L.; Culetic, Andrea; Boschian, Luca

    2013-01-01

    Senescence is a developmental process which in annual crop plants overlaps with the reproductive phase. Senescence might reduce crop yield when it is induced prematurely under adverse environmental conditions. This review covers the role of senescence for the productivity of crop plants....... With the aim to enhance productivity, a number of functional stay-green cultivars have been selected by conventional breeding, in particular of sorghum and maize. In many cases, a positive correlation between leaf area duration and yield has been observed, although in a number of other cases, stay...... plants, the expression of the IPT gene under control of senescence-associated promoters has been the most successful. The promoters employed for senescence-regulated expression contain cis-elements for binding of WRKY transcription factors and factors controlled by abscisic acid. In most crops...

  16. Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the U.S. Iron and Steel Industry An ENERGY STAR(R) Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Worrell, Ernst; Blinde, Paul; Neelis, Maarten; Blomen, Eliane; Masanet, Eric

    2010-10-21

    Energy is an important cost factor in the U.S iron and steel industry. Energy efficiency improvement is an important way to reduce these costs and to increase predictable earnings, especially in times of high energy price volatility. There are a variety of opportunities available at individual plants in the U.S. iron and steel industry to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner. This Energy Guide discusses energy efficiency practices and energy-efficient technologies that can be implemented at the component, process, facility, and organizational levels. A discussion of the structure, production trends, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions of the iron and steel industry is provided along with a description of the major process technologies used within the industry. Next, a wide variety of energy efficiency measures are described. Many measure descriptions include expected savings in energy and energy-related costs, based on case study data from real-world applications in the steel and related industries worldwide. Typical measure payback periods and references to further information in the technical literature are also provided, when available. The information in this Energy Guide is intended to help energy and plant managers in the U.S. iron and steel industry reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective manner while maintaining the quality of products manufactured. Further research on the economics of all measures?and on their applicability to different production practices?is needed to assess their cost effectiveness at individual plants.

  17. 9 CFR 590.24 - Egg products plants requiring continuous inspection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Egg products plants requiring..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION INSPECTION OF EGGS AND EGG PRODUCTS (EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT) Scope of Inspection § 590.24 Egg products plants requiring continuous inspection. No plant in...

  18. Editorial: from plant biotechnology to bio-based products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stöger, Eva

    2013-10-01

    From plant biotechnology to bio-based products - this Special Issue of Biotechnology Journal is dedicated to plant biotechnology and is edited by Prof. Eva Stöger (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria). The Special Issue covers a wide range of topics in plant biotechnology, including metabolic engineering of biosynthesis pathways in plants; taking advantage of the scalability of the plant system for the production of innovative materials; as well as the regulatory challenges and society acceptance of plant biotechnology. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. Official control of plant protection products in Poland: detection of illegal products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miszczyk, Marek; Płonka, Marlena; Stobiecki, Tomasz; Kronenbach-Dylong, Dorota; Waleczek, Kazimierz; Weber, Roland

    2018-04-03

    Market presence of illegal and counterfeit pesticides is now a global problem. According to data published in 2012 by the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), illegal products represent over 10% of the global market of plant protection products. Financial benefits are the main reason for the prevalence of this practice. Counterfeit and illegal pesticides may contain substances that may pose a threat to the environment, crops, animals, and humans, inconsistent with the label and registration dossier. In Poland, action against illegal and counterfeit plant protection products is undertaken by the Main Inspectorate of Plant Health and Seed Inspection (PIORiN), the police, the prosecution, and the pesticide producers. Results of chemical analyses carried out by the Institute of Plant Protection - National Research Institute Sośnicowice Branch, Pesticide Quality Testing Laboratory (PQTL IPP-NRI Sosnicowice Branch) indicate that a majority of illegal pesticides in Poland are detected in the group of herbicides. Products from parallel trade tend to have the most irregularities. This article describes the official quality control system of plant protection products in Poland and presents the analytical methods for testing pesticides suspected of adulteration and recent test results.

  20. Interannual variability of plant phenology in tussock tundra: modelling interactions of plant productivity, plant phenology, snowmelt and soil thaw

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijk, van M.T.; Williams, M.; Laundre, J.A.; Shaver, G.R.

    2003-01-01

    We present a linked model of plant productivity, plant phenology, snowmelt and soil thaw in order to estimate interannual variability of arctic plant phenology and its effects on plant productivity. The model is tested using 8 years of soil temperature data, and three years of bud break data of

  1. Modifying plants for biofuel and biomaterial production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furtado, Agnelo; Lupoi, Jason S; Hoang, Nam V; Healey, Adam; Singh, Seema; Simmons, Blake A; Henry, Robert J

    2014-12-01

    The productivity of plants as biofuel or biomaterial crops is established by both the yield of plant biomass per unit area of land and the efficiency of conversion of the biomass to biofuel. Higher yielding biofuel crops with increased conversion efficiencies allow production on a smaller land footprint minimizing competition with agriculture for food production and biodiversity conservation. Plants have traditionally been domesticated for food, fibre and feed applications. However, utilization for biofuels may require the breeding of novel phenotypes, or new species entirely. Genomics approaches support genetic selection strategies to deliver significant genetic improvement of plants as sources of biomass for biofuel manufacture. Genetic modification of plants provides a further range of options for improving the composition of biomass and for plant modifications to assist the fabrication of biofuels. The relative carbohydrate and lignin content influences the deconstruction of plant cell walls to biofuels. Key options for facilitating the deconstruction leading to higher monomeric sugar release from plants include increasing cellulose content, reducing cellulose crystallinity, and/or altering the amount or composition of noncellulosic polysaccharides or lignin. Modification of chemical linkages within and between these biomass components may improve the ease of deconstruction. Expression of enzymes in the plant may provide a cost-effective option for biochemical conversion to biofuel. © 2014 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. More U.S. production changes hands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Land, R.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that more U.S. oil and gas production is acquiring new owners as some operators scale back operations and others see opportunities for growth. It's part of a continuing program of adjustment to a depressed economy in the petroleum industry. In the latest announcements: Forest Oil Corp., Denver, agree to acquire Transco Energy Co. subsidiary Transco Exploration ampersand Production Co. (Tepco), Houston, for $45 million; Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Corp., Oklahoma City, agreed to buy essentially all the U.S. oil and gas operations of Dekalb Energy Co., Denver; Black Stone Minerals, a Texas partnership managed by Black Stone Holdings Partnership, Houston, agreed to pay $15 million to Santa Fee Energy Resources Inc. and Santa Fe Energy Partners LP, both of Houston, for royalty and undeveloped mineral interests in 493,000 acres in east Texas and Louisiana

  3. Plant cells : immobilization and oxygen transfer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hulst, A.C.

    1987-01-01

    The study described in this thesis is part of the integrated project 'Biotechnological production of non-persistent bioinsecticides by means of plant cells <u>invitro> ' and was done in close cooperation with the research Institute Ital within the framework

  4. Overview of the role of economics in plant life management license renewal in the U.S

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, G.G.; Nelson, A.P.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: In 1995, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a revised rule in 10 CFR Part 54 that provides the requirements for an operating nuclear plant to seek license renewal. U.S. nuclear power plants obtain a 40-year initial operating license, but under 10 CFR Part 54, additional terms of 20-years each may be obtained through license renewal. Prior to 1995, the estimated cost just to prepare a license renewal application was about $40 million. Under the revised rule, the cost to prepare an application was reduced to about $10 million or less. Although the revised rule generated considerable interest, the decision to seek license renewal is fundamentally an economic decision. In 1995, many people believed that only a select few operating nuclear plants would pursue license renewal and that most would operate for no more than 40 years. The primary reason for this belief was that the cost of keeping U.S. nuclear plants running did not appear to be competitive with other forms of electricity generation. By 1998, the economic conditions in the U.S. were changing dramatically. Electricity deregulation was moving ahead, the need for electricity was growing, and the operating costs for nuclear power plants were declining. Also, in 1998, the first two applications for license renewal were submitted to the NRC by Baltimore Gas and Electric for the two-unit Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant and by Duke Energy for the three-unit Oconee nuclear power plant. The U.S. nuclear industry was somewhat skeptical that the NRC could complete the license renewal process in a timely and predictable manner. This skepticism was due to the protracted and unpredictable process used by the NRC to approve the original operating licenses, especially in the 1980's and early 1990's. In March 2000, the NRC approved the renewal of the 40-year operating licenses for the two-unit Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant for an additional 20 years. Two months later, the NRC approved the

  5. Modular Engineering of Production Plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Miller, Thomas Dedenroth

    1998-01-01

    Based on a case-study on design of pharmaceutical production plants, this paper suggests that modularity may support business efficiency for companies with one-of-a-kind production and without in-house manufacturing. Modularity may support efficient management of design knowledge and may facilitate...

  6. Impact of drought on U.S. steam electric power plant cooling water intakes and related water resource management issues.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kimmell, T. A.; Veil, J. A.; Environmental Science Division

    2009-04-03

    ) and type of plant (nuclear vs. fossil fuel). This is accomplished in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, the nature of any compacts or agreements that give priority to users (i.e., which users must stop withdrawing water first) is examined. This is examined on a regional or watershed basis, specifically for western water rights, and also as a function of federal and state water management programs. Chapter 5 presents the findings and conclusions of this study. In addition to the above, a related intent of this study is to conduct preliminary modeling of how lowered surface water levels could affect generating capacity and other factors at different regional power plants. If utility managers are forced to take some units out of service or reduce plant outputs, the fuel mix at the remaining plants and the resulting carbon dioxide emissions may change. Electricity costs and other factors may also be impacted. Argonne has conducted some modeling based on the information presented in the database described in Chapter 2 of this report. A separate report of the modeling effort has been prepared (Poch et al. 2009). In addition to the U.S. steam electric power plant fleet, this modeling also includes an evaluation of power production of hydroelectric facilities. The focus of this modeling is on those power plants located in the western United States.

  7. Accumulation of 226Ra, 238U and 230Th by wetland plants in a vicinity of U-mill tailings at Zirovski vrh (Slovenia)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marko Cerne; Borut Smodis; Marko Strok; Radojko Jacimovic

    2010-01-01

    The impact of a U-mill tailing on radionuclide accumulation by plants was assayed. In particular, a preliminary screening of 226 Ra, 238 U and 230 Th in Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris L.), soft rush (Juncus effusus L.) and Tall Moor grass (Molinia arundinacea (L.) Moench) grown in a marsh habitat is presented. Activity concentrations for the studied radionuclides and their transfer factors for the particular plants are shown and discussed. (author)

  8. An overview of U.S. plant performance improvement through effective radioactive waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sieberling, R.; Lyons, P.W.

    1986-01-01

    Radioactive waste volumes in the United States commercial nuclear power industry have declined over the last five years after increasing steadily in the late 1970's. This decline is considered to be especially significant because major backfits/modifications and major component repair/replacement at U.S. nuclear power stations have been accomplished during this period. This paper analyzes the key reasons for this performance and outlines the positive effects that this trend has upon overall nuclear plant performance. In reviewing plant performance data, there appears to be a direct correlation between overall plant performance and radioactive waste performance. For example, plants with high capacity factors, strong industrial safety programs, low collective man-rem, and good contamination controls, generally have a history of low radioactive waste volumes. The reasons for this excellent performance is the result of direct management and supervisory involvement in plant operations, implementation of high standards of performance, and monitoring performance against these standards. Using the techniques outlined in this paper, the U.S. nuclear power industry can continue to reduce the volume of low-level solid radioactive waste being generated

  9. General description and production lines of the Egyptian fuel manufacturing pilot plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zidan, W.I.; Elseaidy, I.M.

    1999-01-01

    The Egyptian Fuel Manufacturing Pilot Plant, FMPP, is a new facility, producing an MTR-type fuel elements required for the Egyptian Second Research Reactor, ETRR-2, as well as other plates or elements for an external clients with the same type and enrichment percent or lower, (LEU). General description is presented. The production lines in FMPP, which begin from uranium hexaflouride (UF 6 , 19.7±0.2 % U 235 by wt), aluminum powder, and nuclear grade 6061 aluminium alloy in sheets, bars, and rods with the different heat treatments and dimensions as a raw materials, are processed through a series of the manufacturing, inspection, and quality control plan to produce the final specified MTR-type fuel elements. All these processes and the product control in each step are presented. The specifications of the final product are presented. (author)

  10. Pinellas Plant facts. [Products, processes, laboratory facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1986-09-01

    This plant was built in 1956 in response to a need for the manufacture of neutron generators, a principal component in nuclear weapons. The neutron generators consist of a miniaturized linear ion accelerator assembled with the pulsed electrical power supplies required for its operation. The ion accelerator, or neutron tube, requires ultra clean, high vacuum technology: hermetic seals between glass, ceramic, glass-ceramic, and metal materials: plus high voltage generation and measurement technology. The existence of these capabilities at the Pinellas Plant has led directly to the assignment of the lightning arrester connector, specialty capacitor, vacuum switch, and crystal resonator. Active and reserve batteries and the radioisotopically-powered thermoelectric generator draw on the materials measurement and controls technologies which are required to ensure neutron generator life. A product development and production capability in alumina ceramics, cermet (electrical) feedthroughs, and glass ceramics has become a specialty of the plant; the laboratories monitor the materials and processes used by the plant's commercial suppliers of ferroelectric ceramics. In addition to the manufacturing facility, a production development capability is maintained at the Pinellas Plant.

  11. Planning product quality: An example - ornamental plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kovačević Miodrag

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The industry of ornamental plants is a subject of quality planning. The quality plan is a document setting out the specific quality practices in ornamental plants production. That plan introduce organizational structure procedures, processes and resources needed to implement quality in life cycle of product chain. For engineers it represents a new tool.

  12. Tannase production by Penicillium purpurogenum PAF6 in solid state fermentation of tannin-rich plant residues following OVAT and RSM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jana, Arijit; Maity, Chiranjit; Halder, Suman Kumar; Mondal, Keshab Chandra; Pati, Bikash Ranjan; Mohapatra, Pradeep Kumar Das

    2012-07-01

    Tannase production by newly isolated Penicillium purpurogenum PAF6 was investigated by 'one variable at a time' (OVAT) approach followed by response surface methodology (RSM). Tannin-rich plant residues were used as supporting solid substrate and sole carbon source and, among them, tamarind seed was found to be the most favorable substrate than haritaki, pomegranate, tea leaf waste and arjun fruit. Physicochemical parameters were initially optimized using OVAT methodology and some important factors like incubation time, incubation temperature, substrate:moisture ratio as well as carbon, nitrogen and phosphate concentrations were verified with Box-Behken design of response surface methodology. Phosphate source, nitrogen source and temperature were found as the most favorable variables in the maximization of production. Tannase production was enhanced from 1.536 U/g to 5.784 U/g using tamarind seed OVAT optimization and further enhancement up to 6.15 U/g following RSM. An overall 3.76- and 4.0-fold increases in tannase production were achieved in OVAT and RSM, respectively.

  13. Plants for water recycling, oxygen regeneration and food production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bubenheim, D. L.

    1991-01-01

    During long-duration space missions that require recycling and regeneration of life support materials the major human wastes to be converted to usable forms are CO2, hygiene water, urine and feces. A Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) relies on the air revitalization, water purification and food production capabilities of higher plants to rejuvenate human wastes and replenish the life support materials. The key processes in such a system are photosynthesis, whereby green plants utilize light energy to produce food and oxygen while removing CO2 from the atmosphere, and transpiration, the evaporation of water from the plant. CELSS research has emphasized the food production capacity and efforts to minimize the area/volume of higher plants required to satisfy all human life support needs. Plants are a dynamic system capable of being manipulated to favour the supply of individual products as desired. The size and energy required for a CELSS that provides virtually all human needs are determined by the food production capacity. Growing conditions maximizing food production do not maximize transpiration of water; conditions favoring transpiration and scaling to recycle only water significantly reduces the area, volume, and energy inputs per person. Likewise, system size can be adjusted to satisfy the air regeneration needs. Requirements of a waste management system supplying inputs to maintain maximum plant productivity are clear. The ability of plants to play an active role in waste processing and the consequence in terms of degraded plant performance are not well characterized. Plant-based life support systems represent the only potential for self sufficiency and food production in an extra-terrestrial habitat.

  14. The potential of plants as a system for the development and production of human biologics [version 1; referees: 3 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiang Chen

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The growing promise of plant-made biologics is highlighted by the success story of ZMapp™ as a potentially life-saving drug during the Ebola outbreak of 2014-2016. Current plant expression platforms offer features beyond the traditional advantages of low cost, high scalability, increased safety, and eukaryotic protein modification. Novel transient expression vectors have been developed that allow the production of vaccines and therapeutics at unprecedented speed to control potential pandemics or bioterrorism attacks. Plant-host engineering provides a method for producing proteins with unique and uniform mammalian post-translational modifications, providing opportunities to develop biologics with increased efficacy relative to their mammalian cell-produced counterparts. Recent demonstrations that plant-made proteins can function as biocontrol agents of foodborne pathogens further exemplify the potential utility of plant-based protein production. However, resolving the technical and regulatory challenges of commercial-scale production, garnering acceptance from large pharmaceutical companies, and obtaining U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for several major classes of biologics are essential steps to fulfilling the untapped potential of this technology.

  15. New CHP plant for a rubber products manufacturer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vila, R.; Martí, C.

    2016-01-01

    At the end of 2014 the company Industrias de Hule Galgo decided to undertake the installation project of an efficient CHP plant for its production plant, with the aim of bringing down energy costs and improving the company’s competitive position in the market. The new plant has already started its first operational phase. The project has comprised the installation of a single cycle with gas-powered gensets providing a total electrical capacity of 6.6 MW. This provides the necessary thermal oil for the production plant; covers 100% of the electrical power consumed by the industrial complex; and also generates cooling water, giving improved production capacity by supercooling the extrusion system. To execute these works, Industrias de Hule Galgo contracted the services of engineering company AESA to provide the engineering, procurement and construction of the CHP plant. (Author)

  16. Application of plant cell and tissue culture for the production of phytochemicals in medicinal plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pant, Bijaya

    2014-01-01

    Approximately 80% of the world inhabitants depend on the medicinal plants in the form of traditional formulations for their primary health care system well as in the treatment of a number of diseases since the ancient time. Many commercially used drugs have come from the information of indigenous knowledge of plants and their folk uses. Linking of the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants to modern research activities provides a new reliable approach, for the discovery of novel drugs much more effectively than with random collection. Increase in population and increasing demand of plant products along with illegal trade are causing depletion of medicinal plants and many are threatened in natural habitat. Plant tissue culture technique has proved potential alternative for the production of desirable bioactive components from plants, to produce the enough amounts of plant material that is needed and for the conservation of threatened species. Different plant tissue culture systems have been extensively studied to improve and enhance the production of plant chemicals in various medicinal plants.

  17. Arco to enter European PGE production with new Rotterdam plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, I.

    1993-01-01

    Arco Chemical (Newtown Square, PA) will enter production of propylene glycol ethers (PGEs) in Europe by building a 70,000-m.t./year plant at its Rotterdam site. Arco's board has approved the project, with construction to begin this year and completion expected in mid-1995. 'This new plant supports the company's long-standing strategy to increase its downstream integration in value-added derivatives of propylene oxide,' says Jack Oppasser, president of Arco Chemical Europe (Maidenhead, U.K.). 'It allows the company to sustain its strong position in the growing European glycol ether market.' Arco's move represents a challenge to Dow Europe (Horgen, Switzerland), which dominates the European PGE market. Dow is Europe's biggest producer of PGEs, with its Dowanol brands commanding a share greater than 50% of the estimated 90,000-m.t./year methyl-based PGE market. This was recently boosted by completion of the expansion of its plant at Stade, Germany, from 60,000 m.t./year to 110,000 m.t./year. While Arco does not currently make PGEs in Europe, it is the second-largest supplier, with about 15,000 m.t.-20,000 m.t./year, via 'third-party manufacturing arrangements' with European producers, including BP Chemicals, and imports from its 90-million lbs/year plant at Bayport, TX. However, Arco refuses to comment on this because of 'antitrust aspects.'

  18. Diverse urban plantings managed with sufficient resource availability can increase plant productivity and arthropod diversity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathon eMuller

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Buildings structures and surfaces are explicitly being used to grow plants, and these ‘urban plantings’ are typically designed for aesthetic value. Urban plantings also have the potential to contribute significant ‘ecological values’ by increasing urban habitat for animals such as arthropods and by increasing plant productivity. In this study, we evaluated how the provision of these additional ecological values is affected by plant species richness; the availability of essential resources for plants, such as water, light, space; and soil characteristics. We sampled 33 plantings located on the exterior of three buildings in the urban centre of Brisbane, Australia (subtropical climatic region over two, six week sampling periods characterised by different temperature and rainfall conditions. Plant cover was estimated as a surrogate for productivity as destructive sampling of biomass was not possible. We measured weekly light levels (photosynthetically active radiation, plant CO2 assimilation, soil CO2 efflux, and arthropod diversity.Differences in plant cover were best explained by a three-way interaction of plant species richness, management water regime and sampling period. As the richness of plant species increased in a planter, productivity and total arthropod richness also increased significantly - likely due to greater habitat heterogeneity and quality. Overall we found urban plantings can provide additional ecological values if essential resources are maintained within a planter such as water, light and soil temperature. Diverse urban plantings that are managed with these principles in mind can contribute to the attraction of diverse arthropod communities, and lead to increased plant productivity within a dense urban context.

  19. Testing and economical evaluation of U(IV) in Purex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoisington, J.E.; Hsu, T.C.

    1983-01-01

    The use of uranous nitrate, U(IV), as a plutonium reductant in the Purex solvent extraction process could significantly reduce the waste generation at the Savannah River Plant. The current reductant is a ferrous sulfamate (FS)/hydroxylamine nitrate (HAN) mixture. The iron and sulfate in the FS are major contributors to waste generation. The U(IV) reductant oxidizes to U(VI) producing no waste. The Savannah River Laboratory has developed an efficient electrochemical cell for U(IV) production and has demonstrated the effectiveness of U(IV) as a plutonium reductant. Plant tests and economic analyses are currently being conducted to determine the cost effectiveness of U(IV) implementation. The results of recent studies are presented

  20. A review of the behaviour of U-238 series radionuclides in soils and plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitchell, N; Pérez-Sánchez, D; Thorne, M C

    2013-01-01

    The U-238 series of radionuclides is of relevance in a variety of environmental contexts ranging from the remediation of former uranium mining and milling facilities to the deep geological disposal of solid radioactive wastes. Herein, we review what is known concerning the behaviour of radionuclides from the U-238 decay chain in soils and plants. This review is intended to provide a single comprehensive source of information to anyone involved in undertaking environmental impact assessment studies relating to this decay chain. Conclusions are drawn relating to values and ranges of distribution coefficients appropriate to uranium, thorium, radium, lead and polonium in different soil types and under various environmental conditions. Similarly, conclusions are drawn relating to plant:soil concentration ratios for these elements for different plant and soil types, and consideration is given to the distribution of these elements within plants following both root uptake and foliar application. (review)

  1. State regulation and power plant productivity: background and recommendations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-09-01

    This report was prepared by representatives of several state regulatory agencies. It is a guide to some of the activities currently under way in state agencies to promote increased availability of electrical generating power plants. Standard measures of plant performance are defined and the nature of data bases that report such measures is discussed. It includes reviews of current state, federal, and industry programs to enhance power plant productivity and provides detailed outlines of programs in effect in California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas. A number of actions are presented that could be adopted by state regulatory agencies, depending on local conditions. They include: develop a commission position or policy statement to encourage productivity improvements by utilities; coordinate state efforts with ongoing industry and government programs to improve the acquisition of power plant performance data and the maintenance of quality information systems; acquire the capability to perform independent analyses of power plant productivity; direct the establishment of productivity improvement programs, including explicit performance objectives for both existing and planned power plants, and a performance program; establish a program of incentives to motivate productivity improvement activities; and participate in ongoing efforts at all levels and initiate new actions to promote productivity improvements

  2. Handling of UF6 in U.S. gaseous diffusion plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Legeay, A.J.

    1978-01-01

    A comprehensive systems analysis of UF 6 handling has been made in the three U.S. gaseous diffusion plants and has resulted in a significant impact on the equipment design and the operating procedures of these facilities. The equipment, facilities, and industrial practices in UF 6 handling operations as they existed in the early 1970's are reviewed with particular emphasis placed on the changes which have been implemented. The changes were applied to the systems and operating methods which evolved from the design, startup, and operation of the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant in 1945

  3. STUDY OF PLANT-WIDE CONTROL IMPLEMENTATION IN PRODUCTION PROCESS OF GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    KATHERIN INDRIAWATI

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The design of plant-wide control system to optimize electricity production in geothermal power plant is proposed in this research. The objective is to overcome the deficiency due to changes in the characteristics of production well and fluctuation in electricity demand load. The proposed plant-wide control system has two main tasks; to maintain production process at optimum value and to increase efficiency. The pressure in separator and condenser is maintained at the respective set points under electrical load fluctuations in order to ensure optimum efficiency. The control system also reduce the usage of auxialiary electrical power and increase efficiency. The task was performed by controlling inlet cooling water temperatures to the condenser. It was concluded that the proposed control structure was able to increase efficiency and maintain production.

  4. Processes for manufacture of products from plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2010-01-01

    Disclosed herein is a process for inhibiting browning of plant material comprising adding a chelating agent to a disrupted plant material and adjusting the pH to a value of 2.0 to 4.5. Processes for manufacture of soluble and insoluble products from a plant material are also disclosed. Soluble...

  5. Production Planning and Planting Pattern Scheduling Information System for Horticulture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitadiar, Tanhella Zein; Farikhin; Surarso, Bayu

    2018-02-01

    This paper present the production of planning and planting pattern scheduling faced by horticulture farmer using two methods. Fuzzy time series method use to predict demand on based on sales amount, while linear programming is used to assist horticulture farmers in making production planning decisions and determining the schedule of cropping patterns in accordance with demand predictions of the fuzzy time series method, variable use in this paper is size of areas, production advantage, amount of seeds and age of the plants. This research result production planning and planting patterns scheduling information system with the output is recommendations planting schedule, harvest schedule and the number of seeds will be plant.

  6. Estimating the shadow prices of SO2 and NOx for U.S. coal power plants: A convex nonparametric least squares approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mekaroonreung, Maethee; Johnson, Andrew L.

    2012-01-01

    Weak disposability between outputs and pollutants, defined as a simultaneous proportional reduction of both outputs and pollutants, assumes that pollutants are byproducts of the output generation process and that a firm can “freely dispose” of both by scaling down production levels, leaving some inputs idle. Based on the production axioms of monotonicity, convexity and weak disposability, we formulate a convex nonparametric least squares (CNLS) quadratic optimization problem to estimate a frontier production function assuming either a deterministic disturbance term consisting only of inefficiency, or a composite disturbance term composed of both inefficiency and noise. The suggested methodology extends the stochastic semi-nonparametric envelopment of data (StoNED) described in Kuosmanen and Kortelainen (2011). Applying the method to estimate the shadow prices of SO 2 and NO x generated by U.S. coal power plants, we conclude that the weak disposability StoNED method provides more consistent estimates of market prices. - Highlights: ► Develops methodology to estimate shadow prices for SO 2 and NO x in the U.S. coal power plants. ► Extends CNLS and StoNED methods to include the weak disposability assumption. ► Estimates the range of SO 2 and NO x shadow prices as 201–343 $/ton and 409–1352 $/ton. ► StoNED method provides more accurate estimates of shadow prices than deterministic frontier.

  7. Computer program FPIP-REV calculates fission product inventory for U-235 fission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, W. S.; Call, D. W.

    1967-01-01

    Computer program calculates fission product inventories and source strengths associated with the operation of U-235 fueled nuclear power reactor. It utilizes a fission-product nuclide library of 254 nuclides, and calculates the time dependent behavior of the fission product nuclides formed by fissioning of U-235.

  8. Dosimetry in radiation plant of food and medical products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Umeda, Keiji

    1975-01-01

    The fundamental concept for sterilization is generally to bring the objects into the condition that less than one microorganism can grow in 10 6 products. Therefore required dose differs according to the selection of indexing microorganism. In the U.K., approximately 2.5 Mrad is adopted by employing methylmethacrylate (trade name Perspex) as the standard dosimeter. Japan has no legally controlled sterilization dose, but 2.5 Mrad in adopted in irradiation plants. In Japan, plants for the germination suppression of potatos and onions have been operated, the permitted dose being 15 krad. It is legal obligation to measure dose, and presently Fricke dosimeter is used, though it has some problems. As for rice and wheat sterilization, also Fricke dosimeter meets the requirements for the package forms of box or bag, but problems arise in bulk treatment at silo type equipments. Considering future expansion of application, the following developments may be necessary: dosimeters for 10--50 krad, dosimeters for 0.1 to 0.5 Mrad measurement being able to be handled similarly to Fricke or Perspex dosimeter, and measuring method for absorbed dose of electron beam. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

  9. Risk analysis of sterile production plants: a new and simple, workable approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gapp, Guenther; Holzknecht, Peter

    2011-01-01

    A sterile active ingredient plant and a sterile finished dosage filling plant both comprise very complex production processes and systems. The sterility of the final product cannot be assured solely by sterility testing, in-process controls, environmental monitoring of cleanrooms, and media fill validations. Based on more than 15 years experience, 4 years ago the authors created a new but very simple approach to the risk analysis of sterile plants. This approach is not a failure mode and effects analysis and therefore differs from the PDA Technical Report 44 Quality Risk Management for Aseptic Processes of 2008. The principle involves specific questions, which have been defined in the risk analysis questionnaire in advance, to be answered by an expert team. If the questionnaire item is dealt with appropriately, the answer is assigned a low-risk number (1) and if very weak or deficient it gets a high-risk number (5). In addition to the numbers, colors from green (not problematic) through orange to red (very problematic) are attributed to make the results more striking. Because the individual units of each production plant have a defined and different impact on the overall sterility of the final product, different risk emphasis factors have to be taken into account (impact factor 1, 3, or 5). In a well run cleanroom, the cleanroom operators have a lower impact than other units with regard to the contamination risk. The resulting number of the analyzed production plant and the diagram of the assessment subsequently offers very important and valuable information about a) the risk for microbiological contamination (sterility/endotoxins) of the product, and b) the compliance status of the production plant and the risk of failing lots, as well as probable observations of upcoming regulatory agency audits. Both items above are highly important for the safety of the patient. It is also an ideal tool to identify deficient or weak systems requiring improvement and upgrade

  10. Amino acid production exceeds plant nitrogen demand in Siberian tundra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wild, Birgit; Eloy Alves, Ricardo J.; Bárta, Jiři; Čapek, Petr; Gentsch, Norman; Guggenberger, Georg; Hugelius, Gustaf; Knoltsch, Anna; Kuhry, Peter; Lashchinskiy, Nikolay; Mikutta, Robert; Palmtag, Juri; Prommer, Judith; Schnecker, Jörg; Shibistova, Olga; Takriti, Mounir; Urich, Tim; Richter, Andreas

    2018-03-01

    Arctic plant productivity is often limited by low soil N availability. This has been attributed to slow breakdown of N-containing polymers in litter and soil organic matter (SOM) into smaller, available units, and to shallow plant rooting constrained by permafrost and high soil moisture. Using 15N pool dilution assays, we here quantified gross amino acid and ammonium production rates in 97 active layer samples from four sites across the Siberian Arctic. We found that amino acid production in organic layers alone exceeded literature-based estimates of maximum plant N uptake 17-fold and therefore reject the hypothesis that arctic plant N limitation results from slow SOM breakdown. High microbial N use efficiency in organic layers rather suggests strong competition of microorganisms and plants in the dominant rooting zone. Deeper horizons showed lower amino acid production rates per volume, but also lower microbial N use efficiency. Permafrost thaw together with soil drainage might facilitate deeper plant rooting and uptake of previously inaccessible subsoil N, and thereby promote plant productivity in arctic ecosystems. We conclude that changes in microbial decomposer activity, microbial N utilization and plant root density with soil depth interactively control N availability for plants in the Arctic.

  11. Differences in U root-to-shoot translocation between plant species explained by U distribution in roots

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Straczek, Anne; Duquene, Lise [Belgium Nuclear Research Centre (SCK.CEN), Biosphere Impact Studies, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium); Wegrzynek, Dariusz [IAEA, Seibersdorf Laboratories, A-2444 Seibersdorf (Austria); Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow (Poland); Chinea-Cano, Ernesto [IAEA, Seibersdorf Laboratories, A-2444 Seibersdorf (Austria); Wannijn, Jean [Belgium Nuclear Research Centre (SCK.CEN), Biosphere Impact Studies, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium); Navez, Jacques [Royal Museum of Africa, Department of Geology, Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren (Belgium); Vandenhove, Hildegarde, E-mail: hvandenh@sckcen.b [Belgium Nuclear Research Centre (SCK.CEN), Biosphere Impact Studies, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium)

    2010-03-15

    Accumulation and distribution of uranium in roots and shoots of four plants species differing in their cation exchange capacity of roots (CECR) was investigated. After exposure in hydroponics for seven days to 100 mumol U L{sup -1}, distribution of uranium in roots was investigated through chemical extraction of roots. Higher U concentrations were measured in roots of dicots which showed a higher CECR than monocot species. Chemical extractions indicated that uranium is mostly located in the apoplasm of roots of monocots but that it is predominantly located in the symplasm of roots of dicots. Translocation of U to shoot was not significantly affected by the CECR or distribution of U between symplasm and apoplasm. Distribution of uranium in roots was investigated through chemical extraction of roots for all species. Additionally, longitudinal and radial distribution of U in roots of maize and Indian mustard, respectively showing the lowest and the highest translocation, was studied following X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of specific root sections. Chemical analysis and XRF analysis of roots of maize and Indian mustard clearly indicated a higher longitudinal and radial transport of uranium in roots of Indian mustard than in roots of maize, where uranium mostly accumulated in root tips. These results showed that even if CECR could partly explain U accumulation in roots, other mechanisms like radial and longitudinal transport are implied in the translocation of U to the shoot.

  12. Differences in U root-to-shoot translocation between plant species explained by U distribution in roots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Straczek, Anne; Duquene, Lise; Wegrzynek, Dariusz; Chinea-Cano, Ernesto; Wannijn, Jean; Navez, Jacques; Vandenhove, Hildegarde

    2010-01-01

    Accumulation and distribution of uranium in roots and shoots of four plants species differing in their cation exchange capacity of roots (CECR) was investigated. After exposure in hydroponics for seven days to 100 μmol U L -1 , distribution of uranium in roots was investigated through chemical extraction of roots. Higher U concentrations were measured in roots of dicots which showed a higher CECR than monocot species. Chemical extractions indicated that uranium is mostly located in the apoplasm of roots of monocots but that it is predominantly located in the symplasm of roots of dicots. Translocation of U to shoot was not significantly affected by the CECR or distribution of U between symplasm and apoplasm. Distribution of uranium in roots was investigated through chemical extraction of roots for all species. Additionally, longitudinal and radial distribution of U in roots of maize and Indian mustard, respectively showing the lowest and the highest translocation, was studied following X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of specific root sections. Chemical analysis and XRF analysis of roots of maize and Indian mustard clearly indicated a higher longitudinal and radial transport of uranium in roots of Indian mustard than in roots of maize, where uranium mostly accumulated in root tips. These results showed that even if CECR could partly explain U accumulation in roots, other mechanisms like radial and longitudinal transport are implied in the translocation of U to the shoot.

  13. The beryllium production at Ulba metallurgical plant (Ust-Kamenogrsk, Kazakhstan)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dvinskykh, E.M.; Savchuk, V.V.; Tuzov, Y.V. [Ulba Metallurgical Plant (Zavod), Ust-Kamenogorsk, Abay prospect 102 (Kazakhstan)

    1998-01-01

    The Report includes data on beryllium production of Ulba metallurgical plant, located in Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan). Beryllium production is showed to have extended technological opportunities in manufacturing semi-products (beryllium ingots, master alloys, metallic beryllium powders, beryllium oxide) and in production of structural beryllium and its parts. Ulba metallurgical plant owns a unique technology of beryllium vacuum distillation, which allows to produce reactor grades of beryllium with a low content of metallic impurities. At present Ulba plant does not depend on raw materials suppliers. The quantity of stored raw materials and semi-products will allow to provide a 25-years work of beryllium production at a full capacity. The plant has a satisfactory experience in solving ecological problems, which could be useful in ITER program. (author)

  14. Influence of U(VI) on the metabolism of plant cells studied by microcalorimetry and TRLFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sachs, Susanne; Geipel, Gerhard [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V., Dresden (Germany). Biogeochemistry; Fahmy, Karim; Oertel, Jana [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V., Dresden (Germany). Biophysics; Bok, Frank [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V., Dresden (Germany). Surface Processes

    2017-06-01

    Uranium(VI) shows a concentration-dependent influence on the metabolic activity of plant cells. With increasing U(VI) concentration, the predominant U(VI) species in medium R{sub red} changes from UO{sub 2}HPO{sub 4}(s) to (UO{sub 2}){sub 3}(OH){sub 5}{sup +}, which may affect the bioavailability of U(VI).

  15. Biodegradable bags for the production of plant seedlings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Paula Bilck

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The production of plant seedlings has traditionally used polyethylene bags, which are thrown out in the soil or burned after transplant because the large amount of organic material attached to the bags makes recycling difficult. Additionally, when a seedling is taken from the bag for transplant, there is the risk of root damage, which compromises the plant’s development. In this study, we developed biodegradable bags to be used in seedling production, and we verify their influence on the development of Brazilian ginseng (Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng Pedersen, when the plant is planted without being removed from the bag. Both black and white biodegradable bags remained intact throughout the seedling production period (60 days. After being transplanted into containers (240 days, they were completely biodegraded, and there was no significant difference between the dry mass of these plants and that of plants that were transplanted without the bags. The plants that were cultivated without being removed from the polyethylene bags had root development difficulties, and the wrapping showed no signs of degradation. The use of biodegradable films is an alternative for the production of bags for seedlings, as these can then be transplanted directly into the soil without removing the bag, reducing the risk of damage to the roots during the moment of transplant.

  16. Achieving higher productivity of UO2 fuel at NUOFP through improved in-plant quality surveillance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meena, R.; Pramanik, D.; Sairam, S.; Rajkumar, J.V.; Rao, R.V.R.L.V.; Sinha, T.K.; Santra, N.; Rao, G.V.S.H.; Jayaraj, R.N.

    2009-01-01

    At Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), in the production of UO 2 fuel for PHWRs, a standard set of process parameters are monitored regularly for every lot of powder and pellet. Quality of intermediate products in the production process like UNP, ADU(dry), U 3 O 8 , UO 2+x , UO 2 granules, green pellets, sintered pellets are also regularly analysed/monitored apart from the final finished pellet and ensured to be within specified range. This range is decided by final product specifications and sometimes also based on the feed requirement in the next process in the downstream of the flow sheet. Vast experience gained over the years, behavior of various equipment under given set of conditions, feed back from the customer plants etc; have been primary criteria hither to, for defining the process conditions and chemical/physical properties of intermediate products

  17. Control of Listeria monocytogenes in food production plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitrijević Mirjana

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available L. monocytogenes has been established in different plants for the production of food, including dairy plants, abattoirs, plants for the processing of fish, as well as those for the production of ready-to-eat (RTE food and this fact is being considered as the primary mechanism of food contamination with this bacteria. There is also the factor of numerous and diverse contaminated production equipment, because it has certain parts that are inaccessible for the necessary cleaning and disinfection. The temperature, position, as well as the material of the work surface are also linked to the contamination of plants with this bacteria. Investigations carried out so far have helped toward the better understanding of the manner and time of contamination of food items in the course of the production process, but there are still unresolved problems, including most certainly the biggest one - the adherence of bacteria and the creation of a biofilm, when the bacteria is in that condition more resistant to so-called stress factors which are usually used in the food industry for the purpose of decontamination of the surfaces with which foods come into contact. The control of L. monocytogenes in food production plants is possible primarily by using an integrated programme, compatible with the systems Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP and Good Hygiene Practice (GHP, necessary in the production of food that is safe for the consumer. Essentially, the control measures that can contribute to reducing the incidence of findings of L.monocytogenes in the finished product, as well as the reducing of the level of contamination with this bacteria are linked, on the one hand, with hygiene procedures in the production process, and, on the other, with the applied technological procedures.

  18. What about improving the productivity of electric power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lawroski, H.; Knecht, P.D.; Prideaux, D.L.; Zahner, R.R.

    1976-01-01

    The FEA in April of 1974 established an Interagency Task Group on Power Plant Reliability, which was charged with the broad objective of improving the productivity of existing and planned large fossil-fueled and nuclear power plants. It took approximately 11 months for the task force to publish a report, ''Report on Improving the Productivity of Electrical Power Plants'' (FEA-263-G), a detailed analysis and comparison of successful and below-average-performance power plants. The Nuclear Service Corp. portion of this study examined four large central-station power plants: two fossil (coal) and two nuclear plants. Only plants with electrical generation capacities greater than 400 MWe were considered. The study included the following: staff technical skill, engineering support, QA program, plant/corporate coordination, operation philosophy, maintenance programs, federal/state regulations, network control, and equipment problems. Personnel were interviewed, and checklists providing input from some 21 or more plant and corporate personnel of each utility were utilized. Reports and other documentation were also reviewed. It was recognized early that productivity is closely allied to technical skills and positive motivation. For this reason, considerable attention was given to people in this study

  19. Root traits contributing to plant productivity under drought

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louise eComas

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Geneticists and breeders are positioned to breed plants with root traits that improve productivity under drought. However, a better understanding of root functional traits and how traits are related to whole plant strategies to increase crop productivity under different drought conditions is needed. Root traits associated with maintaining plant productivity under drought include small fine root diameters, long specific root length (SRL, and considerable root length density, especially at depths in soil with available water. In environments with late season water deficits, small xylem diameters in targeted seminal roots save soil water deep in the soil profile for use during crop maturation and result in improved yields. Capacity for deep root growth and large xylem diameters in deep roots may also improve root acquisition of water when ample water at depth is available. Xylem pit anatomy that makes xylem less ‘leaky’ and prone to cavitation warrants further exploration holding promise that such traits may improve plant productivity in water-limited environments without negatively impacting yield under adequate water conditions. Rapid resumption of root growth following soil rewetting may improve plant productivity under episodic drought. Genetic control of many of these traits through breeding appears feasible. Several recent reviews have covered methods for screening root traits but an appreciation for the complexity of root systems (e.g. functional differences between fine and coarse roots needs to be paired with these methods to successfully identify relevant traits for crop improvement. Screening of root traits at early stages in plant development can proxy traits at mature stages but verification is needed on a case by case basis that traits are linked to increased crop productivity under drought. Examples in lesquerella (Physaria and rice (Oryza show approaches to phenotyping of root traits and current understanding of root trait

  20. COOLING WATER ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES AT U.S. NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vine, Gary

    2010-01-01

    This report has been prepared for the Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), for the purpose of providing a status report on the challenges and opportunities facing the U.S. commercial nuclear energy industry in the area of plant cooling water supply. The report was prompted in part by recent Second Circuit and Supreme Court decisions regarding cooling water system designs at existing thermo-electric power generating facilities in the U.S. (primarily fossil and nuclear plants). At issue in the courts have been Environmental Protection Agency regulations that define what constitutes 'Best Technology Available' for intake structures that withdraw cooling water that is used to transfer and reject heat from the plant's steam turbine via cooling water systems, while minimizing environmental impacts on aquatic life in nearby water bodies used to supply that cooling water. The report was also prompted by a growing recognition that cooling water availability and societal use conflicts are emerging as strategic energy and environmental issues, and that research and development (R and D) solutions to emerging water shortage issues are needed. In particular, cooling water availability is an important consideration in siting decisions for new nuclear power plants, and is an under-acknowledged issue in evaluating the pros and cons of retrofitting cooling towers at existing nuclear plants. Because of the significant ongoing research on water issues already being performed by industry, the national laboratories and other entities, this report relies heavily on ongoing work. In particular, this report has relied on collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), including its recent work in the area of EPA regulations governing intake structures in thermoelectric cooling water systems.

  1. First results of U3Si2 production and its relevance in the power scale-up of IPEN research reactor IEA-R1m

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saliba-Silva, A.M.; Souza, J.A.B.; Frajndlich, E.U.C.; Durazzo, M.; Perrotta, J.A.

    1997-01-01

    The own supply of LEU U 3 Si 2 is crucial for IPEN, since the whole scale-up of IPEN MTR IEA-Rlm reactor will rely on it. The Brazilian request for radioisotopes production is fully linked with the already made power scale-up from 2 to 5 MW for this reactor. IPEN now depends on fuel element material upgrading from U 3 O 8 towards LEU U 3 Si 2 . The fuel plate productive technology from the powdered material is already well established, only needing simple making of minor adjustments, but to reach the stage of producing U 3 Si 2 we need a fully settled chemical pilot plant in order to reach a LEU UF 4 productive routine. Complementing this process, it was also needed to scale down the previous practice of uranium magnesiothermic reduction to around a sub-critical safe uranium mass of approximately 3000g. To complete the metallurgical processing, it is being developed the production of U 3 Si 2 in a vacuum induction furnace. Some experiments to get this intermetallic, using natural uranium, have already been carried out in order to build up a general idea of the future process of LEU U 3 Si 2 . These experiments are described in this paper and also some of the initial characterization results, such as the qualification pattern of the ingot. It is also discussed some new features of inhomogeneity of solidified phases that may be deleterious to future production routine. (author)

  2. Pilot plant study for ethanol production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, J S [Korea Inst. of Science and Technology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1996-02-01

    Most of domestic alcohol fermentation factory adopt batch process of which productivity is lower than continuous fermentation process. They have made great effort to increase productivity by means of partial unit process automatization and process improvement with their accumulated experience but there is technical limitation in productivity of batch fermentation process. To produce and supply fuel alcohol, economic aspects must be considered first of all. Therefore, development of continuous fermentation process, of which productivity is high, is prerequisite to produce and use fuel alcohol but only a few foreign company possess continuous fermentation technic and use it in practical industrial scale fermentation. We constructed pilot plant (5 Stage CSTR 1 kl 99.5 v/v% ethanol/Day scale) to study some aspects stated below and our ultimate aims are production of industrial scale fuel alcohol and construction of the plant by ourselves. Some study concerned with energy saving separation and contamination control technic were entrusted to KAIST, A-ju university and KIST respectively. (author) 67 refs., 100 figs., 58 tabs.

  3. Plant response-based sensing for control starategies in sustainable greenhouse production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kacira, M.; Sase, S.; Okushima, L.; Ling, P.P.

    2005-01-01

    The effect of environmental variability is one of the major concerns in experimental design for both research in plant systems and greenhouse plant production. Microclimates surrounding plants are not usually uniform. Therefore, many samples and sensors are required to obtain a true representation of the plant population. A plant monitoring system capable of reducing the required number of samples by reducing environmental variability would be more advantageous. To better understand plant-environment interaction, it is essential to study plants, microclimate surrounding the plants and the growth media. To achieve this, the monitoring system must be equipped with proper instrumentation. To achieve proper management practices and sustainable greenhouse production, it is essential first to understand plants and their interactions with their surroundings and then establish plant response-based sensing and control strategies for greenhouse processes. Therefore, an effort was conducted to review and discuss current sensing and control strategies in greenhouse research and plant production and provide recommendations on plant response-based sensing and control strategies for sustainable greenhouse production

  4. Comparative research of international exchange of plant products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đorović Milutin T.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The well known events which had taken place in our country over the period 1989-2001 provoked adverse effects on foreign trade exchange of the total economy, agriculture and commodities of plant origin. These effects and changes were analyzed using corresponding indices for the sub periods 1989-1992 and 1998-2001. The foreign trade exchange balance was substantially negative in both sub periods over the analyzed period showing an aggravating trend. Export covering import declined from 78.09% to only 47.71%. The positive balance of exchange of agricultural, especially commodities of plant origin in the first four years was turned into a negative balance of exchange in the second four years. Export covering import at the agricultural level declined from 164.79% to 78.58% and at the level of commodities of plant origin from 201,76% to 87.35%. There was a significant disturbance of commodity and regional structure exchange. The share of agriculture in the total export of the country was raised from 13.82% to 18.16%. The share of plant originating commodities in the total export of agriculture was raised from 71,96% to 86,34%. Basic agricultural products predominated in the export. In addition, in the domestic export the share of developed countries decreased which contributed to poor export results and increased the import dependence of the country. Considering the above said, the need arises to increase substantially agricultural production, i.e. commodities of plant origin. The structure and output of these productions should meet the needs of both domestic and foreign markets. International standards need to be applied in order to take hold of new foreign markets, exporting high technology processed products, using intensive and efficient promotive activities. Subsequently, greater investments and a planned production are needed, liberalization and especially the system of import control in foreign trade exchange of agricultural products, i

  5. Materials availability for fusion power plant construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartley, J.N.; Erickson, L.E.; Engel, R.L.; Foley, T.J.

    1976-09-01

    A preliminary assessment was made of the estimated total U.S. material usage with and without fusion power plants as well as the U.S. and foreign reserves and resources, and U.S. production capacity. The potential environmental impacts of fusion power plant material procurement were also reviewed including land alteration and resultant chemical releases. To provide a general measure for the impact of material procurement for fusion reactors, land requirements were estimated for mining and disposing of waste from mining

  6. Fission Product Yields of 233U, 235U, 238U and 239Pu in Fields of Thermal Neutrons, Fission Neutrons and 14.7-MeV Neutrons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laurec, J.; Adam, A.; de Bruyne, T.; Bauge, E.; Granier, T.; Aupiais, J.; Bersillon, O.; Le Petit, G.; Authier, N.; Casoli, P.

    2010-12-01

    The yields of more than fifteen fission products have been carefully measured using radiochemical techniques, for 235U(n,f), 239Pu(n,f) in a thermal spectrum, for 233U(n,f), 235U(n,f), and 239Pu(n,f) reactions in a fission neutron spectrum, and for 233U(n,f), 235U(n,f), 238U(n,f), and 239Pu(n,f) for 14.7 MeV monoenergetic neutrons. Irradiations were performed at the EL3 reactor, at the Caliban and Prospero critical assemblies, and at the Lancelot electrostatic accelerator in CEA-Valduc. Fissions were counted in thin deposits using fission ionization chambers. The number of fission products of each species were measured by gamma spectrometry of co-located thick deposits.

  7. Natural products – learning chemistry from plants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Staniek, A.; Bouwmeester, H.J.; Fraser, P.D.; Kayser, O.; Martens, S.; Tissier, A.; Krol, van der A.R.; Wessjohann, L.; Warzecha, H.

    2014-01-01

    Plant natural products (PNPs) are unique in that they represent a vast array of different structural features, ranging from relatively simple molecules to very complex ones. Given the fact that many plant secondary metabolites exhibit profound biological activity, they are frequently used as

  8. HyPEP-FY 07 Annual Report: A Hydrogen Production Plant Efficiency Calculation Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang Oh

    2007-09-01

    The Very High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (VHTR) coupled to the High Temperature Steam Electrolysis (HTSE) process is one of two reference integrated systems being investigated by the U.S. Department of Energy and Idaho National Laboratory for the production of hydrogen. In this concept the VHTR outlet temperature of 900 °C provides thermal energy and high efficiency electricity for the electrolysis of steam in the HTSE process. In the second reference system the Sulfur Iodine (SI) process is coupled to the VHTR to produce hydrogen thermochemically. In the HyPEP project we are investigating and characterizing these two reference systems with respect to production, operability, and safety performance criteria. Under production, plant configuration and working fluids are being studied for their effect on efficiency. Under operability, control strategies are being developed with the goal of maintaining equipment within operating limits while meeting changes in demand. Safety studies are to investigate plant response for equipment failures. Specific objectives in FY07 were (1) to develop HyPEP Beta and verification and validation (V&V) plan, (2) to perform steady state system integration, (3) to perform parametric studies with various working fluids and power conversion unit (PCU) configurations, (4) the study of design options such as pressure, temperature, etc. (5) to develop a control strategy and (6) to perform transient analyses for plant upsets, control strategy, etc for hydrogen plant with PCU. This report describes the progress made in FY07 in each of the above areas. (1) The HyPEP code numeric scheme and Graphic User Interface have been tested and refined since the release of the alpha version a year ago. (2) The optimal size and design condition for the intermediate heat exchanger, one of the most important components for integration of the VHTR and HTSE plants, was estimated. (3) Efficiency calculations were performed for a variety of working fluids for

  9. Evaluation of the contribution of license renewal of nuclear power plants to fault reduction in the U.S

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiba, Goro

    2008-01-01

    Although nuclear power plants in the U.S. were originally permitted to operate for 40 years, operating periods of many plants have been extended by license renewal for another 20 years. On the other hand, plant life management of nuclear power plants in Japan is carried out assuming long-term operation, and the licensee submits aging technology assessment reports before the plant has been operating commercially for 30 years, and then every ten years thereafter, and receives an evaluation by the authorities. In this paper, trend analysis using the INSS database on faults at nuclear power plants overseas, state of implementation of relevant aging management programs, and the effects of license renewal on preservation activities are examined. It is shown that the aging management program identified that many of the cases of fatigue, FAC, and a closed cycle cooling system have been addressed. As a result of analyzing the fault number for each unit, the number of aging faults trends to decrease after applying for license renewal. Therefore, the U.S. license renewal system is considered to be effective for plant life management, and hence the plant life management in Japan, which is substantially equivalent to the U.S. system, is valid. (author)

  10. Biotechnological production of pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals in plant cell and organ cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hidalgo, Diego; Sanchez, Raul; Lalaleo, Liliana; Bonfill, Mercedes; Corchete, Purificacion; Palazon, Javier

    2018-03-09

    Plant biofactories are biotechnological platforms based on plant cell and organ cultures used for the production of pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals, although to date only a few of these systems have successfully been implemented at an industrial level. Metabolic engineering is possibly the most straightforward strategy to boost pharmaceutical production in plant biofactories, but social opposition to the use of GMOs means empirical approaches are still being used. Plant secondary metabolism involves thousands of different enzymes, some of which catalyze specific reactions, giving one product from a particular substrate, whereas others can yield multiple products from the same substrate. This trait opens plant cell biofactories to new applications, in which the natural metabolic machinery of plants can be harnessed for the bioconversion of phytochemicals or even the production of new bioactive compounds. Synthetic biological pipelines involving the bioconversion of natural substrates into products with a high market value may be established by the heterologous expression of target metabolic genes in model plants. To summarize the state of the art of plant biofactories and their applications for the pipeline production of cosme-, pharma- and biopharmaceuticals. In order to demonstrate the great potential of plant biofactories for multiple applications in the biotechnological production of pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals, this review broadly covers the following: plant biofactories based on cell and hairy root cultures; secondary metabolite production; biotransformation reactions; metabolic engineering tools applied in plant biofactories; and biopharmaceutical production. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  11. The Role of License Renewal in PLiM for U.S. Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, G.G.

    2012-01-01

    At the 2nd International Symposium on Nuclear Power Plant Life Management (PLiM) in 2007, it was reported that the NRC had approved renewal of operating licenses for 48 nuclear units, which would allow operation for up to 60 years (i.e., an additional 20 years from the original 40-year license term). Of the 104 operating nuclear units in the U.S. in 2007, it was anticipated that almost 100% would eventually pursue license renewal. At that time, it was also concluded that the regulatory process was stable and predictable for license renewal, and that successful PLiM activities were helping to ensure the safety, economic, and political factors in the U.S. remained favorable for continued success with license renewal. The status of license renewal in 2012 is even better than it was in 2007. As of April 2012, the NRC has approved renewal of the operating licenses for 71 nuclear units and has applications under review for 15 more units. In addition, nuclear plant owners of at least 14 more units have announced plans to submit license renewal applications over the next few years. This brings the total of renewed licenses and announced plans for license renewal to 96% of the 104 currently operating nuclear units in the U.S. The prediction that almost 100% would eventually pursue license renewal is assured. This positive trend for long term operation of nuclear power plants in the U.S. is attributed to: (1) the success of PLiM activities in achieving an excellent safety record for the nuclear power industry and in ensuring on-going positive economics for nuclear plant operation, and (2) the stable and predictable regulatory process for license renewal. U.S. efforts are now underway to consider long term operation for more than 60 years and the process of preparing a second round of license renewals for up to 80 years of operation is likely to begin within the next few years. (author)

  12. Feasibility study of microalgal and jatropha biodiesel production plants: Exergy analysis approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ofori-Boateng, Cynthia; Keat, Teong Lee; JitKang, Lim

    2012-01-01

    The exergy analyses performed in this study are based on three thermodynamic performance parameters namely exergy destruction, exergy efficiency and thermodynamic improvement potentials. After mathematical analysis with Aspen Plus software, the results showed that 64% and 44% of the total exergy content of the input resources into microalgal methyl ester (MME) and jatropha methyl ester (JME) production plants were destroyed respectively for 1 ton of biodiesel produced. This implies that only 36% and 56% (for MME and JME production plants respectively) useful energy in the products is available to do work. The highest and lowest exergy destructions were recorded in the oil extraction units (38% and 39% of the total exergy destroyed for MME and JME plants respectively) and transesterification units (5% and 2% of total exergy destroyed for MME and JME plants respectively) respectively for 1 ton biodiesel produced. Since sustainable biodiesel production depends on cultivation of feedstock, oil extraction and transesterification processes, exergy analysis which is carried out on only the transesterification unit cannot justify the thermodynamic feasibility of the whole biodiesel production plant unless a complete thermodynamic assessment has been done for the whole plant. Thus, according to this study which considers all the biodiesel production processes, MME and JME production plants are not thermodynamically feasible. - Highlights: ► 64% of exergy content of input resources into MME production plant is destroyed. ► 44% of exergy content of input resources into JME production plant is destroyed. ► Exergetic efficiencies of MME and JME production plants are far less than 1. ► Thermodynamically, MME and JME production plants are unsustainable. ► Exergy loss can be reduced by using heat integrated reactive distillation process.

  13. Transgenic plants as green factories for vaccine production | Vinod ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Edible vaccine technology represents an alternative to fermentation based vaccine production system. Transgenic plants are used for the production of plant derived specific vaccines with native immunogenic properties stimulating both humoral and mucosal immune responses. Keeping in view the practical need of new ...

  14. Food-Energy Interactive Tradeoff Analysis of Sustainable Urban Plant Factory Production Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li-Chun Huang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to analyze the food–energy interactive nexus of sustainable urban plant factory systems. Plant factory systems grow agricultural products within artificially controlled growing environment and multi-layer vertical growing systems. The system controls the supply of light, temperature, humidity, nutrition, water, and carbon dioxide for growing plants. Plant factories are able to produce consistent and high-quality agricultural products within less production space for urban areas. The production systems use less labor, pesticide, water, and nutrition. However, food production of plant factories has many challenges including higher energy demand, energy costs, and installation costs of artificially controlled technologies. In the research, stochastic optimization model and linear complementarity models are formulated to conduct optimal and equilibrium food–energy analysis of plant factory production. A case study of plant factories in the Taiwanese market is presented.

  15. 238U, and its decay products, in grasses from an abandoned uranium mine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Childs, Edgar; Maskall, John; Millward, Geoffrey

    2016-04-01

    Bioaccumulation of radioactive contaminants by plants is of concern particularly where the sward is an essential part of the diet of ruminants. The abandoned South Terras uranium mine, south west England, had primary deposits of uraninite (UO2) and pitchblende (U3O8), which contained up to 30% uranium. When the mine was active uranium and radium were extracted but following closure it was abandoned without remediation. Waste rock and gangue, consisting of inefficiently processed minerals, were spread around the site, including a field where ruminants are grazed. Here we report the activity concentrations of 238U, 235U 214,210Pb, and the concentrations of selected metals in the soils, roots and leaves of grasses taken from the contaminated field. Soil samples were collected at the surface, and at 30 cm depth, using an auger along a 10-point transect in the field from the foot of a waste heap. Whole, individual grass plants were removed with a spade, ensuring that their roots were intact. The soils and roots and grass leaves were freeze-dried. Activity concentrations of the radionuclides were determined by gamma spectroscopy, following 30 days incubation for development of secular equilibrium. Dried soils, roots and grasses were also digested in aqua regia and the concentrations of elements determined by ICP techniques. Maximum activity concentrations of 238U, 235U, 214Pb and 210Pb surface soils were 63,300, 4,510, 23,300 and 49,400 Bq kg-1, respectively. The mean 238U:235U ratio was 11.8 ± 1.8, an order of magnitude lower than the natural value of 138, indicating disequilibrium within the decay chain due to mineral processing. Radionuclides in the roots had 5 times lower concentration and only grass leaves in the vicinity of the waste heap had measureable values. The mean soil to root transfer factor for 238U was 36%, the mean root to leaf was 3% and overall only 0.7% of 238U was transferred from the soil to the leaves. The roots contained 0.8% iron, possibly as

  16. Antioxidant Capacity Determination in Plants and Plant-Derived Products: A Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pop, Aneta; Cimpeanu, Carmen; Predoi, Gabriel

    2016-01-01

    The present paper aims at reviewing and commenting on the analytical methods applied to antioxidant and antioxidant capacity assessment in plant-derived products. Aspects related to oxidative stress, reactive oxidative species' influence on key biomolecules, and antioxidant benefits and modalities of action are discussed. Also, the oxidant-antioxidant balance is critically discussed. The conventional and nonconventional extraction procedures applied prior to analysis are also presented, as the extraction step is of pivotal importance for isolation and concentration of the compound(s) of interest before analysis. Then, the chromatographic, spectrometric, and electrochemical methods for antioxidant and antioxidant capacity determination in plant-derived products are detailed with respect to their principles, characteristics, and specific applications. Peculiarities related to the matrix characteristics and other factors influencing the method's performances are discussed. Health benefits of plants and derived products are described, as indicated in the original source. Finally, critical and conclusive aspects are given when it comes to the choice of a particular extraction procedure and detection method, which should consider the nature of the sample, prevalent antioxidant/antioxidant class, and the mechanism underlying each technique. Advantages and disadvantages are discussed for each method. PMID:28044094

  17. Overview of Activities in U.S. Related to Continued Service of Nuclear Power Plant Concrete Structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naus, Dan J.

    2011-01-01

    Safety-related nuclear power plant concrete structures are described and commentary on continued service assessments of these structures is provided. In-service inspection and testing requirements in the U.S. are summarized. The license renewal process in the U.S. is outlined and its current status noted. A summary of operating experience related to U.S. nuclear power plant concrete structures is presented. Several candidate areas are identified where additional research would be of benefit to aging management of NPP concrete structures. Finally current ORNL activities related to aging-management of concrete structures are outlined: development of operating experience database, application of structural reliability theory, and compilation of elevated temperature concrete material property data and information.

  18. Plant Products for Innovative Biomaterials in Dentistry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena M. Varoni

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Dental biomaterials and natural products represent two of the main growing research fields, revealing plant-derived compounds may play a role not only as nutraceuticals in affecting oral health, but also in improving physico-chemical properties of biomaterials used in dentistry. Therefore, our aim was to collect all available data concerning the utilization of plant polysaccharides, proteins and extracts rich in bioactive phytochemicals in enhancing performance of dental biomaterials. Although compelling evidences are suggestive of a great potential of plant products in promoting material-tissue/cell interface, to date, only few authors have investigated their use in development of innovative dental biomaterials. A small number of studies have reported plant extract-based titanium implant coatings and periodontal regenerative materials. To the best of our knowledge, this review is the first to deal with this topic, highlighting a general lack of research findings in an interesting field which still needs to be investigated.

  19. Ethylene production throughout growth and development of plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, Raymond M.; Peterson, Barbara V.; Stutte, Gary W.

    2004-01-01

    Ethylene production by 10 or 20 m2 stands of wheat, soybean, lettuce, potato, and tomato was monitored throughout growth and development in an atmospherically closed plant chamber. Chamber ethylene levels varied among species and rose during periods of canopy expansion and rapid growth for all species. Following this, ethylene levels either declined during seed fill and maturation for wheat and soybean, or remained relatively constant for potato and tomato (during flowering and early fruit development). Lettuce plants were harvested during rapid growth and peak ethylene production. Chamber ethylene levels increased rapidly during tomato ripening, reaching concentrations about 10 times that measured during vegetative growth. The highest ethylene production rates during vegetative growth ranged from 1.6 to 2.5 nmol m-2 d-1 during rapid growth of lettuce and wheat stands, or about 0.3 to 0.5 nmol g-1 fresh weight per hour. Estimates of stand ethylene production during tomato ripening showed that rates reached 43 nmol m-2 d-1 in one study and 93 nmol m-2 d-1 in a second study with higher lighting, or about 50x that of the rate during vegetative growth of tomato. In a related test with potato, the photoperiod was extended from 12 to 24 hours (continuous light) at 58 days after planting (to increase tuber yield), but this change in the environment caused a sharp increase in ethylene production from the basal rate of 0.4 to 6.2 nmol m-2 d-1. Following this, the photoperiod was changed back to 12 h at 61 days and ethylene levels decreased. The results suggest three separate categories of ethylene production were observed with whole stands of plants: 1) production during rapid vegetative growth, 2) production during climacteric fruit ripening, and 3) production from environmental stress.

  20. Radiological characterization of waste products at a Catalan drinking water treatment plant - Radiological characterization of waste products of one Catalan drinking water treatment plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Camacho, A.; Montana, M.; Serrano, I.; Blazquez, S.; Duch, M.A. [Institut de Tecniques Energetiques. Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, ETSEIB. Diagonal 647. 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Montes, S.; Ganzer, M.; Devesa, R. [Aigues de Barcelona, AGBAR. Laboratory, General Batet, 5-7, 08028 Barcelona (Spain)

    2014-07-01

    Conventional Drinking Water Treatment Plants (DWTP) have a fairly standard sequence of processes which essentially consist in solids separation using physical processes such as settling and filtration, and chemical processes such as coagulation and disinfection. Consequently large quantities of solid wastes or sludge are generated every year by DWTP. These solid wastes may contain all kind of pollutants, including significant levels of radioactivity and may cause a radiological impact on the operating personnel, but also on the public if the waste is recycled, e.g. the use of sludge as fertilizer or cement manufacturing. In this work it has been studied the radioactivity content of waste products of one DWTP. The selected DWTP treats water mainly taken from the Llobregat River and also ground water. The treatment plant has a maximum treatment capacity of 5.5 m{sup 3}/s, and provides almost 50% of the annual drinking water in Barcelona metropolitan area (population equivalent of the plant: 4,856,579). This plant has been selected taking into account both variations in water source and the treatment applied. During the period July 2007 - March 2009 a temporal study of radio-nuclides present in sludge produced by the decanter cleaning process was conducted. The temporal study was made taking into account the particular weather conditions in Spain, at least one sampling campaign per season. In these samples naturally gamma emitters from the {sup 238}U and {sup 232}Th series were detected with activities similar to the arithmetic mean found in Spanish soils so no increase in natural radiation are produced by the uses of these sludge. Furthermore, no seasonal tendency could be observed in the studied period for both series within the uncertainties associated with the results. Radiological hazard effects were also evaluated by the external hazard index because one of the end-uses of this sludge is the cement manufacturing. In 2009 the treatment plant was modified and

  1. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Detected at Four U.S. Wastewater Treatment Plants

    OpenAIRE

    Goldstein, Rachel E. Rosenberg; Micallef, Shirley A.; Gibbs, Shawn G.; Davis, Johnnie A.; He, Xin; George, Ashish; Kleinfelter, Lara M.; Schreiber, Nicole A.; Mukherjee, Sampa; Sapkota, Amir; Joseph, Sam W.; Sapkota, Amy R.

    2012-01-01

    Background: The incidence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections is increasing in the United States, and it is possible that municipal wastewater could be a reservoir of this microorganism. To date, no U.S. studies have evaluated the occurrence of MRSA in wastewater. Objective: We examined the occurrence of MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) at U.S. wastewater treatment plants. Methods: We collected wastewater samples from two Mid...

  2. Biotechnological applications for rosmarinic acid production in plant ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biotechnological applications for rosmarinic acid production in plant. ... rosmarinic acid in medicinal plants, herbs and spices has beneficial and health promoting ... of rosmarinic acid starts with the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine.

  3. Updating of U.S. Wood Product Life-Cycle Assessment Data for Environmental Product Declarations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard Bergman; Elaine Oneil; Maureen Puettmann; Ivan Eastin; Indroneil Ganguly

    2014-01-01

    The marketplace has an increasing desire for credible and transparent product eco-labels based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) data, especially involving international trade. Over the past several years, stakeholders in the U.S. wood products industry have developed many such “eco-labels” under the ISO standard of LCA-based environmental product declarations (EPDs). The...

  4. Application of Modern Technologies for Nuclear Power Plant Productivity Improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joseph, A. Naser

    2011-01-01

    The nuclear power industry in several countries is concerned about the ability to maintain current high plant performance levels due to aging and obsolescence, knowledge drain, fewer plant staff, new requirements and commitments, unnecessary workloads and stress levels, and human errors. Current plant operations are labor-intensive due to the vast number of operational and support activities required by the commonly used technology in most plants. These concerns increase as plants extend their operating life. In addition, there is the desire by many plants to further improve performance while reducing human errors and increasingly focus on reducing operations and maintenance costs. New productivity improvement capabilities with measurable economic benefits are needed so that a successful business case can be made for their use. Improved and new instrumentation and control, human-system interface, information and communications technologies used properly can address concerns about cost-effectively maintaining current performance levels and enable shifts to even higher performance levels. This can be accomplished through the use of new technology implementations to improve productivity, reduce costs of systemic inefficiencies and avoid unexpected costs. Many of the same type of productivity improvements for operating plants will be applicable for new plants. As new plants are being built, it is important to include these productivity improvements or at least provide the ability to implement them easily later

  5. Environmental justice and factors that influence participation in tree planting programs in Portland, Oregon, U.S

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geoffrey H. Donovan; John Mills

    2014-01-01

    Many cities have policies encouraging homeowners to plant trees. For these policies to be effective, it is important to understand what motivates a homeowner’s tree-planting decision. Researchers address this question by identifying variables that influence participation in a tree-planting program in Portland, Oregon, U.S. According to the study, homeowners with street...

  6. Natural radionuclides in plants, soils and sediments affected by U-rich coal mining activities in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galhardi, Juliana Aparecida; García-Tenorio, Rafael; Bonotto, Daniel Marcos; Díaz Francés, Inmaculada; Motta, João Gabriel

    2017-10-01

    Mining activities can increase the mobility of metals by accelerating the dissolution and leaching of minerals from the rocks and tailing piles to the environment and, consequently, their availability for plants and subsequent transfer to the food chain. The weathering of minerals and the disposal of coal waste in tailing piles can accelerate the generation of acid mine drainage (AMD), which is responsible for the higher dissolution of metals in mining areas. In this context, the behavior of U, Th and K in soils and sediment, and the transfer factor (TF) of 238 U, 234 U and 210 Po for soybean, wheat, pine and eucalyptus cultivated around a coal mine in southern Brazil was evaluated. Alpha and gamma spectrometry were used for the measurements of the activity concentration of the radioelements. 210 Po was the radionuclide that is most accumulated in the plants, especially in the leaves. When comparing the plant species, pine showed the highest TF values for 234 U (0.311 ± 0.420) for leaves, while eucalyptus showed the highest TF for 238 U (0.344 ± 0.414) for leaves. In general, TF were higher for the leaves of soybean and wheat when compared to the grains, and grains of wheat showed higher TF for 210 Po and 238 U than grains of soybean. Deviations from the natural U isotopic ratio were recorded at all investigated areas, indicating possible industrial and mining sources of U for the vegetables. A safety assessment of transport routes and accumulation of radionuclides in soils with a potential for cultivation is important, mainly in tropical areas contaminated with solid waste and effluents from mines and industry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. 9 CFR 355.21 - Products entering inspected plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION CERTIFIED PRODUCTS FOR DOGS, CATS, AND OTHER CARNIVORA; INSPECTION... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Products entering inspected plants. 355.21 Section 355.21 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF...

  8. Alert Systems for production Plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Thomas Dyhre; Jensen, Finn Verner

    2005-01-01

    We present a new methodology for detecting faults and abnormal behavior in production plants. The methodology stems from a joint project with a Danish energy consortium. During the course of the project we encountered several problems that we believe are common for projects of this type. Most...

  9. COOLING WATER ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES AT U.S. NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gary Vine

    2010-12-01

    This report has been prepared for the Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), for the purpose of providing a status report on the challenges and opportunities facing the U.S. commercial nuclear energy industry in the area of plant cooling water supply. The report was prompted in part by recent Second Circuit and Supreme Court decisions regarding cooling water system designs at existing thermo-electric power generating facilities in the U.S. (primarily fossil and nuclear plants). At issue in the courts have been Environmental Protection Agency regulations that define what constitutes “Best Technology Available” for intake structures that withdraw cooling water that is used to transfer and reject heat from the plant’s steam turbine via cooling water systems, while minimizing environmental impacts on aquatic life in nearby water bodies used to supply that cooling water. The report was also prompted by a growing recognition that cooling water availability and societal use conflicts are emerging as strategic energy and environmental issues, and that research and development (R&D) solutions to emerging water shortage issues are needed. In particular, cooling water availability is an important consideration in siting decisions for new nuclear power plants, and is an under-acknowledged issue in evaluating the pros and cons of retrofitting cooling towers at existing nuclear plants. Because of the significant ongoing research on water issues already being performed by industry, the national laboratories and other entities, this report relies heavily on ongoing work. In particular, this report has relied on collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), including its recent work in the area of EPA regulations governing intake structures in thermoelectric cooling water systems.

  10. Material control and accountability aspects of safeguards for the USA 233U/Th fuel recycle plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carpenter, J.A. Jr.; McNeany, S.R.; Angelini, P.; Holder, N.D.; Abraham, L.

    1978-01-01

    The materials control and accountability aspects of the reprocessing and refabrication of a conceptual large-scale HTGR fuel recycle plant have been discussed. Two fuel cycles were considered. The traditional highly enriched uranium cycle uses an initial or makeup fuel element with a fissile enrichment of 93% 235 U. The more recent medium enriched uranium cycle uses initial or makeup fuel elements with a fissile enrichment less than 20% 235 U. In both cases, 233 U bred from the fertile thorium is recycled. Materials control and accountability in the plant will be by means of a real-time accountability method. Accountability data will be derived from monitoring of total material mass through the processes and a system of numerous assays, both destructive and nondestructive

  11. Plant Products for Pharmacology: Application of Enzymes in Their Transformations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie Zarevúcka

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Different plant products have been subjected to detailed investigations due to their increasing importance for improving human health. Plants are sources of many groups of natural products, of which large number of new compounds has already displayed their high impact in human medicine. This review deals with the natural products which may be found dissolved in lipid phase (phytosterols, vitamins etc.. Often subsequent convenient transformation of natural products may further improve the pharmacological properties of new potential medicaments based on natural products. To respect basic principles of sustainable and green procedures, enzymes are often employed as efficient natural catalysts in such plant product transformations. Transformations of lipids and other natural products under the conditions of enzyme catalysis show increasing importance in environmentally safe and sustainable production of pharmacologically important compounds. In this review, attention is focused on lipases, efficient and convenient biocatalysts for the enantio- and regioselective formation / hydrolysis of ester bond in a wide variety of both natural and unnatural substrates, including plant products, eg. plant oils and other natural lipid phase compounds. The application of enzymes for preparation of acylglycerols and transformation of other natural products provides big advantage in comparison with employing of conventional chemical methods: Increased selectivity, higher product purity and quality, energy conservation, elimination of heavy metal catalysts, and sustainability of the employed processes, which are catalyzed by enzymes. Two general procedures are used in the transformation of lipid-like natural products: (a Hydrolysis/alcoholysis of triacylglycerols and (b esterification of glycerol. The reactions can be performed under conventional conditions or in supercritical fluids/ionic liquids. Enzyme-catalyzed reactions in supercritical fluids combine the

  12. Laser spectroscopy and laser isotope separation of atomic gadolinium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Y. W.; Yamanaka, C.; Nomaru, K.; Kou, K.; Niki, H.; Izawa, Y.; Nakai, S.

    1994-01-01

    Atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) is a process which uses intense pulsed lasers to selectively photoionize one isotopic species of a chemical element, after which these ions are extracted electromagnetically. The AVLIS has several advantages over the traditional methods based on the mass difference, such as high selectivity, low energy consumption, short starting time and versatility to any atoms. The efforts for atomic vapor laser isotope separation at ILT and ILE, Osaka University have been concentrated into the following items: 1) studies on laser spectroscopy and laser isotope separation of atomic gadolinium, 2) studies on interaction processes including coherent dynamics, propagation effects and atom-ion collision in AVLIS system, 3) development of laser systems for AVLIS. In this paper, we present experimental results on the laser spectroscopy and laser isotope separation of atomic gadolinium.

  13. Comparison of Authorization/Registration/Notification Processes among Biocidal Products, Cosmetics, Plant Protection Products and Human Medicinal Products

    OpenAIRE

    Söyleriz, Yüksel

    2015-01-01

    In this study, comparison of the authorization/registration/notification processes of biocidal products, cosmetics, plant protection products and medicinal products are made and in this respect, the situation in EU is assessed.

  14. Concepts in production ecology for analysis and design of animal and plant-animal production systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ven, van de G.W.J.; Ridder, de N.; Keulen, van H.; Ittersum, van M.K.

    2003-01-01

    The use of a hierarchy in growth factors (defining, limiting and reducing growth factors), as developed for plant production has shown its usefulness in the analysis and design of plant production systems. This hierarchy presents a theoretical framework for the analysis of biophysical conditions in

  15. Transfer of 210Po, 210Pb and 238U from some medicinal plants to their essential oils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Masri, M.S.; Amin, Y.; Ibrahim, S.; Nassri, M.

    2015-01-01

    Essential oils were extracted from 35 medicinal plants used by Syrians, organic compounds were determined in these oils and concentrations of 210 Po 210 Pb and 238 U were determined in the original plants and in the essential oils. The results showed that the highest activity concentrations of 210 Po and 210 Pb were found in leaves with large surfaces and in Sage were as high as 73.5 Bq kg −1 and 73.2 Bq kg −1 , respectively. The activity concentration of 238 U was as high as 4.26 Bq kg −1 in Aloe. On the other hand, activity concentrations of 210 Po ranged between 0.2 and 71.1 Bq kg −1 in extracted essential oils for Rosemary and False yellowhead, respectively. The activity concentration of 210 Pb reached 63.7 Bq kg −1 in Aloe oil. The activity concentrations of 238 U were very low in all extracted oils; the highest value was 0.31 Bq kg −1 in peel of Orange oil. The transfer of 210 Po and 210 Pb from plant to its oil was the highest for Eugenia; 7.1% and 5.5% for 210 Po and 210 Pb, respectively. A linear relationship was found between the transfer factor of radionuclides from plant to its essential oil and the chemical content of this oil. - Highlights: • Natural radionuclides 210 Po, 210 Pb and 238 U were determined in 35 medicinal plants and their essential oils. • The highest activity concentration of 210 Po and 210 Pb were 73.5 Bq kg −1 and 73.2 Bq kg −1 in Sage, respectively. • The transfer of 210 Po and 210 Pb from Eugenia plant to its oil was the highest amongst other plants. • The data obtained in this study can be considered the first reported data for medicinal plants and their oils in Syria

  16. Controls on sediment production in two U.S. deserts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belnap, Jayne; Walker, Beau J.; Munson, Seth M.; Gill, Richard A.

    2014-01-01

    Much of the world’s airborne sediment originates from dryland regions. Soil surface disturbances in these regions are ever-increasing due to human activities such as energy and mineral exploration and development, recreation, suburbanization, livestock grazing and cropping. Sediment production can have significant impacts to human health with particles potentially carrying viruses such as Valley Fever or causing asthma or other respiratory diseases. Dust storms can cause decreased visibility at the ground level, resulting in highway accidents, and reduced visual quality in park and wildland airsheds. Sediment production and deposition is also detrimental to ecosystem health, as production reduces soil fertility at its source and can bury plants and other organisms where it is deposited. Therefore, it is important to understand how we can predict what areas are prone to producing sediment emissions both before and after soil surface disturbance. We visited 87 sites in two deserts of the western U.S. that represented a range of soil texture and surface cover types. We used a portable wind tunnel to estimate the threshold friction velocity (TFV) required to initiate sediment transport and the amount of sediment produced by the tunnel at a set wind speed. Wind tunnel runs were done before and after soil surface disturbance with a four-wheel drive vehicle. Results show that most undisturbed desert soils are very stable, especially if covered by rocks or well-developed biological soil crusts, which make them virtually wind-erosion proof. Particles at disturbed sites, in contrast, moved at relatively low wind speeds and produced high amounts of sediment. Silt was an important predictor of TFV and sediment production across all sites, whereas the influence of rock cover and biological soil crusts was site-dependent. Understanding the vulnerability of a site after disturbance is important information for land managers as they plan land use activities and attempt to

  17. Controls on sediment production in two U.S. deserts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belnap, Jayne; Walker, Beau J.; Munson, Seth M.; Gill, Richard A.

    2014-09-01

    Much of the world’s airborne sediment originates from dryland regions. Soil surface disturbances in these regions are ever-increasing due to human activities such as energy and mineral exploration and development, recreation, suburbanization, livestock grazing and cropping. Sediment production can have significant impacts to human health with particles potentially carrying viruses such as Valley Fever or causing asthma or other respiratory diseases. Dust storms can cause decreased visibility at the ground level, resulting in highway accidents, and reduced visual quality in park and wildland airsheds. Sediment production and deposition is also detrimental to ecosystem health, as production reduces soil fertility at its source and can bury plants and other organisms where it is deposited. Therefore, it is important to understand how we can predict what areas are prone to producing sediment emissions both before and after soil surface disturbance. We visited 87 sites in two deserts of the western U.S. that represented a range of soil texture and surface cover types. We used a portable wind tunnel to estimate the threshold friction velocity (TFV) required to initiate sediment transport and the amount of sediment produced by the tunnel at a set wind speed. Wind tunnel runs were done before and after soil surface disturbance with a four-wheel drive vehicle. Results show that most undisturbed desert soils are very stable, especially if covered by rocks or well-developed biological soil crusts, which make them virtually wind-erosion proof. Particles at disturbed sites, in contrast, moved at relatively low wind speeds and produced high amounts of sediment. Silt was an important predictor of TFV and sediment production across all sites, whereas the influence of rock cover and biological soil crusts was site-dependent. Understanding the vulnerability of a site after disturbance is important information for land managers as they plan land use activities and attempt to

  18. Plant-based fertilizers for organic vegetable production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jørn Nygaard; Thorup-Kristensen, Kristian

    2011-01-01

    To ensure high yield and quality in organic vegetable production, crops often require additional fertilizer applied during the season. Due to the risk of contamination of edible plant products from slurry, plant-based fertilizers may be used as an alternative. The purpose of our work was to develop...... fertility, the term “mobile green manures” is used for green-manure crops that are harvested in one field and then moved as a whole and used as fertilizer in other fields. To further investigate mobile-green-manure crops for use as efficient fertilizers, pot and field experiments were conducted...... with cauliflower (Brassica oleracea botrytis) and kale (Brassica oleracea sabellica) supplied with organic matter consisting of a wide range of plant species with varying nutrient concentrations. Further, field experiments were conducted with leek (Allium porrum) and celery (Apium graveolens dulce) supplied...

  19. Water management and productivity in planted forests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. E. Nettles

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available As climate variability endangers water security in many parts of the world, maximizing the carbon balance of plantation forestry is of global importance. High plant water use efficiency is generally associated with lower plant productivity, so an explicit balance in resources is necessary to optimize water yield and tree growth. This balance requires predicting plant water use under different soil, climate, and planting conditions, as well as a mechanism to account for trade-offs in ecosystem services. Several strategies for reducing the water use of forests have been published but there is little research tying these to operational forestry. Using data from silvicultural and biofuel feedstock research in pine plantation ownership in the southeastern USA, proposed water management tools were evaluated against known treatment responses to estimate water yield, forest productivity, and economic outcomes. Ecosystem impacts were considered qualitatively and related to water use metrics. This work is an attempt to measure and compare important variables to make sound decisions about plantations and water use.

  20. U.S. Central Station Nuclear Power Plants: operating history

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1976-01-01

    The information assembled in this booklet highlights the operating history of U. S. Central Station nuclear power plants through December 31, 1976. The information presented is based on data furnished by the operating electric utilities. The information is presented in the form of statistical tables and computer printouts of major shutdown periods for each nuclear unit. The capacity factor data for each unit is presented both on the basis of its net design electrical rating and its net maximum dependable capacity, as reported by the operating utility to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

  1. Estimating the influence of U.S. ethanol policy on plant investment decisions: A real options analysis with two stochastic variables

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmit, T.M.; Luo, J.; Conrad, J.M.

    2011-01-01

    U.S. ethanol policies have contributed to changes in the levels and the volatilities of revenues and costs facing ethanol firms. The implications of these policies for optimal investment behavior are investigated through an extension of the real options framework that allows for the consideration of volatility in both revenue and cost components, as well as the correlation between them. The effects of policy affecting plant revenues dominate the effects of those policies affecting production costs. In the absence of these policies, much of the recent expansionary periods would have not existed and market conditions in the late-1990s would have led to some plant closures. We also show that, regardless of plant size, U.S. ethanol policy has narrowed the distance between the optimal entry and exit curves, implying a more narrow range of inactivity and indicative of a more volatile evolution for the industry than would have existed otherwise. - Highlights: ► An extended real options framework with two stochastic variables is developed. ► Ethanol expansion largely induced by the revenue-enhancing effects of policy. ► Removing effects of policy changes optimal entry/exit environment considerably. ► To expand US ethanol industry, size of policy contributions needs to grow. ► US ethanol policy has fostered more volatile industry development.

  2. Pharmaceuticals and Personal-Care Products in Plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartrons, Mireia; Peñuelas, Josep

    2017-03-01

    Pharmaceuticals and personal-care products (PPCPs) derived from agricultural, urban, and industrial areas accumulate in plants at concentrations (ng to μg kg -1 ) that can be toxic to the plants. Importantly, the dietary intake of these PPCP-contaminated plants may also pose a risk to human health, but currently little is known about the fate of PPCPs in plants and their effect on or risk to the ecosystem. In this Opinion article we propose that in-depth research on the use of plants as a monitoring device for assessing the use and environmental presence of PPCPs is warranted. The toxicity of PPCPs to plants and their microbiota needs to be established, as well as any toxic effects on herbivores including humans. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. $\\Upsilon$ production in U + U collisions at $\\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=193 GeV measured with the STAR experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Adamczyk, L.

    2016-12-15

    We present a measurement of the inclusive production of Upsilon mesons in U+U collisions at 193 GeV at mid-rapidity (|y| < 1). Previous studies in central Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV show a suppression of Upsilon(1S+2S+3S) production relative to expectations from the Upsilon yield in p+p collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions (Ncoll), with an indication that the Upsilon(1S) state is also suppressed. The present measurement extends the number of participant nucleons in the collision (Npart) by 20% compared to Au+Au collisions, and allows us to study a system with higher energy density. We observe a suppression in both the Upsilon(1S+2S+3S) and Upsilon(1S) yields in central U+U data, which consolidates and extends the previously observed suppression trend in Au+Au collisions.

  4. Food-Energy Interactive Tradeoff Analysis of Sustainable Urban Plant Factory Production Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Li-Chun Huang; Yu-Hui Chen; Ya-Hui Chen; Chi-Fang Wang; Ming-Che Hu

    2018-01-01

    This research aims to analyze the food–energy interactive nexus of sustainable urban plant factory systems. Plant factory systems grow agricultural products within artificially controlled growing environment and multi-layer vertical growing systems. The system controls the supply of light, temperature, humidity, nutrition, water, and carbon dioxide for growing plants. Plant factories are able to produce consistent and high-quality agricultural products within less production space for urban a...

  5. 9 CFR 355.23 - Tagging products “U.S. retained.”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION CERTIFIED PRODUCTS FOR DOGS, CATS, AND OTHER CARNIVORA; INSPECTION... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Tagging products âU.S. retained.â 355.23 Section 355.23 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF...

  6. Plant-microbe interactions: Plant hormone production by phylloplane fungi. Research report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tuomi, T.; Ilvesoksa, J.; Rosenqvist, H.

    1993-06-23

    The molds Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium cladosporioides and the yeast Aureobasidium pullulans, isolated from the leaves of three short-rotation Salix clones, were found to produce indole-3-acetic acid (a growth promoter of plants). Abscisic acid (a growth inhibitor of plants) production was detected in B. cinerea. The contents of indole-3-acetic acid and abscisic acid in the leaves of the Salix clones and the amounts of fungal propagules in these leaves were also measured, in order to evaluate whether the amounts of plant growth regulators produced by the fungi would make a significant contribution to the hormonal quantities of the leaves. The content of abscisic acid, and to a lesser degree that of indole-3-acetic acid, showed a positive correlation with the frequency of infection by the hormone producing organisms. The amounts of hormone producing fungi on leaves that bore visible colonies were, however, not sufficiently high to support the argument that neither the fungal production of abscisic nor indole-3-acetic acid would to a significant degree contribute to the hormonal contents of the leaves of the Salix clones.

  7. PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCT RESIDUES IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OF SLOVENE ORIGIN FOUND IN 2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena BAŠA ČESNIK

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In the year 2008, 166 apple, bean, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, pear, potato and spinach samples from Slovene producers were analysed for plant protection product residues. The samples were analysed for the presence of 158 different active compounds using three analytical methods. In two samples (1.2% exceeded maximum residue levels (MRLs were determined which is better than the results of the monitoring of pesticide residues in the products of plant origin in the 27 European Union, Member States (EU MS and 2 European Free Trade Association (EFTA States: Norway and Iceland in 2008 (2.2%. The most frequently found active substance in agricultural products was dithiocarbamates. Products which contained 4 or more active substances per sample were apples and pears.

  8. Biogeochemistry of uranium in the soil-plant and water-plant systems in an old uranium mine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Favas, Paulo J.C.; Pratas, João; Mitra, Soumita; Sarkar, Santosh Kumar; Venkatachalam, Perumal

    2016-01-01

    The present study highlights the uranium (U) concentrations in water–soil–plant matrices and the efficiency considering a heterogeneous assemblage of terrestrial and aquatic native plant species to act as the biomonitor and phytoremediator for environmental U-contamination in the Sevilha mine (uraniferous region of Beiras, Central Portugal). A total of 53 plant species belonging to 22 families was collected from 24 study sites along with ambient soil and/or water samples. The concentration of U showed wide range of variations in the ambient medium: 7.5 to 557 mg kg"− "1 for soil and 0.4 to 113 μg L"− "1 for water. The maximum potential of U accumulation was recorded in roots of the following terrestrial plants: Juncus squarrosus (450 mg kg"− "1 DW), Carlina corymbosa (181 mg kg"− "1 DW) and Juncus bufonius (39.9 mg kg"− "1 DW), followed by the aquatic macrophytes, namely Callitriche stagnalis (55.6 mg kg"− "1 DW) Lemna minor (53.0 mg kg"− "1 DW) and Riccia fluitans (50.6 mg kg"− "1 DW). Accumulation of U in plant tissues exhibited the following decreasing trend: root > leaves > stem > flowers/fruits and this confirms the unique efficiency of roots in accumulating this radionuclide from host soil/sediment (phytostabilization). Overall, the accumulation pattern in the studied aquatic plants (L. minor, R. fluitans, C. stagnalis and Lythrum portula) dominated over most of the terrestrial counterpart. Among terrestrial plants, the higher mean bioconcentration factor (≈ 1 in roots/rhizomes of C. corymbosa and J. squarrosus) and translocation factor (31 in Andryala integrifolia) were encountered in the representing families Asteraceae and Juncaceae. Hence, these terrestrial plants can be treated as the promising candidates for the development of the phytostabilization or phytoextraction methodologies based on the accumulation, abundance and biomass production. - Highlights: • The uranium (U) accumulation efficiency of terrestrial and aquatic

  9. Biogeochemistry of uranium in the soil-plant and water-plant systems in an old uranium mine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Favas, Paulo J.C., E-mail: pjcf@utad.pt [University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, School of Life Sciences and the Environment, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real (Portugal); MARE, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra (Portugal); Pratas, João [MARE, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra (Portugal); University of Coimbra, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Department of Earth Sciences, 3001-401 Coimbra (Portugal); Instituto de Geologia e Petróleo de Timor Leste, Timor-Leste (Country Unknown); Mitra, Soumita; Sarkar, Santosh Kumar [University of Calcutta, Department of Marine Science, 35, Ballygunge Circular Road, Calcutta 700019, West Bengal (India); Venkatachalam, Perumal [Periyar University, Department of Biotechnology, Salem 636 011, TN (India)

    2016-10-15

    The present study highlights the uranium (U) concentrations in water–soil–plant matrices and the efficiency considering a heterogeneous assemblage of terrestrial and aquatic native plant species to act as the biomonitor and phytoremediator for environmental U-contamination in the Sevilha mine (uraniferous region of Beiras, Central Portugal). A total of 53 plant species belonging to 22 families was collected from 24 study sites along with ambient soil and/or water samples. The concentration of U showed wide range of variations in the ambient medium: 7.5 to 557 mg kg{sup −} {sup 1} for soil and 0.4 to 113 μg L{sup −} {sup 1} for water. The maximum potential of U accumulation was recorded in roots of the following terrestrial plants: Juncus squarrosus (450 mg kg{sup −} {sup 1} DW), Carlina corymbosa (181 mg kg{sup −} {sup 1} DW) and Juncus bufonius (39.9 mg kg{sup −} {sup 1} DW), followed by the aquatic macrophytes, namely Callitriche stagnalis (55.6 mg kg{sup −} {sup 1} DW) Lemna minor (53.0 mg kg{sup −} {sup 1} DW) and Riccia fluitans (50.6 mg kg{sup −} {sup 1} DW). Accumulation of U in plant tissues exhibited the following decreasing trend: root > leaves > stem > flowers/fruits and this confirms the unique efficiency of roots in accumulating this radionuclide from host soil/sediment (phytostabilization). Overall, the accumulation pattern in the studied aquatic plants (L. minor, R. fluitans, C. stagnalis and Lythrum portula) dominated over most of the terrestrial counterpart. Among terrestrial plants, the higher mean bioconcentration factor (≈ 1 in roots/rhizomes of C. corymbosa and J. squarrosus) and translocation factor (31 in Andryala integrifolia) were encountered in the representing families Asteraceae and Juncaceae. Hence, these terrestrial plants can be treated as the promising candidates for the development of the phytostabilization or phytoextraction methodologies based on the accumulation, abundance and biomass production

  10. Plant diversity surpasses plant functional groups and plant productivity as driver of soil biota in the long term.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nico Eisenhauer

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the most significant consequences of contemporary global change is the rapid decline of biodiversity in many ecosystems. Knowledge of the consequences of biodiversity loss in terrestrial ecosystems is largely restricted to single ecosystem functions. Impacts of key plant functional groups on soil biota are considered to be more important than those of plant diversity; however, current knowledge mainly relies on short-term experiments.We studied changes in the impacts of plant diversity and presence of key functional groups on soil biota by investigating the performance of soil microorganisms and soil fauna two, four and six years after the establishment of model grasslands. The results indicate that temporal changes of plant community effects depend on the trophic affiliation of soil animals: plant diversity effects on decomposers only occurred after six years, changed little in herbivores, but occurred in predators after two years. The results suggest that plant diversity, in terms of species and functional group richness, is the most important plant community property affecting soil biota, exceeding the relevance of plant above- and belowground productivity and the presence of key plant functional groups, i.e. grasses and legumes, with the relevance of the latter decreasing in time.Plant diversity effects on biota are not only due to the presence of key plant functional groups or plant productivity highlighting the importance of diverse and high-quality plant derived resources, and supporting the validity of the singular hypothesis for soil biota. Our results demonstrate that in the long term plant diversity essentially drives the performance of soil biota questioning the paradigm that belowground communities are not affected by plant diversity and reinforcing the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning.

  11. The ADESORB Process for Economical Production of Sorbents for Mercury Removal from Coal Fired Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robin Stewart

    2008-03-12

    The DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) currently manages the largest research program in the country for controlling coal-based mercury emissions. NETL has shown through various field test programs that the determination of cost-effective mercury control strategies is complex and highly coal- and plant-specific. However, one particular technology has the potential for widespread application: the injection of activated carbon upstream of either an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) or a fabric filter baghouse. This technology has potential application to the control of mercury emissions on all coal-fired power plants, even those with wet and dry scrubbers. This is a low capital cost technology in which the largest cost element is the cost of sorbents. Therefore, the obvious solutions for reducing the costs of mercury control must focus on either reducing the amount of sorbent needed or decreasing the cost of sorbent production. NETL has researched the economics and performance of novel sorbents and determined that there are alternatives to the commercial standard (NORIT DARCO{reg_sign} Hg) and that this is an area where significant technical improvements can still be made. In addition, a key barrier to the application of sorbent injection technology to the power industry is the availability of activated carbon production. Currently, about 450 million pounds ($250 million per year) of activated carbon is produced and used in the U.S. each year - primarily for purification of drinking water, food, and beverages. If activated carbon technology were to be applied to all 1,100 power plants, EPA and DOE estimate that it would require an additional $1-$2 billion per year, which would require increasing current capacity by a factor of two to eight. A new facility to produce activated carbon would cost approximately $250 million, would increase current U.S. production by nearly 25%, and could take four to five years to build. This means that there could be

  12. Feasibility Study of Hydrogen Production at Existing Nuclear Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stephen Schey

    2009-07-01

    Cooperative Agreement DE-FC07-06ID14788 was executed between the U.S. Department of Energy, Electric Transportation Applications, and Idaho National Laboratory to investigate the economics of producing hydrogen by electrolysis using electricity generated by nuclear power. The work under this agreement is divided into the following four tasks: Task 1 – Produce Data and Analyses Task 2 – Economic Analysis of Large-Scale Alkaline Electrolysis Task 3 – Commercial-Scale Hydrogen Production Task 4 – Disseminate Data and Analyses. Reports exist on the prospect that utility companies may benefit from having the option to produce electricity or produce hydrogen, depending on market conditions for both. This study advances that discussion in the affirmative by providing data and suggesting further areas of study. While some reports have identified issues related to licensing hydrogen plants with nuclear plants, this study provides more specifics and could be a resource guide for further study and clarifications. At the same time, this report identifies other area of risks and uncertainties associated with hydrogen production on this scale. Suggestions for further study in some of these topics, including water availability, are included in the report. The goals and objectives of the original project description have been met. Lack of industry design for proton exchange membrane electrolysis hydrogen production facilities of this magnitude was a roadblock for a significant period. However, recent design breakthroughs have made costing this facility much more accurate. In fact, the new design information on proton exchange membrane electrolyzers scaled to the 1 kg of hydrogen per second electrolyzer reduced the model costs from $500 to $100 million. Task 1 was delayed when the original electrolyzer failed at the end of its economic life. However, additional valuable information was obtained when the new electrolyzer was installed. Products developed during this study

  13. Application of Tecnomatix Plant Simulation for Modeling Production and Logistics Processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Siderska

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of the article was to present the possibilities and examples of using Tecnomatix Plant Simulation (by Siemens to simulate the production and logistics processes. This tool allows to simulate discrete events and create digital models of logistic systems (e.g. production, optimize the operation of production plants, production lines, as well as individual logistics processes. The review of implementations of Tecnomatix Plant Simulation for modeling processes in production engineering and logistics was conducted and a few selected examples of simulations were presented. The author’s future studies are going to focus on simulation of production and logistic processes and their optimization with the use of genetic algorithms and artificial neural networks.

  14. Plant species richness regulates soil respiration through changes in productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dias, André Tavares Corrêa; van Ruijven, Jasper; Berendse, Frank

    2010-07-01

    Soil respiration is an important pathway of the C cycle. However, it is still poorly understood how changes in plant community diversity can affect this ecosystem process. Here we used a long-term experiment consisting of a gradient of grassland plant species richness to test for effects of diversity on soil respiration. We hypothesized that plant diversity could affect soil respiration in two ways. On the one hand, more diverse plant communities have been shown to promote plant productivity, which could increase soil respiration. On the other hand, the nutrient concentration in the biomass produced has been shown to decrease with diversity, which could counteract the production-induced increase in soil respiration. Our results clearly show that soil respiration increased with species richness. Detailed analysis revealed that this effect was not due to differences in species composition. In general, soil respiration in mixtures was higher than would be expected from the monocultures. Path analysis revealed that species richness predominantly regulates soil respiration through changes in productivity. No evidence supporting the hypothesized negative effect of lower N concentration on soil respiration was found. We conclude that shifts in productivity are the main mechanism by which changes in plant diversity may affect soil respiration.

  15. Optimized production planning model for a multi-plant cultivation system under uncertainty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ke, Shunkui; Guo, Doudou; Niu, Qingliang; Huang, Danfeng

    2015-02-01

    An inexact multi-constraint programming model under uncertainty was developed by incorporating a production plan algorithm into the crop production optimization framework under the multi-plant collaborative cultivation system. In the production plan, orders from the customers are assigned to a suitable plant under the constraints of plant capabilities and uncertainty parameters to maximize profit and achieve customer satisfaction. The developed model and solution method were applied to a case study of a multi-plant collaborative cultivation system to verify its applicability. As determined in the case analysis involving different orders from customers, the period of plant production planning and the interval between orders can significantly affect system benefits. Through the analysis of uncertain parameters, reliable and practical decisions can be generated using the suggested model of a multi-plant collaborative cultivation system.

  16. Production of lysosomal enzymes in plant-based expression systems

    OpenAIRE

    1996-01-01

    The invention relates to the production of enzymatically active recombinant human and animal lysosomal enzymes involving construction and expression of recombinant expression constructs comprising coding sequences of human or animal lysosomal enzymes in a plant expression system. The plant expression system provides for post-translational modification and processing to produce a recombinant gene product exhibiting enzymatic activity. The invention is demonstrated by working examples in which ...

  17. Performance optimization of the Växtkraft biogas production plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thorin, Eva; Lindmark, Johan; Nordlander, Eva; Odlare, Monica; Dahlquist, Erik; Kastensson, Jan; Leksell, Niklas; Pettersson, Carl-Magnus

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Pre-treatment of ley crop can increase the biogas plant performance. ► Membrane filtration can increase the capacity of the biogas plant. ► Mechanical pre-treatment of the ley crop shows the highest energy efficiency. ► Using a distributor to spread the residues as fertilizer show promising results. -- Abstract: All over the world there is a strong interest and also potential for biogas production from organic residues as well as from different crops. However, to be commercially competitive with other types of fuels, efficiency improvements of the biogas production process are needed. In this paper, results of improvements studies done on a full scale co-digestion plant are presented. In the plant organic wastes from households and restaurants are mixed and digested with crops from pasture land. The areas for improvement of the plant addressed in this paper are treatment of the feed material to enhance the digestion rate, limitation of the ballast of organics in the water stream recirculated in the process, and use of the biogas plant residues at farms. Results from previous studies on pre-treatment and membrane filtration of recirculated process water are combined for an estimation of the total improvement potential. Further, the possibility of using neural networks to predict biogas production using historical data from the full-scale biogas plant was investigated. Results from an investigation using the process residues as fertilizer are also presented. The results indicate a potential to increase the biogas yield from the process with up to over 30% with pre-treatment of the feed and including membrane filtration in the process. Neural networks have the potential to be used for prediction of biogas production. Further, it is shown that the residues from biogas production can be used as fertilizers but that the emission of N 2 O from the fertilized soil is dependent on the soil type and spreading technology.

  18. Some recent human performance issues at U.S. nuclear plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kauffman, John V.

    1998-01-01

    Some recent events at U.S. operating nuclear power plants revealed interesting human performance issues. Events discussed in this paper are: (1) a September 1996 event at Clinton, (2) a February 1997 event at Zion 1, and (3) March 1997 operator failures of 'in-house' examinations at LaSalle. The specific human performance weaknesses exhibited in these events, some underlying organizational or institutional issues and factors which influenced operators and their management, and implications regarding regulatory oversight are discussed. (author)

  19. Antibody Production in Plants and Green Algae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yusibov, Vidadi; Kushnir, Natasha; Streatfield, Stephen J

    2016-04-29

    Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have a wide range of modern applications, including research, diagnostic, therapeutic, and industrial uses. Market demand for mAbs is high and continues to grow. Although mammalian systems, which currently dominate the biomanufacturing industry, produce effective and safe recombinant mAbs, they have a limited manufacturing capacity and high costs. Bacteria, yeast, and insect cell systems are highly scalable and cost effective but vary in their ability to produce appropriate posttranslationally modified mAbs. Plants and green algae are emerging as promising production platforms because of their time and cost efficiencies, scalability, lack of mammalian pathogens, and eukaryotic posttranslational protein modification machinery. So far, plant- and algae-derived mAbs have been produced predominantly as candidate therapeutics for infectious diseases and cancer. These candidates have been extensively evaluated in animal models, and some have shown efficacy in clinical trials. Here, we review ongoing efforts to advance the production of mAbs in plants and algae.

  20. Reconceptualizing cancer immunotherapy based on plant production systems

    OpenAIRE

    Hefferon, Kathleen

    2017-01-01

    Plants can be used as inexpensive and facile production platforms for vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals. More recently, plant-based biologics have expanded to include cancer immunotherapy agents. The following review describes the current state of the art for plant-derived strategies to prevent or reduce cancers. The review discusses avenues taken to prevent infection by oncogenic viruses, solid tumors and lymphomas. Strategies including cancer vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and virus na...

  1. Novel fermentation processes for manufacturing plant natural products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Jingwen; Du, Guocheng; Chen, Jian

    2014-02-01

    Microbial production of plant natural products (PNPs), such as terpenoids, flavonoids from renewable carbohydrate feedstocks offers sustainable and economically attractive alternatives to their petroleum-based production. Rapid development of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology of microorganisms shows many advantages to replace the current extraction of these useful high price chemicals from plants. Although few of them were actually applied on a large scale for PNPs production, continuous research on these high-price chemicals and the rapid growing global market of them, show the promising future for the production of these PNPs by microorganisms with a more economic and environmental friendly way. Introduction of novel pathways and optimization of the native cellular processes by metabolic engineering of microorganisms for PNPs production are rapidly expanding its range of cell-factory applications. Here we review recent progress in metabolic engineering of microorganisms for the production of PNPs. Besides, factors restricting the yield improvement and application of lab-scale achievements to industrial applications have also been discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Capabilities for managing high-volume production of electric engineering equipment at the Electrochemical Production Plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Podlednev, V.M.

    1996-04-01

    The Electromechanical Production Plant is essentially a research center with experimental facilities and power full testing base. Major products of the plant today include heat pipes and devices of their basis of different functions and power from high temperature ranges to cryogenics. This report describes work on porous titanium and carbon-graphite current collectors, electrocatalyst synthesis, and electrocatalyst applications.

  3. Medicinal Plants Based Products Tested on Pathogens Isolated from Mastitis Milk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Pașca

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Bovine mastitis a major disease that is commonly associated with bacterial infection. The common treatment is with antibiotics administered intramammary into infected quarters of the udder. The excessive use of antibiotics leads to multidrug resistance and associated risks for human health. In this context, the search for alternative drugs based on plants has become a priority in livestock medicine. These products have a low manufacturing cost and no reports of antimicrobial resistance to these have been documented. In this context, the main objective of this study was to determine the antimicrobial effect of extracts and products of several indigenous, or acclimatized plants on pathogens isolated from bovine mastitis. A total of eleven plant alcoholic extracts and eight plant-derived products were tested against 32 microorganisms isolated from milk. The obtained results have shown an inhibition of bacterial growth for all tested plants, with better results for Evernia prunastri, Artemisia absinthium, and Lavandula angustifolia. Moreover, E. prunastri, Populus nigra, and L. angustifolia presented small averages of minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations. Among the plant-derived products, three out of eight have shown a strong anti-microbial effect comparable with the effect of florfenicol and enrofloxacin, and better than individual plant extracts possibly due to synergism. These results suggest an important anti-microbial effect of these products on pathogens isolated from bovine mastitis with a possible applicability in this disease.

  4. Characterization of wastes from fission 99 Mo production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Endo, L.S.; Dellamano, J.C.

    1992-07-01

    This work is a preliminary study on waste-streams generated in a fission 99 Mo production plant, their characterization and quantification. The study is based on a plant whose 99 Mo production process is the alkaline dissolution of U-target. The target is made of 1 g of enriched 235 U, therefore most of radionuclides present in the waste-streams are fission products. All the radionuclides inventories were estimated based on ORIGEN-2 Code. The characterization was done as a primary stage for the establishment of waste management plan, which should be subject for further study. (author)

  5. Uranium hexafluoride production plant decommissioning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Ivan

    2008-01-01

    The Institute of Energetic and Nuclear Research - IPEN is a research and development institution, located in a densely populated area, in the city of Sao Paulo. The nuclear fuel cycle was developed from the Yellow Cake to the enrichment and reconversion at IPEN. After this phase, all the technology was transferred to private enterprises and to the Brazilian Navy (CTM/SP). Some plants of the fuel cycle were at semi-industrial level, with a production over 20 kg/h. As a research institute, IPEN accomplished its function of the fuel cycle, developing and transferring technology. With the necessity of space for the implementation of new projects, the uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) production plant was chosen, since it had been idle for many years and presented potential leaking risks, which could cause environmental aggression and serious accidents. This plant decommission required accurate planning, as this work had not been carried out in Brazil before, for this type of facility, and there were major risks involving gaseous hydrogen fluoride aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid (HF) both highly corrosive. Evaluations were performed and special equipment was developed, aiming to prevent leaking and avoid accidents. During the decommissioning work, the CNEN safety standards were obeyed for the whole operation. The environmental impact was calculated, showing to be not relevant.The radiation doses, after the work, were within the limits for the public and the area was released for new projects. (author)

  6. Studies on saponin production in tropical medicinal plants Maesa argentea and Maesa lanceolata

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faizal, Ahmad; Geelen, Danny

    2015-09-01

    The continuous need for new compounds with important medicinal activities has lead to the identification and characterization of various plant-derived natural products. As a part of this program, we studied the saponin production from two tropical medicinal plants Maesa argentea and M. lanceolata and evaluated several treatments to enhance their saponin production. In this experiment, we present the analyses of saponin production from greenhouse grown plants by means of TLC and HPLC-MS. We observed that the content of saponin from these plants varied depending on organ and physiological age of the plants. In addition, the impact of elicitors on saponin accumulation on in vitro grown plants was analyzed using TLC. The production of saponin was very stable and not affected by treatment with methyl jasmonate, and salicylic acid. In conclusion, Maesa saponins are constitutively produced in plants and the level of these compounds in plants is mainly affected by the developmental or physiological stage.

  7. Environmental restoration activities at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pinellas Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, Michael W.

    1992-01-01

    The Pinellas Plant, located in Largo, Florida, is part of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) weapons complex. GE Neutron Devices (GEND) has initiated an extremely aggressive, proactive Environmental Restoration (ER) Program at the Pinellas Plant. The ER program was started by AL to investigate environmental concerns associated with past waste management practices and procedures at DOE weapons installations. The Pinellas Plant has been involved with ER activities since the mid 1980's when the DOE's Pinellas Area Office (PAO) entered a voluntary cleanup agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (FDER). The agreement was for the remediation of an adjacent parcel of property previously owned, and used for disposal of drums containing waste solvents and resins. The ER program at the Pinellas Plant has been progressing rapidly since this inception, with ER activities currently initiated and/or planned at all sites where contaminants have been detected above regulatory standards. These activities operate under the State of Florida's 'Corrective Actions For Ground Water Contamination Cases' guidance and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) Corrective Action Rule and the requirements specified in the Hazardous Waste Part B Permit. Remediation issues at the Pinellas Plant are equivalent to those experienced by many private industries; for example, limited volatile organic compound (VOC) and heavy metal contamination of the surficial aquifer system and heavy metal contamination of soils. ER activities in progress are aimed toward; confining, repositioning and remedying areas of heavy metal and VOC contaminants found within the surficial aquifer system; consistency with EPA's draft Corrective Action Rules which state 'the corrective action program will be to expedite cleanup results by requiring (taking) sensible early action to control

  8. Energy prices and substitution in United States manufacturing plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grim, Cheryl

    Persistent regional disparities in electricity prices, growth in wholesale power markets, and recent deregulation attempts have intensified interest in the performance of the U.S. electric power industry, while skyrocketing fuel prices have brought renewed interest in the effect of changes in prices of all energy types on the U.S. economy. This dissertation examines energy prices and substitution between energy types in U.S. manufacturing. I use a newly constructed database that includes information on purchased electricity and electricity expenditures for more than 48,000 plants per year and additional data on the utilities that supply electricity to study the distribution of electricity prices paid by U.S. manufacturing plants from 1963 to 2000. I find a large compression in the dispersion of electricity prices from 1963 to 1978 due primarily to a decrease in quantity discounts for large electricity purchasers. I also find that spatial dispersion in retail electricity prices among states, counties and utility service territories is large, rises over time for smaller purchasers, and does not diminish as wholesale power markets expand in the 1990s. In addition, I examine energy type consumption patterns, prices, and substitution in U.S. manufacturing plants. I develop a plant-level dataset for 1998 with data on consumption and expenditures on energy and non-energy production inputs, output, and other plant characteristics. I find energy type consumption patterns vary widely across manufacturing plants. Further, I find a large amount of dispersion across plants in the prices paid for electricity, oil, natural gas, and coal. These high levels of dispersion are accounted for by the plant's location, industry, and purchase quantity. Finally, I present estimates of own- and cross-price elasticities of demand for both the energy and non-energy production inputs.

  9. Algorithm of actions to identify and reduce risks in the production of milk and plant products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. E. Glagoleva

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Foods with a new generation of functional and improved consumer properties, corresponds to the modern concepts of nutrition science and consumer needs. functional food production is a major global trend in food science and the subject of innovation. One of the important trends is the use of plant complexes and plant food systems. Using the plant complexes (PC and plant food systems (PFS provides a number of benefits: improved consumer properties of the product, do not need to change the process, it is possible to control directional rheological properties and consistency of the finished products, reduced the number of risk points in the production cycle. This paper describes the development of an algorithm of action to identify and mitigate risks in the production of milk and plant products. Also conducted a risk analysis, identified and assessed the risks in the process of production, installed capacity of available resources to reduce the level of risk. Established and submitted to the critical control points in production processes, as well as the critical limits for each critical control points, and the procedure for corrective action in case of violations of the past. During the study, measured changes in the quantitative and qualitative composition of microflora of semi-finished and Quantity of Mesophilic Aerobic and Facultative Anaerobic Microorganisms (QMAFAnM. To determine QMAFAnM samples were taken: 1 – cheesecakes (control, 2 – cheesecakes with RPS. Microbiological studies analyzed frozen-conjugated semi-finished products was determined within 90 days. It is clear from the data that the cottage cheese with semi-finished products have a lower RPM 11.7%. Analyzing the data, it is possible to conclude that the physico-chemical, organoleptic and microbiological indicators of products was developed to set standards on cheese semi-finished products. multilevel structure that characterizes the quality indicators has been developed and is

  10. Reconceptualizing cancer immunotherapy based on plant production systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hefferon, Kathleen

    2017-01-01

    Plants can be used as inexpensive and facile production platforms for vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals. More recently, plant-based biologics have expanded to include cancer immunotherapy agents. The following review describes the current state of the art for plant-derived strategies to prevent or reduce cancers. The review discusses avenues taken to prevent infection by oncogenic viruses, solid tumors and lymphomas. Strategies including cancer vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and virus nanoparticles are described, and examples are provided. The review ends with a discussion of the implications of plant-based cancer immunotherapy for developing countries. PMID:28884013

  11. The Impact of Regional and Sectoral Productivity Changes on the U.S. Economy

    OpenAIRE

    Caliendo, Lorenzo; Parro, Fernando; Rossi-Hansberg, Esteban; Sarte, Pierre-Daniel

    2014-01-01

    We study the impact of regional and sectoral productivity changes on the U.S. economy. To that end, we consider an environment that captures the effects of interregional and intersectoral trade in propagating disaggregated productivity changes at the level of a sector in a given U.S. state to the rest of the economy. The quantitative model we develop features pairwise interregional trade across all 50 U.S. states, 26 traded and non-traded industries, labor as a mobile factor, and structures a...

  12. Design of a lunar oxygen production plant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radhakrishnan, Ramalingam

    1990-01-01

    To achieve permanent human presence and activity on the moon, oxygen is required for both life support and propulsion. Lunar oxygen production using resources existing on the moon will reduce or eliminate the need to transport liquid oxygen from earth. In addition, the co-products of oxygen production will provide metals, structural ceramics, and other volatile compounds. This will enable development of even greater self-sufficiency as the lunar outpost evolves. Ilmenite is the most abundant metal-oxide mineral in the lunar regolith. A process involving the reaction of ilmenite with hydrogen at 1000 C to produce water, followed by the electrolysis of this water to provide oxygen and recycle the hydrogen has been explored. The objective of this 1990 Summer Faculty Project was to design a lunar oxygen-production plant to provide 5 metric tons of liquid oxygen per year from lunar soil. The results of this study describe the size and mass of the equipment, the power needs, feedstock quantity and the engineering details of the plant.

  13. Modelling energy consumption in a manufacturing plant using productivity KPIs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gallachoir, Brian O.; Cahill, Caiman (Sustainable Energy Research Group, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. College Cork (Ireland))

    2009-07-01

    Energy efficiency initiatives in industrial plants are often focused on getting energy-consuming utilities and devices to operate more efficiently, or on conserving energy. While such device-oriented energy efficiency measures can achieve considerable savings, greater energy efficiency improvement may be achieved by improving the overall productivity and quality of manufacturing processes. The paper highlights the observed relationship between productivity and energy efficiency using aggregated data on unit consumption and production index data for Irish industry. Past studies have developed simple top-down models of final energy consumption in manufacturing plants using energy consumption and production output figures, but these models do not help identify opportunities for energy savings that could achieved through increased productivity. This paper proposes an improved and innovative method of modelling plant final energy demand that introduces standard productivity Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) into the model. The model demonstrates the relationship between energy consumption and productivity, and uses standard productivity metrics to identify the areas of manufacturing activity that offer the most potential for improved energy efficiency. The model provides a means of comparing the effect of device-oriented energy efficiency measures with the potential for improved energy efficiency through increased productivity.

  14. GGA+U study of uranium mononitride: A comparison of the U-ramping and occupation matrix schemes and incorporation energies of fission products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Claisse, Antoine, E-mail: claisse@kth.se [KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Reactor Physics, AlbaNova University Centre, 106 91 Stockholm (Sweden); Klipfel, Marco [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, P.O. Box 2340, D-76125 Karlsruhe (Germany); Lindbom, Niclas [KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Reactor Physics, AlbaNova University Centre, 106 91 Stockholm (Sweden); Freyss, Michel [CEA, DEN, DEC, Centre de Cadarache, 13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Olsson, Pär [KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Reactor Physics, AlbaNova University Centre, 106 91 Stockholm (Sweden)

    2016-09-15

    Uranium mononitride is studied in the DFT + U framework. Its ground state is investigated and a study of the incorporation of diverse fission products in the crystal is conducted. The U-ramping and occupation matrix control (OMC) schemes are used to eliminate metastable states. Beyond a certain amount of introduced correlation, the OMC scheme starts to find a lower total energy. The OMC scheme is chosen for the second part of this study. Furthermore, the influence of the magnetic ordering is studied using the U-ramping method, showing that antiferromagnetic order is the most stable one when the U parameter is larger than 1.75 eV. The effect on the density of states is investigated and elastic constants are provided for comparison with other methods and experiments. The incorporation energies of fission products in different defect configurations are calculated and these energies are corrected to take into account the limited size of the supercell. - Highlights: • We studied bulk uranium nitride with means of DFT+U with the U-ramping scheme and the OMC scheme. • We produces a density of states plot and calculated the elastic constants of UN. • We calculated the incorporation energy of many fission products in UN, and corrected them to take into account the elastic interactions. • The OMC scheme should be used over the U-ramping scheme. • Fission products go to larger crystal sites.

  15. EARLY ENTRANCE CO-PRODUCTION PLANT - DECENTRALIZED GASIFICATION COGENERATION TRANSPORTATION FUELS AND STEAM FROM AVAILABLE FEEDSTOCKS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Unknown

    2003-01-01

    Waste Processors Management, Inc. (WMPI), along with its subcontractors Texaco Power & Gasification (now ChevronTexaco), SASOL Technology Ltd., and Nexant Inc. entered into a Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-00NT40693 with the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to assess the technoeconomic viability of building an Early Entrance Co-Production Plant (EECP) in the United States to produce ultra clean Fischer-Tropsch (FT) transportation fuels with either power or steam as the major co-product. The EECP design includes recovery and gasification of low-cost coal waste (culm) from physical coal cleaning operations and will assess blends of the culm with coal or petroleum coke. The project has three phases. Phase I is the concept definition and engineering feasibility study to identify areas of technical, environmental and financial risk. Phase II is an experimental testing program designed to validate the coal waste mixture gasification performance. Phase III updates the original EECP design based on results from Phase II, to prepare a preliminary engineering design package and financial plan for obtaining private funding to build a 5,000 barrel per day (BPD) coal gasification/liquefaction plant next to an existing co-generation plant in Gilberton, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The current report covers the period performance from July 1, 2002 through September 30, 2002.

  16. Photo-fission Product Yield Measurements at Eγ=13 MeV on 235U, 238U, and 239Pu

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tornow, W.; Bhike, M.; Finch, S. W.; Krishichayan, Fnu; Tonchev, A. P.

    2016-09-01

    We have measured Fission Product Yields (FPYs) in photo-fission of 235U, 238U, and 239Pu at TUNL's High-Intensity Gamma-ray Source (HI γS) using mono-energetic photons of Eγ = 13 MeV. Details of the experimental setup and analysis procedures will be discussed. Yields for approximately 20 fission products were determined. They are compared to neutron-induced FPYs of the same actinides at the equivalent excitation energies of the compound nuclear systems. In the future photo-fission data will be taken at Eγ = 8 . 0 and 10.5 MeV to find out whether photo-fission exhibits the same so far unexplained dependence of certain FPYs on the energy of the incident probe, as recently observed in neutron-induced fission, for example, for the important fission product 147Nd. Work supported by the U. S. Dept. of Energy, under Grant No. DE-FG02-97ER41033, and by the NNSA, Stewardship Science Academic Alliances Program, Grant No. DE-NA0001838 and the Lawrence Livermore, National Security, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344.

  17. Productivity of selected plant species adapted to arid regions. [Crassulacean metabolizing plants; Agave deserti and Ferocactus acanthodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nobel, P.S.

    1980-01-01

    The biomass potential of selected arid region species for alcohol production merits careful consideration. The basis for this interest is the current low agronomic use of arid lands and the potential productivity of certain species adapted to these lands. Plants displaying Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) are particularly interesting with reference to biomass for fuel in regions with low rainfall, because plants with this photosynthetic process are strikingly efficient in water requirements. For CAM plants, CO/sub 2/ fixation occurs primarily at night, when tissue surface temperature and hence transpirational water loss is less than daytime values. For Agave deserti in the Sonoran desert, the water-use efficiency (mass of CO/sub 2/ fixed/mass of water transpired) over an entire year is an order of magnitude or more larger than for C-3 and C-4 plants. This indicates how well adapted CAM species are to arid regions. The potential productivity per unit land area of CAM plants is fairly substantial and, therefore, of considerable economic interest for arid areas where growth of agricultural plants is minimal.

  18. The impact of new product introduction on plant productivity in the North American automotive industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gopal, A.; Goyal, M.; Netessine, S.; Reindorp, M.J.

    2013-01-01

    Product launch—an event when a new product debuts for production in a plant—is an important phase in product development. But launches disrupt manufacturing operations, resulting in productivity losses. Using data from North American automotive plants from years 1999–2007, we estimate that a product

  19. Opportunities for Decarbonizing Existing U.S. Coal-Fired Power Plants via CO2 Capture, Utilization and Storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhai, Haibo; Ou, Yang; Rubin, Edward S

    2015-07-07

    This study employs a power plant modeling tool to explore the feasibility of reducing unit-level emission rates of CO2 by 30% by retrofitting carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to existing U.S. coal-fired electric generating units (EGUs). Our goal is to identify feasible EGUs and their key attributes. The results indicate that for about 60 gigawatts of the existing coal-fired capacity, the implementation of partial CO2 capture appears feasible, though its cost is highly dependent on the unit characteristics and fuel prices. Auxiliary gas-fired boilers can be employed to power a carbon capture process without significant increases in the cost of electricity generation. A complementary CO2 emission trading program can provide additional economic incentives for the deployment of CCS with 90% CO2 capture. Selling and utilizing the captured CO2 product for enhanced oil recovery can further accelerate CCUS deployment and also help reinforce a CO2 emission trading market. These efforts would allow existing coal-fired EGUs to continue to provide a significant share of the U.S. electricity demand.

  20. Fungal Production and Manipulation of Plant Hormones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonseca, Sandra; Radhakrishnan, Dhanya; Prasad, Kalika; Chini, Andrea

    2018-01-01

    Living organisms are part of a highly interconnected web of interactions, characterised by species nurturing, competing, parasitizing and preying on one another. Plants have evolved cooperative as well as defensive strategies to interact with neighbour organisms. Among these, the plant-fungus associations are very diverse, ranging from pathogenic to mutualistic. Our current knowledge of plant-fungus interactions suggests a sophisticated coevolution to ensure dynamic plant responses to evolving fungal mutualistic/pathogenic strategies. The plant-fungus communication relies on a rich chemical language. To manipulate the plant defence mechanisms, fungi produce and secrete several classes of biomolecules, whose modeof- action is largely unknown. Upon perception of the fungi, plants produce phytohormones and a battery of secondary metabolites that serve as defence mechanism against invaders or to promote mutualistic associations. These mutualistic chemical signals can be co-opted by pathogenic fungi for their own benefit. Among the plant molecules regulating plant-fungus interaction, phytohormones play a critical role since they modulate various aspects of plant development, defences and stress responses. Intriguingly, fungi can also produce phytohormones, although the actual role of fungalproduced phytohormones in plant-fungus interactions is poorly understood. Here, we discuss the recent advances in fungal production of phytohormone, their putative role as endogenous fungal signals and how fungi manipulate plant hormone balance to their benefits. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  1. 230Th/234U activity ratio in the products from Izu-Bonin island-arc volcanoes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurihara, Y.; Takahashi, M.; Sato, J.

    2006-01-01

    Magma genesis at subduction zone is generally inferred to be induced by the partial melting of the mantle wedge by the addition of fluid derived from the subducting slab. Uranium-series disequilibria in the volcanic products are a useful tracer to understand various magma processes. Young island-arc volcanic rocks showed the characteristic feature of excess 234 U over 230 Th. Observation was carried out on the radioactive disequilibrium between 234 U and 230 Th in the volcanic products from Asama volcano and Izu-Mariana island-arc volcanoes. Thorium and Uranium in the volcanic rock samples were separated by anion-exchange resin and purified by TEVA·Spec. and UTEVA·Spec. resins, respectively. Purified Th and U were electrodeposited onto a stainless steel planchet for α-ray counting. U-234 and 230 Th in volcanic rock samples were determined by isotope dilution method coupled with α-ray spectrometry. 230 Th/ 234 U activity ratio in the volcanic products from Asama volcano and Izu-Bonin island-arc volcanoes were in radioactive disequilibrium, enriched in 234 U relative to 230 Th, which is often observed for volcanic products from young island-arc volcanic products. (author)

  2. A proposal for safety design philosophy of HTGR for coupling hydrogen production plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Hiroyuki; Ohashi, Hirofumi; Tazawa, Yujiro; Imai, Yoshiyuki; Nakagawa, Shigeaki; Tachibana, Yukio; Kunitomi, Kazuhiko

    2013-06-01

    Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been conducting research and development for hydrogen production utilizing heat from High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs). Towards the realization of nuclear hydrogen production, coupled hydrogen production plants should not be treated as an extension of a nuclear plant in order to open the door for the entry of non-nuclear industries as well as assuring reactor safety against postulated abnormal events initiated in the hydrogen production plants. Since hydrogen production plant utilizing nuclear heat has never been built in the world, little attention has been given to the establishment of a safety design for such system including the High Temperature engineering Test Reactor (HTTR). In the present study, requirements in order to design, construct and operate hydrogen production plants under conventional chemical plant standards are identified. In addition, design considerations for safety design of nuclear facility are suggested. Furthermore, feasibility of proposed safety design and design considerations are evaluated. (author)

  3. [Effective productions of plant secondary metabolites having antitumor activity by plant cell and tissue cultures].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taniguchi, Shoko

    2005-06-01

    Methods for the effective production of plant secondary metabolites with antitumor activity using plant cell and tissue cultures were developed. The factors in tannin productivity were investigated using culture strains producing different types of hydrolyzable tannins, i.e., gallotannins (mixture of galloylglucoses), ellagi-, and dehydroellagitannins. Production of ellagi- and dehydroellagitannins was affected by the concentrations and ratio of nitrogen sources in the medium. The formation of oligomeric ellagitannins in shoots of Oenothera tetraptera was correlated with the differentiation of tissues. Cultured cells of Eriobotrya japonica producing ursane- and oleanane-type triterpenes with antitumor activities were also established.

  4. Optimization of Jatropha curcas pure plant oil production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Subroto, Erna

    2015-01-01

    The use of pure plant oils as fuel, either directly or after conversion of the oil to bio-diesel, is considered to be one of the potential contributions to the transformation of the current fossil oil based economy to a sustainable bio-based one. The production of oil producing seeds using plants

  5. 9 CFR 590.35 - Eggs and egg products outside official plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Eggs and egg products outside official plants. 590.35 Section 590.35 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT... official plant and are in violation of this part or any of said Federal Acts or any State or local law...

  6. Licensing evaluation of CANDU-PHW nuclear power plants relative to U.S. regulatory requirements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erp, J.B. van

    1978-01-01

    Differences between the U.S. and Canadian approach to safety and licensing are discussed. U.S. regulatory requirements are evaluated as regards their applicability to CANDU-PHW reactors; vice-versa the CANDU-PHW reactor is evaluated with respect to current Regulatory Requirements and Guides. A number of design modifications are proposed to be incorporated into the CANDU-PHW reactor in order to facilitate its introduction into the U.S. These modifications are proposed solely for the purpose of maintaining consistency within the current U.S. regulatory system and not out of a need to improve the safety of current-design CANDU-PHW nuclear power plants. A number of issues are identified which still require resolution. Most of these issues are concerned with design areas not (yet) covered by the ASME code. (author)

  7. Contributions of plant introductions to the ancestry of current U.S. peanut cultivars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plant introductions (PIs) have been used in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) improvement in the U.S.A. since the inception of peanut breeding there in the 1930s. One might think that the era of screening collections of PIs for pest resistances or other economically important traits then crossing selecte...

  8. Insights from the U.S. department of Energy plant safety evaluation program of VVER and RBMK reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petri, M.C.; Binder, J.L.; Pasedag, W.F.

    2001-01-01

    Throughout the years 1990 the U.S. Department of Energy has worked build capability in countries of the former Soviet Union to assess the safety of their VVER and RBMK reactors. Through this Plant Safety Evaluation Program, deterministic and probabilistic analyses have been used to provide a documented plant risk profile to support safe plant operation and to set priorities for safety upgrades. Work has been sponsored at thirteen nuclear power plant sites in eight countries. The Plant Safety Evaluation Program has resulted in immediate and long-term safety benefits for the Soviet-designed nuclear plants. (author)

  9. Υ production in U + U collisions at √{sN N}=193 GeV measured with the STAR experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adamczyk, L.; Adkins, J. K.; Agakishiev, G.; Aggarwal, M. M.; Ahammed, Z.; Alekseev, I.; Anderson, D. M.; Aoyama, R.; Aparin, A.; Arkhipkin, D.; Aschenauer, E. C.; Ashraf, M. U.; Attri, A.; Averichev, G. S.; Bai, X.; Bairathi, V.; Bellwied, R.; Bhasin, A.; Bhati, A. K.; Bhattarai, P.; Bielcik, J.; Bielcikova, J.; Bland, L. C.; Bordyuzhin, I. G.; Bouchet, J.; Brandenburg, J. D.; Brandin, A. V.; Bunzarov, I.; Butterworth, J.; Caines, H.; Calderón de la Barca Sánchez, M.; Campbell, J. M.; Cebra, D.; Chakaberia, I.; Chaloupka, P.; Chang, Z.; Chatterjee, A.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chen, J. H.; Chen, X.; Cheng, J.; Cherney, M.; Christie, W.; Contin, G.; Crawford, H. J.; Das, S.; De Silva, L. C.; Debbe, R. R.; Dedovich, T. G.; Deng, J.; Derevschikov, A. A.; Didenko, L.; Dilks, C.; Dong, X.; Drachenberg, J. L.; Draper, J. E.; Du, C. M.; Dunkelberger, L. E.; Dunlop, J. C.; Efimov, L. G.; Engelage, J.; Eppley, G.; Esha, R.; Esumi, S.; Evdokimov, O.; Eyser, O.; Fatemi, R.; Fazio, S.; Federic, P.; Fedorisin, J.; Feng, Z.; Filip, P.; Finch, E.; Fisyak, Y.; Flores, C. E.; Fulek, L.; Gagliardi, C. A.; Garand, D.; Geurts, F.; Gibson, A.; Girard, M.; Greiner, L.; Grosnick, D.; Gunarathne, D. S.; Guo, Y.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, S.; Guryn, W.; Hamad, A. I.; Hamed, A.; Haque, R.; Harris, J. W.; He, L.; Heppelmann, S.; Heppelmann, S.; Hirsch, A.; Hoffmann, G. W.; Horvat, S.; Huang, H. Z.; Huang, B.; Huang, T.; Huang, X.; Huck, P.; Humanic, T. J.; Igo, G.; Jacobs, W. W.; Jentsch, A.; Jia, J.; Jiang, K.; Jowzaee, S.; Judd, E. G.; Kabana, S.; Kalinkin, D.; Kang, K.; Kauder, K.; Ke, H. W.; Keane, D.; Kechechyan, A.; Khan, Z.; Kikoła, D. P.; Kisel, I.; Kisiel, A.; Kochenda, L.; Koetke, D. D.; Kosarzewski, L. K.; Kraishan, A. F.; Kravtsov, P.; Krueger, K.; Kumar, L.; Lamont, M. A. C.; Landgraf, J. M.; Landry, K. D.; Lauret, J.; Lebedev, A.; Lednicky, R.; Lee, J. H.; Li, Y.; Li, C.; Li, X.; Li, W.; Li, X.; Lin, T.; Lisa, M. A.; Liu, F.; Liu, Y.; Ljubicic, T.; Llope, W. J.; Lomnitz, M.; Longacre, R. S.; Luo, X.; Luo, S.; Ma, G. L.; Ma, R.; Ma, L.; Ma, Y. G.; Magdy, N.; Majka, R.; Manion, A.; Margetis, S.; Markert, C.; Matis, H. S.; McDonald, D.; McKinzie, S.; Meehan, K.; Mei, J. C.; Miller, Z. W.; Minaev, N. G.; Mioduszewski, S.; Mishra, D.; Mohanty, B.; Mondal, M. M.; Morozov, D. A.; Mustafa, M. K.; Nandi, B. K.; Nasim, Md.; Nayak, T. K.; Nigmatkulov, G.; Niida, T.; Nogach, L. V.; Nonaka, T.; Novak, J.; Nurushev, S. B.; Odyniec, G.; Ogawa, A.; Oh, K.; Okorokov, V. A.; Olvitt, D.; Page, B. S.; Pak, R.; Pan, Y. X.; Pandit, Y.; Panebratsev, Y.; Pawlik, B.; Pei, H.; Perkins, C.; Pile, P.; Pluta, J.; Poniatowska, K.; Porter, J.; Posik, M.; Poskanzer, A. M.; Pruthi, N. K.; Przybycien, M.; Putschke, J.; Qiu, H.; Quintero, A.; Ramachandran, S.; Ray, R. L.; Reed, R.; Rehbein, M. J.; Ritter, H. G.; Roberts, J. B.; Rogachevskiy, O. V.; Romero, J. L.; Roth, J. D.; Ruan, L.; Rusnak, J.; Rusnakova, O.; Sahoo, N. R.; Sahu, P. K.; Sakrejda, I.; Salur, S.; Sandweiss, J.; Sarkar, A.; Schambach, J.; Scharenberg, R. P.; Schmah, A. M.; Schmidke, W. B.; Schmitz, N.; Seger, J.; Seyboth, P.; Shah, N.; Shahaliev, E.; Shanmuganathan, P. V.; Shao, M.; Sharma, M. K.; Sharma, A.; Sharma, B.; Shen, W. Q.; Shi, Z.; Shi, S. S.; Shou, Q. Y.; Sichtermann, E. P.; Sikora, R.; Simko, M.; Singha, S.; Skoby, M. J.; Smirnov, D.; Smirnov, N.; Solyst, W.; Song, L.; Sorensen, P.; Spinka, H. M.; Srivastava, B.; Stanislaus, T. D. S.; Stepanov, M.; Stock, R.; Strikhanov, M.; Stringfellow, B.; Sugiura, T.; Sumbera, M.; Summa, B.; Sun, Y.; Sun, Z.; Sun, X. M.; Surrow, B.; Svirida, D. N.; Tang, Z.; Tang, A. H.; Tarnowsky, T.; Tawfik, A.; Thäder, J.; Thomas, J. H.; Timmins, A. R.; Tlusty, D.; Todoroki, T.; Tokarev, M.; Trentalange, S.; Tribble, R. E.; Tribedy, P.; Tripathy, S. K.; Tsai, O. D.; Ullrich, T.; Underwood, D. G.; Upsal, I.; Van Buren, G.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G.; Varma, R.; Vasiliev, A. N.; Vertesi, R.; Videbæk, F.; Vokal, S.; Voloshin, S. A.; Vossen, A.; Wang, G.; Wang, J. S.; Wang, F.; Wang, Y.; Wang, Y.; Webb, J. C.; Webb, G.; Wen, L.; Westfall, G. D.; Wieman, H.; Wissink, S. W.; Witt, R.; Wu, Y.; Xiao, Z. G.; Xie, G.; Xie, W.; Xin, K.; Xu, Z.; Xu, H.; Xu, N.; Xu, J.; Xu, Y. F.; Xu, Q. H.; Yang, Y.; Yang, Y.; Yang, S.; Yang, Q.; Yang, Y.; Yang, C.; Ye, Z.; Ye, Z.; Yi, L.; Yip, K.; Yoo, I.-K.; Yu, N.; Zbroszczyk, H.; Zha, W.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, Z.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, S.; Zhang, X. P.; Zhang, J. B.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, S.; Zhao, J.; Zhong, C.; Zhou, L.; Zhu, X.; Zoulkarneeva, Y.; Zyzak, M.; STAR Collaboration

    2016-12-01

    We present a measurement of the inclusive production of Υ mesons in U+U collisions at √{sN N}=193 GeV at midrapidity (|y |<1 ). Previous studies in central Au+Au collisions at √{sN N}=200 GeV show a suppression of Υ (1S+2S+3S) production relative to expectations from the Υ yield in p+p collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions (Ncoll), with an indication that the Υ (1S) state is also suppressed. The present measurement extends the number of participant nucleons in the collision (Npart) by 20% compared to Au+Au collisions, and allows us to study a system with higher energy density. We observe a suppression in both the Υ (1 S +2 S +3 S ) and Υ (1 S ) yields in central U+U data, which consolidates and extends the previously observed suppression trend in Au+Au collisions.

  10. Specification of optical components for a high average-power laser environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taylor, J.R.; Chow, R.; Rinmdahl, K.A.; Willis, J.B.; Wong, J.N.

    1997-06-25

    Optical component specifications for the high-average-power lasers and transport system used in the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) plant must address demanding system performance requirements. The need for high performance optics has to be balanced against the practical desire to reduce the supply risks of cost and schedule. This is addressed in optical system design, careful planning with the optical industry, demonstration of plant quality parts, qualification of optical suppliers and processes, comprehensive procedures for evaluation and test, and a plan for corrective action.

  11. Development of an integrated control and measurement system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manges, W.W.

    1984-03-01

    This thesis presents a tutorial on the issues involved in the development of a minicomputer-based, distributed intelligence data acquisition and process control system to support complex experimental facilities. The particular system discussed in this thesis is under development for the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) Program at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP). In the AVLIS program, we were careful to integrate the computer sections of the implementation into the instrumentation system rather than adding them as an appendage. We then addressed the reliability and availability of the system as a separate concern. Thus, our concept of an integrated control and measurement (ICAM) system forms the basis for this thesis. This thesis details the logic and philosophy that went into the development of this system and explains why the commercially available turn-key systems generally are not suitable. Also, the issues involved in the specification of the components for such an integrated system are emphasized

  12. The second green revolution? Production of plant-based biodegradable plastics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mooney, Brian P

    2009-03-01

    Biodegradable plastics are those that can be completely degraded in landfills, composters or sewage treatment plants by the action of naturally occurring micro-organisms. Truly biodegradable plastics leave no toxic, visible or distinguishable residues following degradation. Their biodegradability contrasts sharply with most petroleum-based plastics, which are essentially indestructible in a biological context. Because of the ubiquitous use of petroleum-based plastics, their persistence in the environment and their fossil-fuel derivation, alternatives to these traditional plastics are being explored. Issues surrounding waste management of traditional and biodegradable polymers are discussed in the context of reducing environmental pressures and carbon footprints. The main thrust of the present review addresses the development of plant-based biodegradable polymers. Plants naturally produce numerous polymers, including rubber, starch, cellulose and storage proteins, all of which have been exploited for biodegradable plastic production. Bacterial bioreactors fed with renewable resources from plants--so-called 'white biotechnology'--have also been successful in producing biodegradable polymers. In addition to these methods of exploiting plant materials for biodegradable polymer production, the present review also addresses the advances in synthesizing novel polymers within transgenic plants, especially those in the polyhydroxyalkanoate class. Although there is a stigma associated with transgenic plants, especially food crops, plant-based biodegradable polymers, produced as value-added co-products, or, from marginal land (non-food), crops such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), have the potential to become viable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics and an environmentally benign and carbon-neutral source of polymers.

  13. Addendum to the corrective action plan for Underground Storage Tanks 1219-U, 1222-U, 2082-U, 2068-U at the Rust Garage Facility, Buildings 9720-15 and 9754-1: Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Facility ID number-sign 0-010117

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    This document represents an addendum to the Corrective Action Plan (CAP) for underground storage tanks 1219-U, 2082-U, and 2068-U located at Buildings 9720-15 and 9754-1, Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, TN. The site of the four underground storage tanks is commonly referred to as the Rust Garage Facility. The original CAP was submitted to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) for review in May 1992. During the time period after submission of the original CAP for the Rust Garage Facility, Y-12 Plant Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program personnel continued to evaluate improvements that would optimize resources and expedite the activities schedule presented in the original CAP. Based on these determinations, several revisions to the original corrective action process options for remediation of contaminated soils are proposed. The revised approach will involve excavation of the soils from the impacted areas, on-site thermal desorption of soil contaminants, and final disposition of the treated soils by backfilling into the subject site excavations. Based on evaluation of the corrective actions with regard to groundwater, remediation of groundwater under the Y-12 Plant CERCLA Program is proposed for the facility

  14. Plant latex lipase as biocatalysts for biodiesel production | Mazou ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Plant latex lipase as biocatalysts for biodiesel production. ... This paper provides an overview regarding the main aspects of latex, such as the reactions catalyzed, physiological functions, specificities, sources and their industrial applications. Keywords: Plant latex, lipase, Transesterification, purification, biodiesel ...

  15. Fiscal year 1986 Department of Energy Authorization (uranium enrichment and electric energy systems, energy storage and small-scale hydropower programs). Volume VI. Hearings before the Subcommittee on Energy Research and Production of the Committee on Science and Technology, US House of Representatives, Ninety-Ninth Congress, First Session, February 28; March 5, 7, 1985

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1985-01-01

    Volume VI of the hearing record covers three days of testimony on the future of US uranium enrichment and on programs involving electric power and energy storage. There were four areas of concern about uranium enrichment: the choice between atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) and the advanced gas centrifuge (AGC) technologies, cost-effective operation of gaseous diffusion plants, plans for a gas centrifuge enrichment plant, and how the DOE will make its decision. The witnesses represented major government contractors, research laboratories, and energy suppliers. The discussion on the third day focused on the impact of reductions in funding for electric energy systems and energy storage and a small budget increase to encourage small hydropower technology transfer to the private sector. Two appendices with additional statements and correspondence follow the testimony of 17 witnesses

  16. Uranium recovery in a pilot plant as by product of the phosphate fertilizers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dantas, C.C.; Santos, F.S.M. dos; Paula, H.C.B.; Santana, A.O. de

    1984-01-01

    A process was developed and a piloto plant was installed to recovery uranium from chloridric leach liquor of phosphate rocks. The extractor system is a mixture of di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (DEHPA) and tributyl-phosphate (TBP) in a kerosene diluent. The phosphate rocks are leached for dicalcium phosphate (CaHPO 4 ) production, by the reactions: Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 + 4 HCl → Ca(H 2 PO 4 ) 2 + CaCl 2 and Ca(H 2 PO 4 ) 2 + Ca(OH) 2 → CaHPO 4 + 2 H 2 O. The uranium recovery process comprises the following steps:extraction, scrubbing, reextraction, iron removal and uranium precipitation. The uranium is precipited as ADU with 80% of U 3 O 8 .(Author) [pt

  17. Gene Delivery into Plant Cells for Recombinant Protein Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiang Chen

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Recombinant proteins are primarily produced from cultures of mammalian, insect, and bacteria cells. In recent years, the development of deconstructed virus-based vectors has allowed plants to become a viable platform for recombinant protein production, with advantages in versatility, speed, cost, scalability, and safety over the current production paradigms. In this paper, we review the recent progress in the methodology of agroinfiltration, a solution to overcome the challenge of transgene delivery into plant cells for large-scale manufacturing of recombinant proteins. General gene delivery methodologies in plants are first summarized, followed by extensive discussion on the application and scalability of each agroinfiltration method. New development of a spray-based agroinfiltration and its application on field-grown plants is highlighted. The discussion of agroinfiltration vectors focuses on their applications for producing complex and heteromultimeric proteins and is updated with the development of bridge vectors. Progress on agroinfiltration in Nicotiana and non-Nicotiana plant hosts is subsequently showcased in context of their applications for producing high-value human biologics and low-cost and high-volume industrial enzymes. These new advancements in agroinfiltration greatly enhance the robustness and scalability of transgene delivery in plants, facilitating the adoption of plant transient expression systems for manufacturing recombinant proteins with a broad range of applications.

  18. Ethylene production by plants in a closed environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, R. M.; Peterson, B. V.; Sager, J. C.; Knott, W. M.

    Ethylene production by 20-m^2 stands of wheat, soybean, lettuce and potato was monitored throughout growth and development in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Biomass Production Chamber. Chamber ethylene concentrations rose during periods of rapid growth for all four species, reaching 120 parts per billion (ppb) for wheat, 60 ppb for soybean, and 40 to 50 ppb for lettuce and potato. Following this, ethylene concentrations declined during seed fill and maturation (wheat and soybean), or remained relatively constant (potato). Lettuce plants were harvested during rapid growth and peak ethylene production. The highest ethylene production rates (unadjusted for chamber leakage) ranged from 0.04 to 0.06 ml m^-2 day^-1 during rapid growth of lettuce and wheat stands, or approximately 0.8 to 1.1 nl g^-1 fresh weight h^-1 Results suggest that ethylene production by plants is a normal event coupled to periods of rapid metabolic activity, and that ethylene removal or control measures should be considered for growing crops in a tightly closed CELSS.

  19. Have U.S. power plants become less technically efficient? The impact of carbon emission regulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Yishu; Huang, Ling

    2016-01-01

    We estimate directional distance functions to measure the impact of carbon emission regulation, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in particular, on U.S. power plants' technical efficiency. The model shows that the average technical efficiency scores for coal and natural gas plants are 88.70% and 83.14% respectively, indicating a very technically efficient industry. We find no evidence of technical efficiency changes due to the RGGI regime in the RGGI area. In the same area, relatively less efficient coal plants exited the market and slightly more efficient natural gas plants entered, compared to the incumbent plants. In addition, some evidence of a spillover effect is found. Using a counterfactual analysis, the RGGI regulation leads to a 1.48% decline in the average technical efficiency for coal plants within neighboring states of RGGI during 2009–2013. - Highlights: • RGGI does not lead to a change in the technical efficiency of RGGI power plants. • Less efficient coal plants exit. • Entering natural gas plants are more efficient. • RGGI has a spillover effect on neighboring coal plants.

  20. Production of novel biopolymers in plants: recent technological advances and future prospects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snell, Kristi D; Singh, Vijay; Brumbley, Stevens M

    2015-04-01

    The production of novel biopolymers in plants has the potential to provide renewable sources of industrial materials through agriculture. In this review we will highlight recent progress with plant-based production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), silk, elastin, collagen, and cyanophycin with an emphasis on the synthesis of poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (PHB), a renewable biodegradable PHA polymer with potential commercial applications in plastics, chemicals, and feed markets. Improved production of PHB has required manipulation of promoters driving expression of transgenes, reduction in activity of endogenous enzymes in competing metabolic pathways, insertion of genes to increase carbon flow to polymer, and basic plant biochemistry to understand metabolic limitations. These experiments have increased our understanding of carbon availability and partitioning in different plant organelles, cell types, and organs, information that is useful for the production of other novel molecules in plants. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. U3O8 production cost analysis study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-08-01

    This report presents the User's Manual for the computer program resulting from Bechtel's uranium production cost analysis. The model incorporates engineering and financial costs of sandstone mining and milling in the western United States. It does not consider exploration costs. The model was written in Fortran V, IBM compatible. Inputs from the user are such items as: ore grades, open pit or underground mines, acid or carbonate leach, and debt/equity ratio. The user may either input the desired discounted cash flow rate of return and obtain the necessary U 3 O 8 price, or input an estimated U 3 O 8 price and obtain the resulting discounted cash flow rate of return

  2. Reliability evaluation of emergency AC power systems based on operating experience at U.S. nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baranowsky, P. W. [U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)

    1986-02-15

    The reliability of emergency AC power Systems has been under study at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and by its contractors for several years. This paper provides the results of work recently performed to evaluate past U.S. nuclear power plant emergency AC power System reliability performance using system level data. Operating experience involving multiple diesel generator failures, unavailabilities, and simultaneous occurrences of failures and out of service diesel generators were used to evaluate reliability performance at individual nuclear power plants covering a 9 year period from 1976 through 1984. The number and nature of failures and distributions of reliability evaluation results are provided. The results show that plant specific performance varied considerably during the period with a large number achieving high reliability performance and a smaller number accounting for lower levels of reliability performance. (author)

  3. Uranium enrichment: investment options for the long term

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1983-01-01

    The US government supplies a major portion of the enriched uranium used to fuel most of the nuclear power plants that furnish electricity in the free world. As manager of the US uranium enrichment concern, the Department of Energy (DOE) is investigating a number of technological choices to improve enrichment service and remain a significant world supplier. The Congress will ultimately select a strategy for federal investment in the uranium enrichment enterprise. A fundamental policy choice between possible future roles - that of the free world's main supplier of enrichment services, and that of a mainly domestic supplier - will underlie any investment decision the Congress makes. The technological choices are gaseous diffusion, gas centrifuge, and atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS). A base plan and four alternatives were examined by DOE and the Congressional Budget Office. In terms of total enterprise costs, Option IV, ultimately relying on advanced gas centrifuges for enrichment services, would offer the most economic approach, with costs over the full projection period totaling $123.5 billion. Option III, ultimately relying on AVLIS without gas centrifuge enrichment or gaseous diffusion, falls next in the sequence, with costs of $128.2 billion. Options I and II, involving combinations of the gas centrifuge and AVLIS technologies, follow closely with costs of $128.7 and $129.6 billion. The base plan has costs of $136.8 billion over the projection period. 1 figure, 22 tables

  4. Electric plant cost and power production expenses 1991

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    Electric Plant Cost and Power Production Expenses is prepared by the Survey Management Division; Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels (CNEAF); Energy Information Administration (EIA); US Department of Energy. This publication presents electric utility statistics on power production expenses and construction costs of electric generating plants. Data presented here are intended to provide information to the electric utility industry, educational institutions, Federal, State, and local governments, and the general public. These data are collected and published to fulfill data collection and dissemination responsibilities of the Energy Information Administration (EIA), as specified in the Federal Energy Administration Act (Public Law 93-275), as amended

  5. Electric plant cost and power production expenses 1990

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-06-01

    Electric Plant Cost and Power Production Expenses is prepared by the Survey Management Division; Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels, Energy Information Administration (EIA); US Department of Energy. This publication presents electric utility statistics on power production expenses and construction costs of electric generating plants. Data presented here are intended to provide information to the electric utility industry, educational institutions, Federal, State, and local governments, and the general public. These data are collected and published to fulfill data collection and dissemination responsibilities of the Energy Information Administration (EIA), as specified in the Federal Energy Administration Act (Public Law 93-275), as amended

  6. Fragrance ingredient labelling in products on sale in the U.K.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckley, D A

    2007-08-01

    The seventh amendment of the European Union (EU) Cosmetics Directive (March 2005) and the Detergents Regulations of the EU (October 2005) are now legal requirements in Europe. Cosmetic products and detergents must be labelled for 26 individual named fragrances, when present at concentrations of > 10 parts per million (p.p.m.) in leave-on products and > 100 p.p.m. in rinse-off products. To make an assessment of the exposure pattern to fragrance of the U.K. consumer and to determine the frequency with which the constituent fragrances of fragrance mix I (FM I) and fragrance mix II (FM II) are included in products currently sold in the U.K. A study of perfumed cosmetic and household products available on the shelves of U.K. retailers was carried out in January 2006. Products were included if 'parfum' or 'aroma' was listed among the ingredients. Three hundred products were surveyed and any of the 26 listed fragrances named on the label were recorded. The top six most frequently labelled fragrances were linalool (190; 63%), limonene (189; 63%), citronellol (145; 48%), geraniol (126; 42%), butyl phenyl methyl propional (Lilial(trade mark)) (126; 42%) and hexyl cinnamal (125; (42%). One of these, geraniol, is present in FM I and two others, citronellol and hexyl cinnamal, in FM II, thus tested as part of the British Standard patch test series. The frequencies of other constituents of FM I were as follows: eugenol, 80 (27%); hydroxycitronellal, 52 (17%); isoeugenol, 27 (9%); cinnamic alcohol, 25 (8%); amyl cinnamal, 22 (7%); cinnamal, 17 (6%); Evernia prunastri (oak moss absolute), 13 (4%). The other constituents of FM II occurred as follows: coumarin, 90 (30%); hydroxyisohexyl-3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde (Lyral(trade mark)), 88 (29%); citral, 74 (25%); farnesol, 23 (8%). Linalool (n = 46; 66%) was the most frequently found fragrance in 70 personal care products (soap, shampoo, shower gel). Linalool (n = 47; 80%) and limonene (n = 45; 76%) were the most frequent in 59

  7. Alternative applications of atomic vapor laser isotope separation technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    This report was commissioned by the Secretary of Energy. It summarizes the main features of atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) technology and subsystems; evaluates applications, beyond those of uranium enrichment, suggested by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and a wide range of US industries and individuals; recommends further work on several applications; recommends the provision of facilities for evaluating potential new applications; and recommends the full involvement of end users from the very beginning in the development of any application. Specifically excluded from this report is an evaluation of the main AVLIS missions, uranium enrichment and purification of plutonium for weapons. In evaluating many of the alternative applications, it became clear that industry should play a greater and earlier role in the definition and development of technologies with the Department of Energy (DOE) if the nation is to derive significant commercial benefit. Applications of AVLIS to the separation of alternate (nonuranium) isotopes were considered. The use of 157 Gd as burnable poison in the nuclear fuel cycle, the use 12 C for isotopically pure diamond, and the use of plutonium isotopes for several nonweapons applications are examples of commercially useful products that might be produced at a cost less than the product value. Separations of other isotopes such as the elemental constituents of semiconductors were suggested; it is recommended that proposed applications be tested by using existing supplies to establish their value before more efficient enrichment processes are developed. Some applications are clear, but their production costs are too high, the window of opportunity in the market has passed, or societal constraints (e.g., on reprocessing of reactor fuel) discourage implementation

  8. Structural stability and fission product behaviour in U{sub 3}Si

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Middleburgh, S.C., E-mail: simon.middleburgh@hotmail.co.uk [IME, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, New South Wales (Australia); Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB, SE-72163 Västerås (Sweden); Burr, P.A. [Department of Materials, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); King, D.J.M.; Edwards, L.; Lumpkin, G.R. [IME, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, New South Wales (Australia); Grimes, R.W. [Department of Materials, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)

    2015-11-15

    The crystalline and amorphous structures of U{sub 3}Si have been investigated using density functional theory techniques for the first time. The effects of disorder and the impact of fission products has been separated to understand the swelling characteristics of U{sub 3}Si in both crystalline and amorphous U{sub 3}Si. Initially, the stability of the three experimentally observed polymorphs of U{sub 3}Si were explored. Subsequently, we modelled the amorphous U{sub 3}Si system and conclude that initial increase in volume observed experimentally at low temperature corresponds well with the volume change that occurs with the observed amorphisation of the material. The solubility of Xe and Zr into both the crystalline and amorphous systems was subsequently investigated.

  9. Feasibility of converting a sugar beet plant to fuel ethanol production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hammaker, G S; Pfost, H B; David, M L; Marino, M L

    1981-04-01

    This study was performed to assess the feasibility of producing fuel ethanol from sugar beets. Sugar beets are a major agricultural crop in the area and the beet sugar industry is a major employer. There have been some indications that increasing competition from imported sugar and fructose sugar produced from corn may lead to lower average sugar prices than have prevailed in the past. Fuel ethanol might provide an attractive alternative market for beets and ethanol production would continue to provide an industrial base for labor. Ethanol production from beets would utilize much of the same field and plant equipment as is now used for sugar. It is logical to examine the modification of an existing sugar plant from producing sugar to ethanol. The decision was made to use Great Western Sugar Company's plant at Mitchell as the example plant. This plant was selected primarily on the basis of its independence from other plants and the availability of relatively nearby beet acreage. The potential feedstocks assessed included sugar beets, corn, hybrid beets, and potatoes. Markets were assessed for ethanol and fermentation by-products saleability. Investment and operating costs were determined for each prospective plant. Plants were evaluated using a discounted cash flow technique to obtain data on full production costs. Environmental, health, safety, and socio-economic aspects of potential facilities were examined. Three consulting engineering firms and 3 engineering-construction firms are considered capable of providing the desired turn-key engineering design and construction services. It was concluded that the project is technically feasible. (DMC)

  10. Do Antibiotics Reduce Production Risk for U.S. Pork Producers?

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Xuanli; Miller, Gay Y.; McNamara, Paul E.

    2005-01-01

    Production risk from live weight variation of market pigs has become a more important concern in U.S. swine production. Packers are concerned about the variation in carcass size because of the demand for standardized cuts and the use of automation in the slaughter process. Swine producers care about standardized pigs because of revenue implications and possible links to animal health and productivity. Pig size variation can be due to various condition and inputs including antibiotics. However...

  11. Production Factors, Productivity Dynamics and Quality Gains as Determinants of Healthcare Spending Growth in U.S. Hospitals

    OpenAIRE

    Juan Contreras; Elena Patel; Ignez Tristao

    2013-01-01

    We analyze the contribution of production factors to revenue growth in almost the complete universe of U.S. hospitals, accounting for quality and productivity. Production factors (capital, labor, energy, materials and drugs) contributed 70% (drugs alone contributed 52 %), better health outcomes (higher quality) contributed 5 %, and better use of resources (productivity) contributed 25 %. We find increasing returns to scale, a markup of between 15% and 36% and a much larger productivity disper...

  12. CONSIDERATIONS UPON MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCT PRODUCTION IN THE U.S.A.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AGATHA POPESCU

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper aimed to present the evolution of milk production and dairy products in the USA during the period 2004-2006, based on USDA Statistics. The USA is a top produce of milk and dairy products in the world. Milk production accounted for 181,798 Millions Pounds in the year 2006. Its continuously increase during the last years has been positively influenced by the increasing number of dairy cows and average milk yield . The top states are California, Wisconsin, New York, Idaho and Pennsylvania, which all together achieve about 54 % of the country milk production. Over 99.37 % of Milk Production is marketed. Considering all milk marketings, Million USD 23,422 cash receiptscould be obtained from a dairy farm in the year 2006. The average return per Cwt was about USD 13 in 2006 . Milk is processed by about 1,000 manufacturing plants in a large variety of dairy products. Cheese production was about 9.5 Billion Pounds in the last analyzed years. The US also produces important amounts of butter , yogurt, ice cream etc. About 8.3 % of the US dairy products are exported, the most markets being Japan, Mexico and Canada.

  13. Heterologous production of peptides in plants: fusion proteins and beyond.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viana, Juliane Flávia Cançado; Dias, Simoni Campos; Franco, Octávio Luiz; Lacorte, Cristiano

    2013-11-01

    Recombinant DNA technology has allowed the ectopic production of proteins and peptides of different organisms leading to biopharmaceutical production in large cultures of bacterial, yeasts and mammalian cells. Otherwise, the expression of recombinant proteins and peptides in plants is an attractive alternative presenting several advantages over the commonly used expression systems including reduced production costs, easy scale-up and reduced risks of pathogen contamination. Different types of proteins and peptides have been expressed in plants, including antibodies, antigens, and proteins and peptides of medical, veterinary and industrial applications. However, apart from providing a proof of concept, the use of plants as platforms for heterologous protein and peptide production still depends on key steps towards optimization including the enhancement of expression levels, manipulation of post-transcriptional modifications and improvements in purification methods. In this review, strategies to increase heterologous protein and peptide stability and accumulation are discussed, focusing on the expression of peptides through the use of gene fusions.

  14. Fission Product Yield Study of 235U, 238U and 239Pu Using Dual-Fission Ionization Chambers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatia, C.; Fallin, B.; Howell, C.; Tornow, W.; Gooden, M.; Kelley, J.; Arnold, C.; Bond, E.; Bredeweg, T.; Fowler, M.; Moody, W.; Rundberg, R.; Rusev, G.; Vieira, D.; Wilhelmy, J.; Becker, J.; Macri, R.; Ryan, C.; Sheets, S.; Stoyer, M.; Tonchev, A.

    2014-05-01

    To resolve long-standing differences between LANL and LLNL regarding the correct fission basis for analysis of nuclear test data [M.B. Chadwick et al., Nucl. Data Sheets 111, 2891 (2010); H. Selby et al., Nucl. Data Sheets 111, 2891 (2010)], a collaboration between TUNL/LANL/LLNL has been established to perform high-precision measurements of neutron induced fission product yields. The main goal is to make a definitive statement about the energy dependence of the fission yields to an accuracy better than 2-3% between 1 and 15 MeV, where experimental data are very scarce. At TUNL, we have completed the design, fabrication and testing of three dual-fission chambers dedicated to 235U, 238U, and 239Pu. The dual-fission chambers were used to make measurements of the fission product activity relative to the total fission rate, as well as for high-precision absolute fission yield measurements. The activation method was employed, utilizing the mono-energetic neutron beams available at TUNL. Neutrons of 4.6, 9.0, and 14.5 MeV were produced via the 2H(d,n)3He reaction, and for neutrons at 14.8 MeV, the 3H(d,n)4He reaction was used. After activation, the induced γ-ray activity of the fission products was measured for two months using high-resolution HPGe detectors in a low-background environment. Results for the yield of seven fission fragments of 235U, 238U, and 239Pu and a comparison to available data at other energies are reported. For the first time results are available for neutron energies between 2 and 14 MeV.

  15. EFFECTS OF PLANTING DENSITYAND ORGANIC FERTILIZATION DOSES ON PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY OF CACTUS PEAR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NALÍGIA GOMES DE MIRANDA E SILVA

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Cactus is crucial for the livestock of semi - arid regions in Brazil. This plant has shown the high productivity of forage, which is influenced by several management factors. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of organic fertilization doses (20, 40 and 80 t/ ha of bovine manure/ha/two years and planting densities (20, 40, 80 and 160 thousand plants/ha on the productivity of cactus pear Clone IPA - 20 ( Opuntia ficus - indica Mill. At the Experimental Station of Caruaru at the Agronomic Institute of Pernambuco, IPA has conducted the experiment. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with split plot arrangements. Higher shoot productivity was observed with increased population density and the application of manure at 80 t ha - 1two years - 1 with values of 61, 90, 117 and 139 t DM ha - 1 two years - 1 at densities of 20, 40, 80 and 160,000 plants ha - 1. The planting density influenced the productivity of cladode - plant and root dry weight, showing exponential responses, with higher cladode - plant and roots weight by area observed with increased plant density. The efficiency of organic fertilization decreased with the increase in manure doses. For increase cactus productivity, 40 t of bovine manure ha - 1 two years - 1 for plantations with 160,000 plants/ha is recommended.

  16. Linking investment spikes and productivity growth

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geylani, P.C.; Stefanou, S.E.

    2013-01-01

    We investigate the relationship between productivity growth and investment spikes using Census Bureau’s plant-level dataset for the U.S. food manufacturing industry. There are differences in productivity growth and investment spike patterns across different sub-industries and food manufacturing

  17. Possibilities for using plant extracts added to ruminant feed aimed at improving production results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grdović Svetlana

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The use of plant extracts with the objective of improving production results and the quality of food articles of animal origin is an area which is acquiring increasing scientific importance. Numerous investigations carried out so far on ruminants and other species of domestic animals have been aimed at examining specific bioactive matter of plants. The results of these investigations have demonstrated a positive influence on the production results. A large number of data indicate that plant extracts added to animal feed contribute to increasing overall productivity. Furthermore, plant extracts as additives in animal feed have a positive effect also on the health condition of the animals. A large number of plants have characteristics which potentially improve consumption, digestibility and conversion of food, and also growth. Examinations have been performed of the effects of different plant extracts on food consumption, wool growth, growth and composition of the trunk, milk production, reproductive parameters, agents for wool shearing, preventing bloat, methane production, as well as the influence of plants on curbing nematode infestations of ruminants. This work presents a review of scientific investigations of different plant species and their effects on the production characteristics of ruminants. .

  18. Corrective action baseline report for underground storage tanks 0439-U, 0440-U, 2073-U, 2074-U, and 2075-U at the East End Fuel Station, Buildings 9754 and 9754-2, Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Facility ID No. 0-010117

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    The purpose of this report is to provide baseline geochemical and hydrogeologic data relative to corrective action for underground storage tanks (USTs) 0439-U, 0440-U, 2073-U, 2074-U, and 2075-U at the East End Fuel Station, Buildings 9754 and 9754-2 at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. Progress in support of corrective action at the East End Fuel Station has included monitoring well installation, tank removal, and baseline groundwater sampling and analysis. This document represents the baseline report for corrective action at the East End Fuel Station and is organized into three sections. Section 1 presents introductory information relative to the site, including the regulatory initiative, site description, and progress to date. Section 2 includes a summary of additional monitoring well installation activities, the results of baseline groundwater sampling, a summary of tank removal activities, and the results of confirmatory soil sampling performed during tank removal. Section 3 presents the baseline hydrogeology and planned zone of influence for groundwater remediation

  19. Reactor safety study. An assessment of accident risks in U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. Executive summary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1975-10-01

    The Reactor Safety Study was sponsored by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission to estimate the public risks that could be involved in potential accidents in commercial nuclear power plants of the type now in use. It was performed under the independent direction of Professor Norman C. Rasmussen of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The risks had to be estimated, rather than measured, because although there are about 50 such plants now operating, there have been no nuclear accidents to date resulting in significant releases of radioactivity in U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. The objective of the study was to make a realistic estimate of these risks and, to provide perspective, to compare them with non-nuclear risks to which our society and its individuals are already exposed. This information may be of help in determining the future reliance by society on nuclear power as a source of electricity. The results from this study suggest that the risks to the public from potential accidents in nuclear power plants are comparatively small.

  20. Reactor safety study. An assessment of accident risks in U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. Executive summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1975-10-01

    The Reactor Safety Study was sponsored by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission to estimate the public risks that could be involved in potential accidents in commercial nuclear power plants of the type now in use. It was performed under the independent direction of Professor Norman C. Rasmussen of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The risks had to be estimated, rather than measured, because although there are about 50 such plants now operating, there have been no nuclear accidents to date resulting in significant releases of radioactivity in U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. The objective of the study was to make a realistic estimate of these risks and, to provide perspective, to compare them with non-nuclear risks to which our society and its individuals are already exposed. This information may be of help in determining the future reliance by society on nuclear power as a source of electricity. The results from this study suggest that the risks to the public from potential accidents in nuclear power plants are comparatively small

  1. U.S. Residential Miscellaneous Refrigeration Products: Results from Amazon Mechanical Turk Surveys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Greenblatt, Jeffery B.; Young, Scott J.; Yang, Hung-Chia; Long, Timothy; Beraki, Bereket; Price, Sarah K.; Pratt, Stacy; Willem, Henry; Desroches, Louis-Benoit

    2013-11-14

    Amazon Mechanical Turk was used, for the first time, to collect statistically representative survey data from U.S. households on the presence, number, type and usage of refrigerators, freezers, and various “miscellaneous” refrigeration products (wine/beverage coolers, residential icemakers and non-vapor compression refrigerators and freezers), along with household and demographic information. Such products have been poorly studied to date, with almost no information available about shipments, stocks, capacities, energy use, etc. A total of 9,981 clean survey responses were obtained from five distinct surveys deployed in 2012. General refrigeration product survey responses were weighted to demographics in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2009 dataset. Miscellaneous refrigeration product survey responses were weighted according to demographics of product ownership found in the general refrigeration product surveys. Model number matching for a portion of miscellaneous refrigeration product responses allowed validation of refrigeration product characteristics, which enabled more accurate estimates of the penetrations of these products in U.S. households. We estimated that there were 12.3±1.0 million wine/beverage coolers, 5.5(–3.5,+3.2) million residential icemakers and 4.4(–2.7,+2.3) million non-vapor compression refrigerators in U.S. households in 2012. (All numerical results are expressed with ranges indicating the 95% confidence interval.) No evidence was found for the existence of non-vapor compression freezers. Moreover, we found that 15% of wine/beverage coolers used vapor compression cooling technology, while 85% used thermoelectric cooling technology, with the vast majority of thermoelectric units having capacities of less than 30 wine bottles (approximately 3.5 cubic feet). No evidence was found for the existence of wine/beverage coolers with absorption cooling technology. Additionally, we estimated

  2. U.S. Residential Miscellaneous Refrigeration Products: Results from Amazon Mechanical Turk Surveys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Greenblatt, Jeffery B. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Young, Scott J. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Yang, Hung-Chia [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Long, Timothy [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Beraki, Bereket [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Price, Sarah K. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Pratt, Stacy [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Willem, Henry [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Desroches, Louis-Benoit [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2013-04-01

    Amazon Mechanical Turk was used, for the first time, to collect statistically representative survey data from U.S. households on the presence, number, type and usage of refrigerators, freezers, and various “miscellaneous” refrigeration products (wine/beverage coolers, residential icemakers and non-vapor compression refrigerators and freezers), along with household and demographic information. Such products have been poorly studied to date, with almost no information available about shipments, stocks, capacities, energy use, etc. A total of 9,820 clean survey responses were obtained from four distinct surveys deployed in 2012. General refrigeration product survey responses were weighted to demographics in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2009 dataset. Miscellaneous refrigeration product survey responses were weighted according to demographics of product ownership found in the general refrigeration product surveys. Model number matching for a portion of miscellaneous refrigeration product responses allowed validation of refrigeration product characteristics, which enabled more accurate estimates of the penetrations of these products in U.S. households. We estimated that there were 12.3±1.0 million wine/beverage coolers, 5.5(–3.5,+3.2) million residential icemakers and 2.9(–2.5,+4.5) million non-vapor compression refrigerators in U.S. households in 2012. (All numerical results are expressed with ranges indicating the 95% confidence interval.) No evidence was found for the existence of non-vapor compression freezers. Moreover, we found that 15% of wine/beverage coolers used vapor compression cooling technology, while 85% used thermoelectric cooling technology, with the vast majority of thermoelectric units having capacities of less than 30 wine bottles (approximately 3.5 cubic feet). No evidence was found for the existence of wine/beverage coolers with absorption cooling technology. Additionally, we estimated

  3. Antimicrobial peptide production and plant-based expression systems for medical and agricultural biotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holaskova, Edita; Galuszka, Petr; Frebort, Ivo; Oz, M Tufan

    2015-11-01

    Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are vital components of the innate immune system of nearly all living organisms. They generally act in the first line of defense against various pathogenic bacteria, parasites, enveloped viruses and fungi. These low molecular mass peptides are considered prospective therapeutic agents due to their broad-spectrum rapid activity, low cytotoxicity to mammalian cells and unique mode of action which hinders emergence of pathogen resistance. In addition to medical use, AMPs can also be employed for development of innovative approaches for plant protection in agriculture. Conferred disease resistance by AMPs might help us surmount losses in yield, quality and safety of agricultural products due to plant pathogens. Heterologous expression in plant-based systems, also called plant molecular farming, offers cost-effective large-scale production which is regarded as one of the most important factors for clinical or agricultural use of AMPs. This review presents various types of AMPs as well as plant-based platforms ranging from cell suspensions to whole plants employed for peptide production. Although AMP production in plants holds great promises for medicine and agriculture, specific technical limitations regarding product yield, function and stability still remain. Additionally, establishment of particular stable expression systems employing plants or plant tissues generally requires extended time scale for platform development compared to certain other heterologous systems. Therefore, fast and promising tools for evaluation of plant-based expression strategies and assessment of function and stability of the heterologously produced AMPs are critical for molecular farming and plant protection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Water use, productivity and interactions among desert plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ehleringer, J.R.

    1992-11-17

    Productivity, stability, and competitive interactions among ecosystem components within aridlands are key processes related directly to water in deserts. This project assumes that integrated aspects of plant metabolism provide insight into the structure and function of plant communities and ecosystems. While it is difficult to extrapolate from instantaneous physiological observations to higher scales, such as whole plant performance or to the interactions between plants as components of ecosystems, several key aspects of plant metabolism are scalable. Analyses of stable isotopic composition in plant tissues at natural abundance levels provide a useful tool that can provide insight into the consequences of physiological processes over temporal and spatial scales. Some plant processes continuously fractionate among light and heavy stable isotopic forms of an element; over time this results in integrated measures of plant metabolism. For example, carbon isotope fractionation during photosynthesis results in leaf carbon isotopic composition that is a measure of the set-point for photosynthetic metabolism and of water-use efficiency. Thus it provides information on the temporal scaling of a key physiological process.

  5. Gas core reactor power plants designed for low proliferation potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lowry, L.L.

    1977-09-01

    The feasibility of gas core nuclear power plants to provide adequate power while maintaining a low inventory and low divertability of fissile material is studied. Four concepts were examined. Two used a mixture of UF 6 and helium in the reactor cavities, and two used a uranium-argon plasma, held away from the walls by vortex buffer confinement. Power levels varied from 200 to 2500 MWth. Power plant subsystems were sized to determine their fissile material inventories. All reactors ran, with a breeding ratio of unity, on 233 U born from thorium. Fission product removal was continuous. Newly born 233 U was removed continuously from the breeding blanket and returned to the reactor cavities. The 2500-MWth power plant contained a total of 191 kg of 233 U. Less than 4 kg could be diverted before the reactor shut down. The plasma reactor power plants had smaller inventories. In general, inventories were about a factor of 10 less than those in current U.S. power reactors

  6. Radioactive equilibria and disequilibria of U-series nuclides in the products from Izu arc volcanoes, Japan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kurihara, Y.; Sato, J. [Meiji Univ., Kawasaki, Kanagawa (Japan). Dept. of Applied Chemistry; Takahashi, M. [Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Tokyo (Japan). Radiation Safety Research Center

    2011-07-01

    Activity ratios among {sup 238}U-{sup 230}Th-{sup 226}Ra in the products from Izu arc volcanoes, Japan, were observed in order to estimate the time scale of magmatic processes and the magma generation for Izu arc volcanism. Activity ratios of {sup 238}U/{sup 230}Th and {sup 226}Ra/{sup 230}Th in the basaltic and andesitic products from Izu arc volcanoes were greater than unity, being enriched in {sup 238}U and {sup 226}Ra relative to {sup 230}Th. The {sup 226}Ra/{sup 230}Th activity ratio versus {sup 238}U/{sup 230}Th activity ratio diagram for these products showed positive correlation, suggesting that the {sup 238}U-{sup 230}Th-{sup 226}Ra disequilibria occurred during the magma genesis by the additions of U- and Ra-rich fluids derived from the subducting slab by dehydration to the mantle wedge. The {sup 230}Th-{sup 226226}Ra radioactive disequilibria observed in the basaltic and andesitic products imply a short period of time (<8000 years) between the magma genesis and the eruption. The majority of rhyolitic products was considered to be almost in equilibrium of {sup 238}U={sup 230}Th={sup 226}Ra. The observation that {sup 238}U-{sup 230}Th-{sup 226}Ra for the rhyolite are in radioactive equilibrium suggested that the rhyolitic magma from Izu arc was generated in the partial melting of the earth crust heated by the basaltic magma of high temperature. (orig.)

  7. Investigation of practical use situation and performance for electric transient analysis programs in the U.S. nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimada, Yoshio

    2010-01-01

    The purposes of the present study are firstly to investigate the status of practical use of electric transient analysis programs used in U.S. nuclear power plants, which has been extracted as good examples from the information analysis of overseas troubles, and secondly to select a program to be recommended for use in implementing electric transient analysis in domestic nuclear power plants. In addition, to promote its practical use, a selected electric transient analysis program was tested by simulating the transient response during a load sequence test of an emergency diesel generator (EDG) in a domestic representative nuclear plant to evaluate its simulation accuracy by comparing its result with the measured plant data. The results obtained are as follows: (1) In U.S. nuclear power plants, simulations using electric transient analysis programs, such as ETAP, EMPT, etc., are widely performed, which contributed to improve the plant safety. (2) A selected transient analysis program EMTP was verified in its accuracy in terms of transient response of active power, current, voltage and frequency of the EDG during the load sequence test in a domestic representative nuclear power plant. (author)

  8. Procedures to determine the guaranteed production capacity of a heavy water plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peculea, Marius

    1999-01-01

    The capacity of a heavy water plant is determined by its design and represents a product between the plant production/hour and the running time. The production/hour is calculated for steady state conditions and the running time is estimated by the designer. Actually, the isotopic separation process takes place in unsteady state conditions and the working time is affected by equipment failure or even damages, after which a relaxation time is necessary for isotopic profile recovery along the separation columns. To determine the actual capacity, the designed capacity is corrected by the product of three coefficients: availability, reliability, and relaxation. The knowledge of the above mentioned coefficients allows the determination of the actual plant capacity; this is important also for further improvements of the separation technology and represents research objectives during the whole existence of such a plant in order to maintain it at an international level of competitiveness. The detailed content of the three coefficients and the way they were determined and experimentally verified on an industrial pilot plant for heavy water production by isotopic exchange at two temperatures in H 2 O - H 2 S system, are presented in this paper. (author)

  9. Use of organic fertilizer and bio fertilizer in a modern planting system to increase the productivity of vanilla plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad Nazrul Abd Wahid; Phua Choo Kwai Hoe; Shyful Azizi Abdul Rahman; Mohd Fajri Osman; Latiffah Noordin; Abdul Razak Ruslan; Maizatul Akmam Mhd Nasir; Hazlina Abdullah; Amirul Azmi Supuan; Misman Sumin; Ahamad Sahali Mardi; Khairuddin Abdul Rahim

    2010-01-01

    Vanilla is a plant belonging to the orchid family and native to Mexico. In Malaysia, research and cultivation of vanilla plants are becoming more popular and intensive because the plant has a high commercial value. Fertilizing of vanilla plants is important to enhance the nutrients needed by the plants for growth and vanilla pod production. In 1999, research in MARDI showed that the use of chemical fertilizer NPK (15:15:15) was suitable for vanilla plants. For plants that have not produced vanilla pods foliar fertilizer must be sprayed and foliar fertilizer application must be reduced at pod production stage. The fertilizer programme is almost similar to those of other vanilla producing countries such as Indonesia and Mexico. In Indonesia, studies on organic farming of vanilla have been conducted. They have produced chemical-free vanilla fertilizer products such as Bio-Fob, Bio-TRIBA and Organo TRIBA Compost. We in Malaysian Nuclear Agency conducted a study on the effects of organic and bio fertilizers on vanilla at the vanilla experimental plot. This plot adopts the modern system of vanilla planting. The study involved the use of organic and bio fertilizer products produced in Nuclear Malaysia such as Organik NF, plant growth promoter and phosphate solubiliser and imported commercial orchid mycorrhizal bio fertilizer from Korea. The application of these fertilizers is by placing the fertilizers on the planting media in poly bags with replications according to the treatments. Observations were made weekly for 15 weeks by measuring of parameters including the bud growth and leaf number. These data are plotted in graphical form for evaluation.(author)

  10. Suppression of multiple bioactivities of interleukin-1 and interleukin-2 production by U937 conditioned medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiblin, R.T.; Edmonds, K.; Ellner, J.J.

    1986-01-01

    The human macrophage-like cell line U937 spontaneously produces a factor which blocks interleukin-1 (IL-1) activity for mouse thymocytes but not mitosis of T-lymphoblastoid cells. The authors examined the effects of U937 conditioned medium (CM) on other IL-1 activities and on interleukin-2 (IL-2) production. U937 was cultured at 5 x 10 6 /ml in RPMI-1640 at 37 0 C for 5 days. The resulting CM inhibited the mitogenic response of C3H/HeJ mouse thymocytes to an IL-1 standard, with an inhibitory of activity of 6.64 U/ml (1 U = reciprocal dilution producing 50% inhibition of maximal response). Similarly, CM inhibited (10.12 U/ml) the fibroblast stimulation promoter activity of IL-1. The effect of CM on IL-2 production was assessed in a direct assay in which IL-2 production by γ-irradiated (12,000 rads) MLA-144 lymphosarcoma cells was assayed as 3 H-thymidine incorporation in CTLL-20 cells. The suppressive activity of CM was 4.95 U/ml; CM did not interfere with the response of CTLL-20 to IL-2. These studies establish that U937 produces factors with multiple, related biological activities; U937 CM blocks IL-2 dependent (thymocyte mitogenesis) and IL-2 independent (fibroblast proliferation) IL-1 activities and interferes with production of, but not response to, IL-2. U937 is an excellent model to study growth inhibitory properties of mononuclear phagocytes

  11. Coupling Solid Oxide Electrolyser (SOE) and ammonia production plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cinti, Giovanni; Frattini, Domenico; Jannelli, Elio; Desideri, Umberto; Bidini, Gianni

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • An innovative NH 3 production plant was designed. • CO 2 emissions and energy consumption are studied in three different designs. • High temperature electrolysis allows to achieve high efficiency and heat recovery. • The coupling permits storage of electricity into a liquid carbon free chemical. - Abstract: Ammonia is one of the most produced chemicals worldwide and is currently synthesized using nitrogen separated from air and hydrogen from natural gas reforming with consequent high consumption of fossil fuel and high emission of CO 2 . A renewable path for ammonia production is desirable considering the potential development of ammonia as energy carrier. This study reports design and analysis of an innovative system for the production of green ammonia using electricity from renewable energy sources. This concept couples Solid Oxide Electrolysis (SOE), for the production of hydrogen, with an improved Haber Bosch Reactor (HBR), for ammonia synthesis. An air separator is also introduced to supply pure nitrogen. SOE operates with extremely high efficiency recovering high temperature heat from the Haber-Bosch reactor. Aspen was used to develop a model to study the performance of the plant. Both the SOE and the HBR operate at 650 °C. Ammonia production with zero emission of CO 2 can be obtained with a reduction of 40% of power input compared to equivalent plants.

  12. Photon-induced Fission Product Yield Measurements on 235U, 238U, and 239Pu

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishichayan, Fnu; Bhike, M.; Tonchev, A. P.; Tornow, W.

    2015-10-01

    During the past three years, a TUNL-LANL-LLNL collaboration has provided data on the fission product yields (FPYs) from quasi-monoenergetic neutron-induced fission of 235U, 238U, and 239Pu at TUNL in the 0.5 to 15 MeV energy range. Recently, we have extended these experiments to photo-fission. We measured the yields of fission fragments ranging from 85Kr to 147Nd from the photo-fission of 235U, 238U, and 239Pu using 13-MeV mono-energetic photon beams at the HIGS facility at TUNL. First of its kind, this measurement will provide a unique platform to explore the effect of the incoming probe on the FPYs, i.e., photons vs. neutrons. A dual-fission ionization chamber was used to determine the number of fissions in the targets and these samples (along with Au monitor foils) were gamma-ray counted in the low-background counting facility at TUNL. Details of the experimental set-up and results will be presented and compared to the FPYs obtained from neutron-induced fission at the same excitation energy of the compound nucleus. Work supported in part by the NNSA-SSAA Grant No. DE-NA0001838.

  13. Energetic-economic analysis of inertial fusion plants with tritium commercial production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vezzani, M.; Cerullo, N.; Lanza, S.

    2000-01-01

    The realization of nuclear power plants based on fusion principles is expected to be, at the moment, very expensive. As a result the expected cost of electricity (COE) of fusion power plants is much higher than the COE of fission and fossil power plants. Thus it is necessary to study new solutions for fusion power plant designs to reduce the COE. An interesting solution for the first generation of fusion plants is to produce a surplus of tritium for commercial purposes. The present paper is concerned with the study of whether such a tritium surplus production can improve the plant economic balance, so that the COE is reduced, and to what extent. The result was that such a production allows a considerable reduction of COE and seems to be a good direction for development for the first generation of fusion power plants. To give an example, for a reference inertial confinement fusion (ICF) power plant the rise of the plant net tritium breeding ratio (TBR n ) from 1 to 1.2 would allow, in the conservative estimate of a tritium market price (C T ) of 5 M$/kg, a COE reduction of about 20%. In the estimate of a TBR n rise from 1 to 1.3 and of a C T value of 10 M$/kg, COE reduction could be more than 50%! In conclusion, the present paper points out the influence of TBR increase on COE reduction. Such a conclusion, which holds true for every fusion plant, is much more valid for ICF plants in which it is possible to reach higher TBR values and to use tritium extraction systems easily. Thus, considering the relevant economic advantages, a commercial tritium surplus production should not be disregarded for first generation fusion power plant designs, in particular for ICF plant designs

  14. Cowdung gas plant gets popular in U. P

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Das, R

    1962-12-01

    Work at the Planning Research and Action Institute, Lucknow, was confined from 1957 to 1959 to constructing gas plants of 2.83 m/sup 3/ gas production capacity per day. A demonstration plant on the premises produced gas for lighting and cooking. Successful research at Chinhat demonstrated that small gasoline and kerosene engines could be run on the gas through carburetor modifications. Since 1960 workers at the gobar-gas research center at Ajitmal have developed a two-stage digester system of combined volume of 63.8 m/sup 3/ with a 35.5 m/sup 3/ gasholder. The primary digester is heated and mixed, gravity fed, and passes the slurry through a siphon to the secondary digester. Work continues on the conversion of diesel engines to biogas, the use of the gas for welding, development of stoves on which to bake flatbread, and more efficient use of the effluent.

  15. Plants as solar collectors. Optimizing productivity for energy. An assessment study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coombs, J.; Hall, D.O.; Chartier, P.

    1983-01-01

    An overview is given of the productivity problem and some suggestions on ways and means to approach it. An analysis is given of the fundamental mechanisms of light trapping and carbon dioxide absorption in the plant's leaf and as a result the basic limitations of productivity in a plant. Water, temperature, nutrient and other stresses for the plant's development are reviewed and the limits to productivity analysed in detail. Recommendations are given for future work on how to improve the plant's productivity by means of a comprehensive breeding programme. As far as Europe is concerned, it appears that trees and other perennial woody species offer most promise as biomass crops. Tree species present many unique problems as far as breeding for improved performance is concerned. When at breeding a desired specific characteristic is not available in the germ plasm of a species it might be possible to transfer this by recombinant DNA technology. However, there is still a long way from realisation.

  16. Safeguards implications of laser isotope separation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moriarty, T.F.; Taylor, K.

    1993-10-01

    The purpose of this report is to describe and emphasise the safeguards and relevant features of atomic vapour laser isotope separation (AVLIS) and molecular laser isotope separation (MLIS), and to consider the issues that must be addressed before a safeguards approach at a commercial AVLIS or MLIS facility can be implemented. (Author)

  17. Trend analyses of the emergency diesel generator problem events in Japanese and U.S. nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimada, Yoshio

    2011-01-01

    Up to 2009, the author and a colleague conducted trend analyses of problem events related to main generators, emergency diesel generators, breakers, motors and transformers which are more likely to cause problems than other electric components in nuclear power plants. Among the electric components with high frequency of defect occurrence, i.e., emergency diesel generators, several years have passed since the last analyses. These are very important components needed to stop a nuclear reactor safely and to cool it down during external power supply loses. Then trend analyses were conducted for the second time. The trend analyses were performed on 80 problem events with emergency diesel generators which had occurred in U.S. nuclear power plants in the five years from 2005 through 2009 among events reported in the Licensee Event Reports (LERs: event reports submitted to NRC by U.S. nuclear power plants) which have been registered in the nuclear information database of the Institute of Nuclear Safety System, Inc. (INSS) , as well as 40 events registered in the Nuclear Information Archives (NUCIA), which occurred in Japanese nuclear power plants in the same time period. It was learned from the trend analyses of the problem events with emergency diesel generators that frequency of defect occurrence are high in both Japanese and US plants during plant operations and functional tests (that is, defects can be discovered effectively in advance), so that implementation of periodical functional tests under plant operation is an important task for the future. (author)

  18. NRC licensing of uranium enrichment plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moran, B.W.

    1991-01-01

    The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is preparing a rule making that establishes the licensing requirements for low-enriched uranium enrichment plants. Although implementation of this rule making is timed to correspond with receipt of a license application for the Louisiana Energy Services centrifuge enrichment plant, the rule making is applicable to all uranium enrichment technologies. If ownership of the US gaseous diffusion plants and/or atomic vapor laser isotope separation is transferred to a private or government corporation, these plants also would be licensable under the new rule making. The Safeguards Studies Department was tasked by the NRC to provide technical assistance in support of the rule making and guidance preparation process. The initial and primary effort of this task involved the characterization of the potential safeguards concerns associated with a commercial enrichment plant, and the licensing issues associated with these concerns. The primary safeguards considerations were identified as detection of the loss of special nuclear material, detection of unauthorized production of material of low strategic significance, and detection of production of uranium enriched to >10% 235 U. The primary safeguards concerns identified were (1) large absolute limit of error associated with the material balance closing, (2) the inability to shutdown some technologies to perform a cleanout inventory of the process system, and (3) the flexibility of some technologies to produce higher enrichments. Unauthorized production scenarios were identified for some technologies that could prevent conventional material control and accounting programs from detecting the production and removal of 5 kg 235 U as highly enriched uranium. Safeguards techniques were identified to mitigate these concerns

  19. Productivity and Economic Effects of Antibiotics Used for Growth Promotion in U.S. Pork Production

    OpenAIRE

    Miller, Gay Y.; Algozin, Kenneth A.; McNamara, Paul E.; Bush, Eric J.

    2003-01-01

    Public health experts are concerned about the diminishing efficacy of antibiotics. Some have called for a ban on growth-promoting antibiotics in animal agriculture. This study identifies the contribution of growth-promoting antibiotics in the grower/finisher phase of U.S. pork production. With National Animal Health Monitoring System swine data, relationships are estimated between growth-promoting antibiotic use and productivity. Results indicate improvements in average daily gain (0.5%), fee...

  20. Innovative applications of technology for nuclear power plant productivity improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naser, J. A.

    2012-01-01

    The nuclear power industry in several countries is concerned about the ability to maintain high plant performance levels due to aging and obsolescence, knowledge drain, fewer plant staff, and new requirements and commitments. Current plant operations are labor-intensive due to the vast number of operational and support activities required by commonly used technology in most plants. These concerns increase as plants extend their operating life. In addition, there is the goal to further improve performance while reducing human errors and increasingly focus on reducing operations and maintenance costs. New plants are expected to perform more productively than current plants. In order to achieve and increase high productivity, it is necessary to look at innovative applications of modern technologies and new concepts of operation. The Electric Power Research Inst. is exploring and demonstrating modern technologies that enable cost-effectively maintaining current performance levels and shifts to even higher performance levels, as well as provide tools for high performance in new plants. Several modern technologies being explored can provide multiple benefits for a wide range of applications. Examples of these technologies include simulation, visualization, automation, human cognitive engineering, and information and communications technologies. Some applications using modern technologies are described. (authors)

  1. Uranium enrichment: heading for a cliff

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norman, C.

    1987-01-01

    Thanks to drastic cost cutting in the past 2 years, US enrichment plants now have the lowest cost production in the world, but US prices are still higher than those of overseas competitors because the business is paying for past mistakes. The most serious difficulty is that the Department of Energy (DOE), which owns and operates the US enrichment enterprise, is paying more than $500 million a year to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for electricity it once thought it would need but no longer requires. Another is that billions of dollars were spent in the 1970s and early 1980s to build new capacity that is now not needed. As a result, the enrichment enterprise has accumulated a debt to the US Treasury that the General Accounting Office (GAO) estimates at $8.8 billion. This paper presents the background and current debate in Congress about the difficulties facing the enrichment industry. In the midst of this debate over the future of the enterprise, the development of the next generation of enrichment technology is being placed in jeopardy. Known as atomic vapor laser isotope separation, or AVLIS, the process was viewed as the key to the long-term competitiveness of US enrichment. As the federal deficit mounted, however, funding for the AVLIS program was cut back and the timetable was stretched out. The US enrichment program has reached the point at which Congress will be forced to make some politically difficult decisions

  2. The environmental and economic impact of removing growth-enhancing technologies from U.S. beef production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capper, J L; Hayes, D J

    2012-10-01

    The objective of this study was to quantify the environmental and economic impact of withdrawing growth-enhancing technologies (GET) from the U.S. beef production system. A deterministic model based on the metabolism and nutrient requirements of the beef population was used to quantify resource inputs and waste outputs per 454 × 10(6) kg of beef. Two production systems were compared: one using GET (steroid implants, in-feed ionophores, in-feed hormones, and beta-adrenergic agonists) where approved by FDA at current adoption rates and the other without GET use. Both systems were modeled using characteristic management practices, population dynamics, and production data from U.S. beef systems. The economic impact and global trade and carbon implications of GET withdrawal were calculated based on feed savings. Withdrawing GET from U.S. beef production reduced productivity (growth rate and slaughter weight) and increased the population size required to produce 454 × 10(6) kg beef by 385 × 10(3) animals. Feedstuff and land use were increased by 2,830 × 10(3) t and 265 × 10(3) ha, respectively, by GET withdrawal, with 20,139 × 10(6) more liters of water being required to maintain beef production. Manure output increased by 1,799 × 10(3) t as a result of GET withdrawal, with an increase in carbon emissions of 714,515 t/454 × 10(6) kg beef. The projected increased costs of U.S. beef produced without GET resulted in the effective implementation of an 8.2% tax on beef production, leading to reduced global trade and competitiveness. To compensate for the increase in U.S. beef prices and maintain beef supply, it would be necessary to increase beef production in other global regions, with a projected increase in carbon emissions from deforestation, particularly in Brazil. Withdrawing GET from U.S. beef production would reduce both the economic and environmental sustainability of the industry.

  3. Entropy production and plant transpiration in the Liz catchment

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šír, Miloslav; Tesař, Miroslav; Krejča, M.; Weger, J.

    2008-01-01

    Roč. 1, č. 1 (2008), s. 81-89 ISSN 1802-503X Grant - others:MŠMT(CZ) 2B06132 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20600510 Keywords : plant transpiration * phytomass productivity * heat balance * entropy production Subject RIV: DA - Hydrology ; Limnology

  4. Combined production of fish and plants in recirculating water

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Naegel, L.C.A.

    1977-01-01

    A pilot plant of ca 2000 l of recirculating fresh water for intensive fish production was constructed in a controlled-environment greenhouse. The feasibility was examined of using nutrients from fish wastewater, mainly oxidized nitrogenous compounds, for plant production, combined with an activated sludge system for water purification. The reduction of nitrates, formed during the extended aeration process by nitrifying bacteria, was not sufficient by higher plants and unicellular algae alone to reduce the nitrate concentration in our system significantly. An additional microbial denitrification step had to be included to effect maximal decrease in nitrogenous compounds. For fish culture in the pilot plant Tilapia mossambica and Cyprinus carpio were chosen as experimental fishes. Both fish species showed significant weight increases during the course of the experiment. Ice-lettuce and tomatoes were tested both in recirculating water and in batch culture. The unicellular algae Scenedesmus spp. were grown in a non-sterile batch culture. All plants grew well in the wastewater without additional nutrients. Determination of the physical and chemical parameters for optimum water purification, the most suitable ratio of denitrification by plants and by microorganisms, and the most favourable fish and plant species for combined culture in recirculating water are important and of current interest in view of the increasing demand for clean, fresh water, and the pressing need to find new ways of producing protein for human nutrition under prevailing conditions of an exponentially expanding world population.

  5. Energy use of set-top boxes and telephony products in the U.S.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rosen, Karen B.; Meier, Alan K.; Zandelin, Stefan

    2001-06-01

    The goal of this investigation was to estimate the 1999 energy consumption of set-top boxes and telephony products in the U.S. residential sector. Results of this study will be used to identify new energy conservation opportunities and to align programs with those opportunities. We conducted a bottom-up analysis for set-top boxes and telephony products using our own power measurements and stock and usage estimates from secondary sources. The most common set-top boxes in U.S. homes in 1999 were analog cable boxes, digital cable boxes, wireless receivers, and game consoles. According to these measurements, analog cable boxes and wireless receivers draw between 10 and 15 watts, while digital cable boxes draw between 20 and 25 watts in both the Active and Standby modes. Video games used less than 2 watts in Standby mode, and about 8 watts when Active. We estimate that set-top boxes accounted for 0.7% of residential electricity use in 1999. Our investigation of telephony products included answering machines, cordless phones, cordless phone answering machine combination units, and mobile phone chargers. Answering machines, cordless phones, and combination units use between 2 and 3 watts in both the Active and Standby modes. Mobile phone chargers use about 1 watt in standby. We estimate that these telephony products account for 0.5% of U.S. residential electricity consumption. Together, set-tops and telephony constituted 1.2% of U.S. residential electricity consumption in 1999. Standby power use accounted for about 60% of this energy use. The combined total energy use of the products investigated for this study and those researched previously for this series of reports account for about 6.6% of residential electricity use in the U.S.

  6. U.S. EPA, Pesticide Product Label, FOOD PLANT FOGGING INSECTICIDE, 01/30/1990

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-14

    ... w.lter. food, 01" fet:,1 hy ')lur.J,:!C 01 ,li· ••• u"> •• I. ... (his proJuct c. .• Z",.. IfitJ~f'!f.1.~. I)n thi') label" •• o 6""(l'r .' ... IJlIIC'i ,111 ri'1lks of J\\t~ ')lo.SI~I~ or'. ...

  7. Using laser absorption spectroscopy to monitor composition and physical properties of metal vapors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berzins, L.V.

    1993-01-01

    The Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) program has been using laser absorption spectroscopy to monitor vapor densities for over 15 years. Laser absorption spectroscopy has proven itself to be an accurate and reliable method to monitor both density and composition. During this time the diagnostic has moved from a research tool toward a robust component of a process control system. The hardware used for this diagnostic is discussed elsewhere at this symposium. This paper describes how the laser absorption spectroscopy diagnostic is used as a component of a process control system as well as supplying detailed measurements on vapor densities, composition, flow velocity, internal and kinetic temperatures, and constituent distributions. Examples will be drawn from the uranium AVLIS program. In addition potential applications such as composition control in the production of metal matrix composites or aircraft alloys will be discussed

  8. Forward J /ψ production in U + U collisions at √{sN N}=193 GeV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adare, A.; Aidala, C.; Ajitanand, N. N.; Akiba, Y.; Akimoto, R.; Alexander, J.; Alfred, M.; Aoki, K.; Apadula, N.; Asano, H.; Atomssa, E. T.; Awes, T. C.; Azmoun, B.; Babintsev, V.; Bai, M.; Bai, X.; Bandara, N. S.; Bannier, B.; Barish, K. N.; Bathe, S.; Baublis, V.; Baumann, C.; Baumgart, S.; Bazilevsky, A.; Beaumier, M.; Beckman, S.; Belmont, R.; Berdnikov, A.; Berdnikov, Y.; Black, D.; Blau, D. S.; Bok, J. S.; Boyle, K.; Brooks, M. L.; Bryslawskyj, J.; Buesching, H.; Bumazhnov, V.; Butsyk, S.; Campbell, S.; Chen, C.-H.; Chi, C. Y.; Chiu, M.; Choi, I. J.; Choi, J. B.; Choi, S.; Christiansen, P.; Chujo, T.; Cianciolo, V.; Citron, Z.; Cole, B. A.; Cronin, N.; Crossette, N.; Csanád, M.; Csörgő, T.; Danley, T. W.; Datta, A.; Daugherity, M. S.; David, G.; Deblasio, K.; Dehmelt, K.; Denisov, A.; Deshpande, A.; Desmond, E. J.; Ding, L.; Dion, A.; Diss, P. B.; Do, J. H.; D'Orazio, L.; Drapier, O.; Drees, A.; Drees, K. A.; Durham, J. M.; Durum, A.; Engelmore, T.; Enokizono, A.; Esumi, S.; Eyser, K. O.; Fadem, B.; Feege, N.; Fields, D. E.; Finger, M.; Finger, M.; Fleuret, F.; Fokin, S. L.; Frantz, J. E.; Franz, A.; Frawley, A. D.; Fukao, Y.; Fusayasu, T.; Gainey, K.; Gal, C.; Gallus, P.; Garg, P.; Garishvili, A.; Garishvili, I.; Ge, H.; Giordano, F.; Glenn, A.; Gong, X.; Gonin, M.; Goto, Y.; Granier de Cassagnac, R.; Grau, N.; Greene, S. V.; Grosse Perdekamp, M.; Gu, Y.; Gunji, T.; Guragain, H.; Hachiya, T.; Haggerty, J. S.; Hahn, K. I.; Hamagaki, H.; Hamilton, H. F.; Han, S. Y.; Hanks, J.; Hasegawa, S.; Haseler, T. O. S.; Hashimoto, K.; Hayano, R.; He, X.; Hemmick, T. K.; Hester, T.; Hill, J. C.; Hollis, R. S.; Homma, K.; Hong, B.; Hoshino, T.; Hotvedt, N.; Huang, J.; Huang, S.; Ichihara, T.; Ikeda, Y.; Imai, K.; Imazu, Y.; Inaba, M.; Iordanova, A.; Isenhower, D.; Isinhue, A.; Ivanishchev, D.; Jacak, B. V.; Jeon, S. J.; Jezghani, M.; Jia, J.; Jiang, X.; Johnson, B. M.; Joo, K. S.; Jouan, D.; Jumper, D. S.; Kamin, J.; Kanda, S.; Kang, B. H.; Kang, J. H.; Kang, J. S.; Kapustinsky, J.; Kawall, D.; Kazantsev, A. V.; Key, J. A.; Khachatryan, V.; Khandai, P. K.; Khanzadeev, A.; Kijima, K. M.; Kim, C.; Kim, D. J.; Kim, E.-J.; Kim, G. W.; Kim, M.; Kim, Y.-J.; Kim, Y. K.; Kimelman, B.; Kistenev, E.; Kitamura, R.; Klatsky, J.; Kleinjan, D.; Kline, P.; Koblesky, T.; Kofarago, M.; Komkov, B.; Koster, J.; Kotchetkov, D.; Kotov, D.; Krizek, F.; Kurita, K.; Kurosawa, M.; Kwon, Y.; Lacey, R.; Lai, Y. S.; Lajoie, J. G.; Lebedev, A.; Lee, D. M.; Lee, G. H.; Lee, J.; Lee, K. B.; Lee, K. S.; Lee, S.; Lee, S. H.; Leitch, M. J.; Leitgab, M.; Lewis, B.; Li, X.; Lim, S. H.; Liu, M. X.; Lynch, D.; Maguire, C. F.; Makdisi, Y. I.; Makek, M.; Manion, A.; Manko, V. I.; Mannel, E.; Maruyama, T.; McCumber, M.; McGaughey, P. L.; McGlinchey, D.; McKinney, C.; Meles, A.; Mendoza, M.; Meredith, B.; Miake, Y.; Mibe, T.; Mignerey, A. C.; Milov, A.; Mishra, D. K.; Mitchell, J. T.; Miyasaka, S.; Mizuno, S.; Mohanty, A. K.; Mohapatra, S.; Montuenga, P.; Moon, T.; Morrison, D. P.; Moskowitz, M.; Moukhanova, T. V.; Murakami, T.; Murata, J.; Mwai, A.; Nagae, T.; Nagamiya, S.; Nagashima, K.; Nagle, J. L.; Nagy, M. I.; Nakagawa, I.; Nakagomi, H.; Nakamiya, Y.; Nakamura, K. R.; Nakamura, T.; Nakano, K.; Nattrass, C.; Netrakanti, P. K.; Nihashi, M.; Niida, T.; Nishimura, S.; Nouicer, R.; Novák, T.; Novitzky, N.; Nyanin, A. S.; O'Brien, E.; Ogilvie, C. A.; Oide, H.; Okada, K.; Orjuela Koop, J. D.; Osborn, J. D.; Oskarsson, A.; Ozawa, K.; Pak, R.; Pantuev, V.; Papavassiliou, V.; Park, I. H.; Park, J. S.; Park, S.; Park, S. K.; Pate, S. F.; Patel, L.; Patel, M.; Peng, J.-C.; Perepelitsa, D. V.; Perera, G. D. N.; Peressounko, D. Yu.; Perry, J.; Petti, R.; Pinkenburg, C.; Pinson, R.; Pisani, R. P.; Purschke, M. L.; Qu, H.; Rak, J.; Ramson, B. J.; Ravinovich, I.; Read, K. F.; Reynolds, D.; Riabov, V.; Riabov, Y.; Richardson, E.; Rinn, T.; Riveli, N.; Roach, D.; Rolnick, S. D.; Rosati, M.; Rowan, Z.; Rubin, J. G.; Ryu, M. S.; Sahlmueller, B.; Saito, N.; Sakaguchi, T.; Sako, H.; Samsonov, V.; Sarsour, M.; Sato, S.; Sawada, S.; Schaefer, B.; Schmoll, B. K.; Sedgwick, K.; Seele, J.; Seidl, R.; Sekiguchi, Y.; Sen, A.; Seto, R.; Sett, P.; Sexton, A.; Sharma, D.; Shaver, A.; Shein, I.; Shibata, T.-A.; Shigaki, K.; Shimomura, M.; Shoji, K.; Shukla, P.; Sickles, A.; Silva, C. L.; Silvermyr, D.; Singh, B. K.; Singh, C. P.; Singh, V.; Skolnik, M.; Slunečka, M.; Snowball, M.; Solano, S.; Soltz, R. A.; Sondheim, W. E.; Sorensen, S. P.; Sourikova, I. V.; Stankus, P. W.; Steinberg, P.; Stenlund, E.; Stepanov, M.; Ster, A.; Stoll, S. P.; Stone, M. R.; Sugitate, T.; Sukhanov, A.; Sumita, T.; Sun, J.; Sziklai, J.; Takahara, A.; Taketani, A.; Tanaka, Y.; Tanida, K.; Tannenbaum, M. J.; Tarafdar, S.; Taranenko, A.; Tennant, E.; Tieulent, R.; Timilsina, A.; Todoroki, T.; Tomášek, M.; Torii, H.; Towell, C. L.; Towell, R.; Towell, R. S.; Tserruya, I.; van Hecke, H. W.; Vargyas, M.; Vazquez-Zambrano, E.; Veicht, A.; Velkovska, J.; Vértesi, R.; Virius, M.; Vrba, V.; Vznuzdaev, E.; Wang, X. R.; Watanabe, D.; Watanabe, K.; Watanabe, Y.; Watanabe, Y. S.; Wei, F.; Whitaker, S.; White, A. S.; Wolin, S.; Woody, C. L.; Wysocki, M.; Xia, B.; Xue, L.; Yalcin, S.; Yamaguchi, Y. L.; Yanovich, A.; Yokkaichi, S.; Yoo, J. H.; Yoon, I.; You, Z.; Younus, I.; Yu, H.; Yushmanov, I. E.; Zajc, W. A.; Zelenski, A.; Zhou, S.; Zou, L.; Phenix Collaboration

    2016-03-01

    The invariant yields, d N /d y , for J /ψ production at forward rapidity (1.2 <|y |<2.2 ) in U +U collisions at √{sNN}=193 GeV have been measured as a function of collision centrality. The invariant yields and nuclear-modification factor RA A are presented and compared with those from Au +Au collisions in the same rapidity range. Additionally, the direct ratio of the invariant yields from U +U and Au +Au collisions within the same centrality class is presented, and used to investigate the role of c c ¯ coalescence. Two different parametrizations of the deformed Woods-Saxon distribution were used in Glauber calculations to determine the values of the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions in each centrality class, Ncoll, and these were found to give significantly different Ncoll values. Results using Ncoll values from both deformed Woods-Saxon distributions are presented. The measured ratios show that the J /ψ suppression, relative to binary collision scaling, is similar in U +U and Au +Au for peripheral and midcentral collisions, but that J /ψ show less suppression for the most central U +U collisions. The results are consistent with a picture in which, for central collisions, increase in the J /ψ yield due to c c ¯ coalescence becomes more important than the decrease in yield due to increased energy density. For midcentral collisions, the conclusions about the balance between c c ¯ coalescence and suppression depend on which deformed Woods-Saxon distribution is used to determine Ncoll.

  9. Preliminary Hazard Analysis applied to Uranium Hexafluoride - UF6 production plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomzhinsky, David; Bichmacher, Ricardo; Braganca Junior, Alvaro; Peixoto, Orpet Jose

    1996-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the Preliminary hazard Analysis applied to the UF 6 Production Process, which is part of the UF 6 Conversion Plant. The Conversion Plant has designed to produce a high purified UF 6 in accordance with the nuclear grade standards. This Preliminary Hazard Analysis is the first step in the Risk Management Studies, which are under current development. The analysis evaluated the impact originated from the production process in the plant operators, members of public, equipment, systems and installations as well as the environment. (author)

  10. Industrial plants for production of highly enriched nitrogen-15

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krell, E.; Jonas, C.

    1977-01-01

    A discussion is presented of the present stage of development of large-scale enrichment of 15 N. The most important processes utilized to separate nitrogen isotopes, namely chemical exchange in the NO/NO 2 /HNO 3 system and low-temperature distillation of NO at -151 0 C, are compared, especially with respect to their economics and use of energy. As examples, chemical exchange plants in the GDR are discussed, and the research activities necessary to optimize the process, especially to solve aerodynamic, hydrodynamic, interface and processing problems, are reviewed. Good results were obtained by the choice of an optimum location and the design of a plant for pre-enrichment to 10 at.% 15 N and an automatically operating two-section cascade for the high enrichment of 15 N to more than 99 at.%. The chemical industry has taken over operation of the plant with the consequence that the raw materials are all available without additional transport. All by-products (nitrous gases and sulphuric acid) are returned for use elsewhere within the industry. The technology of the plant has been chosen so that the quantity of highly enriched product can be varied within a wide range. The final product is used to synthesize more than 250 different 15 N-labelled compounds which are also produced on an industrial scale. (author)

  11. Preliminary evaluation of licensing issues associated with U.S.-sited CANDU-PHW nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    van Erp, J.B.

    1977-12-01

    The principal safety-related characteristics of current CANDU-PHW power plants are described, and a distinction between those characteristics which are intrinsic to the CANDU-PHW system and those that are not is presented. An outline is given of the main features of the Canadian safety and licensing approach. Differences between the U.S. and Canadian approach to safety and licensing are discussed. Some of the main results of the safety analyses, routinely performed for CANDU-PHW reactors, are presented. U.S.-NRC General Design Criteria are evaluated as regards their applicability to CANDU-PHW reactors; vice-versa the CANDU-PHW reactor is evaluated with respect to its conformance to the U.S.-NRC General Design Criteria. A number of design modifications are proposed to be incorporated into the CANDU-PHW reactor in order to facilitate its introduction into the U.S

  12. Preliminary evaluation of licensing issues associated with U. S. -sited CANDU-PHW nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    van Erp, J B

    1977-12-01

    The principal safety-related characteristics of current CANDU-PHW power plants are described, and a distinction between those characteristics which are intrinsic to the CANDU-PHW system and those that are not is presented. An outline is given of the main features of the Canadian safety and licensing approach. Differences between the U.S. and Canadian approach to safety and licensing are discussed. Some of the main results of the safety analyses, routinely performed for CANDU-PHW reactors, are presented. U.S.-NRC General Design Criteria are evaluated as regards their applicability to CANDU-PHW reactors; vice-versa the CANDU-PHW reactor is evaluated with respect to its conformance to the U.S.-NRC General Design Criteria. A number of design modifications are proposed to be incorporated into the CANDU-PHW reactor in order to facilitate its introduction into the U.S.

  13. Chemical treatment of ammonium fluoride solution in uranium reconversion plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carvalho Frajndlich, E.U. de.

    1992-01-01

    A chemical procedure is described for the treatment of the filtrate, produced from the transformation of uranium hexafluoride (U F 6 ) into ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC). This filtrate is an intermediate product in the U F 6 to uranium dioxide (U O 2 ) reconversion process. The described procedure recovers uranium as ammonium peroxide fluoro uranate (APOFU) by precipitation with hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), and as later step, its calcium fluoride (CaF 2 ) co-precipitation. The recovered uranium is recycled to the AUC production plant. (author)

  14. Phytotoxicity and Plant Productivity Analysis of Tar-Enriched Biochars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, M. L.; Masiello, C. A.; Dugan, B.; Rudgers, J. A.; Capareda, S. C.

    2008-12-01

    Biochar is one of the three by-products obtained by the pyrolysis of organic material, the other two being syngas and bio-oil. The pyrolysis of biomass has generated a great amount of interest in recent years as all three by-products can be put toward beneficial uses. As part of a larger project designed to evaluate the hydrologic impact of biochar soil amendment, we generated a biochar through fast pyrolysis (less than 2 minutes) of sorghum stock at 600°C. In the initial biochar production run, the char bin was not purged with nitrogen. This inadvertent change in pyrolysis conditions produced a fast-pyrolysis biochar enriched with tars. We chose not to discard this batch, however, and instead used it to test the impact of tar-enriched biochars on plants. A suite of phytotoxicity tests were run to assess the effects of tar-rich biochar on plant germination and plant productivity. We designed the experiment to test for negative effects, using an organic carbon and nutrient-rich, greenhouse- optimized potting medium instead of soil. We used Black Seeded Simpson lettuce (Lactuca sativa) as the test organism. We found that even when tars are present within biochar, biochar amendment up to 10% by weight caused increased lettuce germination rates and increased biomass productivity. In this presentation, we will report the statistical significance of our germination and biomass data, as well as present preliminary data on how biochar amendment affects soil hydrologic properties.

  15. Evolution of Regolith Feed Systems for Lunar ISRU 02 Production Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, Robert P.; Townsend, Ivan I., III; Mantovani, James G.; Metzger, Philip T.

    2010-01-01

    The In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) project of the NASA Constellation Program, Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) has been engaged in the design and testing of various Lunar ISRU O2 production plant prototypes that can extract chemically bound oxygen from the minerals in the lunar regolith. This work demands that lunar regolith (or simulants) shall be introduced into the O2 production plant from a holding bin or hopper and subsequently expelled from the ISRU O2 production plant for disposal. This sub-system is called the Regolith Feed System (RFS) which exists in a variety of configurations depending on the O2 production plant oxygen being used (e.g. Hydrogen Reduction, Carbothermal, Molten Oxide Electrolysis). Each configuration may use a different technology and in addition it is desirable to have heat recuperation from the spent hot regolith as an integral part of the RFS. This paper addresses the various RFS and heat recuperation technologies and system configurations that have been developed under the NASA ISRU project since 2007. In addition current design solutions and lessons learned from reduced gravity flight testing will be discussed.

  16. Neutron methods for measuring 235U content in UF6 gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stromswold, D.C.; Peurrung, A.J.; Reeder, P.L.; Pappas, R.A.; Sunberg, D.S.

    1996-10-01

    In the United States and Russia, UF 6 gas streams of highly enriched uranium and lower enrichment uranium am being blended to reduce the stockpile of the highly enriched material. The resultant uranium is no longer useful for weapons, but is suitable as fuel for nuclear reactors. A method to verify the blending of high- and low-enrichment uranium was developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Research and Development (NN-20). In the United States, blending occurs at the U.S. Department of Energy's Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant located near Portsmouth, Ohio. In Russia, the blending takes place at Novouralsk. The United States is purchasing the blended product produced in Russia in a program to reduce the availability of enriched uranium that can be used for weapons production. Monitoring the 235 U mass flux of the input stream having the highly enriched uranium will provide confidence that high-enrichment uranium is being consumed in the blending process, and monitoring the output stream will provide an on-line measure of the 235 U in the mixed product. The Portsmouth plant is a potential test facility for non-destructive technology to monitor blending. In addition, monitoring the blending at Portsmouth can support International Atomic Energy Agency activities on controlling and reducing enriched uranium stockpiles

  17. 238U-230Th radioactive disequilibria in the volcanic products from Izu arc volcanoes, Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurihara, Yuichi; Takahashi, Masaomi; Sato, Jun

    2007-01-01

    The timescale of magmatic processes of Izu arc volcanoes, Japan, was estimated by the 238 U- 230 Th disequilibria in the volcanic products from the volcanoes. The majority of the 230 Th/ 238 U activity ratios of the products were less than unity, being enriched in 238 U relative to 230 Th. The ( 230 Th/ 232 Th)-( 238 U/ 232 Th)diagram for younger Fuji and Izu-Oshima volcanoes formed a whole rock isochrons, and the ages were 1x10 4 and 2x10 4 years, respectively. The ( 230 Th/ 232 Th) - ( 238 U/ 232 Th) data set for younger Fuji volcano formed a cluster on the diagram, while those of Izu-Oshima formed another cluster apparently apart from each other, suggesting that the concentration of U and Th may possibly be un-uniform in the mantle beneath Izu arc. (author)

  18. The heavy water production plant at Arroyito, Argentina

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ecabert, R.

    1984-01-01

    The author describes the construction of an industrial heavy water production plant (Planta Industrial de Agua Pesada, PIAP) in Argentina. The heavy water enrichment is based on a hydrogen/ammonia isotope exchange. (Auth.)

  19. Smokeless and flavored tobacco products in the U.S.: 2009 Styles survey results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regan, Annette K; Dube, Shanta R; Arrazola, René

    2012-01-01

    A number of noncigarette tobacco products, including some novel products, recently have been marketed by the tobacco industry, which raises concerns from tobacco control authorities. This study aimed to assess current popularity of several noncigarette tobacco products in the U.S. In 2009, a total of 10,587 adults completed a consumer mail-in survey (ConsumerStyles). Based on survey results, the weighted percentages of adults who heard and tried snus, dissolvable tobacco products, flavored little cigars, and flavored cigarettes were computed in 2010. A subset of this sample (n=4556) completed the HealthStyles survey, which included items about health perceptions of these products and use in the past 30 days. The percentage of U.S. adults in the sample who were aware of these products ranged from 10.4% (dissolvable tobacco) to 44.6% (flavored little cigars). One third of adults who had heard of flavored little cigars tried them and 10.1% had used them in the past 30 days; among those who had heard of them, 27.4% tried flavored cigarettes and 12.6% tried snus. In general, young adults, men, and smokers were most likely to have heard of each product. At least one third of adults were uncertain if these products were as harmful as cigarettes (range=37.3% [snus] to 50.3% [dissolvable tobacco]). The awareness of these tobacco products in this sample varied. Groups with a higher prevalence of smoking and tobacco use (e.g., men, people with low levels of education) may be a target audience for marketing and promotions. As availability of products change, continued surveillance is warranted in the U.S. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  20. Water Stress on U.S. Power Production at Decadal Time Horizons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ganguly, Auroop R. [Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA (United States). Sustainability and Data Sciences Lab.. Civil and Environmental Engineering Dept.; Ganguli, Poulomi [Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA (United States). Sustainability and Data Sciences Lab.; Kumar, Devashish [Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA (United States). Sustainability and Data Sciences Lab.

    2014-09-01

    Thermoelectric power production at risk, owing to current and projected water scarcity and rising stream temperatures, is assessed for the contiguous United States at decadal scales. Regional water scarcity is driven by climate variability and change, as well as by multi-sector water demand. While a planning horizon of zero to about thirty years is occasionally prescribed by stakeholders, the challenges to risk assessment at these scales include the difficulty in delineating decadal climate trends from intrinsic natural or multiple model variability. Current generation global climate or earth system models are not credible at the spatial resolutions of power plants, especially for surface water quantity and stream temperatures, which further exacerbates the assessment challenge. Population changes, which are difficult to project, cannot serve as adequate proxies for changes in the water demand across sectors. The hypothesis that robust assessments of power production at risk are possible, despite the uncertainties, has been examined as a proof of concept. An approach is presented for delineating water scarcity and temperature from climate models, observations and population storylines, as well as for assessing power production at risk by examining geospatial correlations of power plant locations within regions where the usable water supply for energy production happens to be scarcer and warmer. Our analyses showed that in the near term, more than 200 counties are likely to be exposed to water scarcity in the next three decades. Further, we noticed that stream gauges in more than five counties in the 2030s and ten counties in the 2040s showed a significant increase in water temperature, which exceeded the power plant effluent temperature threshold set by the EPA. Power plants in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas are likely to be vulnerable owing to climate driven water stresses. In all, our analysis suggests that under various combinations of plausible climate

  1. Computerized information system for inventory-taking and verification at a nuclear fuel fabrication plant with closed production lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahm, W.; Brueckner, C.; Hartmann, G.

    1976-01-01

    By means of a model the use of electronic data processing is studied for preparing inventory listings and for inventory verification in a fabrication plant for Pu-U mixed-oxide fuel pins. It is postulated that interruptions in operation should be avoided as much as possible. Closed-Line production is assumed so that access to nuclear material calls for special withdrawal via locks. The production line is subdivided into sections with measuring points placed in between to record the nuclear material flow. The measured results are fed to a central data acquisition and reporting system capable of calculating on-line from these results the book inventories present in the individual sections. Inventory-taking and verification are carried out simultaneously in the sections of the production line using the EDP system. The production is not interrupted for this purpose. The production stream is tagged prior to reaching a section to be measured and is subsequently measured when entering the respective section until the tag has reached the end of the section. The measurement can be verified by inspectors. Movements of nuclear materials in and from other plant areas such as the storage area are likewise fed into the central data processing system so that inventory lists can be recalled at any moment. By this means the inventory can be taken quickly and at any time. The inventory is verified in the conventional way. (author)

  2. Soil biota suppress positive plant diversity effects on productivity at high but not low soil fertility

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luo, Shan; Deyn, De Gerlinde B.; Jiang, B.; Yu, Shixiao

    2017-01-01

    Plant community productivity commonly increases with increasing plant diversity, which is explained by complementarity among plant species in resource utilization (complementarity effect), or by selection of particularly productive plant species in diverse plant communities (selection effect).

  3. Internal transport control in pot plant production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Annevelink, E.

    1999-01-01

    Drawing up internal transport schedules in pot plant production is a very complex task. Scheduling internal transport at the operational level and providing control on a day-to-day or even hour-to-hour basis in particular requires a new approach. A hierarchical planning approach based on

  4. U.S. industry targets record highs after recent severe downturn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutton, M.F.; Cannon, R.E.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that the U.S. gas-processing industry is nearing production, total supply, and demand records. These trends make gas processing one of the few bright spots in the petroleum industry and are especially welcome after the severe conditions of 1986-89. Barring unforeseen industry upheavals, the current year promises a continuation of moderate production increases, stable demand in most major markets, and reasonable product values. A review of current trends, both inside and outside the industry, and an attempt to assess the immediate future, may help prevent the current sense of stability from becoming complacency. Although not broken out in the graphs, other significant milestones in 1991 include the following: Gas-plant ethane production totalled 193 million bbl, the highest in history. This total represents an increase of 33% since 1981 and makes ethane the principal gas-plant product today. Gas-plant propane production totalled 177 million bbl. Supplemented by 153 million bbl of refinery production and 31 million bbl of imports, both domestic production and total supply of propane in 1991 were the second highest in history. Including refinery production, total domestic gas-liquids production in 1991 was 785 million bbl, an all-time high

  5. Graphical analysis of French nuclear power plant production date

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jourdan, J.P. [Electricite de France (EDF), Projet Production EPR 1, 93 - Saint-Denis (France)

    2001-07-01

    The analysis of values of plant production uses here an original method of graphical analysis. This method clarifies various difficulties of analysing big experience feedback databases among which the language interpretation and distinctions between scarce events and multi-annual events. In general, the method shows the logical processes that production values obey (pure chance logic, administrative logic, and willpower) This method of graphical analysis provides a tool to observe and question in a concrete way so that each person involved can put the events in which he played a role into the general context of other plants. It is a deductible method to improve this big and complex system. (author)

  6. Graphical analysis of French nuclear power plant production date

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jourdan, J.P.

    2001-01-01

    The analysis of values of plant production uses here an original method of graphical analysis. This method clarifies various difficulties of analysing big experience feedback databases among which the language interpretation and distinctions between scarce events and multi-annual events. In general, the method shows the logical processes that production values obey (pure chance logic, administrative logic, and willpower) This method of graphical analysis provides a tool to observe and question in a concrete way so that each person involved can put the events in which he played a role into the general context of other plants. It is a deductible method to improve this big and complex system. (author)

  7. An overview of insights gained and lessons learned from U.S. plant-specific PRA studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joksimovich, V.

    1985-01-01

    Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) has been under development for over twenty years, but it has reached the level of widespread use only in the aftermath of the TMI accident. Over thirty PRAs have now been completed in the U.S. PRAs have been in the mainstream of many licensing decisions because the NRC recognizes that they provide independent and comprehensive plant safety audit. Some difficulties have been experienced leading to interpretive and intercomparison studies. Numerous global and plant-specific insights have been derived. A new application termed risk management is clearly emerging. (orig./HP)

  8. Awareness and use of non-conventional tobacco products among U.S. students, 2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Baoguang; King, Brian A; Corey, Catherine G; Arrazola, René A; Johnson, Sarah E

    2014-08-01

    Increasing diversity of the tobacco product landscape, including electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), hookah, snus, and dissolvable tobacco products (dissolvables), raises concerns about the public health impact of these non-conventional tobacco products among youth. This study assessed awareness, ever use, and current use of non-conventional tobacco products among U.S. students in 2012, overall and by demographic and tobacco use characteristics. Data from the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey, a nationally representative survey of U.S. middle and high school students, were analyzed in 2013. Prevalence of awareness, ever use, and current use of e-cigarettes, hookah, snus, and dissolvables were calculated overall and by sex, school level, race/ethnicity, and conventional tobacco product use, including cigarettes, cigars, or smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco, snuff, or dip). Overall, 50.3% of students were aware of e-cigarettes; prevalence of ever and current use of e-cigarettes was 6.8% and 2.1%, respectively. Awareness of hookah was 41.2% among all students, and that of ever and current use were 8.9% and 3.6%, respectively. Overall awareness; ever; and current use of snus (32%, 5.3%, 1.7%, respectively) and dissolvables (19.3%, 2.0%, 0.7%, respectively) were generally lower than those of e-cigarettes or hookah. Conventional tobacco product users were more likely to be aware of and to use non-conventional tobacco products. Many U.S. students are aware of and use non-conventional tobacco products. Evidence-based interventions should be implemented to prevent and reduce all tobacco use among youth. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  9. Engineering microbial cell factories for the production of plant natural products: from design principles to industrial-scale production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaonan; Ding, Wentao; Jiang, Huifeng

    2017-07-19

    Plant natural products (PNPs) are widely used as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, seasonings, pigments, etc., with a huge commercial value on the global market. However, most of these PNPs are still being extracted from plants. A resource-conserving and environment-friendly synthesis route for PNPs that utilizes microbial cell factories has attracted increasing attention since the 1940s. However, at the present only a handful of PNPs are being produced by microbial cell factories at an industrial scale, and there are still many challenges in their large-scale application. One of the challenges is that most biosynthetic pathways of PNPs are still unknown, which largely limits the number of candidate PNPs for heterologous microbial production. Another challenge is that the metabolic fluxes toward the target products in microbial hosts are often hindered by poor precursor supply, low catalytic activity of enzymes and obstructed product transport. Consequently, despite intensive studies on the metabolic engineering of microbial hosts, the fermentation costs of most heterologously produced PNPs are still too high for industrial-scale production. In this paper, we review several aspects of PNP production in microbial cell factories, including important design principles and recent progress in pathway mining and metabolic engineering. In addition, implemented cases of industrial-scale production of PNPs in microbial cell factories are also highlighted.

  10. Cogeneration Power Plants: a Proposed Methodology for Unitary Production Cost

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metalli, E.

    2009-01-01

    A new methodology to evaluate unitary energetic production costs in the cogeneration power plants is proposed. This methodology exploits the energy conversion factors fixed by Italian Regulatory Authority for Electricity and Gas. So it allows to settle such unitary costs univocally for a given plant, without assigning them a priori subjective values when there are two or more energy productions at the same time. Moreover the proposed methodology always ensures positive values for these costs, complying with the total generation cost balance equation. [it

  11. Growth of Cucurbita maxima L. plants in the presence of the cycloartenol synthase inhibitor U18666A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenner, G P; Raphiou, I

    1995-03-01

    Squash, like other Cucurbitaceae, have unique sterol profiles that offer an excellent opportunity to examine the relationship between sterol biosynthesis and plant growth. To determine the effect of sterol biosynthesis inhibition on squash growth, Cucurbita maxima seedlings with and without cotyledons were subjected to increasing concentrations of the cycloarternol synthase (EC 5.4.99.8) inhibitor 3 beta-(2-diethylaminoethoxy)androstenone (U18666A). Inhibition of shoot growth was concentration-dependent (from 0, 2, 5, 10, and 20 microM); plants with intact cotyledons grew to 26.4, 23.7, 21.6, 20.0, and 15.6 cm, respectively, at the above inhibitor concentrations, compared to 25.5, 19.4, 17.0, 12.0, and 11 cm for plants with severed cotyledons. In plants with severed cotyledons, 10 and 20 microM U18666A caused rapid necrosis of the first two, newly emerged, primary leaves, and halted new leaf formation. Secondary root formation was initially affected at all inhibitor concentrations regardless of whether cotyledons were present or not. Vegetative tissue showed a decrease in the accumulation of the major squash sterol, 7,22-stigmastadienol, accompanied by increased accumulation of minor sterol components. Sterol profiles in cotyledons were unaltered. The data show that sterols are crucial for maintaining plant growth and viability, but do not address the cotyledonary effect on growth with respect to sterol biosynthesis.

  12. Cowley Ridge wind plant experiences best production year ever

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2000-01-01

    The Cowley Ridge wind plant in southern Alberta in its fifth year of operation generated 63,380 MWh of electricity, exceeding its annual goal by about 15 per cent. December was one of the highest production months ever. During December the plant operated an an average of 62 per cent capacity throughout the month. The annual average is 35 per cent of capacity

  13. Application of a weak base anion exchange resin for recovery of uranium at Uravan, Colorado, U.S.A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gardner, N.E.; Kunin, R.

    1976-01-01

    Resin ion-exchange technology has been used to recover uranium at the Uravan, Colorado plant for over 18 years; however, since the end of U.S. Atomic Energy Commission purchase of U 3 O 8 concentrate in 1970, it has become necessary to develop techniques for upgrading the product to meet the more stringent specifications of private sales. The standard gel type quaternary ammonium anion exchange resin had been used previously. The development of the tertiary amine anion exchange resin, Amberlite XE-299, led to an experimental program of laboratory and pilot plant work to evaluate the resin on actual plant solutions. General information on ion-exchange resin structure and chemistry is discussed. Summary data of specific test work on loading the resin, various elution schemes, resin regeneration and product purity from the pilot plant tests and comments on actual plant operation using Amberlite XE-299 resin are presented. (author)

  14. The APT program plan: Providing an assured tritium production capability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lisowski, P.W.; Anderson, J.L.; Bishop, W.P.; Boggs, B.; Hall, K.

    1996-01-01

    Tritium is a radioactive hydrogen isotope used in all U.S. nuclear weapons. Because the half-life of tritium is short, 12.3 yr, it must be periodically replenished. To provide a new source, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is sponsoring conceptual design and engineering development and demonstration activities for a plant that will use a high-power proton linear accelerator to produce tritium and will go on-line no later than 2007. The APT project is in the process of completing the conceptual design for a tritium production plant. In addition, there are several important areas under engineering development and demonstration that will ensure an efficient, cost-effective plant design and provide an adequate margin of tritium production. Information provided from this work will be used by the DOE in its 1998 choice of production technology implementation

  15. Benefits of Biotic Pollination for Non-Timber Forest Products and Cultivated Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rehel Shiny

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Biodiversity supplies multiple goods and services to society and is critical for the support of livelihoods across the globe. Many indigenous people depend upon non-timber forest products (NTFP and crops for a range of goods including food, medicine, fibre and construction materials. However, the dependency of these products on biotic pollination services is poorly understood. We used the biologically and culturally diverse Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in India to characterise the types of NTFP and crop products of 213 plant species and asses their degree of dependency on animal pollination. We found that 80 per cent of all species benefited from animal pollination in their reproduction, and that 62 per cent of crop products and 40 per cent of NTFP benefited from biotic pollination in their production. Further we identified the likely pollinating taxa documented as responsible for the production of these products, mainly bees and other insects. A lower proportion of indigenous plant products (39 per cent benefited from biotic pollination than products from introduced plants (61 per cent. We conclude that pollinators play an important role in the livelihoods of people in this region.

  16. Principles and limitations of stable isotopes in differentiating organic and conventional foodstuffs: 1. Plant products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inácio, Caio Teves; Chalk, Phillip Michael; Magalhães, Alberto M T

    2015-01-01

    Among the lighter elements having two or more stable isotopes (H, C, N, O, S), δ(15)N appears to be the most promising isotopic marker to differentiate plant products from conventional and organic farms. Organic plant products vary within a range of δ(15)N values of +0.3 to +14.6%, while conventional plant products range from negative to positive values, i.e. -4.0 to +8.7%. The main factors affecting δ(15)N signatures of plants are N fertilizers, biological N2 fixation, plant organs and plant age. Correlations between mode of production and δ(13)C (except greenhouse tomatoes warmed with natural gas) or δ(34)S signatures have not been established, and δ(2)H and δ(18)O are unsuitable markers due to the overriding effect of climate on the isotopic composition of plant-available water. Because there is potential overlap between the δ(15)N signatures of organic and conventionally produced plant products, δ(15)N has seldom been used successfully as the sole criterion for differentiation, but when combined with complementary analytical techniques and appropriate statistical tools, the probability of a correct identification increases. The use of organic fertilizers by conventional farmers or the marketing of organic produce as conventional due to market pressures are additional factors confounding correct identification. The robustness of using δ(15)N to differentiate mode of production will depend on the establishment of databases that have been verified for individual plant products.

  17. Viral vectors for production of recombinant proteins in plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lico, Chiara; Chen, Qiang; Santi, Luca

    2008-08-01

    Global demand for recombinant proteins has steadily accelerated for the last 20 years. These recombinant proteins have a wide range of important applications, including vaccines and therapeutics for human and animal health, industrial enzymes, new materials and components of novel nano-particles for various applications. The majority of recombinant proteins are produced by traditional biological "factories," that is, predominantly mammalian and microbial cell cultures along with yeast and insect cells. However, these traditional technologies cannot satisfy the increasing market demand due to prohibitive capital investment requirements. During the last two decades, plants have been under intensive investigation to provide an alternative system for cost-effective, highly scalable, and safe production of recombinant proteins. Although the genetic engineering of plant viral vectors for heterologous gene expression can be dated back to the early 1980s, recent understanding of plant virology and technical progress in molecular biology have allowed for significant improvements and fine tuning of these vectors. These breakthroughs enable the flourishing of a variety of new viral-based expression systems and their wide application by academic and industry groups. In this review, we describe the principal plant viral-based production strategies and the latest plant viral expression systems, with a particular focus on the variety of proteins produced and their applications. We will summarize the recent progress in the downstream processing of plant materials for efficient extraction and purification of recombinant proteins. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  18. Minimizing Risks of Invasive Alien Plant Species in Tropical Production Forest Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Padmanaba

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Timber production is the most pervasive human impact on tropical forests, but studies of logging impacts have largely focused on timber species and vertebrates. This review focuses on the risk from invasive alien plant species, which has been frequently neglected in production forest management in the tropics. Our literature search resulted in 114 publications with relevant information, including books, book chapters, reports and papers. Examples of both invasions by aliens into tropical production forests and plantation forests as sources of invasions are presented. We discuss species traits and processes affecting spread and invasion, and silvicultural practices that favor invasions. We also highlight potential impacts of invasive plant species and discuss options for managing them in production forests. We suggest that future forestry practices need to reduce the risks of plant invasions by conducting surveillance for invasive species; minimizing canopy opening during harvesting; encouraging rapid canopy closure in plantations; minimizing the width of access roads; and ensuring that vehicles and other equipment are not transporting seeds of invasive species. Potential invasive species should not be planted within dispersal range of production forests. In invasive species management, forewarned is forearmed.

  19. Plant compounds insecticide activity against Coleoptera pests of stored products

    OpenAIRE

    MOREIRA, M.D.; PICANÇO, M.C.; BARBOSA, L.C. de A.; GUEDES, R.N.C.; CAMPOS, M.R. de; SILVA, G.A.; MARTINS, J.C.

    2008-01-01

    The objective of this work was to screen plants with insecticide activity, in order to isolate, identify and assess the bioactivity of insecticide compounds present in these plants, against Coleoptera pests of stored products: Oryzaephilus surinamensis L. (Silvanidae), Rhyzopertha dominica F. (Bostrichidae) and Sitophilus zeamais Mots. (Curculionidae). The plant species used were: basil (Ocimum selloi Benth.), rue (Ruta graveolens L.), lion's ear (Leonotis nepetifolia (L.) R.Br.), jimson weed...

  20. Nectar Sugar Production across Floral Phases in the Gynodioecious Protandrous Plant Geranium sylvaticum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varga, Sandra; Nuortila, Carolin; Kytöviita, Minna-Maarit

    2013-01-01

    Many zoophilous plants attract their pollinators by offering nectar as a reward. In gynodioecious plants (i.e. populations are composed of female and hermaphrodite individuals) nectar production has been repeatedly reported to be larger in hermaphrodite compared to female flowers even though nectar production across the different floral phases in dichogamous plants (i.e. plants with time separation of pollen dispersal and stigma receptivity) has rarely been examined. In this study, sugar production in nectar standing crop and secretion rate were investigated in Geranium sylvaticum, a gynodioecious plant species with protandry (i.e. with hermaphrodite flowers releasing their pollen before the stigma is receptive). We found that flowers from hermaphrodites produced more nectar than female flowers in terms of total nectar sugar content. In addition, differences in nectar production among floral phases were found in hermaphrodite flowers but not in female flowers. In hermaphrodite flowers, maximum sugar content coincided with pollen presentation and declined slightly towards the female phase, indicating nectar reabsorption, whereas in female flowers sugar content did not differ between the floral phases. These differences in floral reward are discussed in relation to visitation patterns by pollinators and seed production in this species. PMID:23614053

  1. The current state of inservice testing programs at U.S. Nuclear Power Plants - a regulatory overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campbell, P.; Colaccino, J.

    1994-01-01

    Information is provided on inservice testing (IST) of pumps and valves at U.S. nuclear power plants to provide consistency in the implementation of regulatory requirements and to enhance communications among utility licensees who may have, like NSSS vendors, similar kinds and numbers of components or comparable IST programs. Documents discussed include the ASME Operation and Maintenance Standards Parts 6 and 10 (covering inservice testing of pumps and valves in light water reactor power plants), the draft NUREG-1482, Guidelines for Inservice Testing at Nuclear Power Plants (including review comments by Nuclear Management and Resource Council), and applicable Licensee Event Reports including summaries of several reports relating to IST

  2. ADVANCED MULTI-PRODUCT COAL UTILIZATION BY-PRODUCT PROCESSING PLANT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robert Jewell; Thomas Robl; John Groppo

    2005-03-01

    The objective of the project is to build a multi-product ash beneficiation plant at Kentucky Utilities 2,200-MW Ghent Generating Station, located in Carroll County, Kentucky. This part of the study includes the examination of the feedstocks for the beneficiation plant. The ash, as produced by the plant, and that stored in the lower pond were examined. The ash produced by the plant was found to be highly variable as the plant consumes high and low sulfur bituminous coal, in Units 1 and 2 and a mixture of subbituminous and bituminous coal in Units 3 and 4. The ash produced reflected this consisting of an iron-rich ({approx}24%, Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}), aluminum rich ({approx}29% Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) and high calcium (6%-7%, CaO) ash, respectively. The LOI of the ash typically was in the range of 5.5% to 6.5%, but individual samples ranged from 1% to almost 9%. The lower pond at Ghent is a substantial body, covering more than 100 acres, with a volume that exceeds 200 million cubic feet. The sedimentation, stratigraphy and resource assessment of the in place ash was investigated with vibracoring and three-dimensional, computer-modeling techniques. Thirteen cores to depths reaching nearly 40 feet, were retrieved, logged in the field and transported to the lab for a series of analyses for particle size, loss on ignition, petrography, x-ray diffraction, and x-ray fluorescence. Collected data were processed using ArcViewGIS, Rockware, and Microsoft Excel to create three-dimensional, layered iso-grade maps, as well as stratigraphic columns and profiles, and reserve estimations. The ash in the pond was projected to exceed 7 million tons and contain over 1.5 million tons of coarse carbon, and 1.8 million tons of fine (<10 {micro}m) glassy pozzolanic material. The size, quality and consistency of the ponded material suggests that it is the better feedstock for the beneficiation plant.

  3. PSP Program close out documentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andringa, K.; Hootman, H.E.; Ferrara, A.S.; Smith, P.K.; Congdon, J.W.; Randolph, H.W.; Young, R.H.; Driggers, F.E.; Topp, S.V.

    1985-12-31

    In December 1982 DOE-SR directed SRL to study the feasibility and impact of a program to lower the U-236 content of the Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) stockpile used as fuel for the SRP reactors. In response to this request SRL assessed four technologies, Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS), Molecular Laser Isotope Separation (MLIS), Gas Centrifuge, and the Plasma Separation Process (PSP) for this purpose with the assistance of the Engineering Department. In April 1983 cost/benefit analyses for these processes, high spot cost estimates for production facilities, and process uncertainties were submitted to DOE-SR with a recommendation to proceed with the conceptual design and supporting development programs for a facility based on the use of the PSP process. The current program status for the PSP development program at SRL and the design and documentation of a production facility at SRP, referred to as the Fuel Improvement Demonstration Facility (FIDF), is described in this report.

  4. Pot plant production, environmental conditions and energy consumption in insulated greenhouses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bjerre, H.; Amsen, M.G. (Statens Planteavlsforsoeg, Havebrugscentret, Institut for Vaeksthuskulturer, Aarslev, Denmark)

    1984-01-01

    An energy experiment with 4 different types of greenhouses was carried out in the winter 1980-81 and 1981-82. Three of these greenhouses were insulated. The reference house was a single layer glasshouse with a mobile shading curtain, which was drawn at night. A comparison with the reference house showed the following energy savings for the insulated houses: Double glass 29-32%, double acryllic 39%, and thermal screens 22-24%. On average the air humidity was 80-86% RH in the double acryllic greenhouse and in the double glass house, whereas the levels was 5-10% lower in the 2 greenhouses with single glass. In spite of the high air humidity in the permanently insulated houses, no plant diseases occurred. The dry matter production of seven plant species was recorded in all greenhouses on the same date. Compared with the reference house 3 of the plant species showed a 5-10% higher production in the double acryllic greenhouse as well as the house with thermal screens. The remaining 4 plant species did not show any differences, between the 3 greenhouses. In the double glass house the production was considerably lower. To study the growth in detail, Tagetes plants were grown for 3-week periods during the winter in all houses. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the ratio between the growth in the 4 greenhouses was the same when periods of high light intensity were compared to periods with low light intensity. No characteristic changes with increasing light intensities could be observed between the different greenhouses. The differences between the greenhouses in time of production for the pot plants were generally small. The most remarkable difference in plant quality between the houses could be seen with Chrysanthemum and Kalanchoe. These 2 plant species were considerably less compact in the double acryllic greenhouse. Chrysanthemum was also less compact in the double glass house.

  5. Argentinian uranium production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1983-01-01

    A profit-making process for the exploitation of low grade uranium is presented. The process of lixiviation will be used, which will make it possible to obtain a final product whose humidity level will not exceed 10% and whose uranium oxide content will be no less than 68%. The operations of the plant are described. The plant can produce between 100 and 150 t of U 3 O 8 /yr in the form of yellow cake

  6. Effect of radiation on the long term productivity of a plant based CELSS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thompson, B.G.; Lake, B.H.

    1987-01-01

    Mutations occur at a higher rate in space than under terrestrial conditions, primarily due to an increase in radiation levels. These mutations may effect the productivity of plants found in a controlled ecological life support system (CELSS). Computer simulations of plants with different ploidies, modes of reproduction, lethality thresholds, viability thresholds and susceptibilities to radiation induced mutations were performed under space normal and solar flare conditions. These simulations identified plant characteristics that would enable plants to retain high productivities over time in a CELSS

  7. New information on world uranium resource, production, supply and demand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Jianguo; Meng Jin

    2006-01-01

    New information on world uranium resource, production, supply and demand is introduced. Up to now, explored uranium resources at production cost < USD 40/kg U has 2523257 t uranium; production cost < USD 80/kg U has 5911514 t uranium; production cost < USD130/kg U has 11280488 t uranium; and cost range unassigned has 3102000 t uranium. At moment, the demand uranium of each year is about 67000 t U. After 2020, world uranium demand will rise well above 100000 t per annum with sharp revival of nuclear power plants. With three kinds of economic growth the cumulative requirement of the uranium in low demand case, middle demand case and high demand case from 2000 to 2050 is 3390000, 5394100 and 7577300 t respectively. In the world market uranium price rises from 20 years lowest 18.2 USD/kg U to 75.4 USD/kg U. In 2003, global uranium product is about 35385 t U, and 2004, global uranium product is about 40475 t U. In 2004's world uranium production underground mining, open pit, in situ, by product, and combination account for 39%, 27%, 19%, 11% and 4% respectively. (authors)

  8. U.S. forest products module : a technical document supporting the Forest Service 2010 RPA Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peter J. Ince; Andrew D. Kramp; Kenneth E. Skog; Henry N. Spelter; David N. Wear

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. Forest Products Module (USFPM) is a partial market equilibrium model of the U.S. forest sector that operates within the Global Forest Products Model (GFPM) to provide long-range timber market projections in relation to global economic scenarios. USFPM was designed specifically for the 2010 RPA forest assessment, but it is being used also in other applications...

  9. Exploratory study of fission product yields of neutron-induced fission of 235U , 238U , and 239Pu at 8.9 MeV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatia, C.; Fallin, B. F.; Gooden, M. E.; Howell, C. R.; Kelley, J. H.; Tornow, W.; Arnold, C. W.; Bond, E.; Bredeweg, T. A.; Fowler, M. M.; Moody, W.; Rundberg, R. S.; Rusev, G. Y.; Vieira, D. J.; Wilhelmy, J. B.; Becker, J. A.; Macri, R.; Ryan, C.; Sheets, S. A.; Stoyer, M. A.; Tonchev, A. P.

    2015-06-01

    Using dual-fission chambers each loaded with a thick (200 -400 -mg /c m2) actinide target of 235 ,238U or 239Pu and two thin (˜10 -100 -μ g /c m2) reference foils of the same actinide, the cumulative yields of fission products ranging from 92Sr to 147Nd have been measured at En= 8.9 MeV . The 2H(d ,n ) 3He reaction provided the quasimonoenergetic neutron beam. The experimental setup and methods used to determine the fission product yield (FPY) are described, and results for typically eight high-yield fission products are presented. Our FPYs for 235U(n ,f ) , 238U(n ,f ) , and 239Pu(n ,f ) at 8.9 MeV are compared with the existing data below 8 MeV from Glendenin et al. [Phys. Rev. C 24, 2600 (1981), 10.1103/PhysRevC.24.2600], Nagy et al. [Phys. Rev. C 17, 163 (1978), 10.1103/PhysRevC.17.163], Gindler et al. [Phys. Rev. C 27, 2058 (1983), 10.1103/PhysRevC.27.2058], and those of Mac Innes et al. [Nucl. Data Sheets 112, 3135 (2011), 10.1016/j.nds.2011.11.009] and Laurec et al. [Nucl. Data Sheets 111, 2965 (2010), 10.1016/j.nds.2010.11.004] at 14.5 and 14.7 MeV, respectively. This comparison indicates a negative slope for the energy dependence of most fission product yields obtained from 235U and 239Pu , whereas for 238U the slope issue remains unsettled.

  10. Current fusion power plant design concepts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gore, B.F.; Murphy, E.S.

    1976-09-01

    Nine current U.S. designs for fusion power plants are described in this document. Summary tabulations include a tenth concept, for which the design document was unavailable during preparation of the descriptions. The information contained in the descriptions was used to define an envelope of fusion power plant characteristics which formed the basis for definition of reference first commercial fusion power plant design. A brief prose summary of primary plant features introduces each of the descriptions contained in the body of this document. In addition, summary tables are presented. These tables summarize in side-by-side fashion, plant parameters, processes, combinations of materials used, requirements for construction materials, requirements for replacement materials during operation, and production of wastes

  11. Effect of blended materials on U(VI) retention characteristics for portland cement solidification product

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tan Hongbin; Ma Xiaoling; Li Yuxiang

    2006-01-01

    Using the simulated groundwater as leaching liquid, the retention capability of U(VI) in solidification products with Portland cement, the Portland cement containing silica fume, the Portland cement containing metakaolin and the Portland cement containing fly ash was researched by leaching experiments at 25 degree C for 42 d. The results indicate silica fume and metakaolin as blended materials can improve the U(VI) retention capability of Portland cement solidification product, but fly ash can not. (authors)

  12. 49 CFR 526.2 - U.S. production by foreign manufacturer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PETITIONS AND PLANS FOR RELIEF UNDER THE... product plan and the assumption that the petition will be granted: (1) A description of the model type...; (2) U.S. sales projected for the model type; (3) The average percentage of the cost to the...

  13. Energy use of set-top boxes and telephony products in the U.S.; FINAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosen, Karen B.; Meier, Alan K.; Zandelin, Stefan

    2001-01-01

    The goal of this investigation was to estimate the 1999 energy consumption of set-top boxes and telephony products in the U.S. residential sector. Results of this study will be used to identify new energy conservation opportunities and to align programs with those opportunities. We conducted a bottom-up analysis for set-top boxes and telephony products using our own power measurements and stock and usage estimates from secondary sources. The most common set-top boxes in U.S. homes in 1999 were analog cable boxes, digital cable boxes, wireless receivers, and game consoles. According to these measurements, analog cable boxes and wireless receivers draw between 10 and 15 watts, while digital cable boxes draw between 20 and 25 watts in both the Active and Standby modes. Video games used less than 2 watts in Standby mode, and about 8 watts when Active. We estimate that set-top boxes accounted for 0.7% of residential electricity use in 1999. Our investigation of telephony products included answering machines, cordless phones, cordless phone answering machine combination units, and mobile phone chargers. Answering machines, cordless phones, and combination units use between 2 and 3 watts in both the Active and Standby modes. Mobile phone chargers use about 1 watt in standby. We estimate that these telephony products account for 0.5% of U.S. residential electricity consumption. Together, set-tops and telephony constituted 1.2% of U.S. residential electricity consumption in 1999. Standby power use accounted for about 60% of this energy use. The combined total energy use of the products investigated for this study and those researched previously for this series of reports account for about 6.6% of residential electricity use in the U.S

  14. Plant-plant interactions influence developmental phase transitions, grain productivity and root system architecture in Arabidopsis via auxin and PFT1/MED25 signalling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz-Parra, Edith; Pelagio-Flores, Ramón; Raya-González, Javier; Salmerón-Barrera, Guadalupe; Ruiz-Herrera, León Francisco; Valencia-Cantero, Eduardo; López-Bucio, José

    2017-09-01

    Transcriptional regulation of gene expression influences plant growth, environmental interactions and plant-plant communication. Here, we report that population density is a key factor for plant productivity and a major root architectural determinant in Arabidopsis thaliana. When grown in soil at varied densities from 1 to 32 plants, high number of individuals decreased stem growth and accelerated senescence, which negatively correlated with total plant biomass and seed production at the completion of the life cycle. Root morphogenesis was also a major trait modulated by plant density, because an increasing number of individuals grown in vitro showed repression of primary root growth, lateral root formation and root hair development while affecting auxin-regulated gene expression and the levels of auxin transporters PIN1 and PIN2. We also found that mutation of the Mediator complex subunit PFT1/MED25 renders plants insensitive to high density-modulated root traits. Our results suggest that plant density is critical for phase transitions, productivity and root system architecture and reveal a role of Mediator in self-plant recognition. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Synchronous production of conidial powder of several fungal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-08-04

    Aug 4, 2009 ... of sufficient quantities of good quality inoculum becomes ... search project aiming to build up a quick and simple eva- ... USDA-ARS Plant Protection Research Unit, U.S. Plant, Soil and ... diameter PVC pipes for synchronous production. ... moisture generator containing 3.5 liter distilled water was slowly.

  16. Biogas and mineral fertiliser production from plant residues of phytoremediation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chu, Thi Thu Ha

    2011-07-01

    The former uranium mining site in Ronneburg, Thuringia, Germany was known as a big source of uranium with more than 113,000 tons of uranium mined from 1946 to 1990. This area has been remediated since the nineties of the last century. However, nowadays the site in Ronneburg is still specially considered because of the heterogeneous contamination by many heavy metals and the vegetation can be affected. Three plant species including Indian mustard - Brassica juncea L., triticale - x. Triticosecale Wittmaek and sunflower - Helianthus annuus L. were seeded as accumulators of heavy metals and radionuclides in the phytoremediation process in 2009 and 2010 in Ronneburg. The subsequent utilization of the plant residues after phytoremediation is of special consideration. Batch fermentation of harvested plant materials under the mesophilic condition showed that all of the investigated plant materials had much higher biogas production than liquid cow manure except triticale root, of which biogas yield per volatile solid was not significantly higher than the one of sludge. The highest biogas yields (311 L{sub N}/kg FM and 807 L{sub N}/kg VS) were achieved from the spica of triticale after 42 days of retention of anaerobic digestion. Triticale shoot residues generated higher biogas and methane yields than the previously reported triticale materials that were harvested from the uncontaminated soil Triticale was considered as the highest potential species in biogas production, beside the best growth ability on the acidic soil at the test field site with highest biomass production. Biogas yield of Indian mustard shoot was also high but dramatically varied from 2009 to 2010. Digestates after anaerobic digestion of plant residues contained various macronutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and sulphur, and various micronutrients such as iron, manganes, zinc, etc. The accumulation levels of heavy metals in the investigated plant materials were not the hindrance factors

  17. Foods for Special Dietary Needs: Non-dairy Plant-based Milk Substitutes and Fermented Dairy-type Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mäkinen, Outi Elina; Wanhalinna, Viivi; Zannini, Emanuele; Arendt, Elke Karin

    2016-01-01

    A growing number of consumers opt for plant-based milk substitutes for medical reasons or as a lifestyle choice. Medical reasons include lactose intolerance, with a worldwide prevalence of 75%, and cow's milk allergy. Also, in countries where mammal milk is scarce and expensive, plant milk substitutes serve as a more affordable option. However, many of these products have sensory characteristics objectionable to the mainstream western palate. Technologically, plant milk substitutes are suspensions of dissolved and disintegrated plant material in water, resembling cow's milk in appearance. They are manufactured by extracting the plant material in water, separating the liquid, and formulating the final product. Homogenization and thermal treatments are necessary to improve the suspension and microbial stabilities of commercial products that can be consumed as such or be further processed into fermented dairy-type products. The nutritional properties depend on the plant source, processing, and fortification. As some products have extremely low protein and calcium contents, consumer awareness is important when plant milk substitutes are used to replace cow's milk in the diet, e.g. in the case of dairy intolerances. If formulated into palatable and nutritionally adequate products, plant-based substitutes can offer a sustainable alternative to dairy products.

  18. Aquatic food production modules in bioregenerative life support systems based on higher plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bluem, V.; Paris, F.

    Most bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) are based on gravitropic higher plants which exhibit growth and seed generation disturbances in microgravity. Even when used for a lunar or martian base the reduced gravity may induce a decreased productivity in comparison to Earth. Therefore, the implementation of aquatic biomass production modules in higher plant and/or hybrid BLSS may compensate for this and offer, in addition, the possibility to produce animal protein for human nutrition. It was shown on the SLS-89 and SLS-90 space shuttle missions with the C.E.B.A.S.-MINI MODULE that the edible non gravitropic rootless higher aquatic plant Ceratophyllum demeresum exhibits an undisturbed high biomass production rate in space and that the teleost fish species, Xiphophorus helleri, adapts rapidly to space conditions without loss of its normal reproductive functions. Based on these findings a series of ground-based aquatic food production systems were developed which are disposed for utilization in space. These are plant production bioreactors for the species mentioned above and another suitable candidate, the lemnacean (duckweed) species, Wolffia arrhiza. Moreover, combined intensive aquaculture systems with a closed food loop between herbivorous fishes and aquatic and land plants are being developed which may be suitable for integration into a BLSS of higher complexity.

  19. The effect of economic variables over a biodiesel production plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marchetti, J.M.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Influence of the mayor economic parameters for biodiesel production. → Variations of profitability of a biodiesel plant due to changes in the market scenarios. → Comparison of economic indicators of a biodiesel production facility when market variables are modified. - Abstract: Biodiesel appears as one of the possible alternative renewable fuels to substitute diesel fuel derived from petroleum. Several researches have been done on the technical aspects of biodiesel production in an attempt to develop a better and cleaner alternative to the conventional process. Economic studies have been carried out to have a better understanding of the high costs and benefits of different technologies in the biodiesel industry. In this work it is studied the effect of the most important economic variables of a biodiesel production process over the general economy of a conventional plant which employs sodium methoxide as catalyst. It has been analyzed the effect of the oil price, the amount of free fatty acid, the biodiesel price, the cost of the glycerin, the effect due to the modification on the methanol price, the washing water price, and several others. Small variations on some of the major market variables would produce significant effects over the global economy of the plant, making it non profitable in some cases.

  20. The effect of economic variables over a biodiesel production plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marchetti, J.M., E-mail: jmarchetti@plapiqui.edu.ar [Planta Piloto de Ingenieria Quimica (UNS-CONICET), Camino La Carrindanga km 7, 8000 Bahia Blanca (Argentina)

    2011-09-15

    Highlights: {yields} Influence of the mayor economic parameters for biodiesel production. {yields} Variations of profitability of a biodiesel plant due to changes in the market scenarios. {yields} Comparison of economic indicators of a biodiesel production facility when market variables are modified. - Abstract: Biodiesel appears as one of the possible alternative renewable fuels to substitute diesel fuel derived from petroleum. Several researches have been done on the technical aspects of biodiesel production in an attempt to develop a better and cleaner alternative to the conventional process. Economic studies have been carried out to have a better understanding of the high costs and benefits of different technologies in the biodiesel industry. In this work it is studied the effect of the most important economic variables of a biodiesel production process over the general economy of a conventional plant which employs sodium methoxide as catalyst. It has been analyzed the effect of the oil price, the amount of free fatty acid, the biodiesel price, the cost of the glycerin, the effect due to the modification on the methanol price, the washing water price, and several others. Small variations on some of the major market variables would produce significant effects over the global economy of the plant, making it non profitable in some cases.

  1. Role of Osmotic Adjustment in Plant Productivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gebre, G.M.

    2001-01-11

    Successful implementation of short rotation woody crops requires that the selected species and clones be productive, drought tolerant, and pest resistant. Since water is one of the major limiting factors in poplar (Populus sp.) growth, there is little debate for the need of drought tolerant clones, except on the wettest of sites (e.g., lower Columbia River delta). Whether drought tolerance is compatible with productivity remains a debatable issue. Among the many mechanisms of drought tolerance, dehydration postponement involves the maintenance of high leaf water potential due to, for example, an adequate root system. This trait is compatible with productivity, but requires available soil moisture. When the plant leaf water potential and soil water content decline, the plant must be able to survive drought through dehydration tolerance mechanisms, such as low osmotic potential or osmotic adjustment. Osmotic adjustment and low osmotic potential are considered compatible with growth and yield because they aid in the maintenance of leaf turgor. However, it has been shown that turgor alone does not regulate cell expansion or stomatal conductance and, therefore, the role of osmotic adjustment is debated. Despite this finding, osmotic adjustment has been correlated with grain yield in agronomic crop species, and gene markers responsible for osmotic adjustment are being investigated to improve drought tolerance in productive progenies. Although osmotic adjustment and low osmotic potentials have been investigated in several forest tree species, few studies have investigated the relationship between osmotic adjustment and growth. Most of these studies have been limited to greenhouse or container-grown plants. Osmotic adjustment and rapid growth have been specifically associated in Populus and black spruce (Picea mariuna (Mill.) B.S.P.) progenies. We tested whether these relationships held under field conditions using several poplar clones. In a study of two hybrid poplar

  2. The United States (U.S. Steel import crisis and the global production overcapacity till 2016

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gh. H. Popescu

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present research is to examine and evaluate the swift growth in surplus steel production capacity and international supply chain integration, the effects of steel manufacturing on U.S. employment, raising imports of unfairly traded steel and steel goods, and the global steel sector’s structural overcapacity. This paper contributes to the literature by providing evidence on the mechanisms forming the foundation of the first-rate productivity growth in the U.S. steel industry, models of growth in the international steel supply chains, and the advantages of adequate trade remedy implementation for the U.S. steel sector.

  3. Buzz in Paris: flower production and plant-pollinator interactions in plants from contrasted urban and rural origins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desaegher, James; Nadot, Sophie; Dajoz, Isabelle; Colas, Bruno

    2017-12-01

    Urbanisation, associated with habitat fragmentation, affects pollinator communities and insect foraging behaviour. These biotic changes are likely to select for modified traits in insect-pollinated plants from urban populations compared to rural populations. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an experiment involving four plant species commonly found in both urban and rural landscapes of the Île-de-France region (France): Cymbalaria muralis, Geranium robertianum, Geum urbanum and Prunella vulgaris. The four species were grown in four urban and four rural experimental sites in 2015. For each species and each experimental site, plants were grown from seeds collected in five urban and five rural locations. During flowering, we observed flower production and insect-flower interactions during 14 weeks and tested for the effects of experimental site location and plant origin on flower production and on the number of floral visits. The study species had various flower morphology and hence were visited by different floral visitors. The effect of experimental sites and seed origin also varied among study species. We found that (1) insect visits on P. vulgaris were more frequent in rural than in urban sites; (2) for C. muralis, the slope relating the number of pollinator visits to the number of flowers per individual was steeper in urban versus rural sites, suggesting a greater benefit in allocating resources to flower production in urban conditions; (3) as a likely consequence, C. muralis tended to produce more flowers in plants from urban versus rural origin.

  4. Long term operation of nuclear power plants in the U.S

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, G.G.

    2015-01-01

    This series of slides shows that safety, performance, cost, environmental and public opinion factors are favorable for long term operation of U.S. nuclear power plants. In the U.S. 1 reactor has an operating life ranging between 10 and 19 years, 37 reactors have an operating life ranging between 20 and 29 years, 42 reactors between 30 and 39 years and 20 reactors have an operating life over 40 years. The original license term is 40 years and it can be extended by 20 years for each renewal. The application for renewal must be at least 5 years before expiration of the current license. 3 main areas are reviewed by NRC to get the renewal: safety, environmental and adjudicatory. A slide describes the NRC license renewal process and another slide lists the regulatory and industry guidance documents based on lessons learned and operating experience. Research and development efforts around materials aging and safety margin characterization by EPRI, DOE, NRC and industry groups are essential to support and maintain the option of long term operation of nuclear reactors. (A.C.)

  5. Recent developments in the United States uranium enrichment enterprise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Longenecker, J.R.

    1987-01-01

    In the near term, DOE is reducing production costs at the gaseous diffusion plants (GDPs), and we've made significant progress already. GDP production costs are expected to decline even further in the near future. DOE is also negotiating new power contracts for the GDPs. The new power contracts, capital improvements, and the use of more unfirm power should reduce our GDP average cost of production to about $60/SWU in the 1990s. Significant technical progress on the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) advanced enrichment technology has been made recently. The highlight has been a series of half-scale integrated enrichment experiments using the Laser Demonstration Facility and the Mars separator. We are also ready to initiate testing in the full-scale Separator Demonstration Facility, including a 100 hour run that will vaporize over 5 tons of uranium. DOE is developing plans to restructure the enterprise into a more businesslike entity. The key objective in 1987 is to work with Congress to advance the restructuring of the U.S. uranium enrichment enterprise, to assure its long term competitiveness. We hope to establish in law the charter, objectives, and goals for the restructured enterprise. DOE expects that the world price for enrichment services will continue to decrease in the future. There should be sufficient excess enrichment capacity in the future to assure that competition will be keen. Such a healthy, competitive, world enrichment market will be beneficial to both suppliers and consumers of uranium enrichment services. (J.P.N.)

  6. ECOTOXICITY AND PHYTOTOXICITY OF PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS TO RHIZOSPHERE FUNGI AND WINTER WHEAT SEEDLINGS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Daria Stasiulewicz-Paluch

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Registration of plant protection products involves the analysis of their effects on soil microorganisms. The residues of plant protection products penetrate the soil, but their impact on fungi remains scarcely researched. In this study, the influence of selected plant protection products on the abundance of rhizosphere-dwelling fungi and the growth of winter wheat seedlings was evaluated under greenhouse conditions. The analysed plant protection products had an inhibitory effect on the growth of filamentous fungi in the rhizosphere, whereas yeasts were resistant to those products applied to soil. Tebuconazole exerted the strongest suppressive effect on the growth of filamentous fungi, and propiconazole was characterized by the greatest phytotoxic activity against winter wheat seedlings. Azoxystrobin had the weakest ecotoxic and phytotoxic effects, and its application to soil usually led to a rapid increase in the counts of fungi of the genus Acremonium.

  7. Positron production in heavy-ion collisions. II. Application of the formalism to the case of the U+U collision

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomoda, T.

    1982-01-01

    The method developed in the preceding paper is applied to the calculation of the spectra of positrons produced in the U + U collision. Matrix elements of the radial derivative operator between adiabatic basis states are calculated in the monopole approximation, with the finite nuclear size taken into account. These matrix elements are then modified for the supercritical case with the use of the analytical method presented in paper I of this series. The coupled differential equations for the occupation amplitudes of the basis states are solved and the positron spectra are obtained for the U + U collision. It is shown that the decomposition of the production probability into a spontaneous and an induced part depends on the definition of the resonance state and cannot be given unambiguously. The results are compared with those obtained by Reinhardt et al

  8. Technical feasibility and carbon footprint of biochar co-production with tomato plant residue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llorach-Massana, Pere; Lopez-Capel, Elisa; Peña, Javier; Rieradevall, Joan; Montero, Juan Ignacio; Puy, Neus

    2017-09-01

    World tomato production is in the increase, generating large amounts of organic agricultural waste, which are currently incinerated or composted, releasing CO 2 into the atmosphere. Organic waste is not only produced from conventional but also urban agricultural practices due recently gained popularity. An alternative to current waste management practices and carbon sequestration opportunity is the production of biochar (thermally converted biomass) from tomato plant residues and use as a soil amendment. To address the real contribution of biochar for greenhouse gas mitigation, it is necessary to assess the whole life cycle from the production of the tomato biomass feedstock to the actual distribution and utilisation of the biochar produced in a regional context. This study is the first step to determine the technical and environmental potential of producing biochar from tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum arawak variety) waste biomass and utilisation as a soil amendment. The study includes the characterisation of tomato plant residue as biochar feedstock (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and metal content); feedstock thermal stability; and the carbon footprint of biochar production under urban agriculture at pilot and small-scale plant, and conventional agriculture at large-scale plant. Tomato plant residue is a potentially suitable biochar feedstock under current European Certification based on its lignin content (19.7%) and low metal concentration. Biomass conversion yields of over 40%, 50% carbon stabilization and low pyrolysis temperature conditions (350-400°C) would be required for biochar production to sequester carbon under urban pilot scale conditions; while large-scale biochar production from conventional agricultural practices have not the potential to sequestrate carbon because its logistics, which could be improved. Therefore, the diversion of tomato biomass waste residue from incineration or composting to biochar production for use as a soil amendment

  9. Reactor plant construction productivity, why so different

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palmeter, S.B.

    1976-01-01

    The manual labor component (manhours per kw) required to construct a nuclear power plant has increased radically since the advent of the fixed price turnkey projects of the late 1960's and early 1970's. Utilities and their architect-engineers have been, for the past several years, evaluating and diagnosing possible reasons for the increase and, in particular, the wide variation in labor manhours per kw among plants built in the same time frame. Since construction labor can amount to as much as 35--40% of direct capital cost, ways and means must be found to arrest this manhour escalation. One important way is by improving productivity. Some of the manhour increase is beyond an owner's control, e.g. NRC regulatory and other federal and state requirements adding to the scope of work. Several areas where there is potential for productivity improvement are identified as follows: (1) Revise contract strategy and bid work on a fixed price basis. This can be done by utilizing bid packages where the scope of work is clearly identified and based on well defined plans and specifications. (2) Upgrade the quality of construction management and remove first line supervision from union control. Use periodic work sampling to pinpoint causes and cure for poor productivity. (3) Reduce design complexity and improve constructibility by means of innovative design and material utilization--models help. (4) Improve labor productivity by restoring management rights in collective bargaining agreements. If this is not possible, go open shop or owner build with your own work force

  10. Report of the Energy Research Advisory Board study group on advanced isotope separation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-11-01

    The Panel reviewed Advanced Isotope Separation (AIS) technology and Advanced Gas Centrifuge (AGC) programs in the context of potential needs and costs for uranium enrichment. The benefit of a successful AIS or AGC program would be a substantial reduction in enrichment costs below those of current centrifuge plants or below the power cost alone for gaseous diffusion plants. This report attempts to provide firm guidance for the next 2 to 3 years, at which time a further evaluation should guide decisions in regard to enrichment supply and development choices. On the basis of our perception of the long-term economic benefits of a successful AIS development, we support the continued pursuit of this option. In the interim, major requirements for enrichment must be satisfied. We assume that DOE will develop a firm funding plan for gaseous diffusion operations and power contracting to assure that the necessary supply of power will be available to meet the separative work commitments of the US enrichment enterprise. We recommend that the AIS program office further identify the key technical uncertainties of the various programs, thereby establishing the basis for near-term R and D leading to a decision whether and when to proceed with full-scale development. We believe that a stronger atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) program would result from a consolidation of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Jersey Nuclear Avco Isotopes (JNAI) teams, leading to a more competitive AVLIS process. Hence, we recommend that DOE attempt to negotiate with JNAI to form a single, integrated, government-funded AVLIS program with appropriate elements of LLNL, JNAI and UCC-ND. We further recommend that JNAI be designated as lead laboratory in this program. We recommend that the DOE: continue with the first 2.2 million SWU increment of the gas centrifuge program, and continue the Advanced Gas Centrifuge development program, with high priority

  11. Core@shell Nanoparticles: Greener Synthesis Using Natural Plant Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehrdad Khatami

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Among an array of hybrid nanoparticles, core-shell nanoparticles comprise of two or more materials, such as metals and biomolecules, wherein one of them forms the core at the center, while the other material/materials that were located around the central core develops a shell. Core-shell nanostructures are useful entities with high thermal and chemical stability, lower toxicity, greater solubility, and higher permeability to specific target cells. Plant or natural products-mediated synthesis of nanostructures refers to the use of plants or its extracts for the synthesis of nanostructures, an emerging field of sustainable nanotechnology. Various physiochemical and greener methods have been advanced for the synthesis of nanostructures, in contrast to conventional approaches that require the use of synthetic compounds for the assembly of nanostructures. Although several biological resources have been exploited for the synthesis of core-shell nanoparticles, but plant-based materials appear to be the ideal candidates for large-scale green synthesis of core-shell nanoparticles. This review summarizes the known strategies for the greener production of core-shell nanoparticles using plants extract or their derivatives and highlights their salient attributes, such as low costs, the lack of dependence on the use of any toxic materials, and the environmental friendliness for the sustainable assembly of stabile nanostructures.

  12. Crapemyrtle Bark Scale: A New Threat for Crapemyrtles, a Popular Landscape Plant in the U.S.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zinan Wang

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Crapemyrtle bark scale, Acanthococcus (=Eriococcus lagerstroemiae (Kuwana (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae, is a newly introduced insect pest on crapemyrtles, Lagerstroemia spp. (Myrtales: Lythraceae, one of the most popular flowering shrubs in the U.S. Since first detected in Texas in 2004, this pest has spread to twelve states causing losses to stakeholders. To develop a management plan, we reviewed current knowledge about the pest’s biology and ecology, and suggested research approaches including studying its thermal tolerance, host range, plant resistance and biological control. Parasitoids and predators have been reared from A. lagerstroemiae in the U.S. and China. However, new surveys of natural enemies should be conducted in China, and studies on the host range and impacts of natural enemies on A. lagerstroemiae may help determine the potential for classical biological control. The life history, preying efficiency and rearing methods are important for coccinellid predators found in the U.S. including Chilocorus cacti L. and Hyperaspis spp. To enhance natural enemy performance, it is important to evaluate a sustainable insecticide program that considers efficacy, timing, rate and impact on pollinator health. Finally, an integrated management program of A. lagerstroemiae is discussed including planting resistant cultivars, using host specific natural enemies, and prudent use of insecticides.

  13. Construction labor productivity during nuclear power plant construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murray, W.B.

    1980-01-01

    There is no single satisfactory way to measure productivity in the construction industry. The industry is too varied, too specialized and too dependent upon vast numbers of interrelations between trades, contractors, designers and owners. Hence, no universally reliable indices for measuring construction productivity has been developed. There are problems that are generic to all large union-built nuclear power plants. The actions of any one owner cannot rectify the shortcomings of the construction industry. The generic problems are being identified, and many national organizations are attempting to make the construction industry more productive by recommending various changes

  14. Calendar Year 2007 Program Benefits for U.S. EPA Energy Star Labeled Products: Expanded Methodology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez, Marla; Homan, Gregory; Lai, Judy; Brown, Richard

    2009-09-24

    This report provides a top-level summary of national savings achieved by the Energy Star voluntary product labeling program. To best quantify and analyze savings for all products, we developed a bottom-up product-based model. Each Energy Star product type is characterized by product-specific inputs that result in a product savings estimate. Our results show that through 2007, U.S. EPA Energy Star labeled products saved 5.5 Quads of primary energy and avoided 100 MtC of emissions. Although Energy Star-labeled products encompass over forty product types, only five of those product types accounted for 65percent of all Energy Star carbon reductions achieved to date, including (listed in order of savings magnitude)monitors, printers, residential light fixtures, televisions, and furnaces. The forecast shows that U.S. EPA?s program is expected to save 12.2 Quads of primary energy and avoid 215 MtC of emissions over the period of 2008?2015.

  15. [Psychoactive plant species--actual list of plants prohibited in Poland].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simonienko, Katarzyna; Waszkiewicz, Napoleon; Szulc, Agata

    2013-01-01

    According to the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction (20-th of March, 2009, Dz. U. Nr 63 poz. 520.) the list of federally prohibited plants in Poland was expanded to include 16 new species. Until that time the only illegal plant materials were cannabis, papaver, coca and most of their products. The actual list of herbal narcotics includes species which significantly influence on the central nervous system work but which are rarely described in the national literature. The plants usually come from distant places, where--among primeval cultures--are used for ritual purposes. In our civilization the plants are usually used experimentally, recreationally or to gain particular narcotic effects. The results of the consumption vary: they can be specific or less typical, imitate other substances intake, mental disorders or different pathological states. The plant active substances can interact with other medicaments, be toxic to internal organs, cause serious threat to health or even death. This article describes the sixteen plant species, which are now prohibited in Poland, their biochemical ingredients and their influence on the human organism.

  16. Enhancement of Plant Productivity in the Post-Genomics Era.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thao, Nguyen Phuong; Tran, Lam-Son Phan

    2016-08-01

    Obtaining high plant yield is not always achievable in agricultural activity as it is determined by various factors, including cultivar quality, nutrient and water supplies, degree of infection by pathogens, natural calamities and soil conditions, which affect plant growth and development. More noticeably, sustainable plant productivity to provide sufficient food for the increasing human population has become a thorny issue to scientists in the era of unpredictable global climatic changes, appearance of more tremendous or multiple stresses, and land restriction for cultivation. Well-established agricultural management by agrotechnological means has shown no longer to be effective enough to confront with this challenge. Instead, in order to maximize the production, it is advisable to implement such practices in combination with biological applications. Nowadays, high technologies are widely adopted into agricultural production, biological diversity conservation and crop improvement. Wang et al. has nicely outlined the utilization of DNA-based technologies in this field. Among these are the applications of (i) DNA markers into cultivar identification, seed purity analysis, germplasm resource evaluation, heterosis prediction, genetic mapping, cloning and breeding; and (ii) gene expression data in supporting the description of crop phenology, the analytic comparison of crop growth under stress versus non-stress conditions, or the study of fertilizer effects. Besides, various purposes of using transgenic technologies in agriculture, such as generating cultivars with better product quality, better tolerance to biotic or abiotic stress, are also discussed in the review. One of the important highlights in this issue is the review of the benefits brought by high-throughput sequencing technology, which is also known as next-generation sequencing (NGS). It is not so difficult to recognize that its application has allowed us to carry out biological studies at much deeper level

  17. Composting plant conversion for the production of bio based products; Konversion eines Kompostwerkes zur Herstellung biobasierter Produkte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoffmann, Marc [Universitaetsklinikum Jena (Germany). Stabsstelle Umweltschutz

    2013-03-15

    The intention behind this paper is to explore the potential of extracting bio based products such as lactic acid and further organic acid compounds during a successful composting process, by inserting an additional pre-treatment level into the existing process. The fundamental idea of extracting bio based products and biogas is based on the extension of a composting plant with an anaerobic intermediate level of maceration and a bypass reactor as a potential bio-refinery. For the extraction of carboxylic acid out of the macerated substance the principle of electrodialysis on a laboratory scale can be successfully verified by means of concentration of free acids. The concluding assessment of the composting plant Darmstadt-Kranichstein with regards to its potential shows that further examination on a large scale for the extraction of biobased products using biowaste is deemed to be appropriate on material and energetic consideration. The study demonstrates the potential for a combined aerobic/anaerobic plant with composting, renewable energy and secondary raw materials generation. (orig.)

  18. Scaling up the production capacity of U-Mo powder by HMD process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasqualini, E.E.; Lopez, M.; Helzel Garcia, L.J.; Echenique, P.; Adelfang, P.

    2002-01-01

    The recent discovery that uranium alloys in metastable gamma phase can be hydrided at low temperatures and pressures have allowed developing the method of commuting bulk materials by milling the hydride to desired size and then dehydriding the powder. This process is called HMD (hydriding-milling-dehydriding) and needs an initial step of hydrogen incorporation to allow the alloy to be hydrided. This four step process has been conveniently set up for the production of U-7Mo powder for its use in nuclear fuels. Low equipment investment and low man power are needed for this achievement. The process is being analyzed in its scaling up for one kilogram batches and a 50 kilogram per year production capacity of U-Mo powder. (author)

  19. Development of computer-aided design and production system for nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishii, Masanori

    1983-01-01

    The technically required matters related to the design and production of nuclear power stations tended to increase from the viewpoint of the safety and reliability, and it is indispensable to cope with such technically required matters skillfully for the rationalization of the design and production and for the construction of highly reliable plants. Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., has developed the computer-aided design data information and engineering system which performs dialogue type design and drawing, and as the result, the design-production consistent system is developed to do stress analysis, production design, production management and the output of data for numerically controlled machine tools consistently. In this paper, mainly the consistent system in the field of plant design centering around piping and also the computer system for the design of vessels and others are outlined. The features of the design works for nuclear power plants, the rationalization of the design and production management of piping and vessels, and the application of the CAD system to other general equipment and improvement works are reported. This system is the powerful means to meet the requirement of heightening quality and reducing cost. (Kako, I.)

  20. Synthetic biology approaches for the production of plant metabolites in unicellular organisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moses, Tessa; Mehrshahi, Payam; Smith, Alison G; Goossens, Alain

    2017-07-10

    Synthetic biology is the repurposing of biological systems for novel objectives and applications. Through the co-ordinated and balanced expression of genes, both native and those introduced from other organisms, resources within an industrial chassis can be siphoned for the commercial production of high-value commodities. This developing interdisciplinary field has the potential to revolutionize natural product discovery from higher plants, by providing a diverse array of tools, technologies, and strategies for exploring the large chemically complex space of plant natural products using unicellular organisms. In this review, we emphasize the key features that influence the generation of biorefineries and highlight technologies and strategic solutions that can be used to overcome engineering pitfalls with rational design. Also presented is a succinct guide to assist the selection of unicellular chassis most suited for the engineering and subsequent production of the desired natural product, in order to meet the global demand for plant natural products in a safe and sustainable manner. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. 9 CFR 590.26 - Egg products entering or prepared in official plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Egg products entering or prepared in..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION INSPECTION OF EGGS AND EGG PRODUCTS (EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT) Scope of Inspection § 590.26 Egg products entering or prepared in official plants. Eggs and...

  2. Openness to Using Non-cigarette Tobacco Products Among U.S. Young Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mays, Darren; Arrazola, René A; Tworek, Cindy; Rolle, Italia V; Neff, Linda J; Portnoy, David B

    2016-04-01

    National data indicate that the prevalence of non-cigarette tobacco product use is highest among young adults; however, little is known about their openness to use these products in the future and associated risk factors. This study sought to characterize openness to using non-cigarette tobacco products and associated factors among U.S. young adults. In 2014, National Adult Tobacco Survey data (2012-2013) were analyzed to characterize openness to using the following tobacco products among all young adults aged 18-29 years (N=5,985): cigars; electronic cigarettes ("e-cigarettes"); hookah; pipe tobacco; chew, snuff, or dip; snus; and dissolvables. Among those who were not current users of each product, multivariable logistic regression was used to examine associations between demographics, cigarette smoking status, lifetime use of other non-cigarette products, perceived harm and addictiveness of smoking, and receipt of tobacco industry promotions and openness to using each product. Among all young adults, openness to using non-cigarette tobacco products was greatest for hookah (28.2%); e-cigarettes (25.5%); and cigars (19.1%). In multivariable analyses, which included non-current users of each product, non-current ever, current, and former smokers were more likely than never smokers to be open to using most examined products, as were men and adults aged 18-24 years. Receipt of tobacco industry promotions was associated with openness to using e-cigarettes; chew, snuff, or dip; and snus. There is substantial openness to trying non-cigarette tobacco products among U.S. young adults. Young adults are an important population to consider for interventions targeting non-cigarette tobacco product use. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE E.U. ROLE IN THE WORLD GRAPE PRODUCTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agatha POPESCU

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper aimed to analyze the EU-27 position in the world grape production based on the data collected from FAO Stat data base for the period 2000-2008, using the index and share methods. The EU-27 is the most important vine cultivator and grape producer in the world. With its 3.5 million ha planted with vine, it accounts for 90.21 % of Europe’s area of vineyards and 48.14 % of the world vine area. In 2008, the EU-27 produced 25.1 million tones grapes placing it on the top position and contributing by 41.56 % to the world production. The top European countries: Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Romania achieved 21.8 million tones grapes, representing 86.98 % of the EU-27 and 32.96 % of the world grape production. Italy, Spain and France are among the top 10 grape producers in the world. As a conclusion, even thou the EU-27 planted area decreased by 8.24 % and its grape production declined by 16.16 %, the EU-27 continues to remain the main grape producer in the world.

  4. Multiple stress by repeated use of plant protection products in agricultural areas

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luttik, R.; Zorn, M.I.; Brock, T.C.M.; Roex, E.W.M.; Linden, van der A.M.A.

    2017-01-01

    Current risk assessment of plant protection products is performed on a formulated-product-by-formulated-product basis and does not take into account the fact that products may be mixed and/or that different products are used sequentially within a growing season. This report evaluates three

  5. Radiocesium Discharges and Subsequent Environmental Transport at the Major U.S. Weapons Production Facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garten, Jr. C.T.; Hamby, D.M.; Schreckhise, R.G.

    1999-11-14

    Radiocesium is one of the more prevalent radionuclides in the environment as a result of weapons production related atomic projects in the United States and the former Soviet Union. Radiocesium discharges during the 1950's account for a large fraction of the historical releases from U.S. weapons production facilities. Releases of radiocesium to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems during the early ,years of nuclear weapons production provided the opportunity to conduct multidisciplinary studies on the transport mechanisms of this potentially hazardous radionuclide. The major U.S. Department of Energy facilities (Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, Hanford Site near Richland, Washington, and Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina) are located in regions of the country that have different geographical characteristics. The facility siting provided diverse backgrounds for the development of an understanding of environmental factors contributing to the fate and transport of radiocesium. In this paper, we summarize the significant environmental releases of radiocesium in the early -years of weapons production and then discuss the historically significant transport mechanisms for r37Cs at the three facilities that were part of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex.

  6. Genetical Studies On Haploid Production In Some Ornamental Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MOSTAFA, M.A.M.

    2013-01-01

    Haploid are plants with a gametophytic chromosome number and doubled haploid are dihaploids that have undergone chromosome duplication. The production of haploid and doubled haploid (DHs) through gametic embryogenesis allows a single-step development of complete homozygous lines from heterozygous parents, shortening the time required to produce homozygous plants in comparison with the conventional breeding methods that employ several generations of selfing. The production of haploid and DHs provides a particularly attractive biotechnological tool, and the development of haploidy technology and protocols to produce homozygous plants has had a significant impact on agricultural systems. Nowadays, these bio technologies represent an integral part of the breeding programmes of many agronomically important crops. There are several available methods to obtain haploid and DHs, of which in vitro anther or isolated microspore culture are the most effective and widely used (Germana Maria 2011). Tissue culture techniques, particularly short-term culture procedures such as shoot-tip culture and regeneration from primary explants, have been proposed as methods for obtaining large numbers of plants identical to the plant used as an explant source( Evans et al., 1984). Nicotiana spp. are one of the most important commercial crops in the world ( Liu and Zhang, 2008). Nicotiana alata is member from family solanacea, it is ornamental plant and the diploid cells contains 18 chromosomes. Nitsch (1969) reported the first production of haploid plants through anther culture and regeneration of plants of Nicotiana alata, For these reasons they have been considered to suitable candidates for model species in somatic cell genetics research( Bourgin et al., 1979). Radiobiological studies on plant tissues in culture may provide information on the cell growth behavior, radiosensitivity and the induction of mutations. The radiosensitivity of plants and calli can be manifested mostly in three

  7. Coenzyme Q10 production in plants: current status and future prospects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmar, Sanjay Singh; Jaiwal, Anjali; Dhankher, Om Parkash; Jaiwal, Pawan K

    2015-06-01

    Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) or Ubiquinone10 (UQ10), an isoprenylated benzoquinone, is well-known for its role as an electron carrier in aerobic respiration. It is a sole representative of lipid soluble antioxidant that is synthesized in our body. In recent years, it has been found to be associated with a range of patho-physiological conditions and its oral administration has also reported to be of therapeutic value in a wide spectrum of chronic diseases. Additionally, as an antioxidant, it has been widely used as an ingredient in dietary supplements, neutraceuticals, and functional foods as well as in anti-aging creams. Since its limited dietary uptake and decrease in its endogenous synthesis in the body with age and under various diseases states warrants its adequate supply from an external source. To meet its growing demand for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries, there is a great interest in the commercial production of CoQ10. Various synthetic and fermentation of microbial natural producers and their mutated strains have been developed for its commercial production. Although, microbial production is the major industrial source of CoQ10 but due to low yield and high production cost, other cost-effective and alternative sources need to be explored. Plants, being photosynthetic, producing high biomass and the engineering of pathways for producing CoQ10 directly in food crops will eliminate the additional step for purification and thus could be used as an ideal and cost-effective alternative to chemical synthesis and microbial production of CoQ10. A better understanding of CoQ10 biosynthetic enzymes and their regulation in model systems like E. coli and yeast has led to the use of metabolic engineering to enhance CoQ10 production not only in microbes but also in plants. The plant-based CoQ10 production has emerged as a cost-effective and environment-friendly approach capable of supplying CoQ10 in ample amounts. The current strategies, progress and constraints of

  8. Commercial Plant Production and Consumption Still Follow the Latitudinal Gradient in Species Diversity despite Economic Globalization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Erik J.; Helmus, Matthew R.; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Polasky, Stephen; Lasky, Jesse R.; Zanne, Amy E.; Pearse, William D.; Kraft, Nathan J. B.; Miteva, Daniela A.; Fagan, William F.

    2016-01-01

    Increasing trade between countries and gains in income have given consumers around the world access to a richer and more diverse set of commercial plant products (i.e., foods and fibers produced by farmers). According to the economic theory of comparative advantage, countries open to trade will be able to consume more–in terms of volume and diversity–if they concentrate production on commodities that they can most cost-effectively produce, while importing goods that are expensive to produce, relative to other countries. Here, we perform a global analysis of traded commercial plant products and find little evidence that increasing globalization has incentivized agricultural specialization. Instead, a country’s plant production and consumption patterns are still largely determined by local evolutionary legacies of plant diversification. Because tropical countries harbor a greater diversity of lineages across the tree of life than temperate countries, tropical countries produce and consume a greater diversity of plant products than do temperate countries. In contrast, the richer and more economically advanced temperate countries have the capacity to produce and consume more plant species than the generally poorer tropical countries, yet this collection of plant species is drawn from fewer branches on the tree of life. Why have countries not increasingly specialized in plant production despite the theoretical financial incentive to do so? Potential explanations include the persistence of domestic agricultural subsidies that distort production decisions, cultural preferences for diverse local food production, and that diverse food production protects rural households in developing countries from food price shocks. Less specialized production patterns will make crop systems more resilient to zonal climatic and social perturbations, but this may come at the expense of global crop production efficiency, an important step in making the transition to a hotter and more

  9. Commercial Plant Production and Consumption Still Follow the Latitudinal Gradient in Species Diversity despite Economic Globalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Erik J; Helmus, Matthew R; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Polasky, Stephen; Lasky, Jesse R; Zanne, Amy E; Pearse, William D; Kraft, Nathan J B; Miteva, Daniela A; Fagan, William F

    2016-01-01

    Increasing trade between countries and gains in income have given consumers around the world access to a richer and more diverse set of commercial plant products (i.e., foods and fibers produced by farmers). According to the economic theory of comparative advantage, countries open to trade will be able to consume more-in terms of volume and diversity-if they concentrate production on commodities that they can most cost-effectively produce, while importing goods that are expensive to produce, relative to other countries. Here, we perform a global analysis of traded commercial plant products and find little evidence that increasing globalization has incentivized agricultural specialization. Instead, a country's plant production and consumption patterns are still largely determined by local evolutionary legacies of plant diversification. Because tropical countries harbor a greater diversity of lineages across the tree of life than temperate countries, tropical countries produce and consume a greater diversity of plant products than do temperate countries. In contrast, the richer and more economically advanced temperate countries have the capacity to produce and consume more plant species than the generally poorer tropical countries, yet this collection of plant species is drawn from fewer branches on the tree of life. Why have countries not increasingly specialized in plant production despite the theoretical financial incentive to do so? Potential explanations include the persistence of domestic agricultural subsidies that distort production decisions, cultural preferences for diverse local food production, and that diverse food production protects rural households in developing countries from food price shocks. Less specialized production patterns will make crop systems more resilient to zonal climatic and social perturbations, but this may come at the expense of global crop production efficiency, an important step in making the transition to a hotter and more

  10. Commercial Plant Production and Consumption Still Follow the Latitudinal Gradient in Species Diversity despite Economic Globalization.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erik J Nelson

    Full Text Available Increasing trade between countries and gains in income have given consumers around the world access to a richer and more diverse set of commercial plant products (i.e., foods and fibers produced by farmers. According to the economic theory of comparative advantage, countries open to trade will be able to consume more-in terms of volume and diversity-if they concentrate production on commodities that they can most cost-effectively produce, while importing goods that are expensive to produce, relative to other countries. Here, we perform a global analysis of traded commercial plant products and find little evidence that increasing globalization has incentivized agricultural specialization. Instead, a country's plant production and consumption patterns are still largely determined by local evolutionary legacies of plant diversification. Because tropical countries harbor a greater diversity of lineages across the tree of life than temperate countries, tropical countries produce and consume a greater diversity of plant products than do temperate countries. In contrast, the richer and more economically advanced temperate countries have the capacity to produce and consume more plant species than the generally poorer tropical countries, yet this collection of plant species is drawn from fewer branches on the tree of life. Why have countries not increasingly specialized in plant production despite the theoretical financial incentive to do so? Potential explanations include the persistence of domestic agricultural subsidies that distort production decisions, cultural preferences for diverse local food production, and that diverse food production protects rural households in developing countries from food price shocks. Less specialized production patterns will make crop systems more resilient to zonal climatic and social perturbations, but this may come at the expense of global crop production efficiency, an important step in making the transition to a

  11. Nectar sugar production across floral phases in the Gynodioecious Protandrous Plant Geranium sylvaticum [corrected].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varga, Sandra; Nuortila, Carolin; Kytöviita, Minna-Maarit

    2013-01-01

    Many zoophilous plants attract their pollinators by offering nectar as a reward. In gynodioecious plants (i.e. populations are composed of female and hermaphrodite individuals) nectar production has been repeatedly reported to be larger in hermaphrodite compared to female flowers even though nectar production across the different floral phases in dichogamous plants (i.e. plants with time separation of pollen dispersal and stigma receptivity) has rarely been examined. In this study, sugar production in nectar standing crop and secretion rate were investigated in Geranium sylvaticum, a gynodioecious plant species with protandry (i.e. with hermaphrodite flowers releasing their pollen before the stigma is receptive). We found that flowers from hermaphrodites produced more nectar than female flowers in terms of total nectar sugar content. In addition, differences in nectar production among floral phases were found in hermaphrodite flowers but not in female flowers. In hermaphrodite flowers, maximum sugar content coincided with pollen presentation and declined slightly towards the female phase, indicating nectar reabsorption, whereas in female flowers sugar content did not differ between the floral phases. These differences in floral reward are discussed in relation to visitation patterns by pollinators and seed production in this species.

  12. Pilot plant production at Riso of LEU silicide fuel for the Danish reactor DR3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toft, P.; Borring, J.; Adolph, E.

    1988-01-01

    A pilot plant for fabricating LEU silicide fuel elements has been established at Riso National Laboratory. Three test elements for the Danish reactor DR3 have been fabricated, based on 19.88% enriched U 3 Si 2 powder that has been purchased elsewhere. The pilot plant has been set up and 3 test elements fabricated without any major difficulties

  13. Productivity of sugarcane plants of ratooning with fertilizing treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MUHADIONO

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Latief AS, Syarief R, Pramudya B, Muhadiono. 2010. Productivity of sugarcane plants of ratooning with various fertilizing treatments. Nusantara Bioscience 2: 43-47. This research aims to determine the sugarcane plants of ratooning productivity with low external input of fertilization treatment towards farmers can increase profits. The method used is the Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD with four treatments and three repetitions (4x3. Sugarcane varieties R 579 planted in each patch experiment 5x5 m2. Dosage of fertilizer: P0 = 3.6 kg/year plot experiment was 100% dosage usage of chemical fertilizers used by farmers. Further dosages were P1 (75% = 2.7 kg/plot, P2 (50% = 1.8 kg/plot and P3 (0.25% = 0.9 kg/plot, each supplemented with fertilizer 5 mL of liquid organic/patch a year. Sugarcane crops with a variety of treatment showed no significant difference. The highest productivity was achieved at dosages of P2 (50% chemical fertilizers plus organic fertilizer is 21.67 kg per square meter. Chemical fertilizers can be saved 7 quintals per hectare a year or Rp 997,500 per year. Additional costs of liquid organic fertilizer Rp. 100,000 per hectare year and labor Rp 100,000 per hectare, so the additional advantage of saving farmers fertilizer Rp. 797,500 per year.

  14. Space flight research leading to the development of enhanced plant products: Results from STS-94

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stodieck, Louis S.; Hoehn, Alex; Heyenga, A. Gerard

    1998-01-01

    Products derived from plants, such as foods, pharmaceuticals, lumber, paper, oils, etc., are pervasive in everyday life and generate revenues in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Research on space-grown plants has the potential to alter quantities, properties and types of plant-derived products in beneficial ways. Research on space grown plants may help expand the utilization of this resource for Earth based benefit to an even greater extent. The use of space flight conditions may help provide a greater understanding and ultimate manipulation of the metabolic and genetic control of commercially important plant products. Companies that derive and sell plant products could significantly benefit from investing in space research and development. A flight investigation was conducted on the Shuttle mission STS-94 to establish the initial experimental conditions necessary to test the hypothesis that the exposure of certain plant forms to an adequate period of microgravity may divert the cell metabolic expenditure on structural compounds such as lignin to alternative secondary metabolic compounds which are of commercial interest. Nine species of plants were grown for 16 days in the Astro/Plant Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (Astro/PGBA) under well-controlled environmental conditions. Approximately half of the plant species exhibited significant growth comparable with synchronous ground controls. The other flight plant species were stunted and showed signs of stress with the cause still under investigation. For the plants that grew well, analyses are underway and are expected to demonstrate the potential for space flight biotechnology research.

  15. Plant natural products research in tuberculosis drug discovery and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Plant natural products research in tuberculosis drug discovery and development: A situation report ... African Journal of Biotechnology ... tuberculosis (XDR-TB), call for the development of new anti-tuberculosis drugs to combat this disease.

  16. Major factors influencing craft productivity in nuclear power plant construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borcherding, J.D.; Sebastian, S.J.

    1980-01-01

    This paper reports on a research study whose objective was to determine the most influential factors adversely affecting craft productivity in nuclear power plant construction from the perspective of the tradesmen employed at the sites. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire survey and group interview sessions, predominantly with workmen, at six nuclear power plant construction projects. Craftsmen were chosen as the major data base because of their awareness of how their time would actually be spent on the project. Topics considered include the factors influencing craft productivity, material availability, redoing work, crew interfacing, overcrowded work areas, instruction time, inspection delays, craft turnover, craft absenteeism, foreman changes, foreman incompetence, engineering design lead time, comprehensive scheduling of the design function, the responsibility of the utility, value engineering, plant standardization, the effective utilization of the planning and scheduling system, and the labor-management committee

  17. Production of heterologous storage polysaccharides in potato plants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huang, X.; Vincken, J.P.; Visser, R.G.F.; Trindade, L.M.

    2011-01-01

    Starch is the most important storage polysaccharide in higher plants. This polysaccharide is used in many industrial applications as it is abundant, renewable and biodegradable and it can be modified into a wide range of products used in food, animal feed, pharmaceuticals and industry. With the

  18. U Plant source aggregate area management study report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-09-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington State is organized into numerically designated operational areas including the 100, 200, 300, 400, 600, and 1100 Areas. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in November 1989, included the 200 Areas of the Hanford Site on the National Priorities List (NPL) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980. Inclusion on the NPL initiates the Remedial Investigation (RI) and Feasibility Study (FS) process for characterizing the nature and extent of contamination, assessing risks to human health and the environment, and selection of remedial actions. This report presents the results of an aggregate area management study (AAMS) for the U Plant Aggregate Area located in the 200 Areas. The study provides the basis for initiating RI/FS under CERCLA or under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigations (RFI) and Corrective Measures Studies (CMS). This report also integrates RCRA treatment, storage, or disposal (TSD) closure activities with CERCLA and RCRA past-practice investigations

  19. Water use, productivity and interactions among desert plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ehleringer, J.R.

    1992-11-17

    Water plays a central role affecting all aspects of the dynamics in aridland ecosystems. Productivity, stability, and competitive interactions among ecosystem components within aridlands are key processes related directly to water in deserts. The ecological studies in this project revolve around one fundamental premise: that integrated aspects of plant metabolism provide insight into the structure and function of plant communities and ecosystems. While it is difficult to extrapolate from instantaneous physiological observations to higher scales, such as whole plant performance or to interactions between plants as components of ecosystems, several key aspects of plant metabolism are scalable. Analyses of stable isotopic composition in plant tissues at natural abundance levels provide a useful tool that can provide insight into the consequences of physiological processes over temporal and spatial scales. Some plant processes continuously fractionate among light and heavy stable isotopic forms of an element; over time this results in integrated measures of plant metabolism. For example, carbon isotope fractionation during photosynthesis results in leaf carbon isotopic composition that is a measure of the set-point for photosynthetic metabolism and of water-use efficiency. Thus it provides information on the temporal scaling of a key physiological process. In contrast, hydrogen is not fractionated during water uptake through the root. Soil water availability in shallow, deep, and/or groundwater layers vary spatially; therefore hydrogen isotope ratios of xylem sap provide a direct measure of the water source currently used by a plant. The longer-term record of carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios is recorded annually in xylem tissues (tree rings). The research in this project addresses variation in stable isotopic composition of aridland plants and its consequences for plant performance and community-level interactions.

  20. Biodegradable bags for the production of plant seedlings

    OpenAIRE

    Bilck,Ana Paula; Olivato,Juliana Bonametti; Yamashita,Fabio; Souza,José Roberto Pinto de

    2014-01-01

    The production of plant seedlings has traditionally used polyethylene bags, which are thrown out in the soil or burned after transplant because the large amount of organic material attached to the bags makes recycling difficult. Additionally, when a seedling is taken from the bag for transplant, there is the risk of root damage, which compromises the plant’s development. In this study, we developed biodegradable bags to be used in seedling production, and we verify their influence on the deve...

  1. Role of plants and plant based products towards the control of insect pests and vectors: A novel review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elumalai Kuppusamy

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Insect pests bear harmful effects causing great loss to the agricultural crops, stored agricultural products and vector mosquitoes can cause diseases to human. Plants possess an array of vast repository of phytochemicals and have been used to cure many diseases and to control the infestation of insect pests from time immemorial. Plants are easily biodegradable and ecologically safe for treating on the stored or on the field crops against pests to prevent from further damage or loss of stored products or preventing human from mosquito bites, thus preventing the spreading of dreadful diseases such as chikungunya and malaria. Hence, this review can give a clear insecticidal, pesticidal and mosquitocidal property of several plants against the insect pests and vectors.

  2. Secondary Plant Products Causing Photosensitization in Grazing Herbivores: Their Structure, Activity and Regulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jane C. Quinn

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Photosensitivity in animals is defined as a severe dermatitis that results from a heightened reactivity of skin cells and associated dermal tissues upon their exposure to sunlight, following ingestion or contact with UV reactive secondary plant products. Photosensitivity occurs in animal cells as a reaction that is mediated by a light absorbing molecule, specifically in this case a plant-produced metabolite that is heterocyclic or polyphenolic. In sensitive animals, this reaction is most severe in non-pigmented skin which has the least protection from UV or visible light exposure. Photosensitization in a biological system such as the epidermis is an oxidative or other chemical change in a molecule in response to light-induced excitation of endogenous or exogenously-delivered molecules within the tissue. Photo-oxidation can also occur in the plant itself, resulting in the generation of reactive oxygen species, free radical damage and eventual DNA degradation. Similar cellular changes occur in affected herbivores and are associated with an accumulation of photodynamic molecules in the affected dermal tissues or circulatory system of the herbivore. Recent advances in our ability to identify and detect secondary products at trace levels in the plant and surrounding environment, or in organisms that ingest plants, have provided additional evidence for the role of secondary metabolites in photosensitization of grazing herbivores. This review outlines the role of unique secondary products produced by higher plants in the animal photosensitization process, describes their chemistry and localization in the plant as well as impacts of the environment upon their production, discusses their direct and indirect effects on associated animal systems and presents several examples of well-characterized plant photosensitization in animal systems.

  3. A retrospective of an unconventionally trained plant pathologist: plant diseases to molecular plant pathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouchi, Seiji

    2006-01-01

    Plant pathology evolved from its mycology-oriented origins into a science dealing with biochemical mechanisms of diseases, along with enhanced crop production through disease control. This retrospective describes first my personal experience from my introduction to plant pathology, to the establishment of the concept of accessibility as a model pertaining to genetically defined basic compatibility induced by pathogens. I then refer to the development of molecular plant pathology from physiological and biochemical plant pathology fostered by the growth in recombinant technology in the second half of the past century. This progress was best reflected by the U.S.-Japan Seminar Series held at 4-5-year intervals from 1966 to 2003 and documented by publications in major journals of our discipline. These seminars emphasized that progress in science has always been supported by the invention of novel techniques and that knowledge integrated from modern genomics and subsequent proteomics should contribute to the progress of basic life sciences and, more importantly, to the elaboration of rational measures for disease control.

  4. Poultry Plant Noise Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-01-01

    A demonstration conducted last winter at the Tip Top Poultry Plant intended to show poultry plant managers from all over the U.S. potential solutions to the problem of plant noise. Plastic covers used over sound absorbing materials need to meet cleanability requirements, high- pressure water cleaning and other harsh maintenance procedures peculiar to the poultry processing industry. For the demonstration, Fiber Flex, Inc. manufactured and donated 750 noise panels; Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation donated the fiberglas cores; and the cover material was purchased from Howe and Bainbridge. The Engineering Experiment Station (EES) conducted before and after noise surveys and is evaluating the effect of noise reduction on turnover and productivity in the demonstration plant. EES plans to conduct a noise abatement workshop and update a handbook to help poultry processors with noise problems. EES study and demonstration may be applicable to other food processing plants where similar sanitary constraints exist.

  5. System Evaluation and Economic Analysis of a HTGR Powered High-Temperature Electrolysis Hydrogen Production Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKellar, Michael G.; Harvego, Edwin A.; Gandrik, Anastasia A.

    2010-01-01

    A design for a commercial-scale high-temperature electrolysis (HTE) plant for hydrogen production has been developed. The HTE plant is powered by a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) whose configuration and operating conditions are based on the latest design parameters planned for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). The current HTGR reference design specifies a reactor power of 600 MWt, with a primary system pressure of 7.0 MPa, and reactor inlet and outlet fluid temperatures of 322 C and 750 C, respectively. The power conversion unit will be a Rankine steam cycle with a power conversion efficiency of 40%. The reference hydrogen production plant operates at a system pressure of 5.0 MPa, and utilizes a steam-sweep system to remove the excess oxygen that is evolved on the anode (oxygen) side of the electrolyzer. The overall system thermal-to-hydrogen production efficiency (based on the higher heating value of the produced hydrogen) is 40.4% at a hydrogen production rate of 1.75 kg/s and an oxygen production rate of 13.8 kg/s. An economic analysis of this plant was performed with realistic financial and cost estimating assumptions. The results of the economic analysis demonstrated that the HTE hydrogen production plant driven by a high-temperature helium-cooled nuclear power plant can deliver hydrogen at a cost of $3.67/kg of hydrogen assuming an internal rate of return, IRR, of 12% and a debt to equity ratio of 80%/20%. A second analysis shows that if the power cycle efficiency increases to 44.4%, the hydrogen production efficiency increases to 42.8% and the hydrogen and oxygen production rates are 1.85 kg/s and 14.6 kg/s respectively. At the higher power cycle efficiency and an IRR of 12% the cost of hydrogen production is $3.50/kg.

  6. Behavior of uranium along Jucar River (Eastern Spain). Determination of 234U/238U and 235U/238U ratios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez-Alvarez, M.J.; Sanchez, F.

    1995-01-01

    The uranium concentration and the 234 U/ 238 U, 235 U/ 238 U activity ratios were studied in water samples from Jucar River, using low-level α-spectrometry. The effects of pH, temperature and salinity were considered and more detailed sampling was done in the neighbourhood of Cofrentes Nuclear Plant (Valencia, Spain). Changes were observed in the uranium concentration with the salinity and the 234 U/ 238 U activity ratio was found to vary with pH. Leaching and dilution, which depend on pH and salinity, are the probable mechanisms for these changes in the concentration of uranium and the activity ratios. (author) 25 refs.; 4 figs.; 1 tab

  7. Economic Analysis of a Nuclear Reactor Powered High-Temperature Electrolysis Hydrogen Production Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    E. A. Harvego; M. G. McKellar; M. S. Sohal; J. E. O'Brien; J. S. Herring

    2008-01-01

    A reference design for a commercial-scale high-temperature electrolysis (HTE) plant for hydrogen production was developed to provide a basis for comparing the HTE concept with other hydrogen production concepts. The reference plant design is driven by a high-temperature helium-cooled nuclear reactor coupled to a direct Brayton power cycle. The reference design reactor power is 600 MWt, with a primary system pressure of 7.0 MPa, and reactor inlet and outlet fluid temperatures of 540 C and 900 C, respectively. The electrolysis unit used to produce hydrogen includes 4,009,177 cells with a per-cell active area of 225 cm2. The optimized design for the reference hydrogen production plant operates at a system pressure of 5.0 MPa, and utilizes an air-sweep system to remove the excess oxygen that is evolved on the anode (oxygen) side of the electrolyzer. The inlet air for the air-sweep system is compressed to the system operating pressure of 5.0 MPa in a four-stage compressor with intercooling. The alternating-current, AC, to direct-current, DC, conversion efficiency is 96%. The overall system thermal-to-hydrogen production efficiency (based on the lower heating value of the produced hydrogen) is 47.12% at a hydrogen production rate of 2.356 kg/s. An economic analysis of this plant was performed using the standardized H2A Analysis Methodology developed by the Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen Program, and using realistic financial and cost estimating assumptions. The results of the economic analysis demonstrated that the HTE hydrogen production plant driven by a high-temperature helium-cooled nuclear power plant can deliver hydrogen at a competitive cost. A cost of $3.23/kg of hydrogen was calculated assuming an internal rate of return of 10%

  8. Economics of production of biogas from specifically-grown plant material. [New Zealand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stewart, D. J.

    1977-10-15

    The production of biogas from plant materials is technologically very simple, and is the only process currently available (other than direct burning) for conversion of cellulose materials into energy or fuels that is feasible at a farm-scale, or even a home-scale, as well as a large industrial plant scale. For this reason the economics of biogas production can be considered at the farm-scale as well as the industrial scale. An accurate assessment of the economics at the farm-scale is possible, because commercially produced units are now available in New Zealand and in operation. However, although large-scale plants have been proposed and costed in the USA for the conversion of the cellulose component of garbage into biogas, operational data are not yet available, and the costing has not been applied to the use of specifically-grown plant material. Nevertheless, the large-scale plants envisaged use a large number of digesters each of 100,000 gallons capacity and can thus be regarded as a combination of farm-size units, although with some economics in digester size, number of pumps required, etc. For these reasons, this review of the economics of biogas production is based on the operation of commercial 20,000 gallon digesters available in NZ for farm-scale use. Factors governing the economics of farm-scale and industrial-scale production of biogas will be discussed in section 6.

  9. Plant volatile aldehydes as natural insecticides against stored-product beetles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubert, Jan; Münzbergová, Zuzana; Santino, Angelo

    2008-01-01

    Infestation by stored-product pests causes serious losses in food and feed commodities. Among possible strategies against these pests, which aim to reduce the use of synthetic insecticides, including fumigants, natural insecticides produced by plants represent one of the most promising approaches for their ecochemical control. Three six-carbon and nine-carbon aldehydes, natural plant volatiles produced by the plant lipoxygenase pathway, were tested for their insecticidal activity against five species of stored-product beetles in feeding, fumigation and combined bioassays. The compounds (2E,6Z)-nonadienal, (2E)-nonenal and (2E)-hexenal were incorporated into feeding discs in feeding bioassays or evaporated from filter paper in closed glass chambers in fumigation tests. Beetle sensitivity to aldehydes differed according to the different treatments. The highest activity was obtained by (2E)-hexenal in fumigation tests, with the LC(50) ranging from 4 to 26 mg L(-1), while (2E, 6Z)-nonadienal was the most effective in feeding tests, giving LD(50)s ranging from 0.44 to 2.76 mg g(-1) when applied to feeding discs. Fumigation tests in the presence of wheat grains confirmed that (2E)-hexenal was the most effective compound, with a calculated LC(99) ranging from 33 to 166 mg L(-1). The results of both feeding and fumigation tests indicated that natural plant aldehydes are potential candidates to control stored-product beetles.

  10. Optimal planting systems for cut gladiolus and stock production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iftikhar Ahmad

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available A study was conducted to elucidate the effect of different planting systems, videlicet (viz. flat, ridge, and raised bed system on growth, yield and quality of gladiolus and stock. Corms of ‘Rose Supreme’ and ‘White Prosperity’ gladiolus and seedlings of ‘Cheerful White’, ‘Lucinda Dark Rose Double’ and ‘Lucinda Dark Rose Single’ stock were planted on different planting systems in individual experiments for each species. Gladiolus had similar good quality production irrespective of planting systems with numerical superiority of ridge planting, which produced longer stems with higher stem fresh weight, but delayed corm sprouting by ca. 1 d compared to raised bed or flat planting system. Among cultivars, ‘Rose Supreme’ produced higher number of florets per spike, taller stems with longer spikes, higher fresh weight of stems and higher number of cormels than ‘White Prosperity’. Stock plants grown on flat beds produced stems with greater stem length, leaf area and fresh weight of stems compared to ridge or raised bed planting systems. Plants grown on ridges produced the highest stem diameter, number of leaves per plant, total leaf chlorophyll contents, and number of flowers per spike. ‘Cheerful White’ and ‘Lucinda Dark Rose Double’ performed best by producing good quality stems in shorter period compared to ‘Lucinda Dark Rose Single’. In summary, gladiolus should be grown on ridges, while stock may be planted on flat beds for higher yields of better quality flowers.

  11. AVAILABILITY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF BETEL PRODUCTS IN THE U.S.†

    OpenAIRE

    Blank, Melissa; Deshpande, Laxmikant; Balster, Robert L.

    2008-01-01

    Betel use involves oral placement of shards of areca nut (Areca catechu palm seed containing the cholinergic agonist arecoline) wrapped with slaked lime in a betel leaf (Piper betle plant) or various chopped or powdered products containing areca nut and/or parts of the betel plant. Additives to this mixture include catechu (areca palm extract), spices/sweeteners (e.g., saccharin, cloves), and/or tobacco. Betel use is most common in Asia and East India; however, little is known about the avail...

  12. Assessment of natural radionuclides concentration from 238U and 232Th series in Virginia and Burley varieties of Nicotiana tabacum L

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Carolina Fernanda da

    2015-01-01

    Brazil is the largest exporter and second largest producer of tobacco worldwide, according to the crop production of 2013/2014. The tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is used to manufacture all derivatives and the chemical composition of the resulting tobacco products varies with the type of tobacco leaves, how they are grown, the region where they are cultivated, the characteristics of preparation (compression, filter and paper) and the temperature variations resulting from the incomplete combustion of tobacco. Tobacco products are extensively used throughout the world, and the most consumed are cigarettes, cigars and narghile. The damaging effects that these products cause to human health are discussed globally, and many surveys are performed with the aim of relating the use of these products with various illnesses. There is a lack of information about the radiological characterization of the tobacco plant both in international and Brazilian literature. The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of radionuclides 238 U, 234 U, 230 Th, 22 '6Ra, 210 Pb and 210 Po, members from the 238 U decay series, and the radionuclides 232 Th and 228 Ra members of the 232 Th decay series in the varieties Burley and Virginia, which are the most cultivated in Brazil. Plants from these varieties were cultivated in pots with organic substrate and fertilizer and also acquired from the producers and analyzed by alpha spectrometry for U and Th isotopes and 210 Po determination, and gross alpha and beta counting, 228 Ra, 226 Ra and 210 Pb determination. The whole plant, from both places, was analyzed; root, stem, leaves, as well as the organic substrate, the fertilizers, and the soil. The results for U and Th isotopes presented values below the detection limits of the methods to the leaves and stems of all plants analyzed, with measurable results only in roots, soil, and substrate. The radionuclides 226 Ra, 228 Ra, 210 Pb, and 210 Po, were determined in most

  13. Influence of ingredients of motor transport exhausts on the seed productivity of adornment flowering plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    О. P. Pryimak

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Basic descriptions of the seminal productivity for some ornamental flowering plants under influence of cars’ emissions are presented. Decreasing of the seminal productivity, germinating capacity of seeds and mass of thousand seeds was found. Recommendations on plants using for planting of the cities environment polluted by vehicles emissions are proposed.

  14. Modelling maintenance practice of production plant using the delay-time concept

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Christer, A.H.; Wang, Wenbin; Baker, R.D.; Sharp, J.

    1995-01-01

    In this paper we present a study carried out for a copper products manufacturing company, developing and applying the delay-time modelling technique to model and thus optimize preventive maintenance (PM) of the plant. A key machine in the plant is used to illustrate the modelling process and

  15. Pharmacologically active plant metabolites as survival strategy products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attardo, C; Sartori, F

    2003-01-01

    The fact that plant organisms produce chemical substances that are able to positively or negatively interfere with the processes which regulate human life has been common knowledge since ancient times. One of the numerous possible examples in the infusion of Conium maculatum, better known as Hemlock, a plant belonging to the family umbelliferae, used by the ancient Egyptians to cure skin diseases. The current official pharmacopoeia includes various chemical substances produced by secondary plant metabolisms. For example, the immunosuppressive drugs used to prevent organ transplant rejection and the majority of antibiotics are metabolites produced by fungal organisms, pilocarpin, digitalis, strophantus, salicylic acid and curare are examples of plant organism metabolites. For this reason, there has been an increase in research into plants, based on information on their medicinal use in the areas where they grow. The study of plants in relation to local culture and traditions is known as "ethnobotany". Careful study of the behaviour of sick animals has also led to the discovery of medicinal plants. The study of this subject is known as "zoopharmacognosy". The aim of this article is to discuss the fact that "ad hoc" production of such chemical substances, defined as "secondary metabolites", is one of the modes in which plant organisms respond to unfavourable environmental stimuli, such as an attack by predatory phytophagous animals or an excessive number of plant individuals, even of the same species, in a terrain. In the latter case, the plant organisms produce toxic substances, called "allelopathic" which limit the growth of other individuals. "Secondary metabolites" are produced by metabolic systems that are shunts of the primary systems which, when required, may be activated from the beginning, or increased to the detriment of others. The study of the manner in which such substances are produced is the subject of a new branch of learning called "ecological

  16. Experimental determination of the antineutrino spectrum of the fission products of 238U

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haag, Nils-Holger

    2013-01-01

    Fission of 238 U contributes about 10 % to the antineutrino emission of a pressurized water reactor. In the present thesis, the beta spectrum of the fission products of 238 U was determined in an experiment at the neutron source FRM II. This beta spectrum was subsequently converted into an antineutrino spectrum. This first measurement of the antineutrino spectrum supports all current and future reactor antineutrino experiments.

  17. Implications of stratospheric ozone depletion upon plant production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teramura, A.H.

    1990-01-01

    An increase in the amount of UV-B radiation reaching the earth's surface is identified as the major factor of concern to result from stratospheric ozone depletion. UV radiation is believed to have wide ranging effects on plant physiology and biochemistry. In screening studies of > 300 species and cultivars, > 50% have shown sensitivity to UV radiation. The most sensitive plant families appear to be Leguminosae, Cucurbitaceae and Cruciferae. The need for a better understanding of the effects of UV radiation on crop plant physiology and particularly of the repair and protective mechanisms developed by some species is stressed. This paper was presented at a colloquium on Implications of global climate changes on horticultural cropping practices and production in developing countries held at the 86th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science at Tulsa, Oklahoma, on 2 Aug. 1989

  18. Production of complex multiantennary N-glycans in Nicotiana benthamiana plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagels, Bieke; Van Damme, Els J M; Pabst, Martin; Callewaert, Nico; Weterings, Koen

    2011-03-01

    In recent years, plants have been developed as an alternative expression system to mammalian hosts for the production of therapeutic proteins. Many modifications to the plant glycosylation machinery have been made to render it more human because of the importance of glycosylation for functionality, serum half-life, and the safety profile of the expressed proteins. These modifications include removal of plant-specific β1,2-xylose and core α1,3-fucose, and addition of bisecting N-acetylglucosamine, β1,4-galactoses, and sialic acid residues. Another glycosylation step that is essential for the production of complex human-type glycans is the synthesis of multiantennary structures, which are frequently found on human N-glycans but are not generated by wild-type plants. Here, we report both the magnICON-based transient as well as stable introduction of the α1,3-mannosyl-β1,4-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT-IV isozymes a and b) and α1,6-mannosyl-β1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT-V) in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. The enzymes were targeted to the Golgi apparatus by fusing their catalytic domains to the plant-specific localization signals of xylosyltransferase and fucosyltransferase. The GnT-IV and -V modifications were tested in the wild-type background, but were also combined with the RNA interference-mediated knockdown of β1,2-xylosyltransferase and α1,3-fucosyltransferase. Results showed that triantennary Gn[GnGn] and [GnGn]Gn N-glycans could be produced according to the expected activities of the respective enzymes. Combination of the two enzymes by crossing stably transformed GnT-IV and GnT-V plants showed that up to 10% tetraantennary [GnGn][GnGn], 25% triantennary, and 35% biantennary N-glycans were synthesized. All transgenic plants were viable and showed no aberrant phenotype under standard growth conditions.

  19. Hydroponic potato production on nutrients derived from anaerobically-processed potato plant residues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackowiak, C. L.; Stutte, G. W.; Garland, J. L.; Finger, B. W.; Ruffe, L. M.

    1997-01-01

    Bioregenerative methods are being developed for recycling plant minerals from harvested inedible biomass as part of NASA's Advanced Life Support (ALS) research. Anaerobic processing produces secondary metabolites, a food source for yeast production, while providing a source of water soluble nutrients for plant growth. Since NH_4-N is the nitrogen product, processing the effluent through a nitrification reactor was used to convert this to NO_3-N, a more acceptable form for plants. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cv. Norland plants were used to test the effects of anaerobically-produced effluent after processing through a yeast reactor or nitrification reactor. These treatments were compared to a mixed-N treatment (75:25, NO_3:NH_4) or a NO_3-N control, both containing only reagent-grade salts. Plant growth and tuber yields were greatest in the NO_3-N control and yeast reactor effluent treatments, which is noteworthy, considering the yeast reactor treatment had high organic loading in the nutrient solution and concomitant microbial activity.

  20. Simulation and sensitivity analysis for heavy linear paraffins production in LAB production Plant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karimi Hajir

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Linear alkyl benzene (LAB is vastly utilized for the production of biodegradable detergents and emulsifiers. Predistillation unit is a part of LAB production plant in which that produced heavy linear paraffins (nC10-nC13. In this study, a mathematical model has been developed for heavy linear paraffins production in distillation columns, which has been solved using a commercial code. The models have been validated by the actual data. The effects of process parameters such as reflux rate, and reflux temperature using Gradient Search technique has been investigated. The sensitivity analysis shows that optimum reflux in columns are achieved.

  1. Geographical view on agricultural land and structural changes plant production Montenegro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Rajović

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE This paper analyzes agricultural land and structural changes in plant production Montenegro. The Montenegro represents a significant potential for agricultural development, but plant production insufficiently developed in relation to natural resources and the demands of intensive agricultural production. Average possession by agricultural holdings in 1960 amounts is 5.34 ha with only 2.05 ha arable area per agricultural holdings. Yet more unfavorable is the situation with arable surfaces. Namely, agricultural holdings in the Montenegro in 1960 are on average dispose with maximum of 0.74 ha of arable land. Judging by the size of the cultivated area, production volume, as well as according other parameters, plant production in the Montenegro in 2007, mainly used for meeting need households. A smaller area for is market. The role of the Montenegrin village and agriculture must be first-rate, as are its potentials, the main power future development of Montenegro. This requires radically new relationship between society and science to agriculture and the countryside. Instead of the existing approach in which they observed the preventive as producers of cheap food has to be developed a new concept, a comprehensive agricultural and rural development, which will be based on demographic, natural, economic and socio-cultural potential of Montenegro. 

  2. U3O8 powder from uranyl-loaded cation exchange resin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mosley, W.C.

    1985-01-01

    Large batches of U 3 O 8 , suitable for powder metallurgy fabrication of Al-U 3 O 8 cores for reactor fuel tubes, have been produced by deep-bed calcination of granular uranyl-loaded macroporous sulfonate cation exchange resin at 900 to 950 0 C in air. Deep-bed calcination is the backup process for the reference process of rotary calcination and sintering. These processes are to be used for recycling uranium, and to produce U 3 O 8 in the Fuel Production Facility to be built at the Savannah River Plant. 2 refs., 6 figs

  3. Steelmaking plants: towards lower energy consumption and lower CO2 production using more electricity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nicolle, R.

    2010-01-01

    Production processes of integrated steel plants, mostly based on coal as an energy source, produce about 2 tons of CO 2 per ton of steel. As specific CO 2 production has to be decreased by 20% in the mid-term (2020), immediate action is required to further decrease the specific energy consumption. The integrated plant is not energy self-sufficient as extra electricity must be bought from outside, but on the other hand, produces an excess of process gas that has to be used within the plant. Optimisation of the use of the internally produced gases is a key issue as either they are burned at the power plant with a conversion yield to electricity of about 40% and often much lower, or might be valued in the plant internal heat exchangers with a much higher efficiency such as ∼90% in the hot stoves or ∼65% or more in the present reheating furnaces. This paper shows that using the high-value coke oven gas as a chemical reactant (for DRI production) leads to significant extra metal production. From a global viewpoint, this extra metal production is almost carbon-free, as it requires only electricity for its manufacture. (author)

  4. Water use, productivity and interactions among desert plants. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ehleringer, J.R.

    1992-11-17

    Productivity, stability, and competitive interactions among ecosystem components within aridlands are key processes related directly to water in deserts. This project assumes that integrated aspects of plant metabolism provide insight into the structure and function of plant communities and ecosystems. While it is difficult to extrapolate from instantaneous physiological observations to higher scales, such as whole plant performance or to the interactions between plants as components of ecosystems, several key aspects of plant metabolism are scalable. Analyses of stable isotopic composition in plant tissues at natural abundance levels provide a useful tool that can provide insight into the consequences of physiological processes over temporal and spatial scales. Some plant processes continuously fractionate among light and heavy stable isotopic forms of an element; over time this results in integrated measures of plant metabolism. For example, carbon isotope fractionation during photosynthesis results in leaf carbon isotopic composition that is a measure of the set-point for photosynthetic metabolism and of water-use efficiency. Thus it provides information on the temporal scaling of a key physiological process.

  5. Present status of fuel reprocessing plant in PNC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koyama, Kenji

    1981-01-01

    In the fuel reprocessing plant of the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation, its hot test has now been completed. For starting its full-scale operation duly, the data are being collected on the operation performance and safety. The construction was started in June, 1971, and completed in October, 1974. In July, 1977, spent fuel was accepted in the plant, and the hot test was started. In September, the same year, the first fuel shearing was made. So far, a total of about 31 t U from both BWR and PWR plants has been processed, thus the hot test was entirely completed. The following matters are described: hot test and its results, research on Pu and U mixed extraction, utilization of product plutonium, development of safeguard technology, and repair work on the acid recovery evaporation tank. (J.P.N.)

  6. Accumulation of uranium by aquatic plants in field conditions: Prospects for phytoremediation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Favas, Paulo J.C.; Pratas, João; Varun, Mayank; D'Souza, Rohan; Paul, Manoj S.

    2014-01-01

    A study was undertaken to determine Uranium concentrations in water and aquatic plants in the uraniferous region of Beiras, Central Portugal. Samples were collected from running water (n = 200) at places where aquatic species were observed. Plant samples were collected from 28 species of submerged, free-floating and rooted emergent plants including 2 bryophytes and 1 pteridophyte. Uranium concentrations in surface waters ranged from 0.23 to 1217 μg L −1 . The aquatic plant species studied, including several previously untested species, exhibited the ability to accumulate U in concentrations many times that of the ambient water. In general submerged plants exhibited higher U content followed by rooted emergent and free floating species. The highest U concentrations were observed in the bryophyte Fontinalis antipyretica (up to 4979 mg kg −1 ) followed by Callitriche stagnalis (1963 mg kg −1 ), Callitriche hamulata (379 mg kg −1 ), Ranunculus peltatus subsp. saniculifolius (243 mg kg −1 ), Callitriche lusitanica (218 mg kg −1 ), and Ranunculus trichophyllus (65.8 mg kg −1 ). In two out of three rooted emergent species U seemed to be preferentially partitioned in rhizome/roots with highest rhizome U content recorded in Typha latifolia (380 mg kg −1 ). Among the free-floating species, the highest U content (42.5 mg kg −1 ) was seen in Lemna minor. The bryophyte F. antipyretica and Callitrichaceae members seem to be promising candidates for the development of phytofiltration methodologies based on U accumulation, abundance and biomass production. - Highlights: • Exploration of U contamination extent in uraniferous province of Central Portugal • A group of previously untested species with the ability to accumulate U was assessed • U accumulation patterns in the species indicate their potential in bioindication and phytoremediation of U-contaminated water

  7. Accumulation of uranium by aquatic plants in field conditions: Prospects for phytoremediation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Favas, Paulo J.C., E-mail: pjcf@utad.pt [School of Life Sciences and the Environment, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real (Portugal); IMAR-CMA Marine and Environmental Research Centre, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, 3001-401 Coimbra (Portugal); Pratas, João [Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, 3001-401 Coimbra (Portugal); IMAR-CMA Marine and Environmental Research Centre, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, 3001-401 Coimbra (Portugal); Varun, Mayank; D' Souza, Rohan; Paul, Manoj S. [Department of Botany, St. John' s College, Agra 282 002 (India)

    2014-02-01

    A study was undertaken to determine Uranium concentrations in water and aquatic plants in the uraniferous region of Beiras, Central Portugal. Samples were collected from running water (n = 200) at places where aquatic species were observed. Plant samples were collected from 28 species of submerged, free-floating and rooted emergent plants including 2 bryophytes and 1 pteridophyte. Uranium concentrations in surface waters ranged from 0.23 to 1217 μg L{sup −1}. The aquatic plant species studied, including several previously untested species, exhibited the ability to accumulate U in concentrations many times that of the ambient water. In general submerged plants exhibited higher U content followed by rooted emergent and free floating species. The highest U concentrations were observed in the bryophyte Fontinalis antipyretica (up to 4979 mg kg{sup −1}) followed by Callitriche stagnalis (1963 mg kg{sup −1}), Callitriche hamulata (379 mg kg{sup −1}), Ranunculus peltatus subsp. saniculifolius (243 mg kg{sup −1}), Callitriche lusitanica (218 mg kg{sup −1}), and Ranunculus trichophyllus (65.8 mg kg{sup −1}). In two out of three rooted emergent species U seemed to be preferentially partitioned in rhizome/roots with highest rhizome U content recorded in Typha latifolia (380 mg kg{sup −1}). Among the free-floating species, the highest U content (42.5 mg kg{sup −1}) was seen in Lemna minor. The bryophyte F. antipyretica and Callitrichaceae members seem to be promising candidates for the development of phytofiltration methodologies based on U accumulation, abundance and biomass production. - Highlights: • Exploration of U contamination extent in uraniferous province of Central Portugal • A group of previously untested species with the ability to accumulate U was assessed • U accumulation patterns in the species indicate their potential in bioindication and phytoremediation of U-contaminated water.

  8. EARLY ENTRANCE CO-PRODUCTION PLANT - DECENTRALIZED GASIFICATION COGENERATION TRANSPORTATION FUELS AND STEAM FROM AVAILABLE FEEDSTOCKS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Unknown

    2001-01-01

    Waste Processors Management Inc. (WMPI), along with its subcontractors entered into a cooperative agreement with the USDOE to assess the techno-economic viability of building an Early Entrance Co-Production Plant (EECP) in the US that produces ultra clean Fischer-Tropsch transportation fuels with either power or steam as the major co-product. The EECP will emphasize on reclaiming and gasifying low-cost coal waste and/or its mixture as the primary feedstocks. The project consists of three phases. Phase I objectives include conceptual development, technical assessment, feasibility design and economic evaluation of a Greenfield commercial co-production plant and a site specific demonstration EECP to be located adjacent to the existing WMPI Gilberton Power Station. There is very little foreseen design differences between the Greenfield commercial coproduction plant versus the EECP plant other than: The greenfield commercial plant will be a stand alone FT/power co-production plant, potentially larger in capacity to take full advantage of economy of scale, and to be located in either western Pennsylvania, West Virginia or Ohio, using bituminous coal waste (gob) and Pennsylvania No.8 coal or other comparable coal as the feedstock; The EECP plant, on the other hand, will be a nominal 5000 bpd plant, fully integrated into the Gilbertson Power Company's Cogeneration Plant to take advantage of the existing infrastructure to reduce cost and minimize project risk. The Gilberton EECP plant will be designed to use eastern Pennsylvania anthracite coal waste and/or its mixture as feedstock

  9. Fission Product Yields for 14 MeV Neutrons on 235U, 238U and 239Pu

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mac Innes, M.; Chadwick, M.B.; Kawano, T.

    2011-01-01

    We report cumulative fission product yields (FPY) measured at Los Alamos for 14 MeV neutrons on 235 U, 238 U and 239 Pu. The results are from historical measurements made in the 1950s–1970s, not previously available in the peer reviewed literature, although an early version of the data was reported in the Ford and Norris review. The results are compared with other measurements and with the ENDF/B-VI England and Rider evaluation. Compared to the Laurec (CEA) data and to ENDF/B-VI evaluation, good agreement is seen for 235 U and 238 U, but our FPYs are generally higher for 239 Pu. The reason for the higher plutonium FPYs compared to earlier Los Alamos assessments reported by Ford and Norris is that we update the measured values to use modern nuclear data, and in particular the 14 MeV 239 Pu fission cross section is now known to be 15–20% lower than the value assumed in the 1950s, and therefore our assessed number of fissions in the plutonium sample is correspondingly lower. Our results are in excellent agreement with absolute FPY measurements by Nethaway (1971), although Nethaway later renormalized his data down by 9% having hypothesized that he had a normalization error. The new ENDF/B-VII.1 14 MeV FPY evaluation is in good agreement with our data.

  10. Plant-Derived Natural Products as Sources of Anti-Quorum Sensing Compounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kok-Gan Chan

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Quorum sensing is a system of stimuli and responses in relation to bacterial cell population density that regulates gene expression, including virulence determinants. Consequently, quorum sensing has been an attractive target for the development of novel anti-infective measures that do not rely on the use of antibiotics. Anti-quorum sensing has been a promising strategy to combat bacterial infections as it is unlikely to develop multidrug resistant pathogens since it does not impose any selection pressure. A number of anti-quorum sensing approaches have been documented and plant-based natural products have been extensively studied in this context. Plant matter is one of the major sources of chemicals in use today in various industries, ranging from the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food biotechnology to the textile industries. Just like animals and humans, plants are constantly exposed to bacterial infections, it is therefore logical to expect that plants have developed sophisticated of chemical mechanisms to combat pathogens. In this review, we have surveyed the various types of plant-based natural products that exhibit anti-quorum sensing properties and their anti-quorum sensing mechanisms.

  11. Laser isotope separation: the physics of the process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lapierre, Y.

    1990-01-01

    The physics of the AVLIS process is analysed. The intricacy of physics considerations, technology and economic forecast is developed. The scaling of a production unit is a complicated optimization which takes into account the limitations imposed by physics laws (spectroscopy, plasma physics,...), technology (vapor production, laser industry,...), and economy. But the only philosophy which prevails for such R and D programs is to be cheaper than competitive processes and to reach the goal first to get the market

  12. Recombinant proteins from plants: production and isolation of clinically useful compounds

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Cunningham, Charles; Porter, Andrew J. R

    1998-01-01

    ... of recombinant proteins for use as specialist industrial or therapeutic biomolecules. The intention of Recombinant Proteins from Plants is to provide comprehensive and detailed protocols covering all the latest molecular approaches. Because the production oftransgenic plants has become routine in many laboratories, coverage is also given to some of the more "...

  13. Assessment of natural radionuclides concentration from {sup 238}U and {sup 232}Th series in Virginia and Burley varieties of Nicotiana tabacum L; Avaliacao da concentracao dos radionuclideos naturais das series do {sup 238}U e {sup 232}Th nas variedades Burley e Virginia da Nicotiana tabacum L.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, Carolina Fernanda da

    2015-07-01

    Brazil is the largest exporter and second largest producer of tobacco worldwide, according to the crop production of 2013/2014. The tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is used to manufacture all derivatives and the chemical composition of the resulting tobacco products varies with the type of tobacco leaves, how they are grown, the region where they are cultivated, the characteristics of preparation (compression, filter and paper) and the temperature variations resulting from the incomplete combustion of tobacco. Tobacco products are extensively used throughout the world, and the most consumed are cigarettes, cigars and narghile. The damaging effects that these products cause to human health are discussed globally, and many surveys are performed with the aim of relating the use of these products with various illnesses. There is a lack of information about the radiological characterization of the tobacco plant both in international and Brazilian literature. The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of radionuclides {sup 238}U, {sup 234}U, {sup 230}Th, {sup 22}'6Ra, {sup 210}Pb and {sup 210}Po, members from the {sup 238}U decay series, and the radionuclides {sup 232}Th and {sup 228}Ra members of the {sup 232}Th decay series in the varieties Burley and Virginia, which are the most cultivated in Brazil. Plants from these varieties were cultivated in pots with organic substrate and fertilizer and also acquired from the producers and analyzed by alpha spectrometry for U and Th isotopes and {sup 210}Po determination, and gross alpha and beta counting, {sup 228}Ra, {sup 226}Ra and {sup 210}Pb determination. The whole plant, from both places, was analyzed; root, stem, leaves, as well as the organic substrate, the fertilizers, and the soil. The results for U and Th isotopes presented values below the detection limits of the methods to the leaves and stems of all plants analyzed, with measurable results only in roots, soil, and substrate. The

  14. High productivity of wheat intercropped with maize is associated with plant architectural responses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zhu, J.; Werf, van der W.; Vos, J.; Putten, van der P.E.L.; Evers, J.B.

    2016-01-01

    Mixed cultivation of crops often results in increased production per unit land area, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Plants in intercrops grow differently from plants in single crops; however, no study has shown the association between plant plastic responses and the yield

  15. Impact of construction and remodeling markets on the U.S. secondary hardwood products industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matt Bumgardner; Urs Buehlmann; Al Schuler; Karen. Koenig

    2011-01-01

    The housing correction that started in 2007 continues to run its course. Excessive inventory levels, limited credit availability, and record foreclosure rates continue to have an impact on U.S. housing markets. With inventories high and demand for new construction low, the U.S. hardwood industry's largest markets for appearance-grade products remain under pressure...

  16. Policy and health implications of using the U.S. Food and Drug Administration product design approach in reducing tobacco product risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Givel, Michael

    2008-06-01

    Purported risk or harm reduction through product design change of cigarettes has occurred in three phases in the U.S. The first phase from the 1940s to the early 1960s included a gradual rise in filtered cigarettes. The second phase, which began in the early 1960s in response to the landmark 1964 U.S. Surgeon General's report that linked smoking with lung cancer and other diseases, included the introduction of purportedly low tar and nicotine cigarettes. Subsequent research found that both filters and low tar and nicotine cigarettes were ineffective approaches to reducing health risks associated with smoking. Despite this, these product design changes were used in tobacco industry marketing campaigns to allay consumer health concerns and stabilize tobacco markets and sales. Since 2004, a new risk or harm reduction phase has occurred with the backing by Philip Morris as well as major U.S. health groups of U.S. Food and Drug Administration legislation that would require disclosure of tobacco ingredients, ban misleading health claims, prohibit or reduce harmful ingredients, and require prior approval of tobacco design, performance changes, and modified risk tobacco products. However, current scientific literature indicates that there is no scientific consensus and little evidence on what tobacco ingredients are linked to particular morbidities and mortalities and at what levels. This will allow the tobacco industry to implicitly or explicitly claim their products are "safer." Instead, health advocates should advocate for scientifically proven policy measures such as smoke free public places or higher tobacco taxes that control and reduce tobacco markets and consumption.

  17. Science, technology, and the industrialization of laser-driven processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, J.I.; Paisner, J.A.

    1985-05-01

    Members of the laser program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) reviewed potential applications of lasers in industry, some of which are: isotope separation; cleanup of radioactive waste; trace impurity removal; selective chemical reactions; photochemical activation or dissociation of gases; control of combustion particulates; crystal and powder chemistry; and laser induced biochemistry. Many of these areas are currently under active study in the community. The investigation at LLNL focused on laser isotope separation of atomic uranium because of the large demand (> 1000 tonnes/year) and high product enrichment price (> $600/kg of product) for material used as fuel in commercial light-water nuclear power reactors. They also believed that once the technology was fully developed and deployed, it could be applied directly to separating many elements economically on an industrial scale. The Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) program at LLNL has an extensive uranium and plutonium program of >$100 M in FY85 and a minor research program for other elements. This report describes the AVLIS program conducted covering the following topics; candidate elements; separative work units; spectroscopic selectivety; major systems; facilities; integrated process model;multivariable sensitivety studies; world market; and US enrichment enterprise. 23 figs. (AT)

  18. PRODUCTION, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL BIOGAS PLANT IN KOSTKOWICE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karol Węglarzy

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the economic and ecological effect of Kostkowice Agricultural biogas plant based on a four year study carried out on the prototype installation. Agricultural biogas plant is part of the nature of the research conducted for twenty years at the National Research Institute of Animal PIB Experimental Station. Prof. Mieczyslaw Czaja relates to various aspects of environmental protection. It describes the economic justification for the production of energy from waste biomass (manure, slurry, wastes from feeding table, by the characteristics of substrates and products. It was found that agricultural biogas plant in rural areas are an important link in energy security, mainly due to the very high availability. Ecological effect is presented as effect of the installation solutions for the reduction of pollution of water, soil and air. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the recycling of environmentally harmful by-products of animal production of electricity and thermal energy, which is a substitute for environmentally harmful fossil fuels. The advantage of substances digestate is odorless, which is important both in an effort to improve the work culture in agriculture and improving living conditions in rural communities and it is an indisputable argument for the use of biomass for energy purposes.

  19. Electrolytic production of uranous nitrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orebaugh, E.G.; Propst, R.C.

    1980-04-01

    Efficient production of uranous nitrate is important in nuclear fuel reprocessing because U(IV) acts as a plutonium reductant in solvent extraction and can be coprecipitated with plutonium and/or throium as oxalates during fuel reprocessing. Experimental conditions are described for the efficient electrolytic production of uranous nitrate for use as a reductant in the SRP Purex process. The bench-scale, continuous-flow, electrolysis cell exhibits a current efficiency approaching 100% in combination with high conversion rates of U(VI) to U(IV) in simulated and actual SRP Purex solutions. High current efficiency is achieved with a voltage-controlled mercury-plated platinum electrode and the use of hydrazine as a nitrite scavenger. Conversion of U(VI) to U(IV) proceeds at 100% efficiency. Cathodic gas generation is minimal. The low rate of gas generation permits a long residence time within the cathode, a necessary condition for high conversions on a continuous basis. Design proposals are given for a plant-scale, continuous-flow unit to meet SRP production requirements. Results from the bench-scale tests indicate that an 8-kW unit can supply sufficient uranous nitrate reductant to meet the needs of the Purex process at SRP

  20. Advanced Multi-Product Coal Utilization By-Product Processing Plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomas Robl; John Groppo

    2009-06-30

    The overall objective of this project is to design, construct, and operate an ash beneficiation facility that will generate several products from coal combustion ash stored in a utility ash pond. The site selected is LG&E's Ghent Station located in Carroll County, Kentucky. The specific site under consideration is the lower ash pond at Ghent, a closed landfill encompassing over 100 acres. Coring activities revealed that the pond contains over 7 million tons of ash, including over 1.5 million tons of coarse carbon and 1.8 million tons of fine (<10 {micro}m) glassy pozzolanic material. These potential products are primarily concentrated in the lower end of the pond adjacent to the outlet. A representative bulk sample was excavated for conducting laboratory-scale process testing while a composite 150 ton sample was also excavated for demonstration-scale testing at the Ghent site. A mobile demonstration plant with a design feed rate of 2.5 tph was constructed and hauled to the Ghent site to evaluate unit processes (i.e. primary classification, froth flotation, spiral concentration, secondary classification, etc.) on a continuous basis to determine appropriate scale-up data. Unit processes were configured into four different flowsheets and operated at a feed rate of 2.5 tph to verify continuous operating performance and generate bulk (1 to 2 tons) products for product testing. Cementitious products were evaluated for performance in mortar and concrete as well as cement manufacture process addition. All relevant data from the four flowsheets was compiled to compare product yields and quality while preliminary flowsheet designs were generated to determine throughputs, equipment size specifications and capital cost summaries. A detailed market study was completed to evaluate the potential markets for cementitious products. Results of the study revealed that the Ghent local fly ash market is currently oversupplied by more than 500,000 tpy and distant markets (i

  1. 19 CFR 147.23 - Compliance with Plant Quarantine Act and Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. 147.23 Section 147.23 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION... Laws § 147.23 Compliance with Plant Quarantine Act and Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (a) Plant... the plant quarantine regulations. (b) Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The entry of food products...

  2. Manufacture of uranium compounds for research reactors fuel elements. Participation of the UCPP (Uranium compound production plant) in the Egyptian project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boero, Norma L.; Cinat, Enrique; Yorio, Daniel; Cincotta, Daniel; Ramella, Jose L.; Bruno, Hernan R.; Camacho, Esteban F.; Pertossi, Fernando; Panunzio, Leonardo D.; Fernandez, Carlos A.; Sassone, Ariel

    1999-01-01

    UCPP is an international qualified supplier of U 3 O 8 with up to 20 % enrichment in U-235. The characteristics of this powder are those specified for fuel plates manufacture for test reactors. This paper describes the works performed in the plant since its beginning, emphasising those undertaken during the last years. The transference of U 3 O 8 manufacturing technology to INVAP SE, the enterprise that installed a plant of similar characteristics in the Arabian Republic of Egypt, is especially described. (author)

  3. Plant regeneration through indirect organogenesis of chestnut ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mehrcedeh

    2013-12-18

    Dec 18, 2013 ... Druce-A multiple desert tree. Researcher 1:28-32. Kvaalen H, Gram Daehlen O, Tove Rognstad A, Grǿnstad B,. Egertsdotter U (2005). Somatic embryogenesis for plant production of. Abies lasiocarpa. Can. J. For. Res. 35:1053-1060. Liu CZ, Murch SJ, Demerdash MEL, Saxena PK (2003). Regeneration.

  4. Fuel procurement for first generation fusion power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gore, B.F.; Hendrickson, P.L.

    1976-09-01

    The provision of deuterium, tritium, lithium and beryllium fuel materials for fusion power plants is examined in this document. Possible fusion reactions are discussed for use in first generation power plants. Requirements for fuel materials are considered. A range of expected annual consumption is given for each of the materials for a 1000 megawatts electric (MWe) fusion power plant. Inventory requirements are also given. Requirements for an assumed fusion power plant electrical generating capacity of 10 6 MWe (roughly twice present U.S. generating capacity) are also given. The supply industries are then examined for deuterium, lithium, and beryllium. Methods are discussed for producing the only tritium expected to be purchased by a commercial fusion industry--an initial inventory for the first plant. Present production levels and methods are described for deuterium, lithium and beryllium. The environmental impact associated with production of these materials is then discussed. The toxicity of beryllium is described, and methods are indicated to keep worker exposure to beryllium as low as achievable

  5. U.S.-NPAR approach to managing aging in operating nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bosnak, R.; Vagins, M.; Vora, J.

    1991-01-01

    Aging degradation in operating nuclear power plants must be managed to prevent safety margins from eroding below the levels provided in plant design bases. The NPAR program and other aging-related programs conducted under the auspices of the US NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research are developing needed technical bases and guidance for understanding and managing aging in operating nuclear power plants (NPP) of all ages. Results from these programs, together with relevant information developed by industry are implemented through various ongoing NRC and industry programs. The aging management process central to these efforts consists of three key element: 1) selection and prioritization of components, systems, and structures (CSS) in which aging must be managed, 2) understanding of the relevant aging mechanisms and rates of degradation processes in these CSS, and 3) managing degradation through effective inspection, surveillance, condition monitoring, trending, preventive and corrective maintenance, and mitigation. This paper provides a historical perspective on the aging related research programs sponsored by the Office of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Research. Also, briefly described are the major element of the NPAR program and its status and results or accomplishments. In the process the authors emphasize the need for total industry commitment and participation in implementing programs for understanding and managing aging in operating nuclear power plants. 'Aging' is universal in nature. No industrial complex including NPP should be considered immune from its effects. For NPP aging is manageable its ti symptoms are recognized and predicted, if it is monitored and appropriate steps are taken for timely mitigation of age-related degradation. (author)

  6. Colour bio-factories: Towards scale-up production of anthocyanins in plant cell cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appelhagen, Ingo; Wulff-Vester, Anders Keim; Wendell, Micael; Hvoslef-Eide, Anne-Kathrine; Russell, Julia; Oertel, Anne; Martens, Stefan; Mock, Hans-Peter; Martin, Cathie; Matros, Andrea

    2018-06-08

    Anthocyanins are widely distributed, glycosylated, water-soluble plant pigments, which give many fruits and flowers their red, purple or blue colouration. Their beneficial effects in a dietary context have encouraged increasing use of anthocyanins as natural colourants in the food and cosmetic industries. However, the limited availability and diversity of anthocyanins commercially have initiated searches for alternative sources of these natural colourants. In plants, high-level production of secondary metabolites, such as anthocyanins, can be achieved by engineering of regulatory genes as well as genes encoding biosynthetic enzymes. We have used tobacco lines which constitutively produce high levels of cyanidin 3-O-rutinoside, delphinidin 3-O-rutinoside or a novel anthocyanin, acylated cyanidin 3-O-(coumaroyl) rutinoside to generate cell suspension cultures. The cell lines are stable in their production rates and superior to conventional plant cell cultures. Scale-up of anthocyanin production in small scale fermenters has been demonstrated. The cell cultures have also proven to be a suitable system for production of 13 C-labelled anthocyanins. Our method for anthocyanin production is transferable to other plant species, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, demonstrating the potential of this approach for making a wide range of highly-decorated anthocyanins. The tobacco cell cultures represent a customisable and sustainable alternative to conventional anthocyanin production platforms and have considerable potential for use in industrial and medical applications of anthocyanins. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Interelement correlations in plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Markert, B.

    1987-01-01

    The concentration of 25 elements in 4 plant species (Citrus aurantia, Brassica oleracea, Lycopersicon esculentum and Pinus strobus) were linearly correlated. For some element pairs (Ce-Fe, Ce-Ni, Ce-Sb, Ce-Sc, Ce-Zn, Fe-Sb, Fe-Sc, Fe-U, Fe-Zn, K-Cd, La-U, Ni-Sb, Sc-U and Sc-Zn) a high positive correlation coefficient (r = +1) was found. The element pairs Ca-Mg, Hg-U, Ni-Sr and Sr-Zn show a significant negative correlation (r = -1). Plants seem to process some constant interelement relations, independent of plant species. (orig.)

  8. Features in ammonia plant for maximising heavy water production (Paper No. 2.10)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tangri, N.N.; Singh, R.J.; Mukherjee, P.K.; Mishra, B.N.

    1992-01-01

    Whenever an ammonia plant is linked with heavy water production, a system should be foreseen in the design stage itself for total conservation of D 2 in synthesis gas and zero D 2 loss. The process should ensure recycle of D 2 rich condensate within the front end. This alone would be the single most important factor for improving heavy water production rate. The synthesis loop pressure should be chosen keeping in view the interest of heavy water plant (HWP). With vast experience in engineering NH 3 and HWP plants, it is possible to integrate HWP requirements at the design stage itself. (author)

  9. Ant-plant mutualism: a dietary by-product of a tropical ant's macronutrient requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arcila Hernández, Lina M; Sanders, Jon G; Miller, Gabriel A; Ravenscraft, Alison; Frederickson, Megan E

    2017-12-01

    Many arboreal ants depend on myrmecophytic plants for both food and shelter; in return, these ants defend their host plants against herbivores, which are often insects. Ant-plant and other mutualisms do not necessarily involve the exchange of costly rewards or services; they may instead result from by-product benefits, or positive outcomes that do not entail a cost for one or both partners. Here, we examined whether the plant-ant Allomerus octoarticulatus pays a short-term cost to defend their host plants against herbivores, or whether plant defense is a by-product benefit of ant foraging for insect prey. Because the food offered by ant-plants is usually nitrogen-poor, arboreal ants may balance their diets by consuming insect prey or associating with microbial symbionts to acquire nitrogen, potentially shifting the costs and benefits of plant defense for the ant partner. To determine the effect of ant diet on an ant-plant mutualism, we compared the behavior, morphology, fitness, stable isotope signatures, and gaster microbiomes of A. octoarticulatus ants nesting in Cordia nodosa trees maintained for nearly a year with or without insect herbivores. At the end of the experiment, ants from herbivore exclosures preferred protein-rich baits more than ants in the control (i.e., herbivores present) treatment. Furthermore, workers in the control treatment were heavier than in the herbivore-exclusion treatment, and worker mass predicted reproductive output, suggesting that foraging for insect prey directly increased ant colony fitness. The gaster microbiome of ants was not significantly affected by the herbivore exclusion treatment. We conclude that the defensive behavior of some phytoecious ants is a by-product of their need for external protein sources; thus, the consumption of insect herbivores by ants benefits both the ant colony and the host plant. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

  10. Simulation of nuclear plant operation into a stochastic energy production model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pacheco, R.L.

    1983-04-01

    A simulation model of nuclear plant operation is developed to fit into a stochastic energy production model. In order to improve the stochastic model used, and also reduce its computational time burdened by the aggregation of the model of nuclear plant operation, a study of tail truncation of the unsupplied demand distribution function has been performed. (E.G.) [pt

  11. Characterization of product RNAs synthesized in vitro by poliovirus RNA polymerase purified by chromatography on hydroxylapatite or poly(U) Sepharose.

    OpenAIRE

    Young, D C; Tobin, G J; Flanegan, J B

    1987-01-01

    The size of the product RNA synthesized by the poliovirus RNA polymerase and host factor was significantly affected by the type of column chromatography used to purify the polymerase. Dimer length product RNA was synthesized by the polymerase purified by chromatography on hydroxylapatite. This contrasted with the monomer length product RNA synthesized by the polymerase purified by chromatography on poly(U) Sepharose. The poly(U) Sepharose-purified polymerase was shown to contain oligo(U) that...

  12. Vulnerability of cattle production to climate change on U.S. rangelands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matt C. Reeves; Karen E. Bagne

    2016-01-01

    We examined multiple climate change effects on cattle production for U.S. rangelands to estimate relative change and identify sources of vulnerability among seven regions. Climate change effects to 2100 were projected from published models for four elements: forage quantity, vegetation type trajectory, heat stress, and forage variability. Departure of projections from...

  13. Determination of the hydrothermal degradation products of D-(U-14C) glucose and D-(U-14C) fructose by TLC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonn, G.; Bobleter, O.

    1983-01-01

    Hydrothermal degradation was examined using D-(U- 14 C) glucose and D-(U- 14 C) fructose. By thin layer chromatography with methylene chloride, tetrahydrofuran (THF), acetic acid - 60:20:20 as a mobile phase; it was possible to separate and identify the carbohydrates and their reaction products, glyceraldehyde, dihydroxyacetone, methylglyoxal, glycolaldehyde, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural. Up to 99% of the initial activity was determined by scintillation counting of the TL-chromatograms. A reaction scheme for the hydrothermal degradation of glucose and fructose was obtained from these results. (author)

  14. Foreign Investment and International Plant Configuration: Whither the Product Cycle?

    OpenAIRE

    Belderbos,René; Sleuwaegen,Leo

    2000-01-01

    We analyze the determinants of the decision to invest abroad in particular configurations of overseas plants for 120 Japanese firms active in 36 well-defined electronic product markets. We find support for a structured internationalization decision model in which the decision to produce abroad and the choice for a specific international plant configuration are treated as nested strategic options. Drivers at the industry and firm level push firms to consider overseas investment, and locational...

  15. Initial biochar effects on plant productivity derive from N fertilization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jeffery, Simon; Memelink, Ilse; Hodgson, Edward; Jones, Sian; van de Voorde, Tess F. J.; Bezemer, T. Martijn; Mommer, Liesje; van Groenigen, Jan Willem

    2017-01-01

    Biochar application to soil is widely claimed to increase plant productivity. However, the underlying mechanisms are still not conclusively described. Here, we aim to elucidate these mechanisms using stable isotope probing.

  16. Assessment of thorium and thoron decay products in air - thorium plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dhandayutham, R.; Gohel, C.O.; Shetty, P.N.; Savant, P.B.; Rao, D.V.V.

    1977-01-01

    For the evaluation of radiation dose to the lungs in a thorium plant, it is necessary to estimate the concentration of thorium, thoron and its daughter products in air. Methods employed in estimating thorium and its decay products and 'working level' are presented. (M.G.B.)

  17. Texaco, carbide form hydrogen plant venture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that Texaco Inc. and Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc. (UCIG) have formed a joint venture to develop and operate hydrogen plants. The venture, named HydroGEN Supply Co., is owned by Texaco Hydrogen Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Texaco, and UCIG Hydrogen Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of UCIG. Plants built by HydroGEN will combine Texaco's HyTEX technology for hydrogen production with UCIG's position in cryogenic and advanced air separation technology. Texaco the U.S. demand for hydrogen is expected to increase sharply during the next decade, while refinery hydrogen supply is expected to drop. The Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 require U.S. refiners to lower aromatics in gasoline, resulting in less hydrogen recovered by refiners from catalytic reforming units. Meanwhile, requirements to reduce sulfur in diesel fuel will require more hydrogen capacity

  18. Uranium production from phosphates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ketzinel, Z.; Folkman, Y.

    1979-05-01

    According to estimates of the world's uranium consumption, exploitation of most rich sources is expected by the 1980's. Forecasts show that the rate of uranium consumption will increase towards the end of the century. It is therefore desirable to exploit poor sources not yet in use. In the near future, the most reasonable source for developing uranium is phosphate rock. Uranium reserves in phosphates are estimated at a few million tons. Production of uranium from phosphates is as a by-product of phosphate rock processing and phosphoric acid production; it will then be possible to save the costs incurred in crushing and dissolving the rock when calculating uranium production costs. Estimates show that the U.S. wastes about 3,000 tons of uranium per annum in phosphoric acid based fertilisers. Studies have also been carried out in France, Yugoslavia and India. In Israel, during the 1950's, a small plant was operated in Haifa by 'Chemical and Phosphates'. Uranium processes have also been developed by linking with the extraction processes at Arad. Currently there is almost no activity on this subject because there are no large phosphoric acid plants which would enable production to take place on a reasonable scale. Discussions are taking place about the installation of a plant for phosphoric acid production utilising the 'wet process', producing 200 to 250,000 tons P 2 O 5 per annum. It is necessary to combine these facilities with uranium production plant. (author)

  19. External radiation assessment in a wet phosphoric acid production plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bolivar, J.P.; Perez-Moreno, J.P. [Dept. Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, 21012 Huelva (Spain); Mas, J.L. [Dept. Fisica Aplicada I, Escuela Universitaria Politecnica, Universidad de Sevilla, 41012 Sevilla (Spain)], E-mail: ppmasb@us.es; Martin, J.E.; San Miguel, E.G. [Dept. Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, 21012 Huelva (Spain); Garcia-Tenorio, R. [Dept. Fisica Aplicada II, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura, Universidad de Sevilla, 41012 Sevilla (Spain)

    2009-10-15

    The factories dedicated to the production of phosphoric acid by the so-called wet acid method are usually considered typical NORM industries, because the phosphate rock used as raw material usually contains high concentrations of {sup 238}U-series radionuclides. The magnitude and behaviour of the radionuclides involved in the production process revealed the need to determine its dosimetric impact on workers. This work aims to partially compensate this lack of knowledge through the determination of external effective dose rates at different zones in the process at a typical plant located in the southwest of Spain. To this end, two dosimetric sampling campaigns have been carried out at this phosphoric acid production plant. The first sampling was carried out when phosphate rocks originating in Morocco were processed, and the second one when phosphate rock processed came from the Kola Peninsula (Russia Federation). This differentiation was necessary because the activity concentrations are almost one order of magnitude higher in Moroccan phosphate rock than in Kola phosphate rock. The results obtained have reflected external dose rate enhancements as high as 1.4 {mu}Sv h{sup -1} (i.e., up to thirty times the external exposition due to radionuclides in unperturbed soils) at several points in the facility, particularly where the digested rock (pulp) is filtered. However, the most problematic points are characterised by a small occupation factor. That means that the increment in the annual effective external gamma dose received by the most-exposed worker is clearly below 1 mSv (European Commission limit for the general population) under normal production. Nevertheless, special care in the design and schedule of cleaning and maintaining work in the areas with high doses should be taken in order to avoid any possibility of exceeding the previously mentioned general population limit. In addition, the results of the dosimetric campaign showed no clear correlation between {sup

  20. Export of reactive nitrogen from coal-fired power plants in the U.S.: Estimates from a plume-in-grid modeling study - article no. D04308

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vijayaraghavan, K.; Zhang, Y.; Seigneur, C.; Karamchandani, P.; Snell, H.E.

    2009-02-15

    The export of reactive nitrogen (nitrogen oxides and their oxidation products, collectively referred to as NOy) from coal-fired power plants in the U.S. to the rest of the world could have a significant global contribution to ozone. Traditional Eulerian gridded air quality models cannot characterize accurately the chemistry and transport of plumes from elevated point sources such as power plant stacks. A state-of-the-science plume-in-grid (PinG) air quality model, a reactive plume model embedded in an Eulerian gridded model, is used to estimate the export of NOy from 25 large coal-fired power plants in the U. S. (in terms of NOx and SO{sub 2} emissions) in July 2001 to the global atmosphere. The PinG model used is the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model with Advanced Plume Treatment (CMAQ-APT). A benchmark simulation with only the gridded model, CMAQ, is also conducted for comparison purposes. The simulations with and without advanced plume treatment show differences in the calculated export of NOy from the 25 plants considered reflecting the effect of using a detailed and explicit treatment of plume transport and chemistry. The advanced plume treatment results in 31% greater simulated export of NOy compared to the purely grid-based modeling approach. The export efficiency of NOy (the fraction of NOy emitted that is exported) is predicted to be 21% without APT and 27% with APT. When considering only export through the eastern boundary across the Atlantic, CMAQ-APT predicts that the export efficiency is 24% and that 2% of NOy is exported as NOx, 49% as inorganic nitrate, and 25% as PAN. These results are in reasonably good agreement with an analysis reported in the literature of aircraft measurements over the North Atlantic.

  1. The Complexity of Bioactive Natural Products in Plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frisch, Tina

    Plants produce a diverse range of bioactive natural products promoting their fitness. These specialized metabolites may serve as chemical defence against herbivores and pathogens and may inhibit the growth and development of competing species. Hydroxynitrile glucosides and glucosinolates are two...... classes of defence compounds, which have diverging properties, but also share common biosynthetic features. Hydroxynitrile glucosides are produced in species across the plant kingdom, whereas glucosinolates are found almost exclusively within the Brassicales, which generally does not contain...... hydroxynitrile glucosides. This division has raised questions regarding possible evolutionary relationships between the biosynthetic pathways. The very rare co-occurrence of hydroxynitrile glucosides and glucosinolates found in Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard, løgkarse) and Carica papaya (papaya) makes...

  2. Digital controls for plant control systems at the Ulchin 5 and 6 NPP: Lessons for the U.S. NPP retrofits?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCreary, T.; Stevens, J.

    2006-01-01

    South Korea, through its nuclear operating arm, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, Ltd. (KHNP), has been one of the leading countries in the routine construction and operation of nuclear power plants. While standardizing on certain design approaches in the plant, KHNP continues to stress the need for the most reliable and cutting edge I and C technologies available for safety and non safety related NSSS and BOP functions. Its specifications are among the most challenging in the world with regard to the system performance and reliability requirements that must be met for the systems to be supplied. The Ulchin Units 5 and 6 (1000 MW each) nuclear power plants have been recently commissioned (2004 and 2005 respectively) with advanced programmable digital control systems in the NSSS and BOP (which includes both safety and non-safety applications). The systems supplied met what the authors believe are the most rigorous performance and functional specification criteria in use today. The authors will highlight a number of the specification requirements, the rationale for same and the plant experiences in the resultant supplied systems. As the existing U.S. nuclear fleet is faced with the prospect of upgrading legacy controls with digital controls, there are valuable lessons to be learned in the Ulchin 5 and 6 experiences that can be applied to retrofits and even new U.S. plant designs. Ulchin 5 and 6 is one of the success stories in the application of advanced digital technology to nuclear power plants. The specification focus that guided the selection and project execution for the digital controls supplied for Ulchin was on several key areas: a) a high reliable fault tolerant system, b)functional segmentation to minimize the failure effects on operation, c) validation and verification of the owner's engineer's application design (for regulatory compliance) as well as validation and verification of the system architecture and operation (to assure system performance met

  3. Characterization of the Population Structures in Wildland Collections of Dalea Ornata and Dalea Searlsiae from the Western U.S.A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalea ornata and D. searlsiae are non-toxic native legumes that have potential for increasing forage production and forage quality of degraded rangelands in the western U.S.A. It is important to characterize the population structures in both species for developing new plant materials through plant ...

  4. Uranium production and environmental restoration at the Priargunsky Centre, Russian Federation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boitsov, A.V.; Nikolsky, A.L.; Chernigov, V.G.; Ovseichuk, V.A.

    2002-01-01

    State JSK 'Priargunsky Mining-Chemical Production Association' (PPGHO) has been the only active uranium production centre in Russia during the last decade. Mining has operated since 1968, and derives from resources in 19 volcanic-type deposits of Streltsovsk U-ore region, which covers an area of 150 km 2 . The average U grade is about 0.2%. Ten deposits have been brought into production: eight by underground mines and two by open pits. Milling and processing has been carried out since 1974 at the local hydrometallurgical plant by sulphuric acid leaching with subsequent recovery by a sorption-extraction ion exchange scheme. The high level of total production (over 100,000 mtU through 2000) marks it as one of the outstanding uranium production districts worldwide. Significant amounts of wastes have been accumulated. The main sources of the environmental contamination are: 30 piles of waste rocks and sub-grade ores, mine waters, milling and sulphuric acid plant tailings. The following activities are performed to decrease the negative impact on the environment: rehabilitation of waste rock dumps and open pits utilization of waste rock for industrial needs, heap and in situ leach mining of low-grade ores, construction of dams and intercepting wells below the tailings, hydrogeological monitoring and waste water treatment plant modernization. Environmental activities, including rehabilitation of the impacted territories and also waste utilization will be realized after final closure takes place. (author)

  5. A case study of printing industry plant layout for effective production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viswajit, T.; Teja, T. Ravi; Deepthi, Y. P.

    2017-07-01

    This paper presents the overall picture of the processes happening in printing industry. This research is aimed to improve the plant layout of existing plant. The travel time was reduced by relocating machinery. Relocation is based on systematic layout planning (SLP). The complete process of raw material entering the industry to dispatching of finished product is shown in 3-D Flow diagram. The process happening in each floor explained in detail using Flow Process chart. Travel time is reduced by 25% after modifying existing plant layout.

  6. Landsat Image Map Production Methods at the U. S. Geological Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidwell, R.D.; Binnie, D.R.; Martin, S.

    1987-01-01

    To maintain consistently high quality in satellite image map production, the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed standard procedures for the photographic and digital production of Landsat image mosaics, and for lithographic printing of multispectral imagery. This paper gives a brief review of the photographic, digital, and lithographic procedures currently in use for producing image maps from Landsat data. It is shown that consistency in the printing of image maps is achieved by standardizing the materials and procedures that affect the image detail and color balance of the final product. Densitometric standards are established by printing control targets using the pressplates, inks, pre-press proofs, and paper to be used for printing.

  7. The competitiveness of U.S. nuclear power plants under market prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gale, R.W.

    1997-01-01

    This is an outline of a cost and performance analysis of the U.S. nuclear power industry. Out of 71 sites (including 107 individual units) there were 32 top performers, 22 good performers, and 17 poor performers. All 17 poor performers are vulnerable to shutdown, because projected production costs will probably exceed revenue. For the top performers, operation and maintenance costs decreased by 27% from 1990 to 1995; but for the poor performers, those costs increased by 26%

  8. Pressure effect on rate of production of glucose-equivalent in plant ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Administrator

    C4 Green plants; rate of equivalent production; pressure effect. 1. Introduction ... the photosynthetic process, especially on the activa- tion and ... Section 4 deals with the effect ... the global concentrations of glyceraldehydes-3- ... chloroplast,9a a product of the maximum possible .... as soil, tissue, development stage, etc.

  9. Experience with environmental sampling at gas centrifuge enrichment plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ekenstam, G. af; Bush, W.; Janov, J.; Kuhn, E.; Ryjinski, M.

    2001-01-01

    Environmental sampling has been used routinely by the IAEA since 1996 after the IAEA Board of Governors approved it in March 1995 as a new technique to strengthen safeguards and improve efficiency. In enrichment plants it is used to confirm that there has been no production of highly enriched uranium (HEU), or production of uranium at above the declared enrichment. The use of environmental sampling is based on the assumption that every process, no matter how leak tight, will release small amounts of process material to the environment. Even though these releases of nuclear material are extremely small in gas centrifuge enrichment plants, and well below levels of concern from a health physics and safety standpoint, they are detectable and their analysis provides an indication of the enrichment of the material that has been processed in the plant. The environmental samples at enrichment plants are collected by swiping selected areas of the plant with squares of cotton cloth (10x10 cm) from sampling kits prepared in ultra clean condition. The squares of cotton cloth sealed in plastic bags are sent for analysis to the Network Analytical Laboratories. The analysis includes the measurement of the uranium isotopic composition in uranium-containing particles by Thermal lonization Mass Spectroscopy (TIMS) or Secondary ION Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS). Since the implementation of environmental sampling, swipes have been collected from 240 sampling points at three gas centrifuge plants of URENCO, which have a total throughput of more than 8,000 tonnes of uranium per year. The particle analysis results generally reflected the known operational history of the plants and confirmed that they had only been operated to produce uranium with enrichment less than 5% 235 U. The information about the content of the minor isotopes 234 U and 236 U also indicates that depleted and recycled uranium were sometimes used as feed materials in some plants. An example is given of the TIMS particle

  10. The Value of Native Plants and Local Production in an Era of Global Agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelef, Oren; Weisberg, Peter J; Provenza, Frederick D

    2017-01-01

    For addressing potential food shortages, a fundamental tradeoff exists between investing more resources to increasing productivity of existing crops, as opposed to increasing crop diversity by incorporating more species. We explore ways to use local plants as food resources and the potential to promote food diversity and agricultural resilience. We discuss how use of local plants and the practice of local agriculture can contribute to ongoing adaptability in times of global change. Most food crops are now produced, transported, and consumed long distances from their homelands of origin. At the same time, research and practices are directed primarily at improving the productivity of a small number of existing crops that form the cornerstone of a global food economy, rather than to increasing crop diversity. The result is a loss of agro-biodiversity, leading to a food industry that is more susceptible to abiotic and biotic stressors, and more at risk of catastrophic losses. Humans cultivate only about 150 of an estimated 30,000 edible plant species worldwide, with only 30 plant species comprising the vast majority of our diets. To some extent, these practices explain the food disparity among human populations, where nearly 1 billion people suffer insufficient nutrition and 2 billion people are obese or overweight. Commercial uses of new crops and wild plants of local origin have the potential to diversify global food production and better enable local adaptation to the diverse environments humans inhabit. We discuss the advantages, obstacles, and risks of using local plants. We also describe a case study-the missed opportunity to produce pine nuts commercially in the Western United States. We discuss the potential consequences of using local pine nuts rather than importing them overseas. Finally, we provide a list of edible native plants, and synthesize the state of research concerning the potential and challenges in using them for food production. The goal of our

  11. Thapsia garganica L. in vitro plants as a new production platform of thapsigargins

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Quinonero Lopez, Carmen

    Thapsigargin and nortrilobolide are sesquiterpene lactones found in the Mediterranean plant Thapsia garganica L. Thapsigargin is a potent inhibitor of the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA) pump, inducing apoptosis in mammalian cells. Due to its ability to induce apoptosis...... cultures. In this chapter has been described, from the regeneration of in vitro plants of T. garganica, to the establishment and enhancement of thapsigargins production in temporary immersion bioreactors. A part from an alternative production platform for thapsigargins, in vitro plant tissue cultures...... techniques have been described for this medicinal species, which can be used for plant genetic conservation and biodiversity. In the chapters II, III and IV, I present studies on the expression levels of the two biosynthetic genes described in the thapsigargin biosynthesis, TgTPS2 and TgCYP76AE2...

  12. Hyperspectral and in situ data fusion for the steering of plant production systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verstraeten, W. W.; Coppin, P.

    2009-04-01

    Plant production systems are governed by biotic and a-biotic factors and by management practices. Some of the relevant parameters have already been identified and incorporated as inputs into existing models for production assessment, early-warning, and process management. These parameters originate nowadays primarily from in-situ measurements and observations. Non-invasive remotely sensed data, the diagnostic tools of excellence where it concerns the interaction of solar energy with biomass, have seldom been included and if so, mostly to support yield assessment and harvest monitoring only. The availability of new-generation hyperspectral/hypertemporal signatures will greatly facilitate their integration into full-fledged plant production model either via direct use, forcing, assimilation or re-initialization strategies. The main objective of IS-HS (Integration of In Situ data and HyperSpectral remote sensing for plant production modeling) is to set up a multidisciplinary research platform to deepen our system understanding and to develop production-oriented schemes to steer capital-intensive vegetation scenarios. Real-time steering in a 10-15 year timeframe is envisaged, where current system state is monitored, and steered towards an ideal state in terms of production quantity and quality. IS-HS focuses on hyperspectral sensor design, time series analysis tools for remote sensing data of vegetation systems, on the establishment of two stream communication between satellite and ground sensors, on the development of citrus plant production systems, and on the design of in-situ data sensor networks. The general framework of this system approach will be presented. In time, this integration should allow to cross the bridge from post-harvest assessment to near real-time potential and actual yield monitoring in terms of crop.

  13. Influence of plant spacing on seed and ware tuber production of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The highest number of seed-sized tubers (40-75 g) was obtained at high planting density, i.e. 50 cm x 25 cm and 60 cm x 25 cm. Since spacing 50 cm x 25 cm requires more planting material and also makes inter-cultivation practices more difficult, the spacing of 60 cm x 25 cm was recommended for maximizing production ...

  14. A REVIEW OF HUMAN-SYSTEM INTERFACE DESIGN ISSUES OBSERVED DURING ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL AND DIGITAL-TO-DIGITAL MIGRATIONS IN U.S. NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kovesdi, C.; Joe, J.

    2017-05-01

    The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program is developing a scientific basis through targeted research and development (R&D) to support the U.S. nuclear power plant (NPP) fleet in extending their existing licensing period and ensuring their long-term reliability, productivity, safety, and security. Over the last several years, human factors engineering (HFE) professionals at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have supported the LWRS Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) System Technologies pathway across several U.S. commercial NPPs in analog-to-digital migrations (i.e., turbine control systems) and digital-to-digital migrations (i.e., Safety Parameter Display System). These efforts have included in-depth human factors evaluation of proposed human-system interface (HSI) design concepts against established U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) design guidelines from NUREG-0700, Rev 2 to inform subsequent HSI design prior to transitioning into Verification and Validation. This paper discusses some of the overarching design issues observed from these past HFE evaluations. In addition, this work presents some observed challenges such as common tradeoffs utilities are likely to face when introducing new HSI technologies into NPP hybrid control rooms. The primary purpose of this work is to distill these observed design issues into general HSI design guidance that industry can use in early stages of HSI design.

  15. Reducing regulatory and economic uncertainty in the next generation of U.S. nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simard, R.L.; Bell, R.J.

    1998-01-01

    Nuclear Power Plants have accounted for 40% of all new electricity supplied in the last 25 years. Nuclear energy and coal fired plants together account for approximately three quarters of the current electricity supply.In addition to assuring reliability and diversity of energy supply, U.S. nuclear plants proved their value in another critical area of the national energy policy-managing environmental impacts.Since 1973, the use of nuclear energy in lieu of fossil fuels has prevented the emission of more than 2 billion tons of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide, 80 million tons of sulfur dioxide and 35 million tons of nitrogen oxides. Now looking ahead to the next 25 years, the challenge is to maintain reliability of energy supply, while meeting increasingly urgent needs to minimize environmental impacts from the electricity sector. Fossil fired power plants face increasing regulatory requirements and constraints on emissions.The response to the challenges of the future must include aggressive development of renewable energy sources and increased reliance on nuclear energy-the only non-emitting sources of electricity available for deployment in the near term.(DM)

  16. A mathematical model to forecast uranium production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Camisani-Calzolari, F.A.G.M.

    1987-01-01

    The uranium production forecasting program described in this paper projects production from reasonably assured, estimated additional and speculative resources in the cost categories of less than $130/kg U. Originally designed to handle South African production, it has been expanded and redimensioned using available published information to forecast production for countries of the Western World. The program forecasts production from up to 400 plants over a period of fifty years and has built-in production models derived from documented historical data of the more important uranium provinces. It is particularly suitable to assess production capabilities on a national and global scale where variations in outputs for the individual plants tend to even out. The program is aimed at putting the uranium potential of any one country into a realistic perspective, and it could thus be useful for planning purposes and marketing strategies

  17. Design consideration on hydrogen production demonstration plant of thermochemical IS process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iwatsuki, Jin; Noguchi, Hiroki; Terada, Atsuhiko; Kubo, Shinji; Sakaba, Nariaki; Onuki, Kaoru; Hino, Ryutaro

    2009-03-01

    Preliminary design study was carried out on the hydrogen production demonstration plant of thermochemical IS process. In the pilot test, hydrogen production will be examined under prototypical condition using an apparatus made of industrial materials, which is driven by the sensible heat of helium gas heated by an electric heater that simulates the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR). Tentative system condition was defined considering the HTTR specification and the experience on the construction and the operation of the mock-up test facility using methane reforming for hydrogen production. The process condition and the system flow diagram were discussed to meet the system condition. Based on the defined process condition, types of the main components were discussed taking the corrosion resistance of the structural materials into consideration. Applicable rules and regulations were also surveyed regarding the plant construction and operation. (author)

  18. Concept for Sustained Plant Production on ISS Using VEGGIE Capillary Mat Rooting System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stutte, Gary W.; Newsham, Gerard; Morrow, Robert M.; Wheeler, Raymond M.

    2011-01-01

    Plant growth in microgravity presents unique challenges associated with maintaining appropriate conditions for seed germination, seedling establishment, maturation and harvest. They include maintaining appropriate soil moisture content, nutrient balance, atmospheric mixing and containment. Sustained production imposes additional challenges of harvesting, replanting, and safety. The VEGGIE is a deployable (collapsible) plant growth chamber developed as part of a NASA SBIR Phase II by Orbitec, Madison, WI. The intent of VEGGIE is to provide a low-resource system to produce fresh vegetables for the crew on long duration missions. The VEGGIE uses and LED array for lighting, an expandable bellows for containment, and a capillary matting system for nutrient and water delivery. The project evaluated a number of approaches to achieve sustained production, and repeated plantings, using the capillary rooting system. A number of different root media, seed containment, and nutrient delivery systems were evaluated and effects on seed germination and growth were evaluated. A number of issues limiting sustained production, such as accumulation of nutrients, uniform water, elevated vapor pressure deficit, and media containment were identified. A concept using pre-planted rooting packs shown to effectively address a number of those issues and is a promising approach for future development as a planting system for microgravity conditions.

  19. Genetic improvement of plants for enhanced bio-ethanol production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, Sanghamitra; Ramachandran, Srinivasan

    2013-04-01

    The present world energy situation urgently requires exploring and developing alternate, sustainable sources for fuel. Biofuels have proven to be an effective energy source but more needs to be produced to meet energy goals. Whereas first generation biofuels derived from mainly corn and sugarcane continue to be used and produced, the contentious debate between "feedstock versus foodstock" continues. The need for sources that can be grown under different environmental conditions has led to exploring newer sources. Lignocellulosic biomass is an attractive source for production of biofuel, but pretreatment costs to remove lignin are high and the process is time consuming. Genetically modified plants that have increased sugar or starch content, modified lignin content, or produce cellulose degrading enzymes are some options that are being explored and tested. This review focuses on current research on increasing production of biofuels by genetic engineering of plants to have desirable characteristics. Recent patents that have been filed in this area are also discussed.

  20. Pollen viability, physiology, and production of maize plants exposed to pyraclostrobin+epoxiconazole.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Junqueira, Verônica Barbosa; Costa, Alan Carlos; Boff, Tatiana; Müller, Caroline; Mendonça, Maria Andréia Corrêa; Batista, Priscila Ferreira

    2017-04-01

    The use of fungicides in maize has been more frequent due to an increase in the incidence of diseases and also the possible physiological benefits that some of these products may cause. However, some of these products (e.g., strobilurins and triazoles) may interfere with physiological processes and the formation of reproductive organs. Therefore, the effect of these products on plants at different developmental stages needs to be better understood to reduce losses and maximize production. The effect of the fungicide pyraclostrobin+epoxiconazole (P+E) was evaluated at different growth stages in meiosis, pollen grain viability and germination, physiology, and production of maize plants in the absence of disease. An experiment was carried out with the hybrid DKB390 PROII and the application of pyraclostrobin+epoxiconazole at the recommended dose and an untreated control at 3 different timings (S1 - V10; S2 - V14; S3 - R1) with 5 replications. Gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, pollen viability and germination, as well as the hundred-grain weight were evaluated. Anthers were collected from plants of S1 for cytogenetic analysis. The fungicide pyraclostrobin+epoxiconazole reduced the viability of pollen grains (1.4%), but this was not enough to reduce production. Moreover, no differences were observed in any of the other parameters analyzed, suggesting that P+E at the recommended dose and the tested stages does not cause toxic effects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Relational Inequality: Gender Earnings Inequality in U.S. and Japanese Manufacturing Plants in the Early 1980s

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avent-Holt, Dustin; Tomaskovic-Devey, Donald

    2012-01-01

    We examine the relational model of inequality using samples of employer-employee matched data from manufacturing plants in the United States and Japan. We argue that gender is a salient status characteristic in both the United States and Japan, but because of differences in gender politics, wage inequality will vary more across U.S. workplaces…

  2. Effects of water table position and plant functional group on plant community, aboveground production, and peat properties in a peatland mesocosm experiment (PEATcosm)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynette R. Potvin; Evan S. Kane; Rodney A. Chimner; Randall K. Kolka; Erik A. Lilleskov

    2015-01-01

    Aims Our objective was to assess the impacts of water table position and plant functional type on peat structure, plant community composition and aboveground plant production. Methods We initiated a full factorial experiment with 2 water table (WT) treatments (high and low) and 3 plant functional groups (PFG: sedge, Ericaceae,...

  3. Analysis of the production of U3O8 powder for low enrichment fuel plates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boero, N.L.; Celora, J.; Parodi, C.A.; Ponieman, G.; Kellner, M.; Marajofsky, A.

    1987-01-01

    Description is made of the processes used in the production of U 3 O 8 powder for low enrichment plates for fuel elements for Research Reactors. The analysis of the efficiency of each batch is foccused on the relationship between milling and sieving times and the morphology of the product in each production step. (Author)

  4. World Biofuels Production Potential Understanding the Challenges to Meeting the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sastri, B.; Lee, A.

    2008-09-15

    This study by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates the worldwide potential to produce biofuels including biofuels for export. It was undertaken to improve our understanding of the potential for imported biofuels to satisfy the requirements of Title II of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) in the coming decades. Many other countries biofuels production and policies are expanding as rapidly as ours. Therefore, we modeled a detailed and up-to-date representation of the amount of biofuel feedstocks that are being and can be grown, current and future biofuels production capacity, and other factors relevant to the economic competitiveness of worldwide biofuels production, use, and trade. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) identified and prepared feedstock data for countries that were likely to be significant exporters of biofuels to the U.S. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) calculated conversion costs by conducting material flow analyses and technology assessments on biofuels technologies. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) integrated the country specific feedstock estimates and conversion costs into the global Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP) MARKAL (MARKet ALlocation) model. The model uses least-cost optimization to project the future state of the global energy system in five year increments. World biofuels production was assessed over the 2010 to 2030 timeframe using scenarios covering a range U.S. policies (tax credits, tariffs, and regulations), as well as oil prices, feedstock availability, and a global CO{sub 2} price. All scenarios include the full implementation of existing U.S. and selected other countries biofuels policies (Table 4). For the U.S., the most important policy is the EISA Title II Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). It progressively increases the required volumes of renewable fuel used in motor vehicles (Appendix B). The RFS requires 36 billion (B) gallons (gal) per year of renewable fuels by 2022

  5. Validation of the aseptic filling at the Parenteral Products Plant 3 in BioCen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marisol Álvarez-González

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available As part of the continuous improvement process, a new parenterals production plant (PPP3 was constructed at the National Center for Bioproducts. The validation of the aseptic filling process is a key element to carry out before manufacturing products. Therefore, the aim of this work was to obtain documented evidence that all the operations were carried out according the regulations of Good Manufacturing Practices for liquid and lyophilized sterile products during the aseptic filling at the Parenterals Product Plant 3. The study was designed for lyophilized products connected to the manifold of the peristaltic pump and to the four rotary piston pumps. Besides, during the filling operation four interventions were planned. The validation was carried out with three consecutive batches of media fill. In the first processed lot no vial was contaminated, but in the second and third lots there was one contaminated vial. For that reason, an investigation was performed in order to know the cause of the contamination. Finally, with this wok the validated condition was obtained, following the regulations of Good Manufacturing Practices for sterile liquids and lyophilizes products during the aseptic filling process at the Parenterals Products Plant 3.

  6. Developing microbe-plant interactions for applications in plant-growth promotion and disease control, production of useful compounds, remediation, and carbon sequestration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, C.H.; Bernard, S.; Andersen, G.L.; Chen, W.

    2009-03-01

    Interactions between plants and microbes are an integral part of our terrestrial ecosystem. Microbe-plant interactions are being applied in many areas. In this review, we present recent reports of applications in the areas of plant-growth promotion, biocontrol, bioactive compound and biomaterial production, remediation and carbon sequestration. Challenges, limitations and future outlook for each field are discussed.

  7. Nuclear plant life cycle costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durante, R.W.

    1994-01-01

    Life cycle costs of nuclear power plants in the United States are discussed. The author argues that these costs have been mishandled or neglected. Decommissioning costs have escalated, e.g. from $328 per unit in 1991 to $370 in 1993 for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, though they still only amount to less than 0.1 cent per kWh. Waste management has been complicated in the U.S. by the decision to abandon civilian reprocessing; by the year 2000, roughly 30 U.S. nuclear power units will have filled their storage pools; dry storage has been delayed, and will be an expense not originally envisaged. Some examples of costs of major component replacement are provided. No single component has caused as much operational disruption and financial penalties as the steam generator. Operation and maintenance costs have increased steadily, and now amount to more than 70% of production costs. A strategic plan by the Nuclear Power Oversight Committee (of U.S. utilities) will ensure that the ability to correctly operate and maintain a nuclear power plant is built into the original design. 6 figs

  8. Physiological studies on photochemical oxidant injury in rice plants. II. Effect of abscisic acid (ABA) on ozone injury and ethylene production in rice plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeong, Y.H.; Nakamura, H.; Ota, Y.

    1981-12-01

    In order to determine the effect of ABA on ozone injury to rice plants, ethylene production, rate of chlorophyll retention and ozone-sensitivity of rice plants pretreated with ABA solution were investigated. The experiments were carried out in pots using rice plants at the 7-8 leaf stage. The results obtained are summarized as follows: ethylene production by the leaf blades exposed to ozone increased with the increase in the dosage of ozone; ethylene production was higher in cv. Nihonbare which was more sensitive to ozone than in cv. Tongil; pre-treatment with ABA solution one hour before ozone treatment reduced ethylene production by the leaf blades exposed to ozone; and the rate of chlorophyll retention decreased following injury, but increased remarkably by the pre-treatment with ABA solution. In conclusion, it could be demonstrated that ozone injury of rice plants can be reduced by the pre-treatment with ABA solution. 28 references, 5 figures, 1 table.

  9. Do the Czech Production Plants Measure the Performance of Energy Processes?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zuzana Tučková

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The research was focused to the actual situation in Performance Measurement of the energy processes in Czech production plants. The results are back – upped by the previous researches which were aimed to performance measurement methods usage in the whole organizational structure of the plants. Although the most of big industrial companies declared using of modern Performance Measurements methods, the previous researches shown that it is not purely true. The bigger differences were found in the energy area – energy processes. The authors compared the Energy concepts of European Union (EU and Czech Republic (CZ which are very different and do not create any possibilities for manager’s clear decision in the process management strategy of energy processes in their companies. Next step included the Energy department’s analysis. The significant part of energy processes in the production plants is still not mapped, described and summarized to one methodical manual for managing and performance measurement.

  10. 76 FR 79218 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-U.S. Photovoltaic...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-21

    ... Production Act of 1993--U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium, Inc. Notice is hereby given that, on..., 15 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. (``the Act''), U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium, Inc. (``USPVMC... manufacturing collaboration to accelerate the commercialization of next generation photovoltaic systems...

  11. 50 years of uranium metal production in Uranium Metal Plant, BARC, Trombay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    The Atomic Energy Programme in India, from the very beginning, has laid emphasis on indigenous capabilities in all aspects of nuclear technology. This meant keeping pace with developments abroad and recognizing the potentials of indigenous technologies. With the development of nuclear programme in India, the importance of uranium was growing at a rapid pace. The production of reactor grade uranium in India started in January 1959 when the first ingot of nuclear pure uranium was discharged using CTR process at Trombay. The decision to set up a uranium refinery to purify the crude uranium fluoride, obtained as a by-product of the DAE's Thorium Plant at Trombay, and to produce nuclear grade pure uranium metal was taken at the end of 1956. The task was assigned to the 'Project Fire Wood Group'. The main objective of the plant was to produce pure uranium metal for use in the Canada India Reactor and Zerlina. Besides this, it was to function as a pilot plant to collect operational data and to train personnel for larger plants to be set up in future. The plant designing and erection work was entrusted to Messrs. Indian Rare Earths Ltd.

  12. Thermodynamic and economic evaluation of co-production plants for electricity and potable water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-05-01

    Within the framework of the IAEA's activities related to seawater desalination using nuclear energy, a need was identified for developing criteria and methodologies in order to facilitate comparative economic evaluations of nuclear and fossil fuelled energy sources for desalination and generation of electricity. The aspect of costing of electricity and potable water from co-production plants is of particular interest. In response to these needs, the IAEA carried out a study to establish methodologies for allocating costs to the two final products of co-production plants based on thermodynamic criteria and to enable economic ranking of co-production plant alternatives. This publication describes the methodologies and presents the results obtained from analyzing a reference case, taken as an example. This publication has been discussed and reviewed at a consultants meeting convened by the IAEA in September 1996 in Vienna. The methodologies have been incorporated in an EXCEL spreadsheet routine which is available upon request from the IAEA. The IAEA staff member responsible for this publication is L. Breidenbach of the Division of Nuclear Power and the Fuel Cycle. 30 refs, figs, tabs

  13. Prototype CIRCE plant - industrial demonstration of heavy water production from reformed hydrogen source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spagnolo, D.A.; Boniface, H.A.; Sadhankar, R.R.; Everatt, A.E.; Miller, A.I.; Blouin, J.

    2002-01-01

    Heavy water (D 2 0) production has been dominated by the Girdler-Sulphide (G-S) process, which suffers several intrinsic disadvantages that lead to high production costs. Processes based on hydrogen/water exchange have become more attractive with the development of proprietary wetproofed catalysts by AECL. One process that is synergistic with industrial hydrogen production by steam methane reforming (SMR), the Combined Industrial Reforming and Catalytic Exchange (CIRCE) process, offers the best prospect for commercialization. SMRs are common globally in the oil-upgrading and ammonia industries. To study the CIRCE process in detail, AECL, in collaboration with Air Liquide Canada, constructed a prototype CIRCE plant (PCP) in Hamilton, Ontario. The plant became fully operational in 2000 July and is expected to operate to at least late fall of 2002. To-date, plant operation has confirmed the adequacy of the design and the capability of enriching deuterium to produce heavy water without compromising hydrogen production. The proprietary wetproofed catalyst has performed as expected, both in activity and in robustness. (author)

  14. Heterologous Expression of Plant Cell Wall Degrading Enzymes for Effective Production of Cellulosic Biofuels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Sang-Kyu; Parisutham, Vinuselvi; Jeong, Seong Hun; Lee, Sung Kuk

    2012-01-01

    A major technical challenge in the cost-effective production of cellulosic biofuel is the need to lower the cost of plant cell wall degrading enzymes (PCDE), which is required for the production of sugars from biomass. Several competitive, low-cost technologies have been developed to produce PCDE in different host organisms such as Escherichia coli, Zymomonas mobilis, and plant. Selection of an ideal host organism is very important, because each host organism has its own unique features. Synthetic biology-aided tools enable heterologous expression of PCDE in recombinant E. coli or Z. mobilis and allow successful consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) in these microorganisms. In-planta expression provides an opportunity to simplify the process of enzyme production and plant biomass processing and leads to self-deconstruction of plant cell walls. Although the future of currently available technologies is difficult to predict, a complete and viable platform will most likely be available through the integration of the existing approaches with the development of breakthrough technologies. PMID:22911272

  15. Enhanced Methanol Production in Plants Provides Broad Spectrum Insect Resistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixit, Sameer; Upadhyay, Santosh Kumar; Singh, Harpal; Sidhu, Om Prakash; Verma, Praveen Chandra; K, Chandrashekar

    2013-01-01

    Plants naturally emit methanol as volatile organic compound. Methanol is toxic to insect pests; but the quantity produced by most of the plants is not enough to protect them against invading insect pests. In the present study, we demonstrated that the over-expression of pectin methylesterase, derived from Arabidopsis thaliana and Aspergillus niger, in transgenic tobacco plants enhances methanol production and resistance to polyphagous insect pests. Methanol content in the leaves of transgenic plants was measured using proton nuclear spectroscopy (1H NMR) and spectra showed up to 16 fold higher methanol as compared to control wild type (WT) plants. A maximum of 100 and 85% mortality in chewing insects Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura larvae was observed, respectively when fed on transgenic plants leaves. The surviving larvae showed less feeding, severe growth retardation and could not develop into pupae. In-planta bioassay on transgenic lines showed up to 99 and 75% reduction in the population multiplication of plant sap sucking pests Myzus persicae (aphid) and Bemisia tabaci (whitefly), respectively. Most of the phenotypic characters of transgenic plants were similar to WT plants. Confocal microscopy showed no deformities in cellular integrity, structure and density of stomata and trichomes of transgenic plants compared to WT. Pollen germination and tube formation was also not affected in transgenic plants. Cell wall enzyme transcript levels were comparable with WT. This study demonstrated for the first time that methanol emission can be utilized for imparting broad range insect resistance in plants. PMID:24223989

  16. Enhanced methanol production in plants provides broad spectrum insect resistance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sameer Dixit

    Full Text Available Plants naturally emit methanol as volatile organic compound. Methanol is toxic to insect pests; but the quantity produced by most of the plants is not enough to protect them against invading insect pests. In the present study, we demonstrated that the over-expression of pectin methylesterase, derived from Arabidopsis thaliana and Aspergillus niger, in transgenic tobacco plants enhances methanol production and resistance to polyphagous insect pests. Methanol content in the leaves of transgenic plants was measured using proton nuclear spectroscopy (1H NMR and spectra showed up to 16 fold higher methanol as compared to control wild type (WT plants. A maximum of 100 and 85% mortality in chewing insects Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura larvae was observed, respectively when fed on transgenic plants leaves. The surviving larvae showed less feeding, severe growth retardation and could not develop into pupae. In-planta bioassay on transgenic lines showed up to 99 and 75% reduction in the population multiplication of plant sap sucking pests Myzus persicae (aphid and Bemisia tabaci (whitefly, respectively. Most of the phenotypic characters of transgenic plants were similar to WT plants. Confocal microscopy showed no deformities in cellular integrity, structure and density of stomata and trichomes of transgenic plants compared to WT. Pollen germination and tube formation was also not affected in transgenic plants. Cell wall enzyme transcript levels were comparable with WT. This study demonstrated for the first time that methanol emission can be utilized for imparting broad range insect resistance in plants.

  17. Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of By-product Hydrogen from Chlor-Alkali Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Dong-Yeon [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Systems Assessment Group, Energy Systems Division; Elgowainy, Amgad A. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Systems Assessment Group, Energy Systems Division; Dai, Qiang [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Systems Assessment Group, Energy Systems Division

    2017-12-01

    Current hydrogen production capacity in the U.S. is about 15.8 million tonne (or metric ton) per year (Brown 2016). Some of the hydrogen (2 million tonne) is combusted for its heating energy value, which makes total annual net production 13.8 million tonne (Table 1). If captive by-product hydrogen (3.3 million tonne) from catalytic reforming at oil refineries is excluded (Brown 2016; EIA 2008), approximately 11 million tonne is available from the conventional captive and merchant hydrogen market (DOE 2013). Captive hydrogen (owned by the refiner) is produced and consumed on site (e.g., process input at refineries), whereas merchant hydrogen is produced and sold as a commodity to external consumers. Whether it is merchant or captive, most hydrogen produced in the U.S. is on-purpose (not by-product)— around 10 million tonne/year.

  18. Inflation and Intramarket Price Variability: Empirical Evidence from U.S. Food Products

    OpenAIRE

    Baek, Jungho

    2010-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to examine the response of relative price variability on U.S. food markets to food price inflation to identify whether such inflation influences the structure of relative prices between different food products. Results show that changes in food price inflation rate have a strong positive effect on the structure of relative prices across food products. In addition, the expected rate of inflation is found to be more important than the unexpected components as a de...

  19. Use of a Geothermal-Solar Hybrid Power Plant to Mitigate Declines in Geothermal Resource Productivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dan Wendt; Greg Mines

    2014-09-01

    Many, if not all, geothermal resources are subject to decreasing productivity manifested in the form of decreasing brine temperature, flow rate, or both during the life span of the associated power generation project. The impacts of resource productivity decline on power plant performance can be significant; a reduction in heat input to a power plant not only decreases the thermal energy available for conversion to electrical power, but also adversely impacts the power plant conversion efficiency. The reduction in power generation is directly correlated to a reduction in revenues from power sales. Further, projects with Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) contracts in place may be subject to significant economic penalties if power generation falls below the default level specified. A potential solution to restoring the performance of a power plant operating from a declining productivity geothermal resource involves the use of solar thermal energy to restore the thermal input to the geothermal power plant. There are numerous technical merits associated with a renewable geothermal-solar hybrid plant in which the two heat sources share a common power block. The geo-solar hybrid plant could provide a better match to typical electrical power demand profiles than a stand-alone geothermal plant. The hybrid plant could also eliminate the stand-alone concentrated solar power plant thermal storage requirement for operation during times of low or no solar insolation. This paper identifies hybrid plant configurations and economic conditions for which solar thermal retrofit of a geothermal power plant could improve project economics. The net present value of the concentrated solar thermal retrofit of an air-cooled binary geothermal plant is presented as functions of both solar collector array cost and electricity sales price.

  20. Experimental determination of the antineutrino spectrum of the fission products of {sup 238}U

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haag, Nils-Holger

    2013-10-09

    Fission of {sup 238}U contributes about 10 % to the antineutrino emission of a pressurized water reactor. In the present thesis, the beta spectrum of the fission products of {sup 238}U was determined in an experiment at the neutron source FRM II. This beta spectrum was subsequently converted into an antineutrino spectrum. This first measurement of the antineutrino spectrum supports all current and future reactor antineutrino experiments.

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