Award Data

THE TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROPOSAL ARE ORIENTED TOWARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOIL SURFACTANT FLUSHING AND WASHING AS A LOW-COST, LOW-IMPACT, LOW-RISK, EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE FOR THE REMOVAL AND ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION OF THE ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS IN SOIL. THESE OBJECTIVES ARE: DEMONSTRATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN IONIC SURFACTANT SOLUTION AT CONCENTRATIONS ABOVE THE CRITICAL MICELLE CONCENTRATION ...

This Phase I project will develop a multianalyte biosensor field screening instrument (MBFI). The MBFI has the potential to reduce the annual cost of environmental analyses in the United States by more than $20 million and to reduce the analysis turnaround time from approximately 19 days to less than 15 minutes. The major barrier to the development of a biosensor instrument for environmental mea ...

Chlorinated hydrocarbons represent the most prevalent contaminants of groundwater in the country. When released in the subsurface, they tend to persist below the water table, and it can take decades or centuries before slow-moving groundwater completely dissolves accumulations of chlorinated solvent product. Analytical methods currently available for monitoring these compounds require extensive ...

Heavy metal species mobilized and released into the environment by technological activities tend to persist indefinitely, circulating and eventually accumulating throughout the food chain, posing a serious threat to the environment, animals, and humans. Typical industrial metal-containing discharges can be considered as point-source emissions, which in turn offer the possibility of feasible remed ...

THE MTIC INDIRECT STEAM REFORMING PROCESS OFFERS A COST EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO THE EXISTING WASTE-TO-ENERGY INCINERATION OF MUNICIPAL SLUDGE WASTE (MSW) OR REFUSE- DERIVED FUEL (RDF). THE PROCESS HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR RESOLVING MANY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH INCINERATION, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTROL OF CHLORINATED DIOXINS AND FURANS AS WELL AS EMISSIONS OF TOXIC METALS; PARTICULA ...

In order for plastics recycling to be a viable alternative in the long term, the recycled resins must be competitive with virgin resins both in terms of economics and purity. Current processing technologies utilize either hand sorting or automated sorting on the bottle level. However, there are many sources of contamination other than whole bottles, which will remain in the stream using whole bot ...

Zebra mussels cause an estimated $5 billion in economic damages annually. They clog water intake pipes, damage water supplies, threaten native fish and aquatic species, and promote the mobilization of toxic materials into the food chain. Chlorination is presently the most common treatment for zebra mussels. However, chlorine causes many serious environmental risks, thus necessitating the develo ...

MOTOR OPERATED GATE VALVE OPERABILITY PROBLEMS AND FAILURES AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN AS STATEDIN NRC IE BULLETIN 85-03 AND GENERIC LETTER 89-10. THIS PROPOSAL IS AIMED AT IMPROVING GATE VALVE PERFORMANCE BY (1) DEVELOPING COMPREHENSIVE PERFORMANCE PREDICTION MODELS FOR USE OVER A RANGE OF OPERATING CONDITIONS, (2) DEFINING LIMITS, BASED ON SPECIFIC DESIGNS, BEYOND WHICH E ...