Award Data

There are approximately 7,000 flares in operation at industrial facilities across the U.S. Flares are one of the largest Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and air toxics emissions sources. Based on a special emission inventory required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in 2007, highly reactive VOC emissions from 28 flares located in 11 facilities in Harris County, Texas, where 1,46 ...

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is a widely used and extremely sensitive analytical technique for qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis. Superconducting Transition Edge Sensor (TES) microcalorimeter detectors have now been developed that achieve an energy resolution of 2 eV for 1.5 keV X-rays, which is sufficient to enable the measurement of the small shift of the X-ray line position that ...

Since 1990, Prime Synthesis, Inc. (PSI) has been a leading manufacturer of controlled pore glass (CPG). It has developed significant expertise in the optimization of physical characteristics and chemical modifications of CPG for a variety of applications. CPG has a unique combination of attributes including a very uniform, three-dimensional, nanopore structure that is dimensionally stable in organ ...

Rare earth element (REE) based Nd-Fe-B and Sm-Co permanent magnets have been widely used because of their excellent magnetic properties. The applications of Nd-Fe-B and Sm-Co rare earth permanent magnets include hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), power generator for wind turbines, high performance industrial motors, hard disk drives for computers, travelling wave tubes for satellite communications, ...

Fuels derived from cellulosic biomass offer an alternative to conventional energy sources that supports national economic growth, national energy security, and environmental goals. In the 2007 State of the Union address, President Bush called for 35 billion gallons of alternative fuel use in the United States by 2017, which would replace 20 percent of the nation¿s petroleum consumption. Cellulosi ...

Modern supercontinuum (SC) light sources are generated by non-linear interactions between ultrashort pulse lasers and optical fibers. Output in near-ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelength ranges has been demonstrated. These light sources have high brightness and are spatially coherent. Recently, output to 4.5 µm was achieved using fluoride glass fibers; optical absorption by the fiber prevents l ...

Southwest Sciences proposes development of residential fire sensing systems based on low cost optical imaging sensors combined with newly introduced highly miniaturized, low power CO sensors. Sensor modules will also include temperature sensors. The modules will be part of a low power wireless network. Each module will be about ½ the size of a business card, a few mm thick, and will operate for ...

A key factor of international efforts to identify and suppress the supply of and demand for nuclear materials, and thereby to deter potential traffickers, is the ability to accurately identify contradicted material and ultimately to trace it back to its origin. Alpha particle spectroscopy is widely used in nuclear forensics to assay trace quantities of sensitive nuclear materials, but the limited ...

Fuels derived from cellulosic biomass offer an alternative to conventional energy sources that supports national economic growth, national energy security, and environmental goals. In the 2007 State of the Union address, President Bush called for 35 billion gallons of alternative fuel use in the United States by 2017, which would replace 20 percent of the nation’s petroleum consumption. Cellulos ...

Although water recycle and reuse is considered good environmental practice, its implementation is highly dependent upon the economics and hence can be challenging to implement. An example is the recovery of low quality heat as water condensate from industrial flue gases. In this case, tremendous quantities of energy and water are lost out the stack in the US today, since no conventional condensing ...