Award Data

Neutron scattering facilities are a key resource aiding the diverse and growing revolution in nano-science and technology-An ongoing challenge for these facilities is providing sufficient neutron flux for an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio for ever more precise experiments-Presently much of the neutron flux is lost because of inefficiencies in the hundreds of meters beam guides and other optics- ...

A great number of technological advancements have been spurred by the unique properties of the rare earth elements (REE)- This widespread application has made the REE absolute necessities for sustaining healthy technological, scientific, and economic growth- In nearly all of these technologies, there are no currently viable substitutes for the REE with equivalent performance- Processes based on co ...

While renewable diesel and biodiesel production is projected to increase over the next several years, feedstock supplies are limited by mature markets for yellow grease and refined vegetable oils- Brown grease refers to organic fats, oils, and greases extracted from wastewater residuals- Brown grease has the potential to alleviate the shortage of biofuel feedstock, but it is dirty, inconsistent in ...

This SBIR Phase I project will develop the manufacturing capability for the production of ultra-low-background copper for use in electronic interconnects and support architecture- Copper is an attractive electronic and support material because of its favorable conductivity and mechanical properties- Fortuitously, the material can also be electroplated with high radiopurity, particularly if the ele ...

Traditional heavy-media methods of coal beneficiation are expensive and have inherent environmental liabilities- X-ray separation of coal is a promising new technology that cuts the cost from mine to market with no environmental liabilities- The efficiency of x-ray separation of coal should be improved by employing air valves with faster response times, but no data exists to quantify that improvem ...

One of the most promising concepts of advanced high temperature nuclear reactor systems utilizes liquid metal coolants to optimize heat transfer, neutronics, safety, and compactness- Molten lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) is one of the primary candidates for such coolants due to its unique thermo-mechanical and neutronics properties- The structural components of advanced reactors must be corrosion res ...

microwave power sources (such as klystrons) offering an increased efficiency (80% or above) are needed for various applications- Of a particular interest is a source at 952-6 MHz delivering 50kW (continuous) CW for the RF systems for ion acceleration in the Energy Electron Ion Collider EIC being developed at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility- A novel tube (klystron) concept with effic ...

A positron production target design is required to convert 100 kW or more of electron beam average power to produce positrons with good beam quality and possibly high polarization- Conventional high power positron targets usually rely on mechanically rotating the target to distribute the heat load- Mechanical complications for a rotating target include limited cooling water flow, vibration, eddy c ...

The increasing applications of ethylene intermediates in various industries are expected to drive the demand for ethylene- Methane produced from shale gas and tight oil is not economically attractive to transport for commercial use- If a process is developed to utilize the methane to directly produce ethylene, a significant commercial opportunity emerges- OxEon Energy proposes a catalytic process ...

This SBIR project proposes an innovative fully-autonomous Smart Cyber Physical System (SCPS) for control and management of buildings, facilities and process control- The proposed technology is comprised of self-federating A-I--driven edge computing nodes that aggregate local sensors, provide coordinated physics-based control decisions, and generate automatic semantic analytics from the big data ge ...