Oak Ridge Today

ORNL studying hydrogen as rail fuel to fight climate change

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Pictured above at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, for a project to research using hydrogen in a locomotive at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are, from left, Jim Gamble, vice president of engine and power solutions technology for Wabtec Corporation; Siddiq Khan, technology development manager for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office; Melissa Shurland, program manager in the Office of Research, Development, and Technology in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration; Dean Edwards, ORNL research and development lead; Xin Sun, ORNL associate laboratory director in the Energy Science and Technology Directorate; and Muhsin Ameen, senior research scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 1 p.m. Nov. 12.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has started a research project to investigate using hydrogen fuel in a railroad engine to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help fight climate change. Rail is one of the industries considered challenging to decarbonize along with aviation and shipping.

Researchers at ORNL and Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago will use a large single-cylinder 375-horsepower Wabtec engine that will burn a mixture of hydrogen and diesel fuel, which is what locomotives burn now. Under four-year agreements, the researchers will study things like engine hardware, fuel mixtures, and ignition strategies. Other low-carbon fuels could also be studied.

“We are excited to be a part of this collaboration because it addresses the need to decarbonize the rail industry by advancing hydrogen engine technology for both current and future locomotives,” said Josh Pihl, an ORNL distinguished researcher and group leader for applied catalysis and emissions research. “It is also a perfect example of how a DOE-funded collaboration between industry and national laboratories can accelerate the development and commercialization of technologies to help reduce carbon emissions from transportation.”

The 15.7-liter engine, larger than a tractor-trailer motor, was recently installed in garage-size research space at the National Transportation Research Center, an ORNL campus in Hardin Valley. ORNL had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the engine research project on Wednesday.

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CNS awards $120K in grants

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CNS Community Investment Grant Recipients are pictured following a grant ceremony on Oct. 17, 2022. (Submitted photo)

Twenty-two East Tennessee nonprofits received a total of $121,600 from the Consolidated Nuclear Security Community Investment Fund at a ceremony October 17.

Since 2015, the fund has awarded 180 grants to more than 120 nonprofit organizations and educational institutions in 20 East Tennessee counties, totaling a combined $1.04 million, a press release said.

The Community Investment Fund is a partnership between CNS, the managing and operating contractor of Y-12 National Security Complex, and the East Tennessee Foundation.

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Disposing of uranium waste could cost at least $7.2 billion

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Depleted uranium hexafluoride storage cylinders at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Portsmouth, Ohio, Conversion Facility. (Photo from U.S. Government Accountability Office report)

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates it could cost at least $7.2 billion to convert and dispose of tens of thousands of cylinders of depleted uranium hexafluoride, a dangerous, corrosive waste byproduct of the uranium enrichment process. Some of the waste came from the former K-25 site in Oak Ridge and is now stored in Ohio, but a portion of the converted depleted uranium could eventually be returned to Oak Ridge for use in nuclear weapons.

DOE’s Office of Environmental Management has had about 67,000 cylinders of the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) stored at two conversion facilities in Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio. The facilities convert the DUF6 into two primary products, depleted uranium oxide (a more stable chemical form) and hydrofluoric acid, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Y-12 now getting power from Pine Ridge substation

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The Pine Ridge substation now serves the Y-12 National Security Complex, including the Uranium Processing Facility. (Photo provided by CNS Y-12)

Submitted

The Y-12 National Security Complex flipped the switch on a new era as crews finalized the process of moving the entire site’s electrical supply to the new Pine Ridge substation.

In June, the Building 9204-02 (Beta 2) and Building 9201-01 (Alpha 1) electrical feeds were disconnected from the Elza-1 substation, marking the final load transition to Pine Ridge.

The new substation was built as one of seven Uranium Processing Facility Project subprojects. Designed and built by the Tennessee Valley Authority, Pine Ridge substation construction began in 2017 and was completed in 2020 at a cost of $60 million. The project team received the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary’s Project Management Achievement Award for finishing $13 million under budget and six months ahead of schedule. It is a 70-MVA (mega volt amp) facility and includes:

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DOE picks Idaho for nuclear test reactor

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Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy has decided to build a nuclear test reactor at Idaho National Laboratory to study fuels and materials.

Besides INL, Oak Ridge National Laboratory had been considered as a potential site for the Versatile Test Reactor. ORNL remains one of five national laboratories that are partners on the project. DOE said building the test reactor at INL is its preferred alternative.

DOE bus tours restart in Oak Ridge

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U.S. Department of Energy public bus tours have resumed in Oak Ridge after a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo from DOE)

U.S. Department of Energy public bus tours have resumed in Oak Ridge after a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tours began running again on July 11, and they are scheduled to continue through November.

“The program is a longtime staple in the community, helping educate residents and visitors about the site’s rich history and current missions,” DOE said in an EM Update newsletter published Tuesday. (EM stands for environmental management.)

The tour program started in 1996 and has attracted tens of thousands of visitors from all 50 states, DOE said.

The three-and-a-half-hour tours allow visitors to see all three DOE sites on the Oak Ridge Reservation, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Y-12 National Security Complex, and East Tennessee Technology Park.

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Crews prepare former ORNL reactors for demolition

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An aerial view of the central campus area at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management will be transforming in the months ahead. Demolition is scheduled to begin on Building 3010 (front right) this fall followed by Building 3005 (back right) later this year. Crews are also conducting cleanup projects in Building 3042 (left). (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

The U.S. Department of Energy and cleanup contractor UCOR are preparing to demolish research reactor facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Crews are nearing the final stages of deactivation inside two former research reactor facilities: the Bulk Shielding Reactor, known as Building 3010, and the Low Intensity Test Reactor, known as Building 3005, according to a newsletter published by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management. They are also beginning efforts at the Oak Ridge Research Reactor, known as Building 3042.

The work is overseen by DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM.

These structures are located in the heart of ORNL, and their demolition will eliminate risks, clear land for research missions, and enhance access to a component of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, the department said.

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Zacharia retiring as ORNL director

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Thomas Zacharia has served as laboratory director since July 2017. (Photo credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

Thomas Zacharia plans to retire as director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the end of 2022 after 35 years at the nation’s largest science and energy laboratory, a press release said.

Zacharia has served as laboratory director since July 2017, overseeing the lab’s extensive $2.5 billion research portfolio and staff of nearly 6, the press release said.

“An incredible leader, extraordinary collaborator, and powerhouse innovator, Thomas is leaving a profound impact on ORNL and the world,” said Randy Boyd, University of Tennessee system president and chairman of the UT-Battelle board of governors. UT-Battelle operates ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

In his tenure as lab director, Zacharia spearheaded significant growth in ORNL’s staff and portfolio, established new research initiatives, and guided the lab through the COVID-19 pandemic, the press release said.

Among milestones during Zacharia’s tenure as director, the press release said, the laboratory has:

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DOE, UCOR to highlight ETTP transformation, opportunities

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An artist’s rendering of what the redeveloped East Tennessee Technology Park could look like. (Image provided by U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

The U.S. Department of Energy and its contractor UCOR will highlight the transformation of the East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site) and discuss the economic opportunities there during a virtual event on Thursday.

The hour-long presentation is free and open to the public, and it is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

“Leadership from both organizations will share the final steps required to complete environmental cleanup activities at the former uranium enrichment complex and transition the site to private ownership, a process known as reindustrialization,” a press release said. “The event also includes a panel discussion with partners who helped create the vision and blueprint for this ambitious conversion.”

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CROET president tells Oak Ridge story on national podcast

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Teresa Frady

Teresa Frady, president of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, is the Spotlight Interview guest on this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, which covers U.S. Department of Energy environmental management activities around the nation.

Hosted by Michael Butler, the episode is available on all podcast platforms and can be accessed at www.gonefissionpodcast.com, a press release said.

Frady shared with Butler’s listeners CROET’s mission to help DOE transition underused assets such as land, buildingsm and equipment to private sector companies at the East Tennessee Technology Park, also known as the Heritage Center. She recently replaced Lawrence Young, who had served as CROET’s president and chief executive officer since its founding in 1995.

“Our partnership with DOE in transferring federal land helps the region with creation of quality jobs but also adds the property to Roane County and City of Oak Ridge tax rolls,” she said in the press release. “This helps the communities and saves the federal government money since DOE no longer has to maintain those assets.”

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Workers devise strategies to clean up high-risk contaminated lab at ORNL

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Workers lower detection equipment through an opening in the roof of the East Cell Bank at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to capture readings inside the facility. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management/UCOR)

Innovation has been required as federal cleanup crews work to deactivate and demolish the final portion of the former Radioisotope Development Laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The structure is known as the East Cell Bank, and it is on the U.S. Department of Energy’s list of high-risk excess contaminated facilities, said a press release from DOE Office of Environmental Management. The East Cell Bank is located in the heart of ORNL, near ongoing research missions.

Workers with cleanup contractor UCOR characterized the final cell to identify potential radiological and hazardous contamination, the press release said. They conducted the work in stages under a six-story protective structure erected to ensure nearby facilities and ongoing research missions at ORNL aren’t impacted by the cleanup.

The crews began by taking surveys and readings from an opening at the front of the structure, the release said. They used long-reach tools and a specialized radiation detector. The detector overlays a radiation-intensity color map on a picture of the environment and identifies gamma-ray emitting nuclides and their locations.

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Controlled burns scheduled on Oak Ridge Reservation

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Controlled burns are scheduled on the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation. (Submitted photo)

Controlled burns are scheduled on the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation.

“The public should expect to see some smoke from this activity,” a press release said. “However, smoke in this and other areas in the region could also be the result of prescribed burns currently being undertaken by other federal and state agencies.”

DOE will be starting a series of controlled burns of grassland areas on the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation on the Three Bend Area off Pump House and Bull Bluff Roads, and other managed grassland areas off Bethel Valley Road and off Highway 58, the press release said.

Beginning this week and continuing through mid-April 2021 as weather permits, controlled burns will take place at:

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