Pacific Northwest's technologies that won R&D100 Awards are leading to:
RICHLAND, Wash. - Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory aren't in the business of winning awards, but their commitment to solving some of the nation's most complex problems rarely fails to garner attention. Six of the laboratory's technologies are part of R&D Magazine's list of the 100 most significant innovations of 1998.
The magazine conducts the annual R&D 100 Award competition to honor the most promising new products, processes, materials or software developed throughout the world. Awards are based on each achievement's technical significance, uniqueness and usefulness. Pacific Northwest researchers have received 51 R&D 100 Awards since 1969 - 25 of those within the last five years.
The researchers and their technologies will be honored at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago on September 23. The winning technologies are:
- MicroHeater. This palm-sized combustion unit weighs less than .2kg (5
oz.) and can provide heat for portable personal heating/cooling devices, in-line
water heaters, fuel cell systems and indoor heating systems such as baseboard
heaters. An array of units can heat a house efficiently and reduce energy loss
by 45 percent compared to conventional natural gas central heating. It's the
first device of its kind and offers special opportunities for miniaturizing
heating and heat pump devices. MicroHeater achieves its small size,
affordability and very low emission levels by relying on high rates of heat and
energy mass transfer through specially fabricated microchannels carrying hot
water.
- Compact Microchannel Fuel Vaporizer. This miniature fuel vaporizer is a
key component of a multi-step fuel processing system that will convert gasoline
in a vehicle to hydrogen. Hydrogen is required to operate fuel cells to power
electric cars, which have low emissions compared to standard internal combustion
engines. Fuel cells exist, but the problem is that hydrogen isn't available at
gas stations, and systems to convert gasoline to hydrogen have been too large to
fit in a car. But the compact fuel vaporizer is small - about the size of a
soda can - and weighs four pounds. The entire fuel processing system is expected
to be less than 10 liters in volume. This technology brings the fuel
cell-powered automobile a significant step closer to reality.
- PUMA Fiber Optic Neutron and Gamma Ray Sensor. PUMA is a specialized
radiation sensor that is comprised of lightweight, flexible glass fibers that
provides portable, real-time measurements of neutrons and gamma rays. Called
PUMA for plutonium measurement and analysis, the sensor is both more flexible
and rugged than rigid gas tube sensor technology. The fibers emit light to
indicate various levels of radiation and can be embedded in a variety of
materials or wrapped around objects of various shapes to analyze contents. The
technology is adaptable to a wide range of applications, from environmental
restoration and nonproliferation to cancer treatment. PUMA has been licensed to
Canberra Industries of Meriden, Conn.
- Electrodynamic Ion Funnel. This revolutionary tool significantly
improves the sensitivity of certain mass spectrometers and other analytical
instruments. Mass spectrometry is a tool widely used in environmental,
biotechnology and drug testing applications, as well as in medical, biological
and other broad areas of research. Conventional mass spectrometers retrofitted
with an Electrodynamic Ion Funnel use a series of conductive ring electrodes to
confine and more effectively focus and transmit ions to be measured. A nearly
100 percent efficiency in moving ions to the analyzer results in an enormous
gain in sensitivity, improved data collection, new applications and greater
understanding of the substances analyzed. The tool will be especially useful in
biological research, where greater sensitivity allows smaller samples to be
analyzed, as in 'micro' biopsies.
- Molecular Sciences Software Suite (MS3). MS3 is the first
general-purpose software that allows a broad range of chemists to easily use
high-performance, massively parallel computers for a wide range of applications.
It's a comprehensive, integrated suite of software that enables researchers to
focus advanced simulation and modeling techniques on understanding the chemical
phenomena associated with complex issues such as environmental cleanup and
global change. The software suite allows chemists to model, simulate and
predict the characteristics of chemical systems with a level of accuracy equal
to that of the most sophisticated experimental approaches.
- Centrate Ammonia Recovery Process. - CAR is a reversible chemical binding process that controls the spread of ammonia - and subsequently nitrates - to waterways and drinking water. Nitrates are harmful to human health and a widespread environmental problem. Incorporating a newly designed adsorption resin and regeneration solution, the CAR process extracts ammonia out of sewage treatment liquid and livestock waste then converts it into standard commercial-grade, ammonium sulfate fertilizer, a dry odorless product. The technology was jointly developed by Pacific Northwest, Battelle and Scotts Co., which collaborated with ThermoEnergy Corp. and Foster Wheeler on a demonstration plant on Staten Island, New York.
Congratulating Pacific Northwest and other national laboratories on winning R&D 100 Awards, Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson said, "These awards are both a tribute to the creative genius of the scientists and engineers at our national labs that made these technologies possible and a recognition of the practical contributions that the Department of Energy research makes to the country."
More information on these and previous Pacific Northwest R&D 100 Awards can be found at www.pnl.gov/edo/succes/rd100.stm. Business inquiries on Pacific Northwest technologies should be directed to 1-888-375-PNNL or e-mail: inquiry@pnl.gov. Pacific Northwest is one of DOE's nine multiprogram national laboratories and conducts research in the fields of environment, energy, health sciences and national security. Battelle, based in Columbus, Ohio, has operated Pacific Northwest for DOE since 1965.