Petroleum refineries are one of potentially several beneficiaries of a patented separation technology developed by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Refineries use high-purity hydrogen to convert crude oil into several products, including gasoline for automobiles. During the refining pro...
Microorganism populations blanketed by Colorado's snow are a lot more active and diverse than previously thought, according to findings by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Christopher Schadt, lead author of a paper published in the Sept. 5 issue of Science. The discovery is significant because ...
Particle fuel coating technology from Oak Ridge National Laboratory could play a big role in deployment one day of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. The reactors and the fuel they consume would minimize the production of long-lived radioactive waste and would increase the burn rate. One o...
Miniaturized user-friendly mass spectrometers could play a huge role in safeguarding the nation, and about 150 of the world's best mass spectrometrists will be in Knoxville this month to showcase the latest in the field. The workshop, scheduled for Sept. 16-18 at the Marriott Hotel, is focusing on r...
High-temperature superconducting transformers can perform the necessary change in voltage in a transmission system without the 23,000 liters of oil in conventional transformers. This reduces the weight of a power transformer from about 75 tons to about 45 tons for a 30 megavolt-ampere (MVA) u...
A potentially inexpensive miniature sensor able to detect tiny amounts of airborne plastic explosives in just seconds could make it possible to safeguard virtually all airports and key public facilities in the United States. The ORNL micromechanical system (MEMS) has several advantages over conventi...
Transmission - Three times the efficiency Next-generation power lines that are lighter and can transmit far more electricity will likely play a role in modernizing the nation's power grid. The new transmission lines, made of 3M Nextel 610 ceramic fibers embedded in an aluminum matrix, are un...
Ridding natural gas of sulfur and other impurities means cleaner air, and it is the focus of a project that would take advantage of two technologies developed at ORNL. The goal is to build and demonstrate a low-cost regenerative desulfurizer based on the carbon fiber composite molecular sieve and el...
Researchers at ORNL are joining with other agencies to monitor the health of a mountain river and possibly head off detrimental effects of upriver development. Little River, which flows out of the Great Smoky Mountains, is considered a relatively pristine stream despite growth of a resort area along...
High-temperature superconducting cables can transmit up to five times as much electricity as conventional cables over the same rights-of-way. And, because the cable loses very little energy in the form of heat, it will cut electrical transmission losses in half - from 8 percent to 4 percent. H...