Scientists have developed a process for mixing unmodified lignin with general-purpose rubber and other components that yields high-performance renewable thermoplastics containing up to 41 percent of lignin content. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory-led research team tested two combinations of materials using different lignin varieties resulting in samples that were either “stretchy” or demonstrated tensile strength comparable to glassy plastic such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS.
For an ExxonMobil-funded study, Oak Ridge National Laboratory chemists helped characterize shale that holds onto methane gas tightly. Conducting the first direct measurements of methane density in tight shale, the researchers used small-angle neutron scattering to study features smaller than 10 nanometers—a plethora of petite pores produced when hydrocarbons “cooked” and matured to make methane.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory will lead the 13th international conference on Thermal Performance of the Exterior Envelopes of Whole Buildings XIII on December 5-8 in Clearwater, Florida, an event that attracts building envelope experts from around the world to share state-of-the-art research and technology applications. One topic of interest will be a mold growth index model workshop, explaining the model’s development and application and providing examples of how MGI usage could vary depending on building materials.
The summertime temperatures in the North Slope and Seward Peninsula of Alaska rarely reach higher than 50 degrees F and the perpetually dark winters fall below minus 20 F. It is a brutal environment for any researcher studying the Arctic ecosystem, much less a supercomputer modele...
For the first time since 2011, scientific users of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor were able to take advantage of a seventh cycle, allowing for 25 extra days of neutron production and available time for new experiments on HFIR’s 12 beam lines in fiscal ye...
Lignocellulosic biomass—plant matter such as cornstalks, straw, and woody plants—is a sustainable source for production of bio-based fuels and chemicals.
Accelerator physicist Sarah Cousineau has dedicated her career to unraveling the world’s mysteries through physics. A large part of solving those mysteries, she says, means getting the next generation of physicists ready for the same challenge.
Cousineau is a group leader in th...
The theories recognized with this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics underpin research ongoing at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where scientists are using neutrons as a probe to seek new materials with extraordinary properties for applications such as next-generation electronics, superconductors, and quantum computing.
Researchers at Penn State, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company have developed methods to control defects in two-dimensional materials, such as graphene, that may lead to improved membranes for water desalination, energy...
The first of its kind superconducting linear particle accelerator (LINAC) built for the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is now celebrating 10 years of successful operations.
The world-leading machine, which took 7 years...