Bioenergy researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have explained the molecular mechanism of an effect that has puzzled scientists for years. A team led by Jeremy Smith has discovered that lignin, when pretreated with a tetrahydrofuran-water solvent, shifts from a globul...
Inspections will play a crucial role in the decisions to extend operating licenses for many of the nation’s aging nuclear power plants, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory has a tool that could help. “The question that needs to be answered is whether the concrete structures th...
By using additive manufacturing to print active components of motors, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are conducting research that cannot be done with conventional methods. “To date, 3-D printed induction motors are made of plastic core pieces with copper windings ...
Ethanol’s inherently high octane rating makes it attractive for meeting fuel economy and greenhouse gas targets and renewable fuel mandates, according to an Oak Ridge National Laboratory report. Although ethanol has two-thirds the energy density of gasoline, its higher octane ...
Collisions and congestion at intersections and where highways merge could be greatly reduced – even eliminated – with a technology being developed by a team led by Andreas Malikopoulos, deputy director of the Urban Dynamics Institute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The approach...
Although variable refrigerant flow heat pumps are known to have advantages, higher initial costs and difficulty in quantifying those benefits serve as deterrents to their widespread use. ORNL’s flexible research platform, however, provides a solution that enables researchers to chara...
A new addition to Data.gov, home of the U.S. government’s open data, focuses on the connection between climate change and the nation’s energy infrastructure. Curated by an Oak Ridge National Laboratory-led team, the “Energy Infrastructure” theme contains federally created scientific ...
Scientists of the Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments are blogging from the Arctic this summer. Follow their adventures at http://ngee-arctic.blogspot.com/. Participants share troubles and triumphs from the field in entries with headings like "Flying Wild Alaska" and "Hitting the Tundra." "The b...
Whole-ecosystem warming technologies for the 10- year Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Climatic and Environmental Change project have been finalized using prototypes designed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Construction has begun in Minnesota to deploy the technologies, which will warm the...
Through a network that consists of hundreds of low-cost monitors that plug into standard 110-volt outlets, GridEye can play a role in ensuring the reliability of the nation's power grids. The system, developed by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, provides real-time information about dyna...