Idaho National Laboratory (DOE)
Biofuels blend right in
January 30, 2013 1:55 pm | News | CommentsA collaboration by researchers with the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has shown that blending different feedstocks and milling the mixture into flour or pellets has significant potential for helping to make biofuels a cost-competitive transportation fuel technology.
New software tool helps utilities monitor for network security
October 9, 2012 9:35 am | News | CommentsNamed for the Greek word for wisdom, Sophia is a software sentry developed at Idaho National Laboratory that can passively monitor communication pathways in a static computer network and flag new types of conversations so operators can decide if a threat is present. It is the first such cybersecurity technology for SCADA control system network administrators that is being evaluated for deployment to industry.
Eight national labs streamline partnership agreements
February 27, 2012 5:43 pm | News | CommentsIntended to help cut red tape for business and startups wanting to do business with the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s research laboratories, the new Agreements for Commercializing Technology (ACT) program was recently launched as a third alternative to the two preceding options: signing a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) or a Work For Others (WFO) Agreement.
Reliable nuclear device to heat, power Mars Science Laboratory
November 22, 2011 2:42 am | News | CommentsNASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission has the potential to be the most productive Mars surface mission in history. That's due in part to its nuclear heat and power source. When the rover Curiosity heads to space, it will carry the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, the latest "space battery" that can reliably power a deep space mission for many years.
DOE captures fugitives to reduce its carbon emissions
November 16, 2011 10:00 am | News | CommentsIn terms of emissions, just one pound of sulfur hexafluoride, a nontoxic gas used in electric insulation, is equivalent to about 11 tons of carbon dioxide. Energy Department experts are hunting down this and other fugitive carbon emissions and have already prevented the release of 600,000 metric tons of carbon equivalent.
The true nature of batteries
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersA battery test invention from Idaho National Laboratory called the Impedance Measurement Box (IMB) provides two key but previously ignored metrics regarding battery performance: pulse resistance and power capability.
Gelatin offers key to contamination clean up
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersUsing the properties of foods like Jell-O, researchers have developed an effective, patented chemical-foam-clay decontamination process called Rad-Release Chemical Decontamination Technology. The two-part process attaches to vertical surfaces and can be tailored to specific radiological and metal contaminants.
Hydraulic shuttle revamps experiments at Advanced Test Reactor
August 12, 2011 9:08 am | by Julie Ulrich | News | CommentsTaking inspiration from a bank’s drive-up pneumatic canister transport system, engineers at Idaho National Laboratory have installed a new specimen shuttle system that dramatically improves the duration range of experiments.
Solar product captures up to 95% of light energy
May 17, 2011 4:25 am | News | CommentsEfficiency is a problem with today's solar panels; they only collect about 20% of available light. Now, a Univ. of Missouri engineer has developed a flexible solar sheet that captures more than 90% of available light, and he plans to make prototypes available to consumers within the next five years.
Products from Government-sponsored Research
April 8, 2011 7:19 am | by Rita C. Peters | Articles | CommentsArgonne National Laboratory (Argonne, Ill.) has recently commercialized its lithium-rich composite cathode technology for lithium-ion batteries with licenses to GM, Envia, Toda Kogyo, LG Chem, and BASF.
Research Insights
April 8, 2011 6:08 am | by Rita C. Peters | Articles | CommentsGovernment lab executives comment on pressing topics.
Fleet of nuclear-powered Mars Hoppers could bring back a piece of Mars
February 24, 2011 4:40 am | News | CommentsScientists at Idaho National Lab’s Center for Space Nuclear Research have designed long-lived rocket-powered hoppers that could travel the Martian surface autonomously. Weighing about as much as a penguin, the hoppers don't have to carry fuel with them; they can suck up the carbon-dioxide-rich Martian atmosphere and use stored heat from a radioisotope power source to convert it to a propellant.
Biodiesel goes back to the future
August 11, 2010 12:40 pm | Award WinnersA new Supercritical/Solid Catalyst (SSC) Biodiesel Production Process from Idaho National Laboratory, produces high-quality (ASTM) biodiesel (B100) fuel from brown and black greases and other waste fats, oils, and greases; and does not require the input of acid or base catalysts.
Hunters transcend the laws of physics
August 11, 2010 5:56 am | Award WinnersIdaho National Laboratory's MicroSight—a solution to a centuries-old problem—at first defies logic: users can focus on both a target and its aiming reference simultaneously. The MicroSight does this by implementing phased zone plate technology.
Taking the chaos out of nanoparticle production
July 30, 2009 6:16 am | Award WinnersPrecision Nanoparticles was the result of serendipitous experimentation by a team of researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (Idaho Fall, Idaho) and Idaho State Univ. where the team was attempting a traditional nanoparticle production method in which a supercritical fluid is used as a solvent to dissolve the source material.
System concentrates water for quality testing
July 30, 2009 5:52 am | Award WinnersThe Water Sample Concentrator (WSC) developed by Idaho National Laboratory (Idaho Falls, Idaho) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Cincinnati, Ohio) fills a critical need for water quality sampling methods that non-specialists can use to monitor water resources.
Getting gas to more places for less
August 31, 2006 8:00 pm | Award WinnersResearchers at the Idaho National Laboratory (Idaho Falls, Idaho) have developed a new LNG-based technology dubbed The Compact High Efficiency Natural Gas Liquefier. This technology does not require as large a production facility, therefore is less expensive to build and operate and produces a lower cost product than existing commercial approaches, including large-scale, centralized processing plants.
Cleaner water through nanotech
August 31, 2006 8:00 pm | Award WinnersResponding to the need for safer drinking water the world over, chemical engineers Troy Tranter, Terry Todd, and Scott Herbst, and scientist Nicholas Mann, at Idaho National Laboratory have created a long-lasting, high-capacity nanocomposite polymer particle engineered to remove harmful arsenic concentrations from water. Nano-Composite Arsenic Sorbent (N-CAS) is seven times more effective at removing arsenic from water than currently available technologies and is well-suited for industrial use.
Images from the front line
August 31, 2005 8:00 pm | Award WinnersResearchers from Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho, developed The Visual First Responder Wireless Video (VFR), a portable, lightweight, wireless video camera/transmitter and receiver system that allows emergency responders to send high quality video from terrorism, accident or disaster sites to a remote command post, up to five miles away.
Eliminating threats to groundwater reserves
August 31, 2004 8:00 pm | Award WinnersResearchers at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), Idaho Falls, have found a way to measure the amounts of contamination inside waste areas without harm to the surface or to equipment. The INEEL Geologic and Environmental Probe System (GEOPS) allows direct characterization and monitoring within or below hazardous waste sites.
Better way to test bonds
August 31, 2002 8:00 pm | Award WinnersIn a technological leap, the Micro Laser Ultrasonic Bond Detection System replaces manual pulling and shearing techniques of microelectronic bond testing with the use of lasers. Better bond integrity could lead to longer-life pacemakers, sturdier cell phones and oil rigs, and fewer space station repairs.
Stronger, finer grained steel
August 31, 2002 8:00 pm | Award WinnersJohn Flinn of Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho Falls, has developed STAINLESS STEEL PLUS (SSP), a fine-grained stainless steel powder that provides breakthroughs in its thermal, mechanical, and corrosion properties at a significant price-performance advantage versus competing products.
