INEEL researchers achieve hydrogen milestone

Dr. Jim O'Brien, left and Dr. Carl Stoots holding a ten-cell high temperature electrolysis stack.

Researchers at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and Ceramatec, Inc. of Salt Lake City are reporting a significant achievement in the production of hydrogen from water using high-temperature electrolysis. Instead of conventional electrolysis, which uses only electric current to separate hydrogen from water, high-temperature electrolysis enhances the efficiency of the process by adding substantial external heat – such as high-temperature steam from an advanced nuclear reactor system. This development is viewed as a crucial first step toward large-scale production of hydrogen from water, rather than fossil fuels. Added benefits include the avoidance of both greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption.

[Teri Ehresman, 208/526-7785;
ehr@inel.gov]

Predicting the devastation of hurricanes

After predicting the devastating effects of 2004 hurricanes with uncanny accuracy, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are using computer models to helping the DOE's Office of Energy Assurance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other organizations plan for future disasters. Modeling electric power lost and restoration across storm-damaged areas, the models have been able to provide detailed information to planners on the exact infrastructure impacts even before the hurricanes made landfall. For those in the paths of hurricane devastation, the Los Alamos infrastructure models meant their lights and gas were returned to service hours or even days earlier than normal.

[Nancy Ambrosiano, 505/667-0471;
nwa@lanl.gov]

ORNL's LandScan helps tsunami relief

LandScan image of Sri Lanka shows population densities along hard-hit east coast.

Relief agencies working to assist victims of the December 26 tsunamis in the Indian Ocean are using a demographic database developed at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. LandScan is a global population database that shows geographical distribution of population at one-kilometer resolution. Using population distribution maps, relief workers can easily and quickly determine the locations of potential tsunami victims who would otherwise be cut off from communication. Before the December 26 disaster, LandScan data was used to plan aid and recovery efforts after the 2003 earthquake that destroyed Bam, Iran.

[Bill Cabage , 865/574-4399;
cabagewh@ornl.gov]

DZero continues search for a possible light Higgs

Distribution of the dijet invariant mass for W + 2b-tagged events: the 6 observed events (black circles) are compared to the simulated standard model contributions (cumulative histograms). The expectation for a 115 GeV Higgs boson from WH production is also shown (brown histogram).

Scientists of the DZero experiment at the Department of Energy's Fermilab have submitted results of the first Run II search for a light Higgs, hypothesized at 115 GeV/c**2. In this search, DZero looks for events where the W boson decays to leptons and the Higgs boson decays to a b-quark, anti b-quark pair. The real data unfortunately shows no evidence that this is the scenario. But this non-observation allows DZero to set new limits on the critical W-Higgs production rate, which can set limits on theoretical ideas outside the standard model. And it holds out some hope that the Tevatron might produce evidence of a light Higgs.

[Mike Perricone, 630/840-5678;
mikep@fnal.gov]

New material may be key to quality, low-cost housing

Argonne researcher Arun Wagh demonstrates how easy it is to spray a tough new ceramic material that is almost twice as strong as concrete and may be the key to providing high-quality, low-cost housing throughout developing nations.

The United Nations estimates there are almost a billion poor people in the world, most of whom live without adequate shelter and basic services. But scientists at DOE's Argonne National Laboratory and Casa Grande LLC have developed a tough new ceramic material that may be the key to providing high-quality, low-cost housing throughout developing nations.

The ceramic is called Grancrete, which, when sprayed onto a rudimentary frame, dries to form lightweight but durable walls and roofing. The resulting house is a major upgrade to the fragile structures in which millions of the world's poorest currently live.

Co-developer Arun Wagh, an Argonne materials scientist, hopes to see Grancrete used throughout his native India and the world to produce housing for the poor. Born in the Indian state of Karnataka, Wagh grew up in a neighborhood where even to this day the homes have walls and ceilings made from knitted mats of palm leaves and the floors are made of dried cow dung.

“These homes are regularly subjected to hundreds of inches of monsoon rains and cyclone winds, and therefore often have to be repaired or even entirely rebuilt,” says Wagh. “Obviously such conditions can have a great impact on the health, well-being, and longevity of the children and adults living there.” The Grancrete spray-on cement now offers hundreds of millions of people such as these the opportunity to have adequate housing and live longer, healthier lives.

Grancrete is based on an Argonne-developed material called Ceramicrete, which was developed in 1996 to encase nuclear waste. Grancrete is stronger than concrete, is fire resistant and can withstand both tropical and sub-freezing temperatures, keeping dwellings in arid regions cool, and those in frigid regions warm.

Grancrete is made from an environmentally friendly mix of sand or sandy soil, ash and binding material made from biodegradable elements found in fertilizer.

Submitted by DOE's Argonne National Laboratory