Argonne Accomplishments and Discoveries that Advance Energy Security

Pyroprocessing of spent reactor fuel

Argonne scientists and engineers developed and demonstrated pyroprocessing of spent reactor fuel, a process that recovers valuable fuel constituents, removes long-lived actinides from the waste stream and is resistant to nuclear proliferation. Pyroprocessing has the potential to greatly expand the effective capacity of the proposed Yucca Mountain repository and to minimize the need for additional repositories. More...

Demonstration of inherently safe nuclear reactor

Historic tests in 1986, at Experimental Breeder Reactor II demonstrated the passive safety of nuclear reactor fueled by metal alloy and cooled by liquid sodium. More...

Demonstration of closed nuclear fuel cycle

Experimental Breeder Reactor-II, designed and built by Argonne in 1964, proved that a reactor power plant could operate with an integral fuel reprocessing facility. For more than four years, all fuel in EBR-II was remotely reprocessed in an adjoining facility.

Compact reformer converts gasoline to hydrogen for fuel cells

Argonne chemical engineers have patented a compact fuel processor to "reform" ordinary gasoline into a hydrogen-rich gas to power fuel cells – an alternative power source being considered to replace the internal combustion engine in transportation. More...

GREET software evaluates advanced vehicle technologies and new fuels

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Argonne has developed a fuel-cycle model called GREET (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation) to evaluate various vehicle and fuel combinations on a full fuel-cycle basis. GREET can evaluate the energy and emission impacts of advanced vehicle technologies and new transportation fuels over their entire fuel and vehicle cycles, from mining initial raw materials through end-of-life vehicle disposal. More...

Near-Frictionless Carbon many times slicker than Teflon

Argonne materials scientists have developed an ultrahard coating many times slicker than Teflon. The material's coefficient of friction is less than.001 when measured in a dry nitrogen atmosphere. The most promising applications appear to be those that operate in essentially air-free environments, such as bearings for ultrahigh vacuum instruments, certain mechanical seals, and selected cryogenic, space, and aircraft applications. But the material's properties in air and on lubricated surfaces also are impressive. It is expected that this new material may likely find applications in automobile and engine parts such as turbocharger rotors, piston rings, gears and bearings, air-conditioning compressors, and fuel injector components, including possible applications in electronic and micro-electromechanical systems. More...

America's first high-temperature-superconducting wire

On March 25, 1987, Argonne materials scientists made America's first wire from newly discovered high-temperature superconductors.

First town lighted by nuclear electricity

Argonne scientists and engineers conceived, designed and built the world's first boiling water reactor. Early experiments with the BORAX reactors demonstrated the inherent safety of this concept and, on July 17, 1955, provided electricity to light an entire town – Arco, Idaho – with nuclear power for the first time in history.

First nuclear reactor to produce usable amounts of electricity

On Dec. 20, 1951, Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 (EBR-I) lighted four light bulbs with the world's first usable amount of electricity from nuclear energy. Designed, built and operated by Argonne National Laboratory, EBR-I was the first reactor built on what is now the Idaho National Laboratory. More...

Pioneering the peaceful use of nuclear energy

The concepts and prototypes of most modern commercial nuclear reactors were pioneered and tested at Argonne. Examples include light-water reactors, pressurized-water reactors, boiling-water reactors, and the nautilus reactor that powered the first nuclear submarines. More...