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...
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