Idaho National Laboratory Technology Marketing Summaries

The TRU waste screener (TRU-WS) is a multifunctional system for the rapid screening of transuranic material for criticality safety or screening for TRU content in open trays or waste containers.

Friction welding that uses a contact rotating tool creates frictional heating of an adjacent work piece. The process employs a mixer where the two pieces touch, an area called the plastic zone, to avoid the undesirable joining (e.g. alloying) of the two work pieces.

INL researchers have invented a method to evaluate materials using an impedance method, rather than relying upon nondestructive techniques optical, acoustic, radiographic and electromagnetic techniques.

This is a method of improved delivery of liquid natural gas (LNG) within an engine delivery system. The LNG gas is first be pumped into the insulated holding tank from a fueling station. As a tank is refueled, any remaining liquefied gas vapors are condensed and returned to the liquid state. This allows the tank to fill quicker and hold more fuel, without having to vent any vapor into the atmosphere.

This is a guidance system that utilizes GPS and an autonomous control system incorporated into the operating system of industrial and agricultural equipment. Current systems provide an operator with assisted navigation via a satellite position signal. This enables operators to maintain a straight line when driving equipment, thus minimizing “skip” and “overlap.” While this is beneficial, many current systems do not relieve the operator from driving tasks. Current... read more

This is a method used to reactivate solid/liquid catalysts used in INL’s super critical process to produce alkylates. The method brings the catalyst into contact with the designated fluid that serves as the reactivating agent and has the density to dissolve the impurities. The process reactivates the catalyst by exposing it to a series of agents to dissolve the fouling agents. Once the catalyst has been processed with the fluid-reactivating agents, it is then separated so that it may be... read more

The INL designed a system that allows for continuous processing of various non equi-dimensional substrates. By using a processing chamber that allows a substrate to pass through, the substrate is exposed to a treatment mixture which consists of a modifying agent combined with a supercritical fluid. On either end of the device are seals which are configured to allow the substrate to pass into and out of the apparatus.

INL’s biodiesel-SSC uses solid catalyst under super-critical fluid conditions to produce biodiesel from a full range of lipid feedstock. This invention provides in a single-phase process for producing alkyl esters from triglycerides or fatty acid material feedstock. The material is mixed with an alcohol and a solvent supercritical gas (e.g. carbon dioxide or alkane) to produce glycerol/glycerin and an alkyl ester out of fatty acid for further refinement. The refining process uses gravity... read more

INL has developed a thermal plasma quench to cool the heat generated from rapid chemical reactions, preventing adverse reactions or decompositions to undesirable products.

INL has invented a process for creating energetic materials, including trinitrotoluene (TNT).  By using a carbon dioxide environment, which reduces the amount of acid generated from the nitration reaction (orthonitrotoluene, ONT and dinitrotoluene, DNT). The process uses a surfactant, a nitrating agent, and a source of organic material to be nitrated. 

Scientists at Idaho National Laboratory have invented a new method of producing quantum particles of varying dimensions by employing supercritical fluid process. The process exposes a single source precursor to a supercritical fluid, such as carbon dioxide, scientists developed a process to form nanoparticles for use in semi-conductor devices.

INL has developed a LNG/CNG refueling process and method for dispensing liquefied natural gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG) or both on demand. The process utilizes CNG as a source of LNG, and is stored in a cryogenic storage vessel on site. A low volume high pressure pump is coupled to the source of LNG to produce a stream of pressurized LNG that can be selectively directed through a LNG or CNG flow path, which may include a vaporizer to produce CNG from the pressurized LNG. The fueling... read more

Controlled engineered coatings are important in many manufacturing processes.  INL’s plasma-spray tool provides a highly control coating operation delivering accurate thicknesses, porosity, crack density, and grain structure. The invention delivers tightly controlled spray pattern shapes and/or spatial distribution of particles. The system also provides a feedback of spatial distribution of particles or spatial parameter characteristics of particles, temperature with this operation,... read more

INL orbital vibrator invention improves determination of rock porosity and permeability in oil recovery operations. It provides accurate data about small rock samples so when they are sent to the laboratory the real properties of the rocks in the oil situ can be determined. Two internal accelerometers mounted within a down hole are employed to measure the acceleration of the device.

INL has developed a high-temperature process the utilizes solid oxide fuel cells that are operated in the electrolytic mode. The first process includes combining a high-temperature heat source (e.g. nuclear reactor) with a hydrogen production facility by taking a stream of water and heating it and then splitting the water into hydrogen and oxygen product streams.

A second method uses several loops, including a primary heat loop, intermediate exchange loop, power generation loop, and hydrogen... read more

INL’s new phosphazene membrane technology provides a method for making polydichlorophosphazene using solid state reactants that simplifies previous processes with a “single pot” two-step process. The process eliminates use of chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents, reducing the costs of equipment and increasing economies. Polyphosphazene polymers are inorganic in nature and consist of alternating phosphorus and nitrogen atoms with alternating double and single bonds.

Phase one of... read more

INL has invented a process that leverages nuclear technology in combination with various carbon sources to produce synthetic gases for refinement into synthetic transportation fuels/chemicals. Using solid-state electrolysis, water is decomposed to hydrogen and oxygen in one process, while carbon dioxide is decomposed to carbon monoxide and oxygen in another. From these products some of the hydrogen is combined with oxygen to form water, while more hydrogen reacts with carbon monoxide to produce... read more

INL has invented a new technology for use in an electric percussion hammer drill, which includes a reciprocal moveable hammer that drives a tool bit delivering both reciprocal movement and rotatable movement. The hammer drill deliver exceptional hammer velocity and increased hammer blow frequency with reduced weight.

INL’s Laser Induced Spectroscopy technology detects and measures the composition of a material or the molecules in the material. It traces the constituents of the material by using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy and laser induced fluorescence under ambient conditions.

The technology measures the decay emission values of the excited absorption state and compares it to decay emission values of samples of known trace constituent composition. The laser is performed at a selected... read more

INL’s acoustic imaging technology improves methods of capturing moving images of a specified object by using a photorefractive effect to produce a full-field image of the object without using a probe to perform a full scan of the object. INL technology includes a second device that produces an acoustic image of an object using acoustic wave results in the formation of at least one surface displacement on the surface of the target object. A light source produces an optical object wave... read more

INL’s process enables an agricultural combine to separate multiple products , e.g. agricultural residue, grain, etc. in a single pass across a field. The remaining material will pass through a secondary thresher separate internodal stem from the plant material and then passed to baler. The crops or plant material which could benefit from this product include: wheat, barley, corn, or it could be utilized by grain crops, cereal crops and legumes.

This is a process for producing jet fuel from biological feed stock, including animal fats and oils, vegetable oils, and crop seed oils. The aviation and fuel-producing communities would have the option of leveraging available renewable and/or nonrenewable jet fuel sources. The oils and fats can be distilled, separated, and purified to change fuel composition, weights, etc.  In certain situations oils can be hydrocracked to produce smaller molecular weights and different catalysts,... read more

The Appelhans '821 electrostatic dispersion lens (EDL) enhances the dispersion between ion beams without regard to the energy of ions in the beams. It uses an electrostatic field shaped by two nested, one-quarter section, right cylindrical electrodes held at opposite voltages with a constant gap width between the cylindrical electrodes.

The use of lasers has become increasingly widespread, especially for manufacturing products and material analysis. Recently, laser desorption (LD) techniques for mass spectrometry have attracted attention because it produces intact molecular ions, avoids surface charging issues, and allows tuning of laser irradiation to accommodate various sample types. LD microprobe mass spectrometers use scanning techniques that rely on manipulation of a sample target.

The INL has developed a geospatial decision making process to assist agricultural producers in optimizing operating conditions of combine harvesters  which detects the presence of grain and distinguishes between that and residual plant material. Upon detecting grain in the process, the system sends an electrical signal which determines the amount of grain being processed in the machine, improving the accuracy of grain-loss sensors and greater efficiency and higher yields. Previous... read more

The INL has developed a device for metering oil and gas streams that consist of both gas and liquid parts presents a significant challenge. Commonly used multi-phase flow meters reflect significant gains in this technology, but still have major flaws in accurately metering and accounting the material flows.

Migration of contaminants from buried waste sites can be a threat to the safety of groundwater resources.  Ideally, migration of contaminants would be detected as close as possible to the source, minimizing aquifer impact and cleanup costs.  However, monitoring within or beneath waste sites is generally avoided due to the resulting surface contamination created during insertion of traditional monitoring devices.  Researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls,... read more

INL has developed a novel technology for significantly reducing 2-cycle engine exhaust emissions.  This patented technology has the potential to make 2-cycle engines run cleaner by significantly reducing smog emissions while simultaneously reducing noise emissions. It also promises to be relatively inexpensive to implement.  The technology utilizes a modified vortex tube design, which causes unconsumed oil in the exhaust to condense and collect where it can easily be discarded or... read more

INL has developed a fast quench reactor process to produce diatomic hydrogen and unsaturated hydrocarbons. During the fast quench, the unsaturated hydrocarbons are further decomposed by reheating the reactor gases. More diatomic hydrogen is produced, along with elemental carbon. Other gas may be added at different stages in the process to form a desired end product and prevent back reactions. The product is a substantially clean-burning hydrogen fuel that leaves no greenhouse gas emissions and... read more

INL has developed a method for fabricating a self-cleaning porous cermet material filter and system that may be used in filtering particulate and gaseous pollutants from internal combustion engines, which have intermetallic and ceramic phases. The porous cermet filter may be made from a transition metal aluminide phase and an alumina phase. Filler materials may be added to increase the porosity or tailor the catalytic properties of the cermet material. Also, the cermet material may be... read more

This novel technology from INL uses pressure letdown equipment to separate salable and feed gases from waste gas streams.  By applying traditional equipment to gaseous waste streams, costs can be reduced by requiring lower flow and maintenance equipment.

This patented technology is an integrated system to perform autonomous parallel path swathing with either manned or unmanned ground vehicles. Using precise satellite positioning, this patented technology provides automated steering control, contour following, and obstacle avoidance on various equipment such as agriculture, mining, environmental, forestry, etc.

This suite of patents define a non-destructive testing technology that uses photon induced positrons to measure volumetric changes in the lattice structure of metals, polymers, and ceramic components.  The system uses a linear accelerator or calibrated photon source, a germanium (Ge) detector and a data processing that can be operated by an easily-trained individual to provide results for further interpretation. The photon source is directed toward a target to create positrons within it,... read more

INL has developed a method and apparatus for determining an impedance of an energy-output device using a random noise stimulus applied to the energy-output device. A random noise signal is generated and converted to a random noise stimulus as a current source correlated to the random noise signal. A bias-reduced response of the energy-output device to the random noise stimulus is generated by comparing a voltage at the energy-output device terminal to an average voltage signal. The random noise... read more

INL has developed a novel thermal plasma process that provides a source of metal particles as a supply to the plasma reactor to form metal nitride particles. Then, the reaction with the metal nitride particles reacts with water to generate ammonia and an oxide/hydro-oxide byproduct. 

INL has developed a method and apparatus for selectively harvesting multiple components of a plant material. A grain component is separated from the plant material such as by processing the plant material through a primary threshing and separating mechanism. At least one additional component of the plant material is selectively harvested such as by subjecting the plant material to a secondary threshing and separating mechanism. For example, the stems of a plant material may be broken at a... read more

INL has developed a novel process for producing hydrogen using a reduced outlet temperature of Very High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor. This process uses a combination of hydrogen recycle, a molten salt or helium, and a supercritical CO₂ cycle. This method preheats the feed, reduces pumping power in the primary side and/or thermal transmission piping, and converts the power unit, achieving a high electrical conversion efficiency of 45%. This process reduces the operating outlet temperature of... read more

INL has developed a patented process to handle and process polybenzimdazole (PBI) compounds that previously could only be handled in very heavy low vapor pressure organic solvents. With the new process the resulting compounds are modified to provide increased solubility in higher vapor pressure solvents and at significantly greater concentrations. These compounds may be utilized in a wide array of applications where high temperature and polymeric materials are utilized. Compounds made with this... read more

INL has developed novel membrane materials for the selective removal of polar gases from non-polar gases, such as methane. These phosphazene membranes are mechanically durable, as well as flexible, permitting their application for a wide variety of uses. They are effective when used in challenging environments, such as high temperatures (stable at approximately 300 degrees Celsius), various pressures and corrosive situations. These materials are much simpler, costs less, and are stable in... read more

INL has developed a patented optical method using a filar micrometer microscope with an electronic readout for measuring strain in gas composition. Currently used methods require large samples and take many months to equilibrate. This new method uses small samples, which significantly reduces the time required to obtain measurements (i.e. hours versus months). Benefits include more accurate modeling of CO2 sequestration in coal beds, as well as increased energy production from coal.

• Continuous, consistent, controllable material flow rates,
• Real time, positive control of gas species and fuel/air ratios, and
• Highly variable, efficient and scalable transport systems.