Hydroxymethylated Resorcinol Coupling Agent for Enhanced Durability of Bisphenol-A Epoxy Bonds to Sitka Spruce

Epoxy adhesives can develop bonds to wood that are as strong as the wood itself, but only if the bonds remain dry. Once exposed to repeated water soaking and severe stresses from drying, epoxy bonds delaminate and fail to meet requirements for structural wood adhesives intended for exterior exposure. A new hydroxymethylated resorcinol (HMR) coupling agent, applied to lumber surfaces before bonding, chemically couples both epoxy adhesive and lignocellulosics of wood to produce bonds to Sitka spruce that are extraordinarily resistant to delamination. In this report, we explain and demonstrate the nature of this coupling agent and the mechanism by which it enhances the durability of bonds of a bisphenol-A epoxy adhesive to wood. When diluted with benzyl alcohol, an epoxy adhesive developed structural bonds in HMR-primed lumber laminates that met the 5% maximum delamination requirement of ASTM Specification D 2559. The USDA Forest Service has applied for a patent for this invention

A Discrete-time Scheduling Model for Continuous Power-intensive Processes Considering Fatigue of Equipment

In the light of the growing renewable energy generation, matching of electricity supply and demand has become increasingly challenging. By participating in demand side management programs, industry can contribute to counter this challenge. However, the frequent adjustment of operation conditions according to volatile electricity prices leads to additional dynamic loads for the equipment. In this work, a mixed-integer linear programming based discrete-time model is proposed for scheduling of a single air separation unit, explicitly considering fatigue of equipment occurring during transient operation. Besides constraints for describing the feasible region and the process dynamics, this model includes constraints for considering mechanical fatigue of some key equipment. The resulting model is applied to investigate the impact of mechanical constraints on the potentials of demand side management.BMBF, 03SFK3X1, Verbundvorhaben SynErgie: Synchronisierte und energieadaptive Produktionstechnik zur flexiblen Ausrichtung von Industrieprozessen auf eine fluktuierende Energieversorgung. X1_Linde: Erforschung und Demonstration von Industrieprozessen und Produktionssystemen im Hinblick auf energetische Nachfrageflexibilitä

An Application for a State Designated, Federally Approved No Discharge Area for Boston Harbor, MA

The municipalities surrounding Boston Harbor are requesting that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts designate the waters of Boston Harbor as a No Discharge Area (NDA) pursuant to the Clean Water Act, Section 312(f)(3). An NDA is a body of water in which the discharge of vessel sewage, whether treated or not, is prohibited. The No Discharge Area would be called the Boston Harbor No Discharge Area. While the waters of Boston Harbor are under the jurisdiction of a number of different municipalities, water quality issues affect the harbor as a whole. Past efforts to clean up the harbor have occurred across municipal boundaries and efforts to reduce vessel sewage inputs to the harbor should be addressed in a similar fashion. The fact that boating activity in the harbor also crosses municipal boundaries suggests that a harbor-wide approach is the most appropriate. Vessel sewage, like many other pollutants, can be harmful to the environment when it is not adequately treated. Sewage contains high concentrations of nitrogen, a substance that can lead to algal blooms and low dissolved oxygen concentrations, which in turn can affect the health of fish, shellfish, and eelgrass beds. Sewage also contains bacteria and viruses that can make shellfish unsuitable for human consumption, can be a risk to human health and can severely restrict recreational opportunities (e.g. when swimming is prohibited at beaches due to elevated fecal coliform levels)

GENI Program

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Green Electricity Network Integration (GENI) program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses controls for managing power flows as part of the "Transmission Topology Control for Infrastructure Resilience to the Integration of Renewable Generation" project