Advanced Gasifier Pilot Plant Concept Definition

This report presents results from definition of a preferred commercial-scale advanced gasifier configuration and concept definition for a gasification pilot plant incorporating those preferred technologies. The preferred commercial gasifier configuration was established based on Cost Of Electricity estimates for an IGCC. Based on the gasifier configuration trade study results, a compact plug flow gasifier, with a dry solids pump, rapid-mix injector, CMC liner insert and partial quench system was selected as the preferred configuration. Preliminary systems analysis results indicate that this configuration could provide cost of product savings for electricity and hydrogen ranging from 15%-20% relative to existing gasifier technologies. This cost of product improvement draws upon the efficiency of the dry feed, rapid mix injector technology, low capital cost compact gasifier, and >99% gasifier availability due to long life injector and gasifier liner, with short replacement time. A pilot plant concept incorporating the technologies associated with the preferred configuration was defined, along with cost and schedule estimates for design, installation, and test operations. It was estimated that a 16,300 kg/day (18 TPD) pilot plant gasifier incorporating the advanced gasification technology and demonstrating 1,000 hours of hot-fire operation could be accomplished over a period of 33 months with a budget of $25.6 M

Optimal growth and uncertainty: learning

Authors' draft dated March 28, 2008. Final version available online at http://www.sciencedirect.com/We introduce learning in a Brock-Mirman environment and study the effect of risk generated by the planner's econometric activity on optimal consumption and investment. Here, learning introduces two sources of risk about future payoffs: structural uncertainty and uncertainty from the anticipation of learning. The latter renders control and learning nonseparable. We present two sets of results in a learning environment. First, conditions under which the introduction of learning increases or decreases optimal consumption are provided. The effect depends on the strengths and directions of the two sources of risk, which may pull in opposite directions. Second, the effects of changes in the mean and riskiness of the distribution of the signal and initial beliefs on optimal consumption are studied

Ernest Hemingway and I

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston UniversityPLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you.2031-01-0

A Light Rail for the Boise-Nampa MSA; An Inevitable Development

As cities grow in size and density, traffic problems rapidly create a strain on city resources and increase commute time for the urban workforce. Increased commute times deter potential talent from entering the city’s workforce and decrease the utility levels of urban residents. It is essential to the economic future of growing cities to find a viable means by which workers and employers can come together to accomplish economic activities. In the Northwest, several cities have implemented light rail systems to alleviate challenges that are a natural progression of economic growth, including Vancouver (1985), Portland (1986), Salt Lake City (1999) and most recently, Seattle (2003). Boise is the largest Metro area in the Pacific Northwest that does not yet have a light rail system. For Boise the question is not a matter of if the city will benefit from a light rail system, but when. In this study, we will conduct a comparative analysis of the costs and benefits of installing a light rail system to serve the Boise metro area. The federal government has approved $8 billion dollars for light rail projects in the U.S. The ready availability of this funding can potentially accelerate the time needed for Boise to complete a light rail since the city may be able to split the cost with the Federal Government. We expect to show through our analysis that the population density and growth rate of the Boise metro area warrants having a limited, but functional light rail system

Mutational analysis of bacteriophage lambda lysis gene S.

A plasmid carrying the bacteriophage lambda lysis genes under lac control was subjected to hydroxylamine mutagenesis, and mutations eliminating the host lethality of the S gene were selected. DNA sequence analysis revealed 48 single-base mutations which resulted in alterations within the coding sequence of the S gene. Thirty-three different missense alleles were generated. Most of the missense changes clustered in the first two-thirds of the molecule from the N terminus. A simple model for the disposition of the S protein within the inner membrane can be derived from inspection of the primary sequence. In the first 60 residues, there are two distinct stretches of predominantly hydrophobic amino acids, each region having a net neutral charge and extending for at least 20 residues. These regions resemble canonical membrane-spanning domains. In the model, the two domains span the bilayer as a pair of net neutral charge helices, and the N-terminal 10 to 12 residues extend into the periplasm. The mutational pattern is largely consistent with the model. Charge changes within the putative imbedded regions render the protein nonfunctional. Loss of glycine residues at crucial reverse-turn domains which would be required to reorient the molecule to reenter the membrane also inactivate the molecule. Finally, a number of neutral and rather subtle mutations such as Ala to Val and Met to Ile are found, mostly within the putative spanning regions. Although no obvious explanation exists for this subtle and heterogeneous class of mutations, it is noted that all of the changes result in a loss of alpha-helical character as predicted by Chou-Fasman theoretical analysis. Alternative explanations for some of these changes are also possible, including a reduction in net translation rate due to substitution of a rare codon for a common one. The model and the pattern of mutations have implications for the probable oligomerization of the S protein at the time of endolysin release at the end of the vegetative growth period