Government
An office for funding unusual energy projects Department of Energy's Division of Advanced Energy Projects supports exploratory research on novel, high-risk proposals others won't fund Tucked away in the vastness of the Department of Energy is a small office that funds research. Although many offices at DOE do this, this one fulfills a unique function. Since 1977, the Division of Advanced Energy Projects has supported exploratory research on highly novel concepts related to energy. Its first and only director is Ryszard Gajewski, who explains that AEP tries to find a home for the good research ideas that other divisions can't quite bring themselves to fund. "Sometimes people managing DOE grants programs get a proposal that everybody likes, except it doesn't fit into any program/' Gajewski says. AEP takes these "orphans," these innovative, interesting ideas that no one else can use. "There is another category of projects that needs attention," Gajewski adds. "These are ideas that are so new and so unusual and so untested that it's not really technology, and at the same time it's not really basic research." These "infant" projects often fall between the cracks of other divisions. "I would say that this program, if I had to put it in capsule form, takes care of the infants and orphans," Gajewski says. The program presently has a budget of $8.6 million for fiscal 1983, up almost 12% from last year, and it is expected to continue to grow in 1984. Gajewski says AEP usually funds a project for about three years (though there are exceptions), because that seems about the right length of time to develop a new idea to the point where either industry or another funding agency might pick it up. About 36 projects are under way at any given time, and Gajewski says AEP is able to fund about 12 new ones each year. All of the AEP projects are, by definition, very high risk. "I feel that 28
C&ENDec. 13, 1982
if 10% of our projects succeed, that probably would be consistent with high risk," Gajewski explains. "I would say, so far, about 20% succeed. Now, our measure of success is that there is followup funding from somewhere else after our funding expires." That transfer of projects into other research programs that he considers effective is important to Gajewski, and he works closely with the other DOE divisions, just as they communicate with him on proposals they receive. Proposals come to AEP from researchers at all types of labs. "We'll accept proposals from any qualified source," Gajewski says. He says that this year, about one third of the proposals came from private industry (mostly small labs), one third from universities, and one third from the national laboratories. "All proposals are treated on the same footing," he says. They are all subject to a technical evaluation, "including a carefully designed peer review process." But the most interesting part of AEP is the variety of novel ideas that are being tried. Gajewski says that although no specific types of projects are looked for, they tend to fall into several "areas of concentration." These include, for example, direct conversion of heat to electricity, novel separation methods to recover materials from diluted resources, and new sources of electromagnetic radiation, including x-ray lasers and free-electron lasers. He even has received
Gajewski: take care of infant projects
proposals for (but hasn't funded) perpetual motion machines. Some of the projects funded early in the program have gone very well. One Gajewski is pleased with is directed at finding innovative liquid membranes for producing highly oxygen-enriched air. Headed by Harold K. Lonsdale at Bend Research in Bend, Ore., the project has been funded by AEP for three years, but has an extension. "When they came to us with a proposal, the idea was not much more than a gleam in their eyes," Gajewski says. But the project has proceeded well.
One AEP grant is to Bend Research for developing a liquid membrane that produces oxygen-rich air Feed stream: atmospheric air 21 % Oxygen 78% Nitrogen 1 % Other
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Product stream at lower pressure 88% Oxygen 12% Nitrogen
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Bend Research found a carrier that is fairly stable and selectively transports oxygen across the membrane, leaving nitrogen behind. Laboratory tests have produced air that is nearly 90% oxygen. The company says this process could be used where pure oxygen is used now, such as in welding and medical applications. It also could be used, Bend believes, to make synthetic fuels from coal. Some very unusual energy projects also were funded this year. One of these—the use of artificially formed cirrus clouds to save energy over densely populated areas—is being worked on by Bernard Vonnegut and Petr Chylek of State University of New York, Albany. Previous studies apparently show that the effect clouds have on solar radiation reaching the surface could result in big energy savings in metropolitan areas. Another project involves evaluating mineral brines pumped from salt domes and geothermal sources as resources for strategic metals. Platinum, silver, and gold have been found in these brines, and various extraction methods will be tried by Ellen Raber at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to find a commercial process. A third unusual project is investigating the properties of the conducting polymer polyacetylene for applications in rechargeable storage batteries and Schottky barrier solar cells. This work is being done by Alan J. Heeger at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Alan G. MacDiarmid at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and has progressed rapidly. Although AEP receives many good proposals, a subtle problem may have emerged in the past year. Publicity about the dismantling of DOE or transfer of its duties to the Commerce Department has made some researchers shy away from sending proposals to DOE agencies, fearing some instability at the department. Despite the plan to reorganize DOE, "the research function will remain intact," Gajewski says. Researchers who have novel ideas for energy projects but just can't think of anyone who would dare support them should give AEP some consideration. For information and details on submitting proposals, write to Ryszard Gajewski, Director, Division of Advanced Energy Projects, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, ER16, GTN, Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. 20545. David Hanson, Washington
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CIRCLE 40 ON READER SERVICE CARD Dec. 13, 1982 C&EN
29
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Government
Federal Alert— new regulations
Requires submission of unpublished health and safety studies on specifically listed chemicals by manufacturers and anyone else that has such studies; effective Oct. 4 (Sept. 2, page 38780).
This listing covers noteworthy regulations published in the Fed eral Register from Aug. 23 to Νου. 19.
Sets best available technology guidelines for discharges of pollutants into water from coal mining; effective Nov. 26 (Oct. 13, page 45382).
PROPOSED
Sets regulations for best available technol ogy pollution controls for water effluents in petroleum refining industry; effective Dec. 1(Oct. 18, page 46434).
Consumer Product Safety CommissionProposes policies and procedures for public disclosure of product information under Consumer Product Safety Act; comments by Jan. 4, 1983 (Nov. 5, page 50283). Food & Drug Administration—Proposes amending rules to clarify and update re quirements for sterility testing of biological products; comments by Jan. 4, 1983 (Nov. 5, page 50303). Environmental Protection Agency—Pro poses amending Method 1, "Sampling and Velocity Traverses for Stationary Sources," to reduce minimum number of required tra verse points while retaining accuracy; comments by Dec. 27 (Oct. 28, page 47867). Proposes rules to limit water pollution from battery manufacture based on best practi cable and best available technologies; comments by Jan. 10,1983 (Nov. 10, page 51052). Proposes rules to limit water pollution from copper-forming facilities based on best practicable and best available technologies; comments by Jan. 11, 1983 (Nov. 12, page 51278). Proposes to limit water pollution from metal-molding and -casting facilities with best practicable and best available tech nologies; comments by Jan. 14,1983 (Nov. 15, page 51512).
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