Improving Cell Resistance and Cycle Life with Solvate-Coated Thiophosphate Solid Electrolytes in Lithium Batteries.

Solid electrolytes (SEs) have become a practical option for lithium ion and lithium metal batteries because of their improved safety over commercially available ionic liquids. The most promising of the SEs are the thiophosphates, whose excellent ionic conductivities at room temperature are comparable to those of commercially utilized ionic liquids. Hybrid solid-liquid electrolytes exhibit higher ionic conductivities than their bare SE counterparts because of decreased grain boundary resistance, enhanced interfacial contact with electrodes, and decreased degradation at the interface.

"Sometimes, when it gets too hot, you need to look in the kitchen," the legacy fuel coupon transfer project at Brookhaven national laboratory.

This paper describes the activities that were involved with transferring, packaging, and shipping sixteen legacy fuel coupons and the unusual techniques employed. After remaining on the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Isotopes and Special Material (ISM) Group's inventory for several years, the fuel coupons were finally deemed waste in 2004. The fuel coupons were originally destined for the Hanford Site and were packaged according to Hanford's disposal criteria.

ALARA considerations for the whole body neutron irradiation facility source removal project at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

This paper describes the activities that were involved with the safe removal of fourteen PuBe sources from the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Whole Body Neutron Irradiation Facility (WBNIF). As part of a Department of Energy and BNL effort to reduce the radiological inventory, the WBNIF was identified as having no future use. In order to deactivate the facility and eliminate the need for nuclear safety management and long-term surveillance, it was decided to remove the neutron sources and dismantle the facility.

Health physics challenges involved with opening a "seventeen-inch" concrete waste vault.

This paper describes the various activities involved with opening a sealed legacy "Seventeen-inch" concrete vault and the health physics challenges and solutions employed. As part of a legacy waste stream that was removed from the former Hazardous Waste Management Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the "Seventeen-inch" concrete vault labeled 1-95 was moved to the new Waste Management Facility for ultimate disposal. Because the vault contained 239Pu foils with a total activity in excess of the transuranic waste limits, the foils needed to be removed and repackaged for disposal.