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Bush, Hagan Evan

Publications and source records attributed to Bush, Hagan Evan.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

DOE’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility Operations and Maintenance

This report details operations and maintenance (O&M) activities performed across Fiscal Years 2022 through 2024 in support of the continued capabilities of the National Solar Thermal Testing Facility (NSTTF) at Sandia National Laboratories. The NSTTF O&M project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) to support research activities and testing on behalf of external customers at the facility under award number CPS 38491. During the project period, the NSTTF made progress in the areas of site metrics, site maintenance and utilization tracking, and customer engagement. The O&M project also supported special initiatives including procurement of a heat exchanger for particle concentrating solar thermal processes and a scoping and cost study for refurbishment and repair of component in the NSTTF heliostat field.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

FY2023 NSTTF Annual Report

The National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) is a DOE Core Capability and Technology Deployment Center located in Albuquerque, NM. It is operated by Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The NSTTF is the only multi-mission, multi-use, multi-story test facility of its type in the United States. The NSTTF was founded in 1978 and began testing with high heat flux that same year. Over the past 45 years, the NSTTF has been at the forefront of the research, design, fabrication, and testing of many of the critical Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies. These technologies have allowed costs to be dramatically reduced from over $\$ $0.40 /kWh to $\$$0.12 /kWh since the conception of this renewable energy technology. The NSTTF has worked to make the Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) parabolic trough plants successful, while also working with the Solar One and Solar Two facilities for successful implementation. Over the four decades since its founding, the mission of the NSTTF has grown to include new receiver technologies, like our generation 3 falling particle system (G3P3 Tower), optical metrology techniques like SOFAST, molten salt testing, thermal energy storage, solar thermal chemistry, and more. We continue to expand our capabilities in pursuit of the DOE SETO mission and the DOE SunShot 2030 goals: unsubsidized LCOE of $\$$0.05/kWh for CSP that includes 12 or more hours of thermal energy storage. To support both the DOE SETO mission and support the CSP sector as a whole, we are working to develop our operations and maintenance framework to provide a world class testing facility in support of our technological achievements. To accomplish both of these missions, the NSTTF draws on the decades of experience and expertise of our staff along with the world-class facilities at Sandia National Laboratories to further the science of concentrated solar thermal technologies in diverse applications. We remain a trusted partner for high-quality and impactful research in both fundamental and applied arenas. We are able to provide our partners with both one-of-a-kind testing platforms as well as world-class analytics.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Synthesis and Structural Study of Substituted Ternary Nitrides for Ammonia Production

Over the past few decades, inorganic nitride materials have grown in importance in part due to their potential as catalysts for the synthesis of NH 3 , a key ingredient in fertilizer and precursor to industrial chemicals. Of particular interest are the ternary (ABN) or higher-order nitrides with high metal-to-nitrogen ratios that show promise in enhancing NH 3 synthesis reaction rates and yields via heterogeneous catalysis or chemical looping. Although metal nitrides are predicted to be numerous, the stability of nitrogen triple bonds found in N 2 , especially in comparison to the metal–nitrogen bonds, has considerably hindered synthetic efforts to produce complex nitride compounds. In this study, we present an exhaustive down-selection process to identify ternary nitrides for a promising chemical looping NH 3 production mechanism. We also report on a facile and efficient two-step synthesis method that can produce well-characterized η-carbide Co 3 Mo 3 N/Fe 3 Mo 3 N or filled β-manganese Ni 2 Mo 3 N ternaries, as well as their associated quaternary, (Co,Fe) 3 Mo 3 N, (Fe,Ni) 2 Mo 3 N, and (Co,Ni) 2 Mo 3 N, solid solutions. To further explore the quaternary space, syntheses of (Co,Ni) 3 Mo 3 N (Ni ≤ 10 mol %) and Co 3 (Mo,W) 3 N (W ≤ 10 mol %) were also investigated. The structures of the nitrides were characterized via X-ray powder diffraction. The morphology and compositions were characterized with scanning electron microscopy. In conclusion, the multitude of chemically unique, but structurally related, nitrides suggests that properties such as nitrogen activity may be tunable, making the materials of great interest for NH 3 synthesis schemes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Solar-Thermal Ammonia Production: A Renewable, Carbon-Neutral Route to Ammonia via Concentrating Solar Thermochemistry [Slides]

Solar Thermal Ammonia Production has potential to produce green ammonia using CSP, air, and water. Air separation to purify N 2 was successfully demonstrated with BSF1585 in packed bed reactor; on-sun reduction reactor under construction. Metal nitrides (MNy) were successfully synthesized and characterized under both ambient and pressurized conditions. Co 3 Mo 3 N shown to successfully produce NH 3 when exposed to pure H 2 at pressures between 5 – 20 bar 600 – 750 °C. Ambient reaction experiments imply there may be a catalytic aspect as well. Technoeconomic and systems analyses show a path towards scale-up.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Techno-Economic Analysis of Solar-Thermal Ammonia Production [Slides]

CO 2 -neutral ammonia production with concentrated solar technology is theoretically possible based on advanced solar thermochemical looping technology. STAP offers price stability achieving a target price <250 $/tonne NH 3 without including the H 2 . The nitride cost is the most significant expense, accounting for more than the 50% of the total CapEx.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Solar-Thermal Ammonia Production Via a Nitride Looping Cycle [Slides]

Solar Thermal Ammonia Production has the potential to synthesize ammonia in a green, renewable process that can greatly reduce the carbon footprint left by conventional Haber-Bosch reaction. Ternary nitrides in the family A 3 B x N (A=Co, Ni, Fe; B=Mo; x=2,3) have been identified as a potential candidate for NH 3 production. Experiments with Co 3 Mo 3 N in Ammonia Synthesis Reactor demonstrate cyclable NH 3 production from bulk nitride under pure H 2 . Production rates were fairly flat in all the reduction steps with no evident dependence on the consumed solid-state nitrogen, as would be expected from catalytic Mars-van Krevelen mechanism. Material can be re-nitridized under pure N 2 . Bulk nitrogen per reduction step average between 25 – 40% of the total solid-state nitrogen. Selectivity to NH 3 stabilized at 55 – 60% per cycle. Production rates (NH 3 and N 2 ) become apparent above 600 °C at P(H 2 ) = 0.5 – 2 bar. Optimal point of operation to keep selectivity high without compromising NH 3 rates currently estimated at 650 °C and 1.5 - 2 bar. The next steps are to optimize production rates, examine effect of N 2 addition in NH 3 synthesis reaction, and test additional ternary nitrides.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

100% Carbon-Free Electricity for Sandia NM and KAFB Using Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) (SAND Report)

This report provides a design study to produce 100% carbon-free electricity for Sandia NM and Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) using concentrating solar power (CSP). Annual electricity requirements for both Sandia and KAFB are presented, along with specific load centers that consume a significant and continuous amount of energy. CSP plant designs of 50 MW and 100 MW are then discussed to meet the needs of Sandia NM and the combined electrical needs of both Sandia NM and KAFB. Probabilistic modeling is performed to evaluate inherent uncertainties in performance and cost parameters on total construction costs and the levelized cost of electricity. Total overnight construction costs are expected to range between ~$300M - $400M for the 50 MW CSP plant and between ~$500M - $800M for the 100 MW plant. Annual operations and maintenance (O&M) costs are estimated together with potential offsets in electrical costs and CO 2 emissions. Other considerations such as interconnections, land use and permitting, funding options, and potential agreements and partnerships with Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), and other entities are also discussed.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Solar-Thermal Ammonia Production: System Design and Technoeconomic Analysis [Slides]

CO 2 -neutral ammonia production with concentrated solar technology is theoretically possible based on advanced solar thermochemical looping technology. The parametric analysis points to the re-oxidation temperature and the H 3 yield as the most influential parameters in the energy balance. The cycle time and the nitride cost are the most influential parameters on the CAPEX. The techno-economics analysis shows the potential of the plant to achieve a target price <125 $\$$/tonne.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Metal nitride materials for solar-thermal ammonia production [Slides]

Solar Thermal Ammonia Production has the potential to synthesize ammonia in a green, renewable process that can greatly reduce the carbon footprint left by the conventional Haber-Bosch reaction. Co 3 Mo 3 N has been identified as a potential candidate for ammonia production. It is synthesized via oxide precursor synthesis followed by nitridation under 10% H 2 /N 2 . The synthesis method can be extended to other candidate nitrides. The Co 3 Mo 3 N → Co 6 Mo 6 N reduction is demonstrated on TGA with rapid kinetics. The formation of NH 3 is qualitatively observed, but not quantitatively determined. The material retains crystal structure, but no secondary phases are observed in XRD. Partial re-nitridation back to CMN331 of ~35% of max nitridation is observed. Reaction parameters in TGA differ from experimental conditions in the literature. Experiments at Georgia Tech better mimic re-nitridation conditions with more sensitive, quantitative analytical techniques (GC-MS). The ASU NH 3 synthesis/re-nitridation reactor is under development and will permit experiments (reduction/re-nitridation) under precisely controlled T, pH 2 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗