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Jiang, Yuan

Publications and source records attributed to Jiang, Yuan.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Expanding the horizon of bio-naphtha beyond gasoline blend: property characterization and conversion opportunity assessment through technoeconomic and life-cycle analyses

Bio-naphtha, a common by-product of biorefineries, is expected to experience substantial growth in supply due to increasing demands for renewable diesel and synthetic aviation fuel (SAF). However, demand for bio-naphtha itself as a gasoline blendstock is limited because of the electrification of light-duty vehicles. This work investigated valorization opportunities for bio-naphtha from catalytic fast pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, and hydrotreated esters and fatty acids pathways. These opportunities include producing polymer-grade olefin via steam cracking, SAF via steam cracking followed by olefin oligomerization, and renewable aromatics benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) and hydrogen via catalytic reforming. Process models were developed in Aspen Plus V14 and Aspen HYSYS V14 to calculate the mass and energy balances for each conversion step. Technoeconomic assessment and life-cycle analysis were conducted to evaluate the minimum fuel/product selling price, conversion cost, and life-cycle CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emission reduction. Technoeconomic assessment results suggest a minimum fuel/product selling price as low as $1.9/kg of olefins, $6.30/gal of gasoline-equivalent SAF, and $1.2/kg of BTX without any incentives. For all pathways, these prices are dominated by bio-naphtha feedstock costs, which account for at least 76% of the total cost. Compared with petroleum baselines, bio-naphtha-derived SAF, olefins, and BTX can achieve significant CO2e emission reductions from the use of renewable carbon resources. The results of life-cycle analysis and subsequent technoeconomic assessment, incorporating carbon credits, indicate the economic viability of using bio-naphtha for polymer-grade olefin and BTX production, with product costs comparable to market prices.

Xu, Shuang↗
DOE OSTI2024

Advanced CO 2 Capture Solvent Systems for Dynamic Power Generation: Quarterly Research Performance Progress Report, QR4 (Q4FY24)

We developed an integrated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to simulate the multi-physics coupled cooling process of mixed gas by cold water within a Direct Contact Cooler (DCC) equipped with a rotating packing bed (RPB). The model captures the interactions between fluid dynamics, heat transfer, mass transport, and phase transitions, while accounting for key operational variables such as RPB rotational speed and the mass flow rates of both liquid and gas. The CFD model has been validated using experimental data, specifically by comparing predicted outflow gas and liquid temperatures to measured results. Our findings demonstrate the significant effects of RPB rotational speed and mass flow rates on cooling performance, providing valuable insights for optimizing DCC efficiency in industrial applications.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Modular Oxygen-Selective System for Combustion Systems

Small-scale modular systems for oxygen generation offer clear benefits, including improved energy efficiency, reduced operating costs, and the flexibility to meet location-specific needs. We propose that a compact modular system could be developed using a solvent-based method for capturing and releasing oxygen, enabling “oxygen on demand” for various combustion technologies. In this project, we aim to develop and demonstrate a modular oxygen-selective approach based on Battelle IPID 31740. The use of designer solvents, which are reversible, single-component solvents capable of dissolving and separating oxygen from air, offers the advantage of unlimited chemical tunability to achieve desirable properties for efficient oxygen separation. We filed U.S. Patent (32845-E, iEdison No. 0685901-23-0184).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Model-Based Sequential Design of Experiments for Pilot Testing of Novel Water-Lean CO2 Capture Solvent

Poster for the 2024 Fossil Energy and Carbon Management Meeting. It summarizes work done on process modeling and uncertainty quantification in preparation for the test campaign at the National Carbon Capture Center for a general audience. The poster includes sections detailing background on the EEMPA solvent, sequential design of experiments, process modeling (including results from the model), uncertainty quantification, and the goals of the test campaign.

Hedrick, Katherine↗
DOE OSTI2024

Microchannel reactive distillation for the conversion of aqueous ethanol to ethylene

Here we demonstrate the proof-of-concept for microchannel reactive distillation for alcohol-to-jet application: combining ethanol/water separation and ethanol dehydration in one unit operation. Ethanol is first distilled into the vapor phase, converted to ethylene and water, and then the water co-product is condensed to shift the reaction equilibrium. Process intensification is achieved through rapid mass transfer—ethanol stripping from thin wicks using novel microchannel architectures—leading to lower residence time and improved separation efficiency. Energy savings are realized with integration of unit operations. For example, heat of condensing water can offset vaporizing ethanol. Furthermore, the dehydration reaction equilibrium shifts towards completion by immediate removal of the water byproduct upon formation while maintaining aqueous feedstock in the condensed phase. For aqueous ethanol feedstock (40% w ), 71% ethanol conversion with 91% selectivity to ethylene was demonstrated at 220 °C, 600 psig, and 0.28 h -1 wt hour space velocity. 2.7 stages of separation were also demonstrated, under these conditions, using a device length of 8.3 cm. This provides a height equivalent of a theoretical plate (HETP), a measure of separation efficiency, of ~3.3 cm. By comparison, conventional distillation packing provides an HETP of ~30 cm. Thus, 9.1× reduction in HETP was demonstrated over conventional technology, providing a means for significant energy savings and an example of process intensification. Finally, preliminary process economic analysis indicates that by using microchannel reactive distillation technology, the operating and capital costs for the ethanol separation and dehydration portion of an envisioned alcohol-to-jet process could be reduced by at least 35% and 55%, respectively, relative to the incumbent technology, provided future improvements to microchannel reactive distillation design and operability are made.

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Aqueous-phase product treatment and monetization options of wet waste hydrothermal liquefaction: Comprehensive techno-economic and life-cycle GHG emission assessment unveiling research opportunities

While wet waste hydrothermal liquefaction technology has a high biofuel yield, a significant amount of the carbon and nitrogen in the feedstock reports to the aqueous-phase product. Pretreatment of this stream before sending to a conventional wastewater plant is essential or at the very least, advisable. In this work, techno-economic and life-cycle assessments were conducted for the state-of-technology baseline and four aqueous-phase product treatment and monetization options based on experimental data. Further, these options can cut minimum fuel selling prices by up to 13 % and life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 39 % compared to the baseline. These findings highlight the substantial influence of aqueous produce treatment strategies on the entire wet waste hydrothermal liquefaction process, demonstrating the potential for optimizing economic viability and environmental impact through further research and development of milder treatment methods and diversified by-product valorization pathways.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

GWAS supported by computer vision identifies large numbers of candidate regulators of in planta regeneration in Populus trichocarpa

Plant regeneration is an important dimension of plant propagation and a key step in the production of transgenic plants. However, regeneration capacity varies widely among genotypes and species, the molecular basis of which is largely unknown. Association mapping methods such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have long demonstrated abilities to help uncover the genetic basis of trait variation in plants; however, the performance of these methods depends on the accuracy and scale of phenotyping. To enable a large-scale GWAS of in planta callus and shoot regeneration in the model tree Populus, we developed a phenomics workflow involving semantic segmentation to quantify regenerating plant tissues over time. We found that the resulting statistics were of highly non-normal distributions, and thus employed transformations or permutations to avoid violating assumptions of linear models used in GWAS. We report over 200 statistically supported quantitative trait loci (QTLs), with genes encompassing or near to top QTLs including regulators of cell adhesion, stress signaling, and hormone signaling pathways, as well as other diverse functions. Our results encourage models of hormonal signaling during plant regeneration to consider keystone roles of stress-related signaling (e.g. involving jasmonates and salicylic acid), in addition to the auxin and cytokinin pathways commonly considered. The putative regulatory genes and biological processes we identified provide new insights into the biological complexity of plant regeneration, and may serve as new reagents for improving regeneration and transformation of recalcitrant genotypes and species.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Emerging Technologies Review: Carbon Capture and Conversion to Methane and Methanol

Project 69643 Task 10 - The Air Force Civil Engineer Center has tasked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with investigating emerging technologies to inform the Air Force’s understanding of the technology and to guide key considerations for implementing technologies that are resilient and alternative sources to the traditional methods used in the Air Force today. This report this report describes the emerging technology to capture carbon as a waste product and convert this to methane and methanol for deployment as a fuel on Air Force installations.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Development of a Sulfur Tolerant CHG Process (CRADA 442) (Final Report)

The Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNNL) has developed the Catalytic Hydrothermal Gasification (CHG) technology, which can convert low-value organics dispersed in aqueous streams, such as the aqueous phase byproduct from hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of wet wastes, to a mixture of methane, H 2 , and CO 2 . The current CHG catalyst, ruthenium (Ru) on a graphite substrate, was selected for its effectiveness as a reducing catalyst. However, the target waste aqueous feedstock, the HTL aqueous phase from wet wastes, such as sewage sludge, contains a fair amount of sulfur in both organic and inorganic forms. Like many other reduced metal catalysts, Ru is deactivated or poisoned by exposure to sulfur, among other contaminants. In general, a deactivated Ru catalyst cannot be reactivated or restored except by removing and returning it for remanufacturing. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a sulfur-resistant catalyst to enable CHG processing of the HTL aqueous waste stream. PNNL, with support from SoCalGas CRADA, has developed a sulfur resistant CHG catalyst and demonstrated a stable CHG process for converting HTL aqueous phases from wet wastes. Here, we report the major accomplishments of the project: • We have demonstrated that sulfided Ru based catalysts is stable during CHG of HTL aqueous waste stream, with a requirement of activity improvement. • We have developed a new catalyst, with 0.5-2 wt.% Ru loading, showing better activity compared to the baseline 6.7 wt.% RuSx/C catalyst. • With the new catalysts, the single-pass COD reduction is approximately 60% and two-pass COD reduction can reach approximately 85%. • The process is robust in terms of being effective across a wide range of organic species in the feedstock. • Techno-economic analysis was conducted to evaluate the economic impact of catalyst advancement and identify further improvement requirements. This type of catalyst shows great potential to be efficient and robust for CHG with low catalyst cost.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Supporting data for Site-specific Design Case Study for Wet Waste Hydrothermal Liquefaction and Biocrude Upgrading to Hydrocarbon Fuels

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a thermal process that converts wet biomass to renewable hydrocarbon fuel blendstocks (i.e., renewable naphtha, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)). It can utilize a wide range of pure and blended wet feedstocks, including sewage sludge from water resource recovery facilities (WRRF), food and agriculture wastes, algae, fats, oils and greases (FOG) and blends of dry and wet wastes/feedstocks. Historically, techno-economic analysis (TEA) and annual state of technology (SOT) assessments with standard economic assumptions used by the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) were conducted for the wet waste HTL pathway leveraging experimental data collected from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) continuous flow reactor systems. The objective of the SOT assessment has been to guide and track progress of BETO’s HTL research and development (R&D) toward reduced cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the pathway. However, gaps exist between BETO’s traditional SOT updates and the needs of key external stakeholders that – if addressed – will accelerate technology adoption. This Business Case Study aims to bridge this gap by providing an updated design, TEA, and LCA based on PNNL’s FY23 R&D with added analyses and information that provide enhanced relevance for stakeholders of the HTL technology. This includes specific siting, regional wet waste resource inventory and transportation cost analyses, fuel market information, sustainable fuel policy impacts, economic metrics of net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions analysis, and statistical analysis of cost and technical uncertainties of the HTL plant design. The study focuses on the “Detroit combined statistical area (CSA)” region for siting of a wet waste HTL plant adjacent to the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) facility with guidance from industry participants. Regional resource and siting analyses were conducted to identify feedstock availability, scale, and cost, as well as a beneficial site location. TEA with detailed rigorous capital cost estimation for the specific site application was conducted to evaluate the key economic metrics of most value to industrial partners. These include total capital investment, operating costs, minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of the biocrude and fuel blendstock, and NPV and internal rate of return IRR with sustainable fuel credits. Life cycle analysis was conducted to evaluate the supply chain greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the wet waste HTL process as compared with petroleum derived diesel. This study is also informed by years of R&D and process de-risking learnings and was conducted with a basic engineering HTL plant design and costing that akin to a “first-of-a-kind” plant economics. This differs from our conventional “nth plant ” SOT assessments. Specifically, the HTL process model has been updated with more operationally reliable methods for feed heating and phase separations. Further, we have implemented additional spare equipment for redundancy, a more rigorous installed equipment cost estimation approach, and additional costs associated with feed formatting and delivery, building, piping and site development. An Excel-based cost sheet based on the basic engineering design is also released alongside the report that allows users to conduct customized TEA with their own feed composition and financial assumptions.

Li, Shuyun↗
DOE OSTI2023

Expanded genetic variation (SNP) and phenomics (image based) dataset for Populus trichocarpa

The image dataset consists of 11,791 images representing 1,219 genotypes of Populus trichocarpa undergoing in planta regeneration. Genotypes were imaged with a median of four weekly timepoints and a median of two replicates each. A representative and diverse subset of 249 images was annotated using the IDEAS annotation interface (ideas.eecs.oregonstate.edu) and these annotated images were used to train a deep semantic segmentation model (PSPNet), which was deployed for inference over the entire dataset. Annotated classes include specific stages of regeneration (callus and shoot) in addition to unregenerated plant material and background. Statistics of relative tissue area were extracted and used for downstream genetic association mapping in a genome-wide association study. The SNP dataset consists of over 40 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms across 1,323 wild accessions of Populus trichocarpa

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Customization for Current Market Applications of the Carbon Nanotubes Produced by PNNL’s Regenerable Catalytic Pyrolysis (ReCaP) for Scaled Hydrogen Production

Here, we demonstrated the Regenerative Catalytic Pyrolysis (ReCaP) process that generates carbon dioxide-free hydrogen (CO 2 -free H 2 ) from inexpensive and domestically abundant natural gas (NG), while simultaneously producing H 2 at net production cost of $1.0/kg through the sale of valuable carbon nanotube (CNT) co-product. The specific goal of this project is to 1) scale up the production of CNT, 2) correlate the properties of the CNT with the reaction conditions, 3) perform a techno-economic analysis to obtain minimum selling price of H 2 and CNT, and 4) identify industrial partners interested in the CNT co-product.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2023

GWAS identifies candidate genes controlling adventitious rooting in Populus trichocarpa

Adventitious rooting (AR) is critical to the propagation, breeding, and genetic engineering of trees. The capacity for plants to undergo this process is highly heritable and of a polygenic nature; however, the basis of its genetic variation is largely uncharacterized. To identify genetic regulators of AR, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using 1148 genotypes of Populus trichocarpa. GWASs are often limited by the abilities of researchers to collect precise phenotype data on a high-throughput scale; to help overcome this limitation, we developed a computer vision system to measure an array of traits related to adventitious root development in poplar, including temporal measures of lateral and basal root length and area. GWAS was performed using multiple methods and significance thresholds to handle non-normal phenotype statistics and to gain statistical power. These analyses yielded a total of 277 unique associations, suggesting that genes that control rooting include regulators of hormone signaling, cell division and structure, reactive oxygen species signaling, and other processes with known roles in root development. Numerous genes with uncharacterized functions and/or cryptic roles were also identified. These candidates provide targets for functional analysis, including physiological and epistatic analyses, to better characterize the complex polygenic regulation of AR.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Uncertainty analysis for techno-economic and life-cycle assessment of wet waste hydrothermal liquefaction with centralized upgrading to produce fuel blendstocks

Wet waste hydrothermal liquefaction is a promising technology for producing transportation fuels with much lower greenhouse gases emissions than petroleum-based fuels. However, its techno-economic and life cycle assessment are primarily based on laboratory scale testing data, subject to considerable uncertainties, and even bias, due to knowledge gaps. Here, a preliminary uncertainty analysis of key economic measures was conducted based on the 2019 state-of-technology model for biocrude production. Building on the preliminary analysis, this work presents a comprehensive uncertainty analysis in both economic and environmental measures of the entire supply chain of wet waste hydrothermal liquefaction to fuel blendstocks including biocrude upgrading based on the 2021 state-of-technology model. The analysis includes the most recent developments in hydrothermal liquefaction and biocrude upgrading technologies and Monte Carlo simulation based on an integrated model system including an improved reactor yield model, reduced-order process model, discounted cash flow economic model and simplified life-cycle assessment model. The estimated biocrude yield ranges from 42.2% to 52.4% with a median of 47.3%. The estimated fuel yield ranges from 34.7% to 42.7% with a median of 38.7%. The estimated minimum fuel selling price ranges from $\$ $2.28/gge to $\$ $3.45/gge with a median of $\$ $2.80/gge. Relative to petroleum-derived diesel, the estimated reduction in supply chain greenhouse gas emissions ranges from 73.4% to 81.8% with a median of 77.7%. Compared to the 2019 state-of-technology analysis, a significant improvement in biocrude selectivity and economic measures and reduction in uncertainties were achieved due to the incorporation of additional continuous experimental data sets, technology development and de-risking, and improvement in model accuracy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗