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Ovalle, Daniel

Publications and source records attributed to Ovalle, Daniel.

5 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Optimal Membrane Cascade Design for Critical Mineral Recovery through Logic-based Superstructure Optimization

In this work, we extend the superstructure model proposed by Wamble et al. (2022) that considers feed input locations, recycling strategies, split fractions, stage numbers, and membrane area. We include the total number of stages as a decision variable, which might be particularly useful when there is cost as- sociated with adding additional stages. We propose a Generalized Disjunctive Programming (GDP) superstructure model that integrates all the design variables of the system. We also investigate the scalability of the model by varying the number of stages and the number of finite elements per stage to determine the impact on recovery and solution time.

Tran, Norman↗
DOE OSTI2024

Optimal Membrane Cascade Design for Critical Mineral Recovery Through Logic-based Superstructure Optimization

Critical minerals and rare earth elements play an important role in our climate change initiatives, particularly in applications related with energy storage. Here, we use discrete optimization approaches to design a process for the recovery of Lithium and Cobalt from battery recycling, through membrane separation. Our contribution involves proposing a Generalized Disjunctive Programming (GDP) model for the optimal design of a multistage diafiltration cascade for Li-Co separation. By solving the resulting nonconvex mixed-integer nonlinear program model to global optimality, we investigated scalability and solution quality variations with changes in the number of stages and elements per stage. Results demonstrate the computational tractability of the nonlinear GDP formulation for design of membrane separation processes while opening the door for decom-position strategies for multicomponent separation cascades. Future work aims to extend the GDP formulation to account for stage installation and explore various decomposition techniques to enhance solution efficiency.

Ovalle, Daniel↗
DOE OSTI2023

Study of Different Formulations for the Multiperiod Blending Problem Applied to Lithium Recovery from Produced Water

We present several formulations to solve the MPBP for the recovery of REE/CMs from produced water and propose a decomposition approach thatleverages strategies in general disjunctive programming to enhance its performance. We compare these proposed formulations/strategies via two illustrative case studies on recovering lithium from a network of produced water sources.

Ovalle, Daniel↗
DOE OSTI2023

Decision-Making Framework to Evaluate Opportunities for Recovery of Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals in Produced Water Networks

Oil and gas development activities require a significant amount of water. Given the environmental impacts associated with high consumption and subsequent disposal of this water, there is a need for strategies to support effective reuse of, treatment of, and/or resource recovery from this produced water. These streams can contain appreciable concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) and critical minerals (CM) (e.g., Lithium), which are critical for many important applications in electronics, technology, manufacturing, energy, and medicine [1]. Along with REE/CM present in produced water, other waste streams such as fly ash from coal-fired power plants and acid mine discharge present other potential sources for recovery of REE/CM [2-4]. And with increases in demand for REE/CM, the need for recovery from wastewater streams is becoming even more important. There is a need to develop effective decision-making tools to evaluate the economic and environmental potential for REE/CM recovery from produced water networks while supporting the needs of drilling and hydraulic fracturing activities. In this work, we present our progress in developing a decision-making framework to efficiently design and operate produced water networks for REE/CM recovery. Our approach considers REE/CM recovery from produced water streams alongside other potential wastewater sources. The models consider the location and capacity of storage and decentralized treatment processes as well as the design and operation of pipeline and transportation networks to connect different sources and effectively schedule inventories, reuse, and recovery opportunities. We focus on the evaluation of opportunities for REE/CM recovery with treatment constraints on composition and flow. We demonstrate this framework with an illustrative case study that features diverse production sites, storage facilities, transportation, and treatment sites. This proposed framework will be deployed in an open-source software package that is compatible with the PARETO framework to deliver analysis and decision-making tools that allow stakeholders to quantitatively evaluate potential opportunities for REE/CM recovery in produced water networks.

Pulsipher, Joshua↗