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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Near-Term Electricity Requirement and Emission Implications for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production with CO 2 -to-Fuels Technologies

Aviation contributed approximately 10% of the U.S. transportation sector's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and about 3% of the nation's total GHG production before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic (EPA 2022). Unlike the ground transportation sector, which can be decarbonized by using batteries and hydrogen fuel cell powertrain technologies, the technical and economic challenges of aviation electrification open the opportunity for CO 2 utilization (CO2U) using clean power sources. The U.S. government set a goal to produce 3 billion gallons per year of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) by 2030 and scale up the production to 35 billion gallons per year by 2050 (Bioenergy Technologies Office 2022). In this report, we examine three potential locations, in California, Iowa, and Louisiana, for SAF production using two production pathways that are expected to be available by 2030. We analyze the electricity cost to satisfy 10% of the SAF production potential for the select locations. Specifically, we consider (1) retail electricity cost from the default local utility in each location; (2) physical power purchase agreement (PPA) for renewable power and battery storage hybrid systems with preset prices; (3) financial PPA from a dedicated renewable plant; and (4) estimated real-time pricing (RTP) from the wholesale power market with utility delivery adders. Retail rates are available for the three potential locations; however, the developer should negotiate with the local utility in Iowa for new tariff riders, because the load of the proposed SAF plant (1.4 GW) is significantly higher than the current industrial tariff structure requirement (200 kW). The developers are not able to claim federal credits (i.e., the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022) when sourcing electricity from local utilities. Developers could consider prioritizing physical and financial PPAs as purchase options. While physical PPAs can be imported out of state, this structure imposes availability issues as developers must locate in the same electricity grid regions. Financial PPAs do not have the same location restrictions and provide the same cost savings as physical PPAs, but financial PPAs impose financial risks in the event of system curtailment and grid interruption. RTPs are available for customers in California with flexible load and hourly load management capability; however, utilities in our studied regions in Louisiana and Iowa only offer time-of-use and curtailment programs to incentivize lower energy usage in peak hours. These utilities do not currently offer RTP programs, and the developer may need to have further negotiations with the local utilities to access RTP programs. The results show that purchased electricity prices may range from 2.6 cents/kWh to 7.1 cents/kWh for the three studied plants.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2022

Capture of Organic Iodides from Vessel Off-Gas Streams

In nuclear waste reprocessing, radioactive iodine is released in both organic and inorganic forms into off-gas streams. Due to its properties of long half-life and potential accumulation in human bodies, radioactive iodine is required to be removed from off-gas streams by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In this study, the removal of organic iodides using two prototype silver (Ag) adsorbents, i.e., reduced Ag functionalized silica aerogel (Ag 0 -aerogel) and reduced Ag exchanged mordenite (Ag 0 Z), is investigated through a combination of experimental and modeling studies.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Data-Driven Buy Clean: Decarbonization and Beyond

This report was compiled to provide recommendations on the availability of public background data from the U.S. Federal life cycle assessment (LCA) Data Commons to be conformant with the Association for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA) 2022 Product Category Rule (PCR) Open Standard to build technical tools that can assist industry in creating more comparable Type II Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for Federal Buy Clean and sustainability initiatives. The Federal LCA Commons is not only a public data source but also a consistently structured, self-referencing mega-repository for data developed by federal agency experts (in agency repositories) and by academia, nonprofit organizations, and industry (via the US Life Cycle Inventory Database). The Federal LCA Commons Technical Working Group is continuously improving the standardization of data documentation, formatting, and nomenclature to ensure lossless data loading and accurate data representation. This report and appendixes include the following: 1) An introduction to data-driven Buy Clean and decarbonization initiatives at the federal level; 2) The current status and associated challenges with LCA data and EPD standards and comparability; 3) Opportunities for the Federal LCA Commons to support conformance with the ACLCA 2022 PCR Open Standard and provide resources to implement the Federal Sustainability Plan, Buy Clean Program, and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) sustainability goals and objectives. To date, the Federal LCA Commons is the result of coordinated work by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST). The Federal LCA Commons will continue to combine databases from the collaborating agencies while remaining a public resource. There are several initiatives among the collaborating agencies to expand the Federal LCA Commons and dedicated federal funding and resources could accelerate and strengthen these initiatives.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Findings during Incorporation of the Federal Guidance Report No. 15 External Dose Coefficients into the RESRAD Family of Codes

Argonne National Laboratory was tasked by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to incorporate the recently published Federal Guidance Report No. 15 (FGR 15) (EPA 2019) external dose rate coefficients into the database of the RESRAD family of codes. FGR 15 is one of two publications that contain age-specific external effective dose rate coefficients that are based on the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 103 (ICRP-103) methodology (ICRP 2007) and the ICRP-107 (ICRP 2008) nuclear decay data; ICRP-144 (ICRP 2020) is the other publication.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Assessing Methodologies for Detecting Water Intrusion in Wall Systems: Phase 2

Studies by the University of Florida, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Housing (HUD) have revealed that there is a substantial fraction of commercial and residential buildings that have been exposed to moisture resulting in damage or durability problems. Water intrusion into building envelope components leads to a variety of undesirable conditions such as mold, wood rot, corrosion, and aesthetic damage. Tests methods that are presently used to evaluate the amount of water intrusion into a building envelope component are usually qualitative in nature. For example, ASTM E 331, Standard Test Method for Water Penetration of Exterior Windows, Curtain Walls, and Doors by Uniform Static Air Pressure Difference requires that you “observe and record points of water leakage, if any.” This test was originally developed to assess the performance of fenestration products but is commonly adapted to evaluate other enclosure assemblies. However, when it is typically used for walls, this procedure is limited to recognizing if the moisture is visually observable from the backside side of the sheathing. It does not address moisture that is absorbed in the layers of the building envelope component, which could impact the durability of the assembly. Clearly a quantitative means of determining water penetration would improve the quality of this type of test and assist with better understanding the resultant impact on enclosure assemblies. In 2018-20, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in conjunction with the Air Barrier Association of America, initiated a research project to address this issue. The purpose of that study was to evaluate nine different methods of detecting moisture intrusion through a wall assembly. air and water barrier. The wall assemblies included metal frame construction faced with gypsum sheathing and both self-adhered and fluid applied air and water barriers (AWB) were evaluated for this exercise. This project did not test the efficacy of the different AWBs, rather, fasteners were purposely installed in various ways to foster water penetration and activate the different methods of detection. Each detection method was evaluated for five features that included simplicity of use, cost of implementation, whether the method was quantitative or subjective, accuracy, and applicability. A scale of green/yellow/red was used to assess each feature where green was acceptable, yellow was borderline, and red was not to be pursued at this time. This report covers additional research that has been undertaken to extend the activities initiated in this earlier project with refinements for specific detection methods and considerations for expansion related to field versus laboratory testing standards.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

DOE-VFP; Surface Engineered Multifunctional Zeolite Composite for Photodegradation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Aqueous Medium

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used compounds proven to bioaccumulate and result in detrimental health effects. On October 18, 2021 the United States Environmental Pollution Agency (EPA) released a strategic roadmap to address PFAS that includes the investment in effective research that accelerates cleanup. Existing water treatment technologies for PFAS removal are based on adsorptive removal, are commonly single-use and result in pollutant-laden waste, leading to costly disposal processes. Here we proposed the development of a zeolite-TiO 2 composite for removal and degradation of PFAS. The composite is advantageous as it can be easily integrated into water treatment facilities, is multifunctional, and minimizes waste through regeneration. We studied the adsorptive capacity of zeolites 13X, 3A, 4A and 5A for an anionic PFAS surrogate, methyl orange (MO). Zeolite 3A showed the highest adsorptive capacity, followed by 4A, 5A, and 13X when incubated with 15 ppm MO for 3 hours. Depositing Au-nanospheres on the zeolites surface reduced MO adsorption for all zeolites. We also investigated the photodegradation capacity of TiO 2 , Fe 2 O 3 , Au-TiO 2 , and Au-Fe 2 O 3 , ranking their performance as TiO2 > Fe2O3 > Au-TiO 2 > Au-Fe 2 O 3 under 254 nm light in a 10 ppm MO solution. Our results highlight the favorable adsorption of small pore size zeolites for PFAS surrogates and the potential of TiO2 as a photocatalyst for PFAS degradation. We can further study and integrate the composite's components at our home institution. Other notable achievements of our VFP team includes the submission of two funding proposals, two poster presentations and one invited talk thus showcasing our progress.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

An Overview of the Risk Assessment Information System

This technical memorandum (TM) presents an overview of the Risk Assessment Information System (RAIS), a collection of web-based tools designed to assist with the environmental risk assessment process. The objective of the RAIS is to be a single resource for the risk assessment process, providing guidance when planning and performing the steps: data assessment, exposure assessment, toxicity assessment, and risk characterization. The RAIS evolved as a result of the initial remediation efforts at various United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. The goal was to increase the efficiency and transparency of the human health and ecological assessments being performed by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Operations (ORO) office by providing a repository for toxicity information, physicochemical data, risk assessment procedures, standardized risk calculation methods, and web-based tools. Since the initial launch in 1996, the RAIS has expanded its user base outside of the federal government and now has users from over 100 countries, universities, states, and local governments. What sets the RAIS apart from other risk assessment sites are the publicly available, searchable toxicity and physicochemical databases and the wide range of chemical and radionuclide risk calculation tools. The purpose of this TM is to present the RAIS tools in order of the website menus and explain how they fit in the risk assessment process. In addition, this TM describes differences between the chemical and radionuclide tools of the RAIS. Screening level equations, chronic daily intake equations, and default exposure factors used in the chemical and radionuclide calculators are included in the appendices of this TM. This TM is not intended to be a detailed guide to risk assessment or the RAIS tools. The tools on the RAIS can be used to comply with procedures from multiple agencies, including but not limited to DOE, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and many state governments. Further information on the RAIS tools can be found in the user guides and tutorials available on the webpage.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2023

Argonne National Laboratory Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2022

This report discusses the status and the accomplishments of the environmental protection program at Argonne National Laboratory for calendar year 2022. The status of Argonne environmental protection activities with respect to compliance with the various laws and regulations is discussed, along with environmental management, sustainability efforts, environmental corrective actions, and habitat restoration. To evaluate the effects of Argonne operations on the environment, samples of environmental media collected on the site, at the site boundary, and off the Argonne site were analyzed and compared with applicable guidelines and standards. A variety of radionuclides were measured in air, surface water, groundwater, and bottom sediment samples. In addition, chemical constituents in surface water, groundwater, and wastewater were analyzed. External penetrating radiation doses were measured, and the potential for radiation exposure to off site population groups was estimated. Results are interpreted with respect to the origin of the radioactive and chemical substances (i.e., natural, Argonne, and other) and are compared with applicable standards intended to protect human health and the environment. A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) dose calculation methodology, based on International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommendations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) CAP 88 Version 4.1 computer code, was used in preparing this report.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Rogers Quarry Special Studies Report 2023

Rogers Quarry (RQ) has a history of elevated Se concentrations in water and fish caused by inputs from the Y-12 National Security Complex Filled Coal Ash Pond (FCAP). Selenium is acutely toxic at high concentrations, and chronic toxicity occurs at low aqueous concentrations because Se bioaccumulates in fish tissues. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently developed water quality criteria for Se that include fish tissue as well as aqueous Se concentrations. The water column concentration criterion is 1.5 µg L -1 for lentic ecosystems and 3.1 µg L -1 for lotic ecosystems. The fish tissue criteria include both an egg/ovary concentration (15.1 μg/g dry weight) and a concentration for whole-body (8.5 μg/g dry weight) or fish muscle (11.3 μg/g dry weight). The egg/ovary criterion supersedes the fillet and aqueous concentrations if measured because Se toxicity manifests via reproductive effects in birds and fish. It is maternally transferred through eggs, leading to teratogenicity (i.e., deformities, developmental effects) in young fish.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Low-cost Retrofit Kit for Integral Reciprocating Compressors (IRCs) to Reduce Emissions and Enhance Efficiency

Methane emissions from natural gas engines within the oil and gas industry pose a significant environmental challenge, contributing approximately 34.1 MMTCO2 eq to the total of 239 MMTCO2 eq of methane emissions in 2021, according to the EPA report. In response to this pressing issue, a collaborative effort involving the University of Oklahoma and key industry partners—WAGO Automation, Mid Continental Rental, Elipsa, and Perscient—has resulted in the development of a retrofit kit designed to reduce emissions from integral reciprocating compressors (IRCs), which are integrated compressors and engines. The retrofit kit developed comprises an Air Management System (AMS), Integrated Sensors, and a Cloud-Connected Control Unit with Graphical User Interface (GUI)/Human-Machine Interface (HMI). This solution enhances operational efficiency, reduces emissions, and expands the operational envelope of IRCs in the natural gas industry. The project successfully completed all tasks, including the installation of a full-size IRC at a designated site in Oklahoma, the development of an optimized AMS, integration of sensors, and implementation of a data acquisition system. Significant achievements include a notable reduction in CH 4 emissions, up to 84% at specific loads, and the successful deployment of the retrofit kit in diverse field conditions. The system's capabilities were enhanced through the creation of a feedback control algorithm for the AMS using a correlation matrix illustrating relationships between engine parameters, and the design of a predictive and preventive maintenance platform. The project concluded with the deployment of the entire retrofit kit to another location, confirming its effectiveness in reducing emissions and enhancing IRC performance. The comprehensive solution offers valuable benefits for IRCs, making them invaluable assets in the natural gas industry.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evaluation of Naturally Occurring Be-7 Activity on LANL Stack Filter Clumps

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is responsible for providing solutions to challenging issues through multidisciplinary science, engineering, and technology that impact national security. As part of the Radioactive Air Emissions Management (RAEM) Team, it is our responsibility to ensure LANL operates within the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations 40 CFR 61, Subpart H, National Emission Standards for Emissions of Radionuclides Other Than Radon From Department of Energy Facilities (Rad-NESHAP). The standard states, “Emissions of radionuclides to the ambient air from Department of Energy facilities shall not exceed those amounts that would cause any member of the public to receive in any year an effective dose equivalent of 10 mrem/yr” (EPA, 2002) During a routine assessment of LANL’s Rad-NESHAP compliance program, an opportunity for improvement was identified that addresses the evaluation of routine stack samples which potentially have naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) on the filter media. In the past and based on professional judgment, detections of NORM such as K-40 and Be-7 typically were rejected from the analytical results. The assessment finding suggested developing a technical criterion to ensure that such rejections were justified, comparing actual measured values with anticipated NORM concentrations for various stacks located at LANL. The significance of accepting or rejecting samples as “true” or “NORM” and its impact on the RAEM’s mission and compliance to the regulations is explained later in the document. Additionally, this document will describe the process and calculations for how such results are to be accepted as actual samples “true positive” or rejected as NORM.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2024

Pathways for Agricultural Decarbonization in the United States

In the United States, agricultural production is both a significant source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) (Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2022) and uniquely susceptible to climate change impacts (Vermeulen et al., 2012). Decarbonization solutions have been proposed for addressing agricultural GHGs; however, research has been limited in synthesizing qualitative and quantitative analysis of potential GHG mitigation solutions in the United States. In this report, we review U.S. agricultural GHG sources by activity and quantify potential mitigation solutions based on a comprehensive data and literature analysis. We also discuss agricultural carbon sequestration options to offset GHG emissions. In our analysis, we identified two significant and hard-to-abate GHG sources (N 2 O from soil management, and CH 4 from enteric fermentation from livestock) as well as high-impact GHG mitigation solutions (e.g. agroforestry, reforestation, and biochar application) and cross-cutting GHG mitigation solutions (renewable energy production, precision agriculture, no-till, integrated nutrient management, and biochar). This report is meant to provide initial analysis and establish a foundation for future agricultural decarbonization research - it is not an exhaustive analysis of all available studies. However, to our knowledge this report is the most comprehensive assessment of agricultural GHG emissions and associated mitigation opportunities in the United States to date. Future empirical research is recommended to close research gaps in different climates, soils, and agricultural systems. Meta-analyses for all mitigation solutions would increase confidence in the estimated GHG mitigation potentials. To conclude this report, we discuss short-term and long-term pathways for agricultural decarbonization in the United States, the importance of accounting for total GHG fluxes, potential co-benefits of agricultural decarbonization, analysis of study data confidence, and research gaps.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Adoption of Plug-in Electric Vehicles: Local Fuel Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions Across the U.S.

The dependence on gasoline-powered light-duty automobiles has made U.S. households vulnerable to the burden of fuel costs. Tailpipe emissions from these vehicles constitute 58% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S., which are damaging to the environment (EPA, 2023). The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) has been shown to effectively reduce fuel costs and GHG emissions. However, local effects on these benefits are not well understood by American consumers, potentially limiting adoption and therefore the realization of PEV benefits at scale (MacInnis & Krosnick, 2020; EY Americas, 2023). To fill this research gap, this study estimates the fuel cost savings and GHG emission reductions at the state and ZIP code levels by considering local fuel prices, vehicle class preference, average vehicle model year, fuel efficiencies, and driving intensities. The study's findings reveal that the adoption of PEVs can yield substantial benefits in terms of fuel cost savings and GHG emission reductions nationwide. Specifically, driving a battery electric vehicle (BEV) is estimated to result in annual savings of up to $\$2,200$, while driving a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) can lead to savings up to $\$1,500$, when compared to an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) of equivalent size. Moreover, using population-weighted averages by ZIP code, BEVs and PHEVs show the potential to save 400 and 200 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per mile, respectively, compared to a representative ICEV of the same class. The magnitude of fuel cost savings and emissions reduction vary by region due to various factors. Generally, regions with high gasoline prices, low electricity prices, preferences for larger vehicles, and high driving intensities tend to see relatively large fuel savings. The emissions reductions are more pronounced in areas with clean grids where consumer preferences lie with large vehicles. This regional variability underscores the importance of considering local contextual factors when assessing the potential benefits of PEV adoption. In more than 99% of U.S. ZIP codes, PEVs result in overall savings in fuel use (and subsequent costs) and GHG emissions. While not a central focus of this analysis, reductions in GHG tailpipe emissions from PEV adoption would also come with reductions in criteria pollutant emissions, contributing to improved local air quality depending on the PEV penetration, population density, and electricity generation infrastructure in the locality.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Performance Audit Report: Automated Meteorological Monitoring Stations, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The Waste and Air Quality Offices Group at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory operates two main meteorological monitoring sites near Livermore, California. The primary met tower (Site 200) is located in the northwest corner of the lab and consists of a fifty-two (52) meter tower with vertical wind speed sensors, horizontal wind speed and direction sensors and air temperature sensors at fifty-two (52) meters, twenty-three (23) meters and ten (10) meters. In addition, there is a temperature and humidity probe at ten (10) meters. At two (2) meters there are upward and downward facing solar and infrared radiation sensors, an air temperature sensor, barometric pressure sensor and a temperature and relative humidity probe. At ground level there is a tipping bucket rain gauge located to the southwest of the tower. The datalogger, communication peripherals and the barometric pressure sensor are housed in a small building near the tower. The Site 300 met site is located approximately 10 miles east of Livermore within the boundary of the LLNL blast test site. This site also consists of a 52-meter tower which is configured the same as the 52-meter tower at Site 200. There is also a building at this site that houses the datalogger, communication peripherals and the barometric pressure sensor. At both Site 200 and Site 300, data are collected by Ethernet with telephone modem collection as a backup. The data collection interval for both sites is fifteen (15) minutes via workstations running Loggernet software located at the main lab facility. The audits of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s two automated meteorological stations located near Livermore, California were performed on October 24 & 25, 2023. These audits were performed under the guidelines of the Quality Assurance Handbook for Air Pollution Measurement Systems, Volume IV, Version 2 and the On-Site Meteorological Program Guidance for Regulatory Modeling Applications, U.S. EPA.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Enhanced Modeling of GHG Emissions and Mitigation in NEMS Component Design Report

The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), together with OnLocation, has developed a custom version of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS), “FECM-NEMS”, that includes additional representation of energy- and industry-sector GHG emissions and mitigation options beyond those represented in the U.S. EIA's NEMS. Compared with GHG emissions published by the EPA in their Inventory of U.S. GHG Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2021, FECM-NEMS endogenously represents 81% of gross U.S. GHG emissions; however, the remaining 19%, as well as LULUCF-sector emissions and removals, are still required to properly model net-zero GHG scenarios, which requires an accounting of all GHGs. Considering recent technological advances to mitigate CO 2 and non-CO 2 emissions, the Office of Carbon Management (OCM) within FECM had tasked OnLocation with creating this component design report (CDR) to address the gap in GHG representation. This report describes how FECM-NEMS could incorporate missing GHG emissions (including LULUCF-sector emissions and removals) and engineered processes for GHG mitigation.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Workflow for Characterizing Legacy Wells as Potential Leakage Pathways for Integration to NRAP-Open-IAM

Carbon capture and storage is a crucial component of climate change mitigation strategies, involving the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from point sources and its injection into permeable subsurface formation. Many suitable CO2 storage sites coincide with legacy wells since the conditions that kept hydrocarbons in-situ for thousands of years are also ideal for storage of carbon dioxide. To protect underground sources of drinking water (USDW) during greenhouse gas injection, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandates area of review evaluations. These evaluations ensure that drinking water sources would not be contaminated by injected fluids. They include identification of legacy wellbores, integrity assessments, and implementing any necessary corrective action. Previous assessment approaches of legacy wells include high-level scoring of regional data and well construction and abandonment evaluation. This work describes a novel methodology that evaluates well construction and abandonment, ranks them based on complexity, and performs a risk assessment with NRAP-Open-IAM. A workflow of the methodology is presented, highlighting its capabilities and limitations.

Wise, Jarrett↗
DOE OSTI2024

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) State-of-Industry Report: State of SAF Production Process

GHG emissions related to commercial air travel were already significant, at 10% of the domestic transportation emissions and 3% of the global greenhouse gas emissions prior to the pandemic, and are expected to double by 2050, even with modest projected growth in air travel. Since Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is the only way that medium to long haul commercial aviation can be decarbonized, a US government wide "SAF Grand Challenge" was issued to encourage industry to develop capabilities to produce SAF, to reduce cost, improve sustainability, build value chains, and to scale production capabilities (1). The targets are to expand current domestic SAF 2022 production by 200X to 3 billion gallons per year by 2030, and then further by 12X to 35 billion gallons by 2050, while achieving life cycle GHG reduction of 50% relative to fossil Jet A. Following the SAF Grand Challenge, the DOE, USDA, EPA and FAA collaboratively developed a comprehensive strategy, outlined in the "SAF Grand Challenge Roadmap" (2), to inform stakeholders of the actions necessary to achieve the above volumetric targets. The purpose of this study is to provide an assessment of the current state of the SAF production industry and identify challenges and hurdles that industry may face in delivering the 2030 goals. This assessment is for the potential feedstocks and conversion pathways expected to contribute to 2030 goals and will generally follow action areas in the SAF Grand Challenge: feedstocks, conversion technology, supply chain, and policy & valuation.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Spatial Seal Database for Prospective Storage Resources in the USA

The goal of the Spatial Seal Database for Prospective Storage Resources in the USA is to provide relevant information and spatial extents of caprock and seal rocks. A lack of aggregated information is readily available that focuses on the caprock and seal units within sedimentary basins. The EPA class VI permit requires an assessment of the confining zone as part of submitting a permit. The data catalog of seal unit names and relevant properties with the seal spatial extent database aims to help provided important data for carbon storage based assessments. The data catalog and database are designed to show what seal data is available in a sedimentary basin and guide stakeholders to the original data source for those datasets.

Pantaleone, Scott↗