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DOE OSTI2021

Convergence of micro-geochemistry and micro-geomechanics towards understanding proppant shale rock interaction: A Caney shale case study in southern Oklahoma, USA

As a direct outcome of economic development coupled with an increase in population, global energy demand will continue to rise in the coming decades. Although renewable energy sources are increasingly investigated for optimal production, the immediate needs require focus on energy sources that are currently available and reliable, with a minimal environmental impact; the efficient exploration and production of unconventional hydrocarbon resources is bridging the energy needs and energy aspirations, during the current energy transition period. The main challenges are related to the accurate quantification of the critical rock properties that influence production, their heterogeneity and the multiscale driven physico-chemical nature of rock–fluid interactions. A key feature of shale reservoirs is their low permeability due to dominating nanoporosity of the clay-rich matrix. As a means of producing these reservoirs in a cost-effective manner, a prerequisite is creation of hydraulic fracture networks capable of the highest level of continued conductivity. Fracturing fluid chemical design, formation brine geochemical composition, and rock mineralogy all contribute to swelling-induced conductivity damage. The Caney Shale is an organic-rich, often calcareous mudrock. Many studies have examined the impact that clay has on different kinds of shale productivity but there is currently no data reported on the Caney Shale in relation to horizontal drilling; all reported data on the Caney Shale is on vertical wells which are shallow, compared to an emerging play that is at double the depth. Here, in this work we develop geochemical–geomechanical integration of rock properties at micro-and nanoscales that can provide insights into the potential proppant embedment and its mitigation. The novel methodology amalgamates the following: computed X-ray tomography, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, micro-indentation, and Raman spectroscopy techniques. Here, our results show that due to the multiscale heterogeneity in the Caney Shale, these geochemical and structural properties translate into a variation in mechanical properties that will impact interaction between the proppant and the host shale rock.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

NASA NTRS1973

The energy situation

Energy reserves from the principal energy sources other than petroleum and natural gas are summarized. It was found that energy sources are being consumed at rates which exceed the ability to replace them through new discoveries and technology improvements. The costs and implications to environment for using coal and nuclear energy are discussed. Tables are presented on energy consumption, cost of reclamation, and water power capacity.

Source record↗

DOE OSTI2025

Reports from the Frontier: Understanding Voltage Losses in Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

With the growth of renewable energy sources, hydrogen is attracting significant attention worldwide as an effective medium for energy storage. “Green hydrogen” is currently produced primarily by water electrolysis in which water is split into hydrogen and oxygen using power from low-carbon energy sources such as wind, solar, and nuclear. Among the low temperature water electrolysis technologies, anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) have recently emerged as a promising competitor to traditional alkaline water electrolyzers (AWEs) and proton exchange membrane electrolyzers (PEMELs) due to their potential stack cost reduction in various cell components. In conclusion, favorable aspects of AEMWEs include the use of PGM-free electrocatalysts as well as low-cost membranes, bipolar plates (BPs), and porous transport layers while offering high voltage efficiency and durability.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2021

MPC-based double-layer real-time conditional cSelf-restoration for interconnected microgrids

In this report, we propose a novel model predictive control(MPC)-based real-time conditional self-restoration energy management system (CSR-EMS) for interconnected microgrids (IMGs) integrated with renewable energy sources (RESs) and energy storage systems (ESSs). Superior to the existing IMG self-restoration methods, the “conditionality” of the proposed CSR-EMS can economically realize self-restoration and grid-assisted restoration during energy deficiency or faults, in both islanded and grid-connected modes. Cost minimization is implemented as the objective function to judge in real-time which restoration mode is economically preferred. The proposed CSR-EMS comprises two layers–the lower layer operates locally to eliminate electricity fluctuations created by RESs and ensure economic effectiveness within an MG, whereas the upper layer oversees the real-time operational status of the IMG system and determines power exchange among microgrids (MGs) during abnormalities. In detail, when a microgrid inside the IMG system experiences an energy deficiency, the CSR-EMS, on an MPC basis, intelligently optimizes power production from each dispatchable distributed generator (DG), ESS, power imported from the main grid, and power exchange among the IMGs to maintain the demand–supply balance, while considering system recovery cost, state of charge (SoC) of ESSs and operation modes of the IMGs (i.e., grid-connected or islanded mode). Simulation results and comparisons with existing IMG self-healing EMSs demonstrate the economic efficacy of the proposed CSR-EMS strategy during normal and abnormal operations, which can be used as an energy control framework for modern power systems with multiple interconnected microgrids.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2024

Hydrokinetic tidal energy resource assessment following international electrotechnical commission guidelines

Marine renewable energy can be used as a viable energy source to alleviate the impact of the climate crisis and have a carbon-free electricity sector in the future. Especially the energetic tidal streams are an attractive source of clean energy due to the periodic occurrence of high tidal flows daily. However, before any deployment of tidal turbine farms, it is essential to perform a resource assessment depending on the scope and scale of the project. Here, the International Electrotechnical Commission has developed a technical standard for assessing the tidal stream resource "IEC 62600-201 TS" to aid in this effort: determine a particular site's feasibility and perform the project layout design. In this study, we implemented and validated a high-resolution three-dimensional numerical model and provided results following the IEC TS for a project layout design in a highly energetic tidal channel, Tacoma Narrows of Puget Sound, in the State of Washington, USA. Implementation of the guidelines has helped adequately identify the undisturbed theoretical and technical resources with less bias, where the latter included energy extraction from the flow field arranging a hypothetical tidal energy converter (TEC) array. Also, following the standard, we carefully assessed the changes to channel flow properties from TECs, such as the kinetic energy flux and annual energy production (AEP), to provide the detailed information required for a larger project layout design. Ultimately, this work has shown the important role of IEC TS in tidal stream resource assessment, which can simultaneously act as a benchmark for other studies worldwide.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Principles to adapt financing mechanisms for fully integrated hybrid energy systems

As the electricity sector evolves, and as all energy types (thermal, electric, chemical, etc.) become more coupled, there has been increased interest to develop and deploy hybrid energy systems (HES). This work focuses on fully integrated HES, where there are multiple energy sources and multiple energy products, often coupled through a storage buffer. A significant amount of the available literature on this work describes technology pathways for fully integrated HES; however, it is unclear how financial institutions should treat these systems. Fully integrated HES represent an increase in complexity from their stand-alone counterparts, but they also potentially mitigate financial risk and provide value to the energy system, which has not yet been accounted for in financing mechanisms that could help to enable such systems. This paper provides some examples of fully integrated HES and proposes principles to help adapt financing to adequately capture the value of such systems.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2023

A comparative genome analysis of the Bacillota ( Firmicutes ) class Dehalobacteriia

Dehalobacterium formicoaceticum is recognized for its ability to anaerobically ferment dichloromethane (DCM), and a catabolic model has recently been proposed. D. formicoaceticum is currently the only axenic representative of its class, the Dehalobacteriia, according to the Genome Taxonomy Database. However, substantial additional diversity has been revealed in this lineage through culture-independent exploration of anoxic habitats. Here we performed a comparative analysis of 10 members of the Dehalobacteriia, representing three orders, and infer that anaerobic DCM degradation appears to be a recently acquired trait only present in some members of the order Dehalobacteriales. Inferred traits common to the class include the use of amino acids as carbon and energy sources for growth, energy generation via a remarkable range of putative electron-bifurcating protein complexes and the presence of S-layers. The ability of D. formicoaceticum to grow on serine without DCM was experimentally confirmed and a high abundance of the electron-bifurcating protein complexes and S-layer proteins was noted when this organism was grown on DCM. We suggest that members of the Dehalobacteriia are low-abundance fermentative scavengers in anoxic habitats.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Optimal Economic Dispatch and Load-Following Strategies for Nuclear Integrated Energy Systems

The need for distributed and adaptable energy resources that can handle the growing unpredictability in both supply and demand is rising as the power system continues to modernize. In order to satisfy those needs and maintain grid resilience, nuclear power plants can dynamically control their output, despite typically being used as baseload generators. By incorporating energy storage and renewable energy sources, nuclear integrated energy systems are designed to satisfy the electrical and thermal demands of different end-user applications while ensuring flexible power operation. These systems generate revenue by participating in both wholesale and ancillary services electricity markets, as well as commodity markets for various byproducts generated from coupled industrial processes. This study addresses the economic dispatch efficiency of a tightly coupled nuclear integrated energy system comprising a gigawatt-scale light water reactor, commercialized in the U.S., a high-temperature steam electrolysis unit, a district heating network, and specified electrical loads. To demonstrate the nuclear power plant’s flexibility within the day-ahead unit commitment and economic dispatch framework, while maintaining equilibrium even during periods of refueling outages, this paper develops a mixed-integer linear programming framework that models the subsystems and components of its nuclear steam supply system. A systematic comparative analysis of flexible versus baseload nuclear power plant operation under varying levels of renewable energy integration indicates that flexible operation enhances system profitability by more than 18% while also increasing energy storage utilization, improving reactor responsiveness to load fluctuations, and allowing for greater participation across numerous electricity markets.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Integrated Energy System Investigation for the Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport, TN Facility

The industrial manufacturing industry is looking to implement new methods of energy production to ensure a consistent energy supply while reducing economic costs and environmental impacts. Much of the manufacturing industry relies on fossil fuels—primarily coal and natural gas—of which there are finite resources subject to price volatility due to an inelastic demand. These resources also come with significant negative environmental impacts related to emissions. While complete independence from fossil fuels is not immediately realistic, options are available to significantly reduce dependency on fossil fuel supplies, including integrated energy systems (IESs) which tightly couple nuclear energy source generators with energy consumers (i.e., industrial factories) to fulfill power and energy requirements. Once realized, optimized IESs may yield significant economic and environmental benefits over traditionally isolated generator and consumer facilities. This report presents a feasibility study for siting an IES to meet the steam and electricity needs of Eastman Chemical Company’s facility in Kingsport, Tennessee. This study explored reactor technology options, evaluation,and optimization,with a focus on meeting the facility’s operational and reliability requirements. This work is part of an ongoing effort by Eastman to be good environmental stewards and meet the demands of their customers by shifting to more environmentally sustainable solutions for their energy needs. Outcomes of this report are also of general interest and value to any design or development team seeking to deploy an IES,as many topics described herein are generally applicable to any nuclear power facility.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Integrated Energy System Investigation for the Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport, Tennessee Facility

The industrial manufacturing industry is looking to implement new methods of energy production to ensure a consistent energy supply while reducing economic costs and environmental impacts. Much of the manufacturing industry relies on fossil fuels—primarily coal and natural gas—of which there are finite resources subject to price volatility due to an inelastic demand. These resources also come with significant negative environmental impacts related to emissions. While complete independence from fossil fuels is not immediately realistic, options are available to significantly reduce dependency on fossil fuel supplies, including integrated energy systems (IESs) which tightly couple nuclear energy source generators with energy consumers (i.e., industrial factories) to fulfill power and energy requirements. Once realized, optimized IESs may yield significant economic and environmental benefits over traditionally isolated generator and consumer facilities. This report presents a feasibility study for siting an IES to meet the steam and electricity needs of Eastman Chemical Company’s facility in Kingsport, Tennessee. This study explored reactor technology options, evaluation, and optimization, with a focus on meeting the facility’s operational and reliability requirements. This work is part of an ongoing effort by Eastman to be good environmental stewards and meet the demands of their customers by shifting to more environmentally sustainable solutions for their energy needs. Outcomes of this report are also of general interest and value to any design or development team seeking to deploy an IES, as many topics described herein are generally applicable to any nuclear power facility.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2023

Recommendations to Improve the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reactor Licensing and Approval Process

Due to the urgency around climate change and associated goals for clean energy transition, and Battelle Energy Alliance's (BEA) and Idaho National Laboratory's (INL) role as the nation's nuclear energy laboratory, numerous stakeholders have asked for BEA’s thoughts and recommendations to reduce the time and costs associated with licensing new reactors at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). As an M&O contractor for an FFRDC, BEA is a long-term partner with the Government in seeking to achieve clean energy goals, yet has a level of independence needed to appropriately evaluate this topic. The views herein are informed by extensive BEA experience supporting nuclear energy endeavors including ongoing discussions with current and former regulators, applicants, and licensees. With this background in mind, the United States benefits from having an agency such as the NRC, which is viewed internationally as the leader in nuclear safety licensing and regulation. Nonetheless, while acknowledging the important nuclear safety role satisfied by the NRC, it is apparent that one of the most significant time and resource intensive activities for new reactor developers is the NRC licensing process. The time and cost to obtain NRC licenses add significant financial stress for new reactor projects and may result in abandonment of projects or failure to even begin new projects. The challenge is particularly acute for advanced reactors which may raise unique or new regulatory questions and may be smaller in size, resulting in a much higher proportional impact from regulatory and cost challenges. This situation presents a particularly troublesome risk for the nation given the urgency in which utilities are working to transition to clean, non-carbon-emitting energy sources like nuclear energy. Reforms to the NRC licensing process have the potential to greatly increase certainty and support the successful progress of new reactors. The NRC can retain its world-class nuclear safety reputation while becoming a world leader for regulatory efficiency and a critical enabler to the clean energy transition. This report describes potential NRC reforms, focusing on those with a statutory connection. Recognizing the potential tradeoffs with any proposed changes, the report attempts to highlight those considerations in the analysis of the reforms. The recommendations are presented as a set of options for consideration. Unless noted, they are independent options, offering stakeholders the option to select a subset for further consideration. Although difficult to calculate precise time improvements for some of the changes, the reforms have the potential for substantial improvements, perhaps even by a factor of two.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2026

Commercial and Industrial Energy Procurement in Nigeria: A Consumer's Guidebook

Across Africa, countries have incorporated a variety of new energy sources into their energy mix to account for increasing demand. In Nigeria, electricity consumption per capita has grown nearly 50% in the past 20 years. To address rising demand for energy in Nigeria, the country has passed several recent policies and regulations aimed at increasing energy generation across the country, improving the country's transmission infrastructure, and ensuring that electricity reliably reaches end users, including commercial and industrial (C&I) customers. This guidebook is designed for C&I customers in Nigeria to use in the consideration of procuring such onsite, captive energy systems to supplement their energy needs. Each section of this guidebook touches on a step of the procurement process and details the relevant stakeholders, processes, and data needed to make decisions during that step.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1972

Energy Distribution of Electrons in Radiation Induced-Helium Plasmas

Energy distribution of high energy electrons as they slow down and thermalize in a gaseous medium is studied. The energy distribution in the entire energy range from source energies down is studied analytically. A helium medium in which primary electrons are created by the passage of heavy-charged particles from nuclear reactions is emphasized. A radiation-induced plasma is of interest in a variety of applications, such as radiation pumped lasers and gaseous core nuclear reactors.

Lo, R. H.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Power-law X-ray and gamma-ray emission from relativistic thermal plasmas

A common characteristic of cosmic sources is power-law X-ray emission. Extragalactic sources of this type include compact components of active galactic nuclei (AGN). The present study is concerned with a theoretical model of such sources, taking into account the assumption that the power-law spectra are produced by repeated Compton scatterings of soft photons by relativistic thermal electrons. This is one of several possible physical mechanisms leading to the formation of a power-law spectrum. Attention is given to the Comptonization of soft photon sources, the rates of pair processes, the solution of the pair equilibrium equation, and the constraints on a soft photon source and an energy source. It is concluded that the compactness parameters L/R of most of the cosmic sources observed to date lie below the maximum luminosity curves considered.

Zdziarski, A. A.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Optical multiple sample vacuum integrating sphere

An integrating sphere comprised of a uniform difusely reflecting spherical cavity, having mutually transverse input and output ports, and a linear sample transport mechanism is described. The sample transport mechanism is secured so that the multiple samples can be brought into registration with the input port, one at a time, without having to open or disassemble the apparatus when a change of sample is desired. A vacuum tight seal is provided between the cavity and the transport mechanism. This maintains the integrity of a vacuum generated with the sphere when attached to the source of optical energy. The device is utilized to test emissive characteristics such as the relative fluorescence quantum efficiency of a dye sample placed in the path of a monochromatic optical energy source coupled to the input port while having a light detector coupled to the output port.

Butner, C. L.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Proportional proximity sensing for telerobots using Coherent Laser Radar

The ability of a telerobotic manipulator to operate in confined spaces while avoiding unwanted collisions is enhanced by the accurate sensing of its proximate environment. To achieve the fidelity required for precise manipulator control, a proportional proximity sensor system with a sufficiently large measurement envelope is required. Current proximity sensors provide a binary indication of the presence of obstacles within a small envelope with coarse or no proportional measurement of their location. A proportional proximity sensor system configured as a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) Coherent Laser Radar (CLR) using a semiconductor laser as the energy source is described and analyzed. The source and reflected energies mix coherently to generate a radio frequency (RF) signal whose frequency is proportional to the range. The system is tested for accuracy, range, depth of range, speed, and sensitivity and the results are presented. Techniques to derive orientation information and an application to telerobotic control are also described.

Vazquez, Sixto L.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Halotolerant and Resistant to High pH Hydrogenase from Haloalkaliphilic Sulfate-Reducing Bacterium Desulfonatronum thiodismutans

Hydrogenase is the key enzyme of energetic metabolism in cells, it catalyzing the converse reaction of hydrogen oxidation and responsible for consumption and excretion of hydrogen in bacteria. Hydrogenases are proteins containing either Nickel and Iron, or the only Iron in theirs active center. Hydrogenases have been found in many microorganisms, such as Methanogenic, acetogenic, nitrogen-fixing, photosynthetic and sulfate-reducing bacteria that could utilize the hydrogen as energy source or use it as electron sink. Hydrogenases are subject for wide physiological, biochemical, physicochemical and genetic studies due to theirs abilities produce the molecular hydrogen as alternative source of pure energy. Notwithstanding on enough large quantity of works that deal with intracellular and extrasellular enzymes of halophilic bacteria, the data about hydrogenases and theirs functions of salts practically are absent. The study of hydrogenase in cell-free extracts of extremely halophilic eubacterium Acetohalobium mabaticum showed dramatic increasing activity of the enzyme at high concentrations of NaCl and KCI (close to saturated solution). Here we present the data of free-cells extracted hydrogenase from new haloalkaliphilic sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfonatronum thiodismutans, which grow on highly miniralized carbonate-bicarbonate medium in salinity range 1 to 7 % and at pH 7.8 - 10.5. Studied enzyme was active in Concentration range from 0 to 4.3 M NaCl with optimum at 1.0 M NaCl. At 1.0 M NaCl the enzyme activity was increased on 20 %, but with changing concentration from 2.1 M to 3.4 M the activity decreased and was kept on constant level. NaHCO3 inhibited hydrogenase activity on more then 30 %. The maximum of enzyme activity was observed at pH 9.5 with limits 7.5 and 11.5 that practically equal to pH optimum of bacterial growth. Therefore the hydrogenase of Desulfanatronum thiodismutans is tolerant to high concentrations of sodium salts and it also resistant to high pH that make it the unique subject for different biochemical research and detects the possibility for biotechnological application.

Detkova, Ekaterina N.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Life Beyond the Planet of Origin and Implications for the Search for Life on Mars

Outer space is vast, cold, devoid of matter, radiation filled with essentially no gravity. These factors present an environmental challenge for any form of life. Earth's biosphere has evolved for more than 3 billion years shielded from the hostile environment of outer space by the protective blanket of the atmosphere and magnetosphere. Space is a nutritional wasteland with no liquid water and readily available organic carbon. Moving beyond a life's planet of origin requires a means for transport, the ability to withstand transport, and the ability to colonize, thrive and ultimately evolve in the new environment. Can life survive beyond its home planet? The key to answering this question is to identify organisms that first have the ability to withstand space radiation, space vacuum desiccation and time in transit, and second the ability to grow in an alien environment. Within the last 60 years space technology allowed us to transport life beyond Earth's protective shield so we may study, in situ, their responses to selected conditions of space. To date a variety of microbes ranging from viruses, to Bacteria, to Archaea, to Eukarya have been tested in the space environment. Most died instantly, but not all. These studies revealed that ultraviolet radiation is the near-term lethal agent, while hard radiation is the long-term lethal agent when the organism is shielded from ultraviolet radiation. In fact, bacterial spores, halophilic cyanobacteria and Archaea as well as some lichens survive very well if protected from ultraviolet radiation [1]. Some microbes, then, may be able to survive the trip in outer space to Mars on a spacecraft or in a meteorite. Once on Mars can a terrestrial microbe survive? Although the conditions on Mars are not as harsh as those in space, they are not hospitable for a terrestrial microbe. Studies, however, have shown that certain microbes that can survive in space for several years may also be able to survive on Mars if protected from ultraviolet radiation [1]. Laboratory simulation experiments using a mock-up of the Phoenix lander have shown that microbes transported to the surface of Mars on a spacecraft come off the spacecraft and mix into the Martian regolith [2]. Additionally, studies simulating Martian dust storms demonstrate that microbes can survive in the Martian wind blown dust and be scattered across the Martian surface away from the spacecraft. Would these microbes that may survive on Mars metabolize and propagate? Growth requires liquid water, a carbon source and an energy source. Survival on Mars also requires protection from ultraviolet radiation. In the cold, dry environment of Mars the probability of microbial metabolism and growth at or just beneath the surface is extremely low. Although the probability is low, Mars may be contaminated with potentially live terrestrial organisms. In light of that statistic we must be extremely diligent and cautious in our search for Martian life. If we are not cautious we may find life on Mars and it may be a contaminant from Earth.

Survival in Space↗