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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Impact of Advances in Anion Exchange Membranes and Ionomers on Alkaline Fuel Cells

Abstract The operation of low‐temperature electrochemical energy conversion systems (fuel cells, electrolyzers) at high pH values is of perennial interest due to the possibility of moving away from expensive platinum group metal catalysts and reducing cost. Historically, the anion exchange membranes (AEMs) and ionomers have been hampered by performance (ionic conductivity, mechanical strength) and chemical stability issues. In this context, select developments over the past decade in alternate AEM chemistries, water management methods, and production of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) that have enabled a significant leap in performance of alkaline fuel cells are examined. These developments are linked to performance improvements in alkaline H 2 /O 2 fuel cells and also consider developments in alkaline fuel cells using nitrogen‐containing fuels (ammonia, hydrazine), carbon‐containing fuels (alcohols, glycols), and boron‐containing fuels (sodium borohydride, ammonia borane). Finally, current challenges and bottlenecks are identified, and potential solutions are proposed.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2020

Sustainable production of ammonia fertilizers from biomass

Nitrogen is the most limiting plant nutrient. Inexpensive natural gas has substantially reduced costs of ammonia fertilizer for intensive agriculture in the developed world, but its excessive use negatively impacts downstream ecosystems. By contrast, the availability of ammonia fertilizer is a major economic bottleneck for agriculture in developing countries. A dedicated lignocellulosic biomass crop could supply sufficient substrate to generate optimal nitrogen fertilizer on less than 5% of a grower’s food crop acreage. However, reimagining ammonia generation using biomass could significantly enhance sustainable agricultural productivity in developing countries when combined with emerging catalytic technologies.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Roles of mineral matter in biomass processing to biofuels

Abstract Minerals in biomass have a significant impact on both biofuel quality and yield. This is especially true for current thermochemical biomass conversion processes. However, the roles of plant minerals in biochemical conversion have not been studied extensively, even though they are generally considered to lower the sugar yield because they reduce the feedstock proportion of carbohydrates. A successful strategic solution is thus necessary to overcome the challenges caused by the minerals in biomass, which include (1) decreased quality of biomass feedstocks; (2) reduction of process efficiency; and (3) reduction of the product quality and quantity from biomass conversion. This review summarizes the roles of plant minerals in a biorefinery, focusing on these key challenges. The discussion covers many issues related to plant minerals in biofuel production, including their sources, functions, and distribution in plant biomass, methods of characterizing them, their influence in a biorefinery, and the strategic handling required to manage their occurrence in biomass, based on reported studies. It could inspire better strategies to deal with the variance of mineral content in biomass feedstocks to increase process efficiency and reduce costs while supporting the concept of a circular bioeconomy. © 2023 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Biorefinery siting and sizing to achieve the US Billion‐Ton Bioeconomy vision: A case study using a gasification–Fischer–Tropsch process

Achieving a secure, abundant, and affordable energy future requires a robust and adaptable energy strategy, with bioenergy playing a pivotal role. Biomass-based energy presents a promising pathway to use domestic resources while fostering economic opportunities in rural areas. Despite the potential to source more than 1 billion dry short tons of biomass annually in the US, significant infrastructure and economic barriers hinder full utilization for energy production. This study used the Biofuel Infrastructure, Logistics, and Transportation (BILT) model to assess biorefinery siting and scale and determine the number and size of facilities required to maximize use of the US biomass potential. A spatially agnostic approach first assessed the effects of facility capacity and transportation constraints on biomass use. Then, a spatially explicit analysis integrated county-level biomass availability from the US Department of Energy's 2023 Billion-Ton Report and technoeconomic assessments to evaluate different biorefinery deployment scenarios. The results indicate that an optimized mix of facility sizes is essential to leverage biomass resources fully across varying regional production densities to maximize use of the US biomass potential. Larger biorefineries or co-located smaller facilities significantly enhance biomass use while reducing costs through economies of scale. These findings underscore the importance of strategically balancing facility capacity and spatial distribution to optimize the bioenergy supply chain. In conclusion, this study provides critical insights for advancing the US bioenergy economy by aligning biorefinery deployment with biomass resource availability and economic viability.

BILT Model↗
DOE OSTI2024

Characterization of Porous Transport Layers Towards the Development of Efficient Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis

The current goals for implementing the hydrogen economy have highlighted a need to further optimize water-splitting technologies for clean hydrogen production. Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is a leading technology, but further optimizations of anode materials including the porous transport layer (PTL) and the adjacent catalyst layer (CL) are required to increase overall cell performance and reduce cost. This literature review describes advances in PTL development and characterization, highlighting early PTL characterization work and most common methods including capillary flow porometry and mercury intrusion porometry, optical imaging, neutron and x-ray radiography, and x-ray computed tomography. The article also discusses PTL protective coatings and their characterizations, focusing on platinum group metal (PGM)-based coatings, alternative non-PGM-based coatings, post-treated PTLs, and investigations into thin PGM-based coatings. Furthermore, it highlights the integration of the PTL and the adjacent CL along with associated characterization challenges. Lastly, this review discusses future developments in the characterization needed to improve PEMWE's performance and long-term durability are discussed.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

How to Decarbonize Our Energy Systems: Process‐Informed Design of New Materials for Carbon Capture

Decarbonisation from a variety of industrial and power emission sectors highlights a marked need for capture technologies that can be optimized for different CO 2 sources and integrated into an equally diverse range of applications of captured CO 2 as a feedstock. Some capture technologies are already operated at an industrial scale but may not be optimal for all required applications. Advanced tailored sorbent-based technologies allow flexible operation and reduced costs as they offer higher capture capacities and significantly lower energy penalties than the state-of-the-art systems. To accelerate the discovery, development, and deployment of novel advanced materials, it is critically important that efforts between experimentalists, theoreticians, and process engineers are coordinated. The PrISMa project addresses this challenge by integrating materials design with process design and environmental considerations to allow for tailor-making carbon capture solutions optimally tuned for local sources and sinks. In this article, we highlight some of the recent results obtained with the PrISMa platform.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Light‐driven Transformation of Carbon Monoxide into Hydrocarbons using CdS@ZnS : VFe Protein Biohybrids

Enzymatic Fisher-Tropsch (FT) process catalyzed by vanadium (V)-nitrogenase can convert carbon monoxide (CO) to longer-chain hydrocarbons (>C2) under ambient conditions, although this process requires high-cost reducing agent(s) and/or the ATP-dependent reductase as electron and energy sources. Using visible light-activated CdS@ZnS (CZS) core-shell quantum dots (QDs) as alternative reducing equivalent for the catalytic component (VFe protein) of V-nitrogenase, we first report a CZS : VFe biohybrid system that enables effective photo-enzymatic C−C coupling reactions, hydrogenating CO into hydrocarbon fuels (up to C4) that can be hardly achieved with conventional inorganic photocatalysts. Surface ligand engineering optimizes molecular and opto-electronic coupling between QDs and the VFe protein, realizing high efficiency (internal quantum yield >56 %), ATP-independent, photon-to-fuel production, achieving an electron turnover number of >900, that is 72 % compared to the natural ATP-coupled transformation of CO into hydrocarbons by V-nitrogenase. The selectivity of products can be controlled by irradiation conditions, with higher photon flux favoring (longer-chain) hydrocarbon generation. The CZS : VFe biohybrids not only can find applications in industrial CO removal for high-value-added chemical production by using the cheap, renewable solar energy, but also will inspire related research interests in understanding the molecular and electronic processes in photo-biocatalytic systems.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2024

Complete resolution across the neodymium/samarium isotopic envelope with a liquid sampling‐atmospheric pressure glow discharge — Orbitrap mass spectrometer

Rationale Nd and Sm isotope ratios play an important role in geological dating and as nuclear forensic signatures; however, the overlap of the respective 144, 148, 150 Nd/Sm isobars requires prior separations to be performed before analysis on typical MS platforms. The work presented here overcomes these isobaric interferences using ultrahigh‐mass resolution to alleviate interference without prior chemical separations. Methods A liquid sampling‐atmospheric pressure glow discharge ion source was coupled to a standard, QExactive Focus Orbitrap mass spectrometer, providing a mass resolution of ~80 k. A Spectroswiss FTMS booster X2 data acquisition package was used to collect extended transients, providing much higher mass resolution; ~230 k and ~600 k are employed here for Nd and Sm isotopes. Results While the standard Orbitrap resolution is far greater than typical “atomic” MS platforms, it was insufficient to alleviate all isobars. The use of a resolution of ~230 k resulted in baseline separation across the entire isotopic envelope for both Nd and Sm. Isotope ratios obtained from Nd:Sm mixtures using high‐resolution were equivalent to those found for individual‐element solutions, while isotope ratios obtained at a resolution of ~80 k (standard for the OEM data system) showed large deviations. Conclusions Use of ultrahigh‐resolution is an attractive alternative to extensive chemical separations to alleviate severe isobaric interferences. Sufficient mass resolution greatly reduces/eliminates the need for sample manipulations (separations) before analysis while reducing costs and total analysis times.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Toolpath generation for automated wind turbine blade finishing operations

Incorporating automation into wind turbine blade manufacturing is important for reducing costs to meet current offshore wind energy production goals in the United States. This work proposes a process for automating three operations in wind blade manufacturing: trimming to remove flashing left over after bonding two blade skins together, grinding to produce a desired leading-edge shape, and sanding to prepare the blade for bonding overlamination or adding paint to the surface. The majority of this work focuses on the toolpath generation. The algorithms were tested on a 5-m blade section, and the results were analyzed in terms of operation speed and accuracy. Finally, future work is discussed to improve the performance of the system.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Contact pressure analysis to allow improved design for the clearing plate in a biomass comminution system

For biomass processing systems, feedstocks with small but equal sizes can improve flowability and thermochemical outputs. The Crumbler rotary shear system was designed to achieve such ideal feedstocks to reduce costs and energy throughout the biomass supply chain. Improving the wear resistance of major components in this system is important to decrease the cost. Accelerating the feedstock flow through the rotary shear machine plays an equivalent role of improving its efficiency. An analytical analysis and a finite-element analysis of the stationary clearing plate are presented in this work. Here, these tools are used to investigate the effect of contact surface curvature on the impact pressure. The optimized new clearing plate design is expected to improve the component’s lifetime and wood chips flowability. The field tests confirm that the trend of the new clearing plate design guided by FEA. The optimization method, model verification, and validation experience applied in this work can also be applied to other static components with similar simple contact wear problems.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Combining shallow-water and analytical wake models for tidal array micro-siting

For tidal-stream energy to become a competitive renewable energy source, clustering multiple turbines into arrays is paramount. Array optimisation is thus critical for achieving maximum power performance and reducing cost of energy. However, ascertaining an optimal array layout is a complex problem, subject to specific site hydrodynamics and multiple inter-disciplinary constraints. In this work, we present a novel optimisation approach that combines an analytical-based wake model, FLORIS, with an ocean model, Thetis. The approach is demonstrated through applications of increasing complexity. By utilising the method of analytical wake superposition, the addition or alteration of turbine position does not require re-calculation of the entire flow field, thus allowing the use of simple heuristic techniques to perform optimisation at a fraction of the computational cost of more sophisticated methods. Using a custom condition-based placement algorithm, this methodology is applied to the Pentland Firth for arrays with turbines of 3.05 m/s rated speed, demonstrating practical implications whilst considering the temporal variability of the tide. For a 24-turbine array case, micro-siting using this technique delivered an array 15.8% more productive on average than a staggered layout, despite flow speeds regularly exceeding the rated value. Performance was evaluated through assessment of the optimised layout within the ocean model that treats turbines through a discrete turbine representation. Used iteratively, this methodology could deliver improved array configurations in a manner that accounts for local hydrodynamic effects.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2022

How deep to dig: effects of web-scraping search depth on hyperlink network analysis of environmental stewardship organizations

Abstract Social network analysis (SNA) tools and concepts are essential for addressing many environmental management and sustainability issues. One method to gather SNA data is to scrape them from environmental organizations’ websites. Web-based research can provide important opportunities to understand environmental governance and policy networks while potentially reducing costs and time when compared to traditional survey and interview methods. A key parameter is ‘search depth,’ i.e., how many connected pages within a website to search for information. Existing research uses a variety of depths and no best practices exist, undermining research quality and case study comparability. We therefore analyze how search depth affects SNA data collection among environmental organizations, if results vary when organizations have different objectives, and how search depth affects social network structure. We find that scraping to a depth of three captures the majority of relevant network data regardless of an organization’s focus. Stakeholder identification (i.e., who is in the network) may require less scraping, but this might under-represent network structure (i.e., who is connected). We also discuss how scraping web-pages of local programs of larger organizations may lead to uncertain results and how our work can combine with mixed methods approaches.

Sayles, Jesse S. (ORCID:0000000218378920)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Advanced Electrode Structures for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: Current Status and Path Forward

Abstract Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have demonstrated their viability as a promising candidate for clean energy applications. However, performance of conventional PEMFC electrodes, especially the cathode electrode, suffers from low catalyst utilization and sluggish mass transport due to the randomly distributed components and tortuous transport pathways. Development of alternative architectures in which the electrode structure is controlled across a range of length scales provides a promising path toward overcoming these limitations. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of recent research and development of advanced electrode structures, organized by decreasing length-scale from the millimeter-scale to the nanometer-scale. Specifically, advanced electrode structures are categorized into five unique architectures for specific functions: (1) macro-patterned electrodes for enhanced macro-scale mass transport, (2) micro-patterned electrodes for enhanced micro-scale mass transport, (3) electrospun electrodes with fiber-based morphology for enhanced in-plane proton transport and through-plane O 2 transport, (4) enhanced-porosity electrodes for improved oxygen transport through selective inclusion of void space, and (5) catalyst film electrodes for elimination of carbon corrosion and ionomer poisoning. The PEMFC performance results achieved from each alternative electrode structure are presented and tabulated for comparison with conventional electrode architectures. Moreover, analysis of mechanisms by which new electrode structures can improve performance is presented and discussed. Finally, an overview of current limitations and future research needs is presented to guide the development of electrode structures for next generation PEMFCs. Graphical Abstract Development of improved electrode architectures with the control of structure on length scales ranging from millimeters to nanometers could enable a new generation of fuel cells with increased performance and reduced cost. This paper presents an in-depth review and critical analysis of recent developments and future outlook on the design of advanced electrode structures.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Biochar–polymer composites for 3D printing: a review

Biochar, a bio-based co-product of biofuel production via thermochemical conversion, holds potential as a filler for polymer composites to reduce costs, improve thermomechanical properties, and aid in environmental remediation. 3D-printed biochar composites have received growing interest over the past few years but have experienced difficulties such as poor layer adhesion and nozzle clogging. Currently, no literature review examines 3D-printed biochar composites and related biochar properties in-depth. This work summarizes and discusses recent studies on 3D-printed polymer and biochar composites and examines their mechanical, thermal, and additional properties that result from each study. Technical challenges in printability, such as nozzle clogging from particle size and biochar aggregation, are also discussed. Furthermore, this work discusses the variability of biochar properties resulting from the pyrolysis conditions and feedstock choice in relation to potential 3D printing outcomes. In particular, several studies reported that high lignin feedstocks could be candidates for 3D printing. The post-processing approaches of the biochar via physical and chemical methods are also introduced. Ball milling appears to hold the most promise for physical treatments due to its tunability of particle size, surface area, and functional groups, while chemical treatments with acids or alkalis are used to tailor biochar porosity and wettability. Overall, it was determined that future research needs to be done relating biochar production and post-processing methods to resulting 3D printing parameters as the number of studies is limited.

Day, Rachel [Auburn University, Auburn, AL]↗
DOE OSTI2021

A comparative techno-economic analysis of renewable methanol synthesis from biomass and CO 2 : Opportunities and barriers to commercialization

Global demand for methanol as both a chemical precursor and a fuel additive is rising. At the same time, numerous renewable methanol production pathways are under development, which, if commercialized, could provide significant environmental benefits over traditional methanol synthesis pathways. However, it is difficult to compare technologies at different maturity levels, with differing feedstocks, and with significant differences in overall process design. Thus, there is a need to harmonize the analyses of renewable pathways using a consistent techno-economic approach to evaluate the potential for commercialization of various pathways. This analysis uses a novel cross-comparison method to assess near-term and long-term viability of both low- and high-maturity level technologies. Furthermore, the techno-economic assessment considers cost factors critical to market acceptance combined with carbon- and energy-efficiency assessments of three renewable pathways compared with a commercial baseline. We find that biomass gasification to methanol represents a near-term viable pathway with a high technology readiness level and commercially competitive market price. If cost-reducing technological improvements can be realized and scaled up in the CO 2 electrolysis pathways, the potential for higher carbon efficiencies may help drive market adoption of these more modular, direct conversion pathways in future markets as they present an opportunity to better support global decarbonization efforts through efficient waste carbon utilization.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Process-informed adsorbent design guidelines for direct air capture

Direct air capture using solid adsorbents is a proven technology critical to reducing our net greenhouse gas emissions to zero and beyond. Currently, academic research into the technology mainly focuses on the development of new adsorbents. However, there is a discord between the adsorbent design and process performance. Many materials scientists focus on maximising metrics such as the CO 2 capacity of their adsorbent. Here, we combine detailed process modelling, machine learning, and extensive global sensitivity analysis, which entails varying all of the model parameters together, on a direct air capture process to show that the dry CO 2 adsorption capacity does not influence process performance for an amine-functionalised adsorbent operating in a temperature vacuum swing adsorption (TVSA) process, while it is important in a steam-assisted TVSA (S-TVSA) process. In fact, adsorption kinetics, density, and thermal conductivity are all critical attributes to obtaining a low energy penalty and reduced costs. The analysis also highlights the importance of heat transfer, directing process engineers to (alternative) adsorber designs that maximise this. By an in-depth evaluation of how process performance indicators are affected by materials properties and process operating parameters, this work provides guidance to both material scientists and process engineers towards the design of a “unicorn adsorbent” and intensified DAC processes. This will improve the performance of solid adsorbent direct air capture and help drive down the costs of this vital technology to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Process intensification education contributes to sustainable development goals. Part 1

In 2015 all the United Nations (UN) member states adopted 17 sustainable development goals (UN-SDG) as part of the 2030 Agenda, which is a 15-year plan to meet ambitious targets to eradicate poverty, protect the environment, and improve the quality of life around the world. Although the global community has progressed, the pace of implementation must accelerate to reach the UN-SDG time-line. For this to happen, professionals, institutions, companies, governments and the general public must become cognizant of the challenges that our world faces and the potential technological solutions at hand, including those provided by chemical engineering. Process intensification (PI) is a recent engineering approach with demonstrated potential to significantly improve process efficiency and safety while reducing cost. It offers opportunities for attaining the UN-SDG goals in a cost-effective and timely manner. However, the pedagogical tools to educate undergraduate, graduate students, and professionals active in the field of PI lack clarity and focus. This paper sets out the state-of-the-art, main discussion points and guidelines for enhanced PI teaching, deliberated by experts in PI with either an academic or industrial background, as well as representatives from government and specialists in pedagogy gathered at the Lorentz Center (Leiden, The Netherlands) in June 2019 with the aim of uniting the efforts on education in PI and produce guidelines. In this Part 1, we discuss the societal and industrial needs for an educational strategy in the framework of PI. The terminology and background information on PI, as it relates to educational implementation in industry and academia, are provided as a preamble to Part 2, which presents practical examples that will help educating on Process Intensification.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗