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At least 307 records · Page 17

Sustainable Biofuels for Low-Carbon Maritime Transportation

The marine shipping sector heavily depends on fossil fuels and is one of the largest petroleum fuel consumers [1,2]. The annual global marine fuel consumption was estimated to be around 400 million metric tons in 2019 (2.5 billion barrels). Moreover, ocean shipping is one of the most significant contributors to sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter emissions. Global shipping contributes 13% of human-caused sulfur emissions and 2.6% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. As a major source of pollutant emissions, the marine industry faces several challenges related to emission regulations. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has established a framework for reducing the carbon intensity of shipping: 40% reduction relative to 2008 levels by 2030 and 70% reduction by 2050. As the aviation sector, the maritime shipping sector is difficult to decarbonize through electrification. Biofuels offer the best opportunities for decarbonizing marine shipping in the near and medium-term. Advanced biofuels such as pyrolysis bio-oil offer the low-cost potential for meeting carbon reduction goals. For instance, the pyrolysis bio-oil exhibited promising marginal CO2 abatement costs at less than $100/tonne CO2-equivalent at a heavy fuel oil price greater than $1.10/gal [1]. As a potential biofuel option for low-carbon maritime shipping, this presentation focuses on a comparative techno-economic analysis (TEA) of bio-oils produced via a fast pyrolysis-based conversion pathway. The pathway converts a 50/50 blend of forest residues and clean pine to bio-oil via three process options: fast pyrolysis without vapor upgrading, and fast pyrolysis with vapor phase upgrading over ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst and Pt/TiO2 catalyst. The process configuration and operation variation led to different capital and operating costs, as well as the resulting raw bio-oil’s yield and quality, e.g., the water content, total acid number, and carboxylic acid number. The study also determined the minimum upgrading of bio-oils required to enable blending with very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO), with the associated costs reflected in TEA. This study shows that bio-oil could be a cost-effective fuel option for decarbonizing maritime shipping. Further research is required with respect to biofuel blending properties, such as compatibility with existing fuel system infrastructure and suitable engine performance.

BIOMASS FUELS↗

The Successful Transfer of Space Derived Convergent Spray: An Application for Industrial Roof Coatings and Interstate Bridge Repair

A partnership was formed between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and United Technologies USBI Company to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate a technology that uses a solventless spray process for depositing a lightweight, highly filled roof coating on low-sloped commercial roofs. Although the levels of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from industrial roof coating's and paint operations have been reduced in recent years, this partnership,was an effort to further reduce VOC emission levels and to also demonstrate the use of reclaimed automobile tire rubber as a filler material in roof coating systems. Different materials and coatings were evaluated and tested before the final selection used to coat the roofs of two small buildings at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center during fiscal year 1997. The project successfully leveraged the investment of EPA, NASA and private sector resources to demonstrate a pre-commercial roofing coating process. This process utilizes the Convergent Spray Technologies process, which was initially developed by USBI to apply highly-filled, thermal protection coatings to the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters. A second partnership between the NASA, Federal Highway Administration, Alabama Department of Transportation and USBI Company was formed to develop and demonstrate the Convergent Spray Technology as a method of applying a skid resistant coating to interstate roads and concrete bridge decking's. Again, different materials and coatings were evaluated and tested before the final selection of ground flint and resin. Two field demonstrations were performed during fiscal year 1997 for the purpose of evaluating the coating system under actual highway conditions. These coatings were applied on Interstate 65 near Huntsville Alabama, and in the Mobile Bankhead tunnel. The system performed this task without the use of harmful solvents, and accomplished the process in a single application. This project successfully leveraged the investment of NASA, Federal Highway Administration, the Alabama Department of Transportation, and private sector funding.

McMillan, Vernotto C.↗

Hydrogen 101: Frequently Asked Questions About Hydrogen for Decarbonization

Hydrogen is emerging across the world as a potential low-carbon energy carrier that can provide an alternative to fossil fuels. With the increasing deployment of renewable energy, the role of low-carbon power generation in hydrogen production through electrolysis is expected to increase. Hydrogen can also play a role in reducing carbon emissions in several strategic sectors such as chemicals, iron, steel, and long-haul transport like heavy-duty trucks and shipping. As a result of these possibilities, many countries have included hydrogen as a central part of their energy strategies. This growing interest has led to many questions among various stakeholders, including policymakers, planners, regulators, system operators, utilities, and investors. This fact sheet provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions related to hydrogen production, transportation, storage, cross-sectoral utilization, and its role in power sector decarbonization.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Wake Vortex Wingtip-Turbine Powered Circulation Control High-Lift System

NASA s Vehicle Systems Program is investing in aeronautics technology development across six vehicle sectors, in order to improve future air travel. These vehicle sectors include subsonic commercial transports, supersonic vehicles, Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Extreme Short Takeoff and Landing (ESTOL) vehicles, Rotorcraft, and Personal Air Vehicles (PAVs). While the subsonic transport is firmly established in U.S. markets, the other vehicle sectors have not developed a sufficient technology or regulatory state to permit widespread, practical use. The PAV sector has legacy products in the General Aviation (GA) market, but currently only accounts for negligible revenue miles, sales, or market share of personal travel. In order for PAV s to ever capture a significant market, these small aircraft require technologies that permit them to be less costly, environmentally acceptable, safer, easier to operate, more efficient, and less dependent on large support infrastructures.

Moore, Mark D.↗

Convective Influence on the Lower Stratospheric Water Vapor in the Boreal Summer Asian Monsoon Region

Processes maintaining the localized maxima in lower stratospheric watervapor over the boreal summer Asian monsoon region are investigated usingtrajectory and cloud models that resolve the detailed cloudmicrophysical processes, with observation-based convection and radiationschemes. We examine the impact of convective influence along parceltrajectories on cloud formation and dehydration by tracing thetrajectories through time-dependent fields of convective cloud topheights estimated from global rainfall and geostationary brightnesstemperatures. Parameters such as the rainfall threshold used foridentification of deep convection are derived by comparison with theCloudSat deep convective cloud top product as enhanced by colocatedCALIOP measurements. The simulated water vapor field at the 100 hPalevel and cloud occurrence frequencies in the tropical tropopause layer(TTL) are constrained by corresponding observations from MLS andCALIPSO, respectively. The observed maximum in the 100 hPa level watervapor field over the Asian monsoon region is only present in thesimulation with convective influence, indicating the importance ofconvective hydration for the summertime water vapor distribution.Convection moistens the 100 hPa level over the Asian monsoon by 1 ppmv,where 75 of this moistening is due to convection occurring locallywithin the monsoon region. Convection also increases the cloudoccurrence frequency in the TTL over the southern sector of the Asianmonsoon anticyclone by 20. Parcels are convectively hydrated in thesoutheastern sector of the anticyclone, transported westward by theanticyclonic circulation, and dehydrated in the southwestern sector. Therelative importance of extreme convective events that inject ice andwater vapor near or above the tropopause will also be examined.

convection↗

What the Heck is Going On at NASA?

On February 1, 2010, the federal budget for Fiscal Year 2011 was released. NASA received an increase, unlike almost any other federal agency. At the same time, the budget revealed that the Constellation Program would be cancelled and that NASA would look to private sector providers for transportation of cargo, and eventually crew members, to the International Space Station. The Constellation Program had included a human return to the Moon by the year 2020, and the program plans called for a permanent surface facility capable of supporting human explorers. In the FY2011 announcement, the prescription of a lunar objective was replaced by a concept called flexible path that was advertised to open possibilities of other types of human missions beyond low Earth orbit. The policy direction has polarized the U.S. space community, where the reactions have been swift and polemical. The new policy has been described both as the death knell of human space exploration and as the only hope to save human space exploration. Some members of Congress have threatened legal action based on the current law regarding appropriation of funds to NASA, which states that Constellation cannot be cancelled without prior consultation with Congress. As might be expected, some of the reaction is directly related to losses or gains of jobs in districts associated with NASA facilities. However, various statements show high emotional content, suggesting that personal belief systems have been challenged. Meanwhile, many details of the new policy are not yet clear; and some aspects seem to be shifting in response to political reaction. The final direction for NASA will not be known until the FY2011 budget has been passed by Congress and signed by the President. I will draw upon my 28 years of studying, writing, and speaking on the topic of future human exploration beyond low Earth orbit to discuss the various issues at stake and the historical context for the debate. My own work has had a central theme of lunar exploration and development, but I have also come to believe that human exploration will never be more than a political sideshow until a significant economic sector can be created in space off of the Earth. Disclaimer: The views presented will be my own and in no way reflect official policies of the NASA.

Mendell, Wendell↗

The Energy Modeling Forum (EMF)-30 Study on Short-Lived Climate Forcers: Introduction and Overview

The Energy Modeling Forum (EMF)-30 inter-comparison study on short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs) focuses on black carbon (BC) and methane, two of the most important warming SLCFs. The potential impact on climate change of methane and BC-focused emission reductions in the transport and residential sectors were quantified using nine integrated assessment models and a simple climate model. These SLCF reductions reduced global temperatures by 0.18–0.26 °C in 2050 across the models for central climate parameters, with methane being the dominant contributor. The incremental impact of SLCF-focused reductions is much smaller when combined with a broader climate policy. Individual modeling groups examined the health benefits of air pollutant reductions, climate policy co-benefits, and quantified market impacts from air pollutant damages. Model structure and set-up impact on results are discussed along with areas for future work.

Smith, Steven J.↗

Beyond Energy Efficiency: A clustering approach to embed demand flexibility into building energy benchmarking

The intermittency of carbon-free renewables and the demand changes associated with the widespread push for electrifying the transportation and building sectors provides an opportunity for buildings to go beyond energy efficiency and push towards providing demand flexibility to the electricity grid. The duality of energy efficiency and demand flexibility is necessary for success in a sustainable and reliable energy transition. Current building energy benchmarking models are limited in their ability to integrate concepts of demand flexibility and/or utilize granular smart meter data. Thus, current benchmarking methods are focused annual energy usage and fail to incorporate how the time of use of energy consumption impacts emissions in a quickly changing energy grid. Without a more comprehensive view of energy usage and associated real-time emissions, current benchmarking methods are unlikely to realize the full decarbonization potential of buildings. New emerging data streams provide an opportunity to develop a new generation of benchmarking energy models that embed dimensions of energy efficiency, grid interactivity, and demand flexibility into their analysis. In this paper, we propose a four-step method for embedding grid interactivity and demand flexibility into building benchmarking models that utilizes emerging building and time-series electricity data streams. We first engineer features to produce a mix-type dataset that encompasses many attributes of grid-interactive and efficient buildings, and then we apply K-medoids using Gower's Distance to produce peer-group clusters. We apply the method to a case study of 306 primary and secondary schools in southern California, USA. The results show that the method effectively clusters buildings by attributes of demand flexibility and energy efficiency. The clustering results reveal patterns in inefficient building operations and demand inflexibility at the building peer group level. In conclusion, the interpretation of clusters can serve as an integrated energy efficiency and demand flexibility benchmarking model and inform performance-specific policy targeting for buildings that go beyond traditional efficiency measures.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Coulombic friction in metamaterials to dissipate mechanical energy

Product designs from a wide range of industries such as aerospace, automotive, biomedical, and others can benefit from new metamaterials for mechanical energy dissipation. In this study, we explore a novel new class of metamaterials with unit cells that absorb energy via sliding Coulombic friction. Remarkably, even materials such as metals and ceramics, which typically have no intrinsic reversible energy dissipation, can be architected to provide dissipation akin to elastomers. The concept is demonstrated at different scales (centimeter to micrometer), with different materials (metal and polymer), and in different operating environments (high and low temperatures), all showing substantial dissipative improvements over conventional non-contacting lattice unit cells. Further, as with other ‘programmable’ metamaterials, the degree of Coulombic absorption can be tailored for a given application. Additionally, an analytic expression is derived to allow rapid first-order optimization. This new class of Coulombic friction energy absorbers can apply broadly to many industrial sectors such as transportation (e.g. monolithic shock absorbers), biomedical (e.g. prosthetics), athletic equipment (e.g. skis, bicycles, etc.), defense (e.g. vibration tolerant structures), and energy (e.g. survivable electrical grid components).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Renewable hydrogen horizon: Geospatial techno-economic feasibility and life cycle greenhouse gas analysis in the Middle East and North Africa

Renewable hydrogen is receiving increasing attention for its potential as a flexible energy carrier in sectors such as transportation and industry. Specific cost and carbon intensity (CI) of renewable hydrogen production vary largely based on the location, owing to differences in renewable energy resources, as well as the supply chain dynamics. This study maps the techno-economic and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of renewable hydrogen production in the Middle East and North Africa region, leveraging abundant solar and wind resources. The work investigates the variability in hydrogen costs and CI, optimally sizing proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers to account for partial and cyclic loading, and explores standalone versus grid-connected systems. PEM capacity ratios of 52 %–63 % for photovoltaic (PV) systems and 28 %–82 % for wind systems were identified as optimal, with hydrogen production costs ranging from $\$3.8$-$\$4.8$/kg for PV and $2.0-$7.0/kg for wind. CIs span from 1.9 to 3.7 kg CO 2 ,eq /kg H 2 for PV and 0.4–7.7 kg CO 2,eq /kg H 2 for wind systems. The study highlights significant cost and CI reductions achievable with technological advancements and co-product revenue from oxygen and excess electricity sales.

Carbon Intensity↗

Viability of Additively Manufactured Electrodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

As the global economy becomes increasingly electrified, the demand for batteries and energy storage is expected to rise significantly, particularly in the transportation and electricity sectors. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the most advanced and widely used technology in this field. Traditionally, LIBs are manufactured using simple 2D planar geometries to maximize production efficiency and minimize costs. However, this approach limits energy density due to the restricted design flexibility of the electrodes. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers a promising solution to enhance the energy density and efficiency of LIBs by enabling the design of architectures that reduce diffusive losses and allow for a greater amount of active material to be incorporated within the same device footprint, thereby minimizing the use of inactive materials. Different AM techniques come with their own set of limitations, including printing speed, material compatibility, and scale, which must be considered when designing electrodes. Scalable and cost-effective methods are particularly important for electric vehicle batteries, while achieving higher energy densities in microbatteries is crucial for the miniaturization of wearable electronics and medical devices. Here, in this study, we simulate various 3D porous electrode designs for LIBs using graphite and nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) electrodes. These designs are selected to represent structures that could be produced using different AM techniques, such as direct ink writing, fused deposition modeling, and stereolithography. Our results indicate that at higher charging rates and increased areal mass loading, 3D structures can outperform traditional 2D electrodes, although the benefits may diminish with more complex designs that are harder to manufacture. The observed gains in energy density are attributed to improved electrode utilization and reduced diffusive energy losses. This comprehensive analysis of structure–performance relationships will provide valuable insights to guide future research on 3D designs, material selection, and AM techniques for additively manufactured battery electrodes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Viability of Vehicles Utilizing On-Board CO 2 Capture

Although battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles hold great promise for mitigating CO 2 emissions, there are still unaddressed sectors for electrified transport, e.g., the heavy-duty and long-range global shipping industry. In this Viewpoint, we examine the viability of CO 2 -neutral transportation using hydrocarbon or alcohol fuels, in which the CO 2 product is captured on-board the vehicle. This approach takes advantage of the unparalleled energy density of carbon-based fuels as needed for these energy-intensive applications. Here, a concept is developed considering the power technologies, infrastructure, and fuels required. Storage volume and mass requirements are calculated for a wide range of vehicle types and compared with those for other CO 2 -neutral options, namely hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric vehicles, and research and development needs to implement this technology are discussed.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

The health, climate, and equity benefits of freight truck electrification in the United States

Abstract Long-haul freight shipment in the United States relies on diesel trucks and constitutes ∼3% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and a significant share of local air pollution. Here, we compare the climate and air pollution-related health damages from electric versus diesel long-haul truck fleets. We use truck commodity flows to estimate tailpipe emissions from diesel trucks and regional grid emissions intensities to estimate charging emissions from electric trucks under various grid scenarios. We use a reduced complexity air quality model combined with valuation of air pollution-related premature deaths (using two hazard ratios (HRs)) and quantify the distributional health impacts in different scenarios. We find that annual health and climate costs of the current diesel fleet are $195–$249/capita compared to $174–$205/capita for a new diesel fleet, and $156–$177/capita for an electric fleet, depending on the HR. We find that freight electrification could avoid $6.2–8.5 billion in health and climate damages annually when compared to a fleet of new diesel vehicles (with even higher benefits when compared to the current diesel fleet). However, the Midwest and parts of the Gulf Coast would experience an increase in health damages due to vehicles charging using electricity from coal power plants. If old coal power plants (operating in 1980 or earlier) are replaced with zero-emission generation, electrification of all U.S. freight would result in $32.3–39.2 billion in avoided damages annually and health benefits throughout the U.S. Electrifying transport of consumer manufacturing goods (including electronics, transport equipment, and precision instruments) and food, beverage, and tobacco products would provide the largest absolute health and climate benefits, whereas mixed freight and manufacturing goods would result in the largest benefits per tonne-km. We find small variations in health damages across race and income. These results will help policymakers prioritize electrification and charging investment strategies for the freight transportation sub-sector.

Hennessy, Eleanor M. (ORCID:0000000294715765)↗

CO2ROpt (Feedstock Allocation Optimization Model) [SWR-22-13]

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains a critical challenge for the transportation and chemical sectors. The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide is a potential pathway for production of fuels and chemicals that uses atmospheric carbon dioxide as a feedstock. Here we present an analysis of the potential for carbon dioxide captured from point sources and via direct air capture to be utilized in electrochemical reduction under different market scenarios. Using a numerical optimization framework and national data sets, scenarios for nationwide production of ethylene, formate, and carbon monoxide are evaluated at scales comparable to current production of these molecules in the United States. We show that developing a network for production of these products at scale requires capture and utilization of significant portions of the carbon dioxide that is currently emitted from large stationary point sources. Because carbon dioxide point sources are spatially and compositionally variable, their use for carbon dioxide reduction depends on electricity prices, capture cost, and location. If the power sector in the United States is decarbonized, carbon dioxide supply decreases significantly, increasing the importance of utilizing other carbon dioxide streams, and increasing the likelihood that direct air capture plays a role in supplying carbon dioxide feedstocks. These findings provide a first insight into the feedstock and energy constraints for carbon dioxide reduction.

Badgett, Alex↗

Coal and Carbon Management Guidebook: Coal-to-Hydrogen Opportunities and Challenges

Key elements of this report include coal-to-hydrogen production in the context of the U.S. hydrogen market; the state of various hydrogen production technologies; present and forecasted demand for hydrogen in energy, transportation, and industrial sectors; an overview of environmental, economic, and infrastructure challenges to greater coal-to-hydrogen production; and information on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) programs and priorities for coal-to-hydrogen research and development.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

MR13A-3183: Microbial and Geochemical Characterization of Groundwater: Implications for Underground Hydrogen Storage Leakage

Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) in geological formations is a key element of the clean energy transition as it enables the decarbonization of the transportation and industrial sectors by decoupling hydrogen production and storage. UHS has many benefits, including low cost, much wider availability, large storage capacity, well-established infrastructure, and increased safety because of geological sealing capabilities. However, the impact of hydrogen (H2) biogeochemical interactions in the presence of subsurface microorganisms is largely neglected from UHS perspectives. These interactions might affect the effectiveness of storage and can even cause H2 to leak into the shallow aquifers. Leakage of H2 into groundwater can change the geochemistry and induce several microbial-driven processes. Microorganisms, such as sulfate-reducers, are naturally abundant in groundwater and consume H2 to produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which can contaminate the freshwater drinking groundwater and cause damage to infrastructure. Hydrogen leakage can also trigger microbial reactions responsible for metal mobility, which can impact the water quality. However, the kinetics of these reactions and the temporal impact of hydrogen leakage in groundwater are still unknown. Therefore, a time series hydrogen-groundwater interaction experiment was conducted, and the changes in fluid chemistry and headspace gas composition will be analyzed along with DNA sequencing results to understand the extent and kinetics of biogeochemical reactions that occur if hydrogen leaks into groundwater. In the experiments, Ultra High Purity (UHP) hydrogen gas will be injected into glass vials with groundwater samples, for a designated time period. For each glass-sealed vial, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, IC, ICP-MS, and GC-TCD will be performed. The experiments provide insights into plausible impacts of hydrogen leakage into shallow drinking water aquifers.

Clark, Allison [West Virginia University (WVU)]↗

Summary of Expansions and Updates in R&D GREET® 2025

The research and development (R&D) version of Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET®) model, or R&D GREET, is developed by Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other federal agencies. R&D GREET is a life cycle analysis (LCA) model, structured to systematically examine the energy and environmental effects of a wide variety of transportation fuels and vehicle technologies in all transportation sub-sectors (i.e., road, air, marine, and rail) and other end-use sectors, and energy technology systems. Argonne has expanded and updated the model in many areas in R&D GREET 2025. This report provides a summary of the expansions and updates. R&D GREET is designed as an attributional LCA model, but specific consequential effects for certain pathways are included by default when they are scientifically important and/or highly policy relevant. For example, two major consequential elements – induced land use change (ILUC) for biofuels and avoided emissions for certain RNG-based pathways – are implemented by default in R&D GREET because they are highly relevant to our user base and crucial for a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental effects of these technologies. In a future version of R&D GREET, these consequential elements for biofuels and RNG could be more clearly distinguished from core attributional results. We will consider adding a highly visible toggle that would allow users to turn off or adjust these consequential impacts.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Economic Dispatch Model of Nuclear High-Temperature Reactor with Hydrogen Cogeneration in Electricity Market

Hydrogen produced without carbon emissions could be a useful fuel as nations look to decarbonize their electricity, transport, and industry sectors. Using the iodine–sulfur (IS) cycle coupled with a nuclear heat source is one method for producing hydrogen without the use of fossil fuels. An economic dispatch model was developed for a nuclear-driven IS system to determine hydrogen sale prices that would make such a system profitable. The system studied is the HTTR-GT/H2, a design for power and hydrogen cogeneration at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor. This study focuses on the development of the economic model and the role that input data plays in the final calculated values. Using a historical price duration curve shows that the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) or breakeven sale price of hydrogen would need to be 98.1 JPY/m3 or greater. Synthetic time histories were also used and found the LCOH to be 67.5 JPY/m3. The price duration input was found to have a significant effect on the LCOH. As such, great care should be used in these economic dispatch analyses to select reasonable input assumptions.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗