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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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At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Dominant heterocyclic composition of dissolved organic nitrogen in the ocean: A new paradigm for cycling and persistence

Marine dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is one of the planet’s largest reservoirs of fixed N, which persists even in the N-limited oligotrophic surface ocean. The vast majority of the ocean’s total DON reservoir is refractory (RDON), primarily composed of low molecular weight (LMW) compounds in the subsurface and deep sea. However, the composition of this major N pool, as well as the reasons for its accumulation and persistence, are not understood. Past characterization of the analytically more tractable, but quantitatively minor, high molecular weight (HMW) DON fraction revealed a functionally simple amide-dominated composition. While extensive work in the past two decades has revealed enormous complexity and structural diversity in LMW dissolved organic carbon, no efforts have specifically targeted LMW nitrogenous molecules. Here, we report the first coupled isotopic and solid-state NMR structural analysis of LMW DON isolated throughout the water column in two ocean basins. Together these results provide a first view into the composition, potential sources, and cycling of this dominant portion of marine DON. Our data indicate that RDON is dominated by 15N-depleted heterocyclic-N structures, entirely distinct from previously characterized HMW material. This fundamentally new view of marine DON composition suggests an important structural control for RDON accumulation and persistence in the ocean. The mechanisms of production, cycling, and removal of these heterocyclic-N-containing compounds now represents a central challenge in our understanding of the ocean’s DON reservoir.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Fusing 4D coded thermoacoustic, electromagnetic, and acoustic/seismic wavefields for subsurface characterization and imaging of fluid flow in porous media

This research program aims to address critical challenges in subsurface exploration and monitoring of anthropogenic CO 2 storage by advancing quantitative dynamic sensing and imaging technologies. Two primary applications—petrophysical assessment of hydrocarbon reservoirs (C1) and CO 2 storage monitoring (C2)—require significant innovation to overcome three barriers (B1-B3). These barriers include the need for enhanced understanding of interactions between physical wave fields (thermoacoustic, electromagnetic, acoustic/seismic, and X-ray) with fluid-filled porous media, the development of multi-sensor data fusion for real-time imaging, and upscaling microscopic quantum effects for macroscopic observations. The project’s objective was to establish a unified 4D coded sensing and imaging approach, integrating EM, AC/S, and TA fields for multi-scale and multi-physics material characterization and subsurface imaging.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Geologic Characterization for CO 2 Storage with Enhanced Oil Recovery in Northern Michigan

The Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) was founded in 2003 as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership initiative. Since its founding, MRCSP has made significant strides toward making CCUS a viable option for states in the region. The public/private consortium, funded through the DOE Regional Carbon Sequestration Initiative, brings together nearly 40 industry partners and 10 states. Battelle, as the project lead, oversees research, development and operations and coordinates activities among the partners. The incremental, phased approach has built a valuable knowledge base for the industry and paved the way for commercial-scale adoption of CCUS technologies. From 2008 to 2020, MRCSP Phase III focused on the development of large-scale injection projects. This report is part of a series of reports prepared under the Midwestern Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) Phase III (Development Phase). These reports summarize and detail the findings of the work conducted under the Phase III project. This report compiles the results of geologic characterization of late-stage reefs, active EOR reefs, and new EOR reefs in the Northern Niagaran Pinnacle Reef Trend (NNPRT) in Michigan to demonstrate developed methodologies, geologic variability, and reservoir potential for CO 2 storage. Conducting CO 2 injection and monitoring in these settings provide significant insights for addressing the project objectives: assessment of injectivity in complex carbonate reef deposits; assessing CO 2 trapping mechanisms in a closed reservoir system; assessing any final oil recovery from transitional or residual oil zones in a field where CO 2 flooding is nearing completion; evaluating the transition from EOR to storage of CO 2 ; assessing regional commercialization; assessing new technologies for tracking CO 2 , brine, and oil movements underground; and monitoring options in a closed reservoir with oil, residual oil, and water zones.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2021

Pressure-tailored lithium deposition and dissolution in lithium metal batteries

Unregulated lithium (Li) growth is the major cause of low Coulombic efficiency, short cycle life and safety hazards for rechargeable Li metal batteries. Strategies that aim to achieve large granular Li deposits have been extensively explored, and yet it remains a challenge to achieve the ideal Li deposits, which consist of large Li particles that are seamlessly packed on the electrode and can be reversibly deposited and stripped. In this work, we report a dense Li deposition (99.49% electrode density) with an ideal columnar structure that is achieved by controlling the uniaxial stack pressure during battery operation. Using multiscale characterization and simulation, we elucidate the critical role of stack pressure on Li nucleation, growth and dissolution processes and propose a Li-reservoir-testing protocol to maintain the ideal Li morphology during extended cycling. The precise manipulation of Li deposition and dissolution is a critical step to enable fast charging and a low-temperature operation for Li metal batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Feasibility of source-free DAS logging for next-generation borehole imaging

Characterizing and monitoring geologic formations around a borehole are crucial for energy and environmental applications. However, conventional wireline sonic logging usually cannot be used in high-temperature environments nor is the tool feasible for long-term monitoring. We introduce and evaluate the feasibility of a source-free distributed-acoustic-sensing (DAS) logging method based on borehole DAS ambient noise. Our new logging method provides a next-generation borehole imaging tool. The tool is source free because it uses ever-present ambient noises as sources and does not need a borehole sonic source that cannot be easily re-inserted into a borehole after well completion for time-lapse monitoring. The receivers of our source-free DAS logging tool are fiber optic cables cemented behind casing, enabling logging in harsh, high-temperature environments, and eliminating the receiver repeatability issue of conventional wireline sonic logging for time-lapse monitoring. We analyze a borehole DAS ambient noise dataset to obtain root-mean-squares (RMS) amplitudes and use these amplitudes to infer subsurface elastic properties. We find that the ambient noise RMS amplitudes correlate well with anomalies in conventional logging data. The source-free DAS logging tool can advance our ability to characterize and monitor subsurface geologic formations in an efficient and cost-effective manner, particularly in high-temperature environments such as geothermal reservoirs. Further validation of the source-free DAS logging method using other borehole DAS ambient noise data would enable the new logging tool for wider applications.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Establishing an Early CO 2 Storage Complex in Kemper County, Mississippi: Project ECO 2 S (Phase III) (Final Progress Report)

“Establishing an Early CO 2 Storage Complex in Kemper County, Mississippi (Project ECO 2 S)” is an early mover project within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise, or CarbonSAFE, initiative. Phase III of Project ECO2S advanced the foundational work of Phase II, which confirmed the potential for safely, permanently, and economically storing commercial volumes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the regionally significant saline reservoir system near Mississippi Power Company’s (MPC) Kemper County Energy Facility. The primary objective of Phase III was to complete detailed site characterization necessary to obtain an Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI Permit to Construct from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This involved transitioning from regional geologic assessments to high-resolution site-specific analyses.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
NASA NTRS1985

Noble gas patterns in the atmospheres of Mars and Earth: A comparison via the SNC meteorites

Noble gas and nitrogen compositions in the glassy phase of the EETA 79001 shergottite correspond closely with Viking measurements. This direct evidence for the origin of the SNC meteorites on Mars, and for trapping of an unfractionated sample of Martian atmospheric gases in the 79001 glass, provides a reasonable basis for comparing the Martian and terrestrial atmospheres with more precision than that afforded by the Viking data set. Results are that, with one exception, elemental and isotopic compositions of nonradiogenic Martian noble gases are similar to those in the Earth's atmosphere; relatively small isotopic discrepancies in Kr and perhaps Xe may be attributable to different degrees of mass fractionation of a common parent reservoir. The anomaly is in Ar composition, where Martian Ar-36/AR-38 approx. 4 is strikingly lower than the values near 5.3 that characterize both the Earth and major meteoritic gas carriers. Although a primordial Martian ratio of 5.3 could in principle be altered by some planet specific process (e.g., cosmic ray spallation of surface materials) operating over geologic time, one has not been found that works.

Pepin, R. O.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Component variations and their effects on bipolar nickel-hydrogen cell performance

A 50 cell bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery was assembled to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a high voltage stack of cells. Various component combinations were tested in this battery. The battery had approximately 1 ampere-hour of capacity and was constructed from components with an active area of 2" X 2". The components were parametrically varied to give a comparison of nickel electrodes, hydrogen electrodes, separators, fill procedures and electrolyte reservoir plate thicknesses. Groups of five cells were constructed using the same components; ten combinations were tested in all. The battery was thoroughly characterized at various change and discharge rates as well as with various pulse patterns and rates. Over a period of 1400 40% DOD LEO cycles some of the groups began to exhibit performance differences. In general, only separator variations had a significant effect on cell performance. It also appears that shunt currents may have been operating within the stack, resulting in electrolyte transfer from one cell to another, thus contributing to cell performance variations.

Manzo, Michelle A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Component variations and their effects on bipolar nickel-hydrogen cell performance

A 50 cell bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery was assembled to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a high voltage stack of cells. Various component combinations were tested in this battery. The battery had approximately 1 ampere-hour of capacity and was constructed from components with an active area of 2 x 2 inches. The components were parametrically varied to give a comparison of nickel electrodes, hydrogen electrodes, separators, fill procedures and electrolyte reservoir plate thicknesses. Groups of five cells were constructed using the same components; ten combinations were tested in all. The battery was thoroughly characterized at various change and discharge rates as well as with various pulse patterns and rates. Over a period of 1400 40-percent DOD LEO cycles some of the groups began to exhibit performance differences. In general, only separator variations had a significant effect on cell performance. It also appears that shunt currents may have been operating within the stack, resulting in electrolyte transfer from one cell to another, thus contributing to cell performance variations.

Manzo, Michelle A.↗
NASA NTRS2018

The CAESAR New Frontiers Mission: Comet Surface Sample Acquisition and Preservation

NASA recently selected the Comet Astrobiology Exploration Sample Return (CAESAR) mission for Phase A study in the New Frontiers Program. This mission will acquire and return to Earth for laboratory analysis at least 80 g of surface material from the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P). CAESAR will characterize the surface region sampled, preserve the sample in a pristine state, and return evolved volatiles by capturing them in a separate gas reservoir. The system protects both volatile and non-volatile components from contamination or alteration thatwould hamper their scientific analysis. Laboratory analyses of comet samples provide unparalleled knowledge about the presolar history through the initial stages of planet formation to the origin of life.

CAESAR↗
DOE OSTI2025

Surrogate models for development of unconventional shale reservoirs by an integrated numerical approach of hydraulic fracturing, flow and geomechanics, and machine learning

We develop well-completion surrogate models by taking an integrated workflow of hydraulic fracturing, flow, geomechanics, and machine learning simulation. There are three steps in the proposed workflow. First, history-matching processes are conducted with the field data including pumping and production data for characterization. Second, full-physics simulation is performed with various parameters of the field development (e.g., cluster spacing, clusters per stage, pumping rates and times, amount of proppant, and well spacing) to generate multiple simulation results by changing the parameters of the completion design with well-known hydraulic fracturing, reservoir, geomechanics simulators to calculate fracture geometry, reservoir depressurization, induced stress changes. The workflow is demonstrated over a field in the Southern Midland Basin. Here, we take two completion scenarios: a single well case followed by a multi-well case. Finally, a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) machine learning algorithm is employed to create surrogate models that can replicate the full-physics simulation results. Furthermore, results show that the trained models applied in the single well and multi-well cases for a particular geological system can provide good accuracy close to those provided by full-physics simulations. Specifically, the site-specific surrogate models can predict fracture parameters (length, height, and surface area) and cumulative production accurately with computational efficiency, suggesting our proposed workflow can be used as a pragmatic tool for expediting the well completion optimization process.

Geomechanics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evaluation of hydrogen storage in sandstone reservoirs using 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Evaluation of the hydrogen storage capacity of porous rocks is crucial for underground hydrogen storage. Using 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, we successfully characterized the hydrogen responses and identified storage mechanisms in Berea sandstone under varying water saturation. Here, the results indicate that the injected hydrogen behaves as a free gas phase and is capable of occupying the empty pore volume regardless of the saturation state. No hysteresis was observed during injection and production cycles.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Characterization of Li in the Salton Sea Geothermal Field

Abstract The behavior of lithium during geothermal brine and host-rock interactions in the Salton Sea geothermal field is underconstrained. The lithium brine reservoir inventory is between 4 and 18 million metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, with an even larger amount present within the reservoir rock mineral phases. Here, we present bulk-rock and brine Li concentration and δ7Li, and in situ Li concentrations of minerals from the California State 2-14 scientific drill core and commercial wells in the Salton Sea geothermal field to identify the mineral hosts of Li and constrain Li behavior during brine-rock interactions. Lithium contents are highest in chlorite (270–580 ppm, ~2,358 m), which encases pyrite, indicating that Li is fixed from the brine into the host rocks during hydrothermal alteration. Lithium abundances in chlorite decrease with depth (70–100 ppm, ~2,882 m), as does whole-rock Li content, whereas whole-rock δ7Li increases (δ7Li = 2.0–4.3‰, ~2,485-m depth; δ7Li = 4.3–7.9‰ from ~2,819 to ~2,882 m). This change in behavior of Li at ~2,500 m suggests temperature dependent partitioning of Li in chlorite; Li becomes more incompatible in chlorite at depths >~2,500 m, corresponding to ~325°C in the reservoir. The brines have δ7Li = 3.7 to 4.7‰ and calculated isotopic fractionation factors between the brine and the host rock agree with a change in Li behavior at ~325°C. Simple closed-system batch modeling does not describe the geothermal system, suggesting open-system behavior of Li within the Salton Sea geothermal field.

Humphreys, J↗
DOE OSTI2023

Stacked Greenfield and Brownfield ROZ Fairways in the Illinois Basin Geo-Laboratory: Co-Optimization of EOR and Associated CO 2 Storage

Residual oil zones (ROZs) are economically viable targets for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO 2 -EOR); thick, carbonate ROZs in the San Andres Formation in the Wasson Field of the Permian Basin are an example. Incremental oil produced from CO 2 -EOR can be carbon negative via associated storage of injected CO 2 . Given the regional extent of ROZ fairways and generally higher net utilization of CO 2 (compared to conventional CO 2 -EOR), ROZs provide the opportunity for significant carbon neutral to carbon negative oil production with associated CO 2 storage, and therefore should be a priority target for exploration. However, ROZs have not been widely recognized or identified due to poor or no conventional oil production. Hence, in places like the Illinois Basin (ILB), exploratory analyses are required to recognize the existence of an ROZ. As part of this study, four formations were selected for detailed regional characterization and analysis: Carper Sandstone (part of the Borden Siltstone), Tar Springs Sandstone, Cypress Sandstone, and Middle Devonian (Geneva Dolomite and associated Dutch Creek Sandstone). The four formations underwent regional geological characterization to develop a regional geologic framework for the ROZs and their overlying seals. Findings of this study are supported by data from two field laboratory sites, one with stacked greenfield ROZs and the other with a stacked complex that includes a brownfield ROZ and depleted conventional reservoirs. The field laboratory sites were used to collect data and conduct tests to validate ROZ detection methodologies and identify economic field-deployable strategies to co-optimize CO 2 -EOR and associated storage in stacked ROZs. Findings from these field sites were extrapolated to characterize the basin-wide stacked ROZ fairway resource.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2022

Computational Tools and Workflows for Quantitative Risk Assessment and Decision Support for Geologic Carbon Storage Sites: Progress and Insights from the U.S. DOE’s National Risk Assessment Partnership

The 2005 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on CCS raised the profile of CO2 capture and storage (CCS) as an important technology for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. CCS is now recognized as a key component of most climate change mitigation scenarios. Since publication of that report the international research, development, and deployment (RD&D) community has advanced key technical aspects, clarified regulatory requirements, explored value chain and infrastructure solutions, and developed incentive paradigms to enable and promote large-scale deployment of CCS. These efforts have included research to better characterize geologic storage resources, to improve injection performance and storage efficiency, to assess and manage subsurface environmental risks, and to advance monitoring technologies to assure system conformance. These efforts have helped to build confidence in the viability of geologic carbon storage (GCS), but stakeholder concerns about long-term risks and liability associated with GCS remain a hurdle to broad acceptance and large-scale deployment of CCS. Since 2010, the U.S. DOE’s National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP) – a research collaboration between five contributing national laboratories – has worked to establish and demonstrate methods and tools to quantify and manage the subsurface environmental risks associated with GCS, amidst uncertainty. This work supports the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management Carbon Transport and Storage Program’s goal of advancing safe and secure commercial-scale GCS deployment. To address the technical challenge of simulating the physical response of the GCS site to large-scale CO2 injection, NRAP has adopted an approach that relies on coupling computationally efficient reduced-order and/or data-driven proxy models of important system components (i.e., storage reservoir, sealing caprock, leakage pathways, intermediate formations, overlying groundwater aquifers, and the atmosphere) in integrated assessment framework. That integrated model of the physical system is complemented with fit-for purpose functionality to support site characterization and risk-related decisions. The recently released NRAP Phase II toolset includes the Open-Source Integrated Assessment Model (NRAP-Open-IAM) for evaluation of trends in leakage risk and potential impact, tools to support monitoring design optimization (Designs for Risk Evaluation and Management – DREAM v3.0 and Passive Seismic Monitoring Tool - PSMT), and tools for state of stress evaluation (State-of-Stress Analysis Tool - SOSAT) and forecasting induced seismicity risk. The NRAP team has also released a pair of reports describing conceptual workflows to incorporate physics-based, quantitative risk assessment into many of the design, planning, operation, and closure decisions for GCS projects. An online catalogue highlights published studies where these tools and methods are demonstrated. In this presentation, the utility of these products to assess risks and address key stakeholder questions will be highlighted through examples, and related insights about the safety and security of geologic carbon storage in qualified storage sites will be discussed. The prospect of rapid, large-scale deployment of GCS technology to aggressively reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions requires careful consideration of interference between multiple commercial-scale storage projects within a basin. Going forward, NRAP is expanding and adapting site-scale risk quantification tools and methods to enable assessment of risks and inform management decisions for basin-scale deployment. Increasingly, this work will leverage next-generation approaches for surrogate modelling, fast prediction, and advanced visualization enabled by machine learning and artificial intelligence to promote virtual learning, scenario evaluation, and augment risk-based decision making.

quantitative risk assessment, geologic carbon stor↗
DOE OSTI2024

Viral afterlife: SARS-CoV-2 as a reservoir of immunomimetic peptides that reassemble into proinflammatory supramolecular complexes

It is unclear how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection leads to the strong but ineffective inflammatory response that characterizes severe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with amplified immune activation in diverse cell types, including cells without angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors necessary for infection. Proteolytic degradation of SARS-CoV-2 virions is a milestone in host viral clearance, but the impact of remnant viral peptide fragments from high viral loads is not known. Here, we examine the inflammatory capacity of fragmented viral components from the perspective of supramolecular self-organization in the infected host environment. Interestingly, a machine learning analysis to SARS-CoV-2 proteome reveals sequence motifs that mimic host antimicrobial peptides (xenoAMPs), especially highly cationic human cathelicidin LL-37 capable of augmenting inflammation. Such xenoAMPs are strongly enriched in SARS-CoV-2 relative to low-pathogenicity coronaviruses. Moreover, xenoAMPs from SARS-CoV-2 but not low-pathogenicity homologs assemble double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into nanocrystalline complexes with lattice constants commensurate with the steric size of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-3 and therefore capable of multivalent binding. Such complexes amplify cytokine secretion in diverse uninfected cell types in culture (epithelial cells, endothelial cells, keratinocytes, monocytes, and macrophages), similar to cathelicidin’s role in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The induced transcriptome matches well with the global gene expression pattern in COVID-19, despite using <0.3% of the viral proteome. Delivery of these complexes to uninfected mice boosts plasma interleukin-6 and CXCL1 levels as observed in COVID-19 patients.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1972

The evaporation of various lubricant fluids in vacuum.

The weight-loss rate in vacuum of 18 lubricating liquids and greases is reported for temperatures up to 120 C. Eleven types of 'medium-viscosity' (20 to 52 centistokes at 40 C) fluids were studied. In addition, a variety of perfluoro ether liquids having viscosities of 350 to 500 centistokes at 40 C were investigated, as were some commercial greases based on these liquids. The results showed that a methylchlorophenyl silicone, a high-viscosity-index perfluoro ether research fluid, and a polyoctene have suitably low outgassing properties for long-term space applicaitons requiring a medium-viscosity lubricant. Perfluoro ether greases also displayed low outgassing, but batch-to-batch variation was great. Mass spectrometer measurements indicated that the outgassed species were characterized by much lower molecular weights than that expected for the liquids. This suggests that lubricant transfer techniques which rely on evaporation from a reservoir may not be desirable for long-term space applications.

Hamilton, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1974

A self-lubricating bearing

An improved bearing structure is described which includes a permanently magnetized porous body filled with an interstitial magnetic lubricant for extending the operational life of self-lubricating bearings. The bearing structure is characterized by a permanently magnetized retainer formed of a porous material and filled with an interstitial magnetic lubricant, whereby the pores serve as lubricant reservoirs from which the lubricant continuously is delivered to a film disposed between contiguous bearing surfaces.

Whitaker, A. F.↗