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At least 325 records · Page 18

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DOE OSTI2022

Modeling and Analysis of a Thermophotovoltaic Integrated Self-Powered Furnace

This work investigates the energy efficiency and carbon reduction potential of self-powered residential building heating equipment using a thermodynamic modeling approach. An integrated thermophotovoltaic power module and residential scale furnace system (40,000 Btu/h) were modeled and studied in detail to assess the influence of different design configurations on primary energy efficiency. Operational characteristics such as total power generation, electrical efficiency, and heat recovery were examined in a self-powered system configuration. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the influence of the electric grid’s carbon dioxide footprint (carbon intensity) and the cost of electricity on the environmental, as well as the economic, benefit associated with the self-powered configuration. Compared with a traditional furnace powered by an electric grid at a carbon intensity of 0.5 kg CO 2eq /kWh EL , the self-powered furnace was shown to decrease the annual carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 550 kg (~75% reduction), while also saving more than USD 200 in utility expenses, annually. Additionally, the carbon emission reduction potential of blending different concentrations of hydrogen in natural gas fuel was also studied.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

PV Window Building Study

Data associated with the paper “Photovoltaic Windows to Offset the Intensive Energy and Carbon Footprints of Highly Glazed Buildings” by Vincent M. Wheeler, Janghyun Kim, Tom Daligault, Bryan Rosales, Chaiwat Engtrakul, Robert C. Tenent, and Lance M. Wheeler

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Scaling Up to Zero Energy Ready - and Down to 530 ft2

There is a demonstrated need for affordable housing and smaller homes. Reduced square footage new construction projects present a solution for this growing need. Completion of these types of projects is not without challenges however, as high efficiency building measures present problems with proper equipment sizing and indoor environmental quality. This case study describes the support provided by FSEC to the Manatee County Habitat for Humanity to create a small footprint home design that qualifies for Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) certification in Florida. Specific measures to address equipment sizing challenges, and interior air quality targets are identified among other construction elements that contribute to qualifying for ZERH certification. Discussion of the approach to meeting these challenges is informative to other efforts to build to above code standards in hot humid climates, and other regions.

ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION↗

DOE OSTI2023

A Materials Perspective on Direct Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries: Principles, Challenges and Opportunities

As the dominant means of energy storage technology today, the widespread deployment of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) would inevitably generate countless spent batteries at their end of life. From the perspectives of environmental protection and resource sustainability, recycling is a necessary strategy to manage end-of-life LIBs. Compared with traditional hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical recycling methods, the emerging direct recycling technology, rejuvenating spent electrode materials via a non-destructive way, has attracted rising attention due to its energy efficient processes along with increased economic return and reduced CO 2 footprint. This review investigates the state-of-the-art direct recycling technologies based on effective relithiation through solid-state, aqueous, eutectic solution and ionic liquid mediums and thoroughly discusses the underlying regeneration mechanism of each method regarding different battery chemistries. It is concluded that direct regeneration can be a more energy-efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable way to recycle spent LIBs compared with traditional approaches. Additionally, it is also identified that the direct recycling technology is still in its infancy with several fundamental and technological hurdles such as efficient separation, binder removal and electrolyte recovery. Finally, in addressing these remaining challenges, this review proposes an outlook on potential technical avenues to accelerate the development of direct recycling toward industrial applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Sucrose‐Based Dense, Pure, and Highly‐Crystalline Graphitic Materials for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

At present, most synthetic graphite materials commonly used as anode active ingredients in lithium-ion cells are produced by graphitization of petroleum cokes. The carbon footprint associated with synthetic graphite production is significant. Thus, bio-derived and cheap precursors, such as saccharides, would be an attractive alternative for the sustainable production of graphitic carbons. However, they are non-graphitizing at temperatures as high as 3000 °C, preserving the curved, fullerene-like structure of graphene layers and microporosity. Consequently, many lithium ions are consumed during the formation of solid electrolyte interphase films and passivated in the nanovoids. Here, a method for the production of pure, crystalline, graphitic materials based on sucrose disposed of microporosity is presented, which also works with a variety of saccharides and other organic precursors of hard carbons—generally considered incapable of such transformation. This process employs catalytic graphitization by Si particles at high temperatures. Finally, the electrochemical response of such derived sucrose-based graphite in Li-ion half-cells demonstrated its feasibility to serve as an anode active material for rechargeable Li-ion batteries.

Si particles↗

DOE OSTI2020

Electronic Bottleneck Suppression in Next‐Generation Networks with Integrated Photonic Digital‐to‐Analog Converters

Digital‐to‐analog converters (DAC) are indispensable functional units in signal processing instrumentation and wide‐band telecommunication links for both civil and military applications. As photonic systems are capable of high data throughput and low latency, an increasingly found system limitation stems from the required domain crossing such as digital to analog and electronic to optical. A photonic DAC implementation, in contrast, enables a seamless signal conversion with respect to both energy efficiency and short signal delay, often requiring bulky discrete optical components and electric–optic transformation, hence introducing inefficiencies. Herein, a novel coherent parallel photonic DAC concept along with a 4‐bit experimental prototype capable of performing this DAC without optic–electric–optic domain crossing is introduced. This new paradigm guarantees a linear intensity weighting among bits when operating at high sampling rates (50 GHz), featuring an exceptional sampling efficiency (> 100 GS ) and small footprint (≈1 mm 2 ) in an 8‐bit implementation. Importantly, this photonic DAC enables seamless interfaces of next‐generation data processing hardware with high relevance in data centers, task‐specific compute accelerators such as neuromorphic engines, and network edge processing applications.

Meng, Jiawei↗

DOE OSTI2025

Technoeconomic Insights into Metal Hydrides for Stationary Hydrogen Storage

Abstract Metal hydrides (MHs) are promising candidates for storing hydrogen at ambient conditions at high volumetric energy densities. Recent developments suggest hydride‐based systems can cycle and operate at favorable pressures and temperatures that work well with fuel cells used in stationary power applications. In this study, we present a comprehensive design and cost analysis of MH‐based long duration hydrogen storage facilities for a variety of power end users (0 to 20 megawatts (MW) supplied over 0 to 100 hours), to offer insights on technical targets for material development and operation strategies. Our findings indicate that hydride‐based storage systems hold significant size advantage in physical footprint, requiring up to 65% less land than 170‐bar compressed gas storage. Metal hydride systems can be cost competitive with 350‐bar compressed gas systems, with TiFe 0.85 Mn 0.05 achieving $0.45/kWh and complex MH Mg(NH 2 ) 2 ‐2.1LiH‐0.1KH achieving $0.38/kWh. Extending charging times and increasing operating cycles significantly reduce levelized cost of storage, especially for complex MHs. Key strategies to further enhance the competitiveness of MHs include leveraging waste heat from fuel cells, reducing use of critical minerals, and achieving MH production costs of US$10/kg.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2023

A global meta‐analysis of cover crop response on soil carbon storage within a corn production system

Abstract By influencing soil organic carbon (SOC), cover crops play a key role in shaping soil health and hence the system's long‐term sustainability. However, the magnitude by which cover crops impacts SOC depends on multiple factors, including soil type, climate, crop rotation, tillage type, cover crop growth, and years under management. To elucidate how these multiple factors influence the relative impact of cover crops on SOC, we conducted a meta‐analysis on the impacts of cover crops within rotations that included corn ( Zea mays L.) on SOC accumulation. Information on climatic conditions, soil characteristics, management, and cover crop performance was extracted, resulting in 198 paired comparisons from 61 peer‐reviewed studies. Over the course of each study, cover crops on average increased SOC by 7.3% (95% CI, 4.9%–9.6%). Furthermore, the impact of cover crop–induced increases in percent change SOC was evaluated across soil textures, cover crop types, crop rotations, biomass amounts, cover crop durations, tillage practices, and climatic zones. Our results suggest that current cover crop–based corn production systems are sequestering 5.5 million Mg of SOC per year in the United States and have the potential to sequester 175 million Mg SOC per year globally. These findings can be used to improve carbon footprint calculations and develop science‐based policy recommendations. Taken altogether, cover cropping is a promising strategy to sequester atmospheric C and hence make corn production systems more resilient to changing climates.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

Design and operational considerations of catalytic membrane reactors for ammonia synthesis

Production of ammonia using hydrogen derived from renewable electricity instead of hydrocarbon reforming would dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of this commodity chemical. Novel technologies such as catalytic membrane reactors may potentially be more compatible with distributed ammonia production than the conventional Haber-Bosch process. Here, a reactor model is developed based on integrating a standard industrial iron catalyst into a catalytic membrane reactor (CMR) equipped with an inorganic membrane that is selective to NH 3 over N 2 /H 2 . CMR performance is studied as functions of wide ranges of membrane properties and operating conditions. Conversion and ammonia recovery are dictated principally by the ammonia permeance, and the benefits by using membranes become significant above 100 GPU = 3.4 × 10 –8 mol m –2 s –1 Pa –1 . To be effective, the CMR requires a minimum selectivity for ammonia of 10 over both nitrogen and hydrogen, and purity scales with the effective selectivity. Increasing the pressure of operation significantly improves all metrics, and at P = 30 bar with a quality membrane ammonia is almost completely recovered, enabling direct recycle of un-reacted hydrogen and nitrogen without need for recompression. Temperature drives conversion and scales monotonically without thermodynamic limitations in a CMR. Alternatively, the temperature may be reduced as low as 300°C while achieving conversion levels surpassing equilibrium limits at T = 400°C in a conventional reactor.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2021

Economic risk analysis for the capture of a distributed energy resource using modular chemical process intensification

Recent advances in the chemical process industry have allowed for the intensification of reactors and unit operations, by enhancing heat and mass transfer or combining multiple unit operations. Process intensification can enable chemical plants to be constructed in a more compact, modular fashion, offering improvements over conventional on-site approaches to capital construction, operations and maintenance. This modular chemical process intensification (MCPI) offers several benefits over conventional stick-built (CSB) plant construction in terms of reduced footprint, reduced energy consumption, lower cost, less waste and improved safety and quality control. However, acceptance of MCPI over CSB construction practices within the chemical industry can be impeded by the uncertain risks associated with investing in new technology. Furthermore, the work here documents a case study during the development of a modular chemical plant for capturing distributed energy resources within chemical production. This MCPI approach to plant construction is contrasted with a CSB approach for producing the same chemical product. Data collection tools were developed, based on a literature review, and data was collected from the technology developer to understand the process technology. Sensitivity analysis was then conducted to analyze the business rationale for the application of MCPI over CSB across several market scenarios. It was found that MCPI would be better suited for capacities up to 150 000 metric tons per year, but that improvement in payback period was needed. Additionally, for MCPI approach to achieve acceptable payback periods, efforts are needed to reduce the cost of capital equipment and compress the schedule for ramping up modular production.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2022

A machine learning approach for clinker quality prediction and nonlinear model predictive control design for a rotary cement kiln

Abstract Cement manufacturing is energy‐intensive (5Gj/t) and comprises a significant portion of the energy footprint of concrete systems. Incorporating modern monitoring, simulation and control systems will allow lower energy use, lower environmental impact, and lower costs of this widely used construction material. One of the goals of the CESMII roadmap project on the Smart Manufacturing of Cement included developing an analytical process model for clinker quality that includes the chemistry of the kiln feed and accounts for critical process variables. This predictive model will be used in nonlinear model predictive control system designed to significantly reduce process energy use while maintaining or improving product quality. In the cement manufacturing plant used in this study, the kiln feed (meal) is tested every 12 h and used to estimate the mineral composition of the cement kiln output (clinker) using the stoichiometry‐based Bogue's model and the expertise of the plant operators. During kiln operation, kiln output (clinker) is sampled and tested every 2 h to measure its chemical and mineral composition. The predicted and measured values of the clinker composition are used by the plant operators to adjust the kiln input stream and the production process characteristics to maintain stable operation and uniform product quality. However, the time delay between prediction and testing, along with inaccuracies inherent in the Bogue's model have made any process changes designed to minimize energy use problematic, especially in‐light of potential clinker quality issues that process changes often pose. A new analytical model that integrates quality information and process operation information has been developed from data collected from 2 years of production from an operating cement facility. To make the model fuel‐type‐independent, consumed heat energy was computed in the model instead of fuel type and amount. A Feedforward Network was trained and tailored from collected data. Many data‐based simulations were conducted to quantitatively evaluate the proposed model and the 5‐fold cross‐validation procedure was used to test the models. The resulting predictive model was shown to have a low root mean square error (MSE) with respect to the estimated clinker mineral composition compared to that using the industry standard “Bogue’ model”. The end goal of this work was to develop a single machine learning tool that allows the use of quality control data and process control variables to improve energy efficiency of the process in a continuous fashion. The proposed nonlinear model predictive control system (NMPC) can generate predicted kiln production characteristics based on manipulated variables in manner that accurately follows the target product quality values. Simulation results also show that the proposed model produced accurate predictions of kiln outputs that fell within the required constraints, while manipulating control variables within typical operational ranges.

Ali, Asem M.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Advances and Challenges in Low‐Temperature Upcycling of Waste Polyolefins via Tandem Catalysis

Abstract Polyolefin waste is the largest polymer waste stream that could potentially serve as an advantageous hydrocarbon feedstock. Upcycling polyolefins poses significant challenges due to their inherent kinetic and thermodynamic stability. Traditional methods, such as thermal and catalytic cracking, are straightforward but require temperatures exceeding 400 °C for complete conversion because of thermodynamic constraints. We summarize and critically compare recent advances in upgrading spent polyolefins and model reactants via kinetic (and thermodynamic) coupling of the endothermic C─C bond cleavage of polyolefins with exothermic reactions including hydrogenation, hydrogenolysis, metathesis, cyclization, oxidation, and alkylation. These approaches enable complete conversion to desired products at low temperatures (<300 °C). The goal is to identify challenges and possible pathways for catalytic conversions that minimize energy and carbon footprints.

Zhang, Wei [State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Mole↗

DOE OSTI2021

Surface Density Dependent Catalytic Activity of Single Palladium Atoms Supported on Ceria

The analogy between single-atom catalysts (SACs) and molecular catalysts predicts that the specific catalytic activity of these systems is constant. Here we provide evidence that this prediction is not necessarily true. As a case in point, we show that the specific activity over ceria-supported single Pd atoms linearly increases with metal atom density, originating from the cumulative enhancement of CeO 2 reducibility. The long-range electrostatic footprints (≈1.5 nm) around each Pd site overlap with each other as surface Pd density increases, resulting in an observed deviation from constant specific activity. These cooperative effects exhaust previously active O atoms above a certain Pd density, leading to their permanent removal and a consequent drop in reaction rate. The findings of our combined experimental and computational study show that the specific catalytic activity of reducible oxide-supported single-atom catalysts can be tuned by varying the surface density of single metal atoms.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2025

Advances and Challenges in Low‐Temperature Upcycling of Waste Polyolefins via Tandem Catalysis

C-C cleavage↗

DOE OSTI2026

Material‐Driven Neuronal Oscillators and Filters via Active Reactance in CC‐NDR and VC‐NDR Electro‐Thermal Memristors

The continued scaling of artificial intelligence and telecommunications hardware is increasingly constrained by the power, bandwidth, and area limitations of transistor-based circuits. Neuromorphic processor units, analog oscillators, and active inductors and capacitors rely on complex multi-transistor architectures restricting material choices and incurring energy and footprint overhead. Here, we show that active reactance in electro-thermal memristors provides an intrinsic, material driven route to neuronal oscillator dynamics and signal processing. Using a physics-based compact modeling framework, we bridge negative differential resistance (NDR) and bias-tunable reactance, which underlies spiking dynamics in electro-thermal memristors. Memristors with negative temperature coefficients of resistance (TCR) manifest current-controlled (CC-) NDR and act as active inductors, thus generating spiking above a critical circuit capacitance; whereas memristors with positive TCR manifest voltage-controlled (VC-) NDR and active capacitance, leading to spiking above a critical inductance. By creating a compact model for La 0.7 Ca 0.3 MnO 3 as a representative VC-NDR material and comparing it with LaCoO 3 manifesting CC-NDR, we explain the physical origins of their distinct current-voltage characteristics, reactive phase shifts and consequent spiking behaviors. Finally, we demonstrate tunable filtering enabled by the active reactance of electro-thermal memristors, establishing them as a compact hardware platform for neuronal oscillator functionality and integrated filtering beyond conventional CMOS.

active reactance↗

DOE OSTI2022

Grazing-Incidence Texture Tomography and Diffuse Reflectivity Tomography of an Organic Semiconductor Device Array

The use of grazing-incidence scattering methods for the characterization of 2D patterned organic thin films is limited due to the elongated 1D footprint of the X-ray beam on the sample. However, this characteristic feature can be turned into an advantage, when combined with tomographic reconstruction. In this pilot study we show, how the use of a chosen texture reflection and a diffuse reflectivity signal can each provide 2D images of the deposits, simultaneously revealing the organic film's crystal orientation and the location of the metal electrodes in a field-effect transistor structure from a single sequence of diffraction images.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2022

Solvent-Free Manufacturing of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrodes via Cold Plasma

Slurry casting has been used to fabricate lithium-ion battery electrodes for decades, which involves toxic and expensive organic solvents followed by high-cost vacuum drying and electrode calendering. This work presents a new manufacturing method using a nonthermal plasma to create inter-particle binding without using any polymeric binding materials, enabling solvent-free manufacturing electrodes with any electrochemistry of choice. The cold-plasma-coating technique enables fabricating electrodes with thickness (>200 μm), high mass loading (>30 mg cm -2 ), high peel strength, and the ability to print lithium-ion batteries in an arbitrary geometry. This crosscutting, chemistry agnostic, platform technology would increase energy density, eliminate the use of solvents, vacuum drying, and calendering processes during production, and reduce manufacturing cost for current and future cell designs. Here, lithium iron phosphate and lithium cobalt oxide were used as examples to demonstrate the efficacy of the cold-plasma-coating technique. It is found that the mechanical peel strength of cold-plasma-coating-manufactured lithium iron phosphate is over an order of magnitude higher than that of slurry-casted lithium iron phosphate electrodes. Full cells assembled with a graphite anode and the cold-plasma-coating-lithium iron phosphate cathode offer highly reversible cycling performance with a capacity retention of 81.6% over 500 cycles. For the highly conductive cathode material lithium cobalt oxide, an areal capacity of 4.2 mAh cm -2 at 0.2 C is attained. We anticipate that this new, highly scalable manufacturing technique will redefine global lithium-ion battery manufacturing providing significantly reduced plant footprints and material costs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Radial storage efficiency for CO 2 injection: Quantifying effectiveness of local flow control methods

Basin-scale geologic carbon sequestration will require hundreds of injection wells, each of which has costs related to property rights and regulatory requirements that correlate with the areal size of the carbon dioxide plume. These surface-footprint-related issues motivate maximizing storage efficiency radially away from each well. Radial storage efficiency (RSE) is defined here as the ratio of the volumetrically weighted carbon dioxide free-phase saturation within a given radius away from the injection well to the available pore space within that same radius. Maximizing RSE effectively minimizes the radial extent of the CO 2 plume. Optimizing RSE around individual wells requires local flow control injection strategies that can increase the uniformity of the filling of pore space around the well over the entire length of the perforated injection interval despite differences in local formation transmissivity. The goal of uniform filling of the storage reservoir starting from the well outward is to maximize carbon dioxide sweep and trapping locally outward from the well in all of the layers of the storage region before buoyancy forces predominate and drive carbon dioxide upward where it will spread laterally under lower-permeability layers. Example simulations of carbon dioxide injection into a layered storage system with and without local flow control are presented to show the advantage of uniformly filling all layers and how RSE can be used to quantify storage efficiency for the two different injection approaches. Published 2021. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

03 NATURAL GAS↗