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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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Photo-Swing CO2 Capture Using a Branched Polyethylenimine As Sorbents and TiN Light Absorber

Using branched polyethylenimine as the sorbent material for dilute CO2 capture, a photo-swing method is demonstrated in an industrially relevant support architecture using titanium nitride (TiN) nanosized light absorbers coupled with low-power LEDs with irradiances up to 420 mW cm-2. The photo-swing desorption process is applied to dry and humid streams of 400 ppm CO2 diluted in N2. Consistent with known sorption mechanisms for aminopolymers, humid CO2 streams increased the CO2 uptake, in our case by ~30%. The photo-swing CO2 capture desorbed ~83% and ~100% CO2 compared to thermally-driven desorption over the same period for a dry and humid CO2 stream, respectively. The photo-swing CO2 capture exhibits robust performance over >90 cycles without significant signs of photo(thermal) induced sorbent degradation. This work lays the groundwork for photo-swing DAC technology as a scalable, energy-efficient solution for CO2 capture, well-suited for modular systems in remote locations utilizing intermittent renewable energy sources.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Retrofitting Holcim Ste. Genevieve Cement Plant with CO2 Capture Plant Using Air Liquide Cryocap™ FG Technology

The global cement manufacturing industry is a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions. The International Energy Agency's "Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario" identifies CCS as a major strategy for meeting that goal. This project is among the first attempts to transfer capture technology developed at coal-fired power plants to the cement industry. The main objective of the project is to execute and complete a front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies for commercial-scale, carbon capture projects that separates 95% of the total CO2 emissions at the Holcim (US) Ste. Genevieve cement manufacturing facility using Air Liquide’s Pressure Swing Adsorption system (PSA) assisted Cryocap™ technology. The Holcim Ste. Genevieve cement plant in Missouri, US, boasts one of the largest single cement production lines in the world, with a capacity of approximately 12,000 t/day. The plant currently uses traditional fuels, namely coal and petcoke. The captured CO2 will be pipeline and geological storage grade. The industrial host site emits approximately 3.0 million tonne CO2/yr. Air Liquide’s Cryocap™ technology has been developed over the last 18+ years for CO2 capture applications. It has been shown to be applicable to a variety of industrial applications (e.g., steel, cement, SMR, Fluidized Catalytic Crackers (FCCs)). Cryocap™ FG consists of a Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) unit coupled with a Cryogenic System. The PSA pre-concentrates the CO2 from the flue gas, while the cryogenic unit enables the CO2 purity to be increased to the desired level. The project team is led by the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The tasks include: complete FEED study for retrofitting the industrial facility with a carbon capture system to support developing a detailed cost estimate; business case analysis outlining the anticipated revenue and credits if projects was built and operated; technoeconomic analysis (TEA) outlining how capture system achieves DOE capture goals; and life cycle (LCA) analysis demonstrating zero net carbon emissions. The FEED study was successfully completed. This includes completing the process basis of design; preliminary engineering; outside battery limits (OSBL) detailed engineering including a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) wastewater treatment system; inside battery limits (ISBL) detailed engineering [1]. An overall project capital cost estimate within a -20%/+30% accuracy was developed. The major contributors to the Total Plant Cost (TPC), by system, are the costs associated with the Outside Battery Limit (OSBL) section of the plant which includes a new river water intake structure and a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system. By cost category, the major contributors to the TPC are equipment and subcontractor costs, followed closely by engineering, construction management, home office and contractor fees. The TEA has been created to reflect the findings of the project. It analyzes the economic performance of the Cryocap™ technology by reviewing the estimated capital costs, operating cost, and revenue. The Cost of Capture (COC) associated with the Cryocap™ technology for 95% CO2 capture, when considering NETL 2018 economic assumptions (42/58 debt/equity ratio, 5.15% interest on debt and 1.42% return on equity in real dollars) and 2022 economic assumptions (42/58 debt/equity ratio, 8.82% interest on debt and 4.90% return on equity in real dollars) was found to be much lower than that for the DOE-NETL’s base-line cases. The highest contributors to the COC are annualized capital expenditures (CAPEX) and electricity consumption which can be offset by using lower cost renewable sources. The LCA was conducted using OpenLCA which is an open-source software that is recommended by NETL. The database utilized for this study was a modified version of TRACI 2.1 (developed by the US. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory and modified by NETL). The Cryocap™ FG technology does not consume fuels in significant quantities and does not utilize specialized chemical solvents subject to decomposition, such as those utilized in amine-based carbon capture systems. The Cryocap™ FG technology mainly utilizes electricity as its energy input; hence, its calculated emissions are mainly associated with the generation of electricity offsite and are dependent on the energy matrix of the grid at the time of project implementation. The water consumption impact of the Cryocap™ FG is mostly for makeup of the water lost by evaporation in the cooling tower; however, the carbon capture plant will be equipped with a ZLD system to avoid effluent streams and minimize water consumption. The successful construction and operation of this plant based on this study results will provide a means to demonstrate an economically attractive and transformational capture technology that can be used to retrofit existing plants and be deployed at new plants.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2021

Application of Sequential Design of Experiments (SDoE) to Large Pilot-Scale Solvent-Based CO2 Capture Process at Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM)

The United States Department of Energy’s Carbon Capture Simulation for Industry Impact (CCSI2) program has developed a framework for sequential design of experiments (SDoE) that aims to maximize knowledge gained from budget- and schedule-limited pilot scale testing. SDoE was applied to the planning and execution of campaigns for testing CO2 capture systems at pilot-scale in order to optimally allocate resources available for the testing. In this methodology, a stochastic process model is developed by quantifying the parametric uncertainty in submodels of interest; for a solvent-based CO2 capture system, these may include physical properties and equipment performance submodels (e.g., mass transfer, interfacial area). This uncertainty is propagated through the full process model, over variable operating conditions, for estimating the resulting uncertainty in key model outputs (e.g., percentage of CO2 capture, solvent regeneration energy requirement). In developing a data collection plan, the predicted output uncertainty is incorporated into an algorithm that seeks simultaneously to select process operating conditions for which the predicted uncertainty is relatively high and to ensure that the entire space of operation is well represented. This test plan is then used to guide operation of the pilot plant at varying steady-state conditions, with resulting process data incorporated into the existing model using Bayesian inference to refine parameter distributions. The updated stochastic model, with reduced parametric uncertainty from data collected, is then used to guide additional data collection, thus the sequential nature of the experimental design. The SDoE process was implemented at the pilot test unit (12 MWe in scale) at Norway’s Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) in a summer 2018 test campaign with aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA). During the test campaign, the varied operating conditions included the flowrates of circulated solvent, flue gas, and reboiler steam and the CO2 concentration in the flue gas. The process data were used to update probability distributions of mass transfer and interfacial area parameters of a stochastic process model developed by the CCSI2 team. Two iterations of the SDoE process were executed, resulting in the uncertainty in model predicted CO2 capture percentage decreasing by an average of 58.0 ± 4.7% over the full input space of interest. This work demonstrates the potential of the SDoE process for model refinement through reduction in process model parametric uncertainty, and ultimately risk in scale-up, in CO2 capture technology performance.

carbon capture↗
DOE OSTI2024

CO2 Capture Using Amines Bound to Silica

One of the main culprits of global warming is the increased amount of carbon dioxide, or CO2, in the atmosphere. NASA's global climate reports a 13% increase in atmospheric CO2 from 2000 to present. Adsorptive CO2 capture by nitrogen groups of amine-containing solvents is one of the most mature technologies deployed in petrochemical and natural gas processing plants to purify industrial gases. However, key challenges in widespread application include solvent induced reactor corrosion, amine degradation, and high regeneration energy for repeated cycling. An alternative approach is to immobilize amines on solid supports. Key performance metrics of solid amine-based CO2 adsorbents include the CO2 adsorption capacity and stability to degradation over hundreds of thousands of regeneration cycles. Our research aims to develop descriptors for CO2 capture capacity and stability against oxygen-induced degradation for amines bound to porous silica supports using experimental and computational techniques. We experimentally measure the change in CO2-uptake using solid amine adsorbents with varying chemical compositions and exposure to varying gas streams and use high-performance computers to simulate the nature and strength of CO2-adsorption and oxidative degradation reaction mechanisms. Insights from our work can facilitate the development of stable solid amine adsorbents for large-scale CO2 capture processes.

amines↗
DOE OSTI2025

Use of Captured CO2 for Production of Sustainable Polyurethane Foams in Automotive Applications

Captured CO2 has been investigated as a feedstock for the production of polyurethane (PU) foams for automotive applications. Previous work has shown successful incorporation of CO2 into polyols via three distinct reaction pathways. These CO2-derived polyols, as well as several commercially available polyols with varying CO2 content, were used to produce PU foams for automotive seating and NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) applications. Foam formulations were optimized to maximize sustainable content while maintaining manufacturability constraints and performance requirements for each end use application. PU foams were first formulated at lab scale to confirm free rise and molded foam properties, then scaled up to pilot and industrial scales to evaluate production manufacturing feasibility. Finally, CO2-derived foams were used to produce molded components for end use product validation. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to quantify the environmental impact of using captured CO2 and bio-renewable content into polyols and PU foams through the metrics of global warming potential and embodied energy. Tradeoffs among environmental impacts, energy usage, manufacturability, and PU foam performance from the incorporation of CO2 and bio-renewable content will be discussed.

Lee, Ellen [Ford Motor Company]↗
DOE OSTI2023

Scale-up Testing of Advanced Polaris Membrane in CO2 Capture Technology

This final technical report describes work conducted by Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) on the scale-up and testing of advanced Polaris™ membrane CO2 capture technology at the Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) under award number DE-FE0031591. The work was performed from August 1, 2018 through January 31, 2023. The overall goal of this project was to design, build and operate an advanced Polaris membrane CO2 capture system at TCM. MTR was assisted in this project by Trimeric Corporation (Trimeric), an engineering design services company, the Carbon Capture Simulation for Industry Impact (CCSI2), a partnership among national laboratories, industry, and academic institutions, and the Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM), who provided the host site for the slipstream field test. This report details the work conducted to scale-up MTR’s second-generation (Gen-2) Polaris membrane and advanced planar membrane modules to a final form factor optimized for commercial use; validate their performance in an engineering-scale field test at TCM; and to show the potential of the MTR process to meet DOE CO2 capture targets from large source point emitters. Work for this project included membrane optimization and scale-up, advanced planar module design and fabrication, design and fabrication of an engineering-scale field test membrane skid, operation of the field test skid processing Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) industrial flue gas at TCM, and a detailed techno-economic analysis (TEA) of the MTR membrane post-combustion process for CO2 capture. This project validated recent membrane technology advancements at the engineering-scale, moves the MTR advanced post-combustion capture technology to TRL-6, and mitigates risk in future Large Pilot or Demonstration scale-up activities.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Computational Modeling of CO2 Capture By Novel PIM-RU in a Fluidized Bed Riser

The interest in carbon capture, storage, and utilization (CCUS) has increased significantly in the past few decades as it can help mitigate the threat of global warming caused by substantial increase in CO2 emissions due to anthropogenic activities. Although several CO2 capture technologies have been developed, porous solid sorbents, which adsorb CO2 by physisorption, are considered promising candidates for post-combustion CO2 capture because of the easier recovery of adsorbed CO2 and high material stability. Some prominent types of porous solid sorbents are metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), Zeolite, mesoporous silica, and polymer-based sorbents (e.g., polymers with intrinsic microporosity or PIM). Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recently developed a novel PIM-based sorbent, referred to here as PIM-RU. The main objective of this work is to investigate the CO2 capture performance of this sorbent using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). While process configuration and reactor design are open questions, a fluidized bed riser was selected as the contactor type for this study.

Aziz, Hossain↗
NASA NTRS2002

Enzyme-based CO2 capture for advanced life support

Elevated CO2 levels in air can lead to impaired functioning and even death to humans. Control of CO2 is critical in confined spaces that have little physical or biological buffering capacity (e.g., spacecraft, submarines, or aircraft). A novel enzyme-based contained liquid membrane bioreactor was designed for CO2 capture and certain application cases are reported in this article. The results show that the liquid layer accounts for the major transport resistance. With addition of carbonic anhydrase, the transport resistance decreased by 71%. Volatile organic compounds of the type and concentration expected to be present in either the crew cabin or a plant growth chamber did not influence carbonic anhydrase activity or reactor operation during 1-day operation. Alternative sweep method studies, examined as a means of eliminating consumables, showed that the feed gas could be used successfully in a bypass mode when combined with medium vacuum pressure (-85 kPa) to achieve CO2 separation comparable to that with an inert sweep gas. The reactor exhibited a selectivity for CO2 versus N2 of 1400:1 and CO2 versus O2 is 866:1. The CO2 permeance was 1.44 x 10(-7) mol m-2 Pa-1 s-1 (4.3 x 10(-4) cm3 cm-2 s-1 cmHg-1) at a feed concentration of 0.1% CO2. These data show that the enzyme-based contained liquid membrane is a promising candidate technology that may be suitable for NASA applications to control CO2 in the crew or plant chambers.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗
DOE OSTI2023

ION Validation of Transformational CO2 Capture Solvent Technology with Revolutionary Stability: “Project Apollo”

This final report presents all the work and tests performed during ION’s carbon dioxide (CO2) capture pilot test campaign at the 0.6 MWe scale in the Pilot Solvent Test Unit (PSTU) at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC): “Validation of Transformational CO2 Capture Solvent Technology with Revolutionary Stability,” referred to as the “Apollo” Project (DE-FE0031727).

Meuleman, Erik↗
DOE OSTI2022

Techno-Economic Analysis and Optimization of Integrated NGCC-MEA System at High CO2 Capture Levels

This poster contains preliminary results for an ongoing analysis of modeling and optimization of an NGCC plant with a solvent-based CO2 capture system with high levels of CO2 capture – up to and beyond net-zero emissions. The work was performed to understand the incremental cost of high capture in order to compare with direct-air capture and other net-negative technologies, as well as to understand optimal operation and design of the CCS unit to achieve high capture with minimal increase in cost.

Deshpande, Anuja↗
DOE OSTI2020

Environmental, Health and Safety Assessment Application of a Heat Integrated, Post-combustion CO2 Capture System Using Monoethanolamine and Hitachi H3-1 Solvent at the E.W. Brown Coal-fired Power Plant

An Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Assessment was completed for operation of a pilot scale carbon dioxide (CO2) capture system (CCS) at the Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities (KU) Energy, LLC (LG&E-KU) E. W. Brown Generating Station in Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Kentucky. The pilot system was evaluated using two CO2 capture solvents, monoethanolamine (MEA) and Hitachi’s H3-1 solvent. The purpose of the EH&S Assessment was to determine if there were any unacceptable environmental, health or safety concerns that may prevent operation or environmental permitting of a larger scale pilot scale plant. The assessment included review of process flow diagrams, input and output flow rates for primary materials, literature describing similar processes and chemicals used or created during the process, actual air emission and wastewater test data and air emission calculations. The evaluation included identification of risks related to hazardous chemicals, air emissions, wastewater discharges, solid wastes generated and employee hazards. Most potential EH&S issues that were identified are commonly found and successfully managed at large industrial facilities. No risks were identified that could not be successfully managed or would likely prevent implementation or environmental permitting of the pilot or larger scale plant. Potential exposures and resulting health risks from exposure to low concentrations of nitrosamines generated from degradation of the Hitachi H3-1 and possibly MEA solvents may be a health concern for site workers, but additional investigation is needed to accurately assess this risk. Applying the information gained from operating the pilot plant, performing air emission testing and used solvent testing to a large-scale facility at a commercial coal-fired electric generating plant suggests additional air emission control measures may be necessary to reduce potential site worker health risks and possibly community risks. Depending upon the location and regional air quality, considerable effort may be required to obtain the necessary air permit for construction and operation of a similarly configured large-scale PCCCS facility.

gas separation↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integrated Technology for Cost-Effective CO2 Capture and Formic Acid Production: Modeling, Optimization, and Economic Analysis

A novel reactive technology is being investigated that electrochemically converts CO2 into valuable chemicals, particularly formic acid. This work focuses on identifying the optimal design and operation of an integrated membrane-based CO2 capture unit with the electrochemical conversion process. In this setup, the CO2 in the flue gas permeates through a CO2-selective membrane and enters an electrolyzer to produce formic acid, creating an integrated reaction module. To refine the chemical product, gas products from the electrolyzer are directed to a pressure swing adsorption unit, while the liquid product undergoes refinement to achieve commercial-grade formic acid using reactive distillation. A membrane CO2 capture model and an electrochemical conversion model have been developed using the IDAES Integrated Platform (Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy System), facilitating rigorous flowsheet modeling and process design and optimization.

Wang, Maojian↗
DOE OSTI2024

Field-Scale Testing of a High-Efficiency Membrane Reactor (MR)—Adsorptive Reactor (AR) Process for H2 Generation and Pre-Combustion CO2 Capture

The study objective was to field-validate the technical feasibility of a membrane- and adsorption-enhanced water gas shift reaction process employing a carbon molecular sieve membrane (CMSM)-based membrane reactor (MR) followed by an adsorptive reactor (AR) for pre-combustion CO2 capture. The project was carried out in two different phases. In Phase I, the field-scale experimental MR-AR system was designed and constructed, the membranes, and adsorbents were prepared, and the unit was tested with simulated syngas to validate functionality. In Phase II, the unit was installed at the test site, field-tested using real syngas, and a technoeconomic analysis (TEA) of the technology was completed. All project milestones were met. Specifically, (i) high-performance CMSMs were prepared meeting the target H2 permeance (>1 m3/(m2.hbar) and H2/CO selectivity of >80 at temperatures of up to 300 °C and pressures of up to 25 bar with a <10% performance decline over the testing period; (ii) pelletized adsorbents were prepared for use in relevant conditions (250 °C < T < 450 °C, pressures up to 25 bar) with a working capacity of >2.5 wt.% and an attrition rate of <0.2; (iii) TEA showed that the MR-AR technology met the CO2 capture goals of 95% CO2 purity at a cost of electricity (COE) 30% less than baseline approaches.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Techno-Economic Analysis and Optimization for MOF-Based CO2 Capture from NGCC Applications

This poster presents the development of isotherm and contactor models for a tetraamine MOF for CO2 capture from NGCC flue gas sources. It presents results for development of an isotherm model for a tetraamine MOF, validation of a fixed bed model to experimental fixed bed breakthrough data, and optimization of a fixed bed TSA process and moving bed TSA process for CO2 capture from a NGCC flue gas source.

Matuszewski, Michael↗
DOE OSTI2025

Preliminary techno-economic assessment of gas switching reforming (GSR) of natural gas for pure hydrogen production and power generation with integrated CO2 capture

The increasing demand for hydrogen and the CO2 intensity of natural gas (NG) reforming motivate the development of low-carbon-emission hydrogen production technologies. Gas Switching Reforming (GSR) with integrated CO2 capture, a technology based on Chemical Looping Reforming (CLR), has been experimentally proven and shows potential for scale-up. In this study, select oxygen carriers (OC) (NiO/Al2O3, Fe2O3-CeO2/Al2O3, and magnetite) were tested in methane steam reforming in a fixed bed reactor to determine their relative reactivities under relevant conditions for GSR (800 °C, 7 bar total pressure). Process models were then developed to perform techno-economic analysis (TEA) of GSR for hydrogen production (GSR-H2) and a combined cycle (GSR-CC) in which high-purity H2 is fired in a gas turbine to produce electricity. Operating at 10 bar and 1100 °C and with the additional recovery steps implemented increased H2 production by ∼ 30% and improved efficiency relative to prior studies. For GSR-H2, the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is 1.61–1.64 $/kg-H2, competitive with a reference SMR case, though operating and maintenance costs are higher due to increased electricity demand. GSR-CC has a significantly higher levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) than its reference NGCC (natural gas combined cycle) plant, suggesting it is less competitive; however, increasing production scale could make it more attractive. Life-cycle results for GSR-H2 indicate NG consumption drives ∼ 75% of total global warming impacts (∼2.3 kg CO2 eq/kg H2). An environmental, health, and safety screening suggests iron-based carriers are comparatively safer, whereas NiO may pose greater risks. Overall, GSR-H2 is a scalable, competitive option for hydrogen production using nickel and non-nickel OC.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Preliminary Techno-Economic Assessment of Gas Switching Reforming (GSR) of Natural Gas for Pure Hydrogen Production and Power Generation with Integrated CO2 Capture

The increasing demand for hydrogen and the CO2 intensity of natural gas (NG) reforming motivate the development of low-carbon-emission hydrogen production technologies. Gas Switching Reforming (GSR) is an advanced auto-thermal reforming technology that produces hydrogen or syngas from natural gas. It integrates inherent CO2 capture by utilizing a specialized oxygen carrier in a single fluidized bed reactor, eliminating the need for complex, energy-intensive post-combustion separation. GSR technology builds upon Chemical Looping Reforming (CLR), an experimentally proven technology with strong potential for scaling up. In this study, select oxygen carriers (OC) (NiO/Al2O3, Fe2O3-CeO2/Al2O3, and magnetite) were tested in methane steam reforming in a fixed bed reactor to determine their relative reactivities under relevant conditions for GSR (800 °C, 7 bar total pressure). Process models were then developed to perform techno-economic analysis (TEA) of GSR for hydrogen production (GSR-H₂) and a combined cycle (GSR-CC) in which high-purity H₂ is fired in a gas turbine to produce electricity. Operating at 10 bar and 1100 °C and with the additional recovery steps implemented increased H₂ production by ~30% and improved efficiency relative to prior studies. For GSR-H₂, the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is 1.61–1.64 $/kg-H₂, competitive with a reference SMR case, though operating and maintenance costs are higher due to increased electricity demand. GSR-CC has a significantly higher levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) than its reference NGCC (natural gas combined cycle) plant, suggesting it is less competitive; however, increasing production scale could make it more attractive. Life-cycle results for GSR-H2 indicate NG consumption drives ~75% of total global warming impacts (~2.3 kg CO2 eq/kg H2). An environmental, health, and safety screening suggests iron-based carriers are comparatively safer, whereas NiO may pose greater risks. Overall, GSR-H2 is a scalable, competitive option for hydrogen production using nickel and non-nickel OC.

03 NATURAL GAS↗