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DOE OSTI2025

A Novel Manufacturing Process of Lightweight Automotive Seats (Integration of Additive Manufacturing and Reinforced Polymer Composite)

Lightweight automotive seats offer multiple benefits to original equipment manufacturers in terms of cost savings from various aspects, including less material usage, more integrated processes, and compliance with Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards. Original equipment manufacturers have been focusing on innovative ways to produce light weight automotive seats. The commercially available automotive seats are currently made of multiple metal components combined through welding and fasteners. The use of additive manufacturing and composite structures is particularly useful for light weighting the automotive components. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers multiple advantages over traditional manufacturing processes such as freedom of design thereby enabling complex structural geometries, mass customization and waste minimization, and control over the fiber alignment through deposition in a predetermined pattern. Combining metal inserts with polymer composites through a novel manufacturing process allows design of lightweight and high-performance materials for automotive components. However, fabricating these metal polymer composite structures through traditional manufacturing processes limits their mechanical properties due to limited design freedom, lack of control over fiber orientation in composite parts, and poor interfacial bonding between the constituent materials. It is essential to develop a novel manufacturing process to enable high throughput production of lightweight automotive seats using metal and polymer composites. As such it is important to design the automotive seat suitable for manufacturing via this process and perform mechanical characterization on various subcomponents of the seat to ensure that the design and performance requirements provided by the auto manufacturer are met. The aim of this project is to develop a novel manufacturing technique to produce lightweight automotive seat by combining AM with conventional manufacturing processes. The car seat back panel will be designed via topology optimization and numerical simulations to minimize the overall weight while ensuring it meets all the performance requirements. The optimization of the seat back structure will be based on computational stress analysis to maximize the stiffness and minimize the weight. Materials currently used by Ford Motor Company will be adopted for a few subcomponents while the in-house composite materials will be used for the rest of the seat back. The composite and metallic materials will be tested to determine their mechanical properties as these are necessary for simulations. A novel manufacturing process will be developed to integrate AM metal inserts with discontinuous reinforced composite through large scale additive manufacturing and compression overmolding processes. The developed manufacturing technique will be used to fabricated various subcomponents suitable for the seat back design and mechanically tested to determine their properties. The manufacturing of the lightweight seat back design through this process involves integrated AM metal inserts with the composite structure for recliner connection. The manufacturing of the entire seat back which is lightweight through the novel manufacturing process will be discussed. The performance of the designed seat back will be investigated through numerical simulations and shown to meet all the requirements provided by the auto manufacturer. The final goal of developing a novel manufacturing process for lightweight automotive seats is met through design optimization of seat back, manufacturing of subcomponents, mechanical characterization, and validation through numerical simulations. The routes to achieve the final goal of the project and the depth in which they were investigated changed throughout the project due to personnel changes and the COVID-19 pandemic. The project resulted in the development of a novel manufacturing process to integrate metal inserts with tailored polymer composite preforms through overmolding. Leveraging this proven manufacturing process, a lightweight seat back was designed through topology optimization and numerical simulations. The designed seat back uses AM metal inserts and compression overmolding of tailored polymer composite preforms obtained via large scale additive manufacturing. The metal polymer composite structures fabricated through this process exhibited enhancement in stiffness and improved ductility upon testing. Overall, the project provided an alternative design and manufacturing technique for automotive seat back that enables weight saving while meeting the safety and performance requirements.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2020

New PBX 9501 Dynamic Mock Candidates via the Wet Slurry Process

Novel PBX 9501 dynamic mock candidates were produced via the wet slurry process. The material selection criteria and development processes are detailed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2026

Technoeconomic Analysis of a Novel Microwave Process to Produce Ethylene from Methane

Ethylene is a critical feedstock in industrial processes, serving as a raw material in the petrochemical industry to produce plastics and commodity chemicals. Conventional ethylene production routes are energy-intensive and contribute substantially to the carbon footprint of chemical manufacturing. In this study, an industrial-scale novel microwave process was simulated using ASPEN Plus to assess its economic viability. Technoeconomic analysis confirmed the economic competitiveness of the novel microwave process, with a levelized cost of ethylene of USD 0.51/kg compared to USD 0.56/kg for the conventional base case. Key economic drivers of the process were identified, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate their impact on project economics. Furthermore, 87.7% of the total utility consumption in the novel microwave process is electricity, highlighting its potential to contribute to the electrification of the chemical industry. The findings of this study confirm the economic feasibility of both industrial-scale microwave reactors and modular plant configurations for the production of ethylene from methane, offering a promising alternative to conventional processes.

electromagnetic radiation↗

DOE OSTI2025

Supercritical water desalination and oxidation (SCWDO): Effectiveness on complex solutions, technoeconomic, and CO 2 impact for produced water treatment

The modern energy-economy is increasingly causing the production of highly saline brines, including from produced water. Supercritical water desalination can concentrate and extract minerals from these brines, but the effects of mixed salt interactions, organic degradation with additives, and the technology's economics are not well understood at supercritical condition. The present study evaluated and experimentally studied an integrated supercritical water desalination and oxidation (SCWDO) process for treating real-produced water samples from oil/natural gas field. The complex interactions between the various anions and cations in produced water were extensively evaluated. Most of the divalent and trivalent ions were extracted below 250 °C while the majority of the monovalent salt were removed between 380 to 410 °C. The treated real produced water was of drinking water quality, with <500 mg/l of total dissolved solid (TDS) and with 100% organics removal. Furthermore, the heat liberated during the organic oxidation could be utilized internally and for electricity generation for enhanced the energy efficiency and lower cost of produced water treatment. With system optimization, the proposed SCWDO process can essentially be made a net zero energy process. A novel process flow diagram for the commercial scale self-powered hybrid SCWDO technology was proposed as a cost-effective produced water treatment to mitigate the environmental crises. Techno-economic analysis showed that produced water treatment cost with SCWDO can be reduced to 2–3 $/m 3 and can be up to 60 % cheaper to traditional deep well reinjection. Additionally, the proposed SCWDO process could achieve net negative CO 2 emission.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

Beta-Amino Carboxylate (BAC) non-aqueous physical solvents for enhanced CO2 separations in pre-combustion carbon capture, industrial CO 2 capture, and biogas upgrading processes

Novel beta-amino carboxylate (BAC) solvents have been synthesized and tested to efficiently capture carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from process gas streams with CO 2 partial pressure intermediate between pre-combustion and post-combustion capture. The BAC solvents have molecular structures characterized by alkyl-substituted amides or esters containing a secondary amine functional group on the second carbon from the carbonyl carbon (referred to as the beta “β” carbon). The ester or amide functional group combined with optimal steric crowding around the amine nitrogen by proximate alkyl groups are tailored to modify the strength of CO 2 binding in the solvent. The solvents possess high CO 2 solubilities and high gas selectivity including good CO 2 /H 2 O selectivity and can be utilized for CO 2 absorption over a range of partial pressures. Due to low volatility, many of the solvents can be operated at or above ambient temperature which eliminates solvent chilling and allows regeneration using low grade waste heat. These novel solvents offer an opportunity for efficient carbon capture for a range of applications including biogas upgrading, hydrogen production, and pre-combustion carbon capture.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2023

The Production of Low Ash Coals Using the Hydrophobic-Hydrophilic Separation Process with Novel Developments

Froth flotation is a common mineral processing method in coal preparation. This process becomes less efficient, however, as particle size is reduced, and ultrafine particles are often discarded prior to froth flotation, contributing to a substantial amount of coal waste in impoundments. Because of the land-use and risk of an impoundment failure, these impoundments pose an environmental liability. To address ultrafine coal rejection, researchers at Virginia Tech developed the hydrophobic-hydrophilic separation (HHS) process. Unlike in froth flotation, HHS uses an organic solvent to separate and dewater hydrophobic particles from hydrophilic minerals. Past work on the HHS process yielded promising results. In particular, the HHS process has produced a low-ash (<2%) and low moisture (<8%) product, which is a viable feed stock for carbon products. In this work, an investigation of the effects of auxiliary processes on the HHS process was conducted. The auxiliary processes included grinding, pre-concentration, and reagent conditioning. This work also contains an investigation on the interaction between two primary unit operations in the HHS process: oil agglomeration and de-emulsification. Lastly, to make the HHS process more viable for commercial scale-up, a novel unit operation was developed and tested that performs comparably to the current HHS process.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2025

A Novel Manufacturing Process of Lightweight Automotive Seats: Integration of Additive Manufacturing and Reinforced Polymer Composite

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Electro-strengthening of the additively manufactured Ti–6Al–4V alloy

Structure-property-processing relationship has been studied in additively manufactured Ti–6Al–4V alloy. The processing was performed using in-situ electron microscope (EM) at a moderate current density of 5 × 105 A/cm2 applied for 5 min, and by suppressing Joule heating with massive heat sinks such that the temperature rise was <180 °C and the mechanical properties were not compromised. Overall, the results show that while the grain size increased by ~15%, the nanohardness increased by 16%. This is attributed to the pronounced dislocation generation, regeneration, and clustering as well as defect healing. Ultimately, there is a reduction in the residual strain and a significant increase in the intrinsic strength as evidenced by the high Taylor factor of the electric current processed specimen. This novel processing technique represents an alternative pathway for active controlling of microstructure and internal defects for parts that might be sensitive to high-temperature processing or conventional methods.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2020

[Challenges and Opportunities in] Process Modeling of Intensified Chemical Processes

Before the benefits of process intensification can be fully realized, a multitude of advances in process modeling will be necessary. Process intensification (PI) has the potential to speed development of chemical engineering innovations. Among its many benefits, PI can increase the driving forces (physical and/or chemical) for transport phenomena, separations, and/or reactions in chemical processes, and inspire novel process configurations with major technical and economic benefits. Examples of PI applications include integrated process units such as heat exchange networks, sorption- or membrane-enhanced reactors, and dividing-wall distillation columns, among others [AIChE(2017)].

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2020

A Performance analysis of the Claridge-Culp-Liu dehumidification process: A novel approach for drying moist air based on membrane separation, vacuum compression and sub-atmospheric condensation

This article covers a basic model for analyzing the performance of the Claridge-Culp-Liu dehumidification process. The fundamental process efficiency limit for dehumidification is close to COP Carnot , but for the eight dehumidification cases examined, the limiting or ideal energy use required is 26% to 56% that of a Carnot condensing system as shown in an earlier paper. The model presented in this paper is used to show the membrane system performance reduction caused by finite membrane area, finite water vapor permeance, non-zero air permeance, non-zero system air pressure drop, non-ideal compressors, vacuum pumps, and condensers. The performance of a “conservative” membrane system based on the use of existing components is computed for eight specific conditions along with that of a “target” system that assumes expected component performance after additional future component development. The “conservative” membrane system would use 36% to 66% as much energy as a system with a COP=7 chiller to produce the same dehumidification for the eight cases examined while the “target” system would use 15% to 40% the energy of a system with a COP=7 chiller. In addition to the significant energy reduction over conventional technology, the membrane system offers the advantages of: 1) no HFC refrigerant use; 2) direct isothermal control over humidity ratio setpoint; 3) maximum capacity occurs at design conditions; and 4) system generates pure water extracted from air as a by-product.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2022

A Novel Sustainable Process for Multilayer Graphene Synthesis Using CO 2 from Ambient Air

Graphene produced by different methods can present varying physicochemical properties and quality, resulting in a wide range of applications. The implementation of a novel method to synthesize graphene requires characterizations to determine the relevant physicochemical and functional properties for its tailored application. We present a novel method for multilayer graphene synthesis using atmospheric carbon dioxide with characterization. Synthesis begins with carbon dioxide sequestered from air by monoethanolamine dissolution and released into an enclosed vessel. Magnesium is ignited in the presence of the concentrated carbon dioxide, resulting in the formation of graphene flakes. These flakes are separated and enhanced by washing with hydrochloric acid and exfoliation by ammonium sulfate, which is then cycled through a tumble blender and filtrated. Raman spectroscopic characterization, FTIR spectroscopic characterization, XPS spectroscopic characterization, SEM imaging, and TEM imaging indicated that the graphene has fifteen layers with some remnant oxygen-possessing and nitrogen-possessing functional groups. The multilayer graphene flake possessed particle sizes ranging from 2 µm to 80 µm in diameter. BET analysis measured the surface area of the multilayer graphene particles as 330 m 2 /g, and the pore size distribution indicated about 51% of the pores as having diameters from 0.8 nm to 5 nm. This study demonstrates a novel and scalable method to synthesize multilayer graphene using CO 2 from ambient air at 1 g/kWh electricity, potentially allowing for multilayer graphene production by the ton. The approach creates opportunities to synthesize multilayer graphene particles with defined properties through a careful control of the synthesis parameters for tailored applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1990

Comparative study of flux pinning flux creep and critical currents between YBaCuO crystals with and without Y2BaCuO5 inclusions

In the Y-Ba-Cu-O system YBa2Cu3Ox phase is produced by the following peritectic reaction: Y2BaCuO5 + liquid yields 2YBa2Cu3Ox. Through the control of processing conditions and starting compositions it becomes possible to fabricate large crystals containing fine Y2BaCuO5(211) inclusions. Such crystals exhibit Jc values exceeding 10000 A/sq cm at 77 K and 1T. Recently, researchers developed a novel process which can control the volume fraction of 211 inclusions. Elimination of 211 inclusions is also possible. In this study, researchers prepared YBaCuO crystals with and without 211 inclusions using the novel process and compared flux pinning, flux creep and critical currents. Magnetic field dependence of Jc for YBaCuO crystals with and without 211 inclusions is shown. It is clear that fine 211 inclusions can contribute to flux pinning. It was also found that flux creep rate could be reduced by increasing flux pinning force. Critical current density estimates based on the conventional flux pinning theory were in good agreement with experimental results.

Murakami, Masato↗

NASA NTRS1991

Comparative study of flux pinning, creep and critical currents between YBaCuO crystals with and without Y2BaCuO5 inclusions

In the Y-Ba-Cu-O system, YBa2Cu3O(x) phase is produced by the following peritectic reaction: Y2BaCuO5 + liquid yields 2YBa2Cu3O(x). Through the control of processing conditions and starting compositions, it becomes possible to fabricate large crystals containing fine Y2BaCuO5(211) inclusions. Such crystals exhibit Jc values exceeding 10000 A/sq cm at 77 K and 1T. Recently, researchers developed a novel process which can control the volume fraction of 211 inclusions. Elimination of 211 inclusions is also possible. In this study, researchers prepared YBaCuO crystals with and without 211 inclusions using the novel process, and compared flux pinning, flux creep and critical currents. Magnetic field dependence of Jc for YBaCuO crystals with and with 211 inclusions is shown. It is clear that fine 211 inclusions can contribute to flux pinning. It was also found that flux creep rate could be reduced by increasing flux pinning force. Critical current density estimates based on the conventional flux pinning theory were in good agreement with experimental results.

Murakami, Masato↗

DOE OSTI2022

A novel post-processing method for progressive failure analysis of brittle composite compression

Finite element analysis of brittle materials in axial compression typically uses element deletion to allow continued global deformation post-element-failure. However, element deletion produces cyclic load-displacement curves that underestimate energy absorption and are not representative of a continuum system. Two key observations support the conclusion that results from an appropriately discretized model can be an adequate representation of a continuum system. Specifically, the frequency of the oscillations in the load-displacement curve is directly dependent upon element length in the loading direction, and the peak amplitudes of oscillations are mesh size independent. A method of post-processing the analysis results, by connecting the peak amplitudes of oscillations, is proposed and applied to a series of continuous carbon fiber composite crush tubes. The load-displacement curve, stable crushing load, and specific energy absorption of the post-processed results compare well to an experimental study of crush tubes with similar layups.

Materials Science↗

DOE OSTI2022

Production and Catalytic Upgrading of 2,3-Butanediol Fermentation Broth into Sustainable Aviation Fuel Blendstock and Fuel Properties Measurement

With the increasing demand for sustainable supplies of aviation fuel and need to address climate change, new conversion technologies are needed to efficiently process biomass, produce high quality jet fuel blendstock, and meet carbon emission targets. This study demonstrates the synthesis, conditioning, and catalytic upgrading of 2,3-butanediol (BDO) fermentation broth into a jet fuel blendstock candidate. A high-titer 2,3-BDO fermentation broth (i.e., ~90 g/L) was produced at a 100-L scale and pretreated via nanofiltration to decrease the impurities level in the broth from 4.6 to 0.6 wt%. A novel process for catalytic upgrading of aqueous 2,3-BDO into a jet fuel blendstock candidate was developed, and each step was efficiently demonstrated. The catalytic steps include 1) 2,3-BDO dehydration into methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) over AlPO4, 2) MEK conversion into olefins over Zn1Zr10Ox, 3) oligomerization of olefins over a zeolite beta, and 4) hydrogenation over platinum/carbon. Both the model feed and real 2,3-BDO fermentation broth were tested for upgrading 2,3-BDO to MEK. With the real feed, a continuous loss of conversion (i.e., >50% loss over ~140 h time-on-stream [TOS]) was partly attributed to reversible deactivation from coking species. However, the conversion remained stable with the model feed, which demonstrates the efficiency of the first step for converting aqueous 2,3-BDO (10 wt% in water). For upgrading MEK to olefins, high selectivity to olefins (i.e., 82.5%) was obtained at high conversion levels (i.e., 93-98%) with stable conditions being achieved for > 70-hours TOS. Oligomerization of light olefins, which was demonstrated for > 270 h TOS, mainly led to the formation of dimers (C8-10) and trimers (C13-14). The oligomerized product was hydrogenated and distilled to recover the jet fraction (35 mass% or 40.9% carbon based yield), which consists mostly of desired isoalkanes (31.7 wt%), n-alkanes (24.5 wt%), and cycloalkanes (29.6 wt%). While some improvement is still needed to meet ASTM D7566 specifications for viscosity and final boiling point temperature, freezing point, density, aromatics content, and sulfur content of the jet blendstock candidate were within acceptable ranges, thus highlighting the potential of this process for production of jet fuel blendstock.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Efficient Silicon Carbide (SiC) Fiber Manufacture: Continuous Processing of Novel Precursors via Modified Material Handling

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) together with The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) and Harper International have executed on a development project to improve the production efficiency and reduce the production cost of silicon carbide (SiC) fiber – a critical material that advances US energy security and aerospace leadership. In the first budget period (BP1), the modified tow throughput (MTT) apparatus was developed, enabling fiber spinning in the form of loose coils rather than tightly packed spools (Figure 1) for batch processing of SiC fiber. This coil-based approach was proven to be capable of uniform fiber crosslinking and ceramic conversion, as well as demonstrating key process efficiencies while meeting the program fiber property targets.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Low-Temperature Plasma Treatment for Enhanced Recovery of Highly Valued Critical REEs from Coal (Final Report)

The principle objective of this project was to develop a novel process flowsheet using low-temperature plasma treatment (LTP) integrated with conventional hydrometallurgical processes to recover rare earth elements (REEs), especially highly valued REEs (i.e. scandium and critical REEs), from coal and coal byproducts. LTP treatment was used to pretreat the solid feed material prior to leaching in an effort to improve the leaching characteristics of the REEs and potentially reduce acid consumption. Initially, a detailed experimental program was performed on a laboratory LTP furnace to identify a set of process parameter values to be used for assessing the enhanced leaching performance achieved on four specific gravity fractions of West Kentucky No. 13 and Fire Clay coarse coal refuse materials. High-temperature oxidation (HTO)) was also evaluated as a means for improving REE leachability on the same fractions of both coal sources. The lixiviants used to assess leachability improvements included: i) untreated water, ii) 0.1 M ammonium sulfate solution and iii) 1.2 M sulfuric acid solution at a temperature of 75°C. The laboratory data was used to develop multiple process flow sheets using HTO only to produce a rare earth oxide mix concentrate or utilizing both LTP and HTO treatment processes to generate a high purity heavy REO mix concentrate and a light REO mix concentrate. A techno-economic analysis was performed on each circuit. Low-temperature plasma oxidation was found to enhance REE leaching characteristics for all specific gravity (SG) fractions of the West Kentucky No. 13 coarse refuse material. The leaching recovery improvement was preferentially achieved for the heavy REEs with higher values obtained when treating the lower density fraction material. For example, the leaching recovery for the heavy REEs in the untreated 1.6 SG Float fraction material was 8% in a 0.1 M ammonium sulfate solution. After LTP treatment for 32 hours, heavy REE recovery increased to 33%. The corresponding recovery value for the light REEs was 10%. These findings indicate a strong affinity of the heavy REEs with the organic material, which is the component being reduced in content during the LTP treatment. Scanning electron micrographs showed the development of a honeycomb structure with increased LTP treatment with higher surface area as confirmed from BET measurements. Higher surface area promotes improved leaching efficiency due to enhance chemical interactions. When using 1.2 M sulfuric acid, the LTP treatment was found to provide a heavy REE recovery increase from 23% to 53% for the 1.6 SG Float fraction which corresponded to an ash content increase from around 20% to 35%. However, LTP treatment provided no improvement in leaching characteristic for the 2.2 SG sink material in the acid solution, which was likely due to the low organic content. The LTP treatment of the Fire Clay SG fractions provided no improvement in REE leaching characteristic, which may be due to the association with REE minerals such as monazite and REE-associated mineral matter such as clays. High temperature oxidation using temperatures in the range of 600-750OC was found to significantly enhance the leaching characteristics of both the light and heavy REEs for all density fractions in both coarse coal refuse materials. Generally, the increase in light REE recovery for the West Kentucky material was from 15% for the untreated material to 90% for the HTO treated material at 600°C. Recovery values dropped significantly when using temperatures below 600°C and above 750°C. The impact of the excessive temperatures was most likely a result of sintering. For the heavy REEs, HTO significantly improved recovery in the lighter SG fractions, which may be due to an affinity with the organic content. Only limited heavy REE recovery improvement was obtained for the denser SG fractions. Another benefit of HTO is the conversion of calcium-based minerals to a very soluble calcium oxide, which is removable using a mild acid solution, and the conversion of Fe minerals to relatively insoluble minerals such as hematite and magnetite. The pregnant leaching solution produced from the leaching of all SG fractions obtained from both coal sources was treated using two stages of solvent extraction procedurally modeling a rougher-cleaner circuit followed by oxalic acid precipitation. Rare earth oxide products having a purity greater than 97% was produced from nearly all of the SG fractions. A novel process flowsheet was developed based on the selective leaching of heavy REEs that was made possible through LTP treatment of West Kentucky No. 13 coarse refuse followed by salt leaching. In the flowsheet, coal refuse material is ground to a top size of 1mm and then treated by LTP. The treated material is mixed into a 0.1 M ammonium sulfate solution and then filtered to produce a heavy REE enriched pregnant leach solution. The heavy REEs are concentrated by two stages of selective precipitation to produce a heavy REE mix oxalate and then roasted to obtain a heavy REO mix concentrate. The solid residues remaining after salt leaching is dried and then subjected to HTO treatment followed by concentration using selective precipitation and roasting to produce a light REO mix concentrate. An alternative circuit was developed using HTO treatment only to treat 100% of the coarse refuse material followed by selective precipitation and roasting to generate a high purity REO mix product. A techno-economic analysis performed for the treatment of West Kentucky No. 13 and Fire Clay coarse refuse based on a hypothetical 500-tph plant revealed that the net present value for all scenarios was significantly negative. Primary reasons include: i) a substantial decrease in the basket value of the final product relative to the feed and ii) high chemical costs relative to the amount of product generated. The basket value reduction was primarily due to little to no scandium recovery due to poor leaching characteristics when using low acid concentrations as necessitated by the low feed grades. Operating costs were primarily influenced by the chemical costs relative to the kilograms of concentrate produced and feed grade. For the Fire Clay coarse refuse material, the total operating cost was estimated to be $354 per kg of REO produced which was higher than the basket value of the REO product ($276/kg). Approximately 37% of the total cost was the sulfuric acid used during the leaching process. A comparative analysis performed to assess the economic viability of using low-temperature plasma furnaces found that market value enhancement for the generation of both heavy REO and light REO concentrates will be needed in addition to significant technology advancements to reduce the cost of plasma furnaces.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2026

3-Hydroxypropionic acid recovery from fermentation broth through novel downstream processing: Technoeconomic analysis

This study develops and validates a simplified, fully solvent-free downstream processing (DSP) strategy for high-purity recovery of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) from real fermentation broth containing 62.3 g/L of 3-HP. Optimized activated carbon treatment achieved 98% color removal, while Amberlite IRA-67 was operated at pH 4.5 and 30 °C to minimize product loss. This is the first integrated demonstration of a fully solvent-free DSP enabling recovery of bio-based 3-HP as both a solid sodium salt and a concentrated aqueous solution, supported by techno-economic analysis. At lab scale, the process achieved 77.3% recovery of sodium 3-HP with 83.2% (w/w) purity and produced a 30% (w/v) aqueous solution. Techno-economic analysis yielded minimum selling prices of $0.551/kg for the solution and $0.892/kg for the salt, both below target thresholds for cost-competitive bio-acrylic acid production. Overall, these results demonstrate an efficient, scalable, and economically viable industrial pathway for 3-HP recovery.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗