Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Propane Fuel”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2

ResStock Measure Documentation: Residential Single-Stage Geothermal Heat Pump (3.8 COP, 18.6 EER)

The goal of this work is to develop energy efficiency, demand flexibility, and other retrofit end-use load shapes (electricity, gas, propane, or fuel oil) that cover a majority of the high-impact, market-ready (or nearly market-ready) measures. "Measures" refers to retrofits that can be applied to buildings during modeling. An "end-use savings shape" is the difference in energy consumption between a baseline building and a building with an energy efficiency, demand flexibility, or other retrofit measure applied. It results in a time-series profile that is broken down by end use and fuel (electricity or on-site gas, propane, or fuel oil use) at each time step. ResStock is a highly granular, physics-based, bottom-up model that uses multiple data sources, statistical sampling methods, and advanced building energy simulations to estimate the annual subhourly energy consumption of the residential building stock across the United States. The baseline model intends to represent the U.S. residential building stock as it existed in 2018. Technical documentation for the inputs and assumptions in the baseline building stock model is available in Reyna et al. (2025). Calibration and validation of the baseline model results are available in the final technical report of the End-Use Load Profiles project (Wilson et al. 2022). This documentation focuses on a single end-use savings shape measure: Residential Single-Stage Geothermal Heat Pump (GHP).?Single-stage GHPs are able to reduce energy consumption by 31% for the entire stock. Additional results provided below detail how savings changes for sections of the housing stock with different base heating fuel and in different climate zones, as well as the savings potential by state for both heating and cooling. Utility bills and electric panel impacts are also shown and discussed.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

ResStock Measure Documentation: Residential Variable-Speed Geothermal Heat Pump (4.4 COP, 30.9 EER)

The goal of this work is to develop energy efficiency, demand flexibility, and other retrofit end-use load shapes (electricity, gas, propane, or fuel oil) that cover a majority of the high-impact, market-ready (or nearly market-ready) measures. "Measures" refers to retrofits that can be applied to buildings during modeling. An "end-use savings shape" is the difference in energy consumption between a baseline building and a building with an energy efficiency, demand flexibility, or other retrofit measure applied. It results in a time-series profile that is broken down by end use and fuel (electricity or on-site gas, propane, or fuel oil use) at each time step. ResStock (TM) is a highly granular, physics-based, bottom-up model that uses multiple data sources, statistical sampling methods, and advanced building energy simulations to estimate the annual subhourly energy consumption of the residential building stock across the United States. The baseline model intends to represent the U.S. residential building stock as it existed in 2018. Technical documentation for the inputs and assumptions in the baseline building stock model is available in Reyna et al. (2025). Calibration and validation of the baseline model results are available in the final technical report of the End-Use Load Profiles project (Wilson et al. 2022). This documentation focuses on a single end-use savings shape measure: Residential Variable-Speed Geothermal Heat Pump (GHP). This document provides the relevant new modeling information for variable-speed systems not previously covered in either the single-stage or two-stage documents. Variable-speed GHPs represent the most efficient option available for this technology: They provide the most savings, with up to 46% for the applicable portion of the housing stock, compared to 31% for less efficient single-stage GHPs. Additional results shown here detail how the savings change for sections of the housing stock with different base heating fuels and in different climate zones, and they show the savings potential by state for both heating and cooling. Utility bills and electric panel impacts are also shown and discussed.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

ResStock Measure Documentation: Residential Two-Stage Geothermal Heat Pump (4.0 COP, 20.5 EER)

The goal of this work is to develop energy efficiency, demand flexibility, and other retrofit end-use load shapes (electricity, gas, propane, or fuel oil) that cover a majority of the high-impact, market-ready (or nearly market-ready) measures. "Measures" refers to retrofits that can be applied to buildings during modeling. An "end-use savings shape" is the difference in energy consumption between a baseline building and a building with an energy efficiency, demand flexibility, or other retrofit measure applied. It results in a time-series profile that is broken down by end use and fuel (electricity or on-site gas, propane, or fuel oil use) at each time step. ResStock is a highly granular, physics-based, bottom-up model that uses multiple data sources, statistical sampling methods, and advanced building energy simulations to estimate the annual subhourly energy consumption of the residential building stock across the United States. The baseline model intends to represent the U.S. residential building stock as it existed in 2018. Technical documentation for the inputs and assumptions in the baseline building stock model is available in Reyna et al. (2025). Calibration and validation of the baseline model results are available in the final technical report of the End-Use Load Profiles project (Wilson et al. 2022). This document focuses on a single end-use savings shape measure: Residential Two-Stage Geothermal Heat Pump (4.0 COP, 20.5 EER). This document builds on details established in the single-stage document (Maguire et al. 2025) to detail differences in the approach to modeling this higher efficiency, but more commonly deployed, type of geothermal heat pump. Specific EnergyPlus objects and product specific curves used are highlighted along with showing the results of this measure compared to the baseline and single-speed geothermal heat pumps. Two-speed geothermal heat pumps are able to save even more energy and on utility bills than single-speed products, albeit at the expense of a higher first cost.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

ComStock Measure Scenario Documentation: Chiller Replacement

Building on a 3-year effort to calibrate and validate the U.S. Department of Energy's ResStock (TM) and ComStock (TM) models, this work produces national datasets that empower analysts working for federal, state, utility, city, and manufacturer stakeholders to answer a broad range of questions regarding their commercial building stock. ComStock is a highly granular, bottom-up model that uses multiple data sources, statistical sampling methods, and advanced building energy simulations to estimate the annual energy consumption (at a subhourly resolution) of the commercial building stock across the United States. The baseline model intends to represent the U.S. commercial building stock as it existed in 2018. The methodology and results of the baseline model are discussed in the final technical report of the End-Use Load Profiles project. The goal of this work is to develop energy efficiency and demand flexibility end-use load shapes that cover high-impact, market-ready (or nearly market-ready) measures. "Measures" refers to various "what-if" scenarios that can be applied to buildings. An end-use savings shape is the difference in energy consumption between a baseline building (or collection of buildings) and a building with an energy efficiency or demand flexibility measure applied. It results in a time-series profile broken down by end use and fuel (electricity or on-site gas, propane, or fuel oil use) at each time step, as well as annual aggregations. This report describes the modeling methodology for a single end-use savings shape measure - chiller replacement - and briefly introduces key results. The full public dataset can be accessed on the ComStock (TM) data lake or via the Data Viewer at comstock.nrel.gov. The public data set enables users to create custom aggregations of results for their use case (e.g., filter to a specific county).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

ComStock Measure Scenario Documentation: Standard Performance Heat Pump Rooftop Unit With New Windows

Building on a 3-year effort to calibrate and validate the U.S. Department of Energy's ResStock (TM) and ComStock (TM) models, this work produces national datasets that empower analysts working for federal, state, utility, city, and manufacturer stakeholders to answer a broad range of questions regarding their commercial building stock. ComStock is a highly granular, bottom-up model that uses multiple data sources, statistical sampling methods, and advanced building energy simulations to estimate the annual energy consumption (at subhourly resolution) of the commercial building stock across the United States. The baseline model intends to represent the U.S. commercial building stock as it existed in 2018. The methodology and results of the baseline model are discussed in the final technical report of the End-Use Load Profiles project. The goal of this work is to develop energy efficiency and demand flexibility end-use load shapes that cover high-impact, market-ready (or nearly market-ready) measures. "Measures" refers to various "what-if" scenarios that can be applied to buildings. An end-use savings shape is the difference in energy consumption between a baseline building (or collection of buildings) and a building with an energy efficiency or demand flexibility measure applied. It results in a time-series profile broken down by end use and fuel (electricity or on-site gas, propane, or fuel oil use) at each time step, as well as annual aggregations.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Boosting the performances of protonic solid oxide fuel cells for co-production of propylene and electricity from propane by integrating thermo- and electro- catalysis

Protonic solid oxide fuel cells (p-SOFC) integrated with clean thermal energy sources are promising platforms for decarbonized chemical production in addition to power generation, such as on-purpose propylene production from propane dehydrogenation (PDH). The catalytic performance of the conventional nickel-cermet-based anode materials in p-SOFC for propane conversion is restrained by their low active surface area and proneness to coking. In this work, by integration of a highly efficient industry-relevant thermal catalyst PtGa/ZSM-5 for PDH reaction, we demonstrate that both the electrochemical and catalytic performance of the propane-fueled p-SOFC can be effectively enhanced. The PtGa catalyst integrated p-SOFC exhibits a peak power density of 93 mW cm -2 at 600°C, which is greater by about 100% and 50% than that without catalyst or with a perovskite-based (Pr 0.3 Sr 0.7 ) 0.9 Ni 0.1 Ti 0.9 O 3 (PSNT) catalyst layer, respectively. The PDH activity and olefin selectivity of the PtGa catalyst is also significantly higher than that of the PSNT catalyst. In addition, much improved coke tolerance and propylene selectivity (over 90%) compared to the catalyst-free Ni-cermet anode materials were achieved by integrating the industrial catalyst layer. The propane conversion can be further improved by an applied current density, whereas the olefin selectivity is almost unaltered. The excellent performance of the PtGa catalyst integrated p-SOFC is attributed to the high surface area, intrinsically high catalytic activity, selectivity, and anti-coking properties of the catalytic layer for propane conversion. In conclusion, this work provides a general approach and a case study for boosting the performances of p-SOFCs in chemical production by integrating thermo- and electro- catalysis.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Techno-Economic, Feasibility, and Life Cycle Analysis of Renewable Propane: 2025 Update

To clarify the current and future landscape for renewable propane (RP) production, this work evaluates the value proposition of recovering RP from existing and planned hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) biorefineries and surveys emerging technologies under development or deployment. HEFA biorefineries co-produce a propane-rich fuel gas stream, normally used to meet HEFA process heat requirements, from which propane can be recovered and sold to create an additional revenue stream alongside liquid transportation fuels such as renewable diesel (RD) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This report updates and extends a 2022 analysis of RP recovery from HEFA facilities by escalating capital and operating costs to 2024 prices, incorporating recent policy developments (including the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit), evaluating RP recovery for both RD- and SAF-focused HEFA facilities at two scales (3,000 and 75,000 barrels per day of feedstock), and quantifying the impact of RP recovery on HEFA liquid-fuel carbon intensity (CI) and associated tax credits using the 45ZCF-GREET model. For a 3,000 BPD RD-focused HEFA facility, approximately 3.5 million gallons per year (MGPY) of RP can be recovered; in this base case, the estimated payback period is 18 months based on the total installed cost of the RP recovery equipment and 36 months based on the total capital investment for the entire RP recovery project. The payback period is slightly shorter for the analogous SAF-focused configuration (approximately 4.3 MGPY RP). Sensitivity analysis shows that CAPEX magnitude, RP recovery plant scale, and CI-driven tax credit valuations are the dominant determinants of project viability. RP recovery may increase the CI of HEFA liquid fuels, which can reduce liquid-fuel tax credits (a key revenue stream for the HEFA biorefinery) and lengthen payback periods. However, RP recovery generally remains economically favorable across a wide range of plausible scenarios and market conditions. The report also summarizes emerging pathways that could expand future RP supply.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Impact of low reactivity fuel type on low load combustion, emissions, and cyclic variations of diesel-ignited dual fuel combustion

In this study, cyclic variations in dual fuel combustion with diesel ignition of three different low reactivity fuels (methane, propane, and gasoline) are examined under identical operating conditions. Experiments were performed on a single cylinder research engine (SCRE) at a low load of 3.3 bar brake mean effective pressure (BMEP). The start of injection (SOI) of diesel was varied from 280 to 330 absolute crank angle degrees (CAD). Engine speed, rail pressure, and boost pressure were held constant at 1500 rpm, 500 bar, and 1.5 bar, respectively. The energy substituted by the low reactivity fuel was fixed at 80% of the total energy input. It was found that diesel-methane (DM) and diesel-propane (DP) combustion were affected by diesel mixing to a greater extent than diesel-gasoline (DG) combustion due to the higher reactivity of gasoline. The magnitude of low temperature heat release was greatest for DG combustion followed by DM and DP combustion for all SOIs. The ignition delay for DG combustion was the shortest, followed by DM and DP combustion. DM and DP combustion exhibited more cyclic variations than DG combustion. Cyclic variations decreased for DM and DP combustion when SOI was advanced; however, DG combustion cyclic variations remained essentially constant for all SOIs. Earlier SOIs (280, 290, 300, and 310 CAD) for DM and (280, 290, and 300 CAD) for DP combustion indicated some prior-cycle effects on the combustion and IMEP (i.e. some level of determinism).

Engineering↗

Impact of Oxygen Storage Components in Prototype Pd-Based Three-Way Catalysts under Exhaust Conditions Relevant to Propane Engines

With increasing concerns about global warming, the push for sustainable and eco-friendly fuels is accelerating. Propane, recognized as liquefied petroleum gas or LPG, has garnered research interest as an alternative fuel due to its notable advantages, including a high-octane rating, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and potential cost-effectiveness. However, to realize its full potential as an alternative fuel it is essential to develop catalysts that efficiently handle emissions at low temperatures. In our research, we investigated three distinct palladium (Pd)-based three-way catalyst (TWC) formulations (PdRh, Pd-only, and Pd-OSC) to investigate the influence of typical TWC components rhodium (Rh) and oxygen storage components (OSC) in exhaust scenarios relevant to propane-fueled engines. Among these, the formulation containing oxygen storage components (Pd-OSC) showed the highest reactivity for both NO and C 3 H 8 while minimizing performance degradation from hydrothermal aging (HTA). Notably, the temperature of 50% conversion (T50) for propane in the Pd-OSC fresh and HTA sample was lower by 30 °C and 13 °C, respectively, compared to the Pd-only sample, highlighting the role of oxygen storage materials in enhancing catalyst performance, even without dithering. Additionally, N 2 physisorption showed that the PdOSC sample has a higher surface area and increased pore volume. This underscores the idea that OSC materials not only augment the catalyst’s porosity but also optimize reactant accessibility to active sites, thus elevating catalytic efficiency. In addition to evaluating performance, we further explored the performance and characteristics of the catalysts using catalytic probe reactions, such as water–gas shift and steam reforming reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Cost-Optimized Cold Climate Heat Pump Development and Field Test

Cold climate heat pumps (CCHPs) expand the heat pump market to climates where heating demand is dominant. They can achieve more than 70% energy savings compared with electric resistance heating and operate at lower cost than using tank-stored propane to fuel a furnace. A high-efficiency heat pump with a heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF)—as defined by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI 2008)—greater than 10.0 would be more efficient than gas heating in terms of source energy. However, developing a cost-effective CCHP involves some challenges. A typical single-speed, air-source heat pump (ASHP) with an HSPF of 7.7 Btu/Wh does not work well under cold outdoor temperature conditions typical of cold climate locations for four major reasons: 1. Discharge temperature is too high—The low suction pressure and high compression pressure ratio at low ambient temperatures causes high compressor discharge temperatures in excess of the maximum limit for many of the compressors on the market. Furthermore, system charge of a heat pump is usually optimized in the cooling mode, which leads to overcharge conditions in the heating mode, further increasing the discharge temperature. 2. Heating capacity is insufficient if sized to meet the building design cooling load— Heating capacity of a single-speed heat pump decreases with ambient temperature. The heating capacity at -13°F (-25°C) typically decreases to 20%–40% of the rated heating capacity at 47°F (8.3°C) (~equivalent to the rated cooling capacity at 95°F [35°C]). Therefore, a single-speed heat pump, typically sized to match the building design cooling load, cannot provide adequate heating capacity to match the building heating load at low ambient temperatures. The capacity deficit is filled by inefficient resistance heat, thus lowering the system efficiency and significantly increasing power demand. 3. Cyclic loss is significant if sized to meet the building design heating load—If a single-speed heat pump is sized to meet the heating load, it will be significantly oversized relative to the cooling load in many cold climates. This will cause excessive on/off cyclic loss during the cooling and heating operations at moderately low ambient temperatures. Thus, capacity modulation capability (e.g., using a variable-speed or multi-stage compressor) is necessary for a CCHP, which uses its full capacity to meet the peak heating load and partial capacity to meet the cooling and part-load heating loads. 4. Coefficient of performance (COP) is low—Heating COP degrades significantly at low ambient temperatures owing to the large temperature difference between the heat source and sink. A target CCHP should be sized to meet the building design heating load while minimizing the cyclic loss for the cooling and heating operations at moderate ambient temperatures.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

End-Use Savings Shapes Measure Documentation: Electric Cooking Equipment

Building on the successfully completed effort to calibrate and validate the U.S. Department of Energy’s ResStock™ and ComStock™ models over the past three years, the objective of this work is to produce national datasets that empower analysts working for federal, state, utility, city, and manufacturer stakeholders to answer a broad range of analysis questions. The goal of this work is to develop energy efficiency, electrification, and demand flexibility end-use load shapes (electricity, gas, propane, or fuel oil) that cover most of the high-impact, market-ready (or nearly market-ready) measures. “Measures” refers to energy efficiency variables that can be applied to buildings during modeling.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Development of a High-Pressure Fuel Injection System for Use with Propane-DME

Paper details the design approach and performance of a high-pressure common rail fuel injection system used with Propane-DME mixtures targeting high injection pressures on a light duty 2.2L inline-4 compression ignition engine. The study estimates the bulk modulus of elasticity based on the hardware geometry and operating pressures to assess the compressibility of Propane and DME across a range of pressures typical of the LD engine application. The compressibility factor ranges from 500 to 3000 bar, significantly lower than the theoretical values for the conditions tested. The high-pressure pump performance is optimized via the implementation of an inlet metering valve operated on a crank-angle open/close sequence to control pressure at the common rail. The application of a model-based controller and the use of high-speed sampling of rail pressure indicate that pressure at the rail can be attained with the pump metering valve, and without use of the pressure relieve valve present in the rail. Results show a significant reduction on pumping work parasitics and of fuel heating, on the order of 40°C, at typical working conditions with the proposed approach. Injector rates of injection with Propane-DME are very similar to those of Diesel. Paper compares bench data of rates of injection versus simulation predictions across operating pressures of 200 to 1000bar and from injection commands spanning 0.20 to 2.0ms. Furthermore, the accuracy of the model predictions are attributed in part by to the updated fuel compressibility modulus descriptions attained during the testing.

42 ENGINEERING↗

A Study of Propane Combustion in a Spark-Ignited Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) Engine

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), whose primary composition is propane, is a promising candidate for heavy-duty vehicle applications as a diesel fuel alternative due to its CO 2 reduction potential and high knock resistance. To realize diesel-like efficiencies, spark-ignited LPG engines are proposed to operate near knock-limit over a wide range of operating conditions, which necessitates an investigation of fuel-engine interactions that leads to end-gas autoignition with propane combustion. This work presents both experimental and numerical studies of stoichiometric propane combustion in a sparkignited (SI) cooperative fuel research (CFR) engine. Engine experiments are initially conducted at different compression ratio (CR) values, and the effects of CR on engine combustion are characterized. A three-pressure analysis (TPA) model based on the two-zone combustion concept is developed in GT-Power and validated using test results to estimate in-cylinder wall temperatures, residual gas fraction, etc. This model is further utilized to examine end-gas chemistry by enabling the SI turbulent flame combustion and unburned gas chemical kinetics modules. Finally, a three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model of the CFR engine is developed in CONVERGE, where the G-equation and SAGE detailed chemical kinetics models are implemented for combustion modeling. Here, a 153 species reduced chemical kinetics mechanism derived from the detailed NUIGMech1.1 mechanism based on the ignition delay and laminar flame speed (LFS) studies is used to generate an LFS lookup table and to describe end-gas autoignition chemistry. Multi-cycle Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations are then performed for the tested CRs, and the numerical model is shown to be capable of predicting the propane combustion characteristics, particularly the end-gas autoignition behavior.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Projected Operational Energy Life Cycle Data 2025

These excel files contain the environmental emission projections for key building energy sources: electricity, natural gas, propane (LPG), and fuel oil. The sources and methods are provided in the report "Projected Operational Energy Life Cycle Data Development: 2025 Update." The report and data are an update to the data previously posted here: https://netl.doe.gov/energy-analysis/details?id=f8890fac-be55-44ac-aaa9-e2888bfabe93

annual energy outlook↗

Evaluation of Safety Standards for Fuel System and Fuel Container Integrity of Alternative Fuel Vehicles

There are two Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) in place that specify requirements for integrity of the fuel system and fuel container on compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel vehicles. These are FMVSS Nos. 303, “Fuel system integrity of compressed natural gas vehicles,” and FMVSS No. 304, “CNG fuel container integrity.” At this time, no FMVSS are defined for the fuel system and fuel container integrity of propane and liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles or fuel system integrity requirements for heavy-duty CNG vehicles on the road. However, there are voluntary industry design standards and best practices, as well as regulations defined in other countries. FMVSS No. 303 specifies requirements for the integrity of the CNG fuel system of light-duty vehicles and school buses, and FMVSS No. 304 specifies requirements for fuel container integrity on all CNG vehicles. FMVSS No. 304 applies to containers used for vehicle propulsion, whereas containers used to transport CNG and transportation of CNG containers are regulated by the DOT Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. FMVSS Nos. 303 and 304 are performance-based standards to consistently test and validate equipment and are not design restrictive. Despite the increasing number of natural gas and propane medium- and heavy-duty vehicles on the road, there are no FMVSS fuel system integrity requirements beyond light-duty and school buses for CNG vehicles and no FMVSS fuel system integrity requirements for propane vehicles. NHTSA is researching fuel system safety for medium- and heavy-duty natural gas and propane vehicles to update FMVSS Nos. 303 and 304. NHTSA is also researching current best practices and standards for high pressure fuel tanks in motor vehicles as they may apply to FMVSS No. 304.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Piston geometry and stroke optimization for high efficiency propane spark ignition engines

Propane has unique properties and offers interesting characteristics for high-efficiency spark ignition engines. Its high volatility reduces or completely eliminates fuel-wall wetting and facilitates fuel air mixing. Furthermore, propane has a research octane number of 112 and a high octane sensitivity of 15. Finally, its laminar flame speed is on the same order as that of conventional gasoline, and it exhibits high dilution tolerance. Modern spark ignition internal combustion engines rely on fast combustion rates and high dilution to achieve high brake thermal efficiencies. To accomplish this, high stroke-to-bore ratios and high geometric compression ratios have been used in new engine designs. Therefore, propane’s relatively high laminar flame speeds, high knock resistance, and dilution tolerance make it an excellent candidate fuel for modern spark ignition engines. The objective of this work is to co-optimize the piston geometry and the engine stroke to maximize the efficiency of a spark-ignition engine fueled with propane. 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations employing the extended coherent flamelet model were used to study the parametric effects of piston shape and stroke length. A piston geometry based on high performing pistons was parameterized using four controlling parameters. The piston geometry and engine stroke design space was explored using deterministic and quasi-random sampling techniques. In conclusion, a Gaussian process regression model was built using the simulation data to explain the results observed.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗