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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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DOE OSTI2025

Impact of Storage Conditions on the Quality and Viability of Switchgrass as a Bioenergy Crop

With growing energy demands and climate concerns, advancements in bioenergy have become imperative. Biofuels promote energy independence, reduce fossil fuel reliance, and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatumis) is an ideal bioenergy crop due to its ability to thrive on marginal lands unsuitable for food crops and its drought tolerance, rendering it a low-maintenance, high-yield option. In the bioenergy industry, energy crops are typically stored to facilitate supply chain management and ensure a continuous supply despite seasonal availability. However, the effective utilization of bioenergy crops is typically contingent upon addressing the challenges associated with biomass storage. These challenges include high moisture content that promotes biological degradation of the biomass leading to increased risk of pathogenic microbes, and chemical degradation that increases the ratio of inconvertible, inorganic materials. These issues lead to a reduction of feedstock value, diminishing the biomass-to-biofuel conversion efficacy, making switchgrass and other bioenergy crops less effective as fuel sources. This project aims to improve the storage of purpose-grown energy crops. Aerobic storage trials were conducted under varying moisture contents to stimulate real-world environmental exposure. Switchgrass samples were rewetted to 30% or 35% and stored in a bioreactor for approximately one month, or until cellular respiration ceased. Degradation indicators, such as dry matter loss, temperature changes, and cellular respiration, were measured throughout this process. Samples for compositional analysis, 16S, and ITS were taken at three different time points: before, during, and after storage, to monitor changes in biomass, microbial communities, and metabolites over time. Preliminary data indicate that dry matter loss is proportional to cellular respiration, with higher moisture content (35%) leading to higher temperatures and elevated dry matter loss. Compositional analysis and microbial community analysis are in progress. This research will provide a comprehensive understanding of storage, helping to identify stability factors in energy crops and improve best management practices for biomass producers.

09 - BIOMASS FUELS↗

NASA NTRS1974

Design and performance of Skylab thermal/environmental control system

The function of the thermal/environmental control systems was to provide a comfortable thermal environment for the crew, to cool electronic components, to supply a controlled oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere, and to remove moisture, carbon dioxide, odors, and trace contaminants from the atmosphere. A separate refrigeration system was used to chill and freeze food and biomedical samples and to provide cold water for drinking. This paper describes system design and compares in-flight performance to preflight predictions. A discussion of in-flight anomalies and corrective actions is also included.

Hopson, G. D.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The Physical/Chemical Closed-Loop Life Support Research Project

The various elements of the Physical/Chemical Closed-Loop Life Support Research Project (P/C CLLS) are described including both those currently funded and those planned for implementation at ARC and other participating NASA field centers. The plan addresses the entire range of regenerative life support for Space Exploration Initiative mission needs, and focuses initially on achieving technology readiness for the Initial Lunar Outpost by 1995-97. Project elements include water reclamation, air revitalization, solid waste management, thermal and systems control, and systems integration. Current analysis estimates that each occupant of a space habitat will require a total of 32 kg/day of supplies to live and operate comfortably, while an ideal P/C CLLS system capable of 100 percent reclamation of air and water, but excluding recycling of solid wastes or foods, will reduce this requirement to 3.4 kg/day.

Bilardo, Vincent J., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1998

A Numerical Study of the Effect of Periodic Nutrient Supply on Pathways of Carbon in a Coastal Upwelling Regime

A size-based ecosystem model was modified to include periodic upwelling events and used to evaluate the effect of episodic nutrient supply on the standing stock, carbon uptake, and carbon flow into mesozooplankton grazing and sinking flux in a coastal upwelling regime. Two ecosystem configurations were compared: a single food chain made up of net phytoplankton and mesozooplankton (one autotroph and one heterotroph, A1H1), and three interconnected food chains plus bacteria (three autotrophs and four heterotrophs, A3H4). The carbon pathways in the A1H1 simulations were under stronger physical control than those of the A3H4 runs, where the small size classes are not affected by frequent upwelling events. In the more complex food web simulations, the microbial pathway determines the total carbon uptake and grazing rates, and regenerated nitrogen accounts for more than half of the total primary production for periods of 20 days or longer between events. By contrast, new production, export of carbon through sinking and mesozooplankton grazing are more important in the A1H1 simulations. In the A3H4 simulations, the turnover time scale of the autotroph biomass increases as the period between upwelling events increases, because of the larger contribution of slow-growing net phytoplankton. The upwelling period was characterized for three upwelling sites from the alongshore wind speed measured by the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) and the corresponding model output compared with literature data. This validation exercise for three upwelling sites and a downstream embayment suggests that standing stock, carbon uptake and size fractionation were best supported by the A3H4 simulations, while the simulated sinking fluxes are not distinguishable in the two configurations.

Carr, Mary-Elena↗

NASA NTRS2010

Chemical Analysis Results for Potable Water from ISS Expeditions 21 to 25

The Johnson Space Center Water and Food Analytical Laboratory (WAFAL) performed detailed ground-based analyses of archival water samples for verification of the chemical quality of the International Space Station (ISS) potable water supplies for Expeditions 21 to 25. Over a 14-month period, the Space Shuttle visited the ISS on five occasions to complete construction and deliver supplies. The onboard supplies of potable water available for consumption by the Expeditions 21 to 25 crews consisted of Russian ground-supplied potable water, Russian potable water regenerated from humidity condensate, and US potable water recovered from urine distillate and condensate. Chemical archival water samples that were collected with U.S. hardware during Expeditions 21 to 25 were returned on Shuttle flights STS-129 (ULF3), STS-130 (20A), STS-131 (19A), STS-132 (ULF4) and STS-133 (ULF5), as well as on Soyuz flights 19-22. This paper reports the analytical results for the returned archival water samples and evaluates their compliance with ISS water quality standards. The WAFAL also received and analyzed aliquots of some Russian potable water samples collected in-flight and pre-flight samples of Rodnik potable water delivered to the Station on the Russian Progress vehicle during Expeditions 21 to 25. These additional analytical results are also reported and discussed in this paper.

Straub, John E., II↗

NASA NTRS2011

Chemical Analysis Results for Potable Water from ISS Expeditions 21 Through 25

The Johnson Space Center Water and Food Analytical Laboratory (WAFAL) performed detailed ground-based analyses of archival water samples for verification of the chemical quality of the International Space Station (ISS) potable water supplies for Expeditions 21 through 25. Over a 14-month period the Space Shuttle visited the ISS on four occasions to complete construction and deliver supplies. The onboard supplies of potable water available for consumption by the Expeditions 21 to 25 crews consisted of Russian ground-supplied potable water, Russian potable water regenerated from humidity condensate, and US potable water recovered from urine distillate and condensate. Chemical archival water samples that were collected with U.S. hardware during Expeditions 21 to 25 were returned on Shuttle flights STS-129 (ULF3), STS-130 (20A), STS-131 (19A), and STS-132 (ULF4), as well as on Soyuz flights 19-23. This paper reports the analytical results for these returned potable water archival samples and their compliance with ISS water quality standards.

Straub, John E., II↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Influence of Viability, Independence, and Self-Governance on Trust and Public Acceptance of Uncrewed Air Vehicle Operations

Trust is expected to be a critical construct that drives successful use of advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies. As yet, though, the role of trust in human-autonomy interaction is underexplored. Kaber (2018) argues that autonomy requires the highest level of three independent dimensions -- viability, independence, and self-governance. The present study examined whether trust varies across the three dimensions of autonomy under varying levels of risk. Participants in the high-risk group read a series of vignettes on a drone that delivers medical supplies over a city where the current study was conducted. Participants in the low-risk group read a series of vignettes on a drone that delivers fast food over a fictitious city. Each vignette described a drone that is either autonomous (i.e., possesses all dimensions) or automated (i.e., one of the dimensions is compromised). Results imply that the three dimensions of autonomy do not equally influence human-technology trust and behavior.

Advanced Air Mobility↗

NASA NTRS2014

International Space Station Potable Water Characterization for 2013

In this post-construction, operational phase of International Space Station (ISS) with an ever-increasing emphasis on its use as a test-bed for future exploration missions, the ISS crews continue to rely on water reclamation systems for the majority of their water needs. The onboard water supplies include US Segment potable water from humidity condensate and urine, Russian Segment potable water from condensate, and ground-supplied potable water, as reserve. In 2013, the cargo returned on the Soyuz 32-35 flights included archival potable water samples collected from Expeditions 34-37. The Water and Food Analytical Laboratory at the NASA Johnson Space Center continued its long-standing role of performing chemical analyses on ISS return water samples to verify compliance with potable water quality specifications. This paper presents and discusses the analytical results for potable water samples returned from Expeditions 34-37, including a comparison to ISS quality standards. During the summer of 2013, the U.S. Segment potable water experienced an anticipated temporary rise and fall in total organic carbon (TOC) content, as the result of organic contamination breaking through the water system's treatment process. Analytical results for the Expedition 36 archival samples returned on Soyuz 34 confirmed that dimethylsilanediol was once again the responsible contaminant, just as it was for comparable TOC rises in 2010 and 2012. Discussion herein includes the use of the in-flight Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) as a key monitoring tool for tracking these TOC rises and scheduling appropriate remediation action.

Straub, John E. II↗

NASA NTRS1967

The Effects of Controlled Environment on the Growth of Hydrogenomonas Bacteria in Continuous Cultures

The continuous culture of Hydrogenomonas is the intermediate step of a three-step closed life support cycle directed to the conversion of the human metabolic wastes, urea and carbon dioxide, into breathable oxygen and a food supplement. The potential advantages of this scheme have been discussed in an earlier paper. The other two steps of the complete cycle are: (1) The collection and recovery of the C02 removed from the cabin atmosphere by a regenerable C02 absorber, so that relatively pure C02 gas can be fed into the gas phase of the continuous culture; and (2) the electrolysis of water to produce breathable oxygen for the cabin supply, and by-product hydrogen, which is also fed to the gas phase of the closed culture vessel. There are three specific advantages in the use of this culture: (1) the bacteria use waste urea as a sole nitrogen source during growth, together with the C02 waste as a carbon source; the harvested excess of cells from a steady-state culture is a potential food for man; (2) the organism is not photosynthetic, so the equipment designer need not confine the culture in thin layers to have light available to all parts as is necessary in photosynthesis; and (3) the culture uses the by-product hydrogen from electrolysis as an energy source. Some oxygen must also be supplied to the culture environment, because the energy of the growth process is derived from the metabolic hydrogen-oxygen reaction, with the production of water that can be recycled to the electrolysis cell.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL↗

DOE OSTI2020

Outdoor Home Gardener Preferences for Environmental Attributes in Gardening Supplies and Use of Ecofriendly Gardening Practices

Home gardeners’ concerns for the environment are expressed both in the ecofriendly gardening practices they use and in environmental attributes they prefer in the gardening products they purchase. This study uses data from a 2018 survey of 601 Tennessee outdoor home gardeners and a multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model to illustrate how outdoor home gardener demographics, expenditures, information use, and attitudes influence use of ecofriendly gardening practices and preferences for environmental attributes in home gardening supplies. Practices considered include planting pollinator plants, using rainwater collectors, composting, recycling gardening supplies packaging, using organic gardening methods, and use of soil testing. Gardening supply product attributes include decreased need for fertilizer, pesticides, and water; native plant species; organically produced products; and recyclable packaging. The most widely used practice is recycling gardening supplies packaging, and the least used is soil testing. Gardeners with a greater propensity to use the six gardening practices include male, college graduates, who spend relatively more of their income on gardening supplies, and consider themselves as being knowledgeable about environmental issues. The gardening supply product attribute most widely considered as important is decreased need for pesticides, and least widely considered as important are native species and organically produced. Gardeners more likely to prefer the six gardening supply product attributes include older gardeners, who seek other gardeners for information, and who perceived themselves as being knowledgeable about the environment. This same group likes to grow their own food and feels responsibility for protecting the environment for future generations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

Connected Loads – Grid Connected Appliances: Commercial Refrigeration System Fault Detection and Diagnostics

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2022

Connected Loads – Grid Connected Appliances: Deployment IoT Solution for Fault Detection and Diagnostics

As one of the most energy-intensive end-uses in the commercial buildings sector, supermarkets consume around 50 kWh/ft 2 ( or 537.6 kWh/m 2 ) of electricity annually, or more than 2 million kWh of electricity per year for a typical store. The biggest consumer of energy in a supermarket is its refrigeration system, which accounts for 40–60% of its total electricity usage and is equivalent to about 2–3% of the total energy consumed by commercial buildings in United States, or around 0.5 quadrillion Btu (or 0.53 quadrillion KJ). Also, the supermarket refrigeration system is one of the biggest consumers of refrigerants. Current supermarket refrigeration systems rely on high global warming potential hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants. Reducing refrigerant usage or using environment friendly alternatives can result in significant climate benefits. Transcritical CO2 refrigeration systems have attracted more attention in recent years because of their zero-carbon emission advantages compared with traditional refrigerants. These systems are widely used in commercial buildings such as supermarkets. The refrigeration system can also be adapted to handle flexible building loads and be integrated into grid response transactive control to balance the supply and demand of the electric grid. Even minor improvements in the efficiency and operational reliability of supermarket refrigeration systems can create significant value in terms of saving energy, improving food quality, protecting the environment, reducing carbon footprint, and enhancing electric grid resilience. For decarbonization, the new administration has set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50– 52% by 2030 and targeting a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. For electrification, the goal is to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035. Such decarbonization and electrification in the building sector require that energy consumption in buildings be reduced significantly. Therefore, the building sector must continuously adopt new technologies to achieve its energy and carbon emission goals. One of the most fundamental technologies is the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT has proven to be an effective solution for the building domain, including building information/energy modeling, smart buildings, etc. Although much progress has been made in the development of IoT-based building energy systems, there is still a lack of reliable, scalable, and affordable IoT-based automated fault and degradation diagnostics (AFDDs) solutions. Such solutions would enable deployment of advanced algorithms into real systems to archive the projected energy benefits. This study reviews existing IoT solutions developed for building energy– related application and developed a simple but effective AFDD IoT deployment solution, including developing a suitable IoT architecture and conducting easy and scalable deployment by leveraging a common cloud-based IoT service.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NASA NTRS1983

Device Stores and Discharges Metered Fluid

Hand-held container accepts measured amount of liquid from pressurized supply. Supply pressure drives spring-loaded piston that stores enough mechanical energy to discharge measured liquid into another container. Original application of container was to rehydrate sterilized pre-packaged food in zerogravity environment of space vehicles. Possible terrestrial applicatios include dispensing of toxic fluids or metering of fluids for household, commercial or laboratory uses.

Hooper, S. L.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Design requirements for a Mars base greenhouse

One potential method of supplying life support to a manned base on Mars utilizes a Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS). A major component of the CELSS is a plant growth unit to produce food. This paper describes the results of several experiments conducted to determine whether or not a low atmospheric pressure greenhouse could be used to grow crop plants on the Martian surface. The results of these experiments are described and integrated with other information to produce a set of design requirements and a conceptual design for such a greenhouse.

Schwartzkopf, Steven H.↗

NASA NTRS2014

International Space Station Potable Water Characterization for 2013

In this post-construction, operational phase of International Space Station (ISS) with an ever-increasing emphasis on its use as a test-bed for future exploration missions, the ISS crews continue to rely on water reclamation systems for the majority of their water needs. The onboard water supplies include U.S. Segment potable water from humidity condensate and urine, Russian Segment potable water from condensate, and ground-supplied potable water, as reserve. In 2013, the cargo returned on the Soyuz 32-35 flights included archival potable water samples collected from Expeditions 34-37. The former Water and Food Analytical Laboratory (now Toxicology and Evironmental Chemistry Laboratory) at the NASA Johnson Space Center continued its long-standing role of performing chemical analyses on ISS return water samples to verify compliance with potable water quality specifications. This paper presents and discusses the analytical results for potable water samples returned from Expeditions 34-37, including a comparison to ISS quality standards. During the summer of 2013, the U.S. Segment potable water experienced a third temporary rise and fall in total organic carbon (TOC) content, as the result of organic contamination breaking through the water system's treatment process. Analytical results for the Expedition 36 archival samples returned on Soyuz 34 confirmed that dimethylsilanediol was once again the responsible contaminant, just as it was for the previous comparable TOC rises in 2010 and 2012. Discussion herein includes the use of the in-flight total organic carbon analyzer (TOCA) as a key monitoring tool for tracking these TOC rises and scheduling appropriate remediation.

Straub, John E., II↗

NASA NTRS2010

Dual Use of Packaging on the Moon: Logistics-2-Living

This paper describes a modular packaging system for logistics that can be reconfigured into internal outfitting for a lunar outpost, including desks, chairs, partitions, cabinets, and radiation shielding. Logistics include clothes, equipment, food, and other consumables needed to sustain the crew for the duration of the mission. A significant mass penalty is required for the packaging and handling of logistics for re-supply of short to long-term space missions that must be brought out of the gravity well on a launch vehicle. Once the supplies have been exhausted, the packaging material is typically of no further use and is discarded. If a scheme can be developed that reuses the logistics packaging, the mass penalty can be reduced. In this research, a modular packaging system has been devised as a kit-of-parts that can be used for both handling logistics supplies, and then reconfigured into desks, chairs, partitions, cabinets, and radiation shielding. The system is derived from a standard International Space Station (ISS)-type Cargo Transfer Bag (CTB), using soft, unfoldable box-like containers with stiff metal inserts. The empty hydrogen-impregnated CTBs can be used as-is for cabinets, opened up for use as partitions, or draped over the habitat as layers of radiation shielding. Stiff metal inserts can be reconfigured into desks and other useful outfitting.

recycle and reuse↗

DOE OSTI2025

Upstream considerations for gas fermentation processes

Gas fermentation enables the production of fuels, chemicals, and foods from gaseous carbon sources and could serve as a technology for valorizing carbon that may otherwise be emitted to the atmosphere. In this review, we focus on upstream feedstock considerations: the supply of carbon and the supply of electrical power. Electrical power serves a dual role, providing both process energy and biochemical redox potential (via hydrogen or reduced intermediates). We define gas fermentation as bioprocesses involving gaseous feedstocks metabolized by microbes, distinct from microbial electrosynthesis. Trends in CO 2 point sources and low-carbon electricity systems are analyzed, highlighting opportunities and challenges for future deployment. This review synthesizes current knowledge and identifies key R&D priorities for process integration at industrial scale.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Alloy selective optical sorting of mixed post-consumer aluminum scrap streams

Shredded post-consumer non-ferrous scrap stream, also known as Zorba, contains a mixture of cast and wrought aluminum pieces with very different compositions. Cast Al pieces, with their high Si, Cu and Fe content, are a major contaminant in wrought scrap fraction, which results in downcycling of the mixed cast + wrought scrap into non-structural cast Al alloys and parts. Here, in this paper, we introduce a chemical treatment method to color-code scrap aluminum pieces by alloy family and demonstrate low-cost optical sorting of cast from wrought pieces to upgrade the scrap stream. We utilized non-acidic chemical solutions that react with (i.e., etch) the scrap pieces to produce colors based on the Al alloy chemistry of a given piece. Cast pieces with high Si and Cu fractions turned black, whereas the much leaner wrought pieces remained unreacted. We showed > 95% sorting efficiency of mixed cast and wrought pieces using a repurposed low-cost optical sorter originally designed for food sorting. We also colored wrought Al pieces by alloy families, such as 5xxx and 6xxx, using a two-step chemical etching technique, which has the potential to create a circular supply chain in which wrought aluminum alloys are sorted from the mixed scrap stream and recycled back to high-value wrought products such as sheets, extrusions, and forgings with minimal contamination from cast scrap.

Aluminum↗