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At least 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Effect of Char Loading on Reduction Kinetics of Cu-Based Oxygen Carriers in a Drop-Tube Fluidized-Bed Reactor at Temperatures from 850 to 1100 °C: Experiment and CFD Modeling

Chemical-looping combustion with oxygen uncoupling (CLOU) is a process using gaseous or solid hydrocarbon fuels and is a promising carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. In CLOU, combustion of the fuel is achieved through the release of gaseous O 2 from an oxygen carrier material such as CuO and is favored at high temperatures and low O 2 partial pressures. The primary objectives of this study were to (1) compare values for the apparent rate constant k ov ( T ) for the overall rate of reduction of a CuO carrier, either alone or in the presence of coal char obtained from the pyrolysis of Powder River Basin (PRB) coal, and (2) develop and validate a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for the CuO/PRB coal char system based on known kinetics of the individual CuO and Cu 2 O reduction, combustion, and gasification reactions. Two oxygen carriers consisting of 20 wt % CuO/Al 2 O 3 and 9 wt % CuO/Al 2 O 3 were prepared by physical mixing and by incipient wetness impregnation (IWI), respectively. Kinetic analyses were conducted in the temperature range of 850–1100 °C. The CFD model typically reproduced experimental values of k ov ( T ) to within ±10%. We note the increase in k ov ( T ) caused by addition of only 0.075 g of PRB char per gram of CuO was modest at 1100 °C, but was more than 3-fold at 850 °C. Combustion and gasification of the coal char not only produced CO, opening another pathway for CuO reduction in addition to the CLOU reaction, but also resulted in the over-reduction of Cu 2 O to the undesired metallic Cu. Production of Cu metal increased with respect to char loading.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Chapter 10: Economics and Perspectives of Hydrogen Electroproduction Techniques

Techno-economic analysis (TEA) plays a critical role in assessing the cost of a technology relative to the current market, in identifying high impact areas for research and development investment, and in informing relevant stakeholders. In this chapter we discuss three main topics: (1) an overview of TEA, its processes, methods, and considerations for developing a good TEA framework; (2) description of the U.S. Department of Energy's H2A Production Model which is used for evaluating their portfolio of hydrogen production research; and (3) a synopsis of currently published H2A case studies illustrating the application of techno-economic analysis to hydrogen production technologies. These technologies include polymer membrane and solid oxide electrolysis, photo-electrochemical, methane steam reforming, coal gasification and use of biomass (via gasification or bio-derived liquids) and solar thermal routes to hydrogen. From the analyses comparisons between various technological approaches can be made in terms of costs, implementation, investment and versatility.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2015

Evolution, kinetics, energetics, and environmental factors of graphene degradation on silicon dioxide

Recent studies have qualitatively shown that the oxidative stability of monolayer graphene integrated on oxides is relatively poor. Here, the evolution, kinetics, and energetics of this degradation are quantified. Specifically, the deterioration of graphene on SiO 2 is studied in grain interiors and at grain boundaries in ambient air, dry air and nitrogen between 473 and 673 K, using spatially and temporally resolved in situ Raman spectroscopy in addition to electron microscopy and charge transport measurements. The grain interiors of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown graphene monolayers oxidize with an activation energy of 0.63 ± 0.05 eV in ambient air (15 000 ppm H 2 O). This energy increases to 1.85 ± 0.17 eV in dry air, whereas degradation is immeasurable in nitrogen and for multilayers even in ambient air. Gasification at grain boundaries in a CVD monolayer proceeds at a rate of (1.08 ± 0.02) × 10 -1 nm s -1 at 673 K with an activation energy E A = 1.14 ± 0.10 eV in ambient air. The more facile degradation of the monolayer grain interiors in ambient air indicates the role of the substrate in decreasing the stability against oxidation. The electrical transport mobility decays with an activation rate similar to that of grain interiors. In conclusion, these results can be used to quantitatively predict graphene oxidation and gasification on SiO 2 in different environments and temperatures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Scalable fabrication of micron-scale graphene nanomeshes for high-performance supercapacitor applications

Graphene nanomeshes (GNMs) with nanoscale periodic or quasi-periodic nanoholes have attracted considerable interest because of unique features such as their open energy band gap, enlarged specific surface area, and high optical transmittance. These features are useful for applications in semiconducting devices, photocatalysis, sensors, and energy-related systems. We report on the facile and scalable preparation of multifunctional micron-scale GNMs with high-density of nanoperforations by catalytic carbon gasification. The catalytic carbon gasification process induces selective decomposition on the graphene adjacent to the metal catalyst, thus forming nanoperforations. Furthermore, the pore size, pore density distribution, and neck size of the GNMs can be controlled by adjusting the size and fraction of the metal oxide on graphene. The fabricated GNM electrodes exhibit superior electrochemical properties for supercapacitor (ultracapacitor) applications, including exceptionally high capacitance (253 F g -1 at 1 A g -1 ) and high rate capability (212 F g -1 at 100 A g -1 ) with excellent cycle stability (91% of the initial capacitance after 50 000 charge/discharge cycles). Moreover, the edge-enriched structure of GNMs plays an important role in achieving edge-selected and high-level nitrogen doping.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Analysis of Planar-Cavity Receiver Reactor for Solar Thermochemical Dry-Reforming

Concentrating solar thermal (CST) systems can be leveraged to provide not only heat for power generation, but also for energy storage and thermochemical fuel production. Such solar thermochemical processes have been studied conceptually, from solar thermochemical hydrogen production (STCH) and thermochemical energy storage (TCES), to gasification, reforming, and fuel upgrading by various means. The solar receiver and reactor are critical components in the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy in the form of 'solar fuels'. For effective conversion of solar energy within a coupled solar receiver-reactor, extremely high temperatures are required, thereby demanding a high solar concentration ratio (CR) for efficient operation. This creates a design challenge for the receiver-reactor, as many thermochemical processes involve gas or gas-solid systems that are limited by low heat transfer coefficients. A unique receiver design is proposed that has the potential to incorporate various high-temperature thermochemical processes such as TCES-assisted power generation, methane reforming, or STCH processes. Modeling this receiver and its potential applications requires a full three-dimensional model that accurately captures the interconnected effects of receiver geometry, spatial solar irradiance, complex radiation, reaction kinetics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer. In this paper we analyze a CST system integrated with this unique planar-cavity receiver-reactor design using the developed model. The model presented in this paper showed where improved thermal management was needed to achieve suitable receiver performance when a dry-methane reforming process is implemented.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

AOI [3] High-Temperature Nano-Derived Micro-H 2 and - H 2 S Sensors

The emissions from coal-fired power plants remain a significant concern for air quality. This environmental challenge must be overcome by controlling the emission of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) throughout the entire coal combustion process. One of the processes which could specifically benefit from robust, low cost, and high temperature compatible gas sensors is the coal gasification process which converts coal and/or biomass into syngas. Hydrogen (H 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO) and sulfur compounds make up 33%, 43% and 2% of syngas, respectively. Therefore, development of a high temperature (>500°C) chemical sensor for in-situ monitoring of H 2 , H 2 S and SO2 2 levels during coal gasification is strongly desired. The selective detection of SO 2 /H 2 S in the presence of H 2 , is a formidable task for a sensor designer. In order to ensure effective operation of these chemical sensors, the sensor system must inexpensively function within harsh temperature and chemical environment. Currently available sensing approaches, which are based on gas chromatography, electrochemistry, and IR-spectroscopy, do not satisfy the required cost and performance targets. This work focused on the development microsensors that can be applied to this application. In order to develop the high- temperature compatible microsensor, this work addressed various issues related to sensor stability, selectivity, and miniaturization. In the research project entitled “High-Temperature Nano-Derived Micro-H 2 and -H 2 S Sensors”, the team worked to develop micro-scale, chemical sensors and sensor arrays composed of nano-derived, metal-oxide composite materials to detect gases like H 2 , SO 2 , and H 2 S within high-temperature environments (>500°C). The research was completed in collaboration with NexTech Materials, Ltd. (Lewis Center, Ohio). NexTech assisted in the testing of the sensors in syngas with contaminate levels of H 2 S. The idea of including nanomaterials as the sensing material within resistive-type chemical sensor platforms was to increase the sensitivity (as shown for room temperature applications). Unfortunately, nanomaterials are not stable at high temperatures due to sintering and coarsening processes that are driven by their high surface to volume ratio. Therefore, new hydrogen and sulfur selective nanomaterial systems with high selectivity and stability properties in the proposed harsh environment were investigated. Different nano-morphologies of zirconate, molybdate, and tungstate compounds were investigated. The fabrication of the microsensors consisted of the deposition of the selective nanomaterial systems over metal based interconnects on an inert substrate. This work utilized the chemi-resistive (resistive- type) microsensor architecture where the chemically and structurally stable, high temperature compatible electrodes were sputtered onto a ceramic substrate. The nanomaterial sensing systems were deposited over the electrodes using a lost mold method patterned by conventional optical lithography. The microsensor configuration with optimized nanomaterial system was tested and compared to a millimeter-size sensor e outcomes of this research will contribute to the economical application of sensor arrays for simultaneous sensing of H 2 , H 2 S, and SO 2 .

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2014

Jointly Sponsored Research Program on Energy Related Research

Cooperative Agreements, DE-FC26-08NT43293, DOE-WRI Cooperative Research and Development Program for Fossil Energy-Related Resources began in June 2009. The goal of the Program was to develop, commercialize, and deploy technologies of value to the nation’s fossil and renewable energy industries. To ensure relevancy and early commercialization, the involvement of an industrial partner was encouraged. In that regard, the Program stipulated that a minimum of 20% cost share be achieved in a fiscal year. This allowed WRI to carry a diverse portfolio of technologies and projects at various development technology readiness levels. Depending upon the maturity of the research concept and technology, cost share for a given task ranged from none to as high as 67% (two-thirds). Over the course of the Program, a total of twenty six tasks were proposed for DOE approval. Over the period of performance of the Cooperative agreement, WRI has put in place projects utilizing a total of $\$$7,089,581 in USDOE funds. Against this funding, cosponsors have committed $\$$7,398,476 in private funds to produce a program valued at $\$$14,488,057. Tables 1 and 2 presented at the end of this section is a compilation of the funding for all the tasks conducted under the program. The goal of the Cooperative Research and Development Program for Fossil Energy-Related Resources was to through collaborative research with the industry, develop or assist in the development of innovative technology solutions that will: • Increase the production of United States energy resources – coal, natural gas, oil, and renewable energy resources; • Enhance the competitiveness of United States energy technologies in international markets and assist in technology transfer; • Reduce the nation's dependence on foreign energy supplies and strengthen both the United States and regional economies; and • Minimize environmental impacts of energy production and utilization. Success of the Program can be measured by several criteria. Using the deployment of the federal funding with industrial participation as a performance criterion, over the course of the program, the cosponsors contributed more dollars than the federal funds. As stated earlier, a little more than half of the funding for the Program was derived from industrial partners. The industrial partners also enthusiastically supported the research and development activities with cash contribution of $\$$4,710,372.67, nearly 65% of the required cost share. Work on all of the tasks proposed under the Cooperative Agreement has been completed. This report summarizes and highlights the results from the Program. Under the Cooperative Agreement Program, energy-related tasks emphasized petroleum processing, upgrading and characterization, coal and biomass beneficiation and upgrading, coal combustion systems development including oxy-combustion, emissions monitoring and abatement, coal gasification technologies including gas clean-up and conditioning, hydrogen and liquid fuels production, and the development of technologies for the utilization of renewable energy resources. Environmental-related activities emphasized cleaning contaminated soils using microbial fuel cells, development of processes and sorbents for emissions reduction and recovery of water from power plant flue gas, and biological carbon capture and reuse. Technology enhancement activities included resource characterization studies, development of improved methods, monitors and sensors. In general the goals of the tasks proposed were to enhance competitiveness of U.S. technology, increase production of domestic resources, and reduce environmental impacts associated with energy production and utilization. Technologies being brought to commercialization as a result of the funds provided by the Cooperative Agreement contribute to the overall goals of the USDOE and the nation. Each has broad applicability both within the United States and abroad, thereby helping to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. energy technologies in international markets and assisting in technology transfer. Under the Cooperative Agreement Program, WRI has furthered the development of two different coal upgrading technologies. River Basin Energy technology was scaled-up and demonstrated at a nominal 40 tpd size. Similarly, WRI’s patented mercury removal technology further developed into WRITE Coal technology which was then integrated into oxy-combustion and gasification systems for IGCC and fuels production. Integrated systems with WRITE Coal technology applied at the front end represent substantial environmental and efficiency gains. A variation of the RBE coal upgrading technology is being commercialized as a torrefaction technology for woody biomass. WRI worked with EPRI and NIST to develop and improve mercury calibration standards for emissions monitoring. Working with Chart Energy and Chemicals, WRI scaled-up compact reactor technology for the synthesis of fuels and chemicals from syngas. Compact reactor technology represents a five-fold increase in productivity over conventional reactors making smaller-scale distributed synthesis plants an economical viability. Similarly, WRI's patented mixed alcohol synthesis catalyst production is being scaled-up in collaboration with a commercial catalyst manufacturer.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2015

In-Situ Acoustic Measurements of Temperature Profile in Extreme Environments

A gasifier’s temperature is the primary characteristic that must be monitored to ensure its performance and the longevity of its refractory. One of the key technological challenges impacting the reliability and economics of coal and biomass gasification is the lack of temperature sensors that are capable of providing accurate, reliable, and long-life performance in an extreme gasification environment. This research has proposed, demonstrated, and validated a novel approach that uses a noninvasive ultrasound method that provides real-time temperature distribution monitoring across the refractory, especially the hot face temperature of the refractory. The essential idea of the ultrasound measurements of segmental temperature distribution is to use an ultrasound propagation waveguide across a refractory that has been engineered to contain multiple internal partial reflectors at known locations. When an ultrasound excitation pulse is introduced on the cold side of the refractory, it will be partially reflected from each scatterer in the US propagation path in the refractory wall and returned to the receiver as a train of partial echoes. The temperature in the corresponding segment can be determined based on recorded ultrasonic waveform and experimentally defined relationship between the speed of sound and temperature. The ultrasound measurement method offers a powerful solution to provide continuous real time temperature monitoring for the occasions that conventional thermal, optical and other sensors are infeasible, such as the impossibility of insertion of temperature sensor, harsh environment, unavailable optical path, and more. Our developed ultrasound system consists of an ultrasound engineered waveguide, ultrasound transducer/receiver, and data acquisition, logging, interpretation, and online display system, which is simple to install on the existing units with minimal modification on the gasifier or use with new units. This system has been successfully tested with a 100 kW pilot scale down flow oxyfuel combustor, capturing in real time temperature changes during all relevant combustion process changes. The ultrasound measurements have excellent agreement with thermo- couple measurements, and appear to be more sensitive to temperature changes before the thermocouples response, which is believed to be the first demonstration of ultrasound measurements segmental temperature distribution across refractories.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2015

Rayleigh Scattering Combustion Diagnostic

A laser Rayleigh scattering (LRS) temperature diagnostic was developed over 8 weeks with the goal of studying oxy-combustion of pulverized coal char in high temperature reaction environments with high concentrations of carbon dioxide. Algorithms were developed to analyze data collected from the optical diagnostic system and convert the information to temperature measurements. When completed, the diagnostic will allow for the kinetic gasification rates of the oxy-combustion reaction to be obtained, which was previously not possible since the high concentrations of high temperature CO 2 consumed thermocouples that were used to measure flame temperatures inside the flow reactor where the combustion and gasification reactions occur. These kinetic rates are important for studying oxy-combustion processes suitable for application as sustainable energy solutions.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2015

Lake Charles CCS Project (Final Technical Report, Phase 2)

In late September 2014 development of the Lake Charles Clean Energy (LCCE) Plant was abandoned resulting in termination of Lake Charles Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Project which was a subset the LCCE Plant. As a result, the project was only funded through Phase 2A (Design) and did not enter Phase 2B (Construction) or Phase 2C (Operations). This report was prepared relying on information prepared and provided by engineering companies which were engaged by Leucadia Energy, LLC to prepare or review Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) for the Lake Charles Clean Energy Project, which includes the Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Project in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Lake Charles Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Project was to be a large-scale industrial CCS project intended to demonstrate advanced technologies that capture and sequester carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from industrial sources into underground formations. The Scope of work was divided into two discrete sections; 1) Capture and Compression prepared by the Recipient Leucadia Energy, LLC, and 2) Transport and Sequestration prepared by sub-Recipient Denbury Onshore, LLC. Capture and Compression-The Lake Charles CCS Project Final Technical Report describes the systems and equipment that would be necessary to capture CO 2 generated in a large industrial gasification process and sequester the CO 2 into underground formations. The purpose of each system is defined along with a description of its equipment and operation. Criteria for selection of major equipment are provided and ancillary utilities necessary for safe and reliable operation in compliance with environmental regulations are described. Construction considerations are described including a general arrangement of the CCS process units within the overall gasification project. A cost estimate is provided, delineated by system area with cost breakdown showing equipment, piping and materials, construction labor, engineering, and other costs. The CCS Project Final Technical Report is based on a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) study prepared by SK E&C, completed in [June] 2014. Subsequently, Fluor Enterprises completed a FEED validation study in mid-September 2014. The design analyses indicated that the FEED package was sufficient and as expected. However, Fluor considered the construction risk based on a stick-build approach to be unacceptable, but construction risk would be substantially mitigated through utilization of modular construction where site labor and schedule uncertainty is minimized. Fluor’s estimate of the overall EPC project cost utilizing the revised construction plan was comparable to SKE&C’s value after reflecting Fluor’s assessment of project scope and risk characteristic. Development was halted upon conclusion of Phase 2A FEED and the project was not constructed.Transport and Sequestration – The overall objective of the pipeline project was to construct a pipeline to transport captured CO 2 from the Lake Charles Clean Energy project to the existing Denbury Green Line and then to the Hastings Field in Southeast Texas to demonstrate effective geologic sequestration of captured CO 2 through commercial EOR operations. The overall objective of the MVA portion of the project was to demonstrate effective geologic sequestration of captured CO 2 through commercial Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) operations in order to evaluate costs, operational processes and technical performance. The DOE target for the project was to capture and implement a research MVA program to demonstrate the sequestration through EOR of approximately one million tons of CO 2 per year as an integral component of commercial operations.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Design and construction of coal/biomass to liquids (CBTL) process development unit (PDU) at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER)

This report describes a first phase of a project to design, construct and commission an integrated coal/biomass-to-liquids facility at a capacity of 1 bbl. /day at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (UK-CAER) – specifically for construction of the building and upstream process units for feed handling, gasification, and gas cleaning, conditioning and compression. The deliverables from the operation of this pilot plant [when fully equipped with the downstream process units] will be firstly the liquid FT products and finished fuels which are of interest to UK-CAER’s academic, government and industrial research partners. The facility will produce research quantities of FT liquids and finished fuels for subsequent Fuel Quality Testing, Performance and Acceptability. Moreover, the facility is expected to be employed for a range of research and investigations related to: Feed Preparation, Characteristics and Quality; Coal and Biomass Gasification; Gas Clean-up/ Conditioning; Gas Conversion by FT Synthesis; Product Work-up and Refining; Systems Analysis and Integration; and Scale-up and Demonstration. Environmental Considerations - particularly how to manage and reduce carbon dioxide emissions from CBTL facilities and from use of the fuels - will be a primary research objectives. Such a facility has required significant lead time for environmental review, architectural/building construction, and EPC services. UK, with DOE support, has advanced the facility in several important ways. These include: a formal EA/FONSI, and permits and approvals; construction of a building; selection of a range of technologies and vendors; and completion of the upstream process units. The results of this project are the FEED and detailed engineering studies, the alternate configurations and the as-built plant - its equipment and capabilities for future research and demonstration and its adaptability for re-purposing to meet other needs. These are described in some detail in this report, along with lessons learned.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2016

Characterization and Recovery of Rare Earths from Coal and By-Products

Coal is a precious resource, both in the United States and around the world. The United States has a 250-year supply of coal, and generates between 30 - 40% of its electricity through coal combustion. Approximately 1 Gt of coal has been mined annually in the US, although the 2015 total will likely be closer to 900 Mt (http://www.eia.gov/coal/production/quarterly/). Most of the coal is burned for power generation, but substantial quantities are also employed in the manufacture of steel, chemicals, and activated carbons. Coal has a positive impact upon many industries, including mining, power, rail transportation, manufacturing, chemical, steel, activated carbon, and fuels. Everything that is in the earth’s crust is also present within coal to some extent, and the challenge is always to utilize abundant domestic coal in clean and environmentally friendly manners. In the case of the rare earths, these valuable and extraordinarily useful elements are present within the abundant coal and coal by-products produced domestically and world-wide. These materials include the coals, as well as the combustion by-products such as ashes, coal preparation wastes, gasification slags, and mining by-products. All of these materials can be viewed as potential sources of rare earth elements. Most of the common inorganic lanthanide compounds, such as the phosphates found in coal, have very high melting, boiling, and thermal decomposition temperatures, allowing them to concentrate in combustion and gasification by-products. Furthermore, rare earths have been found in interesting concentrations in the strata above and below certain coal seams. Much of the recent research on coal utilization in the United States has focused upon the capture of pollutants such as acid gases, particulates, and mercury, and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The possible recovery of rare earth and other critical elements from abundant coal and by-products is an exciting new research area, representing a dramatic paradigm shift for coal.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2015

Low Cost High-H 2 Syngas Production for Power and Liquid Fuels

This report summarizes the technical progress made of the research project entitled “Low Cost High-H2 Syngas Production for Power and Liquid Fuels,” under DOE Contract No. DE-FE-0011958. The period of performance was October 1, 2013 through July 30, 2015. The overall objectives of this project was to determine the technical and economic feasibility of a systems approach for producing high hydrogen syngas from coal with the potential to reduce significantly the cost of producing power, chemical-grade hydrogen or liquid fuels, with carbon capture to reduce the environmental impact of gasification. The project encompasses several areas of study and the results are summarized here. (1) Experimental work to determine the technical feasibility of a novel hybrid polymer/metal H2-membrane to recover pure H2 from a coal-derived syngas was done. This task was not successful. Membranes were synthesized and show impermeability of any gases at required conditions. The cause of this impermeability was most likely due to the densification of the porous polymer membrane support made from polybenzimidazole (PBI) at test temperatures above 250 °C. (2) Bench-scale experimental work was performed to extend GTI's current database on the University of California Sulfur Recovery Process-High Pressure (UCSRP-HP) and recently renamed Sulfur Removal and Recovery (SR2) process for syngas cleanup including removal of sulfur and other trace contaminants, such as, chlorides and ammonia. The SR2 process tests show >90% H2S conversion with outlet H2S concentrations less than 4 ppmv, and 80-90% ammonia and chloride removal with high mass transfer rates. (3) Techno-economic analyses (TEA) were done for the production of electric power, chemical-grade hydrogen and diesel fuels, from a mixture of coal- plus natural gas-derived syngas using the Aerojet Rocketdyne (AR) Advanced Compact coal gasifier and a natural gas partial oxidation reactor (POX) with SR2 technology. Due to the unsuccessful experimental results with the hybrid polymer/metal H2 membrane, a conventional CO2 capture (single-stage Selexol) and hydrogen purification (PSA) technologies were used in the appropriate cases. In all cases, the integrated system of Advanced Compact coal gasifier, non-catalytic natural gas partial oxidation, and SR2 multicontaminant removal with state-of-the-art auxiliary system provided a 5-25% cost advantage over the base line plants using GEE coal gasifier with conventional Selexol/Claus sulfur removal and recovery. These plants also produce 18-30% less CO2 than with the conventional coal gasification plants.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2016

Model-Based Sensor Placement for Component Condition Monitoring and Fault Diagnosis in Fossil Energy Systems

Design and operation of energy producing, near “zero-emission” coal plants has become a national imperative. This report on model-based sensor placement describes a transformative two-tier approach to identify the optimum placement, number, and type of sensors for condition monitoring and fault diagnosis in fossil energy system operations. The algorithms are tested on a high fidelity model of the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant. For a condition monitoring network, whether equipment should be considered at a unit level or a systems level depends upon the criticality of the process equipment, its likeliness to fail, and the level of resolution desired for any specific failure. Because of the presence of a high fidelity model at the unit level, a sensor network can be designed to monitor the spatial profile of the states and estimate fault severity levels. In an IGCC plant, besides the gasifier, the sour water gas shift (WGS) reactor plays an important role. In view of this, condition monitoring of the sour WGS reactor is considered at the unit level, while a detailed plant-wide model of gasification island, including sour WGS reactor and the Selexol process, is considered for fault diagnosis at the system-level. Finally, the developed algorithms unify the two levels and identifies an optimal sensor network that maximizes the effectiveness of the overall system-level fault diagnosis and component-level condition monitoring. This work could have a major impact on the design and operation of future fossil energy plants, particularly at the grassroots level where the sensor network is yet to be identified. In addition, the same algorithms developed in this report can be further enhanced to be used in retrofits, where the objectives could be upgrade (addition of more sensors) and relocation of existing sensors.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Evaluating the Techno-Economic Feasibility of Forward Osmosis Process Utilizing Low Grade Heat: Applications in Power Plant Water, Wastewater, and Reclaimed Water Treatment

Recovering and using uncoverted heat produced during electric power generation holds potential to significantly improve the efficiency of the electric power industry. One potential use of this low-temperature waste heat is on-site water treatment using waste heat driven processes to comply with the 2015 Effluent Limitation Guidelines for the Steam Electric Generating Sector. Ammonia-carbon dioxide forward osmosis (NH 4 HCO 3 FO) is a two-step waste heat driven process that involves a membrane separation process in which an osmotic pressure gradient created by an NH 4 HCO 3 draw solution is used to pull water across the membrane and a distillation column to regenerate the NH 4 HCO 3 draw solution. In this work we estimate the quantity, quality, and spatio-temporal availability of waste heat produced at U.S. coal, nuclear, and natural gas plants. We combine these estimates of waste heat availability with a techno-economic optimization model of NH 4 HCO 3 FO in order to assess the potential of NH 4 HCO 3 FO to treat flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater, gasification wastewater, and boiler feedwater. We find that in 2012, 18.9 billion GJ of waste heat was discharged from the U.S. coal, natural gas, and nuclear fleet, although only 900 million GJ of waste heat was discharged at temperatures suitable for NH 4 HCO 3 FO. A maximum of 1.9 billion m3/yr of water could be produced using this waste heat to drive a NH 4 HCO 3 FO. The costs of waste heat driven NH 4 HCO 3 FO for FGD and gasification wastewater treatment to zero liquid discharge (ZLD) and boiler feedwater treatment are 2.20-2.40/m 3 and 0.35-0.65/m 3 , respectively. With mechanical vapor compression and crystallization for ZLD wastewater treatment and reverse osmosis for boiler feedwater treatment as the cost benchmark technologies, waste heat driven NH 4 HCO 3 FO is cost competitive for ZLD wastewater treatment, but not boiler feedwater treatment.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Processing of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to Hydrogen Final Report CRADA No. TC-0989-94

The project objective was to develop a two-stage process for the conversion of municipal solid waste (MSW) to hydrogen. The first stage or the pre-treatment process stage was the main technical focus of the work because the overall processing approach was to use Texaco's existing gasification process with only minor modifications as the main processing stage. LLNL's main task was to develop the pre-treatment process through a scale of about 1 ton/day of feed capacity. Texaco's main task was to integrate the new pre-treatment process with its commercial gasification process and thus scale up the combined process to commercial size.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2017

Improvement of Alstom's Limestone-Based Chemical Looping Combustion Process for Higher Purity Flue Gas Production

Alstom Power Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the General Electric Company (GE), is developing Limestone-based Chemical Looping (LCL™) Processes, utilizing limestone derived calcium sulfate as an oxygen carrier to transport oxygen from air to the fuel. The LCL™ process is a breakthrough technology with the potential to capture CO 2 and SO 2 from new and existing coal-fired power plants at reduced costs while maintaining high plant power generation efficiency. Chemical looping is a next generation advancement to oxy-combustion which would not require the significant investment in a cryogenic distillation type oxygen production plant. Instead of the energy-consuming oxygen plant, chemical looping uses a benign material to directly remove oxygen from the air and bring that oxygen into contact with the fuel. This "game changing" technology is the lowest cost-of-electricity technical approach that GE Power has identified to date for coal power with carbon capture. The technology has significantly lower capital costs compared to a conventional steam power plant with first generation carbon capture technologies. This new power plant concept is based on a hybrid combustion-gasification process utilizing high temperature chemical and thermal looping technology. In the air reactor, a solid oxygen carrier picks up oxygen from air through an oxidation reaction and leaves nitrogen behind. The hot oxygen-carrying solid carrier is then transported to a fuel reactor, where it releases oxygen. The released oxygen then converts the coal in the fuel reactor into combustion gases. The solid carrier is recycled back to the air reactor for regeneration completing the “chemical loop.” The regeneration step produces heat from which steam is produced for power generation while the process results in a concentrated carbon dioxide stream in which the carbon is captured for use or sequestration (CCUS). Limestone as a precursor for the oxygen carrier is abundant, benign, low cost, and is used in CFB and PC boilers for sulfur control. Challenges associated with this carrier include a complex reaction mechanism with possible side reactions leading to the release of SO 2 . The present project (DOE/NETL Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FE0025073) report focuses on coal-fired Limestone Chemical Looping Combustion (LCL-C™) processes that can produce a higher purity flue gas stream and achieve an improved overall performance that will meet the stated DOE goal of generating power from coal while achieving greater than 90% CO2 removal at less than 35% increase in the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). It builds on the concurrent and synergistic limestone-based chemical looping combustion (LCL-C™) and gasification (LCL-G™) projects with the Department of Energy, that were executed in parallel with the present project. In this report, the LCL-C™ experimental testing from the electrically-heated, once-through, 100 kW Pilot-Scale Test Facility (PSTF) is analysed and reviewed. The PSTF Oxidizer is a 50-foot tall, 100-mm diameter transport reactor, while the PSTF Reducer reactor is based upon a bubbling-bed design. The experimental data from designated test periods (denoted “Weeks”) are reviewed and discussed. The application of high sulfur release in the Reducer (with proper sulfur management) exceeded the LCL-CTM performance targets. Furthermore, the ilmenite blend came within 1 percentage point of meeting all of the performance targets.

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DOE OSTI2019

Improved Reliability of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems. Final scientific/technical report

This program is furthering the development of SOFC technology to meet the durability requirements required by the market for the service life and costs for such a power generation technology. SOFC technology provides an environmentally friendly and highly efficient power generation. LGFCS is developing a 1MW pressurized SOFC system for distributed power generation. The planned commercial product is expected to have an efficiency of ~60% (net AC) and fueled by natural gas. The lower carbon content of natural gas combined with the efficient power generation results in significant environmental benefits (lower CO2 greenhouse emissions). The SOFC technology provides a means for efficient utilization of the large US reserves of natural gas and enhances national energy independence. The SOFC technology will initially serve the distributed power generation market and gain market acceptance and smaller power system sizes. The technology is well suited to carbon sequestration given the separated air and fuel streams. The Department of Energy (DOE) envisions a centralized power generation technology that could use coal gasification as an integrated gasification fuel cell (IGFC) power plant at the >100MW scale with CO2 capture.

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