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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

New insights into mycotoxin mixtures: The toxicity of low doses of Type B trichothecenes on intestinal epithelial cells is synergistic

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is the most prevalent trichothecene mycotoxin in crops in Europe and North America. DON is often present with other type B trichothecenes such as 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-ADON), 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-ADON), nivalenol (NIV) and fusarenon-X (FX). Although the cytotoxicity of individual mycotoxins has been widely studied, data on the toxicity of mycotoxin mixtures are limited. The aim of this study was to assess interactions caused by co-exposure to Type B trichothecenes on intestinal epithelial cells. Proliferating Caco-2 cells were exposed to increasing doses of Type B trichothecenes, alone or in binary or ternary mixtures. The MTT test and neutral red uptake, respectively linked to mitochondrial and lysosomal functions, were used to measure intestinal epithelial cytotoxicity. The five tested mycotoxins had a dose-dependent effect on proliferating enterocytes and could be classified in increasing order of toxicity: 3-ADON < 15-ADON ≈ DON < NIV ≪ FX. Binary or ternary mixtures also showed a dose-dependent effect. At low concentrations (cytotoxic effect between 10 and 30–40%), mycotoxin combinations were synergistic; however DON–NIV–FX mixture showed antagonism. At higher concentrations (cytotoxic effect around 50%), the combinations had an additive or nearly additive effect. These results indicate that the simultaneous presence of low doses of mycotoxins in food commodities and diet may be more toxic than predicted from the mycotoxins alone. Considering the frequent co-occurrence of trichothecenes in the diet and the concentrations of toxins to which consumers are exposed, this synergy should be taken into account. - Highlights: • We assessed the individual and combined cytotoxicity of five trichothecenes. • The tested concentrations correspond to the French consumer exposure levels. • The type of interaction in combined cytotoxicity varied with the effect level. • Low doses of Type B trichothecenes induced synergistic cytotoxicity. • Ternary combination DON–NIV–FX showed antagonism.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Nivalenol induces oxidative stress and increases deoxynivalenol pro-oxidant effect in intestinal epithelial cells

Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites often found as contaminants in almost all agricultural commodities worldwide, and the consumption of food or feed contaminated by mycotoxins represents a major risk for human and animal health. Reactive oxygen species are normal products of cellular metabolism. However, disproportionate generation of reactive oxygen species poses a serious problem to bodily homeostasis and causes oxidative tissue damage. In this study we analyzed the effect of two trichothecenes mycotoxins: nivalenol and deoxynivalenol, alone and in combination, on oxidative stress in the non-tumorigenic intestinal epithelial cell line IEC-6. Our results indicate the pro-oxidant nivalenol effect in IEC-6, the stronger pro-oxidant effect of nivalenol when compared to deoxynivalenol and, interestingly, that nivalenol increases deoxynivalenol pro-oxidative effects. Mechanistic studies indicate that the observed effects were mediated by NADPH oxidase, calcium homeostasis alteration, NF-kB and Nrf2 pathways activation and by iNOS and nitrotyrosine formation. The toxicological interaction by nivalenol and deoxynivalenol reported in this study in IEC-6, points out the importance of the toxic effect of these mycotoxins, mostly in combination, further highlighting the risk assessment process of these toxins that are of growing concern. - Highlights: • Nivalenol induces oxidative stress in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). • Nivalenol increases deoxynivalenol pro-oxidant effects in IECs. • Nivalenol and deoxynivalenol trigger antioxidant response IECs. • These results indicate the importance of mycotoxins co-contamination.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Bisphenol A impairs the memory function and glutamatergic homeostasis in a sex-dependent manner in mice: Beneficial effects of diphenyl diselenide

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a compound integrated in commodities, which consequently increases the human exposure to this toxicant. The deleterious effects of BPA exposure during periods of brain development have been documented mainly concerning the impairment in memory functions. Diphenyl diselenide (PhSe){sub 2}, an organoselenium compound, shows protective/restorative effects against memory deficits in experimental models. Thus, this study investigated the effects of (PhSe){sub 2} on the memory impairments induced by BPA exposure to male and female mice and the possible involvement of glutamatergic system in these effects. Three-week-old male and female Swiss mice received BPA (5 mg/kg), intragastrically, from 21st to 60th postnatal day. After, the animals were intragastrically treated with (PhSe){sub 2} (1 mg/kg) during seven days. The mice performed the behavioral memory tests and the [{sup 3}H] glutamate uptake and NMDA receptor subunits (2A and 2B) analyses were carried out in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of mice. The results demonstrated that the BPA exposure induced impairment of object recognition memory in both sexes. However, it caused impairments in spatial memory in female and in the passive avoidance memory in male mice. Besides, BPA caused a decrease in the [{sup 3}H] glutamate uptake and NMDA receptor subunit levels in the cortical and hippocampal regions depending on the sex. Treatment with (PhSe){sub 2} reversed in a sex-independent manner the behavioral impairments and molecular alterations. In conclusion, BPA had a negative effect in different memory types as well as in the glutamatergic parameters in a sex-dependent manner and (PhSe){sub 2} treatment was effective against these alterations. - Highlights: • BPA exposure induced memory impairment in a sex dependent manner in mice. • (PhSe){sub 2} reversed memory impairments caused by BPA exposure in mice. • (PhSe){sub 2} modulated hippocampal and cortical [{sup 3}H]glutamate uptake in mice. • (PhSe){sub 2} restored the hippocampal and cortical NMDA receptor subunits levels.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Engineering cyanobacteria to generate high-value products

Although many microorganisms have been used for the bioindustrial generation of valuable metabolites, the productive potential of cyanobacterial species has remained largely unexplored. Cyanobacteria possess several advantages as organisms for bioindustrial processes, including simple input requirements, tolerance of marginal agricultural environments, rapid genetics, and carbon-neutral applications that could be leveraged to address global climate change concerns. Here, we review recent research involving the engineering of cyanobacterial species for the production of valuable bioindustrial compounds, including natural cyanobacterial products (e.g. sugars and isoprene), biofuels (e.g. alcohols, alkanes and hydrogen), and other commodity chemicals. Biological and economic obstacles to scaled cyanobacterial production are highlighted, and methods for increasing cyanobacterial production efficiencies are discussed.

Ducat, DC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Redesigning large-scale multimodal transit networks with shared autonomous mobility services

Here, this study addresses a large-scale multimodal transit network design problem, with Shared Autonomous Mobility Services (SAMS) as both transit feeders and an origin-to-destination mode. The framework captures spatial demand and modal characteristics, considers intermodal transfers and express services, determines transit infrastructure investment and path flows, and generates transit routes. A system-optimal multimodal transit network is designed with minimum total door-to-door generalized costs of users and operators, satisfying transit origin-destination demand within a pre-set infrastructure budget. Firstly, the geography, demand, and modes in each zone are characterized with continuous approximation. The decisions of network link investment and multimodal path flows in zonal connection optimization are formulated as a minimum-cost multi-commodity network flow (MCNF) problem and solved efficiently with a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) solver. Subsequently, the route generation problem is solved by expanding the MCNF formulation to minimize intramodal transfers. The model is illustrated through a set of experiments with the Chicago network comprised of 50 zones and seven modes, under three scenarios. The computational results present savings in traveler journey time and operator cost demonstrating the potential benefits of collaboration between multimodal transit systems and SAMS.

Autonomous vehicles↗
DOE OSTI2025

Electrolyzers in focus: advances in CO 2 electrolyzer designs

Electrochemical CO 2 reduction (ECR) remains a viable method to reintegrate anthropogenic CO 2 into current energy infrastructures through its conversion into commodity chemicals. To facilitate the integration of ECR, electrochemical devices called electrolyzers must be implemented to overcome the inherent limitations that exist in current ECR experiments, namely kinetics and mass transport. In this review, we outline the current and advancing designs in ECR electrolyzers, with a focus on the following five electrochemical devices: membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), flow cell (FC), rotating disk electrode (RDE), rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE), and rotating cylinder electrode (RCE). We highlight the tunable components of each electrolyzer with a forward outlook on the optimization and relevance of electrolyzer designs in upcoming ECR applications.

CO2 reduction↗
DOE OSTI2026

Arctic shipping under global change: A case study of offshore oil exports

We explore impacts of sea ice thinning and evolutions in the energy sector on future use of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) versus the Suez Canal Route (SCR), using a case study of shipping oil extracted from the offshore Russian Arctic to China. We combine an integrated human-Earth system model with a shipping cost model to incorporate impacts on both oil production and shipping costs under internally consistent scenarios. We find that the NSR could become cost-competitive with the SCR as sea ice thickness declines, especially in an RCP8.5 scenario, due to decreasing fuel and icebreaker escort costs. In a global energy evolution scenario consistent with RCP2.6, high emissions costs on the longer SCR may outweigh the costs associated with thicker sea ice on the NSR. Our novel framework provides integrated projections of NSR shipping traffic driven by a specific commodity likely to be shipped through the Arctic.

Arctic↗
DOE OSTI2014

Characterization of Coffee ringspot virus-Lavras: A model for an emerging threat to coffee production and quality

The emergence of viruses in Coffee (Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora), the most widely traded agricultural commodity in the world, is of critical concern. The RNA1 (6552 nt) of Coffee ringspot virus is organized into five open reading frames (ORFs) capable of encoding the viral nucleocapsid (ORF1p), phosphoprotein (ORF2p), putative cell-to-cell movement protein (ORF3p), matrix protein (ORF4p) and glycoprotein (ORF5p). Each ORF is separated by a conserved intergenic junction. RNA2 (5945 nt), which completes the bipartite genome, encodes a single protein (ORF6p) with homology to RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. Phylogenetic analysis of L protein sequences firmly establishes CoRSV as a member of the recently proposed Dichorhavirus genus. Predictive algorithms, in planta protein expression, and a yeast-based nuclear import assay were used to determine the nucleophillic character of five CoRSV proteins. Finally, the temperature-dependent ability of CoRSV to establish systemic infections in an initially local lesion host was quantified. - Highlights: • We report genome sequence determination for Coffee ringspot virus (CoRSV). • CoRSV should be considered a member of the proposed Dichorhavirus genus. • We report temperature-dependent systemic infection of an initially local lesion host. • We report in planta protein and localization data for five CoRSV proteins. • In silico predictions of the CoRSV proteins were validated using in vivo assays.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Bridging legal and economic perspectives on interstate municipal solid waste disposal in the US

Research highlights: {yields} Legal and economic opinions of free interstate trade of MSW in the US are reviewed. {yields} Economic theory of landfill space as the article of commerce can align opinions. {yields} Waste management policies implied by this economic theory are compared/contrasted. - Abstract: Managing municipal solid waste (MSW) within and across regions is a complex public policy problem. One challenge regards conceptualizing precisely what commodity is to be managed across space and time. The US Supreme Court view is that waste disposal is the article of commerce per se. Some justices, however, have argued that while waste disposal is the article of commerce, its interstate flow could be impeded by states on the grounds that they have the authority to regulate natural resource quality within their boundaries. The argument in this paper is that adopting the economic theory view of the article of commerce as landfill space brings the majority and dissenting US Supreme Court views-and the resulting sides of the public policy dispute-into closer alignment. We discuss waste management policy tools that emerge from this closer alignment that are more likely to both withstand judicial scrutiny and achieve economic efficiency.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2012

Experimental investigation of the quality characteristics of agricultural plastic wastes regarding their recycling and energy recovery potential

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Definition of parameters characterising agricultural plastic waste (APW) quality. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Analysis of samples to determine APW quality for recycling or energy recovery. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Majority of APW samples from various countries have very good quality for recycling. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Upper limit of 50% w/w soil contamination in APW acceptable for energy recovery. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Chlorine and heavy metals content in APW below the lowest limit for energy recovery. - Abstract: A holistic environmentally sound waste management scheme that transforms agricultural plastic waste (APW) streams into labelled guaranteed quality commodities freely traded in open market has been developed by the European research project LabelAgriWaste. The APW quality is defined by the APW material requirements, translated to technical specifications, for recycling or energy recovery. The present work investigates the characteristics of the APW quality and the key factors affecting it from the introduction of the virgin product to the market to the APW stream reaching the disposer. Samples of APW from different countries were traced from their application to the field through their storage phase and transportation to the final destination. The test results showed that the majority of APW retained their mechanical properties after their use preserving a 'very good quality' for recycling in terms of degradation. The degree of soil contamination concerning the APW recycling and energy recovery potential fluctuates depending on the agricultural plastic category and application. The chlorine and heavy metal content of the tested APW materials was much lower than the maximum acceptable limits for their potential use in cement industries.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2013

Technical specifications for mechanical recycling of agricultural plastic waste

Highlights: • Technical specifications for agricultural plastic wastes (APWs) recycling proposed. • Specifications are the base for best economical and environmental APW valorisation. • Analysis of APW reveals inherent characteristics and constraints of APW streams. • Thorough survey on mechanical recycling processes and industry as it applies to APW. • Specifications for APW recycling tested, adjusted and verified through pilot trials. - Abstract: Technical specifications appropriate for the recycling of agricultural plastic wastes (APWs), widely accepted by the recycling industry were developed. The specifications establish quality standards to be met by the agricultural plastics producers, users and the agricultural plastic waste management chain. They constitute the base for the best economical and environmental valorisation of the APW. The analysis of the APW streams conducted across Europe in the framework of the European project “LabelAgriWaste” revealed the inherent characteristics of the APW streams and the inherent constraints (technical or economical) of the APW. The APW stream properties related to its recycling potential and measured during pilot trials are presented and a subsequent universally accepted simplified and expanded list of APW recycling technical specifications is proposed and justified. The list includes two sets of specifications, applied to two different quality categories of recyclable APW: one for pellet production process (“Quality I”) and another one for plastic profile production process (“Quality II”). Parameters that are taken into consideration in the specifications include the APW physical characteristics, contamination, composition and degradation. The proposed specifications are focused on polyethylene based APW that represents the vast majority of the APW stream. However, the specifications can be adjusted to cover also APW of different materials (e.g. PP or PVC) that are found in very small quantities in protected cultivations in Europe. The adoption of the proposed specifications could transform this waste stream into a labelled commodity traded freely in the market and will constitute the base for the best economical and environmental valorisation of the APW.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Process design tools and techno-economic analysis for capacitive deionization

Capacitive deionization (CDI) devices use cyclical electrosorption on porous electrode surfaces to achieve water desalination. Process modeling and design of CDI systems requires accurate treatment of the coupling among input electrical forcing, input flow rates, and system responses including salt removal dynamics, water recovery, energy storage, and dissipation. Techno-economic analyses of CDI further require a method to calculate and compare between a produced commodity (e.g. desalted water) versus capital and operational costs of the system. In this work, we demonstrate a new modeling and analysis tool for CDI developed as an installable Matlab program that allows direct numerical simulation of CDI dynamics and calculation of key performance and cost parameters. The program is provided for free and is used to run open-source Simulink models. The Simulink environment sends information to the program and allows for a drag and drop design space where users can connect CDI cells to relevant periphery blocks such as grid energy, battery, solar panel, waste disposal, and maintenance/labor cost streams. The program allows for simulation of arbitrary current forcing and arbitrary flow rate forcing of one or more CDI cells. We employ validated well-mixed reactor formulations together with a non-linear circuit model formulation that can accommodate a variety of electric double layer sub-models (e.g. for charge efficiency). The program includes a graphical user interface (GUI) to specify CDI plant parameters, specify operating conditions, run individual tests or parameter batch-mode simulations, and plot relevant results. The techno-economic models convert among dimensional streams of species (e.g. feed, desalted water, and brine), energy, and cost and enable a variety of economic estimates including levelized water costs.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Anhydrous volatile fatty acid extraction through omniphobic membranes by hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents: Mechanistic understanding and future perspective

Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) derived from arrested anaerobic digestion (AD) can be recovered as a valuable commodity for value-added synthesis. However, separating VFAs from digestate with complex constituents and a high-water content is an energy-prohibitive process. This study developed an innovative technology to overcome this barrier by integrating deep eutectic solvents (DESs) with an omniphobic membrane into a membrane contactor for efficient extraction of anhydrous VFAs with low energy consumption. Here, a kinetic model was developed to elucidate the mechanistic differences between this novel omniphobic membrane-enabled DES extraction and the previous hydrophobic membrane-enabled NaOH extraction. Experimental results and mechanistic modeling suggested that VFA extraction by the DES is a reversible adsorption process facilitating subsequent VFA separation via anhydrous distillation. High vapor pressure of shorter-chain VFAs and low Nernst distribution coefficients of longer-chain VFAs contributed to DES-driven extraction, which could enable continuous and in-situ recovery and conversion of VFAs from AD streams.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Editorial: Water-Energy Nexus: A new journal to address a global challenge

Idaho National Laboratory and Northwestern University What is the water energy nexus and why do we need a research journal dedicated to the subject? Complex systems have many interdependencies with both positive and negative feedback. The water-energy nexus, or WEN, is a complex system intercalating two of the largest systems that impact the human condition. Much of our present civilization stems from our need for water and energy. They are essential for food and agriculture. In fact, this area is increasingly being called FEWN or food-energy-water nexus. The largest consumptive use of water is for irrigating crops. They are essential for shelter and transportation. Virtually, every civilization grew on rivers or bays. In modern times, petroleum is the largest traded commodity, which is required for transportation and mobility. In this complex system, where does the interdependenciy or nexus develop?

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Opportunities for iron and steel industrial wastewater treatment and reuse in the United States

Concerns around water security in the United States have heightened the interest in industrial water treatment and reuse to improve water efficiency and operational reliability. Alongside nationwide efforts to expand industrial capacity, primary manufacturing sectors are adopting more resource-efficient technologies. This transition is expected to shift industrial water consumption patterns, driving the need for improved treatment and reuse practices. This study investigates opportunities for water use, treatment, and reuse in the iron and steel sector through a review of academic and industry literature and interviews with industry representatives. It identifies key challenges in water and wastewater management and outlines the conditions under which innovative treatment technologies could be deployed. Based on these insights, the study presents a practical water management action plan. Furthermore, it assesses water quality targets across different process operations, evaluates existing treatment technologies, and highlights challenges and opportunities for improvement relative to future performance expectations. Although water is often perceived as a low-cost commodity, industry feedback suggests that improvements in water use and treatment efficiency are typically prioritized only when they also reduce energy use, carbon emissions, or costs. This study advocates for a direct two-way partnership between industry and research audiences to bring their attention toward sustainable industrial water use, treatment, and reuse.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Autonomous control of metabolic state by a quorum sensing (QS)-mediated regulator for bisabolene production in engineered E. coli

Inducible gene expression systems are widely used in microbial host strains for protein and commodity chemical production because of their extensive characterization and ease of use. However, some of these systems have disadvantages such as leaky expression, lack of dynamic control, and the prohibitively high costs of inducers associated with large-scale production. Quorum sensing (QS) systems in bacteria control gene expression in response to population density, and the LuxI/R system from Vibrio fischeri is a well-studied example. A QS system could be ideal for biofuel production strains as it is self-regulated and does not require the addition of inducer compounds, which reduce operational costs for inducer. In this study, a QS system was developed for inducer-free production of the biofuel compound bisabolene from engineered E. coli. Seven variants of the Sensor plasmid, which carry the luxI-luxR genes, and four variants of the Response plasmid, which carry bisabolene producing pathway genes under the control of the P luxI promoter, were designed for optimization of bisabolene production. Furthermore, a chromosome-integrated QS strain was engineered with the best combination of Sensor and Response plasmid and produced bisabolene at a titer of 1.1 g/L without addition of external inducers. This is a 44% improvement from our previous inducible system. The QS strain also displayed higher homogeneity in gene expression and isoprenoid production compared to an inducible-system strain.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Biosynthesis of monoethylene glycol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae utilizing native glycolytic enzymes

Monoethylene glycol (MEG) is an important commodity chemical with applications in numerous industrial processes, primarily in the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polyester used in packaging applications. In the drive towards a sustainable chemical industry, bio-based production of MEG from renewable biomass has attracted growing interest. Recent attempts for bio-based MEG production have investigated metabolic network modifications in Escherichia coli, specifically rewiring the xylose assimilation pathways for the synthesis of MEG. In the present study, we examined the suitability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a preferred organism for industrial applications, as platform for MEG biosynthesis. Here, based on combined genetic, biochemical and fermentation studies, we report evidence for the existence of an endogenous biosynthetic route for MEG production from D-xylose in S. cerevisiae which consists of phosphofructokinase and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, the two key enzymes in the glycolytic pathway. Further metabolic engineering and process optimization yielded a strain capable of producing up to 4.0 g/L MEG, which is the highest titer reported in yeast to-date.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Optimization of the IPP-bypass mevalonate pathway and fed-batch fermentation for the production of isoprenol in Escherichia coli

Isoprenol (3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol) is a drop-in biofuel and a precursor for commodity chemicals. Biological production of isoprenol via the mevalonate pathway has been developed and optimized extensively in Escherichia coli, but high ATP requirements and isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) toxicity have made it difficult to achieve high titer, yield, and large-scale production. To overcome these limitations, an IPP-bypass pathway was previously developed using the promiscuous activity of diphosphomevalonate decarboxylase, and enabled the production of isoprenol at a comparable yield and titer to the original pathway. In this study, we optimized this pathway, substantially improving isoprenol production. A titer of 3.7 g/L (0.14 g isoprenol per g glucose) was achieved in batch conditions using minimal medium by pathway optimization, and a further optimization of the fed-batch fermentation process enabled an isoprenol titer of 10.8 g/L (yield of 0.105 g/g and maximum productivity of 0.157 g L -1 h -1 ), which is the highest reported titer for this compound. The substantial increase in isoprenol titer via the IPP-bypass pathway in this study will facilitate progress toward commercialization.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗