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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Life Cycle Analysis of Natural Gas Extraction and Power Generation: U.S. 2020 Emissions Profile

This analysis expands upon previous life cycle analyses (LCAs) of natural gas systems performed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). It provides a complete inventory of emissions to air and water, water consumption, and land use change. These environmental burdens are detailed for all supply chain steps from natural gas production through natural gas distribution. This package includes the report, the NETL Natural Gas Model, and appendices that include several Excel workbooks and a python script to provide transparent access to the calculations and resulting data.<p>To access the NETL Natural Gas Lifecycle model, visit https://doi.org/10.18141/2476250.</p><p>To access the 2020 Report Appendices, visit https://doi.org/10.18141/2438472.</p>

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Life Cycle Analysis of Natural Gas Extraction and Power Generation: U.S. 2020 Emissions Profile

This analysis expands upon previous life cycle analyses (LCAs) of natural gas systems performed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). It provides a complete inventory of emissions to air and water, water consumption, and land use change. These environmental burdens are detailed for all supply chain steps from natural gas production through natural gas distribution. This package includes the report, the NETL Natural Gas Model, and appendices that include several Excel workbooks and a python script to provide transparent access to the calculations and resulting data. This is revision 1 of the 2024 study (published December 17, 2024 and updated on January 24, 2025) and corrects a modeling error in natural gas composition. See the errata on page 2 for more information.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Comprehensive Cradle to Grave Life Cycle Analysis of On-Road Vehicles in the United States based on GREET

To properly compare and contrast the environmental performance of one vehicle technology against another, it is necessary to consider their production, operation, and end-of-life fates. Since 1995, Argonne’s GREET® life cycle analysis model (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies) has been annually updated to model and refine the latest developments in fuels and materials production, as well as vehicle operational and composition characteristics. Updated cradle-to-grave life cycle analysis results from the model’s latest release are described for a wide variety of fuel and powertrain options for U.S. light-duty and medium/heavy-duty vehicles. Light-duty vehicles include a passenger car, sports utility vehicle (SUV), and pick-up truck, while medium/heavy-duty vehicles include a Class 6 pickup-and-delivery truck, Class 8 day-cab (regional) truck, and Class 8 sleeper-cab (long-haul) truck. Powertrain coverage includes internal combustion (spark ignition and compression ignition) engines, hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid, full battery electric, and fuel cell vehicles powered by conventional and low carbon energy sources. The results offer insights into the current state of these technologies, as well as a projection of the likely environmental implications of future fuel and vehicle advancements through a time-series evaluation of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions.

Kelly, Jarod C.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Life Cycle Analysis of Coal Exports from the Powder River Basin

This presentation was given at the 2016 Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Conference in June 2016, and provided the complete technical details behind and the full life cycle impacts of exporting coal from the Powder River Basin in the U.S. to electricity markets in Asia. Key takeaways are the relative large contribution of the transportation of the coal when traveling distance.

Climate Change↗
DOE OSTI2019

Regional techno-economic and life-cycle analysis of the pyrolysis-bioenergy-biochar platform for carbon-negative energy

This study investigates the sensitivity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the minimum fuel selling price for a 2000 metric ton day –1 integrated pyrolysis–bioenergy–biochar platform with respect to the biorefinery location and biomass types. The regional techno–economic and life–cycle analysis is evaluated in three US counties using representative crops: rice in Glenn County (California), corn in Hamilton County (Iowa), and peanuts in Jackson County (Florida). We evaluate the biochar selling price considering crop yield increases of 0.6%, 2.9%, and 10% after biochar application over 20 years in Glenn County, Hamilton County, and Jackson County, respectively. The biochar prices are calculated under low and high commodity prices to determine upper and lower bounds. Jackson County has the most economically beneficial scenario with an average minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of 1.55 gal –1 of biofuel produced whereas Hamilton County has the highest average MFSP of 3.82 gal –1 . The life–cycle analysis shows that woody biomass has a strong potential to produce carbon–negative energy compared to grass and straw. As a result, of the 304 cases scenarios considered for this platform, 64% could produce biofuel with negative GHG emissions, which would meet the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) target for cellulosic biofuels.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2017

TC2015: Life cycle analysis of co-formed coal fines and hydrochar produced in twin-screw extruder (TSE)

Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a quantitative tool that evaluates the environmental performance of a process or system. The main objective of this LCA study is to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and life cycle energy use associated with solid fuels produced by co-forming coal fines and hydrochar. The hydrochar is derived from loblolly pine wood via hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) conducted in a reactive twin-screw extruder (TSE). The final product is a drop-in replacement for coal. The life cycle impacts of the co-formed end products are quantified from ‘cradle-to-grave’. Model input parameters are collected from life cycle databases, literature, experimental measurements and simulations by engineering software. Results show that electricity generated from the co-formed products has significantly lower GHG intensity and slightly higher life cycle energy use than coal-generated electricity. The most carbon-intensive component in the overall hydrochar system is the HTC plant. However, this could be improved in the future by plant re-design to recover and recycle thermal energy for more efficient operation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Comparative life cycle analysis for value recovery of precious metals and rare earth elements from electronic waste

There is an ever-increasing concern regarding the electronic waste (e-waste), which is the fastest growing waste stream in the world. Incentivized by various legislations and the intrinsic value of critical metals inside, recycling of e-waste is becoming an attractive business opportunity that also benefits the environment. We report a novel electrochemical recovery (ER) process has been developed as a promising alternative to the existing pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes based technologies to recover base metals, precious metals, and rare earth elements (REEs) from e-waste. Experimental results indicate that the ER process has lower chemical consumption, enhanced control, and reduced energy demand compared to the pyrometallurgical and the hydrometallurgical processes. To quantify and compare the environmental performances of the three technologies, life cycle analysis has been conducted. Results show that the ER process outperforms the other two processes in almost all impact categories adopted in TRACI and ILCD while there is no clear winner between the hydrometallurgical and the pyrometallurgical processes. The highest impactful input for the ER method is hydrochloric acid, and for the pyrometallurgical method is copper scrap, while for the hydrometallurgical method, it is hydrogen peroxide, an oxidizer that accelerates base metal extraction process, that dominates the overall environmental footprint. The environmental viability of the ER process warrants the further development of ER process at industrial scale.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Techno-economic and Life Cycle Analysis for Bioleaching Rare-Earth Elements from Waste Materials

A bioleaching process to extract rare earth elements (REE) from fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts was optimized using a heterotrophic bacterium Gluconobacter oxydans to produce organic acids from glucose. Parameters optimized included agitation intensity, oxygen levels, glucose concentrations and nutrient additions. Biolixiviants from the optimized batch process demonstrated REE leaching efficiencies up to 56%. A continuous bioreactor system was subsequently developed to feed a continuous leach process and demonstrated leaching efficiencies of 50%. A techno-economic analysis showed glucose to be the single largest expense for the bioleach process constituting 37.8% of the total cost. The bioleaching plant described here was found profitable although the margin was small. Lower cost carbon and energy sources for producing the biolixiviant and improved leaching efficiencies would improve profitability as well as sourcing FCC catalysts with higher levels of REE. In conclusion, a life cycle analysis showed that electricity generation and glucose production required for the bioreactor had the largest potential for environmental impacts.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

A life cycle analysis (LCA) primer for the agricultural community

Consumer demand for sustainably produced agricultural products is increasing. One approach that can be used to evaluate and compare product sustainability is to conduct a life cycle analysis (LCA). The term LCA is broadly used to describe a suite of analytical resources and standardized methods. Life cycle analyses are a transdisciplinary tool which can and are used by all professions but work best when conducted by teams with diverse skills and backgrounds. The objective of this paper is to provide a primer on LCAs for the agricultural community and for LCA practitioners unfamiliar with agronomy. Agricultural LCAs can differ greatly because agricultural products have multiple end uses, complex socio-economic and environmental trade-offs, and can be generated using a variety of different practices, resources, and production systems. Through worldwide agricultural marketing, intricate agronomic supply chains and support systems have been developed to produce, store, and distribute agricultural products. In many situations, the production practices are not linked to the products consumers purchase. This limitation can be partially overcome by conducting an LCA, which is a systematic summation of the multiple environmental impacts associated with the production, use, and disposal of a product. However, the large number and types of analyses can make it difficult for non-practitioners and decision-makers to use and interpret LCA results. Finally, it is important for members of the agricultural community to be aware of these analyses and how they can be used and how they affect product markets.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Life cycle analysis of dedicated energy crops for fuel production in the United States

Dedicated energy crops are promising feedstocks to make biofuels including jet fuels. This study applies life cycle analysis (LCA) to estimate direct well-to-wake (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (g CO 2 e/MJ) for jet fuel derived from five energy crops-biomass sorghum, miscanthus, switchgrass, poplar, and willow-via Fischer-Tropsch-to-Jet (FTJ) and Ethanol-to-Jet (ETJ) pathways. The WTW boundary includes direct emissions from biomass production, fuel production, and fuel combustion. The R&D GREET model is expanded to conduct the LCA, using national average biomass yields and farming inputs from the 2023 Billion-Ton Study. In addition, this study estimates emissions from market-mediated effects, including induced land-use change, induced other crop (non-feedstock) production changes, and induced livestock production changes using global economic and emissions factor models. On a per-dry U.S. ton basis, cultivation and harvest emissions are lowest for willow (51,565 g CO 2 e) and highest for biomass sorghum (104,488 g CO 2 e). Per-acre results show similarly high emissions for sorghum and lowest values for poplar and willow. Direct WTW emissions are substantially lower for FTJ (biomass sorghum: 5.5; miscanthus: 10.3; switchgrass: 11.7; poplar: 11.9; and willow: 8.7 g CO 2 e/MJ) than ETJ (33.2; 33.8; 34.8; 36.2; and 31.7 g CO 2 e/MJ, respectively). When market-mediated emissions are included, miscanthus exhibits the lowest total emissions across energy crop pathways. Although results are sensitive to modeling assumptions, they indicate that high-yielding perennial and woody crops, particularly when planted on marginal land, could significantly reduce WTW emissions for bio-jet fuels by combining low direct emissions with soil carbon gains and favorable market-mediated effects.

Billion-Ton Study↗
DOE OSTI2018

Life Cycle Analysis of Extruded Films Based on Poly(lactic acid)/Cellulose Nanocrystal/Limonene: A Comparative Study with ATBC Plasticized PLA/OMMT Systems

Life cycle analysis (LCA) of limonene plasticized poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films containing cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) extracted, by acid hydrolysis, from Phormium tenax leaf fibres, was assessed and compared with the results of acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC) plasticized PLA films, having equivalent mechanical properties, containing organo-modified montmorillonite (OMMT). Eco-Indicator 99 tool has been adopted as the main method for life cycle assessment. Results indicated that, despite CNC are biobased fillers obtained by natural sources, the related chemical extraction leads to a large environmental footprint and a relatively relevant energy expense. LCA characterization of these films demonstrated that the environmental impact of PLA/limonene film reinforced with 1% in weight of CNC (PLA/CNC/limonene) is comparable to the environmental impact of polylactic acid films reinforced with OMMT and plasticized with a petroleum based plasticizer (ATBC) (PLA/OMTT/ATBC). A “cradle to gate” approach has been considered for both the film typologies.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Life-cycle analysis of battery metal recycling with lithium recovery from a spent lithium-ion battery

Demand for critical materials (nickel, cobalt, manganese [NCM], and lithium) for use in batteries is increasing rapidly due to the expansion of the battery-electric vehicles market. Battery metal recycling (BMR) is an important technology that can potentially realize environmental and economic benefits in cathode active material (LiNi x Mn y Co z O 2 ) production using recycled materials. While current major battery recycling technologies recover cathode materials (NCM) and other metals (steel, aluminum, copper, etc.) from the spent battery, the lithium (Li) recovery rate is less than 1% in the world. In this study, we analyze the environmental benefits of a BMR process that recovers lithium in the form of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LiOH∙H 2 O) along with other cathode materials. Using life-cycle analysis (LCA), we evaluate the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, criteria air pollutant emissions, and water consumption of the new BMR technology in terms of lithium hydroxide production and cathode active material production. The LCA results show that the life-cycle GHG emissions recycled LiOH are 37–72% lower than those of virgin LiOH production from Chilean brine and Australian ore, respectively. In addition, the life-cycle GHG emissions of NCM811 produced using the recycled materials are 40–48% lower compared to virgin cathode active material production. Furthermore, recovering lithium from the spent batteries reduces associated air pollutant emissions and water consumption relative to using the virgin materials or materials from other recycling technologies without LiOH recovery.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Technoeconomic and Life Cycle Analysis of an Integrated Fermentation and Microbial Electrochemical Process for Volatile Fatty Acid Production from Food Waste

Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) were conducted for an integrated system designed for the production of volatile fatty acid (VFA) from food waste. The TEA estimated a production cost of $\$$3.12/kg VFA, and the LCA predicted negative greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of -0.4 kg CO 2 e/kg VFA, driven primarily by diverting organic waste from landfills and avoiding methane emissions while producing valuable chemical products. Hotspot analysis showed arrested methanogenesis (AM) fermentation as the largest contributor to costs (37%) and environmental burden (47%), driven by high sodium hydroxide (NaOH) consumption. Distillation and microbial electrosynthesis (MES) units were the next-largest environmental contributors (28% and 18%). Major cost drivers also included residuals management (biosolids and wastewater) and the equipment and operating costs for AM, MES, and sonication pretreatment units. Although the new integrated system is environmentally benign, its costs and environmental impacts can be further reduced by integrating alternative energy sources, minimizing chemical and energy inputs through process optimization, and improving efficiency. In conclusion, this work highlighted the viability of waste-derived VFA production and provided a clear, data-driven strategy to accelerate the commercialization of waste valorization technology.

Carboxylic Acid Production↗
DOE OSTI2016

A Life Cycle Analysis Perspective of ROZ – CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery

This presentation was given at USAE ROZ Workshop in January 2016, and provided the background on the complexity of determining the greenhouse gas emissions from this type of complex interconnected energy system. It also showed results across the wide range of possible permutations of this type of system.

Climate Change↗
DOE OSTI2024

Life-cycle analysis of hydrogen production from water electrolyzers

The United States' focus on decarbonization has spawned interest among policymakers in deploying water electrolysis technology for clean hydrogen production. However, water electrolyzers also raise concerns regarding their substantial use of carbon-intensive materials. Here, we conduct a comprehensive life-cycle analysis (LCA) of three prominent water electrolyzer technologies to investigate the environmental implications of their manufacturing and life cycles under different energy sources. All electrolyzer technologies employing low-carbon energy (nuclear, solar, or wind) exhibit life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 0.3-2.4 kg-CO 2-eq /kg-H 2 . This is significantly lower than the corresponding GHG emissions for hydrogen production via both conventional steam methane reforming and alternative autothermal reforming with carbon capture and storage (by > 50%). The well-to-gate GHG emissions of low-carbon electrolyzers (0-0.36 kg-CO 2-eq / kg-H 2 ) qualify for Tier I of the production tax credit in the U.S.' Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, indicating their suitability for producing decarbonized hydrogen under this program.

08 HYDROGEN↗