A Renewable, Carbon-Neutral Route to Ammonia via Concentrating Solar Thermochemistry.
Abstract not provided.
Ambrosini, Andrea↗
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Solar-Thermal Ammonia Production: A Renewable, Carbon-Neutral Route to Ammonia via Concentrating Solar Thermochemistry [Slides]
Solar Thermal Ammonia Production has potential to produce green ammonia using CSP, air, and water. Air separation to purify N 2 was successfully demonstrated with BSF1585 in packed bed reactor; on-sun reduction reactor under construction. Metal nitrides (MNy) were successfully synthesized and characterized under both ambient and pressurized conditions. Co 3 Mo 3 N shown to successfully produce NH 3 when exposed to pure H 2 at pressures between 5 – 20 bar 600 – 750 °C. Ambient reaction experiments imply there may be a catalytic aspect as well. Technoeconomic and systems analyses show a path towards scale-up.
14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
Optimization Model and Algorithm for Capacity Planning and Operation of Reliable and Carbon-neutral Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Generation
In this work, we propose a Generalized Disjunctive Programming (GDP) model that optimizes both long-term capacity planning (such as the number and size of dispatchable/renewable generators, batteries, and transmission lines) and hourly operation (such as on/off schedules of dispatchable generators, power output from each generator, and power flow) to maximize power system reliability while minimizing total cost and CO2 emissions.
Cho, Seolhee↗
Carbon-Neutral Steel Production with Methane Pyrolysis Driven Direct Reduced Iron (Final Technical Report)
This project supports national goals for clean energy by providing a cost-effective pathway to eliminate up to 60 million tons of CO 2 annually in the U.S. steel sector. It enhances economic competitiveness by decreasing dependence on foreign steel imports and utilizing domestic natural gas to produce green products at commercial scale.
03 NATURAL GAS↗
Optimization for Infrastructure Planning of Reliable and Carbon-neutral Power Systems: Application to San Diego County
The presentation contains research findings of the expansion planning subtask within the IDAES core activity. The presentation highlights the expansion planning capabilities applied to a case study in the San Diego County area. The research findings were presented at the AIChE Annual Meeting.
Cho, Seolhee↗
High Power Density, Carbon Neutral Electrical Power Generation for Air Vehicles
The synergistic integration of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell-Combustor (SOFC-C) with a turbogenerator (TG) will provide a very high fuel-to-electricity conversion efficiency while maintaining high power-to-weight ratio during high-altitude flight. The proposed SOFC-C-TG power generation technology exceeds the REEACH technical performance targets (TPT). This unique concept addresses many of the challenges faced in all electric propulsion-based aviation. The system has high part-load efficiency (more than 65% lower heating value (LHV)) during long cruise times, load following capability, high-power capacity at high altitudes adapting to low temperatures and pressures, rapid startup time of less than 30 minutes (proven with current SOFC technology), high power density (more than 3.2 kW/kg), efficient thermal management, and a foundation for a compact, efficient electrical storage and power generation system (ESPG). The SOFC-C concept achieves the technology targets by reducing the complexity of traditional fuel cell-gas turbine hybrid systems (FC-GT). The SOFC-C does not require heat exchangers and dramatically reduces the balance of plant increasing power density and performance in efficiency. The reduction in mass through elimination of heat exchangers, external reformer, and other components dramatically decreases the overall thermal dampening of the system which enables rapid startup and load following capability. Direct control of the cathode inlet temperature of the SOFC-C enables rapid warm-up of the SOFC tubes with the ability to reach operating temperature and full power in less than 30 minutes.
03 NATURAL GAS↗
Getting to Neutral: Options for Negative Carbon Emissions in California
This report is an assessment of negative emissions pathways - ones that physically remove CO 2 from the atmosphere - that can help California achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, or sooner. It integrates original research findings with current published research on three main pillars of negative emissions: natural and working lands, carbon capture from biomass conversion to fuels, and direct air capture. The focus and scope of this report is unique: it only addresses practices and technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the air. It also encompasses the entire breadth of strategies, from land management to the latest technological options, and it evaluates the cost of every step of the solution, from waste biomass collection to carbon dioxide transport and geologic storage. The methods are intended to be transparent; details of the calculations and underlying data are included in the report body and appendices. This study intentionally avoids any discussion of policies and does not include current incentives; it provides a range of options, tradeoffs and costs that can be used to inform future policies. The key finding of this report is that carbon neutrality is achievable.
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
Editorial: Harmonizing life cycle analysis (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) guidelines: a common framework for consistent conduct and transparent reporting of carbon dioxide removal and CCU technology appraisal
Stabilizing the climate will require significant efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, manage emissions that cannot be avoided, and remove as many legacy emissions as possible [i.e., carbon dioxide (International Energy Agency, 2020; Author Collective, 2022)]. In that context, negative emissions technologies will take CO 2 from the air (Direct Air Capture) or the water (Direct Ocean Capture) and permanently remove it (Roger et al., 2021) either by sequestering the CO 2 underground or converting it to so-called Track 1 materials (Sick et al., 2021) that have lifetimes of >100 years. Shorter-lived products that decompose back into CO 2 in <100 years are categorized as Track 2 materials and will at best be carbon neutral. A carbon neutral status can also be achieved if captured CO 2 from fossil-based point sources is sequestered or used to create Track 1 materials. Conversion of CO 2 from fossil-based sources to any Track 2 material and subsequent decomposition would add new fossil-based carbon to the atmosphere, constituting an ultimately undesirable process. The overall carbon footprint of a process or product will depend on many factors associated with the carbon production, use, and disposal phases.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Assessing the Additional Carbon Savings with Biofuel
A recent study claims that corn used for ethanol should not be considered to be inherently biogenically carbon-neutral because not all that corn was grown additional to the level otherwise. By assessing the extent of carbon neutrality of corn for ethanol using the reference point baseline approach and historical data that study concluded that the carbon intensity of US corn ethanol is 27% higher than that of gasoline. We develop a framework to determine the carbon neutrality of corn for ethanol by assessing the additional carbon uptake by crops using an anticipated baseline approach. We also apply this framework to determine the additional corn produced for ethanol and include the direct life cycle carbon emissions of only that portion of corn in the direct life cycle carbon intensity of corn ethanol. We implement this framework by integrating an economic model of the agricultural sector in the USA with a biogenic carbon model and life cycle analysis to quantify biogenic carbon uptake and direct life cycle emissions with and without corn ethanol expansion over the 2007–2027 period. We find that the combined biogenic carbon emissions and direct life cycle carbon emission intensity of corn ethanol (not including indirect land use related emissions) is 21% lower than gasoline. In conclusion, the lower value of this carbon intensity of corn ethanol compared with gasoline is robust to a wide range of parametric assumptions.
09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
Pathway for decarbonizing residential building operations in the US and China beyond the mid-century
With global carbon budget targets looming, residential buildings in top economies must become carbon neutral as soon as possible to reserve more emission space for emerging carbon-emitting economies. This study is the first to compare the operational decarbonization process of China’s and the United States (US) residential buildings from 2000 to 2060 by combining the end-use emission model with the decomposing structural decomposition (DSD) method and Monte Carlo simulation. The results show that from 2001 to 2020 China decarbonized 1544 mega-tons of carbon dioxide (MtCO 2 ) and the US decarbonized 1848 MtCO 2 . In the business-as-usual scenario, China will hit its emission peak in 2031 (±3) with 934 (±61) MtCO 2 , while the US will maintain a lock-in level of 736 (±133) MtCO 2 since the 2030s. In the decarbonization scenario, operational carbon neutrality for residential buildings in 2060 is promoted by an increase in clean power generation proportion, building-integrated power generation level, building electrification level, and a reduction in end-use energy intensity, which will contribute 34.4 %, 21.4 %, 14.3 %, and 29.9 % in China and 32.9 %, 33.1 %, 8.2 %, and 25.8 % in the US, respectively. Especially, building-integrated power generation in China only costs about 40 % of what it costs in the US. Besides, high-decarbonization strategies for residential building operations are proposed as references for governments to formulate targeted climate policies. Overall, this study offers data benchmarks for buildings’ carbon neutrality of top economies to further promote synergistic carbon neutrality with the buildings of emerging economies in the age of Post COP27.
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
Materials for electrification of everything: Moving toward sustainability
We report society is at a unique tipping point in a move from conventional fossil fuel based technologies to renewable sourced electrified technologies which can enable creating a carbon neutral or carbon negative energy economy. Many of the key approaches to achieving this transition in the critical areas of transportation, buildings and manufacturing depend on new materials and new approaches to rapidly increase electrification. This article reviews the overall energy landscape and highlights specific areas where new materials are critical to enabling transitions in energy storage, hydrogen utilization, transportation, buildings and the chemical industry and the articles on these topics that follow. How these transitions can be best integrated and the global societal impact of these transitions is also discussed. The development of new materials is instrumental in accelerating the move to a cleaner electrified society. The "electrification of everything" is increasingly important if we are to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and materials will play a critical role realizing this goal.
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
Stacked Greenfield and Brownfield ROZ Fairways in the Illinois Basin Geo-Laboratory: Co-Optimization of EOR and Associated CO 2 Storage
Residual oil zones (ROZs) are economically viable targets for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO 2 -EOR); thick, carbonate ROZs in the San Andres Formation in the Wasson Field of the Permian Basin are an example. Incremental oil produced from CO 2 -EOR can be carbon negative via associated storage of injected CO 2 . Given the regional extent of ROZ fairways and generally higher net utilization of CO 2 (compared to conventional CO 2 -EOR), ROZs provide the opportunity for significant carbon neutral to carbon negative oil production with associated CO 2 storage, and therefore should be a priority target for exploration. However, ROZs have not been widely recognized or identified due to poor or no conventional oil production. Hence, in places like the Illinois Basin (ILB), exploratory analyses are required to recognize the existence of an ROZ. As part of this study, four formations were selected for detailed regional characterization and analysis: Carper Sandstone (part of the Borden Siltstone), Tar Springs Sandstone, Cypress Sandstone, and Middle Devonian (Geneva Dolomite and associated Dutch Creek Sandstone). The four formations underwent regional geological characterization to develop a regional geologic framework for the ROZs and their overlying seals. Findings of this study are supported by data from two field laboratory sites, one with stacked greenfield ROZs and the other with a stacked complex that includes a brownfield ROZ and depleted conventional reservoirs. The field laboratory sites were used to collect data and conduct tests to validate ROZ detection methodologies and identify economic field-deployable strategies to co-optimize CO 2 -EOR and associated storage in stacked ROZs. Findings from these field sites were extrapolated to characterize the basin-wide stacked ROZ fairway resource.
01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
Economic and operational investigation of CO 2 sequestration through enhanced oil recovery in unconventional reservoirs in Colorado, USA
The ongoing CCUS commercial projects are highly relied on the support of government incentives due to massive capital investment. Here, this study analyzes the economics of carbon capture utilization and sequestration (CCUS) projects, shows a state-wide CCUS deployment exercise, followed by simulation results of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) based CO 2 storage in unconventional reservoirs. The comprehensive economic analysis of capture, transportation, sequestration costs, enhanced 45Q tax credits, and EOR revenue implies the practicality of CO 2 -EOR to offset the high CCUS costs. With the economics understanding, we study the top CO 2 sources, existing CO 2 pipelines, and sequestration sinks in the state of Colorado, USA. This paper next presents results from EOR simulation in one section of the unconventional Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin Niobrara and Codell reservoirs. The simulation model is based on a geological static model, incorporated with hydraulic fracture stimulation, history matched to production, and calibrated to the microseismic and time-lapse surface seismic data. The CO 2 -EOR simulation results show that oil production can be increased and more CO 2 stored with: a longer primary production period; the presence of a shut-in period; higher injection rates; and multi-well injectors. The modeling results show that about 7–10 Mscf of CO 2 will be stored when recovering 1 stb of EOR oil. By adding the enhanced oil revenue and the carbon credits together, it is estimated that the most economic case can generate $\$13$ MM when oil price is assumed to be $\$80$/stb, and the EOR oil revenue is 3.4 times greater than that generated from 45Q incentives. It corresponds to the scenario that a five-year primary production is followed by CO 2 injection into four wells with the sequence of injection (4 MMscf/day for 6 months), shut-in (6 months) and production (12 months). The best practices in this study will provide valuable insights for similar CCUS projects in other unconventional fields. Furthermore, this study defines a term named “Carbon Neutrality Index (CNI)” by comparing the amount of CO 2 stored with that burned by EOR oil. The CNI value of 0 indicates the enhanced oil is carbon neutral; a negative CNI value implies there is a net reduction in carbon emission. The 4-year huff-n-puff (HnP) simulation leads to a positive CNI value, indicating that the EOR oil generated in this process is not carbon neutral yet.
03 NATURAL GAS↗
Exploring the potential of hydrogen in decarbonizing China's light-duty vehicle market
The Chinese government has pledged to achieve overall carbon neutrality by 2060. Currently, the transportation sector contributes to about 10% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in China. Hence, China has created a well-defined energy vehicle development strategy to reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector, further expanding into hydrogen vehicle technologies. In this study, the Transportation Energy Analysis Model (TEAM) investigates the potential of hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles (H2- ICEVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) as a reliable pathway towards the government's aspiration of carbon neutrality in the transportation sector. According to TEAM, by adopting FCEVs and H2-ICEVs in the vehicle market, hydrogen demand could reach 25% of the total light-duty transportation energy demand in 2050. Consequently, this will lead to an annual reduction of more than 35 million tons GHG compared to only counting on the electrification pathway in the decarbonization task. Besides, FCEVs would take longer to penetrate the light-duty vehicle market compared to H2-ICEVs, as the current fuel cell technology still requires much improvement to attain a competitive vehicle cost of production.
Life cycle analysis↗
Making Data-Driven Policy Decisions for the Nation’s First Building Energy Performance Standards
Nearly every major U.S. city has committed itself to ambitious climate action goals – for Washington, DC this means a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2032 and carbon neutrality by 2050. In support of these goals, Washington, DC has passed one of the most aggressive and practical climate action bills in the nation—with the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act, DC became the first city in the U.S. to adopt energy performance standards for existing buildings. DC’s Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) require energy efficiency improvements for all commercial and multifamily buildings that do not meet a sector-specific minimum ENERGY STAR score or equivalent metric, with iterative compliance cycles every five years that will accelerate the pace of whole building retrofits. This paper explores this revolutionary policy framework and uses two data analysis projects that DC conducted to evaluate the potential impact of the BEPS and move towards carbon neutrality. First, we analyze the potential energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions, as well as potential cost impacts, from the implementation of a BEPS policy in DC We then examine the role of BEPS in a carbon neutrality strategy, how BEPS savings iterate over time, and what additional existing building improvements will be driven by the gravitational pull of new building codes on median performance. The paper highlights the benefits and limitations of such data-driven approaches to support policy decisions. Finally, we will review ongoing BEPS implementation, including expected policy directions, critical supportive programs, and lessons learned to date.
Bergfeld, Katie↗
Microbial production of fuels, commodity chemicals, and materials from sustainable sources of carbon and energy
Anthropogenic carbon emissions are driving rapid changes to the earth's climate, disrupting whole ecosystems and endangering the stability of human society. Innovations in engineered microbial fermentation enable the fossil resource-free production of fuels, commodity chemicals, and materials, thereby reducing the carbon emissions associated with these products. Microorganisms have been engineered to catabolize sustainable sources of carbon and energy (i.e., plant biomass, plastic waste, and one-carbon feedstocks) and biosynthesize carbon-neutral or carbon-negative products. These engineering efforts exploit and optimize natural biological pathways or generate unnatural pathways which can biosynthesize chemicals that have not yet been accessed using synthetic chemistry. Further, recent advances in microbial fermentation seek not only to maximize the titer, rate, and yield of desired products, but also to tailor microbial catabolism to utilize inexpensive feedstocks. Ultimately, these advances aim to lower the cost of bioproduction so that microorganism-derived chemicals can be economically competitive with fossil-derived chemicals.
09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
Maximum and Comparative Efficiency Calculations for Integrated Capture and Electrochemical Conversion of CO 2
CO 2 as a C1 feedstock is receiving increasing attention, but it typically exists in dilute or impure streams. The capture and conversion of CO 2 to fuels or chemicals using carbon-neutral energy mitigates carbon emissions when CO 2 is captured from point sources and results in net or negative carbon emissions when CO 2 is obtained by direct air capture. Additionally, CO 2 capture and conversion steps are typically viewed as separate processes that optimize either capture and concentration or catalytic conversions of pure streams of CO 2 .
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗