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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Carbon Dioxide Capture at Nucleophilic Hydroxide Sites in Oxidation–Resistant Cyclodextrin–Based Metal–Organic Frameworks

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) from industrial point sources and direct air capture are necessary to combat global climate change. A particular challenge faced by amine-based sorbents—the current leading technology—is poor stability towards O 2 . Here, we demonstrate that CO 2 chemisorption in γ-cylodextrin-based metal-organic frameworks (CD-MOFs) occurs via HCO 3 – formation at nucleophilic OH – sites within the framework pores, rather than via previously proposed pathways. Here, the new framework KHCO 3 CD-MOF possesses rapid and high-capacity CO 2 uptake, good thermal, oxidative, and cycling stabilities, and selective CO 2 capture under mixed gas conditions. Because of its low cost and performance under realistic conditions, KHCO 3 CD-MOF is a promising new platform for CCS. More broadly, our work demonstrates that the encapsulation of reactive OH – sites within a porous framework represents a potentially general strategy for the design of oxidation-resistant adsorbents for CO 2 capture.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Development and Application of High-Fidelity Models for Heterogeneous CO2 Frost Formation

Carbon America has developed a cryogenic carbon capture technology ("FrostCC") that separates CO2 from point source emissions by solidifying it at cold temperatures through preferential desublimation. Cooling is achieved through a series of interlinked compression, heat exchange, and expansion operations. In the current system, frosting of CO2 happens in heat exchangers, followed by CO2 recovery in a separate extraction step. In this work, multiphysics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are developed and validated for compressible and low Mach flows to simulate the formation of solid CO2 in flue gas flowing in a heat exchanger geometry. The models track the mass transfer rate of CO2 from gas phase to solid phase, heat released from desublimation, and the evolution of the solid CO2 layer. Simulations are used to answer scientific questions related to the angle of heat exchanger pipes, where buoyancy effects from flow velocity and pipe orientation influence CO2 frosting. Results show that upwardly angled pipes produce notably different flow structures compared to horizontal or vertical configurations, and that carbon capture efficiency correlates with buoyancy effects for pipe angles within plus or minus 23 degrees of horizontal.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Biocatalytic Membranes for Carbon Capture and Utilization

Innovative carbon capture technologies that capture CO 2 from large point sources and directly from air are urgently needed to combat the climate crisis. Likewise, corresponding technologies are needed to convert this captured CO 2 into valuable chemical feedstocks and products that replace current fossil-based materials to close the loop in creating viable pathways for a renewable economy. Biocatalytic membranes that combine high reaction rates and enzyme selectivity with modularity, scalability, and membrane compactness show promise for both CO 2 capture and utilization. This review presents a systematic examination of technologies under development for CO 2 capture and utilization that employ both enzymes and membranes. CO 2 capture membranes are categorized by their mode of action as CO 2 separation membranes, including mixed matrix membranes (MMM) and liquid membranes (LM), or as CO 2 gas–liquid membrane contactors (GLMC). Because they selectively catalyze molecular reactions involving CO 2 , the two main classes of enzymes used for enhancing membrane function are carbonic anhydrase (CA) and formate dehydrogenase (FDH). Small organic molecules designed to mimic CA enzyme active sites are also being developed. CO 2 conversion membranes are described according to membrane functionality, the location of enzymes relative to the membrane, which includes different immobilization strategies, and regeneration methods for cofactors. Parameters crucial for the performance of these hybrid systems are discussed with tabulated examples. Progress and challenges are discussed, and perspectives on future research directions are provided.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Countercurrent flow characteristics of next generation solvent in novel 3D printed columns for carbon capture

Solvent based absorption for carbon dioxide capture in a packed column is being considered as an efficient technology for the decarbonization process of point source. Significant efforts are underway to improve the design of packings with the cutting edge 3D printing technology for efficient carbon capture. Accordingly, multiphase flow studies were conducted to assess the performance of novel 3D printed columns with various triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) designs. The effects of solvent properties, liquid and gas loads on the performance of TPMS columns are extensively explored. Hydrodynamics of the potential water-lean solvents (EEMPA) as well as aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent for carbon capture are evaluated and compared. The interfacial area and liquid holdup increase with increasing liquid loads (q L ) for TPMS columns. Schwarz column consistently shows the highest liquid holdup value. The EEMPA exhibits higher values for the interfacial area (10–15 %) and liquid holdup (~4 %) in comparison to the MEA. TPMS columns exhibit the intermediate value of dry pressure drop between the random and the structure packed columns. Among selected TPMS columns, the gyroid packing shows the lowest pressure drop. The gas load has marginal impact on the interfacial area at lower value while a higher gas load leads to column’s flooding. Prior to the flooding, the interfacial area in TMPS packings rises with increased gas load at a fixed liquid load except Schwarz packing where interfacial area is incentive to the gas load. Additionally, the liquid holdup and wet pressure drop rise as gas load increases in TPMS columns. Overall, Fisher Koch packing is more susceptible to flood as compared to other TPMS packings. Flow regimes: loading and flooding are also delineated in the TPMS packings.

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

Onshore U.S. Carbon Pipeline Deployment: Siting, Safety, and Regulation

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology has significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impact of climate change, particularly in hard-to-decarbonize industrial and commercial sectors. Unless utilization or storage occurs at the same location as carbon capture, which is rare, carbon must be transported from a point source to a utilization or storage site. Pipelines offer significant advantages for large-scale transportation of carbon dioxide over other methods. While studies show that reaching net-zero carbon emissions in the United States by 2050 will require between 29,000 and 66,000 miles of carbon pipelines, the U.S. had deployed fewer than 6,000 miles of carbon pipelines by 2022. Although closing this gap is important to achieving low-carbon goals, carbon pipelines operate in a complex and uncertain local, state and federal regulatory landscape and face public concerns about safety and siting. This report covers numerous regulatory issues surrounding carbon pipeline development, including the current narrow federal definition of carbon dioxide and the considerable variation in state and local governments’ laws and regulations. The report serves as a primer for regulators and stakeholders who seek to better understand the regulatory challenges and opportunities facing this critical infrastructure

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Challenge Ahead: A Critical Perspective on Meeting U.S. Growth Targets for Sustainable Aviation Fuel

With demand for jet fuel expected to more than double by 2050 and triple by 2070, continued and accelerated efforts to decarbonize the global aviation sector are needed to curtail rising emissions and avert the worst outcomes of climate change. In response to this call-to-action, the United States has unveiled the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge, which seeks to expedite the development of alternative fuel pathways that offer a minimum of a 50% reduction in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional jet fuel. However, there is growing concern on whether sufficient biomass will be readily available to satisfy the projected sharp rise in demand for SAF. Carbon dioxide point-source emissions combined with rising supply from direct air capture efforts have the potential to complement and offset any supply gaps for biomass-derived SAF and other use cases. Independent of the chosen feedstock and conversion technology, numerous challenges persist across SAF production in seeking to drive down fuel cost and carbon intensity. To hit the 2030 target of 3 billion gal/yr, this means about a 100% compound annual growth rate in volumetric SAF production (about 130 times scale-up) will need to be realized. To achieve the stretch goal of 35 billion gallons of SAF per year by 2050, volumetric production must increase by a factor of 12 from the 3-billion-gal/year 2030 target of SAF Grand Challenge. The comparatively longer runway for 2050 combined with significant production volume growth suggests a more inclusive "all-hands-on-deck"-style approach will likely play a role. A key component in success lies in the coordinated research, development, demonstration, and deployment efforts by multiple federal agencies and industry partnerships.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Plastic Waste Product Captures Carbon Dioxide in Nanometer Pores

We discuss, plastic waste (PW) and increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels are among the top environmental concerns presently facing humankind. With an ambitious 2050 zero-CO 2 emissions goal, there is a demand for economical CO 2 capture routes. Here we show that the thermal treatment of PW in the presence of potassium acetate yields an effective carbon sorbent with pores width of 0.7–1.4 nm for CO 2 capture. The PW to carbon sorbent process works with single or mixed streams of polyolefin plastics. The CO 2 capacity of the sorbent at 25 °C is 17.0 ± 1.1 wt % (3.80 ± 0.25 mmol g –1 ) at 1 bar and 5.0 ± 0.6 wt % (1.13 ± 0.13 mmol g –1 ) at 0.15 bar, and it regenerates upon reaching 75 ± 5 °C. The CO 2 capture cost from flue gas via this technology is estimated to be <$21 ton –1 CO 2 , much lower than competing CO 2 capture technologies. Hence, this PW-derived carbon material should find utility in the capture of CO 2 from point sources of high CO 2 emissions while providing a use for otherwise deleterious PW.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2025

Enhancing Selective Hydrofluorocarbon Greenhouse Gas Capture via Halogenation of Metal–Organic Frameworks

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are anthropogenically produced greenhouse gases with longer atmospheric lifetimes and higher global warming potentials than those of carbon dioxide. General strategies to abate their emissions from industrial point sources, such as via adsorptive capture, remain scarce. Herein, we uncover the key structure–property relationships that lead to strong binding of HFCs such as fluoroform (CHF 3 ) and difluoromethane (CH 2 F 2 ) in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) under the low pressures relevant to flue gas scrubbing. Extensive gas sorption and computational studies support that the Zr-based microporous framework MOF-801-Br or HHU-2-Br (HHU = Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf) strongly binds HFCs due to its synergistic combination of Zr-OH sites on the nodes and bromine sites on the linkers. As such, MOF-801-Br demonstrates a record-setting performance for separating CHF 3 from N 2 under dilute conditions. Our work highlights that the combination of multiple hydrogen-bonding sites in microporous MOFs represents a generalizable strategy for HFC capture, enabling their selective removal from industrial waste streams.

adsorption↗
DOE OSTI2023

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↗
DOE OSTI2024

Air Carbon for Algae Production (AirCAP) – Expanding algae resource potential via direct (in-pond) air-CO2 capture.

Microalgae biofuel production potential in the United States is constrained by a lack of suitable cultivation locations within a close proximity to CO2 point-sources. Initial estimates suggest that removing the requirement of a concentrated CO2 source expands resource potential ten-fold, allowing the projection of production levels that approach levels of current U.S. diesel consumption. Decoupling cultivation locations from concentrated CO2 point-sources requires direct capture of air-CO2 into the pond bulk at a rate sufficient to meet maximum expected carbon assimilation rates (10 g C/m2-day and higher). Enhancement of the ingassing rate via chemical reaction, the direct reaction of dissolved CO2 with hydroxide ions, has been proposed as a mechanism to increase the ingassing rate of air-CO2. The central objectives of this project are to validate whether chemically enhanced air-CO2 ingassing rates in large raceway ponds can meet or exceed the level required to support high levels of algae productivity, then subsequently identify alkaliphilic strains able to withstand such conditions while maintaining a biomass productivity that enables process economics. Full scale ponds (~1 acre, unlined) will be used to validate ingassing rates as a function of pH expected at scale in a series of abiotic experiments. To date, mass-transfer dynamics have been characterized in ponds ranging from 1 to 1,000 m2. Initial results will be presented describing the mass transfer coefficient in 1-acre (~4,000 m2), unlined ponds. The maximum expected carbon ingassing rate will be measured during ingassing trials, in which pond pH is displaced from equilibrium via the addition of a strong base, with the subsequent decrease in pH (and increase in dissolved inorganic carbon) corresponding to the air-CO2 absorption rate. A mass-transfer model, validated with experimental results, will be used to project ingassing rates expected at pond scales (10 acres) required for production of commodity chemicals.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Biphasic solvents for post-combustion CO 2 capture from natural gas flue Gas

Fossil fuel fired power plants are generally expected to remain one of the most significant global sources of electricity for decades to come. Consequently, carbon management technologies are needed to reduce or eliminate ongoing emissions from these sources. Amongst the many techniques for carbon capture, aqueous amine-based absorbents (monoethanolamine, MEA, in particular) are, presently, considered the leading technology for post-combustion CO 2 point-source capture. These technologies are nevertheless limited by their high capital and regeneration energy costs. Biphasic solvents have been identified as an attractive alternative to traditional MEA based absorbents due to their potential energy savings. Thus far, however, the research on biphasic solvents has largely focused on their performance in coal flue gas while more dilute natural gas flue gas applications have received relatively little attention. Here, this work examines the performances of two novel biphasic solvent blends, diethylenetriamine (DETA) and triethylenetetramine (TETA), in CO 2 capture from a natural gas flue gas simulant. Across several regeneration tests, both solvents achieved considerable energy savings over the benchmark MEA solution. Specifically, the energy consumption per mol CO 2 recovered for the DETA-based and TETA-based solvents was 46 % and 35 % less than that of the benchmark MEA solution, respectively. Molecular dynamics simulations were also performed to gain a deeper understanding of the phase separation phenomena that occur as a consequence of CO 2 absorption. These simulations indicated that phase change was driven by the strong interaction between the absorption products and water, while the degree of separation depended on the CO 2 loading.

Biphasic solvents↗
DOE OSTI2024

CFD Modeling of High-Flux Plate-and-Frame Membrane modules for industrial carbon capture

In this work, we explore the use of CO2-selective flat sheet membranes for capturing CO2 from point sources. We employ Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models to design high-flux plate-and-frame membrane modules to achieve uniform flow distribution among membrane elements, minimize dead-end zones, and ease the common concentration polarization issue for gas separation membranes. The goal is to drive membrane technology improvements by providing better module designs for given membrane properties and operating conditions.

Dosso, Cheick↗
DOE OSTI2024

CFD Modeling of High-Flux Plate-and-Frame Membrane Modules for Industrial Carbon Capture

In this work, we explore the use of CO2-selective flat sheet membranes for capturing CO2 from point sources. We employ Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models to design high-flux plate-and-frame membrane modules to achieve uniform flow distribution among membrane elements, minimize dead-end zones, and ease the common concentration polarization issue for gas separation membranes. The goal is to drive membrane technology improvements by providing better module designs for given membrane properties and operating conditions.

Dosso, Cheick↗
DOE OSTI2024

CFD modeling of high-flux plate-and-frame membrane modules for industrial carbon capture

In this work, we explore the use of CO2-selective flat sheet membranes for capturing CO2 from point sources. We employ Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models to design high-flux plate-and-frame membrane modules to achieve uniform flow distribution among membrane elements, minimize dead-end zones, and ease the common concentration polarization issue for gas separation membranes. The goal is to drive membrane technology improvements by providing better module designs for given membrane properties and operating conditions.

Dosso, Cheick↗
DOE OSTI2025

Optimal CO2 Transport and Storage Cost Screening: Application Example

Poster on “Optimal CO2 Transport and Storage Cost Screening: Application Example” for the CCUS 2025 conference held in Houston, Texas March 3-5, 2025. A major challenge to commercial scale CCS deployment from the perspective of coal and natural gas-fired power plants is understanding cost-optimal CO2 transport and viable geologic storage options. This study demonstrates unique workflows, using NETL-developed, publicly-available models and tools, to efficiently estimate optimal CO2 transport and storage (T&S) costs for each of the CO2 sources in NETL’s Carbon Capture Retrofit Databases (CCRD) for Electricity Generating Units. The results demonstrate the impact of cost-drivers on optimal T&S, and trends in optimal T&S data, based on real point sources that could be retrofitted with CO2 source technologies.

application example↗
DOE OSTI2024

Membrane Development for CO2 Capture from Steel Manufacturing

The U.S. government is targeting a net-zero carbon-emission economy by 2050, offering an exciting opportunity for membrane-based CO2 capture from various industrial point sources. Given that industrial flue gas has low CO2 partial pressures and high volumetric flow rates, high-permeance membranes are needed to make membrane technology economically viable for large-scale deployment. Thin film composite (TFC) membranes are necessary for this implementation because they can provide high permeance by forming a thin selective layer on top of a porous support. This presentation will report the rational design and fabrication of NETL’s highly permeable non-aging TFCs achieved by: synthesizing a high-performance rubbery selective material; developing a high-porosity membrane support; optimizing coating methods to assemble the two materials into scalable membranes; and scaling up membrane supports and TFCs via a roll-to-roll process. The novel rubbery selective material shows mixed-gas CO2 permeability of 930 Barrer and CO2/N2 selectivity of 44, exceeding the 2008 Robeson upper bound. The resulting TFCs yield remarkably high CO2 permeance of 4,500 GPU and CO2/N2 selectivity of 34 at 23ºC. Moreover, the TFCs exhibit not only excellent performance stability (or non-aging behavior) for 1,000 hours in the lab, but also maintain their separation properties in a 700-hour field test at the U.S. DOE’s National Carbon Capture Center using real humid flue gas.

Tran, Thien↗
DOE OSTI2021

Combined Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of an Integrated Direct Air Capture System with Advanced Algal Biofuel Production

The continuous increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere since the First Industrial Revolution correlates convincingly with the ongoing rise of the Earth's global average temperature contributing to climate change. As a response, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies are being implemented to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions by capturing CO2 from high emitting point sources, such as power plants, refineries, and cement factories, and subsequently buried in geological formations underground for long term storage. Recently direct air capture (DAC) has emerged as a promising alternative technology that captures CO2 directly from the atmosphere for use or sequestration. This study investigates the potential synergistic benefits of integrating a solid amine-based DAC system with advanced algal biofuel production in photobioreactors (PBRs). DAC utilization allows the removal of atmospheric CO2 while also decoupling algae production facilities from anthropogenic point CO2 sources and avoiding the cost and logistics challenges of transporting CO2 long distances to remote facilities. Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment are performed to assess the economic and environmental benefits of heat and mass integration between the DAC and the PBR for biofuel production. The DAC-PBR system integration also considers on-site flue gas handling options, DAC capital utilization, the tradeoff between centralization or decentralization of key unit operations, and the PBR array. This presentation will discuss how optimizing DAC-PBR process integration can enhance the algal biofuel's economic and environmental sustainability and the prospect of DAC enabling the circular carbon economy.

algal biofuel production↗