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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 613 records · Page 34
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

The Potential for Electrons to Molecules Using Solar Energy

Solar photovoltaics (PV) do and will continue to play an important role in the electric power sector and can potentially support other sectors that are in need of decarbonized energy sources. Chemicals such as hydrogen, ammonia, and hydrocarbons including ethylene are currently produced from natural gas and crude oil. Thus, processes to produce them emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases both directly and in upstream feedstock recovery processes. Electrons-to-molecules (E2M) technologies are being developed to convert carbon dioxide, water, and atmospheric nitrogen to desired chemical products and they are large electricity loads. Thus, they are emerging as a potential applications for PV. In its essence, they can act as electrochemical energy storage, thereby providing a means to further utilize the energy generated from PV and store it in molecular form. E2M systems offer an array of potential products and system designs that can be tailored to different end-uses and applications. It involves electrochemical conversion which uses electricity to break molecular bonds and produce new molecules. Various electrochemical conversion technologies split water into hydrogen and oxygen, reduce carbon dioxide into other hydrocarbon molecules, and several other possible combinations. While this Chapter does not attempt to provide an exhaustive summary or analysis of the potential products from E2M systems, it does provide an initial overview of the potential opportunities and challenges for PV and E2M systems in this space. This Chapter considers the potential for E2M to produce key chemicals and fuels that currently rely on hydrocarbons for production, either as a reactant or a source of high-grade heat.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Wildfire Produces Transient Minerals: Speciation, Reactivity, and Fate of Iron and Manganese in Surface Soils Post Wildfire

Wildfire leads to the deposition of an ash layer at the land surface. This material typically has alkaline properties, abundant pyrogenic carbon, and elevated metal concentrations compared to surface soils. Here, we compare ash and surface soils collected three weeks and two years after the Glass Fire (St. Helena, California, USA) to determine how wildfire affects the speciation and reactivity of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn), two micronutrients that influence many soil processes. Synchrotron-based analyses revealed that wildfire generated stable Fe oxides like maghemite (γ-Fe 2 O 3 ) and hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) that likely derived from surface soil or mineral dust rather than the vegetation, and Mn oxides such as hausmannite (Mn 3 O 4 ) and bixbyite (Mn 2 O 3 ) that derived primarily from aboveground biomass. However, these pyrogenic minerals were absent in soils collected two years after the fire. Their loss from the soil surface may result from a combination of erosion, translocation to deeper soil layers, and chemical weathering. The latter hypothesis is supported by the enhanced mobilization of Fe and Mn from ash upon the addition of pyoverdine, a model biogenic ligand. The increased mobility of micronutrients from fire-derived minerals in ash in response to microbial and root exudation may facilitate postfire soil and vegetation recovery.

bixbyite↗
DOE OSTI2020

Solar Photovoltaics in Severe Weather: Cost Considerations for Storm Hardening PV Systems for Resilience

Solar photovoltaic (PV) power has many advantages as a resilient power source, including the ability to provide power after a natural disaster. While solar arrays often survive severe weather events, systems are occasionally compromised and left unable to provide power. For PV systems to act as resilient power providers, they must remain operational. Building a system that is more likely to survive a storm comes at a cost, though. Previous efforts have identified various system measures and practices that can increase the likelihood of a PV system surviving a severe weather event. But what is the cost premium for a storm hardened PV system? This report provides initial estimates for the up-front cost premiums for various methods of storm hardening PV systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Liberation and release of rare earth minerals from Middle Kittanning, Fire Clay, and West Kentucky No. 13 coal sources

Here, a laboratory REE release test procedure was designed to better understand the association and liberation characteristics of rare earth elements (REEs) from coal-based material, such as coal middlings and refuse. For this particular study, three samples of mixed-phase, middling material was collected from three coal preparation plants operating in three different coal basins and coal seams, namely Fire Clay, Middle Kittanning, and West Kentucky #13. In these release tests, the mixed-phase material was first ground in a laboratory ball mill for a designated amount of time and subsequently decarbonized using staged flotation. The REE content of the high ash tailings and low ash concentrate was determined, and the process was repeated for various target grind sizes down to the micron range. The results indicate that smaller grind sizes produce increased REE concentrations in the high ash tailings, and this result is predominantly driven by the increased ash content in the decarbonized tailings. The grinding characteristics of the Fire Clay coal source showed that more energy is needed to achieve the desired particle size reduction; however further size reduction of this sample resulted in a significantly higher ash and REE content in the tailings material due to improved liberation. For the Middle Kittanning and West Kentucky #13 sources, the grinding and release data indicates that the mineral matter is liberated at a coarser particle size, and micronizing the coals only produces marginal improvements in rare earth mineral liberation and recovery.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2025

Accounting for Sustainability and Performance: Contrasting Effects of PET-Derived Modifiers on Asphalt Durability

The valorization of waste plastics in roadway infrastructure requires careful balance between sustainability and performance, as ineffective modifiers may incur both environmental and financial costs. This study shows that two modifiers derived from the same waste plastic source (PET)-DOTP (N1,N4-(dioctyl)terephthalamide) and HETP (N1,N4-Bis(2-hydroxyethyl)terephthalamide)-exhibit opposite effects on asphalt properties, despite having nearly the same carbon footprint. DOTP improves elastic recovery in multiple creep recovery tests (MCRT), while HETP increases strain accumulation and reduces elasticity. Density functional theory (DFT) shows that DOTP's molecular structure can disperse well in bitumen mixtures by binding to both polar and non-polar components. In contrast, HETP binds only to the binder's polar sites, lacking adequate dispersion. This increases the risk of aggregation of polar compounds in the bitumen mixture, resulting in a more deformation-prone binder. A techno-economic analysis highlights trade-offs between sustainability and performance in industrial-scale synthesis. This study advocates for applying first-principles thinking in material design, coupled with experimental validation, to engineer plastic waste-derived additives that achieve both performance and sustainability goals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1970

Regulated-current dc power supply for gaseous-discharge lamps

Controlled current source having a high output resistance feeds continuous-flow hydrogen lamps in vacuum-ultraviolet photometric equipment. The power supply, also used with low-pressure sealed lamps, has a short recovery time and smooth regulation without overshoot.

Freeman, W.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Ground Testing of the EMCS Seed Cassette for Biocompatibility with the Cellular Slime Mold, Dictyostelium Discoideum

The European Modular Cultivation System, EMCS, was developed by ESA for plant experiments. To expand the use of flight verified hardware for various model organisms, we performed ground experiments to determine whether ARC EMCS Seed Cassettes could be adapted for use with cellular slime mold for future space flight experiments. Dictyostelium is a cellular slime mold that can exist both as a single-celled independent organism and as a part of a multicellular colony which functions as a unit (pseudoplasmodium). Under certain stress conditions, individual amoebae will aggregate to form multicellular structures. Developmental pathways are very similar to those found in Eukaryotic organisms, making this a uniquely interesting organism for use in genetic studies. Dictyostelium has been used as a genetic model organism for prior space flight experiments. Due to the formation of spores that are resistant to unfavorable conditions such as desiccation, Dictyostelium is also a good candidate for use in the EMCS Seed Cassettes. The growth substratum in the cassettes is a gridded polyether sulfone (PES) membrane. A blotter beneath the PES membranes contains dried growth medium. The goals of this study were to (1) verify that Dictyostelium are capable of normal growth and development on PES membranes, (2) develop a method for dehydration of Dictyostelium spores with successful recovery and development after rehydration, and (3) successful mock rehydration experiments in cassettes. Our results show normal developmental progression in two strains of Dictyostelium discoideum on PES membranes with a bacterial food source. We have successfully performed a mock rehydration of spores with developmental progression from aggregation to slug formation, and production of morphologically normal spores within 9 days of rehydration. Our results indicate that experiments on the ISS using the slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum could potentially be performed in the flight verified hardware of the EMCS ARC Seed Cassettes.

biocompatibility↗
NASA NTRS2007

Sensitive Quantitative Assessment of Balance Disorders

Computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) has become a standard technique for objectively quantifying balance control performance, diagnosing the nature of functional impairments underlying balance disorders, and monitoring clinical treatment outcomes. We have long used CDP protocols to assess recovery of sensory-motor function in astronauts following space flight. The most reliable indicators of post-flight crew performance are the sensory organization tests (SOTs), particularly SOTs 5 and 6, which are sensitive to changes in availability and/or utilization of vestibular cues. We have noted, however, that some astronauts exhibiting obvious signs of balance impairment after flight are able to score within clinical norms on these tests, perhaps as a result of adopting competitive strategies or by their natural skills at substituting alternate sensory information sources. This insensitivity of the CDP protocol could underestimate of the degree of impairment and, perhaps, lead to premature release of those crewmembers to normal duties. To improve the sensitivity of the CDP protocol we have introduced static and dynamic head tilt SOT trials into our protocol. The pattern of postflight recovery quantified by the enhanced CDP protocol appears to more aptly track the re-integration of sensory-motor function, with recovery time increasing as the complexity of sensory-motor/biomechanical task increases. The new CDP protocol therefore seems more suitable for monitoring post-flight sensory-motor recovery and for indicating to crewmembers and flight surgeons fitness for return to duty and/or activities of daily living. There may be classes of patients (e.g., athletes, pilots) having motivation and/or performance characteristics similar to astronauts whose sensory-motor treatment outcomes would also be more accurately monitored using the enhanced CDP protocol. Furthermore, the enhanced protocol may be useful in early detection of age-related balance disorders.

Paloski, Willilam H.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessments for Sustainable Rare Earth Recovery from Coal Byproducts using Biosorption

Coal byproducts could be a promising feedstock to alleviate the supply risk of critical rare earth elements (REEs) due to their abundance and REE content. Herein, we investigated the economic and environmental potential of producing REEs from coal fly ash and lignite through an integrated process of leaching, biosorption, and oxalic precipitation on the basis of experimental data and modeling results. Two microbe immobilization systems (polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) microbe beads and Si sol–gels) were examined for their efficiency in immobilizing Arthrobacter nicotianae to selectively recover REEs. Techno-economic analysis revealed that North Dakota lignite could be a profitable feedstock when Si sol–gel is used due to its high cell loading and REE adsorption capacity as well as high reuse cycles. Life cycle analysis revealed that Si sol–gel-based biosorption could be more environmental friendly than the prevailing REE production in China due to the use of less toxic chemicals. However, fly ash sourced from Powder River Basin coals was neither profitable nor environmentally sustainable, primarily due to low solubility of high-value scandium at an economical pulp density (100 g ash/L of acid solution). To further improve the proposed biotechnology, future research could focus on scandium recovery, leaching efficiency at a high pulp density, and reuse cycles of the immobilized microbes.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2016

Charged particle flows in the beam extraction region of a negative ion source for NBI

Experiments by a four-pin probe and photodetachment technique were carried out to investigate the charged particle flows in the beam extraction region of a negative hydrogen ion source for neutral beam injector. Electron and positive ion flows were obtained from the polar distribution of the probe saturation current. Negative hydrogen ion flow velocity and temperature were obtained by comparing the recovery times of the photodetachment signals at opposite probe tips. Electron and positive ions flows are dominated by crossed field drift and ambipolar diffusion. Negative hydrogen ion temperature is evaluated to be 0.12 eV.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1975

Automatic liquid inventory collecting and dispensing unit

A means is provided for automatically collecting waste liquids and for simultaneously feeding these liquids into water recovery processes. The invention includes first and second tanks with first and second two-way solenoid valves associated with each of the tanks. The first solenoid valve is connected to the liquid source and its associated tank so as to allow liquid to flow into the tank when the valve is in its normal position and to allow the liquid to flow out of the tank when the valve is in its actuated position. The second valve is connected to its associated tank and a gas supply so as to allow gas inside the tank to flow out when the valve is in its normal position and to allow gas to flow from the gas supply into the tank when the valve is in its actuated position. Control circuits are included for actuating the two valves associated with the first tank and not actuating the valves associated with the second tank. The first tank is filled and the second tank is emptied.

Hall, J. B., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2003

MODIS NDVI Response Following Fires in Siberia

The Siberian boreal forest is considered a carbon sink but may become an important source of carbon dioxide if climatic warming predictions are correct. The forest is continually changing through various disturbance mechanisms such as insects, logging, mineral exploitation, and especially fires. Patterns of disturbance and forest recovery processes are important factors regulating carbon flux in this area. NASA's Terra MODIS provides useful information for assessing location of fires and post fire changes in forests. MODIS fire (MOD14), and NDVI (MOD13) products were used to examine fire occurrence and post fire variability in vegetation cover as indicated by NDVI. Results were interpreted for various post fire outcomes, such as decreased NDVI after fire, no change in NDVI after fire and positive NDVI change after fire. The fire frequency data were also evaluated in terms of proximity to population centers, and transportation networks.

Ranson, K. Jon↗
DOE OSTI2017

Improving and Assessing Planet Sensitivity of the GPI Exoplanet Survey with a Forward Model Matched Filter

We present a new matched-filter algorithm for direct detection of point sources in the immediate vicinity of bright stars. The stellar point-spread function (PSF) is first subtracted using a Karhunen-Loéve image processing (KLIP) algorithm with angular and spectral differential imaging (ADI and SDI). The KLIP-induced distortion of the astrophysical signal is included in the matched-filter template by computing a forward model of the PSF at every position in the image. To optimize the performance of the algorithm, we conduct extensive planet injection and recovery tests and tune the exoplanet spectra template and KLIP reduction aggressiveness to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of the recovered planets. We show that only two spectral templates are necessary to recover any young Jovian exoplanets with minimal S/N loss. We also developed a complete pipeline for the automated detection of point-source candidates, the calculation of receiver operating characteristics (ROC), contrast curves based on false positives, and completeness contours. We process in a uniform manner more than 330 data sets from the Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey and assess GPI typical sensitivity as a function of the star and the hypothetical companion spectral type. This work allows for the first time a comparison of different detection algorithms at a survey scale accounting for both planet completeness and false-positive rate. We show that the new forward model matched filter allows the detection of 50% fainter objects than a conventional cross-correlation technique with a Gaussian PSF template for the same false-positive rate.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Cost curve of large-scale deployment of CO2-enhanced water recovery technology in modern coal chemical industries in China

China has emerged as a world leader in the coal chemical industry, which requires large amount of water and results in considerable CO2 emissions. This situation has led to the challenge of the CO2-Water nexus for China and particularly for the sustainable development of its coal chemical industry. CO2-enhanced water recovery (CO2-EWR) technology can provide large-scale CO2 mitigation and additional water supply in an integrated manner, especially in arid areas. Meanwhile, CO2 streams from industrial separation processes in the coal chemical industries are amenable to separation and can dramatically simplify or even dispense with the capture process. This study presents the first systematic assessment of a cost curve for onshore CO2-EWR potential using CO2 streams from industrial separation processes by an evaluation framework encompassing CO2 emission inventory, site suitability evaluation, and source–sink matching with techno-economic models. Preliminary results focused on the full capacity of several coal chemical processes as of 2015 suggest that CO2-EWR technology can mitigate 269 million tons of CO2 from industrial separation processes at relatively low cost ranging from 12 to 30 USD/t CO2 in China. Furthermore, 404 million tons of underground water could be produced for further desalination and utilization. When additional capacity under development could become fully operational, the emissions of 878 million tons of CO2 could be mitigated and provide 1318 million tons of vital water resources. Therefore, CO2-EWR technology can be essential to clean and sustainable development of the coal chemical industry and may provide low-cost opportunities to accelerate the deployment of large-scale CCUS projects in China.

CO2-enhanced water recovery, Modern coal chemical ↗
DOE OSTI2019

21 cm Signal Recovery via Robust Principal Component Analysis

The redshifted 21 cm signal from neutral hydrogen (H i) is potentially a very powerful probe for cosmology, but a difficulty in its observation is that it is much weaker than foreground radiation from the Milky Way as well as extragalactic radio sources. The foreground radiation at different frequencies, however, is coherent along one line of sight, and various methods of foreground subtraction based on this property have been proposed. In this paper, we present a new method based on robust principal component analysis (RPCA) to subtract the foreground and extract the 21 cm signal, which explicitly uses both the low-rank property of the frequency covariance matrix (i.e., frequency coherence) of the foreground and the sparsity of the frequency covariance matrix of the 21 cm signal. The low-rank property of the foreground’s frequency covariance has been exploited in many previous works on foreground subtraction, but to our knowledge the sparsity of the frequency covariance of the 21 cm signal is first explored here. By exploiting both properties in the RPCA method, the frequency covariance matrix of the foreground and the 21 cm signal can be separated accurately. We then use the generalized internal linear combination method to recover the 21 cm signal from the data. Our method is applicable both to a small patch of sky with the flat-sky approximation and to a large area of sky where the sphericity has to be considered. It is also easy to extend to deal with more complex conditions such as a sky map with defects.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1974

Sonic inlet noise attenuation and performance with a J-85 turbojet engine as a noise source

A static test program was conducted to investigate aerodynamic and acoustic performance of a sonic inlet used as a noise suppressor. A translating centerbody type inlet with radial vanes was tested ahead of a J85-GE-13 turbojet engine. The inlet when fully choked, maintained high recovery with low distortions while dramatically reducing noise emanating from the compressor. Recoveries of 98.1% at simulated takeoff and 95% at approach were attained with associated sound attenuation of 40 db and 38 db respectively. Inlet lip shape was found to have significant effects on noise attenuation at these static conditions.

Groth, H. W.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Design Considerations for a Dedicated Gravity Recovery Satellite Mission Consisting of Two Pairs of Satellites

Future satellite missions dedicated to measuring time-variable gravity will need to address the concern of temporal aliasing errors; i.e., errors due to high-frequency mass variations. These errors have been shown to be a limiting error source for future missions with improved sensors. One method of reducing them is to fly multiple satellite pairs, thus increasing the sampling frequency of the mission. While one could imagine a system architecture consisting of dozens of satellite pairs, this paper explores the more economically feasible option of optimizing the orbits of two pairs of satellites. While the search space for this problem is infinite by nature, steps have been made to reduce it via proper assumptions regarding some parameters and a large number of numerical simulations exploring appropriate ranges for other parameters. A search space originally consisting of 15 variables is reduced to two variables with the utmost impact on mission performance: the repeat period of both pairs of satellites (shown to be near-optimal when they are equal to each other), as well as the inclination of one of the satellite pairs (the other pair is assumed to be in a polar orbit). To arrive at this conclusion, we assume circular orbits, repeat groundtracks for both pairs of satellites, a 100-km inter-satellite separation distance, and a minimum allowable operational satellite altitude of 290 km based on a projected 10-year mission lifetime. Given the scientific objectives of determining time-variable hydrology, ice mass variations, and ocean bottom pressure signals with higher spatial resolution, we find that an optimal architecture consists of a polar pair of satellites coupled with a pair inclined at 72deg, both in 13-day repeating orbits. This architecture provides a 67% reduction in error over one pair of satellites, in addition to reducing the longitudinal striping to such a level that minimal post-processing is required, permitting a substantial increase in the spatial resolution of the gravity field products. It should be emphasized that given different sets of scientific objectives for the mission, or a different minimum allowable satellite altitude, different architectures might be selected.

Wiese, D. N.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Chemical Impacts of Potential CO2 and Brine Leakage on Groundwater Quality with Quantitative Risk Assessment: A Case Study of the Farnsworth Unit

Potential leakage of reservoir fluids is considered a key risk factor for geologic CO2 sequestration (GCS), with concerns of their chemical impacts on the quality of overlying underground sources of drinking water (USDWs). Effective risk assessment provides useful information to guide GCS activities for protecting USDWs. In this study, we present a quantified risk assessment case study of an active commercial-scale CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) and sequestration field, the Farnsworth Unit (FWU). Specific objectives of this study include: (1) to quantify potential risks of CO2 and brine leakage to the overlying USDW quality with response surface methodology (RSM); and (2) to identify water chemistry indicators for early detection criteria. Results suggest that trace metals (e.g., arsenic and selenium) are less likely to become a risk due to their adsorption onto clay minerals; no-impact thresholds based on site monitoring data could be a preferable reference for early groundwater quality evaluation; and pH is suggested as an indicator for early detection of a leakage. This study may provide quantitative insight for monitoring strategies on GCS sites to enhance the safety of long-term CO2 sequestration.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗