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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 649 records · Page 36
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

PREPARATION OF CLAY-COATED GLASS SURFACES FOR MICROFLUIDICS-BASED STUDY ON CLAY-FLUID INTERACTIONS

Unique characteristics of clay, even though make any clay abundant shales a good source of adsorbed gas, make them equally difficult to produce. The clay-water interaction can cause significant swelling and fines migration in the shale formation, both of which can significantly impair the overall hydrocarbon recovery from shale. Geomaterial micromodels, developed by functionalizing traditional glass or PDMS surface with geomaterials (e.g., calcite, quartz, clay) can represent the physico-chemical properties of the natural porous media and have been used during the last few years to understand and evaluate the solid-fluid physicochemical interactions. This study focuses on developing a clay-coated geomaterial surface and investigates the effect of base fluid's salinity on clay adsorption to the glass surface. Glass capillary tubes and straight channel borosilicate glass micromodels are coated with Illite clay minerals to represent the pore-scale clay chemistry of Caney Shale, a Mississippian unconventional play in Southern Oklahoma, USA. 10 wt.% of Illite clay slurries made with brines of four different salinities are used to coat the glass-capillary tubes to understand the effect of salinity in clay adsorption on the glass surface and overall coating quality. To achieve a stable coating and evaluate the impact of heat treatment on coating's stability, straight channel glass flow cells coated with Illite clay are heat-treated at low (25 °C) and high temperature (125 °C). Dynamic flooding tests were carried out with brines on the coated surface to evaluate the stability of the coating. The experiments' outcome indicated a strong relationship between the brine's salinity and the adsorption of clay particles on the glass surface. An increase in brine concentration resulted in improved adsorption of clay particles on the glass surface. Experiments involving heat treating the glass surface following the coating demonstrated significant improvement in the stability of the coating.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluation of Multi-Fidelity Soil Moisture Products Across the Continental United States

We have aggregated the most recent soil moisture datasets from a diverse range of sources, encompassing the Continental United States (CONUS). These sources encompass gridded data from remote sensing products, reanalysis products, machine learning-based projects, and land surface modeling products. Additionally, we have obtained and processed in-situ soil moisture observations from the International Soil Moisture Network. The collected datasets exhibit variations in both temporal and spatial resolutions. Among the 20 datasets, six are available at a spatial resolution of 0.25 degrees, while three are at a coarser spatial resolution of 25 km. To minimize spatial interpolation, we conducted data uncertainty evaluations at the 0.25-degree spatial resolution. For our data evaluations, we maintained a monthly temporal resolution, which effectively captures soil moisture seasonality and interannual variability. Our data processing strategy preserves the raw data and interpolated data at their original temporal resolutions. Datasets with higher temporal resolutions, including daily, three-hourly, and hourly datasets, are set aside for subsequent analyses. These analyses will delve into topics such as soil moisture changes and recovery during extreme weather events. Furthermore, we have processed auxiliary data to enhance our evaluation, leveraging tools such as Google Earth Engine. This includes incorporating topography data, land use land cover data, Köppen-Geiger climate classification, and more to provide a comprehensive assessment from multiple sources.

Li, Lingcheng↗
DOE OSTI2019

A cash flow model of an integrated industrial CCS-EOR project in a petrochemical corridor: A case study in Louisiana

Petroleum refineries and petrochemical plants are major CO 2 sources, however, they are also significant capital and employment assets that are unlikely to be replaced in the near term. As a result, nations and states that are interested in reducing the carbon intensity of their economies will need to find ways to reduce the emissions of their existing industrial capacity. Industrial carbon capture provides one potential mechanism for reducing the carbon intensity of existing industrial facilities, however, an economically feasible capture system requires that the captured CO 2 be integrated into a system of transport and storage with income generated either through tax credits, enhanced oil recovery (EOR), or both. Here, we present a cash-flow model of an integrated system with industrial capture, pipeline transport, and EOR, and we parameterize the model with data from Louisiana. Given a 50/bbl oil price, an integrated capture, transport and EOR system that uses ethylene oxide production, ammonia production, or natural gas processing as sources is predicted to have a net present value of about $500 million; hydrogen-based capture has a cash flow of -214 given the same assumptions. Further, we find that the recent 45Q Tax Credit expansion has a positive impact on the cash flow of the system but does not change the overall profitability of the systems under the specified assumptions such that without the tax credits natural gas processing, ammonia production and ethylene oxide production-based capture systems remain cost-effective, while hydrogen-based capture remains unprofitable with or without the tax credit.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS2012

Development of a Climate Record of Tropospheric and Stratospheric Column Ozone from Satellite Remote Sensing: Evidence of an Early Recovery of Global Stratospheric Ozone

Ozone data beginning October 2004 from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) are used to evaluate the accuracy of the Cloud Slicing technique in effort to develop long data records of tropospheric and stratospheric ozone and for studying their long-term changes. Using this technique, we have produced a 32-yr (1979-2010) long record of tropospheric and stratospheric column ozone from the combined Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and OMI. Analyses of these time series suggest that the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is the dominant source of inter-annual variability of stratospheric ozone and is clearest in the Southern Hemisphere during the Aura time record with related inter-annual changes of 30- 40 Dobson Units. Tropospheric ozone for the long record also indicates a QBO signal in the tropics with peak-to-peak changes varying from 2 to 7 DU. The most important result from our study is that global stratospheric ozone indicates signature of a recovery occurring with ozone abundance now approaching the levels of year 1980 and earlier. The negative trends in stratospheric ozone in both hemispheres during the first 15 yr of the record are now positive over the last 15 yr and with nearly equal magnitudes. This turnaround in stratospheric ozone loss is occurring about 20 yr earlier than predicted by many chemistry climate models. This suggests that the Montreal Protocol which was first signed in 1987 as an international agreement to reduce ozone destroying substances is working well and perhaps better than anticipated.

ozone↗
DOE OSTI2020

Inverse point source location with the Helmholtz equation on a bounded domain

The problem of recovering acoustic sources, more specifically monopoles, from point-wise measurements of the corresponding acoustic pressure at a limited number of frequencies is addressed. To this purpose, a family of sparse optimization problems in measure space in combination with the Helmholtz equation on a bounded domain is considered in this study. A weighted norm with unbounded weight near the observation points is incorporated into the formulation. Optimality conditions and conditions for recovery in the small noise case are discussed, which motivates concrete choices of the weight. The numerical realization is based on an accelerated conditional gradient method in measure space and a finite element discretization.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Catalytic Upgrading of Pyrolysis Condensables from Postconsumer Polyolefins Using HZSM-5

The conversion of plastic wastes to monomeric olefins is an attractive means for achieving a plastic circular economy. In our study, a fluidized bed reactor converts post-consumer waste high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) to mostly condensed pyrolysis waxes and some oils, preventing carbon loss to gases. The pyrolysis condensables were upgraded to light olefins (C 2 –C 5 ) at carbon yields greater than 76 wt % using the HZSM-5 zeolite catalyst at a post pyrolysis process that employed a micropyrolyzer. These results were comparable to olefin monomer yields from direct ex situ catalytic pyrolysis of the original waste plastics without condensing the vapors, highlighting the potential applicability of this approach in plastic waste recycling. Our results suggest that a centralized catalytic upgrading facility fed by pyrolysis condensables sourced from distributed thermochemical processing plants is a promising pathway to a circular economy. Such an approach enables utilization of available catalytic cracking infrastructure while focusing on setting up distributed thermochemical processing plants close to material recovery facilities. As a result, the energy-dense pyrolysis waxes are more suitable for transportation, contributing to the overall scalability and economic viability of the proposed distributed approach.

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS↗
NASA NTRS1975

Effect of entry-lip design on aerodynamics and acoustics of high throat Mach number inlets for the quiet, clean, short-haul experimental engine

Results of scale model tests of high-throat-Mach-number inlets designed to suppress inlet-emitted engine machinery noise produced in a V/STOL wind tunnel are presented. A vacuum system was used to induce inlet airflow with a siren as a noise source. Inlet mass flow was 11.68 kilograms (25.75 lb. min) per second at a throat Mach number of 0.79. The effect of entry-lip design (contraction ratio and diameter ratio) on inlet total-pressure recovery, steady-state pressure distortion, performance at high incidence angles, and noise suppression was determined. With proper entry-lip design, total-pressure recovery in excess of 0.988 could be obtained statically at an average throat Mach number of 0.79. Total-pressure distortion was 5 percent. The reduction in the siren tone sound pressure level transmitted through the inlet was 10 to 14 db relative to that measured at throat Mach 0.6.

Miller, B. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Passive Sun seeker/tracker and a thermally activated power module

Development and testing of two mechanisms using a shape memory alloy metal (NITINOL) as the power source are described. The two mechanisms developed are a passive Sun Seeker/Tracker and a generic type power module. These mechanisms use NITINOL wire initially strained in pure torsion which provides the greatest mechanical work capacity upon recovery, as compared to other deformation modes (i.e., tension, helical springs, and bending).

Siebert, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Gas storage and recovery system

A system for recovering and recycling gases is disclosed. The system is comprised of inlet and outlet flow lines, controllers, an inflatable enclosure, and inflatable rib stiffeners which are inflatable by the gas to be stored. The system does not present gas at an undesirable back pressure to the gas source. A filtering relief valve is employed which prevents environmental airborne contamination from flowing back into the system when the relief valve is closing. The system is for storing and re-using helium.

Cook, Joseph S., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Heat Pumps and Energy Recovering Ventilators in Northern Alaska

The intended purpose of this project was to bring alternative heat and ventilation options to rural communities off the road system in Northwestern Alaska. Most of the residents of these communities are reliant upon kerosene or other fossil fuels to provide heat to their homes. Our intention was to offer an alternative to using those sources by providing heat pumps to 45 homes in the communities of Elim and Koyuk. When projecting energy use for these units based on the fuel prices at the time, it was discovered that energy costs for heat pumps would equal or slightly exceed the costs of existing kerosene units. Secondly, as part of our E&l grant we installed 45 energy recovery ventilators (ERV’s) in those same homes. This was important given our experience over the years with moisture and comfort issues in most homes within this region. Exhaust-only systems are rarely used due to the high heating costs. Additionally, exhaust-only systems have a potential risk of back drafting due to tight building construction. Balanced systems like this eliminate that risk while improving indoor air quality. Another benefit to these types of systems is the fact that they help transfer heat from a single heat source equally throughout the building. Our overall goal was to offer new technology options to improve these structures and the families that reside in them where, given their location and extreme seasonal temperature swings, they have historically never been offered.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Sustainable bioleaching of lithium-ion batteries for critical materials recovery

The demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has increased substantially over the last few decades due to their longer lifetime, greater resistance to self-discharge, and higher output voltage compared to other battery types. With the global trend of electrifying vehicle fleets, the number of LIBs reaching their end-of-life (EOL) is expected to grow substantially in the next decade. These EOL LIBs represent a significant secondary source of materials (e.g., Li, Co, Ni, Mn) that can be recovered and reused in LIBs or other products. In this study, we developed a bioleaching process that could recover critical materials from EOL LIBs in an economical and environmentally sustainable manner under industrially relevant conditions. Black mass, i.e., cathode-containing powder, prepared from EOL LIBs was leached using a biolixiviant produced from corn stover by Gluconobacter oxydans bacteria. Iron(II) was used as a reducing agent to promote metal dissolution. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) estimated a potential average profit margin of 21% for processing 10,000 t of black mass per year, which represents approximately 30% of the available black mass in the US in 2020. Life cycle assessment (LCA) demonstrated that bioleaching of spent LIBs could be more environmentally sustainable than alternative hydrometallurgical recovery methods such as hydrochloric acid leaching (16-19 kg vs. 43-91 kg CO 2 equivalent global warming potential per kg of recovered cobalt). The TEA results are highly dependent on the cost of black mass production, which varies by EOL LIB collection and transportation costs. Finally, emerging technologies for deactivating used LIBs for fire safety at collection centers will allow the transport of EOL LIBs as non-hazardous materials, lower the cost of preparing black mass and thereby increase economic prospects for EOL LIBs recycling using this approach.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Literature Review of Documented Persistent Secondary Uranium Sources at DOE LM Sites

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management (LM) has the responsibility to protect human health and the environment at 101 legacy uranium sites across the nation by implementing long-term surveillance and maintenance requirements. Included in these responsibilities is to provide for the safe and environmentally sound disposal, long-term stabilization, and control of uranium mill tailings in a manner that minimizes or eliminates radiation health hazards to the public at 21 Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) Title I sites; 6 UMTRCA Title II sites; and 9 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act/Resource Conservation and Recovery Act sites. These sites are former uranium mills (processing sites), or sites with wastes from processing sites encapsulated in engineered disposal cells (disposal sites), or sites where components of atomic weapons were manufactured. During site characterization, groundwater contamination was often discovered and evaluated or modeled for future movement with the inclusion of uranium sorption in the groundwater plume. Much of this original work did identify uranium processing wastes as the original contaminant source. However, more recent work has identified the existence and influence of persistent secondary uranium sources that may prevent uranium in groundwater from attenuating as quickly as initial evaluations or modeling indicated. By understanding these processes, better decisions can be made to choose the appropriate remediation and closure strategies, identify long-term surveillance and maintenance activities, and more accurately estimate life-cycle costs. The purpose of this report is to summarize the literature available on documented persistence secondary uranium sources at LM sites as part of the Applied Studies and Technology Persistent Secondary Contaminant Sources Project.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

BioSiting Tool (BioSiting) v2

The BioSiting Tool provides a geospatial interface for analyzing bioeconomy resources and infrastructure across the continental U.S. The tool integrates empirical and modeled data from a broad range of sources. Bioeconomy resources mapped in the tool include agricultural residues, forest residues, municipal solid waste streams, food waste, manure, fats, oils and greases and potential yields of energy crops. Infrastructure mapped in the tool includes biorefineries, material recovery facilities, anaerobic digesters, wastewater treatment plants, combustion plants, district energy systems, crude oil pipelines, petroleum pipelines, natural gas pipelines, railways and freight terminals. Additional data layers include environmental justice indicators at the census tract level and carbon dioxide geologic storage potential. Users can select a location on the map, define a buffer radius in kilometers and generate an inventory of all bioecomony resources within the buffer zone. Data from the tool can be downloaded from individual buffer zones, or at the state or national level.

Huntington, Tyler↗
DOE OSTI2022

Dynamic Earth Energy Storage: Terawatt-year, Grid-scale Energy Storage Using Planet Earth as a Thermal Battery (GeoTES): Phase I Project (Final Report)

Grid-scale energy storage has been identified by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Storage Grand Challenge as a necessary technology to support the continued build-out of intermittent renewable energy resources required to attain a carbon-free energy future. To meet this goal, the 2018 Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act mandated the creation of a comprehensive program to accelerate the development and commercialization of next-generation energy storage technologies. One of numerous energy storage technology options is the storage of excess energy as heated geothermal brine in suitable geologic formations. This concept, known as reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES), geologic thermal energy storage (GeoTES), aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), etc., relies on the storage of thermal energy in geologic formations for recovery and use in large-scale direct use geothermal (e.g., district heating, industrial processes, etc.) and electrical power generation applications. This thermal energy is derived from excess or waste heat from any high-temperature heat source, such as concentrated solar or from conventional thermal/nuclear generation. As such, RTES can potentially play a significant role in meeting the energy storage shortfall in the coming decades. RTES can provide energy arbitrage through both the storage and production of thermal energy stored in geologic formations for direct use applications and can serve as a source of hot fluids that can be used to generate electricity to support peak demand ramping, thus easing stress on transmission and distribution. This energy storage option has geographic benefits in that energy can be stored locally or regionally depending on the various needs/loads. RTES can also be located across an enormous geographic area, without the need for a traditional hydrothermal resource but where thermal gradients and hydrogeology allow economic exploitation of subsurface heat. The work conducted for this project includes (1) a review of lessons learned from past high-temperature RTES international projects; (2) geochemical experimental investigation and numerical simulations of potential domestic sedimentary reservoirs and (3) development of a thermo-hydrological-mechanical (THM) numerical simulation tool for optimizing formation properties and design parameters to maximize thermal energy storage performance.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1978

Passive imaging through the turbulent atmosphere - Fundamental limits on the spatial frequency resolution of a rotational shearing interferometer

The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio to be expected when a 180 deg rotationally shearing interferometer is used for image recovery at the diffraction limit of a large telescope is computed. The variance and covariance of the irradiance fluctuations at the detector array are shown to yield measures of the high-frequency spatial spectrum of the source. Four fundamental sources of noise are considered: temporal fluctuations of the source, space-time fluctuations of the atmosphere, shot noise in the detected photocurrents, and the effects of finite sampling. S/N is found to be directly proportional to the angular resolution of the telescope, the single-frame integration time, the square root of the number of frames, the cube of the operating wavelength, the quantum efficiency of the detector, and the average spectral irradiance from the source on the pupil. It is inversely proportional to the cube of the field angle subtended by the source (or part thereof) under study.

Burke, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Space station ECLSS integration analysis: Simplified General Cluster Systems Model, ECLS System Assessment Program enhancements

The data base verification of the ECLS Systems Assessment Program (ESAP) was documented and changes made to enhance the flexibility of the water recovery subsystem simulations are given. All changes which were made to the data base values are described and the software enhancements performed. The refined model documented herein constitutes the submittal of the General Cluster Systems Model. A source listing of the current version of ESAP is provided in Appendix A.

Ferguson, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The X-ray Spectral Evolution of eta Carinae as Seen by ASCA

Using data from the ASCA X-ray observatory, we examine the variations in the X-ray spectrum of the supermassive star nu Carinae with an unprecedented combination of spatial and spectral resolution. We include data taken during the recent X-ray eclipse in 1997-1998, after recovery from the eclipse, and during and after an X-ray flare. We show that the eclipse variation in the X-ray spectrum is apparently confined to a decrease in the emission measure of the source. We compare our results with a simple colliding wind binary model and find that the observed spectral variations are only consistent, with the binary model if there is significant high-temperature emission far from the star and/or a substantial change in the temperature distribution of the hot plasma. If contamination in the 2-10 keV band is important, the observed eclipse spectrum requires an absorbing column in excess of 10(exp 24)/sq cm for consistency with the binary model, which may indicate an increase in the first derivative of M from nu Carinae near the time of periastron passage. The flare spectra are consistent with the variability seen in nearly simultaneous RXTE observations and thus confirm that nu Carinae itself is the source of the flare emission. The variation in the spectrum during the flare seems confined to a change in the source emission measure. By comparing 2 observations obtained at the same phase in different X-ray cycles, we find that the current, X-ray brightness of the source is slightly higher than the brightness of the source during the last cycle perhaps indicative of a long-term increase in the first derivative of M, not associated with the X-ray cycle.

Corcoran, M. F.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nuclear Thermal Energy Storage Configurations for Industrial Combined Heat and Power Supply: Conceptual Study and Engineering Designs

The industries examined in this report primarily rely on moderate-temperature heat provided by gas- or coal-fired boilers and combined heat and power (CHP) plants, delivered through standard process steam systems. High-temperature energy demands are often industry-specific and typically exceed the capabilities of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs). While it is technically feasible to replace process steam from fossil-based heat sources with nuclear energy, certain industries, such as methanol production and pulp and paper, face technoeconomic challenges in integrating nuclear energy without major changes or a technological shift. This is mainly due to the limited external energy demand remaining after the use of internal byproducts, waste heat recovery, and simple efficiency improvements. Achieving full decarbonization of these processes with nuclear energy would require significant technological advancements, involving experimental technology and substantial investments, making widespread adoption in existing industrial plants unlikely in the near term. This study reviews TES options in the context of enabling a flexible CHP supply while maintaining a steady nuclear heat input. Heat storage systems that interface between the reactor primary fluid and the CHP system offer superior performance and flexibility. Specifically, steam extraction downstream of the reheater with a two-tank molten-salt TES appears as the best solution regarding thermodynamic system benefits and system drawbacks. Using selected system configurations, a conceptual design of an industrial energy park was developed for industries with varying energy demands, such as steel production plants utilizing electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and chemical plants, as well as for those with constant energy demands, like petroleum refineries. This design highlights the capabilities of TES and explores its potential business cases. The study also conceptually develops the potential for integrating additional energy sources with nuclear systems through the implementation of TES. The potential of the HTGR-TES-CHP system was also evaluated considering key uncertainties such as industrial demand profiles, external grid access availability, and eligible tax credit levels, using the Holistic Energy Resource Optimization Network. Sensitivity of net present value to these uncertainties was analyzed to determine the optimal number of nuclear reactors (and CHP systems) and the suitable TES capacity. The results were interpreted from a decision-maker’s perspective, focusing on three key areas: deployment strategy (oversized units vs. undersized units with TES support), industrial process characteristics (thermal-intensive single profiles vs. electricity-intensive combined profiles), and operational goals (maximizing profits vs. minimizing natural gas (NG) consumption or external grid dependence). The optimization results indicate that the HTGR-TES-CHP system significantly reduces reliance on NG boilers for individual industrial processes by 9-60% (in NG capacity factor), with an average reduction of 38%, compared to standalone NG boiler operation case (Business As Usual [BAU]). For combined industrial processes, the reduction ranges from 37-77%, with an average of 60%. Additionally, the system greatly reduces dependence on external grids. In meeting industrial electrical demands, a 33-100% self-sufficient internal electricity supply is achieved for single industrial process, with an average of 74%, compared to the BAU scenario, where 100% of electricity is imported. For combined processes, 35-100% of internal electricity demands are met by the reactor, with an average of 73%. At last, the relative NG price levels at which the proposed HTGR-TES-CHP system can cost-effectively enter the market currently dominated by existing NG boilers were estimated. For a moderate HTGR CAPEX level ($\$$2500/kWth, $\$$6329/kWe), the analysis suggests that NG prices must be 2.5 to 7 times higher than HTGR variable operating and maintenance costs for single industrial process, and 5.5 to 9.5 times higher for a combined process scenario. Tax credit modeling shows that the Investment Tax Credit significantly reduces the price threshold needed to break even, making the system competitive with NG boilers in certain cases.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗