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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 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Economics of land‐based carbon mitigation

Agricultural land holds tremendous potential to contribute to net zero greenhouse gas emission goals by providing low carbon renewable energy to displace fossil fuels and by serving as a sink for sequestering carbon in the soil with climate‐smart practices. This potential is, however, far from being realized. This paper examines the economic incentives and barriers to implementing land‐based carbon mitigation strategies and discusses the specific features of land‐based carbon mitigation practices on carbon emissions that need to be considered in designing policy incentives to induce adoption. Although a carbon price‐based policy is socially efficient, the more commonly observed policies to promote land‐based carbon mitigation include practice‐based conservation programs, technology mandates, and sector‐specific standards. The paper discusses the rationale for these alternative policy approaches and concludes with a discussion of emerging opportunities for designing policy and market‐based approaches for promoting land‐based carbon‐mitigation and future directions for economics research.

additionality↗
DOE OSTI2016

Techno-economic analysis of biodiesel and ethanol co-production from lipid-producing sugarcane: Biodiesel and Ethanol Co-Production from Lipid-Producing Sugarcane

Biodiesel production from vegetable oils has progressively increased over the past two decades. However, due to the low amounts of oil produced per hectare from temperate oilseed crops (e.g. soybean), the opportunities for further increasing biodiesel production are limited. Genetically modified lipid-producing sugarcane (lipid-cane) possesses great potential for producing biodiesel as an alternative feedstock because of sugarcane’s much higher productivity compared with soybean. In this study, techno-economic models were developed for biodiesel and ethanol coproduction from lipid-cane, assuming 2, 5, 10, or 20% lipid concentration in the harvested stem (dry mass basis). The models were compared with a conventional soybean biodiesel process model to assess lipid-cane’s competiveness. In the lipid-cane process model, the extracted lipids were used to produce biodiesel by transesterifi cation, and the remaining sugar was used to produce ethanol by fermentation. The results showed that the biodiesel production cost from lipid-cane decreased from $0.89/L to $0.59 /L as the lipid content increased from 2 to 20%; this cost was lower than that obtained for soybeans ($1.08/L). The ethanol production costs from lipid-cane were between $0.40/L and $0.46/L. The internal rate of return (IRR) for the soybean biodiesel process was 15.0%, and the IRR for the lipid-cane process went from 13.7 to 24.0% as the lipid content increased from 2 to 20%. Because of its high productivity, lipid-cane with 20% lipid content can produce 6700 L of biodiesel from each hectare of land, whereas soybean can only produce approximately 500 L of biodiesel from each hectare of land. This would indicate that continued efforts to achieve lipid-producing sugarcane could make large-scale replacement of fossil-fuel-derived diesel without unrealistic demands on land area.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Ultrasmall Cu Nanoparticles Supported on Crystalline, Mesoporous ZnO for Selective CO 2 Hydrogenation

Converting CO 2 to value-added chemicals, e. g., CH 3 OH, is highly desirable in terms of the carbon cycling while reducing CO 2 emission from fossil fuel combustion. Cu-based nanocatalysts are among the most efficient for selective CO 2 -to-CH 3 OH transformation; this conversion, however, suffers from low reactivity especially in the thermodynamically favored low temperature range. We herein report ultrasmall copper (Cu) nanocatalysts supported on crystalline, mesoporous zinc oxide nanoplate (Cu@mZnO) with notable activity and selectivity of CO 2 -to-CH 3 OH in the low temperature range of 200–250 °C. Cu@mZnO nanoplates are prepared based on the crystal-crystal transition of mixed Cu and Zn basic carbonates to mesoporous metal oxides and subsequent hydrogen reduction. Under the nanoconfinement of mesopores in crystalline ZnO frameworks, ultrasmall Cu nanoparticles with an average diameter of 2.5 nm are produced. Cu@mZnO catalysts have a peak CH 3 OH formation rate of 1.13 mol h −1 per 1 kg under ambient pressure at 246 °C, about 25 °C lower as compared to that of the benchmark catalyst of Cu−Zn−Al oxides. In conclusion, our new synthetic strategy sheds some valuable insights into the design of porous catalysts for the important conversion of CO 2 -to-CH 3 OH.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Carbon-Fuelled Future

Whether due to changes in policy or consumption of available fossil fuels, alternative sources of energy will be required, especially given the rising global energy demand. However, one of the main factors limiting the widespread utilization of renewable energy, such as wind, solar, wave or geothermal, is our ability to store energy. Storage of energy from carbon-neutral sources, such as electricity from solar or wind, can be accomplished through many routes. One approach is to store energy in the form of chemical bonds, as fuels. The conversion of low-energy compounds, such as water and carbon dioxide, to higher energy molecules, such as hydrogen or carbon-based fuels, enables the storage of carbon-neutral energy on a very large scale. The author¹s work in this area is supported by the US Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated by Battelle for the US Department of Energy.

CO2 reduction renewable energy↗
DOE OSTI2015

Selective Formation of Indene through the Reaction of Benzyl Radicals with Acetylene

The combustion of fossil fuels forms polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) composed of five- and six- membered aromatic rings, such as indene (C 9 H 8 ), which are carcinogenic, mutagenic, and deleterious to the environment. Indene, the simplest PAH with single five- and six-membered rings, has been predicted theoretically to be formed through the reaction of benzyl radicals with acetylene. Benzyl radicals are found in significant concentrations in combustion flames, owing to their highly stable aromatic and resonantly stabilized free-radical character. We provide compelling experimental evidence that indene is synthesized through the reaction of the benzyl radical (C 7 H 7 ) with acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) under combustion-like conditions at 600 K. The mechanism involves an initial addition step followed by cyclization and aromatization through atomic hydrogen loss. This reaction was found to form the indene isomer exclusively, which, in conjunction with the high concentrations of benzyl and acetylene in combustion environments, indicates that this pathway is the predominant route to synthesize the prototypical five- and six-membered PAH.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Synchrotron Photoionization Study of the Diisopropyl Ether Oxidation

Abstract Scientific evidence has shown oxygenates help to reduce dangerous pollutants arising from burning fossil fuel in the automotive sector. For this reason, their use as additives has spread widely. The aim of this work consists in providing a comprehensive identification of the main primary oxidation products of diisopropyl ether (DIPE), one of the most promising among etheric oxygenates. The Cl‐initiated oxidation of DIPE is examinated by using a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) synchrotron radiation at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Products are identified on the basis of their mass‐to‐charge ratio, shape of photoionization spectra, adiabatic ionization energies, and chemical kinetic profiles, at three different temperatures (298, 550, and 650 K). Acetone, propanal, propene, and isopropyl acetate have been identified as major reaction products. Acetone is the main primary product. Theoretical calculations using the composite CBS‐QB3 method provided useful tools to validate the postulated reaction mechanisms leading to experimentally observed species. The formation of other species is also discussed.

Giustini, Andrea↗
DOE OSTI2023

Identifying biomass yield potential of tetra, hexa, and octoploid prairie cordgrass populations grown on marginal lands

As the demand for renewable energy sources with reduced carbon emissions to the atmosphere increases, bioenergy crops remain an attractive alternative to fossil fuels. Another appeal of bioenergy crops is the potential utilization of marginal lands not suitable for food crops. Prairie cordgrass is a perennial warm season polyploid grass species being considered as a bioenergy crop that also exhibits a high tolerance for salinity and flooding. The ploidy level of prairie cordgrass has previously been suggested to correlate with agronomic traits. However, little is known about the agricultural performance of prairie cordgrass on marginal lands and if a correlation of ploidy level to stress tolerance exists. In this experiment, the productivity of tetraploids, hexaploids, and octoploids was investigated when grown on three different marginal sites including waterlogged, saline, and low-nutrient gravelly soils. Here we found that prairie cordgrass populations annually produced dry biomass on a wet marginal site comparable to normal cropland. However, the productivity was remarkedly decreased at both a salt-affected site and a limestone mine reclamation site. We were unable to conclude that different ploidy levels affected the biomass yield of prairie cordgrass grown under abiotic stress. However, there was a differential response of populations to various types of marginal sites. Finally, these results indicate potential genetic resources for developing breeding targets and identifying mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance. Moreover, we highlight the need to generate diverse ploidy levels of prairie cordgrass in the same genetic backgrounds for future testing.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Integrated Capture and Conversion of CO 2 to Methane Using a Water-lean, Post-Combustion CO 2 Capture Solvent

Integrated Carbon Capture and Conversion of CO 2 into materials (IC3M) is an attractive solution to meet the global energy demand, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and lower CO 2 emissions. In this work, using a water-lean post combustion capture solvent, (N-(2-ethoxyethyl)-3-morpholinopropan-1-amine) (2-EEMPA), >90% conversion of captured CO2 to hydrocarbons, mostly methane, is achieved in the presence of a heterogenous Ru catalysts under relatively mild reaction conditions (170 °C and <15 bar H 2 pressure). The catalytic performance was better in 2-EEMPA than aqueous 5M monoethanol amine (MEA). Operando NMR study showed in-situ formation of N-formamide intermediate, which underwent further hydrogenation to form methane and other higher hydrocarbons. The technoeconomic analyses (TEA) showed that the proposed integrated process can potentially improve the thermal efficiency by 5% and reduce the total capital investment and minimum synthetic natural gas (SNG) selling price by 32% and 12% respectively compared to conventional Sabatier process, highlighting the energetic and economic benefits of integrated capture and conversion. Methane derived from CO 2 and renewable H 2 source is an attractive fuel, and it has a great potential as a renewable hydrogen carrier as an environmentally responsible carbon capture and utilization approach.

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

Optimizing Renewable Ammonia Production for a Sustainable Fertilizer Supply Chain Transition

Local renewable ammonia production using electrolytic hydrogen is an emerging approach to alleviate emissions attributed to synthetic nitrogen fertilizer production while also insulating against fluctuations in fertilizer prices and mitigating transportation costs and emissions. However, replacing ammonia currently produced using fossil fuels will not be immediate. To this end, we develop a supply chain transition model, which first optimizes the design and hourly operation of new renewable ammonia facilities to minimize production costs and then optimizes the annual installation timing, production scale, and location of these new renewable facilities along with ammonia transportation to meet county resolution demands. The objective is to augment and eventually replace conventional ammonia market imports in an economically competitive manner. We performed a case study for Minnesota's ammonia supply chain and found that a full transition to in-state renewable production by 2032 is optimal. This is incentivized by the U.S. federal government's clean hydrogen production credits. This transition results in 99 % reduction in carbon intensity along with stable supply costs below $475 per metric tonne. New renewable production facilities are an order of magnitude smaller than existing conventional plants. They use both wind and solar resources and operate dynamically to minimize expensive battery and hydrogen storage capacities.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Transcriptome and metabolome integration in sugarcane through culm development

Abstract Sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) is a tropical and subtropical C4 plant with a high photosynthetic and carbon assimilation efficiency that stores sucrose. Culm biomass is also composed of bagasse fibre, a by‐product of the sugarcane industry. This high‐yielding grass, high in sucrose and lignocellulosic biomass, is considered an optimal feedstock as an alternative to fossil fuels and to produce a broad range of high‐value biomaterials. The ideal sugarcane production system would optimise the relative production of sugar and these new products. Multi‐omics correlation analysis was used to generate a global view of the essential metabolic pathways identifying critical genes involved in carbon partitioning during different stages of development. This research employed an unprecedented metabolic and transcriptomic dataset of 360 samples from a selection of 1440 culms of 24 genotypes at five different development stages. Chemical composition and metabolome analysis showed an increase through the culm development of lignin, sucrose, carbon, and amino acids such as aspartic acid, serine, alanine, methionine, threonine 3‐cyano‐L‐alanine, and citric acid. Transcriptome analysis revealed functionalities such as transcription, nucleotide transport and metabolism, and the biosynthesis of amino acids that are highly activated during the immature stage and highly down‐regulated during the most mature age.

Perlo, Virginie↗
DOE OSTI2016

How the low price of oil can spur CCS research innovation

The global consumption of oil grew in 2015 as prices fell due to oversupply. Low oil prices are problematic for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction efforts because they tend to discourage use of energy-efficient vehicles and encourage driving and related CO 2 emissions. From this perspective, low oil prices would seem to be entirely detrimental to lowering GHG emissions. When you factor in the fact that low oil prices have reduced oil-company-sponsored funding for carbon capture and storage (CCS) research efforts which aim to develop safe and feasible ways to reduce GHG emissions from the use of fossil fuels, the picture for lowering GHG emissions seems even gloomier. But there is at least one potential silver lining in low oil prices for CCS research and development, and this involves utilization, and in particular, geologic interim storage of CO 2 .

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Bringing research findings to the real world is an essential and rewarding experience

The pending changes in the U.S. presidential administration and Congress threaten the ongoing progress being made in lowering U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet the need for reducing emissions and directly addressing the energy-climate crisis has never been greater. The energy-climate crisis is defined as the situation created by reliance on fossil fuels for 80% of global energy supply, the combustion of which releases CO 2 , the main greenhouse gas causing global warming. Instead of allowing the U.S. national political situation to be a distraction, scientists, engineers, and policy experts need to push even harder to turn research findings into practical applications so those findings can contribute to actually reducing emissions. In addition, scientists and engineers need to communicate research results to lawmakers and the public to reinforce the urgency of directly addressing the energy-climate crisis. Without giving away still-developing conclusions of the ongoing project, this paper describes that facilitating practical application of research results can be a very rewarding and satisfying experience.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage hub development on the Gulf Coast

Abstract The Gulf Coast of the United States hosts diverse power generation, refining, and petrochemical processing facilities, resulting in the nation's largest volumetric concentration of industrial CO 2 emissions, rivaled only by the Ohio River Valley. These emissions sources are concentrated in specific industrial clusters that allow combining emissions streams to achieve economies of scale. The region is currently undergoing globally significant industrial expansion and investment as a result of abundant and inexpensive regional unconventional natural gas availability, and is a growing exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Opportunities to integrate CO 2 emission management within the diverse energy chains in the region are volumetrically significant and include both concentrated and dilute sources. Significant examples of capture, transport, and storage exist. Offshore storage is particularly attractive, as it provides simplified land leasing models (single governmental land owner), proven reservoir quality, and presents fewer risks to both protected groundwater and populated areas. Projects can now take advantage of recently expanded opportunities under section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Service tax code. The region continues to evolve as an active carbon‐handling hub, and is uniquely suited to justify additional investment in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies via a large‐scale integrated project development. Continued development of integrated projects will allow the region to continue to grow economically within its strong fossil‐fuel handling competence focus while advancing low‐carbon energy technologies that maintain globally competitiveness. © 2021 The Authors. Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

45Q↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantifying adherence of oxide scales on steels exposed to high temperature and pressure steam

Oxide scale exfoliation is a major concern in fossil fuel power generation because it can cause tube blockages and erode valves and steam turbine components downstream. There is still considerable scientific and commercial interest to improve the mechanistic understanding of oxide failures by developing models to predict exfoliation and the extent of tube blockage as a function of operating conditions and component geometries. Tensile testing inside a scanning electron microscope was conducted on ferritic–martensitic and austenitic steel specimens with the steam side (Fe,Cr)-rich oxides grown after exposures for up to 1000 h in steam with ~100 ppb O 2 at 276 bar and 550°C. Multiple oxide layer cracks and delamination events were observed and analyzed in detail during the tests. Results from the testing agreed well with earlier observations that had identified the failure location at the outer–inner oxide layer for all tested materials. Calculated adhesion energies identified the outer–inner oxide interface of alloy 347HFG as the weakest interface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Polyolefin Innovations Toward Circularity and Sustainable Alternatives

The unprecedented growth and socioeconomic impacts of polyolefins clearly outline a major success story in the world of polymer science. Polyolefins revolutionizes industries such as health care, construction, and food packaging. Despite the benefits of polyolefins, there is a rising concern for the environment due to high production volume (i.e., fossil fuel consumption), often short usage time, and problems related to waste management and accumulation in the natural environment. Creating a circular economy for polyolefins through effective recycling technologies has the potential to decrease the environmental impact of these materials. This perspective discusses polyolefins and their impact, existing and emerging recycling/upcycling solutions, and recycle-by-design alternatives that are challenging the status quo.

circular economy↗
DOE OSTI2024

Updated sustainability status of cadmium telluride thin‐film photovoltaic systems and projections

This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the up-to-date life-cycle sustainability status of cadmium-telluride based photovoltaic (PV) systems. Current production modules (Series 6 and Series 7) are analyzed in terms of their energy performance and environmental footprint and compared with the older series 4 module production and current single-crystalline Silicon (sc-Si) module production. For fixed-tilt systems with Series 6 modules operating under average US irradiation of 1800 kWh/m 2 /year, the global warming potential (GWP) is reduced from 16 g CO 2eq /kWh in Series 4 systems to 10 CO 2 eq /kWh in Series 6 systems. For operation in US-SW irradiation of 2300 kWh/m 2 /year, the GWP is reduced from 11 to 8 CO 2eq /kWh and for 1-axis tracking systems operating in Phoenix, Arizona, with point-of array irradiation of 3051 kWh/m 2 /year the GWP is reduced to 6.5 CO 2eq /kWh. Similar reductions have happened in all environmental indicators. Energy payback times (EPBT) of currently installed systems range from 0.6 years for fixed–tilt ground–mounted installations at average US irradiation at latitude tilt installations to 0.3 years for one-axis trackers at high US-SW irradiation, considering average fossil-fuel dominated electricity grids with fuel to electricity conversion efficiency of 0.3. The resulting energy return on energy investment (EROI) also depends on the conversion efficiency of the electricity grid and on the operation life expectance. For a 30-year operational life and grid conversion efficiency of 0.3, EROI ranges from 50 (at US average irradiation) to 70 for US-SW irradiation. The EROI declines with increased grid conversion efficiency; for CdTe PV operating in south California with grid conversion efficiency of 49%, the EROI is about 50 and is projected to fall to 30 when the state's 2030 target of 80% renewable energy penetration materializes. Material alternatives that show a potential of further reductions in degradation rates and materials for enhanced encapsulation that would enable longer operation lives have also been investigated. A degradation rate of 0.3%/year, which has been verified by accelerated testing, is assumed in 30-year scenarios; this is projected to be reduced to 0.2%/year in the near-term and potentially to 0.1%/year in the longer term. With such low degradation rates and enhanced edge-sealing, modules can last 40- to 50-years. Consequently, all impact indicators will be proportionally reduced while EROI will increase. This detailed LCA was conducted according to ISO standards and IEA PVPS Task 12 guidelines. Furthermore, the study revealed that the choices of system models, methods and temporal system boundaries can significantly impact the results and points out to the need to include assumptions regarding these choices in the “transparency in reporting” requirements listed in the IEA PVPS Task 12 Guidelines.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗