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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Volatile organic compound sensing based on coral rock-like ZnO

Highlights: • A coral rock-like ZnO with porous structure was successfully synthesized. • Coral rock-like ZnO realized the large gas response towards VOCs. • The porous structure may play an essential role in the surface sensing reaction. - Abstract: This work presented highly sensitive coral rock-like ZnO to investigate the sensing performances for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including formaldehyde, methylbenzene, methanol and acetone. The coral rock-like ZnO with porous structure was synthesized using a solvothermal process and subsequent calcination. The gas response of the sensor based on the coral rock-like ZnO was reported for the four types of VOC vapors at different operating temperatures and gas concentrations. It was found that the fabricated sensor was sensitive to the four gases, revealing large gas response as well as fast response and recovery speed, which was ascribed to its distinctive porous nanostructure, resulting in adequate surface sensing reaction and effective gas diffusion.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Hydrogen titanate nanotubes for dye sensitized solar cells applications: Experimental and theoretical study

Highlights: • Photoelectrode made of Hydrogen titanate nanotubes from H{sub 2}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 7}. • Solar cell efficiency enhancement from 5.95% to 7.63%. • Increase of Voc due to a decrease in the work function on HTNT. • Increase of Jsc due to an increase of the specific area of HTNT. - Abstract: The existent research literature of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) is mainly focused on the dye but there are very few studies focused in the semiconductor. Here, we present the performance of hydrogen titanate nanotubes (HTNT), showing an enhancement of the solar cell efficiency from 5.95% to 7.63%, respect to anatase as photoelectrode. This enhancement could be explained in terms of open-circuit voltage, directly associated to the value of the HTNT band gap (E{sub g} = 3.3 eV), the relative position of the edge conduction band; and the increase of the short-circuit current, directly associated to the enhancement of the specific area of the photoelectrode. All these characteristics are in very good concordance with our theoretical modelling of the system, based on First Principles calculations. We expect that this system could be further characterized, utilizing different dyes or absorbers, in order to evaluate the potential use of hydrogen titanate nanotubes for solar cell applications.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Characterization of wood plastic composites made from landfill-derived plastic and sawdust: Volatile compounds and olfactometric analysis

Graphical abstract: This work details the characterization of VOCs of WPC, produced from residual materials which would have landfills as current destination, and evaluates their odor profile. Highlights: ► More than 140 volatile compounds were identified in raw materials and WPC products. ► Markers were related to the thermal degradation, sawdust or coupling agents. ► WPC prototype showed a characteristic odor profile of burnt, sweet and wax-like. ► Aldehydes, carboxylic acids, ketones and phenols were odor descriptors of WPC. - Abstract: Application of wood plastic composites (WPCs) obtained from recycled materials initially intended for landfill is usually limited by their composition, mainly focused on release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which could affect quality or human safety. The study of the VOCs released by a material is a requirement for new composite materials. Characterization and quantification of VOCs of several WPC produced with low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polyethylene/ethylene vinyl acetate (PE/EVA) films and sawdust were carried out, in each stage of production, by solid phase microextraction in headspace mode (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). An odor profile was also obtained by HS-SPME and GC–MS coupled with olfactometry analysis. More than 140 compounds were observed in the raw materials and WPC samples. Some quantified compounds were considered WPC markers such as furfural, 2-methoxyphenol, N-methylphthalimide and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol. Hexanoic acid, acetic acid, 2-methoxyphenol, acetylfuran, diacetyl, and aldehydes were the most important odorants. None of the VOCs were found to affect human safety for use of the WPC.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2013

Occupational hygiene in terms of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and bioaerosols at two solid waste management plants in Finland

Highlights: ► Odorous VOCs: acetic acid, 2,3-butanedione, ethyl acetate, alpha-pinene and limonene. ► VOC concentrations did not exceed occupational exposure limit concentrations. ► 2,3-Butanedione as the health effecting compound is discussed. ► Endotoxin concentrations may cause health problems in waste treatment. - Abstract: Factors affecting occupational hygiene were measured at the solid waste transferring plant at Hyvinkää and at the optic separation plant in Hämeenlinna. Measurements consisted of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and bioaerosols including microbes, dust and endotoxins. The most abundant compounds in both of the plants were aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, esters of carboxylic acids, ketones and terpenes. In terms of odour generation, the most important emissions were acetic acid, 2,3-butanedione, ethyl acetate, alpha-pinene and limonene due to their low threshold odour concentrations. At the optic waste separation plant, limonene occurred at the highest concentration of all single compounds of identified VOCs. The concentration of any single volatile organic compound did not exceed the occupational exposure limit (OEL) concentration. However, 2,3-butanedione as a health risk compound is discussed based on recent scientific findings linking it to lung disease. Microbe and dust concentrations were low at the waste transferring plant. Only endotoxin concentrations may cause health problems; the average concentration inside the plant was 425 EU/m{sup 3} which clearly exceeded the threshold value of 90 EU/m{sup 3}. In the wheel loader cabin the endotoxin concentrations were below 1 EU/m{sup 3}. High microbial and endotoxin concentrations were measured in the processing hall at the optic waste separation plant. The average concentration of endotoxins was found to be 10,980 EU/m{sup 3}, a concentration which may cause health risks. Concentrations of viable fungi were quite high in few measurements in the control room. The most problematic factor was endotoxins whose average measured concentrations was 4853 EU/m{sup 3}.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effluents from MBT plants: Plasma techniques for the treatment of VOCs

Highlights: • Dielectric Barrier Discharge was applied to remove methyl ethyl ketone from air. • Methyl ethyl ketone was chosen since it represents emissions from MBT plants. • The removal efficiency was linearly dependent on time, power and energy density. • Besides CO{sub 2}, methyl nitrate and 2,3-butanedione were the main byproducts formed. • The removal efficiency can be increased by increasing the convective flow. - Abstract: Mechanical–biological treatments (MBTs) of urban waste are growing in popularity in many European countries. Recent studies pointed out that their contribution in terms of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other air pollutants is not negligible. Compared to classical removal technologies, non-thermal plasmas (NTP) showed better performances and low energy consumption when applied to treat lowly concentrated streams. Therefore, to study the feasibility of the application of NTP to MBTs, a Dielectric Barrier Discharge reactor was applied to treat a mixture of air and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), to simulate emissions from MBTs. The removal efficiency of MEK was linearly dependent upon time, power and specific input energy. Only 2–4% of MEK was converted to carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), the remaining carbon being involved in the formation of byproducts (methyl nitrate and 2,3-butanedione, especially). For future development of pilot-scale reactors, acting on residence time, power, convective flow and catalysts will help finding a compromise between energy consumption, desired abatement and selectivity to CO{sub 2}.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Performance evaluation of a hybrid-passive landfill leachate treatment system using multivariate statistical techniques

Highlights: • Performance of a hybrid passive landfill leachate treatment system was evaluated. • 33 Water chemistry parameters were sampled for 21 months and statistically analyzed. • Parameters were strongly linked and explained most (>40%) of the variation in data. • Alkalinity, ammonia, COD, heavy metals, and iron were criteria for performance. • Eight other parameters were key in modeling system dynamics and criteria. - Abstract: A pilot-scale hybrid-passive treatment system operated at the Merrick Landfill in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, treats municipal landfill leachate and provides for subsequent natural attenuation. Collected leachate is directed to a hybrid-passive treatment system, followed by controlled release to a natural attenuation zone before entering the nearby Little Sturgeon River. The study presents a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the system using multivariate statistical techniques to determine the interactions between parameters, major pollutants in the leachate, and the biological and chemical processes occurring in the system. Five parameters (ammonia, alkalinity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), “heavy” metals of interest, with atomic weights above calcium, and iron) were set as criteria for the evaluation of system performance based on their toxicity to aquatic ecosystems and importance in treatment with respect to discharge regulations. System data for a full range of water quality parameters over a 21-month period were analyzed using principal components analysis (PCA), as well as principal components (PC) and partial least squares (PLS) regressions. PCA indicated a high degree of association for most parameters with the first PC, which explained a high percentage (>40%) of the variation in the data, suggesting strong statistical relationships among most of the parameters in the system. Regression analyses identified 8 parameters (set as independent variables) that were most frequently retained for modeling the five criteria parameters (set as dependent variables), on a statistically significant level: conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), nitrite (NO{sub 2}{sup −}), organic nitrogen (N), oxidation reduction potential (ORP), pH, sulfate and total volatile solids (TVS). The criteria parameters and the significant explanatory parameters were most important in modeling the dynamics of the passive treatment system during the study period. Such techniques and procedures were found to be highly valuable and could be applied to other sites to determine parameters of interest in similar naturalized engineered systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Application of Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 for simulating anaerobic mesophilic sludge digestion

Highlights: • The behavior of a anaerobic reactor was evaluated through modeling. • Parametric sensitivity analysis was used to select most sensitive of the ADM1. • The results indicate that the ADM1 was able to predict the experimental results. • Organic load rate above of 35 kg/m{sup 3} day affects the performance of the process. - Abstract: Improving anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge by monitoring common indicators such as volatile fatty acids (VFAs), gas composition and pH is a suitable solution for better sludge management. Modeling is an important tool to assess and to predict process performance. The present study focuses on the application of the Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) to simulate the dynamic behavior of a reactor fed with sewage sludge under mesophilic conditions. Parametric sensitivity analysis is used to select the most sensitive ADM1 parameters for estimation using a numerical procedure while other parameters are applied without any modification to the original values presented in the ADM1 report. The results indicate that the ADM1 model after parameter estimation was able to predict the experimental results of effluent acetate, propionate, composites and biogas flows and pH with reasonable accuracy. The simulation of the effect of organic shock loading clearly showed that an organic shock loading rate above of 35 kg/m{sup 3} day affects the performance of the reactor. The results demonstrate that simulations can be helpful to support decisions on predicting the anaerobic digestion process of sewage sludge.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Impact of Biofuel Blends on Black Carbon Emissions from a Gas Turbine Engine

With a view towards renewable feedstock while decreasing the CO2 footprint associated with jet travel, biofuels are receiving increasing interest. Presented here is an overview of non-volatile particulate matter (nvPM) emissions, i.e. “soot” as gauged by varied TEM analyses for a J-85 turbojet fueled with Jet-A as well as with blends of Jet-A using Camelina biofuel. A unifying explanation is provided encompassing fuels and spanning length scales across three orders of magnitude. The variation of primary particle size, aggregate size and nanostructure are analyzed as a function of biofuel blend across range of engine thrust levels. The postulate is based on where fuels start along the soot formation pathway. Increasing biofuel content lowers aromatic concentration while placing increasing dependence upon fuel pyrolysis reactions to form the requisite concentration of aromatics for particle inception and growth. The required “kinetic” time for pyrolysis reactions to produce benzene and multi-ring PAHs allows increased fuel-air mixing by turbulence, diluting the fuel-rich soot-forming regions, effectively lowering their equivalence ratio. With a lower precursor concentration, particle inception is slowed, the resulting concentration of primary particles is lowered and smaller aggregates. The lower equivalence ratio also results in smaller primary particles given the lower concentration of growth species.

Kumal, Raju R.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Site Suitability and Air Pollution Impacts of Composting Infrastructure for California’s Organic Waste Diversion Law

The emerging field of polaritonic chemistry explores the behavior of molecules under strong coupling with cavity modes. Despite recent developments in ab initio polaritonic methods for simulating polaritonic chemistry under electronic strong coupling, their capabilities are limited, especially in cases where the molecule also features strong electronic correlation. To bridge this gap, we have developed a novel method for cavity QED calculations utilizing the Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) algorithm in conjunction with the Pauli–Fierz Hamiltonian. Our approach is applied to investigate the effect of the cavity on the S0–S1 transition of n-oligoacenes, with n ranging from 2 to 5, encompassing 22 fully correlated π orbitals in the largest pentacene molecule. Our findings indicate that the influence of the cavity intensifies with larger acenes. Additionally, we demonstrate that, unlike the full determinantal representation, DMRG efficiently optimizes and eliminates excess photonic degrees of freedom, resulting in an asymptotically constant computational cost as the photonic basis increases.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

NOx Emission Reduction and its Effects on Ozone during the 2008 Olympic Games

We applied a daily-assimilated inversion method to estimate NOx (NO+NO2) emissions for June-September 2007 and 2008 on the basis of the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) observations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and model simulations using the Regional chEmistry and trAnsport Model (REAM). Over urban Beijing, rural Beijing, and the Huabei Plain, OMI column NO2 reductions are approximately 45%, 33%, and 14%, respectively, while the corresponding anthropogenic NOx emission reductions are only 28%, 24%, and 6%, during the full emission control period (July 20 – Sep 20, 2008). The emission reduction began in early July and was in full force by July 20, corresponding to the scheduled implementation of emission controls over Beijing. The emissions did not appear to recover after the emission control period. Meteorological change from summer 2007 to 2008 is the main factor contributing to the column NO2 decreases not accounted for by the emission reduction. Model simulations suggest that the effect of emission reduction on ozone concentrations over Beijing is relatively minor using a standard VOC emission inventory in China. With an adjustment of the model emissions to reflect in situ observations of VOCs in Beijing, the model simulation suggests a larger effect of the emission reduction.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Effect of Hydrophilic Organic Seed Aerosols on Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from Ozonolysis of α-Pinene

Gas-particle partitioning theory is widely used in atmospheric models to predict organic aerosol loadings. This theory predicts that secondary organic aerosol (SOA) yield of an oxidized VOC product will increase as the mass loading of preexisting organic aerosol increases. In a previous study, we showed that the presence of model hydrophobic primary organic aerosol (POA) had no detectable effect on the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) yields from ozonolysis of {alpha}-pinene, suggesting that the condensing SOA compounds form a separate phase from the preexisting POA. However, non-polar, hydrophobic POA may gradually become polar and hydrophilic as it undergoes oxidative aging while POA formed from biomass burning is already somewhat polar and hydrophilic. In this study, we investigate the effects of model hydrophilic POA such as fulvic acid, adipic acid and citric acid on the gas-particle partitioning of SOA from {alpha}-pinene ozonolysis. The results show that only citric acid seed significantly enhances the absorption of {alpha}-pinene SOA into the particle-phase. The other two POA seed particles have negligible effect on the {alpha}-pinene SOA yields, suggesting that {alpha}-pinene SOA forms a well-mixed organic aerosol phase with citric acid while a separate phase with adipic acid and fulvic acid. This finding highlights the need to improve the thermodynamics treatment of organics in current aerosol models that simply lump all hydrophilic organic species into a single phase, thereby potentially introducing an erroneous sensitivity of SOA mass to emitted POA.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Determining Outdoor CPV Cell Temperature: Preprint

An accurate method is needed for determining cell temperature when measuring CPV modules outdoors. It has been suggested that cell temperature can be calculated though a procedure that shutters sunlight to the cells while measuring the transients in open-circuit voltage (Voc) and heat sink temperature. This paper documents application of this shutter procedure to multiple CPV modules at NREL. Thechallenges and limitations are presented along with an alternate approach to measuring CPV cell operating temperature.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Transient Response of Cadmium Telluride Modules to Light Exposure: Preprint

Commercial cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) modules from three different manufacturers were monitored for performance changes during indoor and outdoor light-exposure. Short-term transients in Voc were recorded on some modules, with characteristic times of ~1.1 hours. Outdoor performance data shows a similar drop in Voc after early morning light exposure. Preliminary analysis of FF changes show light-induced changes on multiple time scales, including a long time scale.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Analysis of Solar Cell Quality Using Voltage Metrics: Preprint

The highest efficiency solar cells provide both excellent voltage and current. Of these, the open-circuit voltage (Voc) is more frequently viewed as an indicator of the material quality. However, since the Voc also depends on the band gap of the material, the difference between the band gap and the Voc is a better metric for comparing material quality of unlike materials. To take this one stepfurther, since Voc also depends on the shape of the absorption edge, we propose to use the ultimate metric: the difference between the measured Voc and the Voc calculated from the external quantum efficiency using a detailed balance approach. This metric is less sensitive to changes in cell design and definition of band gap. The paper defines how to implement this metric and demonstrates how itcan be useful in tracking improvements in Voc, especially as Voc approaches its theoretical maximum.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Efficient Crystalline Si Solar Cell with Amorphous/Crystalline Silicon Heterojunction as Back Contact: Preprint

We study an amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction (Si HJ) as a back contact in industrial standard p-type five-inch pseudo-square wafer to replace Al back surface field (BSF) contact. The best efficiency in this study is over 17% with open-circuit (Voc) of 0.623 V, which is very similar to the control cell with Al BSF. We found that Voc has not been improved with the heterojunctionstructure in the back. The typical minority carrier lifetime of these wafers is on the order of 10 us. We also found that the doping levels of p-layer affect the FF due to conductivity and band gap shifting, and an optimized layer is identified. We conclude that an amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction can be a very promising structure to replace Al BSF back contact.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Development of Substrate Structure CdTe Photovoltaic Devices with Performance Exceeding 10%: Preprint

Most work on CdTe-based solar cells has focused on devices with a superstrate structure. This focus is due to the early success of the superstrate structure in producing high-efficiency cells, problems of suitable ohmic contacts for lightly doped CdTe, and the simplicity of the structure for manufacturing. The development of the CdCl2 heat treatment boosted CdTe technology and perpetuated the useof the superstrate structure. However, despite the beneficial attributes of the superstrate structure, devices with a substrate structure are attractive both commercially and scientifically. The substrate structure eliminates the need for transparent superstrates and thus allows the use of flexible metal and possibly plastic substrates. From a scientific perspective, it allows better control informing the junction and direct access to the junction for detailed analysis. Research on such devices has been limited. The efficiency of these devices has been limited to around 8% due to low open-circuit voltage (Voc) and fill factor. In this paper, we present our recent device development efforts at NREL on substrate-structure CdTe devices. We have found that processing parameters requiredto fabricate high-efficiency substrate CdTe PV devices differ from those necessary for traditional superstrate CdTe devices. We have worked on a variety of contact materials including Cu-doped ZnTe and CuxTe. We will present a comparative analysis of the performance of these contacts. In addition, we have studied the influence of fabrication parameters on junction properties. We will present anoverview of our development work, which has led to CdTe devices with Voc values of more than 860 mV and NREL-confirmed efficiencies approaching 11%.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Oxygen Incorporation During Fabrication of Substrate CdTe Photovoltaic Devices: Preprint

Recently, CdTe photovoltaic (PV) devices fabricated in the nonstandard substrate configuration have attracted increasing interest because of their potential compatibility with flexible substrates such as metal foils and polymer films. This compatibility could lead to the suitability of CdTe for roll-to-roll processing and building-integrated PV. Currently, however, the efficiencies of substrateCdTe devices reported in the literature are significantly lower (6%-8%) than those of high-performance superstrate devices (17%) because of significantly lower open-circuit voltage (Voc) and fill factor (FF). In our recent device development efforts, we have found that processing parameters required to fabricate high-efficiency substrate CdTe PV devices differ from those necessary fortraditional superstrate CdTe devices. Here, we investigate how oxygen incorporation in the CdTe deposition, CdCl2 heat treatment, CdS deposition, and post-deposition heat treatment affect device characteristics through their effects on the junction. By adjusting whether oxygen is incorporated during these processing steps, we have achieved Voc values greater than 860 mV and efficiencies greaterthan 10%.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Novel Approach for Correlating Capacitance Data with Performance During Thin-Film Device Stress Studies: Preprint

A new data mining algorithm was developed to identify the strongest correlations between capacitance data (measured between -1.5 V and +0.49 V) and 1st and 2nd level performance metrics (efficiency, open-circuit voltage (VOC), short-circuit current density (JSC), and fill-factor (FF)) during the stress testing of voltage-stabilized CdS/CdTe devices. When considering only correlations between 1stand 2nd level metrics, 96.5% of the observed variation in efficiency was attributed to FF. The overall decrease in VOC after 1000 hours of open-circuit, light-soak stress at 60 degrees C was about 1.5%. As determined by our algorithm, the most consistent correlation existing between FF and 3rd level metric capacitance data at all stages during stress testing was between FF and the apparent CdTeacceptor density (Na) calculated at a voltage of +0.49 V during forward voltage scans. Since the contribution of back contact capacitance to total capacitance increases with increasing positive voltage, this result suggests that FF degradation is associated with decreases in Na near the CdTe/back contact interface. Also of interest, it appears that capacitance data at these higher voltagesappears to more accurately fit the one-sided abrupt junction model.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗