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NASA NTRS1994

Modeling of periodic great earthquakes on the San Andreas fault: Effects of nonlinear crustal rheology

We analyze the cycle of great earthquakes along the San Andreas fault with a finite element numerical model of deformation in a crust with a nonlinear viscoelastic rheology. The viscous component of deformation has an effective viscosity that depends exponentially on the inverse absolute temperature and nonlinearity on the shear stress; the elastic deformation is linear. Crustal thickness and temperature are constrained by seismic and heat flow data for California. The models are for anti plane strain in a 25-km-thick crustal layer having a very long, vertical strike-slip fault; the crustal block extends 250 km to either side of the fault. During the earthquake cycle that lasts 160 years, a constant plate velocity v(sub p)/2 = 17.5 mm yr is applied to the base of the crust and to the vertical end of the crustal block 250 km away from the fault. The upper half of the fault is locked during the interseismic period, while its lower half slips at the constant plate velocity. The locked part of the fault is moved abruptly 2.8 m every 160 years to simulate great earthquakes. The results are sensitive to crustal rheology. Models with quartzite-like rheology display profound transient stages in the velocity, displacement, and stress fields. The predicted transient zone extends about 3-4 times the crustal thickness on each side of the fault, significantly wider than the zone of deformation in elastic models. Models with diabase-like rheology behave similarly to elastic models and exhibit no transient stages. The model predictions are compared with geodetic observations of fault-parallel velocities in northern and central California and local rates of shear strain along the San Andreas fault. The observations are best fit by models which are 10-100 times less viscous than a quartzite-like rheology. Since the lower crust in California is composed of intermediate to mafic rocks, the present result suggests that the in situ viscosity of the crustal rock is orders of magnitude less the rock viscosity determined in the laboratory.

Reches, Ze'ev↗

DOE OSTI2021

LCC-based framework for building envelope and structure co-design considering energy efficiency and natural hazard performance

Herein, this paper presents a life-cycle cost (LCC) informed co-design framework for building structures and envelope systems, holistically considering the influences of energy and natural hazard performance. The proposed method is consisted of a two-stage design and decision-making process, aiming to provide a quantitative guideline for building's structural and envelope co-design based on the its geographic locations. First, the building's structural configuration and envelope type are selected based on the life cycle cost. Then, the long-term cost effectiveness of various energy-saving building envelope options (e.g., high-performance glazing and insulation) is evaluated to refine the envelope design. The proposed co-design framework was demonstrated through the case study of a medium-size office building archetype in three locations with distinct climate conditions and seismic activities (i.e., Los Angeles, Memphis, and Boston). The results highlighted the interplay between building's structural (seismic) performance and the cost-effectiveness of energy-saving design options – e.g., for buildings located in high-seismic regions, seismic enhancing designs greatly reduce the paybak period of high performance building envelope by reducing the seismic loss; whereas for buildings located in regions with cold climate and low seismic risk such as Boston, spatial frame with high insulation building envelope shows the lowest LCC.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS2017

Shallow Lunar Seismic Activity and the Current Stress State of the Moon

A vast, global network of more than 3200 lobate thrust fault scarps has been revealed in high resolution Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) images. The fault scarps are very young, less than 50 Ma, based on their small scale and crisp appearance, crosscutting relations with small-diameter impact craters, and rates of infilling of associated small, shallow graben and may be actively forming today. The population of young thrust fault scarps provides a window into the recent stress state of the Moon and offers insight into the origin of global lunar stresses. The distribution of orientations of the fault scarps is non-random, inconsistent with isotropic stresses from late-stage global contraction as the sole source of stress. Modeling shows that tidal stresses contribute significantly to the current stress state of the lunar crust. Tidal stresses (orbital recession and diurnal tides) superimposed on stresses from global contraction result in non-isotropic compressional stress and may produce thrust faults consistent with lobate scarp orientations. At any particular point on the lunar surface, peak compressive stress will be reached at a certain time in the diurnal cycle. Coseismic slip events on currently active thrust faults are expected to be triggered when peak stresses are reached. Analysis of the timing of the 28 the shallow moonquakes recorded by the Apollo seismic network shows that 19 indeed occur when the Moon is closer to apogee, while only 9 shallow events occur when the Moon is closer to perigee. Here we report efforts to refine the model for the current stress state of the Moon by investigating the contribution of polar wander. Progress on relocating the epicentral locations of the shallow moonquakes using an algorithm designed for sparse networks is also reported.

structure↗

DOE OSTI2021

Progressive transfer learning for low-frequency data prediction in full waveform inversion

To effectively overcome the cycle-skipping issue in full waveform inversion (FWI), we developed a deep neural network (DNN) approach to predict the absent low-frequency components by exploiting the hidden physical relation connecting the low- and the high-frequency data. To efficiently solve this challenging nonlinear regression problem, two novel strategies were proposed to design the DNN architecture and to optimize the learning process: (1) dual data feed structure; (2) progressive transfer learning. With the dual data feed structure, not only the high-frequency data, but also the corresponding beat tone data are fed into the DNN to relieve the burden of feature extraction. The second strategy, progressive transfer learning, enables us to train the DNN using a single evolving training dataset. Within the framework of the progressive transfer learning, the training dataset continuously evolves in an iterative manner by gradually retrieving the subsurface information through the physics-based inversion module, progressively enhancing the prediction accuracy of the DNN and propelling the inversion process out of the local minima. Here, the synthetic numerical experiments suggest that, without any a priori geological information, the low-frequency data predicted by the progressive transfer learning are sufficiently accurate for an FWI engine to produce reliable subsurface velocity models free of cycle-skipping artifacts.

02 PETROLEUM↗

DOE OSTI2023

The Seismic Signature of a High-Energy Density Physics Laboratory and Its Potential for Measuring Time-Dependent Velocity Structure

The Z Machine at Sandia National Laboratories is a pulsed power facility for high-energy density physics experiments that can shock materials to extreme temperatures and pressures through a focused energy release of up to ~ 25 MJ in < 100 nanoseconds. It has been in operation for more than two decades and conducts up to ~ 100 experiments, or “shots,” per year. Based on a set of 74 known shot times from 2018, we determined that Z Machine shots produce detectable ~ 3–17 Hz ground motion 12 km away at the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory, New Mexico (ANMO), borehole seismograph, with peak signal at ~ 7 Hz. The known shot waveforms were used to create a three-component template, leading to the detection of 2339 Z Machine shots since 1998 through single-station cross-correlation. Local seismic magnitude estimates range from local magnitude (M L ) —2 to —1.3 and indicate that only a small fraction of the shot energy is transmitted by seismic phases observable at 12 km distance. The most recent major facility renovation, which was intended to decrease mechanical dissipation, is associated with an abrupt decrease in observed seismic amplitudes at ANMO despite stable maximum shot energy. The highly repetitive impulsive sources are well suited to coda-wave interferometry to investigate time-dependent velocity structures. Relative velocity variations (dv/v) show an annual cycle with amplitude of ~ 0.2%. Local minima are observed in the late spring, and dv/v increases through the summer monsoon rainfall, possibly reflecting patchy saturation as rainfall infiltrates near the eastern edge of the Albuquerque basin. Importantly, the cumulative results demonstrate that forensic seismology can provide insight into long-term operation of facilities such as pulsed-power laboratories, and that their recurring signals may be valuable for studies of time-dependent structure

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS1986

Test of the Hipparcos payload in the Liege vacuum facility focal

The Liege thermal vacuum optical bench (FOCAL) was used to control the mechanical stability of the structure of the European Space Agency's HIPPARCOS astrometry payload. The payload is designed to measure angles of .001 arcsec between stars during 2.5 years and this accuracy can only be reached with the extreme stability of the device. The structure of the payload is made of carbon fiber; it is thermally stabilized with an accuracy of .01 degrees C. During the test, the payload is enclosed in a shell made of shrouds having a geometry close to the shading structure of the spacecraft. The shroud temperatures are defined by the conditions in orbit, e.g., the spacecraft is spinning in front of the Sun with a period of two hours and the temperature of the shrouds is cycled around the payload with a 2 hour period. In order to avoid disturbances by vibrations, the payload is put on an adapter interfaced with the optical bench and the seismic block; the shrouds are supported by a carrier with no direct interface with the table. This method avoids perturbances brought about by the cooling fluid of the shrouds.

Jamar, C.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Micro-Vibration Measurements on Thermally Loaded Multi-Layer Insulation Samples in Vacuum

Some scientific missions require to an extreme extent the absence of any on-board microvibration. Recent projects dedicated to measuring the Earth's gravity field and modeling the geoid with extremely high accuracy are examples. Their missions demand for extremely low micro-vibration environment on orbit for: (1) Not disturbing the measurement of earth gravity effects with the installed gradiometer or (2) Even not damaging the very high sensitive instruments. Based on evidence from ongoing missions multi-layer insulation (MLI) type thermal control blankets have been identified as a structural element of spacecrafts which might deform under temperature variations being caused by varying solar irradiation in orbit. Any such deformation exerts tiny forces which may cause small reactions resulting in micro-vibrations, in particular by exciting the spacecraft eigenmodes. The principle of the test set-up for the micro-vibration test was as follows. A real side wall panel of the spacecraft (size about 0.25 m2) was low-frequency suspended in a thermal vacuum chamber. On the one side of this panel, the MLI samples were fixed by using the standard methods. In front of the MLI, an IR-rig was installed which provided actively controlled IR-radiation power of about 6 kW/m2 in order to heat the MLI surface. The cooling was passive using the shroud temperature at a chamber pressure <1E-5mbar. The resulting micro-vibrations due to MLI motion in the heating and the cooling phase were measured via seismic accelerometers which were rigidly mounted to the panel. Video recording was used to correlate micro-vibration events to any visual MLI motion. Different MLI sample types were subjected to various thermal cycles in a temperature range between -60 C to +80 C. In this paper, the experience on these micro-vibration measurements will be presented and the conclusions for future applications will be discussed

Deutsch, Georg↗

DOE OSTI2022

Water‐Induced Diamond Formation at Earth's Core‐Mantle Boundary

Abstract The carbon and water cycles in the Earth's interior are linked to key planetary processes, such as mantle melting, degassing, chemical differentiation, and advection. However, the role of water in the carbon exchange between the mantle and core is not well known. Here, we show experimental results of a reaction between Fe 3 C and H 2 O at pressures and temperatures of the deep mantle and core‐mantle boundary (CMB). The reaction produces diamond, FeO, and FeH x , suggesting that water can liberate carbon from the core in the form of diamond (“core carbon extraction”) while the core gains hydrogen, if subducted water reaches to the CMB. Therefore, Earth's deep water and carbon cycles can be linked. The extracted core carbon can explain a significant amount of the present‐day mantle carbon. Also, if diamond can be collected by mantle flow in the region, it can result in unusually high seismic‐velocity structures.

Ko, Byeongkwan↗

DOE OSTI2020

Integrated Modeling Report for CO 2 Storage with Enhanced Oil Recovery in Northern Michigan

The Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) was founded in 2003 as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership initiative. Since its founding, MRCSP has made significant strides toward making CCUS a viable option for states in the region. The public/private consortium, funded through the DOE Regional Carbon Sequestration Initiative, brings together nearly 40 industry partners and 10 states. Battelle, as the project lead, oversees research, development and operations and coordinates activities among the partners. The incremental, phased approach has built a valuable knowledge base for the industry and paved the way for commercial-scale adoption of CCUS technologies. From 2008 to 2020, MRCSP Phase III focused on the development of large-scale injection projects. This report is part of a series of reports prepared under the Midwestern Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) Phase III (Development Phase). These reports summarize and detail the findings of the work conducted under the Phase III project. MRCSP has been investigating various reservoir characterization and modeling technologies related to Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) in conjunction with carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO 2 -EOR) operations in multiple Silurian-age (Niagaran), oil-bearing, carbonate pinnacle reefs in northern Michigan, USA. This report provides a comprehensive discussion of reservoir modeling studies that were conducted for tracking oil production, forecasting CO 2 plume migration, and estimating associated storage in a number of reefs that were at different stages of their CO 2 -EOR life cycle. The modeling process for simulating oil production, CO 2 injection, and associated storage in these reefs entails two phases. The first phase, geologic framework modeling, integrates all pertinent geological and geophysical data (from logs, cores and seismic surveys) about reservoir structure, geometry, rock types, and property distributions (porosity, permeability, water saturation) into a 3-D distributed grid-based static earth model (SEM). The second phase, dynamic reservoir modeling, uses the SEM as a platform to simulate the movement of oil, gas, water, and CO 2 within the reservoir during primary hydrocarbon production, as well as during subsequent phases such as CO 2 -injection assisted EOR, plume migration, and associated storage. In addition, an assessment of coupled process effects is also carried out, where the impacts of geochemical and geo-mechanical processed induced by CO 2 injection are studied.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2024

Machine Learning Inference of Random Medium Properties

Earth materials are heterogeneous across a range of spatial scales, but the resolvability of small structures is limited by sparse data coverage, noise, bandlimitedness, and other difficulties. In practice, heterogeneities below a certain size cannot be recovered from seismic data except through statistical medium descriptions, which even then can be difficult to uniquely determine. To improve the characterization of such heterogeneities, we develop a novel supervised machine learning (ML) model that provides insight about the recoverability of statistical medium properties from elastic waveform data and succeeds despite cycle-skipping and other challenges well known from elastic waveform inversion. We demonstrate the approach using random media generated by superimposing self-affine random variations on homogeneous and layered background structures. After training on sparsely-recorded, high-frequency waveforms from hundreds of different random medium realizations, we show the ability of our ML model to recover correlation lengths and other statistical properties of interest to near-surface and crustal seismology, among other fields. For frequency passbands and spatial offsets encountered in seismology, Gaussian correlation lengths and the amplitude of the random variations relative to the background model are recovered even in challenging scenarios involving unknown medium parameters, complex crustal structures, and low signal-to-noise ratio. In comparison, von Kármán correlation lengths, which are related to larger-wavelength variations of the medium than Gaussian correlation lengths, are not as well recovered. These results provide one of the first and most systematic investigations of the recoverability of statistical properties of heterogeneities below the resolution limit of deterministic seismic tomography, and suggest practical ML strategies for high-frequency waveform seismology.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS1979

Seismic Q and velocity at depth

Measurements of the p-wave and s-wave internal friction quality factors (Q) and velocities of samples of a moderately outgassed terrestrial analog of lunar basalt exposed simultaneously to temperatures and hydrostatic confining pressures in accordance with the best available estimates of the lunar selenotherm are presented. Q values and velocities are found to increase with simulated depth, and an extrapolation of the Q value to a thoroughly outgassed states provides a Q value in reasonable agreement with those derived from lunar seismic data, suggesting a very dry lunar crust. Results also imply that similar seismic determinations for Mars would be able to distinguish between a dry crust and a crust containing water trapped beneath a layer of ice. Results of thermal cracking tests which demonstrate that high degrees of cracking associated with thermal cycling, as during the lunar day, are not inconsistent with high Q in a dry environment are presented, and it is shown that volatiles with diple moments comparable to H2O can greatly affect Q. Possible attenuation mechanisms are then considered, and velocity measurements on a synthetic anorthosite are presented.

Tittmann, B. R.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Active‐Source Seismic Imaging of Fault Re‐Activation and Leakage: An Injection Experiment at the Mt Terri Rock Laboratory, Switzerland

Abstract We conducted a time‐lapse seismic experiment utilizing automated active seismic source and sensor arrays to monitor a reactivated fault within the Opalinus clay formation at the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory (Switzerland), an analog caprock for geologic carbon storage. A series of six brine injections were conducted into the so‐called Main Fault to reactivate it. Seismic instrumentation in five monitoring boreholes on either side of the fault was used to continuously probe changes in P‐wave travel‐times associated with fault displacement and leakage. We performed time‐lapse travel‐time tomography on five hundred sequential data sets; this revealed a zone of decreased P‐wave velocity, up to 16 m/s, during each injection cycle, followed by a velocity increase during shut‐in. These results demonstrate varying elastic property perturbations, both spatially and temporally, along the fault plane during reactivation. We then interpreted these velocity changes in terms of fault dilation induced by pressurized fluids along the fault.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

Seasonal Seismicity in the Lake Biwa Region of Central Japan Moderately Modulated by Lake Water Storage Changes

Seasonal seismicity in Japan has been observed and attributed to variations induced by hydrological loading, as well as atmospheric and pore-fluid pressure. We examine the seasonal variations of crustal (<15 km depth) and low magnitude (M < 4.5) earthquakes in central Japan near the Biwako-Seigan Fault Zone (BSFZ), and analyze their correlation with the annual hydrological cycle of nearby Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan. The 2002–2018 lake water storage is estimated using water-level gauge and satellite altimetry data. Regional surface mass loading from soil moisture and snow predicted by the Global Land Data Assimilation System is used to augment the lake mass variation. We compute the stress and stressing-rate changes induced by the surface mass loading from lake storage, snow, and soil moisture at seismogenic depth (10 km) along the BSFZ using a finite element model incorporating a 3D Earth structure. The results show that seasonal surface mass loading generates 1–5 kPa peak-to-peak Coulomb stress change and 2.5–15 kPa/year stressing-rate variations on the fault segments along the BSFZ. Two of the four fault segments present significant correlation between local seismicity rate and loading-derived stress and/or stressing rate changes. Among the hydrological load components, lake water, snow, and soil moisture exhibit different annual phases, and the lake water storage dominates the total annual stress changes. Our analysis indicates that seasonal surface hydrological loads, especially lake water variations, modulate the seismicity rate along the BSFZ in central Japan.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

The Local Seismoacoustic Wavefield of a Research Nuclear Reactor and Its Response to Reactor Power Level

In this article, we describe the seismoacoustic wavefield recorded outdoors but inside the facility fence of the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Tennessee). HFIR is a research nuclear reactor that generates neutrons for scattering, irradiation research, and isotope production. This reactor operates at a nominal power of 85 MW, with a full-power period between 24 and 26 days. This study uses data from a single seismoacoustic station that operated for 60 days and sampled a full operating reactor cycle, that is, full-power operation and end-of-cycle outage. The analysis presented here is based on identifying signals that characterize the steady, that is, full-power operation and end-of-cycle outage, and transitional, that is, start-up and shutdown, states of the reactor. We found that the overall seismoacoustic energy closely follows the main power cycle of the reactor and identified spectral regions excited by specific reactor operational conditions. In particular, we identified a tonal noise sequence with a fundamental frequency around 21.4 Hz and multiple harmonics that emerge as the reactor reaches 90% of nominal power in both seismic and acoustic channels. We also utilized temperature measurements from the monitoring system of the reactor to suggest links between the operation of reactor’s subsystems and seismoacoustic signals. We demonstrate that seismoacoustic monitoring of an industrial facility can identify and track some industrial processes and detect events related to operations that involve energy transport.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Proliferation Detection via Acoustic Monitoring of Pyroprocessing Equipment and Related Systems

In support of nuclear safeguards and nonproliferation, this effort is leveraging acoustic and seismic sensors to advance detection of pyroprocessing activities. Pyroprocessing, or electrochemical processing, is a method of separating irradiated nuclear fuel into its actinide and fission product components, enabling the reuse of fuel materials and reducing the radiotoxicity of the remaining waste. Verification and accountability in the process poses several challenges because of the high radiation environment and the presence of material holdup through the facility. Irregular or unaccounted-for equipment operation can signify diversion or misuse of critical materials. Acoustic and seismic sensors offer the capability to identify periods of equipment operation and help verify adherence to accountancy records.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

NASA NTRS2003

An Autonomous Instrument Package for Providing 'Pathfinder' Network Measurements on the Surface of Mars

The investigations of the interior and atmosphere of Mars have been identified as high scientific priorities in most planetary exploration strategy document since the time of Viking. Most recently, the National Academy of Sciences has recommended a long-lived Mars network mission as its second highest scientific priority for Mars (after sample return) for the purpose of performing seismological investigations of the interior and studying the activity and composition of the atmosphere. Despite consistent recommendations by advisory groups, Mars network missions (MESUR, Marsnet, InterMarsnet, NetLander/MSR 05, NetLander/Premier 07, NetLander/?? 09) have undergone a strikingly consistent 'Phoenix' cycle of death and rebirth over the past 15 years, and there are still no confirmed plans to address the interior and atmosphere of Mars. The latest attempt is the NetLander mission. The objective of NetLander is to place a network of four landers on Mars to perform detailed measurements of the seismicity and atmospheric pressure, temperature, wind, humidity, and opacity (as well as provide images, subsurface radar sounding profiles, and electric/magnetic field measurements). However, this mission has recently encountered major programmatic difficulties within CNES and NASA. NASA has already cancelled its participation and the mission itself is facing imminent cancellation if CNES cannot solve programmatic issues associated with launching the mission in 2009. In this presentation we will describe an approach that could move us closer to realizing the goals of a Mars network mission and will secure at least one geophysical and meteorological observatory in 2009.

W B Banerdt↗

DOE OSTI2022

Updated Seismic Shake Table Test Plan

This report documents the updated seismic shake table test plan. The report describes the shake table inputs (ground motions), test hardware, shake table facility, friction experiment, and proposed instrumentation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Subtask 1.3 – Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage for North Dakota Ethanol Production

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), in partnership with Red Trail Energy, LLC (RTE), a North Dakota ethanol producer; the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) Renewable Energy Program (REP); and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), conducted a feasibility and implementation study for a commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) effort. This subtask provided technical support and developed recommended practices of how small-scale industrial CO2 emitters (<1,000,000 tonnes of CO2 emitted annually) may economically deploy CCS. The 64-million-gallon dry mill RTE ethanol facility, emitting an average 180,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, was the subject of the case study. The positive outcome of this research, which shows technical and economic potential for ethanol–CCS in North Dakota, has resulted in RTE acquiring an approved Permit to Drill on December 2, 2019, for a stratigraphic test well in early 2020, a necessary step toward a North Dakota CO2 Storage Facility Permit (SFP) for the RTE CCS effort. Outcomes include 1) validating the Broom Creek Formation as a regional target for CCS, 2) determining the full carbon life cycle of an industrial fuel production facility with CCS, 3) developing a field implementation plan (FIP) for small-scale CCS, and 4) determining the validity and pathway for using CCS to meet low-carbon fuel (LCF) standards. The technical team included the EERC, RTE, Trimeric Corporation, Schlumberger Carbon Services, and Computer Modelling Group (CMG). Findings from activities conducted November 2016 – May 2020 are summarized as follows. Several key steps have been accomplished toward validating the Broom Creek Formation as a CO2 injection and storage target at the RTE CCS site, including verification of the presence and structure of sandstone layers that may comprise the potential CO2 storage reservoir and the several thousand feet of overlying confining zone. Work included site characterization using existing data, interpretation of seismic data within the study area, and geologic modeling simulation of CO2 injection. Interpreted results estimate 3000 feet of confining zone between the Broom Creek Formation (storage target) and the lowermost underground source of drinking water (e.g., the Fox Hills Formation). The thickness of the Broom Creek injection target varies 230–420 ft within the survey area. Results were used to inform the location of a stratigraphic test well and associated characterization test program. No impediments were identified within the targeted CO2 storage complex that would prevent the project from moving forward. A stratigraphic test well is the next step to validate these results and to acquire remaining data necessary to develop a North Dakota CO2 SFP application. The EERC generated full carbon life cycle estimates for CCS integration with the RTE ethanol facility. Results indicated that an average 40% reduction in CO2 emissions is possible through CCS implementation. Approximately half of the carbon in the overall life cycle for a dry mill ethanol plant is generated through the fermentation process and emitted to the atmosphere; this is the CO2 stream targeted for CCS. The remaining carbon is attributed to corn feedstock farming (diesel, fertilizer), energy for fuel processing (natural gas, electricity), and transportation (diesel) of the fuel product. Life cycle carbon estimates are also affected by the anticipated energy consumption of a potential capture facility, which depend on the type of CO2 product generated. For example, a 30%–40% net CO2 emission reduction is estimated if a liquefied CO2 facility were incorporated compared to a 40%–50% net CO2 reduction if a supercritical “injection-grade” CO2 product is generated; i.e., more energy is required to further refine the CO2 stream, affecting the full carbon life cycle estimates. A CCS FIP was developed and initiated at the RTE CCS site, resulting in the development of several guidance documents: a CO2 Capture Process Design Package, a North Dakota CO2 geologic Storage Permits Template, and a Public Outreach Package for CCS in North Dakota. General FIP components include CO2 capture system, pipeline and well designs; monitoring, verification, and accounting (MVA) plans; geologic characterization and testing programs; and permitting and outreach plans. Vendor bids were also acquired for the CO2 liquefaction facility. Near-surface characterization (groundwater and soil gas sampling) and geologic characterization (seismic survey) were initiated to inform development of a UIC Class VI-compliant MVA plan compliant with a North Dakota CO2 SFP. Designs (well and geologic testing) were completed for a stratigraphic test well compliant with a North Dakota CO2 SFP. In addition, the outreach plan was executed, including community open houses, meetings with city/county/state officials, and development of public materials. Although other entities continued to mature incentive programs in 2019–2020, California and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) currently provide the most advanced economic opportunities for CCS integrated with fuel production. The California Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) adopted a CCS Protocol in January 2019, allowing submittal of a design-based pathway (DBP) application for an approved temporary (not certified) carbon intensity value for a fully engineered facility. An ethanol–CCS DBP application to the California LCFS Program (officially approved February 28, 2020) was developed to show that the RTE CCS effort meets LCFS requirements. The approved DBP provides confidence to advance the project and supports potential investments. Other entities continue to mature incentive programs. The IRS issued guidance in February 2020 that addresses the definition of beginning of construction and revenue procedure on partnerships for the Enhancement of Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Credit (a.k.a. Section 45Q) CCS tax credit program; the IRS anticipates issuing further guidance on issues such as secure geologic storage, utilization qualifications, and recapture of claimed credits. Maturing incentive programs coupled with workable permitting regulations provide confidence to advance CCS projects in North Dakota and support financial investment to proceed with designing, constructing, and implementing CCS projects at small-scale fuel production facilities. The largest hurdles for CCS implementation at small-scale industrial systems are often business/economic-related (i.e., not technical). Market uncertainty already exists for agriculture-based alternative fuels such as corn ethanol, for which production has increased by ~33%, and prices have correspondingly lowered since 2015. Passing the Section 45Q tax credit program improves economic feasibility for CCS but may require external investors for a small business to achieve maximum benefits. Public–private partnerships with NDIC and DOE have resulted in foundational technical and regulatory knowledge, growing stakeholder confidence, and a pathway to implementation that enables similar industrial CCS projects in the region to advance. This subtask was funded through the EERC–DOE Joint Program on Research and Development for Fossil Energy-Related Resources Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FE0024233. Nonfederal funding was provided by NDIC and RTE. The authors would also like to thank CMG, ESRI, IHS, Neuralog, and Schlumberger for allowing the use of their software packages in support of this work.

42 ENGINEERING↗