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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 793 records · Page 44
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Direct conversion of Light Hydrocarbons to Olefins (Final report)

Reaction35 is developing a new industrial process that is substantially different from the traditional standalone dehydrogenation process practiced in industry such as Oleflex® and Catofin®. Those processes have substantial energy consumption and loss of feed constraints. The Reaction35 process is based on using molecular bromine to activate the alkane (e.g., nbutane) by forming highly reactive butyl bromides. The butyl bromides are easily converted to nbutylenes (final product) and hydrogen bromide. The hydrogen bromide generated in bromination and dehydrobromination is oxidized with air, recovering the molecular bromine which is reused. The overall result is a process with a favorably low energy consumption and less than 1 % overall loss of feed compared to more than 5 % for the direct dehydrogenation processes. During the grant period, several important aspects of the technology have been developed further. The major effort was the hydrogenation catalyst step development. The hydrogenation catalyst is used for recovery of the polybromobutanes to the bromobutanes intermediates. The scientific field regarding dibromo- and polybromoalkanes has not been extensively studied, which necessitated that Reaction35 performs a full study of a number of catalysts and the various experimental conditions that influence the hydrogenation reaction. Currently, Reaction35 has completed its catalyst selection and preliminary experimental parameters optimization. This will allow for the construction of an engineering model for a pilot unit testing.

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

SCALED-PRODUCTION OF RARE EARTH OXIDES AND CRITICAL MATERIALS FROM COAL-BASED SOURCES

A projected exponential increase in the production of electric vehicles and high-end advanced technologies including those used in the defense industrial is expected to require nearly double the amount of rare earth elements (REEs) and critical elements currently available worldwide. As such, recovery from secondary sources such as coal and coal byproducts may be needed to meet the increased demand. A project has been initiated to evaluate methods and technologies integrated in an existing rare earth pilot plant that have the potential to improve the economics of extracting rare earths and critical materials from coal-based materials. This presentation will provide details about the technologies and results from pilot plant testing.

Honaker, Rick Q↗
DOE OSTI2024

Magnetic Nanoparticle Extraction of Lithium from Produced Waters - CRADA 483 (Final Report)

The demand for lithium in the energy production industry is expected to increase sharply, development of simple and cost-effective techniques for lithium production and recovery from various lithium sources is essential. In this project, core/shell magnetic nanoparticles were successfully designed to selectively extract lithium from aqueous lithium sources as an extension of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s magnetic nanofluid extraction technology. The core/shell magnetic nanoparticles are composed of manganese oxide-based lithium ion sieve shells, which allow selective lithium uptake from brines with multiple coexisting ions, over iron oxide cores, which can respond to external magnetic fields for effective recovery and reuse of adsorbents from a liquid. The synthesized lithium ion-sieves and core/shell magnetic nanoparticles were characterized using several techniques to reveal their crystallinity and morphology. The lithium uptake properties of the lithium ion-sieves and core/shell magnetic nanoparticles were evaluated in terms of lithium adsorption capacity, removal percentage, selectivity, and cycling performance in simulated and natural brines. Magnetic properties of the core/shell magnetic nanoparticles were tested by measuring magnetic saturation, and magnetic response of colloidal solutions containing the core/shell magnetic nanoparticles was tested with permanent magnets.

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

Reduction and potential remediation of U(VI) by dithionite at an in-situ recovery mine: Insights gained by δ 238 U

In-situ recovery is a common method of mining U ore. This technique involves injecting an oxidant to oxidize U deposited as insoluble U(IV) to soluble U(VI) and a complexing agent to form mobile U(VI) compounds, which are extracted from mining waters. Unfortunately, U concentrations often remain elevated in groundwater following this mining process. One promising technique to decrease U concentrations to acceptable levels is in-situ remediation where a reductant is injected into the mined area to reduce U(VI) back to insoluble U(IV). Here we assess the efficacy of the chemical reductant dithionite to reduce U(VI) concentrations. While dithionite can reduce environmental Cr(VI), dithionite has previously never been tested for reducing U(VI) in the environment. We determine how effectively dithionite remediates U(VI) contamination using aqueous U concentration and δ 238 U data. U concentrations and δ 238 U decrease during the dithionite experiment, demonstrating that dithionite induces U(VI) reduction. As dithionite is removed by pumping, U concentrations and δ 238 U increase towards background levels, but U(VI) reduction continues for an extended period. In conclusion, measurements demonstrate that re-oxidation and remobilization does not appear to occur due to the reducing condition of groundwater.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

A methodology for selection of solid desiccants in energy recovery ventilators

Controlling indoor humidity levels is essential for maintaining acceptable indoor air quality in buildings. The use of energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) is an energy-efficient way to regulate indoor air humidity. Fixed-bed regenerators and rotary wheels are widely used ERVs because of their high sensible and latent effectiveness. These ERVs are made of desiccant-coated substrates, which enable them to transfer moisture between the supply and exhaust air streams. However, the moisture transfer ability of ERVs depends on the physiochemical and sorption properties of desiccants. Extensive, full-scale experiments are required to determine the best desiccant material for these systems. This paper presents a simplified method of selecting suitable desiccant materials for ERVs. The methodology involves important characterization methods, literature correlations for performance prediction, and cost-effective testing methods prior to full-scale testing, and full-scale test methods are discussed in detail. Furthermore, the performance of a few newly derived materials is evaluated and compared with that of conventional desiccants such as silica gel and molecular sieves. The highest latent effectiveness was obtained for composite of super absorbent polymer (SAP) with potassium formate (SAP-HCO2K-50 %), all-polymer porous solid desiccant (APPSD) and metal organic framework (MOF)–MIL–101 (Cr), followed by activated carbon fibre felt (ACFF) Silica sol-LiCl30, SAP, silica gel, MOF–303, and molecular sieve. Researchers and manufacturers would benefit from the proposed methodology and presented data in developing new desiccant materials for ERV applications.

Energy recovery↗
DOE OSTI2019

Highly Conductive Ag Paste for Recoverable Wiring and Reliable Bonding Used in Stretchable Electronics

Stretchable wiring and stretchable bonding between rigid chip/component and stretchable substrate are two of the key factors for stretchable electronics. Here, a low cost and highly stretchable paste is developed with Ag micro flakes and PDMS, which can be used to fabricate stretchable wirings and bondings under a low curing temperature of 100 °C with printing method. Recoverabilities as recovery time and recovery resistance of the wirings and bondings are defined and discussed. The wiring with a low resistivity of 8.7 × 10-5 ·cm shows much better recoverability than nanowire based wirings due to the flake nature of the Ag particles. When stretched to 50% and 100% of strain, the resistance of the patterned wiring increases to only 1.1 and 2.1 times, respectively. Moreover, the resistance of the wiring during 20% tensile cyclic test remains within 1.1 times even after 1000 cycles, showing long time durability. On the other hand, the paste is also used as a bonding material to assemble a zero-Ohm chip on the stretchable substrate to fabricate a stretchable demo, whose resistance increased to only 1.9 times when stretched to 50% of strain. The developed pastes can be expected to make various stretchable wirings, bondings and packaging structures by simple printing process, enabling mass production of stretchable electronic devices.

Li, Cai Fu↗
DOE OSTI2021

Reactive Flows in Porous Media: Challenges in Theoretical and Numerical Methods

We review theoretical and computational research, primarily from the past 10 years, addressing the flow of reactive fluids in porous media. The focus is on systems where chemical reactions at the solid–fluid interface cause dissolution of the surrounding porous matrix, creating nonlinear feedback mechanisms that can often lead to greatly enhanced permeability. Here, we discuss insights into the evolution of geological forms that can be inferred from these feedback mechanisms, as well as some geotechnical applications such as enhanced oil recovery, hydraulic fracturing, and carbon sequestration. Until recently, most practical applications of reactive transport have been based on Darcy-scale modeling, where averaged equations for the flow and reactant transport are solved. We summarize the successes and limitations of volume averaging, which leads to Darcy-scale equations, as an introduction to pore-scale modeling. Pore-scale modeling is computationally intensive but offers new insights as well as tests of averaging theories and pore-network models. We include recent research devoted to validation of pore-scale simulations, particularly the use of visual observations from microfluidic experiments.

wormhole formation↗
DOE OSTI2025

Foam and Unreacted Material Reduction in Magnesium Oxysulfate for SRPPF Waste Solidification

A magnesium oxysulfate (MOS) grout formulation has been proposed to solidify the liquid effluent from the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility (SRPPF) Aqueous Recovery System (ARS). This formulation uses a combination of light-burnt MgO, anhydrous MgSO 4 , and dead-burnt MgO resulting in a grout with good mixability and acceptable density. The setting time for the grout is within the operational limits of the SRPPF facility and the leachate pH is ~9.4, which is within the assumed pH range of the brine from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). When first tested at the 1-gallon small-scale and 55-gallon full-scale, there was a significant foam layer that raised concerns of a nonhomogeneous final form. A nonhomogeneous mixture could have variable density throughout the waste form and therefore allow for unequal shielding. To reduce the potential for unequal shielding in the final form, a series of foam reduction tests were carried out and a final formulation of 28 wt% light burnt MgO, 10 wt% MgSO 4 , and 62 wt% dead burnt MgO was used to remove the foam in under two hours while still maintaining a mix that has an acceptable density, mix time, peak temperature, and set time.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

Options for the Removal of Cesium and Strontium from Acidic Uranyl Sulfate Solutions from Molybdenum-99 Production

A small laboratory-scale column process aimed at removing fission products from prototypical acidic sulfate solution wastes from a prototypical Mo-99 recovery process has been operated in a radioactive materials hood at Savannah River National Laboratory. This equipment has been operated with realistic concentrations of uranium (0.4 wt % 235 U), plutonium ( 239 Pu), neptunium ( 237 Np), non-radioactive surrogates of common fission products (including Cs and Sr) and two promising absorbents AMP-PAN and CST R91290-B. The goal of this work was to demonstrate the removal and concentration of high specific activity isotopes which are expected to dominate the classification of the low-level waste from the production of 99 Mo. Both AMP-PAN and CST R9120-B are attractive absorbents for the removal of 137 Cs from an acidic sulfate waste stream. They do not provide a solution for the removal of 90 Sr from the acidic solutions, but CST should be investigated at a higher pH. Limited removal of transuranic species and almost no removal of uranium was observed in this testing. This could be important due to the relatively large amount of uranium expected to be present in such waste streams. The capacity of these absorbents for 137 Cs will likely be dependent on the Cs concentration in the solutions processed but loading in the range of 0.2 to 5 mg Cs per gram of absorbent appears to be achievable.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2026

Application of machine learning techniques for fast MeV x-ray spectra unfolding from filter stack spectrometer data

Recovery of MeV x-ray spectra from detector signals is difficult because the response matrix inversion is ill-conditioned and current methods are too slow for high-repetition-rate experiments. In this work, we make use of neural networks to unfold MeV x-ray spectra from measurements obtained with a filter stack spectrometer at rates of near 40 Hz. The neural network was trained on synthetic data and tested on both synthetic and experimental data, the latter obtained in two separate experiments performed at the Omega EP laser facility. We show here that this unfolding method has good performance on synthetic data and that it is a promising option for experimental data of up to 40 MeV. The accuracy on experimental data is verified by using a simple forward model to compare against measured values.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Origins of Blast-Loaded Vessels

As the Manhattan Project shifted to the theory of implosion assembly in 1944, plutonium was extremely rare and large uncertainties surrounded the function of the Gadget. For these reasons, a team within the Manhattan Project began another ambitious experiment: to confine the effects of detonating two tons of high explosives and enable the recovery of precious plutonium! No data existed on the subject, and the team faced numerous challenges as they engineered what is believed to be the world’s first blast-loaded confinement vessel.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multi-functional Sorbent Development for Separation of Critical Minerals and Pollutants

Critical Metals (CMs), including Rare Earth Elements (REEs), aluminum, manganese, cobalt, and others outlined by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Geological Survey are essential to the national and economic security of the US, and whose supply chain is susceptible to disruption. Because of the negative environmental impacts inherent with the conventional mining and processing of solid ores for CMs, adsorption-based recovery of naturally dissolved species from coal wastewaters is appealing. Acid mine drainage (AMD) remains a relatively untapped source that can be rich in REEs, and especially in Al, Mn, and other CMs. NETL’s Multi-functional Sorbent Technology (MUST) has been developed originally from the functionalized silica sorbents for carbon capture. Ongoing work aims to find AMD sites enriched with either REEs or other CM, and to perform additional field tests at these sites. Overall, our work shows the viability of recovering CMs from AMD and other coal waste streams, using a fixed-bed adsorption system that can also employ a selective elution technique to achieve highly purified metal resources.

Shi, Fan↗
DOE OSTI2018

A Viable Path Forward to Carbon Capture and Storage in Wyoming, USA

The State of Wyoming, USA, benefits from favorable geologic, regulatory, and infrastructure attributes that promote efficient and sustainable carbon capture and storage (CCS). Two research sites in Wyoming exhibit high potential for the underground geologic storage of greater than 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) over 25 years. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Carbon Storage Assurance and Facility Enterprise (DOE CarbonSAFE) Phase I prefeasibility initiative, studies of both sites indicate promising capture, transport, utilization, and storage characteristics. The Dry Fork site is located near Gillette, in northeast Wyoming. Four storage reservoir/seal pairs have been identified at the Dry Fork site that provide excellent prospects for stacked storage of CO 2 . All four reservoirs lie at sufficient depths to maintain supercritical CO 2 and all four seals exhibit favorable characteristics for stratigraphic confinement. The reservoir with the highest expected significance is the Pennsylvanian/Permian Minnelusa Formation, which consists of near-shore dunes and shoreline sands, as well as shale and carbonate layers. The Minnelusa resides at a depth of ~2,900 m below the land surface and is ~45 m thick in the study area. Average porosity for samples from core within 10 km of the study area is 9%, with permeability values as high as 169 mD (n=6). The Permian Opeche Formation seals the Minnelusa and consists of redbed shales with minor fine-grained siltstones and evaporite deposits. Entry pressures as high as ~4700 psia were measured by mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) analysis on core samples from the Opeche. A CarbonSAFE Phase II feasibility proposal at the Dry Fork site has recently been selected by DOE for negotiation leading to award. The second proposed site is located at the Rock Springs Uplift (RSU) in southwest Wyoming. Four reservoir/seal pairs have been studied at the RSU, all of which present promising geologic attributes for the stacked storage of CO 2 . The two deepest reservoirs (Mississippian Madison Limestone and Pennsylvanian/Permian Weber Formation) and their seals were studied previously under the auspices of the Wyoming Carbon Underground Storage Project (WY-CUSP), which was funded by DOE and the State of Wyoming. For the more recent CarbonSAFE initiative, two shallower reservoir/seal pairs were studied in detail. The highest priority of these reservoirs is the Triassic/Jurassic Nugget Formation, which consists of eolian sands and minor fluvial and interdune deposits. The Nugget lies at a depth of ~2,800 m and is ~140 m thick in the study area. Average measured porosity for samples from core within 40 km of the study site is 9%, with permeability values as high as 91 mD (n=10). The Nugget is sealed by the overlying Jurassic Gypsum Spring and Morrison Formations, as well as a thick (~1,700 m) regional Upper Cretaceous seal that includes shales from multiple geologic units. Entry pressures as high as 1120 psia were measured by MICP for shales within this regional confining unit. Overall, the State of Wyoming provides an advantageous climate to develop sustainable integrated CCS projects based on the following considerations: (1) well-characterized and favorable geology; (2) some of the largest deposits of economically recoverable coal in the USA; (3) an existing CO 2 -enhanced oil recovery industry, including CO 2 pipeline infrastructure; (4) supportive commercial enterprises, including utilities and the oil and gas industry; (5) supportive policymakers; (6) a favorable legal and regulatory environment; (7) proximity to carbon-constrained markets such as the State of California; (8) large CO 2 emission sources, including coal-fired power plants; and (9) backing for carbon capture, storage, and management related research and development, specifically implementation of the Integrated Test Center at Dry Fork Station, which is hosting the coal-track of the NRG/COSIA Carbon XPrize® competition.

Phillips, Erin↗
DOE OSTI2021

Impact of illumination and encapsulant resistivity on polarization-type potential-induced degradation on n-PERT cells

Power loss caused by polarization-type potential-induced degradation (PID-p) in a variety of high-performance photovoltaic cell types has been observed to be recoverable via subsequent illumination and in some cases preventable via simultaneous illumination. In this report, we describe the results of a study in which the front faces of n-PERT cells encapsulated in polymers with a broad range of electrical resistivity were exposed to varying and controlled irradiance during PID testing. For a low resistivity ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer encapsulant, no reduction in the rate or extent of power loss was observed for irradiance as high as 1,000 W/m 2 , whereas for high and intermediate resistivity polyolefin encapsulants, 100 and 300 W/m 2 , respectively, prevented power loss. We introduce a simple model based on charge accumulation that facilitates interpretation of these results whereby degradation via charge accumulation under voltage stress and recovery due to light exposure are opposing and interdependent phenomena that describe the susceptibility of a module to power loss.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Assessing the Extractability of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Preparation Fines Refuse Using an Organic Acid Lixiviant

We report that this work is a first-order study to assess the suitability of an organic acid lixiviant to extract rare earth elements (REE) from coal preparation fines refuse sourced from a Pennsylvania mine with a total REE of ~ 300 ppm. The extraction of REE using an organic acid, in this case 0.1 M citric acid and 0.5 M trisodium citrate solution, is compared against 0.5 M (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , 1 M HCl, 1.2 M H 2 SO 4 , and 0.5 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Ashing the coal waste material prior to leaching tests with the citrate solution nominally improved REE extraction. Buffered citrate solution recovered 7% of the total REE in the as-received Isabella Fines as compared to 11% in ashed samples, whereas (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 extracted 5–6%, respectively. EDTA recovered up to 33% of the total REE, most likely due to the higher coordination chelate bond. Mineral acids, however, outperformed the organic acids on ashed material (16–52% REE recovery), suggesting that organic acids may not be a suitable competitive option for REE extraction from these types of feedstocks.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2022

Using Macro- and Microscale Preservation in Vertebrate Fossils as Predictors for Molecular Preservation in Fluvial Environments

Exceptionally preserved fossils retain soft tissues and often the biomolecules that were present in an animal during its life. The majority of terrestrial vertebrate fossils are not traditionally considered exceptionally preserved, with fossils falling on a spectrum ranging from very well-preserved to poorly preserved when considering completeness, morphology and the presence of microstructures. Within this variability of anatomical preservation, high-quality macro-scale preservation (e.g., articulated skeletons) may not be reflected in molecular-scale preservation (i.e., biomolecules). Excavation of the Hayden Quarry (HQ; Chinle Formation, Ghost Ranch, NM, USA) has resulted in the recovery of thousands of fossilized vertebrate specimens. This has contributed greatly to our knowledge of early dinosaur evolution and paleoenvironmental conditions during the Late Triassic Period (~212 Ma). The number of specimens, completeness of skeletons and fidelity of osteohistological microstructures preserved in the bone all demonstrate the remarkable quality of the fossils preserved at this locality. Because the Hayden Quarry is an excellent example of good preservation in a fluvial environment, we have tested different fossil types (i.e., bone, tooth, coprolite) to examine the molecular preservation and overall taphonomy of the HQ to determine how different scales of preservation vary within a single locality. We used multiple high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques (TOF-SIMS, GC-MS, FT-ICR MS) to compare the fossils to unaltered bone from extant vertebrates, experimentally matured bone, and younger dinosaurian skeletal material from other fluvial environments. FT-ICR MS provides detailed molecular information about complex mixtures, and TOF-SIMS has high elemental spatial sensitivity. Using these techniques, we did not find convincing evidence of a molecular signal that can be confidently interpreted as endogenous, indicating that very good macro- and microscale preservation are not necessarily good predictors of molecular preservation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Urban residential greenspace and mental health in youth: Different approaches to testing multiple pathways yield different conclusions

Highlights: • We compared single and parallel mediation models to serial mediation models. • Single mediation models suggested mediation through neighborhood restorative quality. • Parallel mediation models did not find any mediation through restorative quality. • There was serial mediation through restorative quality, physical activity and social cohesion. • Testing mediators alone or in parallel may lead to incorrect inferences. Urban greenspace can benefit mental health through multiple mechanisms. They may work together, but previous studies have treated them as independent.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mineral Scaling in 3D Interfacial Solar Evaporators–A Challenge for Brine Treatment and Lithium Recovery

In this work, we analyzed the effects of mineral scaling on the performance of a 3D interfacial solar evaporator, with a focus on the cations relevant to lithium recovery from brackish water. The field has been rapidly moving toward resource recovery applications from brines with higher cation concentrations. However, the potential complications caused by common minerals in these brines other than NaCl have been largely overlooked. Therefore, in this study, we thoroughly examined the effects of two common cations (calcium and magnesium) on the long-term solar evaporation performance of a 3D graphene oxide stalk. The 3D stalk can achieve an evaporation flux as high as 17.8 kg m –2 h –1 under one-sun illumination, and accumulation of NaCl on the stalk surface has no impact. However, the presence of CaCl 2 and MgCl 2 significantly reduces the evaporative flux even in solutions lacking scale-forming anions. A close examination of scale formation during long-term evaporation experiments revealed that CaCl 2 and MgCl 2 tend to precipitate out within the stalk, thus blocking water transport through the stalk and significantly dropping the evaporation rates. These findings imply that research attention is needed to modify and optimize the internal water transport channels for 3D evaporators. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of testing realistic mixtures–including prominent divalent cations– and testing long-term operations in interfacial solar evaporation research and investigating approaches to mitigate the negative impacts of divalent cations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗