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Mapping analysis and planning system for the John F. Kennedy Space Center

Environmental management, impact assessment, research and monitoring are multidisciplinary activities which are ideally suited to incorporate a multi-media approach to environmental problem solving. Geographic information systems (GIS), simulation models, neural networks and expert-system software are some of the advancing technologies being used for data management, query, analysis and display. At the 140,000 acre John F. Kennedy Space Center, the Advanced Software Technology group has been supporting development and implementation of a program that integrates these and other rapidly evolving hardware and software capabilities into a comprehensive Mapping, Analysis and Planning System (MAPS) based in a workstation/local are network environment. An expert-system shell is being developed to link the various databases to guide users through the numerous stages of a facility siting and environmental assessment. The expert-system shell approach is appealing for its ease of data access by management-level decision makers while maintaining the involvement of the data specialists. This, as well as increased efficiency and accuracy in data analysis and report preparation, can benefit any organization involved in natural resources management.

Hall, C. R.↗

Environmental and Economic Assessment of Portable Systems: Production of Wood-Briquettes and Torrefied-Briquettes to Generate Heat and Electricity

This study assessed the environmental impacts and economic feasibility of generating heat using wood-briquettes (WBs), and heat and electricity using torrefied-wood-briquettes (TWBs). WBs and TWBs were manufactured from forest residues using portable systems and delivered to either residential consumers or power plants in the United States. An integrated cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) approach was used to quantify environmental impacts and minimum-selling prices (MSPs) of heat and electricity, respectively. Results illustrated that 82% and 59% of the cradle-to-grave global warming (GW) impact of producing heat resulted from the feedstock preparation in WBs and torrefaction in TWBs, respectively. About 46–54% of total cost in the production of heat were from labor and capital costs only. The GW impact of electricity production with TWBs was dominated by the torrefaction process (48% contribution). Capital cost (50%) was a major contributor to the total cost of electricity production using TWBs. The GW impacts of producing heat were 7–37 gCO₂eq/MJ for WBs, and 14–51 gCO₂eq/MJ for TWBs, whereas producing electricity using TWBs was 146–443 gCO₂eq/kWhe. MSPs of generating heat from WBs and TWBs were €1.09–€1.73 and €1.60–€2.26/MJ, respectively, whereas the MSP of electricity from TWBs was €20–€25/kWhe. Considering carbon and pile-burn credits, MSPs of heat and electricity were reduced by 60–90% compared to the base-case.

Sahoo, Kamalakanta (ORCID:0000000277635296)↗

Land Resources for Wind Energy Development Requires Regionalized Characterizations

Estimates of the land area occupied by wind energy differ by orders of magnitude due to data scarcity and inconsistent methodology. Here, we developed a method that combines machine learning-based imagery analysis and geographic information systems and examined the land area of 318 wind farms (15,871 turbines) in the U.S. portion of the Western Interconnection. We found that prior land use and human modification in the project area are critical for land-use efficiency and land transformation of wind projects. Projects developed in areas with little human modification have a land-use efficiency of 63.8 ± 8.9 W/m 2 (mean ±95% confidence interval) and a land transformation of 0.24 ± 0.07 m 2 /MWh, while values for projects in areas with high human modification are 447 ± 49.4 W/m 2 and 0.05 ± 0.01 m 2 /MWh, respectively. We show that land resources for wind can be quantified consistently with our replicable method, a method that obviates >99% of the workload using machine learning. To quantify the peripheral impact of a turbine, buffered geometry can be used as a proxy for measuring land resources and metrics when a large enough impact radius is assumed (e.g., >4 times the rotor diameter). Our analysis provides a necessary first step toward regionalized impact assessment and improved comparisons of energy alternatives.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Chapter 9.12 - Weather, Climatic and Ecological Impacts of Onshore Wind Farms

Wind power is an environmentally sustainable technology that is likely to be part of the solution to the climate change, air pollution, and energy security problems. Despite many positive benefits, the rapid development of wind power has raised concerns about some potential adverse environmental impacts. While converting wind?s kinetic energy into electricity, wind turbines (WTs) modify properties of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) including the vertical profiles and surface-atmosphere exchanges of energy, momentum, mass, moisture, and trace gases. Given the current installed capacity and the projected installation worldwide, wind farms (WFs) are likely becoming a major driver of manmade land use change on Earth. Hence, understanding WT-atmosphere-surface interactions and assessing potential environmental impacts of WFs are of significant scientific, societal and economic importance. Here we review our progress in assessing potential impacts of onshore wind power on weather, climate and vegetation activity. A consensus is emerging based on observations and modeling studies that WFs cause a local to regional warming effect, particularly at nighttime, while the impacts on precipitation, wind patterns, crop yields and vegetation activity are uncertain. The warming effect results simply from vertical heat redistribution within the ABL due to turbine-enhanced vertical turbulent mixing in the wakes. At the global scale, with a substantial installation of WFs, mesoscale and climate models predicted large regional changes but small global impacts on temperature, while the impacts on precipitation, clouds, wind patterns and large-scale circulation have large uncertainties and are region specific and scale dependent. Despite increasing number of research efforts, our assessment of potential WF impacts is still very limited. Although the WF impacts are mostly local and limited to the near-surface ABL, this is the layer where we live and plants grow. Hence, more studies are needed to improve our understanding of WT-atmosphere-surface interactions and our capability to model and project the weather, climatic and ecological impacts of large WFs.

atmospheric boundary layer↗

Mineralogic variations in fluvial sediments contaminated by mine tailings as determined from AVIRIS data, Coeur D'Alene River Valley, Idaho

The success of imaging spectrometry in mineralogic mapping of natural terrains indicates that the technology can also be used to assess the environmental impact of human activities in certain instances. Specifically, this paper describes an investigation into the use of data from the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) for mapping the spread of, and assessing changes in, the mineralogic character of tailings from a major silver and base metal mining district. The area under investigation is the Coeur d'Alene River Valley in northern Idaho. Mining has been going on in and around the towns of Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho since the 1880's. In the Kellogg-Smelterville Flats area, west of Kellogg, mine tailings were piled alongside the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River. Until the construction of tailings ponds in 1968 much of these waste materials were washed directly into the South Fork. The Kellogg-Smelterville area was declared an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site in 1983 and remediation efforts are currently underway. Recent studies have demonstrated that sediments in the Coeur d'Alene River and in the northern part of Lake Coeur d'Alene, into which the river flows, are highly enriched in Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Hg, As, and Sb. These trace metals have become aggregated in iron oxide and oxyhydroxide minerals and/or mineraloids. Reflectance spectra of iron-rich tailing materials are shown. Also shown are spectra of hematite and goethite. The broad bandwidth and long band center (near 1 micron) of the Fe(3+) crystal-field band of the iron-rich sediment samples combined with the lack of features on the Fe(3+) -O(2-) charge transfer absorption edge indicates that the ferric oxide and/or oxyhydroxide in these sediments is poorly crystalline to amorphous in character. Similar features are seen in poorly crystalline basaltic weathering products (e.g., palagonites). The problem of mapping and analyzing the downriver occurrences of iron rich tailings in the Coeur d'Alene (CDA) River Valley using remotely sensed data is complicated by the full vegetation cover present in the area. Because exposures of rock and soil were sparse, the data processing techniques used in this study were sensitive to detecting materials at subpixel scales. The methods used included spectral mixture analysis and a constrained energy minimization technique.

Farrand, W. H.↗

Operational Energy Life Cycle Data Development for the National Institute of Standards And Technology (NIST) Building Industry Reporting and Design for Sustainability (BIRDS) Neutral Environmental Software Tool (NEST)

For this analysis, regionalized life cycle assessment (LCA) results for environmental impacts (using the Tool for Reduction and Assessment of Chemicals and Other Environmental Impacts [TRACI] 2.1) and cumulative energy demand (using the Federal Life Cycle Analysis Commons Elementary Flow List [FEDEFL] Inventory Methods v1.0.0) were evaluated for the production and utilization of electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and propane as commodities within residential and commercial buildings. These results can used as a framework for future research into net zero, high-performance buildings, such as done here for the Building Industry Reporting and Design for Sustainability (BIRDS) database by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Engineering Laboratory. The geographical results were assigned to each United States (U.S.) Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) code based on the ZIP code location and corresponding Balancing Authority Area, natural gas basin, and Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADDs). Additionally, previously developed models were utilized to develop future life cycle profiles. Projections were based on data available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Outlook 2022 through 2050 (AEO 2022). Electricity LCA models were updated based on AEO 2022 projected annual generation mixes, while the natural gas baseline model was updated based on projected shares of natural gas types (conventional, shale, tight, and coalbed methane). Projections of crude oil production rates and export rates were applied to the petroleum baseline model in five-year increments to investigate their effects on the life cycle profile of fuel oil and propane. While only 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP-100) with climate carbon feedback (CC-FB) and Cumulative Energy Demand are shown in Section 4: Results, the complete results, including Acidification Potential, Eutrophication Potential, Freshwater Ecotoxicity Potential, GWP-100 without inclusion of CC-FB, Human Health Impacts Potentials (Cancer, Non-Cancer), Ozone Depletion Potential, Particulate Matter Formation Potential, and Photochemical Smog Formation Potential, are tabulated for each ZIP code in the Excel worksheets that accompany this analysis. For the Excel spreadsheet tools associated with this report, please go to https://www.netl.doe.gov/energy-analysis/details?id=f8890fac-be55-44ac-aaa9-e2888bfabe93

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Meteorological assessment of SRM exhaust products' environmental impact

The environmental impact of solid rocket motor (SRM) exhaust products discharged into the free air stream upon the launching of space vehicles that depend upon SRM boosters to obtain large thrust was assessed. The emission of Al2O3 to the troposphere from the SRMs in each Shuttle launch is considered. The Al2O3 appears as particles suitable for heterogeneous nucleation of hydrochloric acid which under frequently occurring atmospheric conditions may form a highly acidic rain capable of damaging property and crops and of impacting upon the health of human and animal populations. The cloud processes leading to the formation of acid rain and the concentration of the acid that then reaches the ground, and the atmospheric situations that lead to the production of cloud and rain at and near a launch site, and the prediction of weather conditions that may permit or prohibit a launch operation are studied.

Dingle, A. N.↗

Spatially and Temporally Explicit Life Cycle Environmental Impacts of Soybean Production in the U.S. Midwest

Quantifying the spatially and temporally explicit life cycle environmental impacts of crop production is critical for designing sustainable supply chains for biofuel and animal sectors. This study assessed life cycle environmental impacts of soybean production in around 1000 Midwest counties over 9 years. A combination of Environmental Policy Integrated Climate model and process-based life cycle assessment model was used to estimate the spatially and temporally explicit life cycle global warming (GW), eutrophication (EU) and acidification (AD) impacts. Sequentially, a machine learning approach was applied to identify the top influential factors among soil, climate and farming practices for spatially and temporally explicit life cycle environmental impacts. The results indicated that significant variations existed in life cycle environmental impacts among counties and across years. Life cycle GW impacts ranged from -11.4 to 22.0 kg CO2-eq. kg soybean-1, whereas life cycle EU and AD impacts varied by a factor of 302 and 44, respectively. Nitrogen application rates, temperature in March and soil texture were the top influencing factors for the spatial-temporal variations in life cycle GW impacts. In contrast, soil organic content and nitrogen application rate were the top influencing factors for the spatial-temporal variations in life cycle EU and AD impacts.

Soybean, life cycle analysis, sustainability, spat↗

Monitoring Direct Effects of Delta, Atlas, and Titan Launches from Cape Canaveral Air Station

Launches of Delta, Atlas, and Titan rockets from Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS) have potential environmental effects that could arise from direct impacts of the launch exhaust (e.g., blast, heat), deposition of exhaust products of the solid rocket motors (hydrogen chloride, aluminum oxide), or other effects such as noise. Here we: 1) review previous reports, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements for Delta, Atlas, and Titan vehicles and pad areas to clarity the magnitude of potential impacts; 2) summarize observed effects of 15 Delta, 22 Atlas, and 8 Titan launches; and 3) develop a spatial database of the distribution of effects from individual launches and cumulative effects of launches. The review of previous studies indicated that impacts from these launches can occur from the launch exhaust heat, deposition of exhaust products from the solid rocket motors, and noise. The principal effluents from solid rocket motors are hydrogen chloride (HCl), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), water (H2O), hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO), and carbon dioxide (CO2). The exhaust plume interacts with the launch complex structure and water deluge system to generate a launch cloud. Fall out or rain out of material from this cloud can produce localized effects from acid or particulate deposition. Delta, Atlas, and Titan launch vehicles differ in the number and size of solid rocket boosters and in the amount of deluge water used. All are smaller and use less water than the Space Shuttle. Acid deposition can cause damage to plants and animals exposed to it, acidify surface water and soil, and cause long-term changes to community composition and structure from repeated exposure. The magnitude of these effects depends on the intensity and frequency of acid deposition.

Schmalzer, Paul A.↗

NEPATEC2.0: NEPA Text Corpus v2.0

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), is a major environmental law in the United States, requiring Federal agencies to consider and document potential environmental impacts before deciding on a proposed action. Modernization of NEPA and permitting processes faces significant challenges due to the lack of standardized formats and interoperable systems for organizing and sharing NEPA-related information across agencies. Much of the information gathered during NEPA reviews is written into documents such as categorical exclusions, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements, then filed in predominately independent agency file stores that may or may not be publicly accessible. The application of metadata and data standards, such as those recommended by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), to NEPA documents offers a shared vocabulary and structure for key entities like projects, processes, and documents that can streamline information exchange and enhance collaboration across systems. In this work, we publicly release NEPATEC2.0, an expanded corpus of NEPA documents with associated metadata. NEPATEC2.0 encompasses approximately 120,000 documents from 60,000 projects prepared by more than 60 different agencies. Modeled to align with CEQ metadata standards, NEPATEC2.0 promotes consistency in environmental reviews and supports the ongoing effort to modernize permitting technologies by facilitating more transparent, efficient, and data-driven decision-making. Importantly, NEPATEC2.0 demonstrates the possibilities and limitations of large language model-based prompting to extract information from NEPA documents at scale.

environmental review↗

NEPATEC v2.0: Standardized Metadata and Text Corpus of National Environmental Policy Act Documents

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), is a major environmental law in the United States, requiring Federal agencies to consider and document potential environmental impacts before deciding on a proposed action. Modernization of NEPA and permitting processes faces significant challenges due to the lack of standardized formats and interoperable systems for organizing and sharing NEPA-related information across agencies. Much of the information gathered during NEPA reviews is written into documents such as categorical exclusions, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements, then filed in predominately independent agency file stores that may or may not be publicly accessible. The application of metadata and data standards, such as those recommended by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), to NEPA documents offers a shared vocabulary and structure for key entities like projects, processes, and documents that can streamline information exchange and enhance collaboration across systems. In this work, we publicly release NEPATEC2.0, an expanded corpus of NEPA documents with associated metadata. NEPATEC2.0 encompasses approximately 120,000 documents from 60,000 projects prepared by more than 60 different agencies. Modeled to align with CEQ metadata standards, NEPATEC2.0 promotes consistency in environmental reviews and supports the ongoing effort to modernize permitting technologies by facilitating more transparent, efficient, and data-driven decision-making. Importantly, NEPATEC2.0 demonstrates the possibilities and limitations of large language model-based prompting to extract information from NEPA documents at scale.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Characterizing Ocean Acidification and Atmospheric Emission caused by Methane Released from Gas Hydrate Systems along the US Atlantic Margin (Final Report)

To assess the environmental impact of decomposing gas hydrates, this project characterized the atmospheric emission and ocean acidification associated with seafloor-released methane along the U.S. Atlantic Margin. This project leveraged the newly discovered seafloor seeps in this region, many of which are located near the landward limit of gas hydrate stability, to investigate the fate and environmental impact of methane once released from the seafloor. Several research directions were pursued during these investigations. First, high-spatial resolution surface surveys were conducted to characterize the degree to which sea-to-air emission of methane is correlated with acoustically detected seafloor bubble emissions. Second, the natural isotopic signatures of both radiocarbon and δ 13 C were measured throughout the water column to observe if seafloor-released methane was detected in surface waters or if it was replaced by a different source. Third, the extent of methane oxidation in the water column was constrained to assess the ability of this process to mitigate atmospheric methane emissions. Fourth, since aerobic methane oxidation ultimately converts methane to carbon dioxide, the extent of ocean acidification relating to this process was assessed. Ultimately, this project was conducted in four stages. Stage one involved preparations for the research expedition along the U.S. Atlantic Margin. This involved calibrating, modifying, and validating equipment needed for sample and data collection in this unique environment. Stage two involved executing the at-sea science. This research was conducted from 25 August to 5 September 2017 on the R/V Hugh R. Sharp. This expedition left from Lewes, Delaware and investigated the continental slope from approximately this latitude down to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Third, any samples unanalyzed on the research vessel were returned to the laboratory and measured. Fourth, the data were interpreted, and publications and presentations were prepared.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Technoeconomic Analysis of Kraft Pulp Mill Integration with an Advanced Nuclear Reactor

This study focuses on post-combustion capture and oxy-fuel combustion for the boilers at the mill, as well as steam integration with the nuclear power plant. The primary goal of the research outlined in this report is to design, analyze, and document the integration of industrial-scale HTGR with a reference Kraft Pulp Mill. The purpose is to deliver reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable clean energy alternatives while reducing CO2 emissions. Specifically, this study focuses on 6 different scenarios that include carbon capture equipment and some of them use nuclear power to meet the heat and electricity needs of the reference plant. Also, 2 of these scenarios are created while also producing clean hydrogen through integrated High-Temperature Steam Electrolysis (HTSE). This report offers a detailed techno-economic assessment of different scenarios for a Kraft Pulp Mill, including an analysis of tax credits (section 45V, 45Q, and 48E) provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. The evaluation explores the potential economic benefits and challenges of incorporating different configurations, including nuclear energy, into Kraft Pulp Mill operations, with particular attention to energy efficiency, economic implications, and environmental impact. By assessing both the technical feasibility and economic viability, this analysis aims to identify existing gaps and propose solutions for the successful implementation of nuclear integration. The findings are intended to provide valuable insights for stakeholders considering the adoption of advanced nuclear reactors in the pulp and paper industries.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Feedback on Forty-year Long Clean-up Operations of a Contaminated Soil for Environmental Purpose - 20026

One of the CEA facilities in France is the place of miscellaneous mapping and clean-up operations since the 1980's. The final purpose of the conducted work deals with the environmental remediation of the building. In France, the absence of a regulatory framework for the management of sites polluted by radioactive substances, especially as the lack of release thresholds, has led to develop different approaches of soil radiological characterization. The geostatistical approach is part of them. Preliminary investigations are an unavoidable step prior to clearance and remediation. First, historical analysis enables to define site perimeters to investigate as well as to precisely locate expected contaminated parts. For radioactive pollutants, the media (water, soil, air) and transfer routes participate in the definition of the investigation perimeter and thus also need to be identified through a geological study. At the same time, functional analysis leads to choose the best measurement means which could provide useful information when combined with visual inspection. An equipment well adapted to easy-to-measure radionuclides as gamma emitters, such as gamma probe or on-site gamma spectrometry, is usually selected as a non-destructive assay. Coupled with spatial positions, processed on-site radiological data can be mapped. Data processing consists in mapping and kriging before a geostatistical analysis in order to identify the zones of interest to be targeted. Selected zones are not only linked to high level count rates but also to low level ones so that a pollution-free reference is known in the area. This data processing also enables to categorize waste types according to their origin and contamination levels. An expected volume of different waste then follows as well as the waste characterization equipments. In-depth investigations, e.g. core drillings and samplings, naturally ensue to aim at remediation optimization through the assessment of environmental impact. After clean-up operations, non-destructive assays as well as destructive samplings enable to check the effective clearance. Following this methodology in the present remediation work, results of the first non-destructive assay campaign highlighted a long-lived transuranic radionuclides contamination in the concrete flagstone. Successive non-destructive assays were then performed in the defined zones of interest. Count rates measured with a surface probe were first mapped. The best localization of destructive assays, i.e. core drillings at a 1 meter depth, came from this surface mapping followed by a geostatistical analysis. The concrete flagstone was totally removed. Then, the depth of soil to remove under the flagstone was optimized from the results of radiological activities measured in core drillings samples. A new surface mapping was then drawn after this partial soil excavation. The sand and demolition rubble samples, homogeneously constituted from the flagstone fragments, were analyzed by gamma spectrometry. Meanwhile, waste drums and other containers were also measured by gamma spectrometry and passive neutron measurement devices. All these results have brought miscellaneous pieces of information. In this context, major issues appear in terms of physical constraints such as the premises tininess as well as of soil sampling techniques and in terms of measurement performances assessment and the representativeness of homogeneous samples. The choice of radiological soil and waste characterization devices is described in the light of enhanced performances by keeping in mind radiation protection requirements and a willing to always optimize waste categories (very low level waste) and volume. The improvement of the characterization methods appears through this forty-year long work while sharing the feedback of encountered difficulties. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Quantitative Measures of Immersion in Cloud and the Biogeography of Cloud Forests

Sites described as tropical montane cloud forests differ greatly, in part because observers tend to differ in their opinion as to what constitutes frequent and prolonged immersion in cloud. This definitional difficulty interferes with hydrologic analyses, assessments of environmental impacts on ecosystems, and biogeographical analyses of cloud forest communities and species. Quantitative measurements of cloud immersion can be obtained on site, but the observations are necessarily spatially limited, although well-placed observers can examine 10 50 km of a mountain range under rainless conditions. Regional analyses, however, require observations at a broader scale. This chapter discusses remote sensing and modeling approaches that can provide quantitative measures of the spatiotemporal patterns of cloud cover and cloud immersion in tropical mountain ranges. These approaches integrate remote sensing tools of various spatial resolutions and frequencies of observation, digital elevation models, regional atmospheric models, and ground-based observations to provide measures of cloud cover, cloud base height, and the intersection of cloud and terrain. This combined approach was applied to the Monteverde region of northern Costa Rica to illustrate how the proportion of time the forest is immersed in cloud may vary spatially and temporally. The observed spatial variation was largely due to patterns of airflow over the mountains. The temporal variation reflected the diurnal rise and fall of the orographic cloud base, which was influenced in turn by synoptic weather conditions, the seasonal movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the north-easterly trade winds. Knowledge of the proportion of the time that sites are immersed in clouds should facilitate ecological comparisons and biogeographical analyses, as well as land use planning and hydrologic assessments in areas where intensive on-site work is not feasible.

Lawton, R. O.↗

Chapter 4: Chemical Recycling of PET

The circular economy of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) today is dominated by collection, sorting, cleaning, melting, and re-processing of transparent bottles via mechanical recycling. This has a better environmental impact as assessed by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) (e.g. uses less non-renewable energy and produces less greenhouse gases) than production of virgin resin and is the preferred method of recycling wherever possible. However, not all PET products can be recycled this way and there is forecast to be a large shortfall between supply of high quality recycled PET (rPET) and the demands of large users who have made commitments to use more recycled resin over the next 5 - 10 years. Consequently, there is renewed interest, and increased activity, in chemical recycling, where waste PET is depolymerized, and the monomer(s) are purified and repolymerized into resin equivalent to that from petroleum-derived raw materials. The LCA is likely to be not as favorable as traditional mechanical recycling, but will likely be better than virgin PET and the process can be applied to a broader range of lower value wastes and thus promises to dramatically increase the overall recycling rate. In this chapter we will review the processes used in chemical recycling of PET, with the VolCat process from IBM as a detailed case study, followed by descriptions of the alternative technologies and emerging players in the field.

chemical recycling↗

Evaluating the carbon footprint of the integrated DBD‐plasma bi‐reforming unit via laboratory scale experiments and scaled‐up process modeling

Catalytic dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor experiments were performed in a tubular glass reactor with a 2 mm gap at 550°C to facilitate the reaction kinetics of steam added dry reforming or bireforming. The best specific energy input obtained was 11.2 eV/molecule feed at CO 2 :CH 4 :H 2 O of 4.5:1:4.5 ratio and gas hour space velocity (GHSV) = 432 h −1 . This value was used to design a conceptual process and assess the environmental impact of methane steam reforming-based H 2 production 18.4 kmol/h CO 2 emission processing into H 2 :CO = 2 syngas, with an emphasis on the carbon footprint.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Offshore Gulf of Mexico Data Collection

Spatial data acquired from credible sources and created using analytical methods for the Gulf of Mexico. This collection contains information on public and industrial infrastructure, environmental, and socioeconomic factors. Much of these data were originally collected to measure the potential impacts of oil spills and the collection has continued to build into a robust and wide-ranging spatial database available on EDX Spatial.

data collection↗