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DOE OSTI2024

Manganese and Vanadium Co-Exposure Induces Severe Neurotoxicity in the Olfactory System: Relevance to Metal-Induced Parkinsonism

Chronic environmental exposure to toxic heavy metals, which often occurs as a mixture through occupational and industrial sources, has been implicated in various neurological disorders, including Parkinsonism. Vanadium pentoxide (V 2 O 5 ) typically presents along with manganese (Mn), especially in welding rods and high-capacity batteries, including electric vehicle batteries; however, the neurotoxic effects of vanadium (V) and Mn co-exposure are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the neurotoxic impact of MnCl 2 , V 2 O 5 , and MnCl 2 -V 2 O 5 co-exposure in an animal model. C57BL/6 mice were intranasally administered either de-ionized water (vehicle), MnCl 2 (252 µg) alone, V 2 O 5 (182 µg) alone, or a mixture of MnCl 2 (252 µg) and V 2 O 5 (182 µg) three times a week for up to one month. Following exposure, we performed behavioral, neurochemical, and histological studies. Our results revealed dramatic decreases in olfactory bulb (OB) weight and levels of tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine, and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in the treatment groups compared to the control group, with the Mn/V co-treatment group producing the most significant changes. Interestingly, increased levels of α-synuclein expression were observed in the substantia nigra (SN) of treated animals. Additionally, treatment groups exhibited locomotor deficits and olfactory dysfunction, with the co-treatment group producing the most severe deficits. The treatment groups exhibited increased levels of the oxidative stress marker 4-hydroxynonenal in the striatum and SN, as well as the upregulation of the pro-apoptotic protein PKCδ and accumulation of glomerular astroglia in the OB. The co-exposure of animals to Mn/V resulted in higher levels of these metals compared to other treatment groups. Taken together, our results suggest that co-exposure to Mn/V can adversely affect the olfactory and nigral systems. These results highlight the possible role of environmental metal mixtures in the etiology of Parkinsonism.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

Uncertainties in estimating global potential yields and their impacts for long-term modeling

Estimating realistic potential yields by crop type and region is challenging; such yields depend on both biophysical characteristics (e.g., soil characteristics, climate, etc.), and the crop management practices available in any site or region (e.g., mechanization, irrigation, crop cultivars). A broad body of literature has assessed potential yields for selected crops and regions, using several strategies. In this study we first analyze future potential yields of major crop types globally by two different estimation methods, one of which is based on historical observed yields (“Empirical”), while the other is based on biophysical conditions (“Simulated”). Potential yields by major crop and region are quite different between the two methods; in particular, Simulated potential yields are typically 200% higher than Empirical potential yields in tropical regions for major crops. Applying both of these potential yields in yield gap closure scenarios in a global agro-economic model, GCAM, the two estimates of future potential yields lead to very different outcomes for the agricultural sector globally. In the Simulated potential yield closure scenario, Africa, Asia, and South America see comparatively favorable outcomes for agricultural sustainability over time: low land use change emissions, low crop prices, and high levels of self-sufficiency. In contrast, the Empirical potential yield scenario is characterized by a heavy reliance on production and exports in temperate regions that currently practice industrial agriculture. At the global level, this scenario has comparatively high crop commodity prices, and more land allocated to crop production (and associated land use change emissions) than either the baseline or Simulated potential yield scenarios. This study highlights the importance of the choice of methods of estimating potential yields for agro-economic modeling.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

A comparative analysis of different van der Waals treatments for molecular adsorption on the basal plane of 2H-MoS 2

The binding energy of hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, ethane, ethylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene, pyridine, pyrrole, and thiophene on the basal plane of the semi-conducting 2H-molybdenum sulfide (MoS 2 ) was calculated with the following flavors of Density Functional Theory (DFT): GGA-PW91, PBE-D3, vdW-DF, optPBE, optB86b, optB88, vdW-TS, and BEEF-vdW. The GGA-PW91 binding energies are negligible (<0.07 eV in magnitude) in all cases. The predictions with vdW-DF and PBE-D3 are the closest (error <0.05 eV) to the isosteric heats of adsorption calculated from reported temperature programmed desorption data for thiophene and butadiene. For all dispersion flavors examined here, the magnitude of the dispersion contribution to the binding energy increases linearly with the number of heavy atoms in the adsorbate, with each atom contributing 0.05 eV (BEEF-vdW) – 0.09 eV (optB88-vdW). Further, this implies that the calculated adsorption constants of molecules larger than acridine (i.e., comprising > 14 non-heavy atoms) can vary by more than four orders of magnitude at industrial conditions depending on the chosen method of dispersion correction. Further, dispersion effects fall off rapidly (>0.03 eV/ non-hydrogen atom/Å) as the adsorbate-surface distance increases.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2023

Enabling a Sustainable Future: Zero-Emission Vehicles Cost Analysis to Inform Decarbonization Pathways

Despite being only 5% of vehicles on the road, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) are the second largest contributor to transportation emissions (21%) and a major source of local air pollution disproportionally affecting disadvantaged communities. This talk summarizes a cost analysis for zero emissions vehicles (battery electric EVs and hydrogen fuel cell FCEVs) for all medium and heavy duty applications, ranging from large pick-up trucks, to delivery vans, buses, and heavy trucks. Results show that with continued improvements in vehicle and fuel technologies (in line with U.S. Department of Energy targets and vetted with industry), zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) can reach total-cost-of-driving parity with conventional diesel vehicles by 2035 for all medium- and heavy-duty (MD/HD) vehicle classes without incentives. Assuming economics drives adoption, ZEV sales could reach 42% of all MD/HD trucks by 2030, reflecting lower combined vehicle purchase and operating costs (using real-world payback periods). Two technological solutions - battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) - are viable in multiple market segments, offering alternative pathways for decarbonization: a) BEVs tend to become cost-competitive for smaller trucks before 2030 and for short-haul (<500-mile) heavy trucks before 2035. b) Hydrogen FCEVs tend to become cost-competitive for long-haul (>500-mile) heavy trucks by 2035. Results are very sensitive to technology improvement trajectories, adoption decision-making, and uncertain assumptions about future freight demand, logistics, and vehicle use explored in multiple scenarios.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗

DOE OSTI2024

Development of advanced combustion strategies for direct injection heavy duty LPG engines to achieve near-diesel engine efficiency

The Vehicle Technologies Office funds early-stage, high-risk research to develop technology upon which industry can implement innovative transportation energy technologies that increase efficiency, decrease cost, and expand use of domestic energy sources, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). To improve the viability of medium and heavy-duty vehicles the LPG engine efficiency must be closer to that of diesel. This work addresses fundamental limitations to achieve diesel-like efficiencies in heavy duty on-road LPG engines. The primary goal of this research is to achieve diesel-like efficiencies in heavy duty on-road LPG engines, focusing on the Cummins 15-liter engine platform (baseline diesel efficiency of 44% at peak torque). That goal has been achieved, though more work is needed to facilitate practical implementation of the developed technologies.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2021

Genome-wide toxicogenomic study of the lanthanides sheds light on the selective toxicity mechanisms associated with critical materials

Significance The growing use of lanthanides in various industries has increased the potential for human exposure to large concentrations of these heavy metals throughout the life cycle of new technologies, requiring more detailed investigations into their toxicological properties. The eukaryote model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae is ideal to apply functional toxicogenomics tools at the system level and probe fundamental cellular functions disrupted by rare-earth metals. A comprehensive mechanistic assay was conducted to evaluate toxicity across the entire lanthanide series and provide information about which toxicological mechanisms may be shared by the different metals. We identified distinct characteristic behaviors between early and middle/late lanthanides, highlighting the powerful discrimination capabilities of natural systems and pointing to detailed mechanistic pathways associated with lanthanide exposure.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Materials (FY 2022 Annual Progress Report)

This document summarizes the progress of VTO Materials R&D projects supported during the fiscal year 2022. The Propulsion Materials portfolio is closely aligned with other VTO subprograms to identify critical materials needs for next-generation high-efficiency powertrains for both heavy- and light-duty vehicles. The Lightweight Materials portfolio works closely with industry through the U.S. DRIVE Partnership to understand light-duty vehicle structural weight-reduction goals and identify technical challenges that prevent the deployment of lightweight materials.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Optimizing Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure Plans on Freight Corridors for Heavy-Duty Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

The development of a future hydrogen energy economy will require the development of several hydrogen market and industry segments including a hydrogen-based commercial freight transportation ecosystem. For a sustainable freight transportation ecosystem, the supporting fueling infrastructure and the associated vehicle powertrains making use of hydrogen fuel will need to be co-established. This article introduces the OR-AGENT (Optimal Regional Architecture Generation for Electrified National Transportation) tool developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which has been used to optimize the hydrogen refueling infrastructure requirements on the I-75 corridor for heavy-duty (HD) fuel cell electric commercial vehicles (FCEV). This constraint-based optimization model considers existing fueling locations, regional-specific vehicle fuel economy and weight, vehicle origin and destination (O-D), and vehicle volume by class and infrastructure costs to characterize in-mission refueling requirements for a given freight corridor. The authors applied this framework to determine the ideal public access locations for hydrogen refueling (constrained by existing fueling stations), the minimal viable cost to deploy sufficient hydrogen fuel dispensers, and associated equipment, to accommodate a growing population of hydrogen fuel cell trucks. The framework discussed in this article can be expanded and applied to a larger interstate system, expanded regional corridor, or other transportation network. This article is the third in a series of papers that defined the model development to optimize a national hydrogen refueling infrastructure ecosystem for HD commercial vehicles.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Optimizing Long Term Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure Plans on Freight Corridors for Heavy Duty Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

The development of a future hydrogen energy economy will require the development of several hydrogen market and industry segments including a hydrogen based commercial freight transportation ecosystem. For a sustainable freight transportation ecosystem, the supporting fueling infrastructure and the associated vehicle powertrains making use of hydrogen fuel will need to be co-established. This paper develops a long-term plan for refueling infrastructure deployment using the OR-AGENT (Optimal Regional Architecture Generation for Electrified National Transportation) tool developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which has been used to optimize the hydrogen refueling infrastructure requirements on the I-75 corridor for heavy duty (HD) fuel cell electric commercial vehicles (FCEV). This constraint-based optimization model considers existing fueling locations, regional specific vehicle fuel economy and weight, vehicle origin and destination (OD), vehicle volume by class and infrastructure costs to characterize in-mission refueling requirements for a given freight corridor. The authors applied this framework to determine the ideal long term public access locations for hydrogen refueling (constrained by existing fueling stations and dispensing technology), the minimal viable cost to deploy sufficient hydrogen fuel dispensers, and associated equipment, to accommodate a growing population of hydrogen fuel cell trucks. So the framework discussed in this paper can be expanded and applied to additional electrified powertrains as well as a larger interstate system, expanded regional corridor, or other transportation networks.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2021

New roads and challenges for fuel cells in heavy-duty transportation

The recent release of hydrogen economy roadmaps for several major countries emphasizes the need for accelerated worldwide investment in research and development activities for hydrogen production, storage, infrastructure and utilization in transportation, industry and the electrical grid. Due to the high gravimetric energy density of hydrogen, the focus of technologies that utilize this fuel has recently shifted from light-duty automotive to heavy-duty vehicle applications. Decades of development of cost-effective and durable polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells must now be leveraged to meet the increased efficiency and durability requirements of the heavy-duty vehicle market. This Review summarizes the latest market outlooks and targets for truck, bus, locomotive and marine applications. Required changes to the fuel-cell system and operating conditions for meeting Class 8 long-haul truck targets are presented. The necessary improvements in fuel-cell materials and integration are also discussed against the benchmark of current passenger fuel-cell electric vehicles.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2024

Multi-State Transportation Electrification Impact Study: Preparing the Grid for Light-, Medium-, and Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles

Recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notices of proposed rulemakings for GHG emissions standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty on-road vehicles would accelerate ongoing advancements already happening in the industry because of private investment, consumer demand, state-level policies, and federal incentives. As the EPA finalizes these regulations, questions persist regarding the cost of the requisite charging infrastructure and associated upgrades to the nation's electric grid. With support from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, and the EPA, a multidisciplinary team conducted a Multi-State Transportation Electrification Impact Study that quantitatively assesses the incremental investment necessary to enable the levels of vehicle electrification expected to be induced by pending EPA regulations and to estimate the potential value of deferred investments in electric distribution infrastructure stemming from proactive vehicle-grid integration planning and deployment. This study finds the simulated incremental capital cost of charging infrastructure (including grid upgrades) to be at least 2.5 times smaller than the lifetime net benefits of vehicle electrification (including fuel savings but excluding the value of avoided emissions). Additionally, the incremental distribution grid upgrade cost of the EPA Action-Unmanaged scenario was found to be approximately 3% of existing utility distribution system investments (on an annual basis). Finally, the potential for managed charging to defer distribution grid upgrades was found to be significant with costs found to decrease from $2.3 billion to an incremental cost of $1 billion across five states in the Action-Managed scenario (relative to the No Action-Unmanaged scenario).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Reactive Grinding of Coal Ash For Enhanced Rare Earth Extraction

Monazite and coal ash contain varying trace amounts of Rare Earth Elements (REE). Rare earth elements are considered to be the elements in the lanthanide series. These elements be categorized into two separate groups, light and heavy rare earth groups. Rare Earth Elements play an essential role to society and industry and can be found in a spectrum of applications such as Capacitors, Power Generation, and Catalysts for Petroleum Refining. Due to the abundance of Coal Ash and ongoing production, there is an increasing interest from the scientific community to develop renewable source of energy by extracting rare earth elements from within its contents. Commercial and experimental reactive grinding and leaching procedures have been created to help to maximize the recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Ash.

Keller, Murphy↗

DOE OSTI2024

Transportation Electrification Impact Study (TEIS)

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,POWER TRANSMISSION AND↗

DOE OSTI2026

Evaluation of Bio-Intermediates and Other Biofuels for use in Marine Engines

This paper presents an overview of the DOE Marine Biofuel Feasibility Study to evaluate the potential of biofuels for ocean-going vessels. These vessels operate on low-cost residual fuel oils (also known as heavy fuel oils or HFO), which require significant heating and purification onboard vessels. The industry is looking at economical alternative fuels that can enhance performance from combustion/emissions, rheology, and other perspectives. Four U.S. national laboratories are collaborating to evaluate a variety of biofuels, including bio-intermediates (pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction oils), biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters or FAME), bio-residuals (FAME byproducts) for their suitability as fuels for marine diesel engines. Bio-intermediates in particular are of interest because large marine engines that operate on HFO can tolerate lowerquality, more viscous fuels and may be able to utilize these fuels with less upgrading than other applications, presenting economic advantages. The test fuels of interest are examined to determine the minimum level of upgrading required for blend compatibility with market HFOs containing high levels of asphaltenes as well as their impact on the viscosity, polymerization tendency, and combustion properties (particularly cetane number) of the fuel blends in preparation for future evaluation in engine studies.

Kaul, Brian [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000184813620)↗

DOE OSTI2024

Innovative Advanced Hydrogen Mobile Fueler (Final Technical Report)

The US Department of Energy (DOE) funded a project to design, develop, deploy and analyze the economic viability of an innovative Advanced Hydrogen Mobile Fueler (AHMF). As part of the design activity the project team defined specifications based upon vehicle requirements and compliance with specific fueling performance criteria. The AHMF was originally designed to fuel 10-20 fuel cell vehicles (FCV) per day, consistent with the requirements of the H70 fueling category. The AHMF is able to operate without remote power connections, is modular for easy transport and deployment, and can provide expanded daily capacity and multi-day operations using delivered gaseous hydrogen. Toward the end of the project, due to request from the hydrogen industry and some necessary modifications of the AHMF, the system is now modified to fuel heavy duty vehicles. The project was conducted over two primary phases, each including several key tasks, subtasks, and project milestones. Phase 1 involved the design, development, and construction of the AHMF, moving from a conceptual design through to completion of assembly and testing. In addition to reviewing several different approaches, the team chose to take a conventional station design and modify it for mobile fueling. There were several innovative components included in the design. The high pressure storage was the first to achieve a US Department of Energy (DOE) Special Permit (SP 20391) to transport high pressure hydrogen (95 MPa) in a composite cylinder. The second novel system was a liquid nitrogen (LIN) cooling system with a compact heat exchanger. Without this change, the cooling system would not be able to fit into the AHMF. Phase 2 demonstrated the AHMF by fueling fuel cell buses at a fleet in Pomona, CA. The site was chosen because a temporary fueling solution was required while a fixed station was being installed. The existing permits for the fixed station and non-public access also was a determining factor. Over two months, the buses were fueled 320 times with over 5000 kg of hydrogen from tube trailers. Existing shore power was used, and the average electrical efficiency was 0.13 kWh/kg. The average liquid nitrogen (LIN) consumption was 90.68 scf/kg. The fueling and consumption data was provided to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for analysis. An economic analysis was performed and will be provided in a separate report. The project was successful, but not without challenges and lessons learned. The DOT special permit led the way for the use of high pressure, composite cylinders and is being by multiple other systems and applications. The pandemic along with time for the DOT special permit approval delayed the project for years. The team also believes that hydrogen mobile fueling has a use for the industry, especially during this upcoming phase of expansion. However, it does have its limitations due to high cost to build and operate, and the same permitting challenges as a fixed station. A fully capable system at the speeds and pressures of the AHMF may not be necessary for most applications and would help reduce the cost and increase storage capacity. The on-board generator can be easily replaced with shore power or the wide range of power generation solutions in the marketplace. One of the major results of the project was the development of new code language in National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) 2 and the International Fire Code (IFC) for on-demand mobile fueling. This will provide guidance for Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) and user on how to permit temporary fueling sites across the nation.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2024

Systematic characterization of selenium speciation in coal fly ash

Millions of tons of coal fly ashes (CFAs) are produced annually during coal combustion in the U.S., which are commonly beneficially used in the concrete industry or disposed of in ash ponds. CFAs contain trace amounts of a range of toxic heavy metals including selenium (Se). Because the toxicity of Se is dependent on its speciation, investigating Se speciation in CFAs as affected by coal source and combustion conditions can help understand the related environmental and human health impacts during disposal or beneficial reuse. In this study, a set of representative CFA samples were characterized for Se speciation using synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and micro-X-ray fluorescence spectromicroscopy (μ-XRF/XAS). Se-containing particles were highly heterogeneous, and individual particles might contain multiple oxidation states including Se(0), Se(IV), and Se(VI). Principal component analysis was performed for sample characteristics including Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 , CaO, FeO, loss on ignition, average particle size, Se concentration, and Se oxidation state. Selective catalytic reduction (SCR), which is used to limit nitrogen oxide (NO x ) emissions during coal combustion, was found to be associated with the presence of reduced Se oxidation states, with up to 90% Se(0) observed in samples with SCR. Alongside SCR, FeO content may also influence Se speciation.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2024

User Impressions and Gait Analysis of Exoskeleton Device Usage in Generalized Tank Farm Activities

Tank farm workers involved in nuclear cleanup activities perform physically demanding tasks, typically while wearing heavy personal protective equipment (PPE). Exoskeleton devices have the potential to bring considerable benefit to this industry but have not been thoroughly studied in the context of nuclear cleanup. In this paper, we examine the performance of exoskeletons during a series of tasks emulating jobs performed on tank farms while participants wore PPE commonly deployed by tank farm workers. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of commercially available lower-body exoskeletons on a user’s gait kinematics and user perceptions. Three participants each tested three lower-body exoskeletons in a 70-min protocol consisting of level treadmill walking, incline treadmill walking, weighted treadmill walking, a weight lifting session, and a hand tool dexterity task. Results were compared to a no exoskeleton baseline condition and evaluated as individual case studies. The three participants showed a wide spectrum of user preferences and adaptations toward the devices. Individual case studies revealed that some users quickly adapted to select devices for certain tasks while others remained hesitant to use the devices. Temporal effects on gait change and perception were also observed for select participants in device usage over the course of the device session. Here, device benefit varied between tasks, but no conclusive aggregate trends were observed across devices for all tasks. Evidence suggests that device benefits observed for specific tasks may have been overshadowed by the wide array of tasks used in the protocol.

Tank farm↗

DOE OSTI2025

Improving Resiliency in Planning MW-Scale Medium and Heavy Duty EV Charging Stations Considering TSCOTS Optimization

Electrification of heavy-duty (HD) vehicles marks an important milestone and technical challenge in the electric vehicle (EV) industry and the public grid. However, implementing EV charging at this scale will necessitate that traditional truck stops be updated with EV charging infrastructure that could represent 10's of MW in electricity consumption. Furthermore, as the transportation sector is represented as critical infrastructure, supporting resiliency considerations in EV charging infrastructure will be critical. This paper proposes an optimization-based approach for optimally designing a MW-scale microgrid charging network. This approach transforms conventional designed truck stops into a reliable HDEV charging stations capable of overnight slow charging and 30-minute to 1 hour fast charging. Using a mixed-integer linear program formulation blending capacity planning and reliability constraints, an optimal network configuration can be solved for a proposed EV charging station that includes photovoltaic and battery energy storage capabilities.

Ponce, Moises [University of Tennessee, Knoxville ↗