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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 127 records · Page 7

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DOE OSTI2020

Carbon fixation systems in plants and algae

Provided are methods for elevating cyclic electron transfer activity, improving carbon concentration, and enhancing carbon fixation in C3 and C4 plants, and algae, and producing biomass or other products from C3 or C4 plants, and algae, selected from among, for example, starches, oils, fatty acids, lipids, cellulose or other carbohydrates, alcohols, sugars, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, fragrance and flavoring compounds, and organic acids, as well as transgenic plants produced thereby. These methods and transgenic plants and algae encompass the expression, or overexpression, of various combinations of genes that improve carbon concentrating systems in plants and algae, such as bicarbonate transport proteins, carbonic anhydrase, light driven proton pump, cyclic electron flow regulators, etc.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

Carbon fixation systems in plants and algae

Provided are heterologous nucleic acid constructs, vectors and methods for elevating cyclic electron transfer activity, improving carbon concentration, and enhancing carbon fixation in C3 and C4 plants, and algae, and producing biomass or other products from C3 or C4 plants, and algae, selected from among, for example, starches, oils, fatty acids, lipids, cellulose or other carbohydrates, alcohols, sugars, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, fragrance and flavoring compounds, and organic acids, as well as transgenic plants produced thereby. These methods and transgenic plants and algae encompass the expression, or overexpression, of various combinations of genes that improve carbon concentrating systems in plants and algae, such as bicarbonate transport proteins, carbonic anhydrase, light driven proton pump, cyclic electron flow regulators, etc.

Sayre, Richard Thomas↗

DOE OSTI2022

Carbon fixation systems in plants and algae

Sayre, Richard Thomas↗

DOE OSTI2024

Biofuels Production and Development in the United States

Addressing transportation emissions will require a combination of policy interventions, technological innovations, and behavioral changes. To decrease transportation-related carbon emissions, we recommend transitioning to cleaner and more efficient transport, expanding public transportation, and promoting sustainable urban planning. Transitioning to biofuels in the U.S. transportation sector presents a host of environmental, economic, and strategic advantages. Environmentally, biofuels offer a promising avenue for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to conventional fossil fuels. Biofuels produce fewer harmful emissions, such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, compared to conventional fuels, thereby improving local air quality, and reducing health risks associated with air pollution. The U.S. government issued a "Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge" to promote the development of SAF and address the decarbonization of commercial aviation. The targets are to expand current domestic SAF production to 3 billion gallons per year by 2030, and then to 35 billion gallons by 2050, while achieving life cycle GHG reduction of at least 50% relative to fossil Jet A. The United States' biofuel production capacity rose to 23.8 billion gallons per year in 2023, a growth of more than 1.7 billion gallons since 2022. Ethanol nameplate capacity has reached 17.8 billion gallons per year since 2023, the ethanol production is 15.6 billion gallons in 2023 as capped by EPA regulation. Biodiesel production capacity stands at 2.1 billion gallons, and renewable diesel capacity is now 3.9 billion gallons. This newsletter keeps you informed on the state of biofuels in the United States, policy and regulations, technology advancements, and environmental and social impacts.

biodiesel↗

DOE OSTI2023

Analysis of the High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) growth of single crystal diamond

A multi-scale, computational model is developed to describe the growth characteristics of single-crystal diamond in the High-Pressure, High-Temperature (HPHT) process. This model is the first to connect phase-change kinetics governing crystal growth to the continuum transport of carbon through the growth cell. Results show the importance of convective transport driven by buoyant flow in the metallic solvent, which increases the growth rate by nearly an order of magnitude over that obtained under diffusion alone. Parametric studies show how crystal growth may be kinetically-limited or transport-limited, depending on the value of the macroscopic kinetic coefficient. Estimating this kinetic coefficient from growth experiments yields a phase-change Damköhler number of unity, indicating a mixed regime where phase-change kinetics and transport are comparable and strongly coupled in this system. Mechanisms responsible for slowing growth as the crystal size increases are explained. Finally, supersaturation inhomogeneities along the facets of larger crystals are predicted, which may be relevant to solvent inclusion formation during growth.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2022

Trajectories for the evolution of bacterial CO 2 -concentrating mechanisms

Cyanobacteria rely on CO 2 -concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) to grow in today’s atmosphere (0.04% CO 2 ). These complex physiological adaptations require ≈15 genes to produce two types of protein complexes: inorganic carbon (Ci) transporters and 100+ nm carboxysome compartments that encapsulate rubisco with a carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme. Mutations disrupting any of these genes prohibit growth in ambient air. If any plausible ancestral form—i.e., lacking a single gene—cannot grow, how did the CCM evolve? Here, we test the hypothesis that evolution of the bacterial CCM was “catalyzed” by historically high CO 2 levels that decreased over geologic time. Using an E. coli reconstitution of a bacterial CCM, we constructed strains lacking one or more CCM components and evaluated their growth across CO 2 concentrations. We expected these experiments to demonstrate the importance of the carboxysome. Instead, we found that partial CCMs expressing CA or Ci uptake genes grew better than controls in intermediate CO 2 levels (≈1%) and observed similar phenotypes in two autotrophic bacteria, Halothiobacillus neapolitanus and Cupriavidus necator . To understand how CA and Ci uptake improve growth, we model autotrophy as colimited by CO 2 and HCO 3 − , as both are required to produce biomass. Our experiments and model delineated a viable trajectory for CCM evolution where decreasing atmospheric CO 2 induces an HCO 3 − deficiency that is alleviated by acquisition of CA or Ci uptake, thereby enabling the emergence of a modern CCM. This work underscores the importance of considering physiology and environmental context when studying the evolution of biological complexity.

Flamholz, Avi I.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Long-Range Charge Transport Facilitated by Electron Delocalization in MoS 2 and Carbon Nanotube Heterostructures

Controlling charge transport at the interfaces of nanostructures is crucial for their successful use in optoelectronic and solar energy applications. Mixed-dimensional heterostructures based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have demonstrated exceptionally long-lived charge-separated states. However, the factors that control the charge transport at these interfaces remain unclear. In this study, we directly image charge transport at the interfaces of single- and multilayered MoS 2 and (6,5) SWCNT heterostructures using transient absorption microscopy. We find that charge recombination becomes slower as the layer thickness of MoS 2 increases. This behavior can be explained by electron delocalization in multilayers and reduced orbital overlap with the SWCNTs, as suggested by nonadiabatic (NA) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Dipolar repulsion of interfacial excitons results in rapid density-dependent transport within the first 100 ps. Stronger repulsion and longer-range charge transport are observed in heterostructures with thicker MoS 2 layers, driven by electron delocalization and larger interfacial dipole moments. These findings are consistent with the results from NAMD simulations. Our results suggest that heterostructures with multilayer MoS 2 can facilitate long-lived charge separation and transport, which is promising for applications in photovoltaics and photocatalysis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2020

Productivity and bioproduct formation in phototropic knock/out mutants in micro algae

Phototropin is a blue light receptor, which mediates a variety of blue-light elicited physiological processes in plants and algae. In higher plants these processes include phototropism, chloroplast movement and stomatal opening. In the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, phototropin plays a vital role in progression of the sexual life cycle and in the control of the eye spot size and light sensitivity. Phototropin is also involved in blue-light mediated changes in the synthesis of chlorophylls, carotenoids, chlorophyll binding proteins. We compared the transcriptome of phototropin knock out (PHOT KO) mutant and wild-type parent to analyze differences in gene expression in high light grown cultures (500 μmol photons m⁻²s⁻¹). Our results indicate the up-regulation of genes involved in photosynthetic electron transport chain, carbon fixation pathway, starch, lipid, and cell cycle control genes. With respect to photosynthetic electron transport genes, genes encoding proteins of the cytochrome b6f and ATP synthase complex were up regulated potentially facilitating proton-coupled electron transfer. In addition genes involved in limiting steps in the Calvin cycle Ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO), Sidoheptulose 1,7 biophosphatase (SBPase), Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (3PGDH) and that mediate cell-cycle control (CDK) were also up regulated along with starch synthase and fatty acid biosynthesis genes involved in starch and lipid synthesis. In addition, transmission electron micrographs show increased accumulation of starch granules in PHOT mutant compared to wild type, which is consistent with the higher expression of starch synthase genes. Collectively, the altered patterns of gene expression in the PHOT mutants were associated with a two-fold increase in growth and biomass accumulation compared to wild type when grown in environmental photobioreactors (Phenometrics) that simulate a pond environment. In conclusion, our studies suggest that phototropin may be a master gene regulator that suppresses rapid cell growth and promotes gametogenesis and sexual recombination in wild type strains.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Agent-based modeling for multimodal transportation of CO 2 for carbon capture, utilization, and storage: CCUS-agent

Here, to understand the system-level interactions between the entities in Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), an agent-based foundational modeling tool, CCUS-Agent, is developed for a large-scale study of transportation flows and infrastructure in the United States. Key features of the tool include (i) modular design, (ii) multiple transportation modes, (iii) capabilities for extension, and (iv) testing against various system components and networks of small and large sizes. Five matching algorithms for CO 2 supply agents (e.g., powerplants and industrial facilities) and demand agents (e.g., storage and utilization sites) are explored: Most Profitable First Year (MPFY), Most Profitable All Years (MPAY), Shortest Total Distance First Year (SDFY), Shortest Total Distance All Years (SDAY), and Shortest distance to long-haul transport All Years (ACAY). Before matching, the supply agent, demand agent, and route must be available, and the connection must be profitable. A profitable connection means the supply agent portion of revenue from the 45Q tax credit must cover the supply agent costs and all transportation costs, while the demand agent revenue portion must cover all demand agent costs. A case study employing over 5500 supply and demand agents and multimodal CCUS transportation infrastructure in the contiguous United States is conducted. The results suggest that it is possible to capture over 9 billion tonnes (GT) of CO 2 from 2025 to 2043, which will increase significantly to 22 GT if the capture costs are reduced by 40 %. The MPFY and SDFY algorithms capture more CO 2 earlier in the time horizon, while the MPAY and SDAY algorithms capture more later in the time horizon.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2023

Fast Water Transport through Subnanometer Diameter Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Membranes

Small-diameter carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have outstanding mass-transport properties, especially enhanced water flow. Here, we report on water transport through the first macroscopic membranes with vertically oriented, subnanometer (0.8 nm) CNT pores, made by a scalable, solution-based method with electric-field alignment of bulk-grown single-wall CNTs (SWCNTs). After plasma etching to open pores, vertically aligned CNTs served as the primary pathway for liquid-water transport. The CNT membranes showed fast pressure-driven water transport, with up to 105-fold enhancement compared to no-slip Hagen–Poiseuille flow. Comparing 0.8 and 3 nm CNTs, we found that the hydrodynamic slip lengths increased with decreasing nanotube diameter, reaching 8.5 μm for the smaller-diameter CNTs. Here, the results suggest that pressure-driven water transport in small-diameter CNTs is increasingly dominated by entrance resistance, thus becoming independent of nanotube length. Scalably fabricated membranes incorporating vertically aligned subnanometer CNT pores could have applications in water filtration, desalination, and energy harvesting.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2026

Wyoming Carbon Blueprint A Roadmap for Statewide Carbon Capture and Storage

Wyoming stands at a pivotal point in defining its energy future, and the Wyoming Carbon Blueprint positions the state to lead the nation in carbon management through a coordinated buildout of carbon capture, transportation, utilization, and geologic storage. Building on Wyoming’s long history as a major producer of coal, oil, and natural gas, and supported by favorable policies, skilled labor, and robust subsurface resources, the Blueprint outlines a pathway to develop one of the world’s first open-access carbon hubs capable of capturing between 10 and 25 million tonnes of CO₂ per year within five years, and up to 45 million tonnes within a decade. In doing so, it advances the concept of “No Carbon Left Behind”: a statewide strategy that prevents stranded CO₂ by aligning capture, transport, and storage systems into a single coherent infrastructure network.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

Seasonal Variability in Local Carbon Dioxide Biomass Burning Sources Over Central and Eastern US Using Airborne In Situ Enhancement Ratios

We present observations of local enhancements in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from local emissions sources over three eastern US regions during four deployments of the Atmospheric Carbon Transport-America (ACT-America) campaign between summer 2016 and spring 2018. Local CO 2 emissions were characterized by carbon monoxide (CO) to CO 2 enhancement ratios (i.e., ΔCO/ΔCO 2 ) in air mass mixing observed during aircraft transects within the planetary boundary layer. By analyzing regional-scale variability of CO 2 enhancements as a function of ΔCO/ΔCO 2 enhancement ratios, observed relative contributions to CO 2 emissions were separated into fossil fuel and biomass burning (BB) regimes across regions and seasons. CO 2 emission contributions attributed to biomass burning (ΔCO/ΔCO 2 > 4%) were negligible during summer and fall in all regions but climbed to ∼9%–11% of observed combustion contributions in the South during winter and spring. Relative CO 2 fire emission trends matched observed winter and spring BB contributions, but conflictingly predicted similar levels of BB during the fall. Satellite fire data from MODIS and VIIRS suggested the use of higher spatial resolution fire data that might improve modeled BB emissions but were not able to explain the bulk of the discrepancy.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

Regional-scale, sector-specific evaluation of global CO2 inversion models using aircraft data from the ACT-America project

We use vertical profiles of airborne measurements of CO2 from frontal cases during the summer 2016 Atmospheric Carbon and Transport – America (ACT-America) campaign to evaluate the skill of a set of ten global CO2 inversion models participating in the Orbiting Carbon Observatory – 2 (OCO-2) Model Intercomparison Project (MIP). Model errors and biases (model minus observation) were categorized by region (Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and South), frontal sector (warm or cold), and transport model (predominantly Tracer Model 5 (TM5) and Goddard Earth Observing System – Chemistry (GEOS-Chem)). Overall, the inversions reproduce the general structures of the observed vertical profiles and the enhanced / depleted low-level CO2 in warm / cold sectors, but tend to underestimate the magnitude of the sector difference in each region. In the Midwest and South warm sectors, inversion biases were about 1 ppm above 1500 m AGL, though model spread (quantified by interquartile range) was often even smaller; below 1500 m AGL, model biases were negative and about -2 ppm near the surface. For the Midwest and South cold sectors, models had +2-3 ppm biases below 1500 m AGL, but with comparable model spread. Uniquely, in the Mid-Atlantic there was a consistent difference between TM5 and GEOS-Chem mole fractions for both sectors up to 3000 m AGL (TM5 lower by 2 ppm), on the order of the observation-relative biases. In the MidAtlantic TM5 inversions had negative biases in warm sectors, while GEOS-Chem inversions had positive biases in cold sectors. Possible reasons for the regional variability are discussed.

Gaudet, Brian J.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Air‐Sea CO 2 Fluxes Localized by Topography in a Southern Ocean Channel

Abstract Air‐sea exchange of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the Southern Ocean plays an important role in the global carbon budget. Previous studies have suggested that flow around topographic features of the Southern Ocean enhances the upward supply of carbon from the deep to the surface, influencing air‐sea CO 2 exchange. Here, we investigate the role of seafloor topography on the transport of carbon and associated air‐sea CO 2 flux in an idealized channel model. We find elevated CO 2 outgassing upstream of a seafloor ridge, driven by anomalous advection of dissolved inorganic carbon. Argo‐like Lagrangian particles in our channel model sample heterogeneously in the vicinity of the seafloor ridge, which could impact float‐based estimates of CO 2 flux.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

CO2 Transport Planning Database

The CO2 Transport Planning Database v3.0 is a geospatial resource, containing over 70 gigabytes of data representing critical considerations for the spatial routing of pipelines and transport of CO2, from source to sink. Considerations include state-specific legislation, land use requirements, existing infrastructure, and hazard prevention areas. Built to support strategic domestic energy transport planning and development, more than 60 layers of this database have been weighted (Weight fields) according to current legislation and pipeline construction recommendations. Weighted values range from zero to one, where zero represents potentially more acceptable areas for transport based on the various considerations, and a value of one represents areas that should be avoided. This geospatial database provides a baseline for the Smart CO2 Transport Planning Tool.

Boundaries↗

DOE OSTI2023

The Impact of Carbonation Curing on the Fatigue Behavior of Polyvinyl Alcohol Engineered Cementitious Composites (PVA-ECC)

Use of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) has been proven to enhance structural fatigue resistance and reduce the use-phase emissions for transportation infrastructure. Carbonation curing offers an opportunity to reduce the embodied carbon of ECC via direct CO 2 sequestration. In this study, the impact of carbonation curing on ECC’s fatigue resistance was examined. ECC’s CO 2 uptake, static flexural behavior, flexural fatigue performance, and single fiber pull-out behavior were studied experimentally. Midspan deflection up to 3 million cycles under fatigue load, fatigue stress-life relationship, and failure mechanism for carbonation-cured and air-cured ECC were investigated. Carbonation curing was found to significantly improved the fatigue life of ECC and lowered the midspan deflection under the same stress. Further, CO 2 -cured ECC can achieve >20% CO 2 uptake per cement mass after 24-hour carbonation curing. Carbonation curing increased ECC’s flexural strength by 32% and promoted crack width control capability, with maximum post-fatigue crack width reduced from 148 μm to 76 μm. As a result, the positive impact of carbonation curing on the fatigue behavior of ECC simultaneously lowers the embodied and operational carbon of ECC structural members subjected to fatigue loading during service.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Phase III Overview of Accomplishments (SECARB Phase III Final Report)

The Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Program (SECARB) is a carbon management program established in 2003 and managed by the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB). SECARB is one of seven regional carbon sequestration partnerships formed by the Department of Energy (DOE). The seven partnerships form a national network of more than 400 organizations covering 43 states and four Canadian provinces with expertise in the areas of carbon capture, transportation, and storage. The SECARB program was funded by DOE and cost-sharing partners. The primary goal of SECARB was to identify major sources of carbon emissions, characterize the geology of a 13-state region, determine the most promising options for commercial deployment of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) sequestration technologies in the South, and validate the technology options through carefully executed field testing through 2017. This report summarizes significant Phase III accomplishments and is organized by task as established within the SECARB Phase III Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO). This document does not provide an exhaustive overview of individual tasks. Rather, this report provides an overview of programmatic accomplishments and a timeline of events. Where applicable, hyperlinks to specific project deliverables are provided.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Functional plasticity of HCO 3 – uptake and CO 2 fixation in Cupriavidus necator H16

Despite its prominence, the ability to engineer Cupriavidus necator H16 for inorganic carbon uptake and fixation is underexplored. We tested the roles of endogenous and heterologous genes on C. necator inorganic carbon metabolism. Deletion of β-carbonic anhydrase can had the most deleterious effect on C. necator autotrophic growth. Replacement of this native uptake system with several classes of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) transporters from Cyanobacteria and chemolithoautotrophic bacteria recovered autotrophic growth and supported higher cell densities compared to wild-type (WT) C. necator in batch culture. Strains expressing Halothiobacillus neopolitanus DAB2 (hnDAB2) and diverse rubisco homologs grew in CO 2 similarly to the wild-type strain. Our experiments suggest that the primary role of carbonic anhydrase during autotrophic growth is to support anaplerotic metabolism, and an array of DIC transporters can complement this function. This work demonstrates flexibility in HCO 3 - uptake and CO 2 fixation in C. necator, providing new pathways for CO 2 -based biomanufacturing.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗