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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Enhancement of polyhydroxyalkanoate production by co-feeding lignin derivatives with glycerol in Pseudomonas putida KT2440

Abstract Background Efficient utilization of all available carbons from lignocellulosic biomass is critical for economic efficiency of a bioconversion process to produce renewable bioproducts. However, the metabolic responses that enable Pseudomonas putida to utilize mixed carbon sources to generate reducing power and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) remain unclear. Previous research has mainly focused on different fermentation strategies, including the sequential feeding of xylose as the growth stage substrate and octanoic acid as the PHA-producing substrate, feeding glycerol as the sole carbon substrate, and co-feeding of lignin and glucose. This study developed a new strategy—co-feeding glycerol and lignin derivatives such as benzoate, vanillin, and vanillic acid in Pseudomonas putida KT2440—for the first time, which simultaneously improved both cell biomass and PHA production. Results Co-feeding lignin derivatives (i.e. benzoate, vanillin, and vanillic acid) and glycerol to P. putida KT2440 was shown for the first time to simultaneously increase cell dry weight (CDW) by 9.4–16.1% and PHA content by 29.0–63.2%, respectively, compared with feeding glycerol alone. GC–MS results revealed that the addition of lignin derivatives to glycerol decreased the distribution of long-chain monomers (C10 and C12) by 0.4–4.4% and increased the distribution of short-chain monomers (C6 and C8) by 0.8–3.5%. The 1 H– 13 C HMBC, 1 H– 13 C HSQC, and 1 H– 1 H COSY NMR analysis confirmed that the PHA monomers (C6–C14) were produced when glycerol was fed to the bacteria alone or together with lignin derivatives. Moreover, investigation of the glycerol/benzoate/nitrogen ratios showed that benzoate acted as an independent factor in PHA synthesis. Furthermore, 1 H, 13 C and 31 P NMR metabolite analysis and mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics measurements suggested that the addition of benzoate stimulated oxidative-stress responses, enhanced glycerol consumption, and altered the intracellular NAD + /NADH and NADPH/NADP + ratios by up-regulating the proteins involved in energy generation and storage processes, including the Entner–Doudoroff (ED) pathway, the reductive TCA route, trehalose degradation, fatty acid β -oxidation, and PHA biosynthesis. Conclusions This work demonstrated an effective co-carbon feeding strategy to improve PHA content/yield and convert lignin derivatives into value-added products in P. putida KT2440. Co-feeding lignin break-down products with other carbon sources, such as glycerol, has been demonstrated as an efficient way to utilize biomass to increase PHA production in P. putida KT2440. Moreover, the involvement of aromatic degradation favours further lignin utilization, and the combination of proteomics and metabolomics with NMR sheds light on the metabolic and regulatory mechanisms for cellular redox balance and potential genetic targets for a higher biomass carbon conversion efficiency.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Novel Integrated Fermentation Process with Engineered Microbial Consortia for Butanol Production from Lignocellulose Sugars without CO 2 Emission

The goal of this project was to develop a synthetic microbial consortium consisting of a lactic acid bacterium, a carboxydotrophic acetogen, and a solventogenic clostridia for the production of n butanol, an advanced biofuel and industrial chemical, from lignocellulose sugars (mainly glucose and xylose) and formate (produced from CO 2 by electrochemical reduction) in an integrated bioprocess (biorefinery), which can provide an effective solution to the technical challenges in developing energy and carbon optimized synthesis for the bioeconomy and achieve the program objectives of ARPA-E. The project focused on the design, modeling and construction of synthetic microbial consortia consisting of three bacterial species to maximize carbon conversion and butanol production with a 100% theoretical product yield from glucose and zero or negative CO 2 emission.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS2013

Trash-to-Gas: Using Waste Products to Minimize Logistical Mass During Long Duration Space Missions

Just as waste-to-energy processes utilizing municipal landftll and biomass wastes are finding increased terrestrial uses, the Trash-to-Gas (TtG) project seeks to convert waste generated during spaceflight into high value commodities. These include methane for propulsion and water for life support in addition to a variety of other gasses. TtG is part of the Logistic Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project under the NASA Advanced Exploration Systems Program. The LRR project will enable a largely mission-independent approach to minimize logistics contributions to total mission architecture mass. LRR includes technologies that reduce the amount of consumables that need to be sent to space, repurpose items sent to space, or convert wastes to commodities. Currently, waste generated on the International Space Station is stored inside a logistic module which is de-orbited into Earth's atmosphere for destruction. The waste consists of food packaging, food, clothing and other items. This paper will discuss current results on incineration as a waste processing method. Incineration is part of a two step process to produce methane from waste: first the waste is converted to carbon oxides; second, the carbon oxides are fed to a Sabatier reactor where they are converted to methane. The quantities of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and water were measured under the different thermal degradation conditions. The overall carbon conversion efficiency and water recovery are discussed.

Hintze, Paul. E.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Trash-to-Gas: Using Waste Products to Minimize Logistical Mass During Long Duration Space Missions

Just as waste-to-energy processes utilizing municipal landftll and biomass wastes are finding increased terrestrial uses, the Trash-to-Gas (TtG) project seeks to convert waste generated during spaceflight into high value commodities. These include methane for propulsion and water for life support in addition to a variety of other gasses. TtG is part of the Logistic Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project under the NASA Advanced Exploration Systems Program. The LRR project will enable a largely mission-independent approach to minimize logistics contributions to total mission architecture mass. LRR includes technologies that reduce the amount of consumables that need to be sent to space, repurpose items sent to space, or convert wastes to commodities. Currently, waste generated on the International Space Station is stored inside a logistic module which is de-orbited into Earth's atmosphere for destruction. The waste consists of food packaging, food, clothing and other items. This paper will discuss current results on incineration as a waste processing method. Incineration is part of a two step process to produce methane from waste: first the waste is converted to carbon oxides; second, the carbon oxides are fed to a Sabatier reactor where they are converted to methane. The quantities of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and water were measured under the different thermal degradation conditions. The overall carbon conversion efficiency and water recovery are discussed

Hintze, Paul E.↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Modeling of Synfuel Production Process: ASPEN Model of FT production with electricity demand provided at LWR scale

Synfuels, or electro-fuels (e-fuels) have the unique potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the transportation sector. This is especially true for applications with substantial payloads and daily miles traveled, such as long-haul heavy-duty vehicles, rail locomotives, marine vessels and aviation aircrafts that are challenging to directly electrify via battery or fuel cell powertrain technologies. Synfuels, or electro-diesel/electro-jet fuels, have similar properties with the incumbent petroleum fuels, compatible with current infrastructure but have much lower GHG emissions relative to the petroleum counterpart, because they utilize waste carbon dioxide (CO2) streams and green hydrogen (H2) sourced from electrolysis. To achieve substantial reductions in GHG emissions, electricity sources must be zero carbon or near-zero carbon, which is the case with solar, wind, hydro and nuclear power. Compared to the intermittency of solar, wind and hydro, nuclear energy provides a steady energy source. In addition, it’s advantageous for nuclear power to produce synfuels because it provides not only near-zero carbon electricity to displace grid electricity, but also near-zero carbon steam to displace carbon-intensive natural gas combustion for steam generation. The availability of electricity and steam also enables more efficient green hydrogen production by using high-temperature electrolysis. In this work, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) models a synfuel production process via the Fischer- Tropsch (FT) reaction by using nuclear power to provide electricity and steam. In 2021, using ASPEN Plus software, ANL established a detailed process model of a stand-alone FT production facility, assuming feedstocks of pure CO2 and H2. This stand-alone model can be expanded to integrate H2 production from nuclear power via low-temperature and high-temperature electrolysis at light-water reactor (LWR) scale. This report summarizes the stand-alone ASPEN Plus model results with a detailed mass and energy analysis. Our modeled facility produces 351 MT/day (130,000 gal/day) of FT fuel (a mixture of naphtha, jet fuel, and diesel) by converting 223 MT/day of H2 and 2,387 MT/day of CO2. The FT fuel production energy efficiency is 58% and the carbon conversion efficiency (from CO2 to FT fuel) is 46%. The production of green hydrogen requires 390–470 MWe of electricity, which is compared with the capacity of an LWR plant. For the stand-alone FT process, the detailed energy demand (electricity and heat) is summarized in the table below. Based on the energy supply source and the required temperature, potential insertion points of nuclear energy are identified. Based on the potential nuclear energy utilization, this report discusses potential modification options for expanding the system boundary to integrate nuclear power use, for example on-site hydrogen production via water electrolysis. Modeling of the integrated system is conducted by closely working with ANL and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) collaborators to harmonize design parameters of nuclear plants and the FT production process.

Zang, Guiyan↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Modeling of the Synfuel Production Process: Process models of Fischer-Tropsch production with electricity and hydrogen provided by various scales of nuclear plants

Synthetic fuels (synfuels), also known as electro-fuels (E-fuels), are hydrocarbon fuels produced from waste CO2 streams and water electrolysis, with electricity as the primary source of energy. To achieve substantial reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, electricity sources must release zero carbon or near-zero carbon, as is the case with solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear power. Nuclear power is one of the largest and steadiest domestic sources of clean energy in the United States. Moreover, nuclear power has the potential to produce hydrogen economically for less than $2/kg, reaching the DOE near-term target price. Thus, using nuclear power to produce synfuels has the unique potential to significantly reduce the GHG emissions of hydrocarbon fuels production and end-use applications. Fisher-Tropsch or FT fuel (a mixture of naphtha, jet fuel, and diesel) is of great interest because it is a drop-in fuel that can be blended with conventional petroleum counterparts and is compatible with existing infrastructure. By using the ASPEN Plus model, this report develops FT fuel production models on three scales, corresponding to nuclear plants with capacities of 1000 MWe, 437 Mwe, and 100 MWe, respectively. The FT model case with energy from a 437-MWe nuclear plant is used as a baseline case. This report summarizes the baseline ASPEN Plus model results with a detailed mass and energy analysis. Our modeled facility produces 507 MT/day (185,000 gal/day) of FT fuel by converting 255 MT/day of hydrogen and 1,580 MT/day of CO2. The FT fuel production energy efficiency from hydrogen and electricity energy inputs is 70% (lowerheating-value or LHV-based). Including the high-temperature electrolyzer in the system boundary, the FT fuel production LHV efficiency from electricity and thermal energy inputs is 51%, considering 39.8 kWh/kg of electricity and 6.86 kWh/kg of thermal energy use from a nuclear plant for hydrogen production. The FT production efficiency can potentially be increased by further integrating the heat exchange between nuclear plant and FT process, and this study is underway. The carbon conversion ratio in the baseline case is 99%, with process CO2 capture and recirculation and oxy-combustion using the oxygen by-product from water electrolysis. The hydrogen consumption is 1.38 kg/gal-FT fuel and the CO2 consumption is 8.56 kg/gal-FT fuel in the baseline case. With different FT production scales determined by the nuclear plant capacity, the FT model was scaled using the same operating parameters, which led to the same conversion efficiency regardless of scale. However, the different FT plant scales will impact the economics of FT fuel production; this impact will be examined in the next phase of this study.

Zang, Guiyan↗
DOE OSTI2022

Life Cycle Analysis of Emerging Technologies

Presentation given by Sheikh Moni as a guest lecture for an advanced LCA class at Pennsylvania State University on October 18, 2022. The presentation focused on LCA of carbon conversion systems and LCA of low technology readiness level (TRL) technologies.

Moni, Sheikh↗
DOE OSTI2023

Controlling metabolism by substrate cofeeding

The disclosure provides methods using mixed substrate cofeeding for bioproduct synthesis, which enables faster, more efficient, and higher yield carbon conversion in various organisms.

Park, Junyoung↗
DOE OSTI2022

From Copper to Basic Copper Carbonate: A Reversible Conversion Cathode in Aqueous Anion Batteries

Abstract Dual‐ion batteries that use anions and cations as charge carriers represent a promising energy‐storage technology. However, an uncharted area is to explore transition metals as electrodes to host carbonate in conversion reactions. Here we report the reversible conversion reaction from copper to Cu 2 CO 3 (OH) 2 , where the copper electrode comprising K 2 CO 3 and KOH solid is self‐sufficient with anion‐charge carriers. This electrode dissociates and associates K + ions during battery charge and discharge. The copper active mass and the anion‐bearing cathode exhibit a reversible capacity of 664 mAh g −1 and 299 mAh g −1 , respectively, and relatively stable cycling in a saturated mixture electrolyte of K 2 CO 3 and KOH. The results open an avenue to use carbonate as a charge carrier for batteries to serve for the consumption and storage of CO 2 .

Gallagher, Trenton C.↗
DOE OSTI2022

From Copper to Basic Copper Carbonate: A Reversible Conversion Cathode in Aqueous Anion Batteries

Dual-ion batteries that use anions and cations as charge carriers represent a promising energy-storage technology. However, an uncharted area is to explore transition metals as electrodes to host carbonate in conversion reactions. Here we report the reversible conversion reaction from copper to Cu 2 CO 3 (OH) 2 , where the copper electrode comprising K 2 CO 3 and KOH solid is self-sufficient with anion-charge carriers. This electrode dissociates and associates K + ions during battery charge and discharge. The copper active mass and the anion-bearing cathode exhibit a reversible capacity of 664 mAh g –1 and 299 mAh g –1 , respectively, and relatively stable cycling in a saturated mixture electrolyte of K 2 CO 3 and KOH. Finally, the results open an avenue to use carbonate as a charge carrier for batteries to serve for the consumption and storage of CO 2 .

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

Integrated Approach to CO 2 Capture and Conversion to Cyclic Carbonates under Solvent- and Additive-Free Conditions Utilizing the CO 2 Capture Solvent EEMPA

An integrated CO 2 capture and conversion to materials (IC 3 M) implementation utilizing a CO 2 capture solvent is an efficient approach to reduce the amount of CO 2 in the atmosphere while producing value-added chemicals. In this work, we demonstrate that the advanced water-lean CO 2 capture solvent, N-(2-Ethoxyethyl)-3-morpholinopropan-1-amine (EEMPA), can catalyze the cycloaddition reaction between CO 2 and propylene oxide to produce the value-added chemical propylene carbonate in an IC 3 M fashion. When excess propylene oxide is used relative to EEMPA, yields as high as 75% with 85% selectivity toward propylene carbonate can be achieved under solvent-free conditions without the need of additives/cocatalysts. The reaction temperature (120 °C) is comparable to that used in the thermal regeneration of the capture solvent under industrial conditions. Formation of an undesired amino alcohol side product was observed, but it may be reversible or avoidable with continued research despite the unsuccessful initial attempts. Finally, we show that this can be applied to other epoxides for the production of various cyclic carbonates.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Integrated carbon capture and conversion: A review on C 2+ product mechanisms and mechanism-guided strategies

The need to reduce atmospheric CO 2 concentrations necessitates CO 2 capture technologies for conversion into stable products or long-term storage. A single pot solution that simultaneously captures and converts CO 2 could minimize additional costs and energy demands associated with CO 2 transport, compression, and transient storage. While a variety of reduction products exist, currently, only conversion to C 2+ products including ethanol and ethylene are economically advantageous. Cu-based catalysts have the best-known performance for CO 2 electroreduction to C 2+ products. Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are touted for their carbon capture capacity. Thus, integrated Cu-based MOFs could be an ideal candidate for the one-pot capture and conversion. In this paper, we review Cu-based MOFs and MOF derivatives that have been used to synthesize C 2+ products with the objective of understanding the mechanisms that enable synergistic capture and conversion. Furthermore, we discuss strategies based on the mechanistic insights that can be used to further enhance production. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges hindering widespread use of Cu-based MOFs and MOF derivatives along with possible solutions to overcome the challenges.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Photoreactive Capture and Conversion of Dilute Carbon Dioxide into Synthetic Natural Gas

This study introduces a photoreactive system that integrates the capture of dilute CO 2 streams with their catalytic conversion to synthetic natural gas (CH 4 ), utilizing a Ru nanoparticle (NP)-doped TiO 2 composite loaded with linear polyethylenimine (L-PEI) and enhanced with plasmonic titanium nitride (TiN). This light-driven approach mitigates challenges that have plagued traditional thermal reactive carbon capture (RCC) methods, such as CO 2 slip and amine degradation. We demonstrate that L-PEI enables stable CO 2 capture and conversion, achieving ~70% conversion of captured CO 2 to CH 4 across multiple reaction cycles using nonflammable forming gas (~5% H 2 ) as the reductant. In contrast, branched PEI (B-PEI)-loaded composites exhibited significant catalyst deactivation after several RCC cycles. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging confirms that significant sintering of the Ru NPs occur in the B-PEI sample under RCC conditions, whereas their size remains stable in more rigid L-PEI composites. Technoeconomic analysis (TEA) estimates that CH 4 production using this system could cost less than $\$$5/kg based on current electrocatalytic H 2 prices. These results represent one of the most promising demonstrations of amine-based RCC employing dilute CO 2 sources to date.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Solar-driven selective conversion of millimolar dissolved carbon to fuels with molecular flux generation

Abstract The direct utilization of dissolved inorganic carbon in seawater for CO 2 conversion promises chemical production on-demand and with zero carbon footprint. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) CO 2 reduction (CO 2 R) devices promise the sustainable conversion of dissolved carbon in seawater to carbon products using sunlight as the only energy input. However, the diffusion-dominant transport mechanism and the near-zero concentration of CO 2 (aq) (CO 2 dissolved in aqueous solution) in static seawater has made it extremely challenging to achieve high solar-to-fuel (STF) efficiency and high carbon-product selectivity. Here, where CO 2 (aq) as a reactant generated in situ by acidification of HCO 3 - flows continuously from BiVO 4 photoanodes to Si photocathodes, enabling a single-step conversion of dissolved carbon into products. Our PEC device significantly increases the CO selectivity from 3% to 21%, which approaches the 30% theoretical limit according to multi-physics modeling. Meanwhile, the Si/BiVO 4 PEC CO 2 R device achieved a STF efficiency of 0.71%. Such flow engineering achieves flow-dependent selectivity, rate, and stability in simulated seawater, thus promising practical solar fuel production at scale.

Liu, Bin↗
DOE OSTI2022

Polarization-dependent conversion efficiency of carbon nanotube-Si heterojunction solar cells based on aligned carbon nanotube films

We have fabricated solar cells that implement heterojunctions of Si and aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) films. Polarization-dependent optical absorption of highly aligned CNTs led to polarization-dependent conversion efficiencies, which in turn provided insight into the role of the CNT layer in the power generation mechanism in these heterojunction solar cells. When the incident light polarization was parallel to the CNT alignment direction so that the light absorption in the CNT layer was maximized, the short circuit photocurrent decreased by ~25%. This indicates that electron–hole pair generation in the CNT layer does not directly lead to power generation and that the CNT-Si heterojunctions in our devices are Schottky junctions rather than p–n junctions.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2020

Carbon Capture and Conversion

Worldwide concern over climate change and its consequences has become a regular topic in the news. Extremes of weather appear to be more and more commonplace all over the planet. Release of man-made carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, has been associated with climate change, as the levels of CO 2 have continued to increase at a steady rate. In response to this change, many scientists and engineers have began research either to look at ways to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or to capture it at its source to avoid having to concentrate the CO 2 from the air. At the same time, CO 2 has been highlighted as an inexpensive C1 carbon source, and research efforts are underway to use CO 2 directly in chemical production.

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS↗