Results for “Renewable Transportation Fuels” — Page 8

DOE OSTI2022

Using Incremental Changes to Convert Lignocellulosic Feedstocks to Cellulosic Ethanol

One billion tons of biomass feedstocks have been identified for the production of renewable biofuels and biochemicals. This is one of the key carbon feedstocks to supply energy to the transportation sector for light duty, heavy duty and aviation fuels. Utilization of lignocellulosic feedstocks supports an improved energy security by reducing demand of petroleum imports, agricultural development, job creation, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To date, however, operational challenges have stymied the industrial production of large volumes of lignocellulosic-based fuels and chemicals. As a result, significant research investment has been led by the United States Department of Energy to understand and improve operational reliability at pioneer cellulosic biorefineries. In this perspective article lignocellulosic conversion technologies are described that have been adopted from the starch ethanol process. The developed process culminated in successful demonstration of 1,000-h integrated runs using several feedstocks, including switchgrass, energy sorghum, and two types of corn kernel fiber. This report highlights process development that solved several of the issues that plagued—and continue to plague—many in the cellulosic sugars space such as biomass feeding into equipment, high ash content, diversified co-product value, and others.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

NASA NTRS2014

Novel Catalysts and Processing Technologies for Production of Aerospace Fuels from Non-Petroleum Raw Materials

Transportation fuels production (including aerospace propellants) from non-traditional sources (gases, waste materials, and biomass) has been an active area of research and development for decades. Reducing terrestrial waste streams simultaneous with energy conversion, plentiful biomass, new low-cost methane sources, and/or extra-terrestrial resource harvesting and utilization present significant technological and business opportunities being realized by a new generation of visionary entrepreneurs. We examine several new approaches to catalyst fabrication and new processing technologies to enable utilization of these nontraditional raw materials. Two basic processing architectures are considered: a single-stage pyrolysis approach that seeks to basically re-cycle hydrocarbons with minimal net chemistry or a two-step paradigm that involves production of supply or synthesis gas (mainly carbon oxides and H2) followed by production of fuel(s) via Sabatier or methanation reactions and/or Fischer-Tröpsch synthesis. Optimizing the fraction of product stream relevant to targeted aerospace (and other transportation) fuels via modeling, catalyst fabrication and novel reactor design are described. Energy utilization is a concern for production of fuels for either terrestrial or space operations; renewable sources based on solar energy and/or energy efficient processes may be mission enabling. Another important issue is minimizing impurities in the product stream(s), especially those potentially posing risks to personnel or operations through (catalyst) poisoning or (equipment) damage. Technologies being developed to remove (and/or recycle) heteroatom impurities are briefly discussed as well as the development of chemically robust catalysts whose activities are not diminished during operation. The potential impacts on future missions by such new approaches as well as balance of system issues are addressed.

space processing↗

NASA NTRS2014

Novel Catalysts and Processing Technologies for Production of Aerospace Fuels from Non-Petroleum Raw Materials

Transportation fuels production (including aerospace propellants) from non-traditional sources (gases, waste materials, and biomass) has been an active area of research and development for decades. Reducing terrestrial waste streams simultaneous with energy conversion, plentiful biomass, new low-cost methane sources, and/or extra-terrestrial resource harvesting and utilization present significant technological and business opportunities being realized by a new generation of visionary entrepreneurs. We examine several new approaches to catalyst fabrication and new processing technologies to enable utilization of these non-traditional raw materials. Two basic processing architectures are considered: a single-stage pyrolysis approach that seeks to basically re-cycle hydrocarbons with minimal net chemistry or a two-step paradigm that involves production of supply or synthesis gas (mainly carbon oxides and hydrogen) followed by production of fuel(s) via Sabatier or methanation reactions and/or Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Optimizing the fraction of product stream relevant to targeted aerospace (and other transportation) fuels via modeling, catalyst fabrication and novel reactor design are described. Energy utilization is a concern for production of fuels for either terrestrial or space operations; renewable sources based on solar energy and/or energy efficient processes may be mission enabling. Another important issue is minimizing impurities in the product stream(s), especially those potentially posing risks to personnel or operations through (catalyst) poisoning or (equipment) damage. Technologies being developed to remove (and/or recycle) heteroatom impurities are briefly discussed as well as the development of chemically robust catalysts whose activity are not diminished during operation. The potential impacts on future missions by such new approaches as well as balance of system issues are addressed.

propellants↗

DOE OSTI2023

Inorganic Hydrogeochemistry in the 21st Century

Abstract Chemical and isotopic processes occur in every segment of the hydrological cycle. Hydrogeochemistry—the subdiscipline that studies these processes—has seen a transformation from “witch's brew” to credible science since 2000. Going forward, hydrogeochemical research and applications are critical to meeting urgent societal needs of climate change mitigation and clean energy, such as (1) removing CO 2 from the atmosphere and storing gigatons of CO 2 in soils and aquifers to achieve net‐zero emissions, (2) securing critical minerals in support of the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies, and (3) protecting water resources by adapting to a warming climate. In the last two decades, we have seen extensive activity and progress in four research areas of hydrogeochemistry related to water‐rock interactions: arsenic contamination of groundwater; the use of isotopic and chemical tracers to quantify groundwater recharge and submarine groundwater discharge; the kinetics of chemical reactions and the mineral‐water interface's control of contaminant fate and transport; and the transformation of geochemical modeling from an expert‐only exercise to a widely accessible tool. In the future, embracing technological advances in machine learning, cyberinfrastructure, and isotope analytical tools will allow breakthrough research and expand the role of hydrogeochemistry in meeting society's needs for climate change mitigation and the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies.

Zhu, Chen (ORCID:0000000153746787)↗

DOE OSTI2022

Recent Advances and Prospects in Design of Hydrogen Permeation Barrier Materials for Energy Applications—A Review

The hydrogen infrastructure involves hydrogen production, storage and delivery for utilization with clean energy applications. Hydrogen ingress into structural materials can be detrimental due to corrosion and embrittlement. To enable safe operation in applications that need protection from hydrogen isotopes, this review article summarizes most recent advances in materials design and performance characterization of barrier coatings to prevent hydrogen isotopes’ absorption ingress and permeation. Barriers are crucial to prevent hydride formation and unwanted hydrogen effects to increase safety, materials’ lifetime and reduce cost for applications within nuclear and renewable energy. The coating may be applied on a material that requires protection from hydrogen pick-up, transport and hydride formation in hydrogen storage containers, in pipelines, spent nuclear fuel storage or in nuclear reactors. While existing, commercial coatings that have been much in use may be satisfactory for various applications, it is desirable to evaluate whether alternative coating concepts can provide a greater resistance to hydrogen isotope permeation along with other improved properties, such as mechanical strength and thermal resistance. The information presented here is focusing on recent findings within the past 5–7 years of promising hydrogen barriers including oxides, nitrides, carbon, carbide, MAX-phases and metals and their mechanical strength, hydrogen pick-up, radiation resistance and coating manufacturing techniques. A brief introduction to hydrogen permeation is provided. Knowledge gaps were identified to provide guidance for material’s research prospects.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2025

FleetREDI: Mail Delivery Class 6 Propane Trucks

Capturing real-world data is critical to reducing the barriers to technology advancement for commercial vehicles. FleetREDI’s insights provide detailed duty cycle information and highlight unique aspects of the given dataset. Each insight delivers a quick look at the collected data by summarizing the operation and identifying key findings of the initial analysis. This FleetREDI insight explores propane and diesel Class 6 mail delivery trucks. Propane-powered commercial vehicles can achieve the same duty cycles and match the power, acceleration, and cruising speeds of conventionally fueled vehicles while producing significantly less emissions of tailpipe oxides of nitrogen (NOx). The primary goal of the project was to demonstrate alternative fuel vehicles in a mail transport application and evaluate the viability of propane as a cost-effective alternative to conventional diesel trucks. ![FleetREDI clean delivery trucks](FleetREDI-clean-delivery.jpg)