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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Mesh-like structure integrated core-shell-shell nanocomposites for enhanced stability and performance in carbon capture

Carbon capture is essential for mitigating climate change, yet most sorbents struggle to combine high capacity with chemical stability. Here we report core-shell-shell (CSS) nanocomposites that integrate adsorption efficiency with exceptional robustness. The design couples a metal-organic framework (MOF) core, which enriches local CO 2 concentration, with a polyamine shell that is reorganized into a porous, ordered network through entanglement with an outer covalent organic framework (COF) shell. This hierarchical architecture enables dual amine functionalization via sequential “click” and Schiff-base reactions, achieving a CO 2 uptake of 3.4 mmol g −1 at 1 bar. The COF outer layer also acts as a protective barrier, suppressing humidity interference and doubling cycling stability under simulated flue gas. Remarkably, the nanocomposites maintain structural integrity after one week in strongly acidic (3 M HNO 3 ) or basic (NaOH, pH=14) environments, underscoring their chemical resilience. By uniting high capacity, cycling durability, and environmental tolerance, this CSS strategy offers a versatile platform for next-generation carbon capture materials.

Yang, Sizhuo [Lawrence Berkeley National Laborator↗
DOE OSTI2024

In Silico Screening of CO 2 –Dipeptide Interactions for Bioinspired Carbon Capture

Carbon capture, sequestration and utilization offers a viable solution for reducing the total amount of atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. On an industrial scale, amine-based solvents are extensively employed for CO 2 capture through chemisorption. Nevertheless, this method is marked by the high cost associated with solvent regeneration, high vapor pressure, and the corrosive and toxic attributes of by-products, such as nitrosamines. An alternative approach is the biomimicry of sustainable materials that have strong affinity and selectivity for CO 2 . Bioinspired approaches, such as those based on naturally occurring amino acids, have been proposed for direct air capture methodologies. In this study, we present a database consisting of 960 dipeptide molecular structures, composed of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids. Furthermore, those structures were analyzed with a novel computational workflow presented in this work that considers certain interaction sites that determine CO 2 affinity. Density functional theory (DFT) and symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) computations were performed for the calculation of CO 2 interaction energies, which allowed to limit our search space to 400 unique dipeptide structures. Using this computational workflow, we provide statistical insights into dipeptides and their affinity for CO 2 binding, as well as design principles that can further enhance CO 2 capture through cooperative binding.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Beta-Amino Carboxylate (BAC) non-aqueous physical solvents for enhanced CO2 separations in pre-combustion carbon capture, industrial CO 2 capture, and biogas upgrading processes

Novel beta-amino carboxylate (BAC) solvents have been synthesized and tested to efficiently capture carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from process gas streams with CO 2 partial pressure intermediate between pre-combustion and post-combustion capture. The BAC solvents have molecular structures characterized by alkyl-substituted amides or esters containing a secondary amine functional group on the second carbon from the carbonyl carbon (referred to as the beta “β” carbon). The ester or amide functional group combined with optimal steric crowding around the amine nitrogen by proximate alkyl groups are tailored to modify the strength of CO 2 binding in the solvent. The solvents possess high CO 2 solubilities and high gas selectivity including good CO 2 /H 2 O selectivity and can be utilized for CO 2 absorption over a range of partial pressures. Due to low volatility, many of the solvents can be operated at or above ambient temperature which eliminates solvent chilling and allows regeneration using low grade waste heat. These novel solvents offer an opportunity for efficient carbon capture for a range of applications including biogas upgrading, hydrogen production, and pre-combustion carbon capture.

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

Big Data Analysis and Technical Review of Regeneration for Carbon Capture Processes

Carbon capture remains an integral technology to mitigate pollution from one of the most prevalent greenhouse gases. CO 2 desorption/absorbent regeneration for both solid- and liquid-based systems is widely recognized as an energy-intensive and costly process operation. Consequently, tremendous work was devoted towards developing new absorbents and regeneration processes to promote their economic feasibility for extensive implementation. In this review, we broadly and deeply review more than 10,000 papers and extract the hidden trends of carbon capture and absorbents regeneration in the past few decades, using a novel data-mining analysis technique. We comprehensively analyzed an array of recent absorbent regeneration methods utilized in post-combustion, pre-combustion, carbon capture from industrial point sources, and direct air carbon capture, with an emphasis on sorbent and solvent-based techniques. In conclusion, advanced regeneration methods in these techniques were illustrated and discussed, followed by recommendations for further research efforts.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Enhanced Carbon Capture Behavior of Carbon Fibers via Ionic Liquid Modification

Carbon-based materials are widely deployed in carbon capture but are only limited to physisorption procedures. Further extending functionalized carbon materials to CO 2 chemisorption under low CO 2 concentration is highly desirable yet challenging. In this study, a carbon fiber composed of solely ultra-micropores (~0.45 nm) was deployed as the precursor to avoid the pore blocking effect, which was modified by superbase-derived ionic liquids (ILs) containing strong interaction sites with CO 2 . By forming a thin coating layer on the surface, the as-afforded surface-functionalized fiber materials demonstrated enhanced CO 2 uptake capacity and improved CO 2 sorption kinetics, as evaluated by both the volumetric method and thermogravimetric analysis, as well as the calculated energy distribution curves. The achievements made in this work provide guidance on the functionalization of carbon-based materials towards enhanced CO 2 chemisorption by forming a thin layer of selected IL coating.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Carbon Capture Plant Front-End Engineering Design Study for Cement Manufacturing

The objective of this project was to conduct a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study for capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from cement plant flue gas using non-aqueous solvents (NAS) with a 95% capture efficiency. The study aimed to develop AACE (Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering) Class 3 cost estimates for a commercial-scale CO₂ capture system with a capacity of 2.4 million tonnes of CO₂ per year (t-CO₂/yr). The results will provide Cemex and the U.S. Department of Energy with reliable data to support investment decisions, evaluate economic feasibility, and guide future project development and implementation.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Emerging Technologies Review: Carbon Capture and Conversion to Methane and Methanol

Project 69643 Task 10 - The Air Force Civil Engineer Center has tasked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with investigating emerging technologies to inform the Air Force’s understanding of the technology and to guide key considerations for implementing technologies that are resilient and alternative sources to the traditional methods used in the Air Force today. This report this report describes the emerging technology to capture carbon as a waste product and convert this to methane and methanol for deployment as a fuel on Air Force installations.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

17 O NMR Spectroscopy Reveals CO 2 Speciation and Dynamics in Hydroxide-Based Carbon Capture Materials

Carbon dioxide capture technologies are set to play a vital role in mitigating the current climate crisis. Solid-state 17 O NMR spectroscopy can provide key mechanistic insights that are crucial to effective sorbent development. In this work, we present the fundamental aspects and complexities for the study of hydroxide-based CO 2 capture systems by 17 O NMR. We perform static density functional theory (DFT) NMR calculations to assign peaks for general hydroxide CO 2 capture products, finding that 17 O NMR can readily distinguish bicarbonate, carbonate and water species. However, in application to CO 2 binding in two test case hydroxide-functionalised metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) – MFU-4l and KHCO 3 -cyclodextrin-MOF, we find that a dynamic treatment is necessary to obtain agreement between computational and experimental spectra. We therefore introduce a workflow that leverages machine-learning force fields to capture dynamics across multiple chemical exchange regimes, providing a significant improvement on static DFT predictions. In MFU-4l, we parameterise a two-component dynamic motion of the bicarbonate motif involving a rapid carbonyl seesaw motion and intermediate hydroxyl proton hopping. For KHCO 3 -CD-MOF, we combined experimental and modelling approaches to propose a new mixed carbonate-bicarbonate binding mechanism and thus, we open new avenues for the study and modelling of hydroxide-based CO 2 capture materials by 17 O NMR.

NMR spectroscopy↗
DOE OSTI2024

A holistic platform for accelerating sorbent-based carbon capture

Abstract Reducing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions urgently requires the large-scale deployment of carbon-capture technologies. These technologies must separate CO 2 from various sources and deliver it to different sinks 1,2 . The quest for optimal solutions for specific source–sink pairs is a complex, multi-objective challenge involving multiple stakeholders and depends on social, economic and regional contexts. Currently, research follows a sequential approach: chemists focus on materials design 3 and engineers on optimizing processes 4,5 , which are then operated at a scale that impacts the economy and the environment. Assessing these impacts, such as the greenhouse gas emissions over the plant’s lifetime, is typically one of the final steps 6 . Here we introduce the PrISMa (Process-Informed design of tailor-made Sorbent Materials) platform, which integrates materials, process design, techno-economics and life-cycle assessment. We compare more than 60 case studies capturing CO 2 from various sources in 5 global regions using different technologies. The platform simultaneously informs various stakeholders about the cost-effectiveness of technologies, process configurations and locations, reveals the molecular characteristics of the top-performing sorbents, and provides insights on environmental impacts, co-benefits and trade-offs. By uniting stakeholders at an early research stage, PrISMa accelerates carbon-capture technology development during this critical period as we aim for a net-zero world.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Generating Emissions Inventory for Carbon Capture and Storage Analysis for Carbon-Intensive Industrial Sectors

Decarbonizing the industrial sector is critical to achieve carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions goals of the Biden Administration. Currently available decarbonization options include electrification, fuel switching to zero carbon fuels like green hydrogen (H2) and carbon capture and storage (CCS). Application of post-combustion carbon capture (PCCC) technology in the power sector, as well as research at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) Office has shown that its application in the industrial sector could have co-benefits in the form of emissions reductions of non-CO2 regulated pollutants. For example, solvent based PCCC systems require pre-conditioning of flue gas to remove sulfur and particulate matter (PM) upstream of the CO2 absorber. However, there is a lack of understanding about the type of non-CO2 pollutants which can be captured and the amount of reduction possible. PCCC application differs across industrial sectors as it depends on the availability of decarbonization options, characteristics of industrial processes and the amount and composition of pollutant flows. Certain facilities can also have multiple effluent flows with or without a CO2 stream. As such, understanding industrial processes and their effluent flows in detail is required to quantify the co-benefits opportunities presented by PCCC. Considering this requirement, the goal of this analysis is to develop a high-resolution inventory of effluent flows from facilities of 8 industrial sectors in the U.S. These industrial sectors - ethanol, ammonia, cement, steel, natural gas processing, hydrogen, petroleum refining and wood and pulp products - have carbon-intensive effluent flows, and thus are prime candidates for PCCC applications. In this study, we map the composition of pollutant flow from flue stacks across the identified facilities. Using data available in three Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) databases - the Green House Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), the National Emissions Inventory (NEI) and the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), we create a combined inventory which lists the type, amount, and concentration of pollutant flows. Using total weight of the pollutant flow back calculated from observed data for CO2 concentrations in flue gas for individual sectors, we calculate the concentration of each pollutant in the flue gas stream. Thus, the resultant emissions inventory includes the following details for each facility in the sector: facility-level and if possible, process-level pollutant flows, concentrations of pollutants in the flue gas, and geographical coordinates of the facilities. A detailed statistical analysis and summary allows us to search for erroneous data and remove them from the final inventory. The generation of the inventory is achieved using a python-based framework which can recreate this inventory for other industrial sectors as well as using newer releases of emission inventories from EPA. The statistical analysis performed on the inventory is also calibrated and automated to identify outliers efficiently.

air pollutants↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nannochloropsis oceanica IMET1 and its bacterial symbionts for carbon capture, utilization, and storage: biomass and calcium carbonate production under high pH and high alkalinity

ABSTRACT To combat the increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) released from the combustion of fossil fuels, microalgae have emerged as a promising strategy for biological carbon capture, utilization, and storage. This study used a marine microalgal strain, Nannochloropsis oceanica IMET1, which thrives in high CO 2 concentrations. A high-pH, high-alkalinity culture was designed for CO 2 capture through algal biomass production as well as permanent sequestration through calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) precipitation. This was accomplished by timed pH elevation and the addition of sodium bicarbonate to cultures of N. oceanica grown at lab scale (1 L) and pilot scale (500 L) with 10% and 5% CO 2 , respectively. Our data showed that 0.02 M NaHCO 3 promoted algal growth and that sparging cultures with ambient air after 12 days raised pH and created favorable CaCO 3 formation conditions. At the 1 L scale, we reached 1.52 g L −1 biomass after 12 days and an extra 9.3% CO 2 was captured in the form of CaCO 3 precipitates. At the 500 L pilot scale, an extra 60% CO 2 was captured (Day 40) with a maximum CO 2 capture rate of 63.2 g m −2 day −1 (Day 35). Bacterial communities associated with the microalgae were dominated by two novel Patescibacteria. Functional analysis revealed that genes for several plant growth-promotion traits (PGPTs) were enriched within this group. The microalgal-bacterial coculture system offers advantages for enhanced carbon mitigation through biomass production and simultaneous precipitation of recalcitrant CaCO 3 for long-term CO 2 storage. IMPORTANCE Capturing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) released from fossil fuel combustion is of the utmost importance as the impacts of climate change continue to worsen. Microalgae can remove CO 2 through their natural photosynthetic pathways and are additionally able to convert CO 2 into a stable, recalcitrant form as calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ). We demonstrate that microalgae-based carbon capture systems can be greatly improved with high pH and high alkalinity by providing optimal conditions for carbonate precipitation. Our results with the microalga, Nannochloropsis oceanica strain IMET1, show an extra 9.3% CO 2 captured as CaCO 3 at the 1 L scale and an extra 60% CO 2 captured at the 500 L (pilot) scale. Our optimized system provides a novel approach to capture CO 2 through two mechanisms: (i) as organic carbon within microalgal biomass and (ii) as inorganic carbon stored permanently in the form of CaCO 3.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Implementing vanadium peroxides as direct air carbon capture materials

Vanadium peroxide molecules undergo stoichiometric direct air capture of carbon dioxide, wherein reactivity towards carbon capture via both peroxide and adventitious superoxide ligands trends with the size of the alkali countercation.

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

Increasing CO 2 Capture Rate in Liquid-Solvent Direct-Air Carbon Capture via Additive Manufacturing

Carbon capture is essential to meeting climate change mitigation goals. One approach currently being commercialized utilizes liquid-based solvents to capture CO 2 directly from the atmosphere but is limited by slow absorption of CO 2 into the liquid. Improved air/solvent liquid mixing increases CO 2 absorption rate, and this increased CO 2 absorption efficiency allows for smaller carbon capture systems with lower capital costs and better economic viability. In this project, we study the use of passive micromixers fabricated by metal additive manufacturing. The micromixer’s small-scale surface geometric features perturb and mix the liquid film to enhance mass transfer and CO 2 absorption. In this project, we evaluated this hypothesis through computational and experimental studies. Computational investigations focused on developing capabilities to simulate thin film (~ 100μm) fluid flow on rough surfaces. Such thin films are in a surface-tension dominated regime and simulations in this regime are prone to instabilities. Improvements to the Nalu code completed in this project resulted in a 10x timestep stability improvement for these problems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Pilot Testing of a Highly Efficient Pre-combustion Sorbent-based Carbon Capture System

TDA developed and demonstrated a highly efficient pre-combustion carbon capture system. The overall objective of this work was to develop a new sorbent-based pre-combustion carbon capture technology for Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants. In this project our goal was to demonstrate the techno-economic viability of the new technology by 1) demonstrating it in large-scale slipstream tests, and 2) carrying out a high fidelity engineering and cost analysis. TDA’s process used an advanced physical adsorbent that selectively removes CO 2 from coal-derived synthesis gas above the dew point of the gas at temperatures as high as 300°C. The sorbent consists of a mesoporous carbon whose surface was grafted with functional groups that remove CO 2 via a well-known acid-base interaction. As documented in bench-scale experiments and field tests with actual coal gas, the sorbent achieved a very high capacity for CO 2 at temperatures as high as 300°C. The sorbent bound CO 2 more strongly than common physical adsorbents, providing the chemical potential needed for the high temperature operation. However, because CO 2 does not form a true covalent bond with the surface sites (as is the case with chemical absorbents), the sorbent regeneration could be carried out with only a very small energy input. The heat input to regenerate our sorbent was only 4.9 kcal per mol of CO 2 , which is much lower than that for chemical absorbents (e.g., 29.9 kcal/mol CO 2 for sodium carbonate) and was similar to the requirements of physical solvents (e.g., 4 kcal/mol CO 2 for Selexol TM ). Because the sorbent operates above the dew point of the synthesis gas (unlike the Selexol TM process), a higher power cycle efficiency can be achieved. With previous DOE/NETL funding (Contract No. DE-FE-0000469), we demonstrated the techno-economic viability of the technology in bench-scale tests and slipstream demonstrations at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC), Wilsonville, Alabama and Wabash River IGCC plant in Terra Haute, Indiana. We demonstrated a stable working CO 2 capacity for over 11,650 cycles with simulated synthesis gas. We also evaluated its performance with actual synthesis gas in two test campaigns at the Wabash River IGCC Plant, Terre Haute, IN and the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC), Wilsonville, AL. The slipstream tests clearly showed that the actual coal gas constituents and potential contaminants (e.g. trace metals, halides, tars) had no effect on the sorbent’s ability to remove CO 2 (the same sorbent beds were used in both field tests with no sign of deactivation for 2,000 cycles with over 26,750 SCF of gas treated). As expected, due to the high temperature CO 2 removal capability and low energy needed to regenerate the sorbent, the power cycle efficiency with our process was greater than 34% on a higher heating value (HHV) basis; in comparison, the same IGCC plant equipped with the Selexol TM solvent for carbon capture can only achieve 31.4% HHV efficiency. The capital cost for an IGCC system with TDA’s process is estimated as $2,417/kW e , which is 12% lower than that of the IGCC/ Selexol TM process. The levelized cost for electricity including the transport, storage and monitoring (TS&M) cost for CO 2 was calculated as $\$ $92.9/MWh (lowest reported to our knowledge), which is much better than the $105.2/MWh estimated for the IGCC/ Selexol TM process. In this project (DE-FE0013105), TDA Research, in collaboration with our partners Gas Technology Institute (GTI), Illinois Clean Coal Institute (ICCI), University of California, Irvine (UCI), University of Alberta (UOA), Siemens, NCCC and Sinopec advanced the technical maturity of the technology; scaling it up by a factor of 100. We optimized the reactor design using computational fluid dynamics (CFD); using adsorption modeling we improved the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) cycle sequence. We carried out two field test campaigns with a fully-equipped 0.1 MW e prototype unit (for a total of 844 hours) using actual synthesis gas to prove the viability of the new technology. A successful 30 day (707 hrs) evaluation was completed at NCCC under air blown gasification conditions. We demonstrated 97.3% carbon capture at 1,500 SLPM, 93% carbon capture at 1,800 SLPM, and 90% carbon capture at 2,100 SLPM in the NCCC tests. We also demonstrated the system for 137 hours at a Sinopec petrochemical plant under oxygen blown gasification, demonstrating 86% carbon capture at 2,660 SLPM. In collaboration with University of California, Irvine (UCI), we completed a techno-economic analysis (TEA) for TDA’s warm gas cleanup technology integrated to IGCC power plant. The net plant efficiencies (on a coal HHV basis) for the warm gas cleanup cases were estimated to be 34.0% for E-GasTM gasifier, 34.4% for GE gasifier, 33.4 for the Shell gasifier and 34.2 for the TRIG TM gasifier (Cases 2, 4, 6 and 8 in this study) with a catalytic combustor for CO 2 purification, which are significantly higher than those for the Cold Gas Case, or an increase of as much as 12% in the heat rate for Case 2, 6% for Case 4, 9% for Case 6, and 9% for Case 8. The 1st year cost of electricity with the transport, storage and monitoring (TS&M) costs for the CO 2 included was $\$ $129.2/MWh for the E-GasTM gasifier Warm Gas Cleanup Case, $\$ $131.9/MWh for the GE gasifier Warm Gas Cleanup Case, $\$ $146.8/MWh for the Shell Gasifier Warm Gas Cleanup Case, and $\$ $129.9/MWh for the TRIG TM gasifier Warm Gas Cleanup Case. For comparison, the costs for the baseline Cold Gas CO 2 removal with Selexol for the different gasifiers were: $\$ $146.6/MWh for the E-Gas TM gasifier, $\$ $142.2/MWh for the GE gasifier, $\$ $159.0/MWh for the Shell gasifier and $\$ $144.3/MWh for the TRIG TM gasifier. In summary, the costs for our system were 7 to 12% lower than the corresponding Cold Gas Cleanup cases. The results of this techno-economic analysis suggested that TDA’s high temperature PSA-based Warm Gas Clean-up Technology can make a substantial improvement in the IGCC plant thermal performance for achieving near zero CO 2 emissions for E-Gas TM , GE, Shell and TRIG TM gasifier based IGCC power plants. The capital expenses were estimated to be lower than that of Selexol’s™. Taken together, the higher net plant efficiency and lower capital and operating costs resulted in substantial reduction in the cost of carbon capture for the IGCC plant equipped with TDA’s high temperature PSA-based carbon capture system. Finally, in collaboration with Gas Technology Institute (GTI) we completed the environmental health and safety assessment for TDA’s warm gas carbon capture technology.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗