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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 OSTI2024

Control of hydrogen concentrations by microbial sulfate reduction in two contrasting anoxic coastal sediments

Introduction Molecular hydrogen is produced by the fermentation of organic matter and consumed by organisms including hydrogenotrophic methanogens and sulfate reducers in anoxic marine sediment. The thermodynamic feasibility of these metabolisms depends strongly on organic matter reactivity and hydrogen concentrations; low organic matter reactivity and high hydrogen concentrations can inhibit fermentation so when organic matter is poor, fermenters might form syntrophies with methanogens and/or sulfate reducers who alleviate thermodynamic stress by keeping hydrogen concentrations low and tightly controlled. However, it is unclear how these metabolisms effect porewater hydrogen concentrations in natural marine sediments of different organic matter reactivities. Methods We measured aqueous concentrations of hydrogen, sulfate, methane, dissolved inorganic carbon, and sulfide with high-depth-resolution and 16S rRNA gene assays in sediment cores with low carbon reactivity in White Oak River (WOR) estuary, North Carolina, and those with high carbon reactivity in Cape Lookout Bight (CLB), North Carolina. We calculated the Gibbs energies of sulfate reduction and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Results Hydrogen concentrations were significantly higher in the sulfate reduction zone at CLB than WOR (mean: 0.716 vs. 0.437 nM H 2 ) with highly contrasting hydrogen profiles. At WOR, hydrogen was extremely low and invariant (range: 0.41–0.52 nM H 2 ) in the upper 15 cm. Deeper than 15 cm, hydrogen became more variable (range: 0.312–2.56 nM H 2 ) and increased until methane production began at ~30 cm. At CLB, hydrogen was highly variable in the upper 15 cm (range: 0.08–2.18 nM H 2 ). Ratios of inorganic carbon production to sulfate consumption show AOM drives sulfate reduction in WOR while degradation of organics drive sulfate reduction in CLB. Discussion We conclude more reactive organic matter increases hydrogen concentrations and their variability in anoxic marine sediments. In our AOM-dominated site, WOR, sulfate reducers have tight control on hydrogen via consortia with fermenters which leads to the lower observed variance due to interspecies hydrogen transfer. After sulfate depletion, hydrogen accumulates and becomes variable, supporting methanogenesis. This suggests that CLB’s more reactive organic matter allows fermentation to occur without tight metabolic coupling of fermenters to sulfate reducers, resulting in high and variable porewater hydrogen concentrations that prevent AOM from occurring through reverse hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis.

Microbiology↗
DOE OSTI2021

Changes in Hydrogen Concentration and Defect State Density at the Poly-Si/SiOx/c-Si Interface Due to Firing

We determined the density of defect states of poly-Si/SiOx/c-Si junctions featuring a wet chemical interfacial oxide from lifetime measurements using the MarcoPOLO model to calculate recombination and contact resistance in poly-Si/SiOx/c-Si-junctions. In samples that did not receive any hydrogen treatment, the Dit,cSi is about 2 × 1012 cm-2 eV1 before firing and rises to 3–7 × 1012 cm2 eV1 during firing at measured peak temperatures between 620 °C and 863 °C. To address the question of why AlOx/SiNy stacks in contrast to pure SiNy layers for hydrogenation during firing provides better passivation quality, we have measured the hydrogen concentrations at the poly-Si/SiOx/c-Si interface as a function of AlOx layer thickness and compared these to J0 and calculated Dit,c-Si values. We observe an increase of the hydrogen concentration at the SiOx/c-Si interface upon firing as a function of the firing temperature that exceeds the defect concentrations at the interface several times. However, the AlOx layer thickness appears to cause an increase in hydrogen concentration at the SiOx/c-Si interface in these samples rather than exhibiting a hydrogen blocking property.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗
DOE OSTI2026

Scatter Removal using Black Body Grids and Determining the Minimum Resolvable Hydrogen Concentration at MARS

This dataset was used to develop and validate a scatter-correction pipeline for neutron radiographs acquired at the MARS beamline, based on the methodology of Carminati et al. (2019). Scatter removal was performed using 36 gadolinium black bodies to characterize and remove the spatially varying neutron scatter field that cannot be eliminated by conventional open-beam normalization. The dataset comprises eight samples - four single-crystal nickel and four polycrystalline austenitic 316L stainless steel. Within each material system, samples were pre-charged with hydrogen gas at four charging pressures (1.5, 5, 12.5, and 20 kpsi). Following scatter correction, the pipeline was applied to all radiographs to recover quantitative attenuation maps. After subtracting the known attenuation contribution of the metal matrix, spatial maps of the hydrogen attenuation coefficient were obtained for each sample. This data was then used to construct a calibration curve relating hydrogen attenuation to hydrogen concentration and to determine the minimum resolvable hydrogen concentration at the MARS beamline. The resulting dataset provides a pressure-resolved calibration standard for quantitative hydrogen mapping using neutron radiography.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Physical model and experimental validation of a high temperature proton exchange membrane electrochemical hydrogen pump cell for efficient single-stage extraction of low concentration hydrogen gas

There is interest in valorization of existing natural gas infrastructure to facilitate the co-transportation of hydrogen via blending of hydrogen gas initially at limited concentrations of 1–20 vol% H2 and to subsequently extract hydrogen at fuel cell quality standards (SAE J2719/ISO14687-2). High temperature proton exchange membrane electrochemical hydrogen pump (HT-PEM EHP) based on phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole (PA-PBI) exhibits good performance at elevated temperatures (>120 °C), which provides desirable tolerance to non-methane natural gas constituents that are problematic for lower temperature based EHP. To better understand the suitability of the HT-PEM EHP for such gas separation processes, a two-dimensional model of EHP based on PA-PBI was developed. The model is validated for several relevant operating conditions and across cells with differing amounts of phosphoric acid content in the electrodes. Operando micro x-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging of an HT-PEM EHP was used to further validate physical parameters and assumptions of the model. The impacts of pressure, relative humidity of the anode feed, and concentration of feed gases on separation performance are investigated. This study shows that a specific energy of separation of 5.1 kWh/kg H2 at a hydrogen recovery factor (HRF) of 50 vol% can be achieved in a single stage with the EHP, producing fuel cell quality hydrogen purity of 99.99 vol% H2 from a 2 vol% H2/CH4 feed blend, while pressurizing the product H2 at a pressure ratio of 1.3 relative to feed pressure.

Stansberry, John M↗
DOE OSTI2025

Methanogenesis and Acetogenesis in Hydrogenotrophy with Carbonate Minerals: Dependence on Mineral Surface Area, Biofilm Growth, and Microbial Community

The production, storage, and use of hydrogen are anticipated to grow substantially to achieve energy and climate goals. Consequently, microbial communities in many terrestrial and subsurface Earth environments could be exposed to elevated hydrogen concentrations. Hydrogen stimulates metabolic processes that reduce aqueous chemical species, such as bicarbonate or sulfate, that can exchange with solid mineral phases, but the controls on microbial hydrogenotrophy with mineral sources of electron acceptors are not fully understood. Herein, we applied laboratory experiments and biogeochemical modeling to study the response of a natural microbial community to an elevated partial pressure of hydrogen in the presence of carbonate minerals of varying composition, solubility, and size. Experimental incubations and simulation results showed that hydrogen consumption by microbial communities was initially dominated by sulfate reduction and, subsequently, transitioned to acetogenesis and methanogenesis. The rates of acetogenesis and methanogenesis were not correlated with the solubility of carbonate minerals. Instead, we observed strong linear correlations between the rates and surface area of carbonate minerals. Methane and acetate production slowed down in all incubations after about 2 weeks of incubation, although biogeochemical modeling predicted that the metabolic processes were not thermodynamically limited. Electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy showed that biofilms with diverse microorganisms grew on the carbonates during this period. The methane δ13C value significantly increased, consistent with slower growth at elevated pH. This work highlights that microbial communities form biofilm on carbonate mineral surfaces as a response to hydrogen and that biofilm formation could pose a strong kinetic limitation to hydrogenotrophic metabolism utilizing carbonate minerals.

Acetobacterium↗
DOE OSTI2024

H2 Sensing with an Optical Fiber Sensor in the Subsurface H2 Storage Conditions

The concentration of hydrogen is subject to change due to biological reactions in the underground hydrogen storage reservoirs. Thus, monitoring hydrogen concentration in the subsurface gas deposits is vital to ensure the integrity and safety of the storage facilities. In this study, the optical fiber hydrogen sensor was developed and validated in relevant subsurface storage environments. Specifically, the sensor has demonstrated successful sensing performance at high temperatures (~80 °C) and high pressures (~1,000 psi) under very humid conditions (~100% RH). In addition, the sensor was exposed to real subsurface microbial samples to monitor microbially induced changes in hydrogen concentration. The sensor has shown stable H2 sensing responses in the replicated underground hydrogen storage conditions without deterioration or loss of H2 sensitivity. The biotic subsurface sample with hydrogen gas resulted in higher transmission intensity change than the abiotic sample due to the possible hydrogen consumption with microbes.

Kim, Daejin↗
DOE OSTI2021

HyPerPy (Hydrogen Extraction and Parabolic Trough Plant Performance Models using Python) [SWR-21-53]

The HyPerPy package consists of three scripts: 1) Model for Hydrogen Tracking in Parabolic Trough Power Plants, 2) Model for Receiver Performance, and 3) Model for Hydrogen Extraction Process. The power plant model (1) tracks hydrogen generation and transport within the circulating heat transfer fluid (HTF) of the power plant. This script is a transient, initial value simulation, in which the hydrogen concentration in the circulating HTF is 0 moles per cubic meter everywhere at time 0 seconds. Hydrogen concentration is calculated at discrete locations within the circulating HTF with 4-second time resolution. During each time step, the change in hydrogen concentration due to hydrogen generation and permeation is calculated for each location according to the local HTF temperature, vessel or piping properties, hydrogen concentration and partial pressure. This model predicts hourly hydrogen concentrations for typical operating days in the spring, summer, fall, and winter seasons. Data is used to create hourly mappings of hydrogen concentrations for a typical operating year. The receiver model (2) uses a 1-hour time step to estimate getter loading and annulus pressure. For each time step, the model uses HTF and ambient temperature data to estimate absorber tube, bellows, and getter temperatures for the time step. In addition, the model uses hourly HTF hydrogen concentrations that are generated by the power plant model (1), and annulus hydrogen pressure from the previous time step. With these data, the model calculates the moles of hydrogen permeating across the absorber tube and bellows during the time step. The net change in moles hydrogen is added or subtracted from the getter loading for the previous time step, and the hydrogen pressure is re-calculated based on getter loading and temperature. The model uses this algorithm to simulate hydrogen permeation and loading 24 hours per day, 365 days per year using seasonal temperature data. The model repeats these calculations for 25 years to create a mapping of receiver getter loading and annulus hydrogen pressure for four seasons of each year. The model for hydrogen extraction (3) estimates hydrogen extraction rates for a specific separation module configuration. The rate depends primarily on membrane area, vacuum pump performance, headspace gas flowrate to the membrane, and headspace gas hydrogen partial pressure. This model has two versions. The steady-state version predicts hydrogen extraction rates when the module is operating in separation mode. The dynamic version predicts hydrogen transfer through the membrane when the module is operating in sensor mode. The steady-state version is used with the plant model (1) to predict hydrogen partial pressures in the power plant when the extraction process is operating.

Glatzmaier, Gregory↗
DOE OSTI2025

Optical Fiber Sensor with a Hydrophobic Filter Layer for Monitoring Hydrogen under Humid Conditions

Real-time and remote monitoring of hydrogen concentration in underground hydrogen storage reservoirs is crucial to maintaining the integrity and safety of the storage facilities. High humidity in the underground deposits interferes with hydrogen sensors, introducing inaccuracy into the hydrogen sensing measurements. A hydrophobic filter layer over a hydrogen sensing layer on an optical fiber hydrogen sensor was devised to minimize the impact of the humidity on the sensor. The hydrogen sensor coated with a hydrophobic filter layer demonstrated a significant improvement in reliable hydrogen sensing under high humidity conditions (99% RH) without severe baseline drift and reduction of transmission intensity. Finally, the optical fiber hydrogen sensor revamped with the filter layer would enable the reliable measurement of hydrogen concentration under the humid conditions expected in subsurface hydrogen storage facilities.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hydrogen effects on thermal diffusivity and electrical resistivity of zircaloy cladding

Thermal diffusivity measurements on Zirconium-based cladding materials have historically been a challenge due to the difficulty to measure on specimens with curved geometries, including nuclear grade Zircaloy cladding materials. Here, in this work, we first used laser flash analysis method and four-probe configuration method to measure the thermal diffusivity and electrical resistivity of Zircaloy tubes respectively, which show good agreement with Zircaloy plates in this work, as well as previously published data. The consistent results proved the applicability of the laser flash analysis setup and four-probe configuration method for investigating thermal diffusivity and electrical resistivity of Zircaloy tubes. We further investigated the hydrogen effect on thermal diffusivity and electrical resistivity of Zircaloy. Hydrogen plays significant roles in the thermal diffusivity of Zircaloy, which depends on the hydrogen concentration. For higher hydrogen contents (1130 and 1820 wppm in this work), where phase transformation (α-Zr + δ-hydride → α-Zr + β-Zr) occurs at 567 °C, thermal diffusivity decreases as a function of temperature at the α-Zr + δ-hydride phase regime, while increase at higher temperature at the α-Zr + β-Zr phase regime. For low hydrogen concentration, where hydride dissolved into α-Zr matrix phase at higher temperature, the thermal diffusivity is lower than non-hydrided Zircaloy-4 with similar temperature-dependent trends. Such observation demonstrates the hydrogen effects on reducing thermal diffusivity of α-Zr phase. Hydrogen increases the electrical resistivity of Zircaloy. Similar to thermal diffusivity results, the phase transformation causes a reversal of temperature-dependent trends in electrical resistivity results in Zircaloy-4 with higher hydrogen contents.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Hydrogen Analysis by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

The detection of hydrogen in complex gas mixtures is essential for many applications. Conventional approaches such as gas chromatography (GC) with thermal conductivity detection (TCD) and residual gas analyzers (RGAs) face significant limitations: TCD exhibits poor response when helium is used as a carrier gas, whereas RGAs lack chromatographic separation, preventing reliable quantification of hydrogen because of interference from other species. Traditional GC methods rely on dual-column configurations with packed or molecular-sieve porous layer open tubular (PLOT) columns to separate hydrogen from O2, N2, CO, CO2, CH4, and other hydrocarbons, increasing system complexity and limiting compatibility with mass spectrometry (MS) detection. In this work, we developed and validated a robust GC–MS method capable of directly detecting and quantifying hydrogen using electron ionization (EI) without dopants, reagent gases, or ion–molecule reaction schemes. By integrating a modified EI source and a cryogenically cooled single capillary column configuration, we achieved baseline separation of hydrogen from all major permanent gases and hydrocarbons in a refinery gas mixture using helium as the carrier gas. The method demonstrated excellent linearity, high sensitivity, and exceptional reproducibility. Adjustable sample-loop volumes and split ratios enabled optimization of peak shape and signal-to-noise performance for trace-level and percent-level hydrogen concentrations. Beyond hydrogen quantitation, the method provides simultaneous compositional profiling of other gases in a mixture in a single run, making it valuable for a wide range of tasks.

Lobodin, Vlad [ORNL]↗
DOE OSTI2024

Optical Fiber Sensors Capable of Monitoring Hydrogen in the Subsurface Hydrogen Storage Environment

Subsurface hydrogen storage is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly storage option in a large quantity. Hydrogen would be stored in subsurface storage reservoirs at high temperature/pressure under very humid condition. Monitoring hydrogen concentration in those harsh storage environments is crucial to ensure the integrity and safety of the hydrogen storage infrastructure. Thus, this project focuses on the development of optical fiber hydrogen sensors capable of monitoring hydrogen in the harsh environments that are representative of underground storage conditions. The optical fiber hydrogen sensor developed at NETL consists of a palladium-based sensing film with a filter layer which minimizes the environmental impacts on hydrogen sensing. The developed sensor has demonstrated significant improvement on hydrogen sensing at 80℃ under high humidity condition (99% RH) without the baseline drift. The hydrogen sensor also showed negligible cross-sensitivity to CO2 and CH4 which would be present as a cushion gas inside the underground hydrogen storage reservoir. Moreover, the sensor has demonstrated the stable monitoring of hydrogen concentration at high pressure (1000 psi) and 80 ℃ in the presence of biological samples. The optical fiber hydrogen sensor developed would enable reliable monitoring of hydrogen concentration in subsurface hydrogen storage facilities.

Kim, Daejin↗
DOE OSTI2020

Thermal Neutron Scattering Evaluation of Yttrium Hydride (FY2020 Progress)

This paper details the thermal neutron scattering measurements of yttrium hydride for various hydrogen concentrations and temperatures that were conducted at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Measurements at a temperature range of 5 to 1,200 K were conducted to determine the change in inelastic scattering as a function of temperature and to probe for any anharmonic effects known to exist in other metallic hydrides. Additionally, hydrogen concentrations of YH x that range from x = 1.62 to 1.90 were measured to determine the effects of varying hydrogen concentration on the inelastic neutron spectra. Changes in temperature affected the inelastic spectra in unanticipated ways, indicating that there are anharmonic effects, whereas hydrogen concentration does not significantly affect the inelastic spectra. These measurements were compared against the ENDF/B-VIII.0 thermal scattering files of hydrogen in YH 2 and yttrium in YH 2 , as well as a new thermal scattering file created by using the stochastic temperature-dependent effective potential (s-TDEP). Both libraries were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data at lower temperatures. At higher temperatures, the s-TDEP method is better at predicting the experimentally observed softening of phonon modes in acoustic and optical regions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Visualization and Quantification of Wind Induced Variability in Hydrogen Clouds Following Releases of Liquid Hydrogen: Preprint

Well characterized experimental data for consequence model validation is important in progressing the use of liquid hydrogen as an energy carrier. In 2019, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) undertook a series of liquid hydrogen dispersion and combustion experiments as a part of the Pre-normative Research into the Safe Use of Liquid Hydrogen (PRESLHY) project. In partnership between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and HSE, time and spatially varying hydrogen concentration measurements were made in 25 dispersion experiments and 23 congested ignition experiments associated with PRESLHY WP3 and WP5, respectively. These measurements were undertaken using the hydrogen wide area monitoring system developed by NREL. During the 23 congested ignition experiments, high variability was observed in the measured explosion severity during experiments with similar initial conditions. This led to the conclusion that wind, including localized gusts, had a large influence on the dispersion of the hydrogen, and therefore the quantity of hydrogen that was present in the congested region of the explosions. Using the hydrogen concentration measurements taken immediately prior to ignition, the hydrogen clouds were visualized in an attempt to rationalize the variability in overpressure between the tests. Gaussian process regression was applied to quantify the variability of the measured hydrogen concentrations. This analysis could also be used to guide modifications in experimental designs for future research on hydrogen combustion behavior.

HSR&D↗
DOE OSTI2025

Comments on “Failure analysis of corroded hydrogen-blended natural gas pipelines based on finite element analysis and genetic algorithm-back propagation neural network” [262 (2025) 111174]

This is a brief commentary paper to highlight and discuss the determination of hydrogen concentration in pipeline steel, effect of hydrogen embrittlement (HE) on the mechanical properties of the material, burst strength of corroded pipelines using finite element analysis (FEA) simulations, and curve-fit models for assessing remaining strength of X80 corroded pipelines for transporting hydrogen blended natural gas. Recently, Xie et al. [1] proposed a methodology to quantify the impact of HE on material properties and numerically determined burst pressure of X80 corroded pipelines. However, their HE quantification overestimated the degradation of tensile strength for hydrogen blending ratios beyond the original data range, and their FEA results of burst pressure are nonconservative. This work thus recharacterized the hydrogen concentration in the steel pipeline and the effect of HE on tensile strength, and then redetermined burst pressures for a set of typical corrosion defect cases considered by Xie et al. [1] based on an experimentally validated FEA modelling method. With the new FEA results, two empirical corrosion models were proposed for X80 corroded pipelines for hydrogen service. At zero hydrogen blending ratio, the novel empirical models predict burst pressures to be consistent with the industry-accepted corrosion models. Furthermore, both the numerical simulation method and the novel corrosion models are significant contributions to the pipeline industry and the hydrogen community. Application of these results will enhance the safety, reliability, and integrity of natural gas pipelines when used to transport hydrogen.

Burst pressure prediction↗
DOE OSTI2026

Unravelling chemical pathways of H 2 on Ga 2 O 3 surfaces with spectro-electrochemistry

This work highlights the capability of coupled spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques to probe dynamic surface processes under realistic operating conditions. By simultaneously employing in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), we elucidate the mechanistic interaction between Ga 2 O 3 and hydrogen under elevated temperatures in a low-oxygen environment. This novel spectro-electrochemical approach allows chemistry to be correlated with the surface charge density of Ga 2 O 3 . Our results reveal a concentration-dependent transition in reaction pathway. At low concentrations, hydrogen reacts with ambient oxygen to form surface hydroxyls. At intermediate concentrations, hydrogen interacts with surface adsorbed oxygen to generate hydroxyl groups along with reducing the surface. Finally, at high H 2 concentrations, hydrogen reduces both hydroxyls and surface oxygen, leading to a highly conductive grain surface. As a result, hydrides form on the reduced Ga 2 O 3 surface. The gained insights are relevant for heterogeneous catalysis and gas sensing.

08 HYDROGEN↗