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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

Liquid–Liquid Equilibrium Prediction in Fast Pyrolysis Bio-Oil Systems: A Framework for Incorporating Bio-Oil Complexity

The study of mixtures of bio-oil, water and organic solvents in different proportions can serve as a cost-effective analysis of its content due to the formation of immiscible phases. This manuscript attempts to replicate experimentally determined partition coefficients (K OW ) of relevant species present in fast pyrolysis bio-oil (FPBO). A commercial flowsheeting simulator with surrogate bio-oil model representation is used. Concurrently, pyrolytic lignins in FPBO (‘pyrolignin’) do not have an agreed-upon structural representation, and the literature is ripe with wide variations of said representations. Thus, during the description of FPBO, this pyrolignin fraction was modeled using 20 possible structures (phenolic dimers to tetramers), with the goal of determining the structures for which the experimental data are best described. Two cases were considered: Case 1 normalized the reported experimental mass balance, while Case 2 included the unreported fraction in the mass balance to the total pyroligin. Please, add here a comment on the prediction of the Water oil equilibrium. The best KOW predictions for levoglucosan (LVG) were obtained when the system was modeled with no pyrolignin, presenting an MRE under 10% for both systems WO and BO. Among the possible structures, D2 (dimer), F1 (trimer) and I1, and I3 (tetramers) presented MRE ≤ 13% for both cases.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Diverse high-pressure chemistry in Y-NH 3 BH 3 and Y–paraffin oil systems

The yttrium-hydrogen system has gained attention because of near-ambient temperature superconductivity reports in yttrium hydrides at high pressures. We conducted a study using synchrotron single-crystal x-ray diffraction (SCXRD) at 87 to 171 GPa, resulting in the discovery of known (two YH3 phases) and five previously unknown yttrium hydrides. These were synthesized in diamond anvil cells by laser heating yttrium with hydrogen-rich precursors—ammonia borane or paraffin oil. The arrangements of yttrium atoms in the crystal structures of new phases were determined on the basis of SCXRD, and the hydrogen content estimations based on empirical relations and ab initio calculations revealed the following compounds: Y 3 H 11 , Y 2 H 9 , Y 4 H 23 , Y 13 H 75 , and Y 4 H 25 . The study also uncovered a carbide (YC 2 ) and two yttrium allotropes. Complex phase diversity, variable hydrogen content in yttrium hydrides, and their metallic nature, as revealed by ab initio calculations, underline the challenges in identifying superconducting phases and understanding electronic transitions in high-pressure synthesized materials.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

C-0 Oil Processing System

This poster presentation describes the oil processing system at C-0, which purifies oil for the compressors and pumps at Fermilab. This poster will describe the background, process of purifying oil, project objectives, updates needed, and current works to give readers a better understanding of the system.

Pankov, Amelie↗

Data for Multisite Field Evaluation of Oil Accumulation and Agronomic Performance in Grain and Sweet Sorghums Engineered for Lipid Hyperaccumulation

Oil sorghum (OS) has been developed by engineering grain (TX430) and sweet (Ramada) genetic backgrounds to accumulate triacylglycerols (TAG) in vegetative tissues as an energy-dense feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other biofuels. This study evaluated two TX430 OS lines (TxHO-2, TxHO-3) and two Ramada OS lines (RmHO-1, RmHO-2) alongside wild-type (WT) lines in NE and IL over 2 years (2023–2024) to quantify genotype × environment effects on agronomic performance and TAG accumulation. Across four environments, TX430 OS lines showed average TAG concentrations of 15.0 g kg−1 in leaves and 12.8 g kg−1 in stems, approximately 19-fold higher than WT. Ramada OS lines accumulated 26.1 g kg−1 in leaves and 12.3 g kg−1 in stems, approximately 25-fold and 13-fold increases over WT, respectively. OS lines in TX430 exhibited an 18% reduction in biomass (8.4 vs. 9.9 Mg ha−1 for WT), while Ramada OS lines had similar WT biomass (18.3 vs. 19.9 Mg ha−1 for WT). Among TX430 OS lines, TxHO-2 achieved the highest TAG yield (190 kg ha−1), while RmHO-1 led the Ramada lines (335 kg ha−1) due to higher biomass and similar TAG concentration. Enhanced TAG accumulation increased N, P, and K removal in TX430 lines but not in Ramada lines. Structural carbohydrate and ash concentration were unaffected. Overall, results confirm vegetative lipid accumulation as a viable strategy for high-biomass sorghum, supporting its potential as a dual-purpose feedstock for SAF. Future work should focus on minimizing biomass yield penalties and improving nutrient use efficiency in oil sorghum systems.

Agronomy↗

Application of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Systems for Powering Safety Monitoring Systems of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations. OESI 2.0 M-1 T-1-P1.1 – Objective 1 Interim Report: Summary of Offshore Oil and Gas Well Monitoring Systems and Process Power Requirements

This report is part of a comprehensive research initiative aimed at evaluating the technoeconomic feasibility of deploying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions monitoring systems powered by small-scale renewable energy sources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The study has three primary objectives: summarizing available GHG monitoring systems for the OCS, modeling a renewable marine energy source (specifically ocean thermal energy conversion, or OTEC), and modeling the collocation of OTEC power sources with offshore oil and gas activities to offset power demand.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Biodiesel Handling and Use Guide: Sixth Edition

This document serves as background and a guide for those who blend, distribute, and/or use biodiesel and biodiesel blends. It provides basic information on the proper and safe use of biodiesel in compression ignition engines, home heating oil systems, boilers, and other applications. This guide is intended to help users, fleets, blenders, distributors, and others understand handling and use of biodiesel and biodiesel blends. Information on the environmental benefits of biodiesel is also provided.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Application of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Systems for Powering Safety Monitoring Systems of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations, OESI 2.0 M-1 T-1-P1.1 – Objective 3 Report: Collocation of OTEC with Offshore Oil and Gas Activities

This report is a component of a comprehensive research initiative aimed at evaluating the technoeconomic feasibility of deploying Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) systems to power safety monitoring systems for offshore oil and gas operations in the Gulf of America (GOA). The overarching study has three primary objectives: summarizing existing oil and gas equipment monitoring systems, modeling OTEC as a renewable marine energy source, and exploring the collocation of OTEC power sources with offshore oil and gas activities to offset power demand. This report specifically addresses Objective 3, focusing on the integration of OTEC systems with floating oil and gas facilities.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Intercomparison of Three Continuous Monitoring Systems on Operating Oil and Gas Sites

We compare continuous monitoring systems (CMS) from three different vendors on six operating oil and gas sites in the Appalachian Basin using several months of data. We highlight similarities and differences between the three CMS solutions when deployed in the field and compare their output to concurrent top-down aerial measurements and to site-level bottom-up inventories. Furthermore, we compare vendor-provided emission rate estimates to estimates from an open-source quantification algorithm applied to the raw CMS concentration data. This experimental setup allows us to separate the effect of the sensor platform (i.e., sensor type and arrangement) from the quantification algorithm. We find that 1) localization and quantification estimates rarely agree between the three CMS solutions on short time scales (i.e., 30 min), but temporally aggregated emission rate distributions are similar between solutions, 2) differences in emission rate distributions are generally driven by the quantification algorithm, rather than the sensor platform, 3) agreement between CMS and aerial rate estimates varies by CMS solution but is close to parity when CMS estimates are averaged across solutions, and 4) similar sites with similar bottom-up inventories do not necessarily have similar emission characteristics. These results have important implications for developing measurement-informed inventories and for incorporating CMS-inferred emission characteristics into emission mitigation efforts.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Persistent Elevated Soot Emissions Induced by Clustered Stochastic Preignition Events

Stochastic Preignition (SPI) is an abnormal combustion phenomenon that can occur in spark-ignition engines particularly under high-load operation. SPI is characterized by uncontrolled initiation of combustion prior to spark discharge, an abnormal combustion process that can lead to severe knock events and significant engine damage. SPI has been associated with fuel properties, lubricant composition, and engine design and operation. Here, in this work, a single-cylinder test engine with a dry-sump oil system was utilized to study the SPI response of E10 and E25 fuels with a range of Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP). An automated test procedure was employed, consisting of ten square-waved load profile segments, with each segment composed of 5 min of low-load operation followed by 25 min of sustained high-load operation. These tests were replicated across multiple days of testing including a lubricant triple flush between tests, and an online Fuel in Oil diagnostic measurement. Exhaust particulate emissions were continuously measured by an AVL microsoot sensor (MSS). Elevated particulate matter emissions were observed to occur concurrently with SPI events as blooms of soot. Particularly after clustered events (i.e., multiple SPI cycles occurring within 10 consecutive engine cycles), high soot emissions were observed to persist over several days of sequential operation despite daily lubricant changes, a complete warm-up procedure, and sustained low-load operation between test segments. This result implies that the particulate emissions trends may be dominated by deposit-based effects, where higher load operation is needed to alter deposition and formation processes. The observed soot blooms were also found to correspond to a reduction in the engine fueling and the fuel engine oil dilution rate despite the engine exhaust remaining at stoichiometric exhaust operation. These observations suggest that post-SPI events, pathways for lubricant migration and consumption into the combustion chamber may occur until these pathways are closed from deposit formation or ring dynamics during extended operation. These observed sooting propensity persisted with all fuels tests, but a linear correlation was observed between the summation of soot and particulate matter index (PMI) value for each fuel as well as SPI events, proving that PMI is a crucial fuel property for reducing SPI.

Splitter, Derek [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (OR↗

Reduced LCoE CSP Through Utilizing Process Gas Lubricated Bearings in Oil-Free Drivetrains

The GE Research team proposed to advance the TRL level of process lubricated gas bearings from TRL3 based on the DE-EE0007109 program to TRL5 addressing a critical risk item that radial gas bearings can provide satisfactory rotordynamic performance in supporting a representative rotor for sCO2 Power Cycles. The ability to apply process lubricated gas bearings can provide cost savings with reduction of the associated lube oil systems and an efficiency benefit worth 2% efficiency for the turbomachinery configuration first presented in DE-EE005804. The process lubricated gas bearings are enablers for advanced hermetically sealed configurations that have the potential for significant advancement in sCO2 Power Cycles for CSP applications including the 2% efficiency increase referred to above in addition to OPEX savings with no need to refill the CO2 valued at 60k USD/yr and cost reductions of 50 USD/kWe all leading to a potential 0.95¢/kWh reduction positively impacting CSP goals.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Evaluation System (CO2_E_EvSystem), Version 2025

The United States Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) developed a suite of screening-level, techno-economic models/tools, known as the CO2_E_EvSystem, to evaluate technical aspects and costs of using carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to store CO2 and produce oil. CO2_E_EvSystem has three software components and several input and output files. The software components are CO2_E_EvTool, CO2_Prophet, and CO2_E_COM. Almost all computational work is performed by CO2_Prophet and CO2_E_COM, which are both Fortran programs. The primary role of CO2_E_EvTool is to manage input and output files for the two programs, run the two programs, allow multiple oilfields to be evaluated in a single run, and generate files that summarize the results for all the oilfields run. This version of the CO2_E_EvSystem includes a residual oil zone dataset from the San Andres formation, Permian Basin, to demonstrate the system and guide users on attributes needed for dataset inputs.

AS↗

Author Correction: US oil and gas system emissions from nearly one million aerial site measurements

Correction to: Naturehttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07117-5 Published online 13 March 2024 In the version of the article initially published, several errors were present and have been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article and Supplementary Information. The main results, conclusions, and our interpretations of the data remain unchanged. See the new Supplementary Information Section S15 for a more detailed description of the errors corrected and the resulting effects on the analysis. Data processing and methods corrections Overflight count correction: We previously used pre-computed source coverage data for some Carbon Mapper campaigns that was computed differently than was required for our analysis. We have re-computed Carbon Mapper source coverage based on flightline polygons and source coordinates. Transition point computation, well sites: The updated version now correctly compares the cumulative emissions distribution of simulated well site emissions with that of aerially detected sources (rather than plumes) when computing the transition point. Transition point computation, midstream: Additionally, the transition point calculation has been corrected to exclude aerially detected midstream emissions below the transition point, which was previously leading to double counting of these emissions. This error was not present for upstream (well site) emissions. Calculation errors Unit error: We corrected a specific unit conversion error affecting well site emissions in the Kairos Fort Worth dataset. Across all datasets, we also correct the conversion factor for converting from standard volume to mass for midstream emissions. Sorting error: We correct code that was applying incorrect sorting when computing correction factors to account for partial detection at well sites. Small typographical corrections were made in Fig. 1b and SI Section S4.1. Data processing and methods corrections Overflight count correction: We previously used pre-computed source coverage data for some Carbon Mapper campaigns that was computed differently than was required for our analysis. We have re-computed Carbon Mapper source coverage based on flightline polygons and source coordinates. Transition point computation, well sites: The updated version now correctly compares the cumulative emissions distribution of simulated well site emissions with that of aerially detected sources (rather than plumes) when computing the transition point. Transition point computation, midstream: Additionally, the transition point calculation has been corrected to exclude aerially detected midstream emissions below the transition point, which was previously leading to double counting of these emissions. This error was not present for upstream (well site) emissions. Calculation errors Unit error: We corrected a specific unit conversion error affecting well site emissions in the Kairos Fort Worth dataset. Across all datasets, we also correct the conversion factor for converting from standard volume to mass for midstream emissions. Sorting error: We correct code that was applying incorrect sorting when computing correction factors to account for partial detection at well sites. Small typographical corrections were made in Fig. 1b and SI Section S4.1. The following practices may help researchers conducting similar analyses avoid making similar errors: 1, Clear, accessible documentation explaining the interpretation of all columns in data input tables and all internal variables within the model, 2, Simple cross-check calculations computed before and after unit conversions.

Sherwin, Evan D↗

Preliminary Design of Nuclear Reactor Heat Delivery Systems: Integration with Reference Oil Refinery, Methanol Synthesis, and Hydrogen Production

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Integrated Energy Systems (IES) program is generating comprehensive analyses validating the opportunity for using nuclear energy in a variety of applications including future clean grids, providing heat for direct use, and providing heat to help reduce emissions in chemical commodities. This work focuses on the preliminary designs of thermal delivery systems that can integrate heat produced from a nuclear core to industrial processes. The key research question that needs to be answered is: what is the prospective method for integrating nuclear generated heat energy into non-electric applications that can facilitate combined heat and power operations by advanced nuclear reactor systems? This research is a composition of case studies showing preliminary conceptual designs for thermal delivery systems integrating advanced nuclear systems with a few industrial systems including high temperature steam electrolysis, a reference oil refinery, and potential future methanol systems that supplant some natural gas use with nuclear energy. Piping and instrumentation diagrams have been developed to show the conceptual integration of nuclear systems with representative industrial systems. Different features of the configurations are dependent on the specific integration requirements including energy source conditions, demand quantity, and require energy application conditions. Design concepts are validated using thermodynamic balance calculations to verify system performance including calculating system losses during transport. Key components: pumps and compressors, heat exchangers, and network piping are reported with key design information and sizing.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Defining Detection Limits for Continuous Monitoring Systems for Methane Emissions at Oil and Gas Facilities

Networks of fixed-point continuous monitoring systems are becoming widely used in the detection and quantification of methane emissions from oil and gas facilities in the United States. Regulatory agencies and operators are developing performance metrics for these systems, such as minimum detection limits. Performance characteristics, such as minimum detection limits, would ideally be expressed in emission rate units; however, performance parameters such as detection limits for a continuous monitoring system (CMS) will depend on meteorological conditions, the characteristics of emissions at the site where the CMS is deployed, the positioning of CMS devices in relation to the emission sources, and the amount of time allowed for the CMS to detect an emission source. This means that certifying the performance of a CMS will require test protocols with well-defined emission rates and durations; initial protocols are now being used in field tests. Field testing results will vary, however, depending on meteorological conditions and the time allowed for detection. This work demonstrates methods for evaluating CMS performance characteristics using dispersion modeling and defines an approach for normalizing test results to standard meteorological conditions using dispersion modeling.

Chen, Qining (ORCID:0000000316908091)↗

Techno-economic feasibility of geothermal energy production using inactive oil and gas wells for district heating and cooling systems in Tuttle, Oklahoma

Oil and gas wells have been drilled in the United States and often encounter hot co-produced water possibly suitable for geothermal direct-use applications. Here this study evaluated geothermal resources, heating and cooling demand, and techno-economic potential of four oil and gas wells repurposed for geothermal energy production to serve two public schools and 250 nearby houses in Tuttle, Oklahoma, USA. Subsurface geology in the study area primarily consists of Permian to Mississippian sandstone and limestone formations approximately from 2 km to 3.5 km depth. With a geothermal gradient of 25.3 °C/km, the temperature of geothermal energy production was estimated as 68.2 °C at 2.1 km. The potential of calcite scaling within boreholes and pipes was minimal. Using the characterized reservoir properties, techno-economic analyses were conducted for evaluating levelized costs of geothermal energy production for direct-use heating and cooling and district heating systems with five different production scenarios. Heating and cooling demand in two schools and 250 houses and additional 0.3 MW and 0.6 MW base heating loads for potential geothermal direct-use applications in the study area were also incorporated in the modeling. Results indicated that the levelized cost of heating of geothermal district heating systems utilizing existing wells were significantly lower than those of conventional geothermal energy systems that include well drillings. The geothermal energy production with doublet and quartet configurations was generally sufficient to supply total annual heating demand in the district, while a peaking boiler was used to supply peak loads. Doublet configurations showed higher production temperature with a lower thermal drawdown than the quartet configurations. The doublet system at 2.1 km production depth with 9.3 kg/s flow rate represented the optimal levelized cost of $71/MWh and 91.2% utilization factor. These results imply that the Tuttle geothermal district heating system is techno-economically feasible and comparable to geothermal district heating systems in the United States and the regional natural gas rate for residentials by recycling inactive oil and gas wells with no drillings.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

EM-Enhanced HyPOR Loop for Fast Fusion Cycles

Vacuum pumps are the heart of a fusion energy facility – fusion power cannot be generated without them. Nevertheless, the vacuum technology needed to operate a viable fuel cycle for a compact fusion power plant does not exist. Commercial vacuum technology offers the best solution to this challenge, but a pump oil recycling and detritiation system is necessary. Conventional oil detritiation processes have only been developed to deal with legacy waste and are too slow and destructive to the oil. Further, post hoc detritiation strategies are intrinsically inefficient. Our approach is to rethink the challenge holistically by designing the pumping fluid and tritium extraction system in an integrated manner to achieve an innovative solution. By selecting an oil for the specific task of pumping tritium and then designing our catalytic system to selectively target the tritium-bearing functional groups, an effective detritiation system (hydrocarbon pump oil recycling, HyPOR, loop) for fusion power plants can be obtained. The project demonstrated a HyPOR loop process that can selectively remove heavier hydrogen isotopes from pump oil, reaching the target of 99.5 % removal, with an uptake of less than 0.01% of tritium throughput, while also purifying the oil of radiation-induced damage. The recycled oil retained its pumping characteristics over 7 recycles and gamma irradiation over 30 MGy. By meeting these targets, the project enable a reduction in pump operational costs from $\$$14.5M/year to $\$$103k/year (>140× reduction), reducing pump electric power consumption from 2.8 MW to 0.25 MW (>10× reduction), and reducing in-process tritium inventory from 2.03 kg to 0.48 kg (>4× reduction).

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗