Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “mining industry”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Trends and 2025 Insights on the Rise of Electric Vehicles in the USA

Plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) are reshaping the transportation energy landscape, providing a practical alternative to petroleum fuels for a growing number of applications. EV sales grew 55x in the past decade (2014-2024) and 6x since 2020, driven by technological progress enabled by policies to reduce transportation emissions as well as industrial plans motivated by strategic value of EVs for global competitiveness, jobs and geopolitics. In 2024, 22% of passenger cars sold globally were EVs and opportunities for EVs beyond on-road applications are growing, including solutions to electrify off-road vehicles, maritime and aviation. This Review updates and expands our 2020 assessment of the scientific literature and describes the current status and future projections of EV markets, charging infrastructures, vehicle-grid integration and supply chains in the USA. EV is the lowest-emission motorized on-road transportation option, with life-cycle emissions decreasing as electricity emissions continue to decrease. Charging infrastructure grew in line with EV adoption but providing ubiquitous reliable and convenient charging remains a challenge. EVs are reducing electricity costs in several US markets and coordinated EV charging can improve grid resilience and reduce electricity costs for all consumers. The current trajectory of technology improvement and industrial investments points to continued acceleration of EVs.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Biotechnological solutions for critical mineral recovery from unconventional feedstocks

Secure and sustainable metal recovery from unconventional feedstocks is needed to meet the mineral demands of energy, defense, and electronic technologies. Here, we highlight the potential to leverage nature’s ability to extract and differentiate metal ions in biotechnologies that could become the next generation of mining and refining. We describe bulk and trace processes and then discuss the advances and opportunities of two key bioprocesses: microbially mediated solubilization of metal ions from solid matrices (termed ‘bioleaching’) and bio-based separation of solubilized ions via selective adsorption to proteins. Both biotechnologies have advantages such as reduced energy input for leaching low-grade feedstocks and reduced organic solvent demand for separating ions with similar physiochemical properties but require more development for industrial scale recovery from unconventional feedstocks. Innovation in biological science and engineering may bring timely solutions to key challenges toward recovering critical minerals from unconventional feedstocks.

organic↗
DOE OSTI2025

Large language models for batteries

Large Language Models (LLMs) are advanced artificial intelligence systems capable of solving diverse tasks using language, reasoning, and external tools. Despite their growing deployment in academia and industry, their potential remains underexplored in battery research. This review presents a comprehensive overview of existing and emerging applications of LLMs in batterie field, addressing two critical questions: What can LLMs offer to support battery-related tasks, and how to develop more effective models for this purpose. We begin by outlining the principles of LLMs and criteria for selecting appropriate models and tools for battery research and development. We then explore their roles in text-mining, data interpretation, and the development of intelligent battery systems. In parallel, we discuss technical challenges, such as data standardizing and sharing, model evaluation, and tool integration. Lastly, we propose future research directions with short-, medium-, and long-term goals and highlight more broad perspectives for connecting experts and cross-disciplinary collaborations.

SoC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Advanced Fuel Cycle Cost Basis Report: Supporting Document 7 Presentation: Du and RU Disposal Costs [Slides]

Worldwide DU and RU in various chemical forms are some of the largest legacy products of the nuclear industry (defense & power) in both mass and volume. Chemical forms include U metal or alloy, UF6, UO2, UO3, U3O8, and UF4. Most of this material is now in above ground storage. Due to chemical stability and low water solubility oxides are the preferred form for safe storage and ultimate disposal. Long term U disposal in large amounts presents more of a potential radioactivity problem than its conversion and temporary storage. Now a near term problem with freshly-mined uranium ore, radon emanation will eventually be a long-term problem for both DU and RU dispositioned in large quantities at a specific location.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Industrial Requirements Status Report and Down-Select of Candidate Technologies

The report discusses the potential for implementing Integrated Energy Systems (IES) using advanced nuclear reactors to provide thermal and electrical energy to carbon-emitting industries while reducing their carbon footprint. Nine different industries were reviewed to determine their decarbonization potential, how nuclear power can fit in, and the carbon footprint of each. The report also identifies specific integration points and streams for most processes, including temperature and pressure requirements of integrating nuclear power with industrial processes. The report also provides insights on advanced nuclear reactors and their potential for us in IES for decarbonization. The target audience for the report is broad, but mainly addressed to the industry leads and nuclear reactor developers. The report recommends that in the short term, a few processes should be identified to continue research and investigation so that front end engineering design work can provide technical analysis for integrating nuclear heat and replacing existing carbon-emitting thermal sources. The work emphasized the significant decarbonization opportunity across each of the technologies looked at as well as how novel and useful nuclear integration is to reduce the environmental impact of these significant industries.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2026

Advancing hydrogen production: A comprehensive review of wastewater reforming techniques, feedstocks, and opportunities

Wastewater is produced across nearly all human activities and requires treatment to safeguard human health and the natural environment. Treatment of wastewater often requires a large amount of thermal energy, resulting in wasted heat after the treatment process. Because hydrocarbon reforming needs both water and heat, the integration of wastewater treatment with hydrocarbon reforming, a process that produces synthesis gas rich in hydrogen, offers an excellent opportunity to utilize this waste heat and the impurities in wastewater to produce valuable hydrogen gas, to minimize waste from industrial processes, and to integrate water treatment with the hydrogen economy. Yet, no comprehensive literature review has been conducted to examine the integration of reforming and wastewater. To address this lack, we summarize the variety of catalytic reforming techniques available in the open literature and review the current literature on wastewater reforming with these techniques. Subsequently, we conduct a review of common types of wastewater contaminants and their possible effects on reforming catalyst performance and life. Lastly, three underexamined wastewater sources are identified, namely, oilfield wastewater, geothermal water, and mining and mineral processing wastewater, and their potential for future study as a reforming feedstock is examined.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Characterization of Intrinsic Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors by In-core and Furnace Testing

Increased research and development in nuclear technology has raised the demand for novel sensors and instrumentation to meet data objectives, and survive in different conditions and environments, beyond conventional light water reactor (LWR) environments. Expediting the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies by developing, demonstrating, and qualifying advanced reactor fuel forms necessitates a deeper understanding of how irradiation affects fuels and materials' performance. To achieve a more comprehensive understanding of fuels and materials performance, researchers require more specialized experiments and measurements. The demand for innovative sensors to support nuclear fuel development arises from the complexity of materials' behavior under irradiation and the challenges of deploying instrumentation in Material Test Reactors (MTRs) for irradiation tests. Additionally, measurements of material properties require integrated measurement systems to characterize thermal properties, mechanical properties, chemistry, and microstructure [1]. Among the potential measurement techniques, optical fiber-based sensors have been identified as potential sensors to measure different physical phenomena such as temperature, strain, pressure, and fluid level. Optical fiber sensors have the capability to provide multi-sensing and multiplexing instrumentation, allowing the measurement of different physical parameters within a single sensor configuration, and transmitting data collected at multiple locations through a single fiber. They offer immunity to electromagnetic interference, electrical passivity, compatibility with various sensing methodologies, and cost-effectiveness. Beyond their widespread use in telecommunications, silica fiber-based instruments are utilized in industrial applications, even at temperatures reaching 300?400°C, such as distributed temperature sensing in oil and gas recovery. The Department of Energy (DOE) is interested in using fiber optics to support fuel cycle development [2]. Fiber optics are an excellent candidate for harsh environment sensing, including sensing at very high temperatures (1900oC for sapphire optical fibers). Distributed fiber optic sensing has been deployed in other harsh environments like coal gasification plants [3]. Distributed strain sensing, which operates similarly to distributed temperature sensing, has been deployed to monitor underground mines and fibers have been imbedded in soil to monitor sink-hole development [4][5]. The application of fiber optic sensors to advanced reactor development is a promising area of research.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Colorado (Pueblo) Regional DAC Hub TA-1: Feasibility (Phase 0a) (Final Technical Report)

This project supports the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) mission to reduce the environmental and climate impacts of fossil fuels and industrial processes, contributing to the goal of achieving net-zero emissions across the U.S. economy. The primary objective is to conduct a feasibility study for a Regional Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hub in the Southern Colorado region, northeast of Pueblo. The geographic construct of this hub is based on the Denver-Julesburg Basin – a geological area where a significant number of geological storage studies have been conducted (See Figure 1). The project will leverage the work of Project Eos, a CarbonSAFE Phase III study led by the Colorado School of Mines and CarbonAmerica. The DAC Hub aims to capture, store, and/or utilize at least 1,000,000 tonnes of CO 2 from the atmosphere annually. To achieve this, the project team is designing a system with an initial capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year. This feasibility-stage project will formulate the Regional DAC Hub concept and team to conduct the relevant analysis, networking and community stakeholder engagement necessary to advance the project to the design stage.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Life Cycle Inventories and Data Gap Analysis for Rare Earth Elements: Neodymium and Dysprosium from Mining to Magnets

The United States demand for Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) magnets, produced from rare earth elements (REEs) such as (Nd) and Dysprosium (Dy), far exceeds its nascent domestic production capacity, rendering it reliant on vulnerable global supply chains dominated by China. To guide research and development investments in securing U.S. REE supply, defensible benchmark metrics across environmental, economic, and social dimensions are needed. In this study, we built globally-representative, process-based cradle-to-cradle life cycle inventories for Nd and Dy in NdFeB magnets lifecycles, encompassing primary material acquisition, beneficiation, smelting and refining, metal processing, specialty alloy and chemical transformation, subcomponent manufacturing, consumer application (use phase) and end-of-life management. We carried out detailed literature review, and applied process engineering principles to build industry-representative upscaled life cycle inventories for both metals. We used these models to conduct bottom-up literature review and gap analysis on existing literature, compilation of data sources for each life cycle stage (and transformations where necessary), and a preliminary technoeconomic analysis (TEA)/life cycle costing analysis (LCCA). Findings from this work emphasize the need for metal specific, representative REE LCIs to establish robust benchmarks for advancing sustainable REE technologies and guiding R&D in REE supply chains.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Sourcing, Refining and Recycling of Rare-Earth Magnets

Permanent magnets today are used in a wide range of transportation, industrial, residential/commercial, consumer electronics, defense, domestic, data storage, wind energy, and medical markets and applications. There are five classes of commercial permanent magnet materials; however, magnets based on Nd-Fe-B account for over 60% of the global magnet production by value. They typically contain around 31 wt.% of rare earth elements (REEs), principally, Nd and Pr, plus Dy for higher-temperature performance. Nd-Fe-B magnets are forecast to grow throughout this decade, largely driven by the growth in electric vehicles of all types. However, several studies forecast a shortfall of the primary REEs from mined resources. In this paper, the sourcing, processing, and recycling of REEs are discussed. Additionally, presented are the advantages and disadvantages of the major recovery and recycling technologies for REEs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

"Mining" for Critical Minerals: Critical Minerals from Fossil Energy Waste Byproducts

NETL researcher Mengling Stuckman is an invited speaker for the panel discussion session of "Mining for Critical Minerals" at the Marcellus Shale Coalition event, "Shale 2.0: Learn the Facts about Upstream, Midstream and Downstream". Recent studies from DOE have shown that produced water and drill cuttings from the development of unconventional shale in Appalachia has a significant source of valuable critical minerals and will support bolstering America's supply chain security, putting Pennsylvania in a unique position to capitalize. The panel discussion facilitates obtaining an overview of pipeline capacity needs, downstream users for natural gas and effectively educating and engaging the public relevant to the Marcellus Shale community. The event also offers opportunities for local oil and gas industries, water and waste management companies to work with NETL and participate in FECM’s Critical Mineral program. Industrial feedbacks and participation as outcomes of this invited talk will accelerate the technology and knowledge transfer for the DOE’s Critical Mineral program and for DOE’s mission to unleash American Energy and lead in energy innovation.

critical minerals↗
DOE OSTI2026

Trash to Treasure: Waste Carbon into Construction Materials

Mineralization of industrial waste and earth-abundant CO2 into value-added products is a powerful method of utilizing domestic resources to produce value from waste. Carbonate minerals formed from Ca and Mg rich waste streams are key constituents in cement and concrete, which are in demand at the gigaton-scale every year. While thermodynamically favorable, CO2 mineralization is hindered by slow kinetics, and traditional thermochemical routes are too expensive to scale. Here, we demonstrate the advantages of an electrochemical method of waste valorization, which eliminates this limitation and improves kinetics. We highlight this method's ability to initiate crystallization under favorable local conditions, producing carbonates from mining waste at mildly acidic pH. We highlight the effects of key constituents in mining waste on the mineralization process.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Fabrication of Biofunctionalized PVA/PEI Nanofibers for Rare Earth Element Extraction from Coal Mine Tailings

The need for rare earth elements (REEs) for new technology is becoming increasingly stiff with demand at a record high. Biological ligands like lanmodulin and lanthanide binding tags (LBT) have gained noticeable attention for their selective extraction of valuable lanthanide metals in aqueous solution. Building on previous work using microbeads as the extraction media, we propose that nanofibers can improve extraction capabilities. Nanofibers could provide more efficient flow and higher extraction yields due to their high surface area to volume ratio. Relying on thiolmaleimide click chemistry as the biological ligand immobilization route, electrospinning as the nanofiber manufacturing method, and numerous characterization techniques, we produced electrospinning polymer solutions and nanofibers with a maximum neodymium adsorbent capacity of 12.1 μmol/g of extraction media immobilized with LBT. Although the prior work produced an extraction media with an equivalent capacity of ~40 μmol/g, the electrospinning process is much more economical and scalable. This work paves the way for an industrially relevant, environmentally-friendly REE extraction material. Further work is required to produce higher quality nanofibers, to investigate common ion interference with REE adsorbance, and to scale production up to a relevant scale.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2024

Engineered Microorganisms for Enhanced Rare Earth Element Bio-mining and Separations (Final Technical Report)

Rare earth elements (REE) are critical ingredients of sustainable energy technologies, but their extraction from ore and separation from one another pose formidable challenges. To solve the challenge of REE supply, we used advanced genomics, high-throughput screening with synthetic REE minerals, and synthetic biology to engineer two sets of exotic microbes to (1) extract REE from ores, spent cracking catalysts, coal ash and electronic waste with high efficiency and selectivity, and (2) to purify REE into single element batches, all under benign conditions without the need of harsh solvents and high temperatures. This work integrated our expertise in systems and synthetic biology (Buz Barstow); rare-earth geochemistry (Esteban Gazel) and mineral synthesis (Megan Holycross); and microsystems engineering (Mingming Wu) by first elucidating the set of rules that predict an organism’s phenotype and then applying them to solve this critical problem in sustainable energy. These new technologies could help to revitalize the US rare earth industry and provide a new source of these critical elements for future energy technologies. We have already had some big success in tech transfer. Two of our team members (postdoctoral fellow Alexa Schmitz and graduate student Sean Medin) were able to study the supply chain for REE in the United States, and identify an opportunity to commercialize our REE mineral-dissolution technology. Alexa and Sean recently founded REEgen, Inc., an REE biomining company. Dr. Schmitz was recently awarded a fellowship from the Activate Foundation to support the first two years of REEgen. Cornell showed its support for this technology and company, and Dr. Schmitz was awarded the Rising Women Innovator’s award. These two awards unlocked support from Cornell’s Praxis Incubator.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Energy Transitions: Local Water Concerns and Climate Impacts

This report summarizes important nuances in local water concerns and potential climate impacts that could influence the roll-out of technologies associated with energy transitions. Current investments in clean energy technologies are very high, which is driving a lot of investments in related manufacturing (i.e., hydrogen, solar, wind, and batteries) and mining (e.g., lithium, copper, and graphite) around the world. To understand how water and climate dynamics could be influencing these activities, we conducted a phased literature review for three countries: China, Germany, and France. China was selected due to its global dominance in manufacturing of solar panels, batteries, and electrolyzers as well as production of rare earth elements while Germany and France were selected due to their emerging leadership in energy transitions-related manufacturing within the European Union. For each of these three nations, we identified areas where manufacturing is occurring within the country and then evaluated relevant water resources and climate impacts. Multiple sources were consulted for this review, including BloombergNEF, international reports, industry sources, peer-reviewed literature, climate data, and media coverage.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Using Machine Learning to Identify Optimum Prospects for Offshore Geologic CO 2 Storage and Enhanced Oil Recovery in the Gulf of Mexico

The SECARB Offshore Partnership is a government-industry partnership focused on assembling the knowledge base required for secure, long-term, large-scale CO 2 subsea storage in saline formations and mature oil reservoirs. The SECARB Offshore Partnership is evaluating potential storage opportunities in the Central and Eastern planning areas of the outer continental shelf (OCS) of the Gulf of Mexico. The evaluation focuses on active and depleted oil and gas fields and potentially associated CO 2 -enhanced oil recovery (CO 2 -EOR), as well as, deep saline storage resources. As part of Subtask 3.0 (Offshore Storage Resources Characterization) and Subtask 4.0 (Risk Assessment, Simulation, and Modeling), Oklahoma State University (OSU) is developing a machine learning system that employs the SAS Institute’s Viya platform with visual data mining and machine learning to identify and characterize optimum prospects for enhanced oil recovery and stacked storage in saline reservoirs. This report summarizes this effort to date and discusses the many variables that can be used to characterize these storage objectives, as well as, the design vision of the Viya machine learning system.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2026

A single genomic region controls primocane fruiting in tetraploid blackberry

The fresh-market blackberry ( Rubus subgenus Rubus ) industry has expanded dramatically in the past 2 decades, driven in part by improved cultivars. Introgression of the primocane-fruiting (PF; annual flowering) trait into elite germplasm has enabled dual cropping in a single year, season extension, and cultivation in tropical and subtropical regions. Despite its economic performance, the genetic basis of PF is not well understood. It has been proposed that the PF trait is controlled by a major recessive locus, but its genomic location is unclear. Here, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 365 tetraploid blackberry genotypes identified a single genomic region on chromosome Ra03 (∼33 Mb) strongly associated with PF. Genetic linkage analysis in a biparental population confirmed that the same interval (32–35 Mb) was linked to the PF phenotype. Ten putative candidate genes were identified in this region. Allele mining using whole-genome resequencing of 17 genotypes highlighted 2 high-priority candidates: a CCCH-type zinc finger gene and an ubiquitin-specific protease gene. Use of an improved Rubus argutus “Hillquist” genome annotation (v1.2) enabled refined variant interpretation, including identification of regulatory 3′ UTR polymorphisms in the zinc finger homolog. Two diagnostic KASP markers (PF1 and PF2), designed from the most significant GWAS SNPs, predicted the PF phenotype with over 96% accuracy in a validation panel of 494 tetraploid blackberries from multiple breeding programs. Together, these results provide the first high-resolution mapping of the PF locus in blackberry, identify candidate genes for flowering regulation in Rubus , and deliver diagnostic markers that can be immediately deployed in breeding programs.

GWAS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Materials Engineering for High Performance and Durability Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are expected to play a crucial role in the global green energy transition during the 21st century. They provide a versatile and sustainable solution for generating hydrogen with very high purity in combination with renewable energies, such as solar and wind. Despite their promise, PEMWEs face several critical problems, including high costs, performance limitations, and durability challenges, particularly at low iridium (Ir) loading on the anode. Advancing next-generation PEMWEs requires extensive work on materials engineering of all cell components, including the catalyst layer (CL), membrane, porous transport layer (PTL), bipolar plate (BPP), and gasket. This task must be performed with the complementary contribution of different modeling and characterization techniques. This review presents a critical perspective from academia, research centers, and industry, mapping main developments, remaining gaps, and strategic pathways to advance PEMWE technology. A focus is devoted to key aspects, such as operation at low Ir loading, membrane durability, multiscale transport layers, porous and non-porous flow fields, multiphysics modeling, and multipurpose characterization techniques, which are thoroughly discussed. By unifying these topics, this review provides readers with the essential knowledge to grasp current developments and tackle tomorrow's challenges in PEMWE engineering.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗