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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Role of solvation site segmental dynamics on ion transport in ethylene-oxide based side-chain polymer electrolytes

Ion conducting capability is often imparted to polymeric materials through short polyether side-chains, and yet the impact of this graft polymer architecture on ion solvation and conduction has not been fully explored. Here, we use a combination of impedance spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, and atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) to compare the conductivity, ionic interactions, and polymer dynamics in a series of graft polyether electrolytes. We find that in poly[(oligo ethylene oxide)methyl ether methacrylate] (POEM), a widely used graft polymer electrolyte, the ionic conductivity drops more than an order of magnitude as the side-chain length is decreased from nine ethylene oxide (EO) units to three. This difference in conductivity is unexplained by differences in the calorimetric glass transition temperature (T g ), which varies only slightly with side-chain length. Furthermore, through vibrational spectroscopy and MD simulations we demonstrate that both linear and graft polyethers solvate Li⁺ ions effectively and dissociate them from large counterions, irrespective of side-chain length. Li⁺ ions do, however, show preferential solvation by EO units far from the methacrylate backbone. Similarly, EO units far from the backbone show enhanced segmental dynamics, while those near the immobile methacrylate group move substantially more slowly, as quantified by bond vector autocorrelation relaxation times. This heterogeneity in both ion solvation and local segmental relaxation explains variation in ion conductivity where material-averaged properties such as T g and number of free ions fail to do so. Importantly, the ionic conductivity is dictated primarily by the segmental mobility of the EO units which form effective solvation sites, rather than system-wide dynamics.

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

Influence of temporal variations in plasma conditions on the electric potential near self-organized dust chains

Self-organization of dust grains into stable filamentary dust structures (or “chains”) largely depends on dynamic interactions between individual charged dust grains and complex electric potential arising from the distribution of charges within a local plasma environment. Recent studies have shown that the positive column of the gas discharge plasma in the Plasmakristall-4 (PK-4) experiment at the International Space Station supports the presence of fast-moving ionization waves, which lead to variations of plasma parameters by up to an order of magnitude from the average background values. The highly variable environment resulting from ionization waves may have interesting implications for the dynamics and self-organization of dust particles, particularly concerning the formation and stability of dust chains. Here, we investigate the electric potential surrounding dust chains in the PK-4 experiment by employing a molecular dynamics model of the dust and ions with boundary conditions supplied by a particle-in-cell with Monte Carlo collision simulation of the ionization waves. The model is used to examine the effects of the plasma conditions within different regions of the ionization wave and compare the resulting dust structure to that obtained by employing the time-averaged plasma conditions. Here, the comparison between simulated dust chains and experimental data from the PK-4 experiment shows that the time-averaged plasma conditions do not accurately reproduce observed results for dust behavior, indicating that more careful treatment of plasma conditions in the presence of ionization waves is required. It is further shown that commonly used analytic forms of the electric potential do not accurately describe the electric potential near charged dust grains under these plasma conditions.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Controlling swelling in mixed transport polymers through alkyl side-chain physical cross-linking

Semiconducting conjugated polymers bearing glycol side chains can simultaneously transport both electronic and ionic charges with high charge mobilities, making them ideal electrode materials for a range of bioelectronic devices. However, heavily glycolated conjugated polymer films have been observed to swell irreversibly when subjected to an electrochemical bias in an aqueous electrolyte. The excessive swelling can lead to the degradation of their microstructure, and subsequently reduced device performance. An effective strategy to control polymer film swelling is to copolymerize glycolated repeat units with a fraction of monomers bearing alkyl side chains, although the microscopic mechanism that constrains swelling is unknown. Here we investigate, experimentally and computationally, a series of archetypal mixed transporting copolymers with varying ratios of glycolated and alkylated repeat units. Experimentally we observe that exchanging 10% of the glycol side chains for alkyl leads to significantly reduced film swelling and an increase in electrochemical stability. Through molecular dynamics simulation of the amorphous phase of the materials, we observe the formation of polymer networks mediated by alkyl side-chain interactions. When in the presence of water, the network becomes increasingly connected, counteracting the volumetric expansion of the polymer film.

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

Canted antiferromagnetism and spin reorientation in corner-shared single chain quasi-one-dimensional Ba 2 ⁢FeSe 3

Here, we report the canted antiferromagnetic (AFM) structure together with a spin reorientation in a single chain quasi-one-dimensional (Q-1D) iron chalcogenide Ba 2⁢ FeSe 3 . Ba 2 ⁢FeSe 3 crystallizes in Pnma (No. 62) orthorhombic structure with linear single iron chains consisting of corner-shared distorted FeSe 4 tetrahedra along the 𝑏 axis. Ba 2 ⁢FeSe 3 is a narrow-gap semiconductor and orders AFM below 60 K. Modeling of neutron powder diffraction data reveals a canted AFM ground state of magnetic space group 𝑃⁢𝑎⁢21/𝑐 (BNS No. 14.80) with commensurate propagation vector 𝐤 =(0, $\frac{1}{2}$, 0), where the Fe ion spins are AFM aligned with up-down-up-down (↑−↓−↑−↓) sequence along the Q-1D chain direction of the 𝑏 axis. In the magnetically ordered state, the canting of magnetic moments reorients from the 𝑎⁢𝑐 plane to the 𝑎⁢𝑏 plane below 30 K, with a 10° tilting angle toward the 𝑎 axis, and the magnetic moment does not induce a net moment in either orientation. The density functional theory results indicate that an ↑−↓−↑−↓ AFM state is stabilized along the chain direction. In this work, we elucidate the unique canted AFM of the iron chalcogenide and pave the way for searching exotic physics in Q-1D Ba 2⁢ FeSe 3 .

Gao, Fei [Univ. of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX↗
DOE OSTI2024

Ion-chain sympathetic cooling and gate dynamics

Sympathetic cooling is a technique often employed to mitigate motional heating in trapped-ion quantum computers. However, choosing system parameters such as number of coolants and cooling duty cycle for optimal gate performance requires evaluating trade-offs between motional errors and other slower errors such as qubit dephasing. The optimal parameters depend on cooling power, heating rate, and ion spacing in a particular system. In this study, we aim to analyze best practices for sympathetic cooling of long chains of trapped ions using analytical and computational methods. We use a case study to show that optimal cooling performance is achieved when coolants are placed at the center of the chain and provide a perturbative upper bound on the cooling limit of a mode given a particular set of cooling parameters. In addition, using computational tools, we analyze the trade-off between the number of coolant ions in a chain and the center-of-mass mode heating rate. We also show that cooling as often as possible when running a circuit is optimal when the qubit coherence time is otherwise long. These results provide a roadmap for how to choose sympathetic cooling parameters to maximize circuit performance in trapped-ion quantum computers using long chains of ions.

Cooling & trapping↗
DOE OSTI2021

Strong and almost strong modes of Floquet spin chains in Krylov subspaces

Integrable Floquet spin chains are known to host strong zero and π modes which are boundary operators that respectively commute and anticommute with the Floquet unitary generating stroboscopic time evolution, in addition to anticommuting with a discrete symmetry of the Floquet unitary. Thus the existence of strong modes implies a characteristic pairing structure of the full spectrum. Weak interactions modify the strong modes to almost strong modes that almost commute or anticommute with the Floquet unitary. Manifestations of strong and almost strong modes are presented in two different Krylov subspaces. One is a Krylov subspace obtained from a Lanczos iteration that maps the time evolution generated by the Floquet Hamiltonian onto dynamics of a single particle on a fictitious chain with nearest-neighbor hopping. The second is a Krylov subspace obtained from the Arnoldi iteration that maps the time evolution generated directly by the Floquet unitary onto dynamics of a single particle on a fictitious chain with longer-range hopping. While the former Krylov subspace is sensitive to the branch of the logarithm of the Floquet unitary, the latter obtained from the Arnoldi scheme is not. In this work, the effective single-particle models in the Krylov subspace are discussed, and the topological properties of the Krylov chain that ensure stable zero and π modes at the boundaries are highlighted. The role of interactions is discussed. Expressions for the lifetime of the almost strong modes are derived in terms of the parameters of the Krylov subspace, and are compared with exact diagonalization.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Magnetic excitations, nonclassicality, and quantum wake spin dynamics in the Hubbard chain

Recent work has demonstrated that quantum Fisher information (QFI), a witness of multipartite entanglement, and magnetic Van Hove correlations G(r,t), a probe of local real-space real-time spin dynamics, can be successfully extracted from inelastic neutron scattering on spin systems through accurate measurements of the dynamical spin structure factor S(k,ω). In this work, we apply theoretically these ideas to the half-filled Hubbard chain with nearest-neighbor hopping, away from the strong-coupling limit. This model has nontrivial redistribution of spectral weight in S(k,ω) going from the noninteracting limit (U = 0) to strong coupling (U→∞), where it reduces to the Heisenberg quantum spin chain. We use the density matrix renormalization group to find S(k,ω), from which QFI is then calculated. We find that QFI grows with U. With realistic energy resolution it becomes capable of witnessing bipartite entanglement above U=2.5 (in units of the hopping), where it also changes slope. This point is also proximate to slope changes of the bandwidth W(U) and the half-chain von Neumann entanglement entropy. We compute G(r,t) by Fourier transforming S(k,ω). The results indicate a crossover in the short-time short-distance dynamics at low U characterized by ferromagnetic light-cone wavefronts, to a Heisenberg-type behavior at large U featuring antiferromagnetic light cones and spatially period-doubled antiferromagnetism. We find this crossover has largely been completed by U=3. Our results thus provide evidence that, in several aspects, the strong-coupling limit of the Hubbard chain is reached qualitatively already at a relatively modest interaction strength. We discuss experimental candidates for observing the G(r,t) dynamics found at low U.

1-dimensional systems↗
DOE OSTI2020

Emergence of Topologically Nontrivial Spin-Polarized States in a Segmented Linear Chain

The synthesis of new materials with novel or useful properties is one of the most important drivers in the fields of condensed matter physics and materials science. Discoveries of this kind are especially significant when they point to promising future basic research and applications. Van der Waals bonded materials comprised of lower-dimensional building blocks have been shown to exhibit emergent properties when isolated in an atomically thin form. Here, we report the discovery of a transition metal chalcogenide in a heretofore unknown segmented linear chain form, where basic building blocks each consisting of two hafnium atoms and nine tellurium atoms (Hf 2 Te 9 ) are van der Waals bonded end-to-end. First-principle calculations based on density functional theory reveal striking crystal-symmetry-related features in the electronic structure of the segmented chain, including giant spin splitting and nontrivial topological phases of selected energy band states. In this work, atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals single segmented Hf 2 Te 9 chains isolated within the hollow cores of carbon nanotubes, with a structure consistent with theoretical predictions. Van der Waals-bonded segmented linear chain transition metal chalcogenide materials could open up new opportunities in low-dimensional, gate-tunable, magnetic and topological crystalline systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Identification of xylan arabinosyl 2- O -xylosyltransferases catalyzing the addition of 2- O -xylosyl residue onto arabinosyl side chains of xylan in grass species

Grass xylan, the major hemicellulose in both primary and secondary cell walls, is heavily decorated with α-1,3-linked arabinofuranosyl (Araf) residues that may be further substituted at O-2 with xylosyl (Xyl) or Araf residues. Although xylan 3-O-arabinosyltransferases (XATs) catalyzing 3-O-Araf addition onto xylan have been characterized, glycosyltransferases responsible for the transfer of 2-O-Xyl or 2-O-Araf onto 3-O-Araf residues of xylan to produce the Xyl-Araf and Araf-Araf disaccharide side chains remain to be identified. In this report, we showed that a rice GT61 member, named OsXAXT1 (xylan arabinosyl 2-O-xylosyltransferase 1) herein, was able to mediate the addition of Xyl-Araf disaccharide side chains onto xylan when heterologously co-expressed with OsXAT2 in the Arabidopsis gux1/2/3 (glucuronic acid substitution of xylan 1/2/3) triple mutant that lacks any glycosyl substitutions. Recombinant OsXAXT1 protein expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells exhibited a xylosyltransferase activity catalyzing the addition of Xyl from UDP-Xyl onto arabinosylated xylooligomers. Further, consistent with its function as a xylan arabinosyl 2-O-xylosyltransferase, CRISPR-Cas9-mediated mutations of the OsXAXT1 gene in transgenic rice plants resulted in a reduction in the level of Xyl-Araf disaccharide side chains in xylan. Furthermore, we revealed that XAXT1 close homologs from several other grass species, including switchgrass, maize, and Brachypodium, possessed the same functions as OsXAXT1, indicating functional conservation of XAXTs in grass species. Together, our findings establish that grass XAXTs are xylosyltransferases catalyzing Xyl transfer onto O-2 of Araf residues of xylan to form the Xyl-Araf disaccharide side chains, which furthers our understanding of genes involved in xylan biosynthesis.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Industry Partnerships & Their Role In Reducing Natural Gas Supply Chain Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Phase 2

This analysis is the product of collaboration between Our Nation’s Energy Future (ONE Future) and the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). This analysis is an update to Phase 1 of the collaboration between ONE Future and NETL. Phase 1 had three objectives: 1. Calculate a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission profile representative of ONE Future’s supply chain, including methane (CH 4 ) emission rates. 2. Compare ONE Future’s emission profile to the emission profile for the U.S. natural gas supply chain. 3. Evaluate specific emission reduction opportunities. Phase 2 has two key enhancements over Phase 1: 1. The reporting year of the data is updated from 2016 to 2017. 2. The emission profiles and the specific emission reduction opportunities are regionalized for the ONE Future supply chain. The ONE Future supply chain is based on data provided by ONE Future members for all their U.S. onshore assets. ONE Future’s data are mostly representative of their participation in the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is supplemented by ONE Future facilities that are not required to report to GHGRP. The U.S. scenario is based on NETL’s life cycle analysis (LCA) of natural gas extraction and power generation, which also uses data from the GHGRP (but does not include non-GHGRP facilities). In addition to the data from these sources, NETL accounted for uncertainty due to data variability, data limitations, and variability in liquids unloading frequency and event duration. This report is a re-issue of the 2020 study (published on July 28, 2020). It revises the device count in the mitigation strategy “pipeline pump-down before maintenance” in the Marginal Abatement Cost (MAC) Analysis section of the report (Section 7). Please see the addendum for more details on this revision and resultant changes. This revision does not change most of our conclusions and recommendations. It only changes the total methane reduced from all the mitigation opportunities (low cost and high cost) from 6.5 Bcf CH 4 /yr to 4.8 Bcf CH 4 /yr.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Security Evaluation of Smart Cards and Secure Tokens: Benefits and Drawbacks for Reducing Supply Chain Risks of Nuclear Power Plants

The supply chain attack pathway is being increasingly used by adversaries to bypass security controls and gain unauthorized access to sensitive networks and equipment (e.g., Critical Digital Assets). Cyber-attacks targeting supply chain generally aim to compromise the environments, products, or services of vendors and suppliers to inject, add, or substitute authentic software and hardware with malicious elements. These malicious elements are deemed to be authentic as they arise from the vendor or supplier (i.e., the supply chain). This research aims to leverage findings and assumptions made from the previous report to determine the security benefits and drawbacks of a smart card- based hardware root of trust. Smart cards can provide devices inside Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) with a secure environment to store keys in and perform sensitive operations such as digital signature generation. These abilities can be leveraged to increase supply chain cybersecurity by autonomously providing NPP Licensees with reports on device integrity, authenticity and measurements of executable and non-executable data.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2021

Vind: A Blockchain-Enabled Supply Chain Provenance Framework for Energy Delivery Systems

Enterprise-level energy delivery systems (EDSs) depend on different software or hardware vendors to achieve operational efficiency. Critical components of these systems are typically manufactured and integrated by overseas suppliers, which expands the attack surface to adversaries with additional opportunities to infiltrate into EDSs. Due to this reason, the risk management of the EDS supply chain is crucial to ensure that we are knowledgeable about the vulnerabilities in software and hardware components that comprise any critical part, quantifiable risk metrics to assess the severity and exploitability of the attack, and provide remediation solutions that can influence a prioritized mitigation plan. There is a need to realize cyber supply chain risk management for industrial control systems’ hardware, software, and computing and networking services associated with bulk electric system (BES) operations. This article proposes a blockchain-based cyber supply chain provenance platform (“Vind”) for EDSs to realize data provenance in a cyber supply chain ecosystem.

Bandara, Eranga↗
DOE OSTI2023

Investigation of the Impact of Lipid Acyl Chain Saturation on Fusion Peptide Interactions with Lipid Bilayers

The interaction of many peptides with lipid bilayer membranes strongly depends on the lipid composition. Here, a study of the impact of unsaturated lipid acyl chains on the interaction of a derivative of the HIV-1 fusion peptide with lipid bilayer vesicles is presented. Lipid bilayer vesicles composed of mixtures of lipids with two saturated acyl chains and lipids and one saturated and one unsaturated acyl chain, but identical head groups, were studied. The dependence of the peptide conformation on the unsaturated lipid content was probed by circular dichroism spectroscopy, while the impact of the peptide on the bilayer structure was determined by small-angle neutron scattering. The impact of the peptide on the lipid bilayer vesicle dynamics was investigated using neutron spin echo spectroscopy. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to characterize the behavior of the systems studied to determine if there were clear differences in their physical properties. The results reveal that the peptide–bilayer interaction is not a simple function of the unsaturated lipid acyl chain content of the bilayer. Instead, the peptide behavior is more consistent with that seen for the bilayer containing only unsaturated lipids, which is supported by lipid-specific interactions revealed by the simulations.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Potential absence of observed π2 linear-chain structures in 14O via 10C(α,α) resonances scattering

Background: The preference for light nuclear systems to coagulate into -particle clusters has been well-studied. The possibility of a linear chain configuration of -particles would allow for a new way to study this phenomenon. Purpose: A rotational band of states in C has been claimed showing a linear chain structure. The mirror system, O, has been studied here to examine how this linear chain structure is affected by replacing the valence neutrons with protons. Method: A beam of C was incident into a chamber filled with He:CO gas with the tracks recorded inside the TexAT Time Projection Chamber and the recoil -particles detected by a silicon detector array to measure the cross section. Results: The experimental cross section was compared with previous studies and fit using R-Matrix theory with the previously-observed O states being transformed to the C using mirror symmetry. The measured cross section does not replicate the claimed states, with the predicted cross section exceeding that observed at several energies and angles. Conclusion: A series of possibilities are highlighted with the most likely being that the originally-seen C states did not constitute a rotational band with a potentially incorrect spin assignment due to the limitations of the angular correlation method with non-zero spin particles. The work highlights the difficulties in measuring broad resonances corresponding to a linear chain state in a high level density.

Bishop, J.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Summary Paper: An Initial Heliostat Supply Chain Analysis

This paper summarizes the prior analysis, key findings, and recommendations from the published report titled “Initial Heliostat Supply Chain Analysis” [1]. Globally, the growing demand for concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies, primarily for electricity generation plants has been met with supply chains primarily composed of plentiful commodity materials such as steel, aluminum, and glass. Often the commodity materials can be sourced in the domestic market where power plant will be constructed. Although specialty components are required for CSP solar fields —including mirror panels used for heliostat applications—these specialty components constitute about 30-50% of total system installed costs [2]. Only a few companies and countries, including the United States, have developed the capacity to supply such specialty components. The U.S. heliostat supply chain at present is comprised of few companies (e.g., CSP developers), component suppliers, and is its infancy. By 2035, with current and aggressive solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity expansions, there is the potential for 500,000–1,500,000 direct and indirect jobs in the areas of manufacturing, installation and development, and operations and maintenance (O&M) [3]. Utilizing the CSP capacity estimations the recent NREL report [4], the construction of 39 gigawatts (GW) of CSP (assuming mainly power tower) in the U.S. could lead to approximately 195,000 manufacturing, construction, and O&M jobs. This does not include the longer-term jobs and economic impact (e.g., taxes from plant operations staff) from operating the plants once constructed. It is recommended that further CSP component and system supply chain analysis and modelling be undertaken.

Kurup, Parthiv (ORCID:0000000217356703)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Analyzing Next-Generation Supply Chains Using the Materials Flows through Industry Tool

The Materials Flows through Industry (MFI) tool is a supply chain modeling tool developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) with funding from the Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office. MFI was created to identify and analyze opportunities to reduce the energy and carbon intensities of the U.S. industrial sector (Hanes and Carpenter 2017). In this work, we present an overview of the MFI tool's structure and capabilities, as well as the results of using MFI to analyze a novel NREL-developed process to 'upcycle' PET plastic into higher-value composite materials (Rorrer et al. 2019). This process combines recycled PET (rPET) plastic with inputs that can be derived from biomass, including muconic acid, acrylic acid, and ethylene glycol, to chemically break down the plastic back to its monomers in a process called glycolization. Then, repolymerization and the application of fiberglass yields the valuable glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite, a performance material used in the manufacture of wind turbine blades, boat hulls, and other applications. This rPET-derived GFRP was found to have superior strength and fiberglass adhesion compared to conventional GFRP formulations. Our findings indicate that this GFRP production process, were it to be widely commercialized beyond its current lab-scale, could potentially reduce the fossil energy intensity of the GFRP supply chain by between 37% and 58% compared to the conventional method of GFRP manufacture from fossil-derived inputs. We also estimate potential supply chain greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions between 30% and 40% from this process. Scaling these GHG offset estimates up to annual GFRP production in the U.S. would be roughly equivalent to removing between 150,000 and 200,000 vehicles from U.S. roads. These ranges of impact estimates represent the range of differences associated with the various economic allocation methods we have assumed for the intensity contributions from the first life of the PET plastic. Following Shen et al. (2010), we derive economic allocation factors from the current price ratios of clear- and green-colored recycled PET plastic to virgin PET resin ('waste-valuation' approach) or assume them to be zero in a more simplistic allocation ('cutoff' approach). Future work involving the MFI modeling tool will also be discussed, including preliminary results comparing the energy intensity of conventional and bio-based nylons manufacturing. Attendees will also be encouraged to conduct MFI supply chain modeling of their own by requesting a user account on the MFI web application, which is freely available to the public at the following address: https://mfitool.nrel.gov.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

THE POTENTIAL FOR REUSE OF PRODUCED WATER IN THE CRITICAL MINERALS SUPPLY CHAIN IN THE POWDER RIVER BASIN OF WYOMING AND MONTANA

The Powder River Basin (PRB) Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) project is part of the Department of Energy sponsored CORE-CM initiative focused on domestic production of critical minerals and promoting economic development in traditionally fossil fuel producing basins. An important part of this project is regional assessment of waste streams and development of basinal strategies for waste stream reuse within the critical minerals (CM) supply chain. The availability of water for all parts of the CM supply chain is of particular concern in the arid mountain west. In the Wyoming PRB, average annual production of produced water (PW) by the oil and gas industry is more than 16 billion gallons (2015-2022). Through published data and engagement with industry partners, we conducted a preliminary investigation of PW in the PRB to understand volumes, quality, and the potential for use in the CM supply chain. PW was assessed for potential as a direct feedstock and for use in CM processing of a variety of conventional and unconventional feedstocks, including ore from the Bear Lodge Alkaline Complex, coal, and coal byproducts. Preliminary findings suggest that PRB PW contains significantly lower concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) and lithium than would be considered economic at this time. For example, concentrations of REE+Sc measured in PRB PW are <1 ppb (DE-EE0007603), and only seven PRB PW samples reported in the USGS PW database had lithium concentrations ≥50 ppm. However, enrichment of CM in residual brine and sludge from PW evaporation and solidification treatment ponds may yield concentrations of interest over a pond lifetime and should be considered in future studies. Coal bed methane (CBM) PW accounted for 42% of all PW in the Wyoming PRB in 2022. Compared to non-CBM PW, PRB CBM water quality generally meets standards allowing surface discharge and reuse in local industries such as livestock. CBM PW may help to fill water needs within the CM supply chain. Understanding the distribution of CBM PW that is discharged versus reused will help develop basinal reuse strategies.

Jackson, Lily↗
DOE OSTI2026

Space Cooling: Recovery, Reuse, Recycling and Supply Chain Impacts

The global cooling sector has undergone tremendous growth in recent years, and cooling demand is projected to double or triple by 2050. Surging air conditioning demand will continue to be driven by increased populations, incomes and occurrences of extreme heat and humidity events. Cooling equipment growth has important pollution and material implications as they are made up of critical metals and precious raw materials - including ferrous metals, copper, aluminum and printed circuit boards composed of copper, silver, gold and palladium - that generate significant electronic waste at end-of-life. Air conditioning equipment also contains fluorinated gas (F-gas) refrigerants, which are potent gases that are thousands of times more heat-trapping than carbon dioxide (CO2). While recovery, reuse, and recycling strategies have been assessed for cold chain and refrigeration, there is currently limited analysis on how these strategies could be adopted for the global space cooling industry and potential supply chain implications. This paper aims to address this research gap by qualitatively evaluating product and material recovery, reuse and recycling frameworks from both demand and supply-side perspectives and with the support of cooling-specific case studies. It also focuses on quantitatively assessing potential energy, emissions and resource benefits of such strategies for space cooling equipment. This paper first analyzes how existing recovery, reuse and recycling frameworks can be applied to space cooling, with emphasis on the demand-side enablers (e.g., innovative business models, supporting policies and regulations) and changes in supply-side production network throughout the supply chain (e.g., design, production and distribution, end-of-life recovery) needed to overcome existing barriers. It will present case studies of innovative business models for space cooling technologies, including reuse and recycling, and how effective refrigerant reclamation and recovery programs have been operationalized. Lastly, the paper will highlight global modeling results of energy, emissions and material recovery from scenario analysis of selected strategies for air conditioners. The findings of this paper are intended to inform the development of product and material recovery, reuse and recycling strategies for a rapidly growing stock of space conditioning equipment by addressing existing organizational, economic and regulatory barriers and potential supply-chain bottlenecks.

Khanna, Nina↗