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DOE OSTI2022

Characterizing Bioavailable Soil Nutrients Across Coastal Systems: Western Lake Erie and Chesapeake Bay

Terrestrial Aquatic Interfaces (TAIs), defined as where land meets water, exhibit important hydrological, biological, and biogeochemical dynamics and play a critical role in the Earth’s carbon cycle. Current Earth System Models improperly represent this role due to the complexity of these systems and the disproportionally large impact TAIs have relative to their area. To improve our predictive capacity of coastal system dynamics, a better understanding of carbon and nutrient cycling across TAI’s is needed. Coastal Observations, Mechanisms, and Predictions Across Systems and Scales (COMPASS) aims to achieve this through field observations and laboratory incubations throughout the Western Lake Erie and Chesapeake Bay regions. Here, we report on preliminary results from a soil characterization experiment across the WLE and CB regions. This experiment was conducted as part of the 2-year field, measurements, and experiments (FME) pilot study portion of COMPASS to provide initial baseline data for the sites and to characterize the spatial variability of our analytes. Soil samples were collected from three locations along the TAI transect (upland forest, transitional forest, and wetland) and analyzed for bioavailable nutrients using three types of extractions: (a) water extractions, (b) 2M KCl extractions, and (c) 1M NH4Cl extractions to analyze (a) water soluble organic carbon (WSOC), (b) ammonium and nitrate, and (c) base cations, including Ca, Mg, Na, K, and Fe. These analyses, in conjunction with other bulk physicochemical analyses, will help establish baseline understanding of these sites to drive future research and design focused experiments that will ultimately improve our predictive understanding of these freshwater and marine coastal TAIs and their response to short and long-term changes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Organic carbon content and turnover time in relation to pedogenic iron and aluminum in four temperate forest soils sampled in 2007

Soil organic carbon (SOC) can be stabilized via association with iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) minerals. Fe and Al can be strong predictors of SOC storage and turnover in soils with relatively high extractable metals content and moderately acidic to circumneutral pH. Here we test whether pedogenic Fe and Al influence SOC content and turnover in soils with low Fe and Al content and acidic pH. In soils from four sites spanning three soil orders, we quantified the amount of Fe and Al in operationally-defined poorly crystalline and organically-complexed phases using selective chemical dissolution applied to the soil fraction containing mineral-associated carbon. We evaluated the correlations of Fe and Al concentrations, mean annual precipitation (MAP), mean annual temperature (MAT), and pH with SOC content and 14C-based turnover times. We found that poorly crystalline Fe and Al content predicted SOC turnover times (p < 0.0001) consistent with findings of previous studies, while organically-complexed Fe and Al content was a better predictor of SOC concentration (p < 0.0001). Greater site-level MAP (p < 0.0001) and colder site-level MAT (p < 0.0001) were correlated with longer SOC turnover times but were not correlated with SOC content. Our results suggest that poorly crystalline Fe and Al effectively slow the turnover of SOC in these acidic soils, even when their combined content in the soil is less than 2% by mass. However, in the strongly acidic Spodosol, organo-metal complexes tended to be less stable resulting in a more actively cycling mineral-associated SOC pool. We characterized mineralogy and carbon content in soils from four forested sites in the eastern deciduous forest zone that span three soil orders. Using selective chemical dissolution applied to the soil fraction containing mineral-associated carbon, we quantified the amount of Fe and Al in operationally-defined poorly crystalline and organically-complexed phases, and correlated these with previously published SOC content and 14C-based turnover times (McFarlane et al. 2013). This dataset comprises site characterization undertaken in 2007 (.png) and subsequent soil analyses (.csv containing C, Fe, Al, 14C-derived TurnoverTime) concluded in 2010.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Post-irradiation examination of optical components for advanced fission reactor instrumentation

The use of optical instrumentation in advanced nuclear fission systems, such as molten salt reactors, liquid metal-cooled reactors, and high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, has the potential to enhance reactor safety and economic performance through in situ and online measurement of reactor conditions. Selection of suitable optical components, such as optical windows and fibers, is essential for operation of optical instrumentation in intense radioactive and thermal environments inherent to nuclear reactor systems. We present the development and performance of a self-contained and mobile post-irradiation examination system for rapid characterization of the optical properties of materials. The instrument combines linear absorption and nanosecond Z-scan modules in a compact, relocatable design. The system mobility allows for the evaluation of optical samples at the site of irradiation, minimizing the delay between extraction from the irradiation site and optical characterization. This provides nearly real-time information on the material performance under simultaneous irradiation and thermal annealing, simulating the relevant conditions for the use of those components in nuclear power systems.

Morgan, Bryan William (ORCID:0000000224668764)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Groundwater characterization and monitoring at a complex industrial waste site using electrical resistivity imaging

A contaminated industrial waste site in Washington State (USA) containing buried, metallic-waste storage tanks, pipes, and wells, was evaluated to determine the feasibility of monitoring groundwater remediation activities associated with an underlying perched aquifer system using electrical resistivity tomography. The perched aquifer, located ~65 m below ground surface and ~10 m above the regional water table, contains high concentrations of nitrate, uranium, and other contaminants of concern from past tank leaks and intentional releases of wastes to surface disposal sites. The extent of the perched water aquifer is not well known, and the effectiveness of groundwater extraction for contaminant removal is uncertain, so supplemental characterization and monitoring technologies are being evaluated. Numerical simulations of subsurface flow and contaminant transport were performed with a highly resolved model of the hydrogeologic system and waste site infrastructure, and these simulations were used as the physical basis for electrical resistivity tomography modeling. The modeling explicitly accounted for metallic infrastructure at the site. The effectiveness of using surface electrodes versus surface and horizontal subsurface electrodes, for imaging groundwater extraction from the perched water aquifer, was investigated. Although directional drilling is a mature technology, its use for electrode emplacement in the deep subsurface under a complex industrial waste site via horizontal wells has not yet been demonstrated. Results from this study indicate that using horizontal subsurface electrode arrays could significantly improve the ability of electrical resistivity tomography to image deep subsurface features and monitor remediation activities under complex industrial waste sites.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Structural Characterization of Linker Shielding in ADC Site-Specific Conjugates

Background/Objectives: Antibody–Drug Conjugates (ADCs) have rapidly evolved from early, rudimentary conjugates to highly targeted and precisely engineered molecules. Despite notable clinical successes, ADCs continue to face significant challenges, including aggregation and high hydrophobicity driven by high drug-to-antibody ratios (DARs), premature payload release, dose-limiting toxicities, and suboptimal pharmacokinetics. While site-specific linker–payload conjugation has improved ADC homogeneity and stability, the structural basis of antibody–linker interactions at specific sites remains underexplored. Methods: In this work, we present the crystal structures of trastuzumab Fab and Fc domains site-specifically conjugated with a cleavable linker–payload. Results: Our findings suggest that pockets within both Fab and Fc regions may interact with and shield the linker portion of the conjugate. Conclusions: These insights highlight the previously underappreciated potential of structure-based design to drive the optimization of ADC linker chemistry and facilitate the co-design of bespoke linker–payloads tailored to individual antibody conjugation sites.

Jaime-Garza, Maru [Discovery Chemistry, Merck & Co↗
DOE OSTI2021

Wyoming CarbonSAFE: Advancing Commercialization of Low-Carbon Energy Technologies in Fossil-Rich Wyoming

Wyoming’s Powder River Basin (PRB) is the most prolific coal producer and exporter in the United States and the State of Wyoming’s largest oil-producing basin. In addition to being a leading energy producer, the PRB is the site of research programs whose aim is to develop and integrate low-carbon technologies into existing fossil fuel energy industries. Much of the PRB’s low-carbon research is focused around Dry Fork Station (DFS), which is the newest coal-fired power station in the western US. Currently, DFS hosts five carbon capture projects, including pilot-scale capture projects that utilize different capture technologies and a full front-end engineering and design (FEED) study, a commercial CO 2 pipeline for nearby CO 2 -enhanced oil recovery industry, and is also co-located with the Wyoming Integrated Test Center, which is a host facility for unconventional carbon utilization research (i.e. flue gas carbon-to-products innovations). DFS is also the host site for the Wyoming CarbonSAFE project. Wyoming CarbonSAFE, funded by the Department of Energy/National Energy Technology Laboratory, is a multi-phased program (currently in Phase II) whose core objective is developing and validating storage sites within a complex capable of storing 50 million metric tonnes of CO 2 over a 30 year project period using carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). This paper will provide an overview of the project to-date, showing that CarbonSAFE goals are achievable with respect to geologic, environmental, regulatory, CO 2 source and economic conditions, and why the State of Wyoming offers one of the more favorable environments to advance the commercialization studies. In 2019, the project team designed and completed a ~10,000 foot stratigraphic test well just south of DFS. From this well, the team collected over 600 feet of core, fluid samples from target injection zones, and a full petrophysical log suite. In addition, legacy 2D seismic lines were acquired and a 3D seismic survey was acquired in the fall of 2020. The objective of these field activities has been to identify and characterize target storage reservoirs and associated caprock. This complex has several reservoirs that could meet commercial injection goals, and over 4000 feet of associated caprock. Simulations of site performance suggest that stacked injection provides the most effective storage strategy, and would necessitate several sites within the greater complex to meet final project injection goals. Other work within this project includes the development of a business-case around proximal fields with CO 2 -enhanced oil recovery potential and existing tax credits, assessment of regulatory conditions, including pore space ownership and Class VI injection well permitting requirements, implementation of a robust public outreach Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3821220 GHGT-15 McLaughlin 2 program, and surface site characterization activities that have focused on environmental factors. In the PRB and at DFS, the State of Wyoming and other entities have made carbon management a priority of its future energy industry by providing a regulatory and business framework that is favorable to advancing these technologies. These endeavors will become more realistic with the successful implementation of Wyoming CarbonSAFE, and its ability to secure and validate commercial-scale CCUS at the center of Wyoming’s premier low-carbon research efforts.

McLaughlin, Fred↗
DOE OSTI2021

Bias Characterization, Vertical Interpolation, and Horizontal Interpolation for Distributed Wind Siting Using Mesoscale Wind Resource Estimates

Much like their counterparts in utility-scale wind energy, developers of industrial, small-scale and distributed wind turbine deployments need to understand and accurately characterize the wind resource to properly assess the power generation and financial ramifications during siting and planning. National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s WIND (Wind Integration National Dataset) Toolkit (WTK) provides a best-in-class wind resource dataset generated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. This dataset includes parameters such as the wind speed, wind direction, and temperature at various heights, plus atmospheric stability near the surface. This data is available at 2-km spatial resolution and five-minute temporal resolution across 7 years, from 2007 to 2013 through a publicly accessible API interface. The Tools Assessing Performance (TAP) project seeks to extend this dataset to allow long term resource estimates and leverage it to better equip distributed wind equipment manufacturers, owner-operators, and installation professionals with better tools for practical siting applications. In this report, we present the results from our investigation within the TAP project focused on characterization of bias in WTK-based wind speed estimates and evaluation of vertical and horizontal interpolation techniques. We discuss the tradeoffs between different techniques and their combinations, as well as describe the lower bounds we determine for the studied validation errors. While the specific estimates we present are specific to WTK and the validation dataset we have chosen for this investigation (NREL's Wind Resource Meteorological Database), the overall analysis and the studied techniques are general enough to be applied to a broader set of wind datasets, both simulation-based and observational.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Identification and quantification of distinct active sites in Hf-Beta zeolites for transfer hydrogenation catalysis

Despite the significant progress made in characterizing different framework heteroatom sites that exist in Lewis acidic zeolites with probe molecule adsorption and spectroscopy, methods to reliably quantify site counts remain indefinite and have been primarily limited to Sn and Ti Lewis acid sites. Here, methods to quantify framework Lewis acidic Hf 4+ sites in zeolite Beta (Hf-Beta) with two Lewis base titrants (pyridine, deuterated acetonitrile) were developed using infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Lewis acid site counts for Hf-Beta zeolites were validated by measuring integrated molar extinction coefficients (IMECs; ε, cm μmol –1 ) on Sn-Beta zeolites using identical Lewis base titrants to benchmark site counts with established literature procedures to quantify Lewis acid sites in Beta zeolites from IR spectra. Highlighting the importance of benchmarking active site counts against well-established experimental protocols, IMECs of CD 3 CN bound to open (ε(Sn; 2316 cm –1 ): 1.80 ± 0.25) and closed (ε(Sn; 2308 cm –1 ): 3.76 ± 0.33) Sn sites were ~1.8x larger than those previously reported while total Lewis acid site counts agreed with those measured by pyridine (ε(Sn; 1451 cm –1 ): 1.58 ± 0.16) on six different Sn-Beta zeolites. IMECs measured for IR peaks reflecting pyridine bound to Lewis acidic Hf sites (ε(Hf; 1448 cm –1 ): 1.54 ± 0.21) and CD 3 CN bound to open (ε(Hf; 2313 cm –1 ): 2.40 ± 0.22) and closed (ε(Hf; 2307 cm –1 ): 3.55 ± 0.41) Hf sites, gave similar counts for the total number of Lewis acidic sites across six Hf-Beta zeolites (Si/Hf = 100–413). Consistent with previous reports with Sn-Beta catalysts where open Sn sites are responsible for catalytic turnover, apparent first and zero-order MPVO rate constants (0.01–1 M cyclohexanone in 2-butanol; per total Hf, 373 K) correlated with the total number of open Hf sites, per total Hf, but not with the total number of closed Hf sites or total Lewis acid site counts. Measured initial MPVO rates (0.1 M cyclohexanone in 2-butanol, per open Hf, 373 K) were ~25x higher on hydrophobic Hf-Beta-F than on hydrophilic Hf-Beta-OH zeolites. Overall, the apparent first-order MPVO rate constants (2-butanol solvent, per open Hf, 373 K) were ~6x higher on Hf-Beta-F than on Hf-Beta-OH zeolites. The characterization methods reported here enable normalization of MPVO turnover rates on Sn- and Hf-Beta zeolites by their number of open sites. Finally, this enables performing quantitative rate comparisons across Lewis acid zeolites of varying active site identity, solvation, and pore topology used in liquid-phase catalysis.

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

Integrated Life Cycle and Techno-Economic Assessments of Central Appalachian Legacy Mine Sites for Biomass Development and Waste Coal Utilization

This project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy – National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL) under award DE-FE0032212, evaluated how legacy coal mine lands and coal refuse piles in Central Appalachia (West Virginia and Pennsylvania) can be reclaimed and repurposed to support biomass development and beneficial utilization of waste coal, with the long-term goal of supporting net-zero or net-negative greenhouse gas (GHG) pathways. The project had two primary objectives: 1. Characterize legacy mine sites (including site conditions, waste coal/refuse resources, and soil/ecosystem indicators) and develop reclamation and best management practices (BMPs) for biomass cultivation; and 2. Conduct integrated machine learning (ML)-assisted life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) to quantify environmental and economic outcomes for multiple biomass and waste-coal utilization pathways. Across West Virginia, the team identified ~625 coal refuse sites covering ~19,705 acres, and developed methods to estimate refuse pile volume using digital elevation models (DEMs) and geospatial workflows. A large subset of sites received volume estimates totaling ~1.6 billion m³.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2021

INL Environmental Monitoring Plan (DOE/ID-11088 Rev. 5)

This plan provides a high-level summary of environmental monitoring performed by various organizations within and around the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site as required by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management, and DOE Order 458.1, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment, Guide DOE/EH-0173T, Environmental Regulatory Guide for Radiological Effluent Monitoring and Environmental Surveillance, and in accordance with 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 61, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants. The purpose of these orders is to 1) implement sound stewardship practices that protect the air, water, land, and other natural and cultural resources that may be impacted by DOE operations, and 2) to establish standards and requirements for the operations of DOE and DOE contractors with respect to protection of the environment and members of the public against undue risk from radiation. This plan describes the organizations responsible for conducting environmental monitoring across the INL Site, the rationale for monitoring, the types of media being monitored, where the monitoring is conducted, and where monitoring results can be obtained. Detailed monitoring procedures, program plans, or other governing documents used by contractors or agencies to implement requirements are referenced in this plan. This plan covers all planned monitoring and environmental surveillance. Non-routine activities such as special research studies and characterization of individual sites for environmental restoration are outside the scope of this plan.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Recommended Practices for Managing Induced Seismicity Risk Associated with Geologic Carbon Storage

The geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is one method to help reduce or eliminate atmospheric CO 2 emissions. The sequestered CO 2 is originally captured from the atmosphere or from a stationary industrial source and subsequently injected into a deep subsurface porous rock formation. To facilitate the successful deployment of field scale carbon storage projects, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is developing tools and protocols for defensible, science-based frameworks to quantify and mitigate risks associated with the long-term storage of CO 2 . This protocol specifically addresses the risk of induced seismicity due to injection in a geologic carbon storage (GCS) site. This integrated and risk-based protocol is a product of the U.S. DOE Fossil Energy’s National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP), a multi-year collaborative research effort of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). These recommended practices describe a set of 7 steps to evaluate, manage, communicate, and mitigate the risk of induced seismicity at GCS sites. The base methodology of the recommended practices follows a framework similar to the Protocol for Addressing Induced Seismicity Associated with Enhanced Geothermal Systems (Majer et al., 2012), developed for the Geothermal Technology Office of the U.S. DOE. These recommended practices present a framework to systematically assess the induced seismicity risk and quantify the associated uncertainties. These recommendations are based on current research and are sufficiently general to allow for modification and application to a variety of different types of sites. The substance of the recommended practices contained herein includes both technical and non-technical issues, and covers all operational stages of the GCS project lifecycle. They start at the preliminary risk assessment phase, continue through site assessment and characterization, include best practice communication and seismic monitoring plan methodologies, discuss the evaluation and mitigation of seismic hazard and risk, and closes with an exploration of operational management plans, which conclude when the induced seismicity risk abates back to background level. The focus of these recommendations is on actively managing the risks associated with induced seismicity by developing an actionable risk management plan that starts at the project proposal stage and continues through site closure through an iterative assessment and improvement process. The audience of this document is expected to include all interested stakeholders (e.g., operators, project developers, regulators, and the general public) and is expressly written to be accessible to this broad range of partners. This document is intended to disseminate knowledge gained through recent advances in the science of induced seismicity hazard and risk assessments, to provide updates based on recent experience gained by similar corollary injection-induced seismicity cases, and most importantly to establish a uniform framework to carry out a successful induced seismicity risk management plan for carbon storage projects in the future. These recommendations do not directly address any domestic or international regulations or standards. A complementary NRAP report makes recommendations for the assessment and management of environmental subsurface risks associated with unwanted fluid migration at GCS sites (Thomas et al., 2021) and should be referred to in order to address those additional GCS site risks.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Recommended Practices for Managing Induced Seismicity Risk Associated with Geologic Carbon Storage

The geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is one method to help reduce or eliminate atmospheric CO 2 emissions. The sequestered CO 2 is originally captured from the atmosphere or from a stationary industrial source and subsequently injected into a deep subsurface porous rock formation. To facilitate the successful deployment of field scale carbon storage projects, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is developing tools and protocols for defensible, science-based frameworks to quantify and mitigate risks associated with the long-term storage of CO 2 . This protocol specifically addresses the risk of induced seismicity due to injection in a geologic carbon storage (GCS) site. This integrated and risk-based protocol is a product of the U.S. DOE Fossil Energy’s National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP), a multi-year collaborative research effort of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). These recommended practices describe a set of 7 steps to evaluate, manage, communicate, and mitigate the risk of induced seismicity at GCS sites. The base methodology of the recommended practices follows a framework similar to the $\textit{Protocol for Addressing Induced Seismicity Associated with Enhanced Geothermal Systems}$ (Majer et al., 2012), developed for the Geothermal Technology Office of the U.S. DOE. These recommended practices present a framework to systematically assess the induced seismicity risk and quantify the associated uncertainties. These recommendations are based on current research and are sufficiently general to allow for modification and application to a variety of different types of sites. The substance of the recommended practices contained herein includes both technical and non-technical issues, and covers all operational stages of the GCS project lifecycle. They start at the preliminary risk assessment phase, continue through site assessment and characterization, include best practice communication and seismic monitoring plan methodologies, discuss the evaluation and mitigation of seismic hazard and risk, and closes with an exploration of operational management plans, which conclude when the induced seismicity risk abates back to background level. The focus of these recommendations is on actively managing the risks associated with induced seismicity by developing an actionable risk management plan that starts at the project proposal stage and continues through site closure through an iterative assessment and improvement process. The audience of this document is expected to include all interested stakeholders (e.g., operators, project developers, regulators, and the general public) and is expressly written to be accessible to this broad range of partners. This document is intended to disseminate knowledge gained through recent advances in the science of induced seismicity hazard and risk assessments, to provide updates based on recent experience gained by similar corollary injection-induced seismicity cases, and most importantly to establish a uniform framework to carry out a successful induced seismicity risk management plan for carbon storage projects in the future. These recommendations do not directly address any domestic or international regulations or standards. A complementary NRAP report makes recommendations for the assessment and management of environmental subsurface risks associated with unwanted fluid migration at GCS sites (Thomas et al., 2021) and should be referred to in order to address those additional GCS site risks

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of the Patterson #5-25 Well in Western Kansas

The computed tomography (CT) facilities and the Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) site in Morgantown, West Virginia, were used to characterize core from the Patterson Field site. This core came from a vertical well (Patterson #5-25 well) that was obtained as part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored Integrated Midcontinental Stacked Carbon Storage Hub. The primary impetus of this work is a collaboration between NETL and the Kansas Geological Survey to characterize core from the Patterson Field site. The 625 ft of whole core from the Atoka Formation to Precambrian Basement was characterized at NETL. As part of this effort, bulk scans of core were obtained. This report, and the associated scans, provide detailed datasets not typically made publicly available for carbon capture utilization and storage analysis. The resultant datasets are presented in this report and can be accessed from NETL's Energy Data eXchange (EDX) online system using the following link: https://edx.netl.doe.gov/dataset/patterson-5-25-well. All equipment and techniques used were non-destructive, enabling future examinations and analyses to be performed on these cores. None of the equipment used was suitable for direct visualization of the shale pore space, although fractures and discontinuities were detectable with the methods tested. Low resolution CT imagery with the NETL medical CT scanner was performed on the entire core. Qualitative analysis of the medical CT images, coupled with x-ray fluorescence (XRF), P-wave, and magnetic susceptibility measurements from the MSCL are useful in identifying zones of interest for more detailed analysis as well as fractured zones. The ability to quickly identify key areas for more detailed study with higher resolution will save time and resources in future studies. The combination of methods used provided a multi-scale analysis of this core and provided both a macro and micro description of the core that is relevant for many subsurface energy related examinations that have traditionally been performed at NETL.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Workflow for Developing and Operating Subsurface Hydrogen Storage Facilities in Porous Reservoirs

Long-duration (seasonal) storage of natural gas (NG), which primarily consists of methane (CH 4 ), has been practiced for more than a hundred years at underground gas storage (UGS) facilities that use depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs, saline aquifers, and salt caverns. To enable hydrogen (H 2 ) to be used as a long-duration, energy-storage medium, similar facilities are envisioned for underground H 2 storage (UHS) of either H 2 or H 2 /NG mixtures. Experience with UGS can be used to guide recommended practices for developing and operating UHS facilities in porous reservoirs. The most important factors (formation/fluid properties and engineering choices) that influence the performance of UHS reservoirs have been identified and quantified in previous studies. These factors and choices influence phenomena that determine the sweep efficiency of the stored working gas. These phenomena include viscous fingering, hysteretic capillary trapping, and gravity override of the working gas, as well as the upconing of nonproductive fluid that determine the sweep efficiency of the stored working gas. This report describes initial recommended-practices and a project-development workflow for UHS facilities that utilize porous reservoirs, based on the current state-of-knowledge about H 2 behavior in the subsurface. The workflow sequentially addresses all aspects of UHS project development, including the identification of H 2 sources and users, site ranking and down-selection, geologic and reservoir-engineering characterization, reservoir design, testing, risk management, commissioning, operations, and monitoring for a UHS facility. The goal is to enable UHS facilities to be developed in an efficient and timely manner, while carefully managing project risks. This workflow is similar to that which has been developed for UGS facilities (see Figure 1 of API, 2022), with the addition of tasks and subtasks specific to H 2 and UHS. The project-development workflow is broken down into three major stages: (1) define the H 2 use case; (2) rank, down-select, and characterize potential, candidate UHS sites; and (3) reservoir design, integrity testing, risk assessment, commissioning, operations, and monitoring for selected UHS sites. Each major stage is further broken down into tasks and subtasks, which are described at a high level. This report also provides more detailed descriptions of all tasks and subtasks that involve reservoir analysis and testing.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2026

Performance of reanalysis and mesoscale models off the coast of Hawai'i

The eastern Hawai'i coast in the United States is characterized by considerable wind resource fuelled by persistent trade winds, making it an important area for energy research. The need is strong for reanalyses and higher-resolution regional simulations where observations have been historically limited, such as Hawai'i's offshore environments. However, studies using offshore observations in other parts of the world have shown that significant errors can occur in reanalyses and wind datasets, which can lead to inaccurate estimates of wind energy generation, payback periods, and extreme weather risks at project locations. The degree of such errors is influenced by a number of factors, including spatial resolution and the handling of processes within the planetary boundary layer (PBL). In this work, we provide a wind resource characterization from year-long lidar buoy measurements off the eastern coast of O'ahu, Hawai'i, an environment previously unobserved at the rotor level, and use the characterization to evaluate the performance of two simulation datasets. The O'ahu deployment location is meteorologically unique and less complex than land-based wind resource characterizations, being strongly characterized by trade winds with minimal land–atmosphere interaction influences. Despite the unique and fairly consistent meteorological conditions, we hypothesize that distinct simulation datasets will exhibit diverse ranges of errors similar to those that have been seen for other offshore locations. We find the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Reanalysis version 5 (ERA5) to strongly underestimate observed wind speeds at the O'ahu location (bias = −1.54 m s −1 at a height of 140 m above sea level), while a regional Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) simulation produced by the University of Hawai'i (UH-WRF) provides a significantly smaller wind speed bias (−0.25 m s −1 ), highlighting the value of running regional, higher-resolution simulations. The large bias noted for ERA5 is driven by significant underestimation of fast wind speeds (>9 m s −1 ), which the study site is largely characterized by, along with discontinuities in the ERA5 diurnal cycle. We also speculate that the relative sparsity of observations for data assimilation in this remote part of the world could influence the performance of ERA5 and that challenges with characterizing island effects could impact the performance of both datasets.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Computational Tools and Workflows for Quantitative Risk Assessment and Decision Support for Geologic Carbon Storage Sites: Progress and Insights from the U.S. DOE’s National Risk Assessment Partnership

The 2005 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on CCS raised the profile of CO2 capture and storage (CCS) as an important technology for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. CCS is now recognized as a key component of most climate change mitigation scenarios. Since publication of that report the international research, development, and deployment (RD&D) community has advanced key technical aspects, clarified regulatory requirements, explored value chain and infrastructure solutions, and developed incentive paradigms to enable and promote large-scale deployment of CCS. These efforts have included research to better characterize geologic storage resources, to improve injection performance and storage efficiency, to assess and manage subsurface environmental risks, and to advance monitoring technologies to assure system conformance. These efforts have helped to build confidence in the viability of geologic carbon storage (GCS), but stakeholder concerns about long-term risks and liability associated with GCS remain a hurdle to broad acceptance and large-scale deployment of CCS. Since 2010, the U.S. DOE’s National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP) – a research collaboration between five contributing national laboratories – has worked to establish and demonstrate methods and tools to quantify and manage the subsurface environmental risks associated with GCS, amidst uncertainty. This work supports the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management Carbon Transport and Storage Program’s goal of advancing safe and secure commercial-scale GCS deployment. To address the technical challenge of simulating the physical response of the GCS site to large-scale CO2 injection, NRAP has adopted an approach that relies on coupling computationally efficient reduced-order and/or data-driven proxy models of important system components (i.e., storage reservoir, sealing caprock, leakage pathways, intermediate formations, overlying groundwater aquifers, and the atmosphere) in integrated assessment framework. That integrated model of the physical system is complemented with fit-for purpose functionality to support site characterization and risk-related decisions. The recently released NRAP Phase II toolset includes the Open-Source Integrated Assessment Model (NRAP-Open-IAM) for evaluation of trends in leakage risk and potential impact, tools to support monitoring design optimization (Designs for Risk Evaluation and Management – DREAM v3.0 and Passive Seismic Monitoring Tool - PSMT), and tools for state of stress evaluation (State-of-Stress Analysis Tool - SOSAT) and forecasting induced seismicity risk. The NRAP team has also released a pair of reports describing conceptual workflows to incorporate physics-based, quantitative risk assessment into many of the design, planning, operation, and closure decisions for GCS projects. An online catalogue highlights published studies where these tools and methods are demonstrated. In this presentation, the utility of these products to assess risks and address key stakeholder questions will be highlighted through examples, and related insights about the safety and security of geologic carbon storage in qualified storage sites will be discussed. The prospect of rapid, large-scale deployment of GCS technology to aggressively reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions requires careful consideration of interference between multiple commercial-scale storage projects within a basin. Going forward, NRAP is expanding and adapting site-scale risk quantification tools and methods to enable assessment of risks and inform management decisions for basin-scale deployment. Increasingly, this work will leverage next-generation approaches for surrogate modelling, fast prediction, and advanced visualization enabled by machine learning and artificial intelligence to promote virtual learning, scenario evaluation, and augment risk-based decision making.

quantitative risk assessment, geologic carbon stor↗
DOE OSTI2020

Unraveling the mechanism of recognition of the 3’ splice site of the adenovirus major late promoter intron by the alternative splicing factor PUF60

Pre-mRNA splicing is critical for achieving required amounts of a transcript at a given time and for regulating production of encoded protein. A given pre-mRNA may be spliced in many ways, or not at all, giving rise to multiple gene products. Numerous splicing factors are recruited to pre-mRNA splice sites to ensure proper splicing. One such factor, the 60 kDa poly(U)-binding splicing factor (PUF60), is recruited to sites that are not always spliced, but rather function as alternative splice sites. In this study, we characterized the interaction of PUF60 with a splice site from the adenovirus major late promoter (the AdML 3' splice site, AdML3’). We found that the PUF60–AdML3’ dissociation constants are in the micromolar range, with the binding affinity predominantly provided by PUF60’s two central RNA recognition motifs (RRMs). A 1.95 Å crystal structure of the two PUF60 RRMs in complex with AdML3’ revealed a dimeric organization placing two stretches of nucleic acid tracts in opposing directionalities, which can cause looping of nucleic acid and explain how PUF60 affects pre-mRNA geometry to effect splicing. Solution characterization of this complex by light-scattering and UV/Vis spectroscopy suggested a potential 2:1 (PUF60 2 :AdML3’) stoichiometry, consistent with the crystal structure. This work defines the sequence specificity of the alternative splicing factor PUF60 at the pre-mRNA 3’ splice site. Our observations suggest that control of pre-mRNA directionality is important in the early stage of spliceosome assembly, and advance our understanding of the molecular mechanism by which alternative and constitutive splicing factors differentiate among 3’ splice sites.

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