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At least 253 records · Page 14

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2020

Impurity Levels in Cerium Oxide Microspheres Prepared by Internal Gelation Sol-Gel Methods

Impurity levels were measured in cerium oxide microspheres fabricated by modified internal gelation sol-gel methods. A combination of glow discharge mass spectrometry, electron impact mass spectrometry, combustion gas analysis and instrumental gas analysis were used to assess a wide range of potential elemental impurities. Low concentrations of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen impurities in microspheres showed a dependence on how microspheres were washed. Silicon impurities are believed to derive from silicone oil used during sol-gel processing. Spheres washed by the preferred approach had impurity levels below 100 ppm for all elements tested. For applications such as nuclear fuels, sol-gel methods could meet purity specifications as long as metal nitrate feed solutions of sufficient purity are used and microspheres are washed appropriately. In this study, cerium was used as a surrogate for plutonium-238, which is used in radioisotope power systems as a heat source, to determine whether carbon or other impurities were concentrated during internal gelation processing and remained after heat treatments. Analyses indicated low concentrations of impurities in cerium oxide microspheres after sintering steps that were well below documented limits for plutonium-238 oxide fuels. Modified washing methods, combined with a pressurized water treatment, resulted in sintered cerium oxide sol-gel microspheres with low impurity levels.

cerium oxide, sol-gel, internal gelation, microsph↗

DOE OSTI2021

WaterTAP v1.0.0

WaterTAP is a new open source library of water-specific models built on the IDAES Integrated Platform to support the design and optimization of integrated water treatment systems, improve existing systems and enable the analysis of new designs incorporating emerging technologies. WaterTAP enables advanced modeling and optimization for: conceptual and multiscale design, dynamics and model predictive control of water systems and networks.

Beattie, KeithS↗

NASA NTRS1975

Computer simulation of thermal and fluid systems for MIUS integration and subsystems test /MIST/ laboratory

This paper describes the application of the SINDA (systems improved numerical differencing analyzer) computer program to simulate the operation of the NASA/JSC MIUS integration and subsystems test (MIST) laboratory. The MIST laboratory is designed to test the integration capability of the following subsystems of a modular integrated utility system (MIUS): (1) electric power generation, (2) space heating and cooling, (3) solid waste disposal, (4) potable water supply, and (5) waste water treatment. The SINDA/MIST computer model is designed to simulate the response of these subsystems to externally impressed loads. The computer model determines the amount of recovered waste heat from the prime mover exhaust, water jacket and oil/aftercooler and from the incinerator. This recovered waste heat is used in the model to heat potable water, for space heating, absorption air conditioning, waste water sterilization, and to provide for thermal storage. The details of the thermal and fluid simulation of MIST including the system configuration, modes of operation modeled, SINDA model characteristics and the results of several analyses are described.

Rochelle, W. C.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Solar Energy Systems

A waste water treatment plant in Wilton, Maine, where sludge is converted to methane gas, and Monsanto Company's Environmental Health Laboratory in St. Louis Missouri, where more than 200 solar collectors provide preheating of boiler feed water for laboratory use are representative of Grumman's Sunstream line of solar energy equipment. This equipment was developed with technology from NASA's Apollo lunar module program.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2016

Silver Ion Biocide Delivery System for Water Disinfection

U.S. space exploration missions have long considered returning to the Moon and exploration of Mars that challenge life support systems. For these long duration missions, there is interest in replacing the iodine water treatment system with ionic silver, a proven biocide. For long duration exploration missions, it is imperative that an effective biocide be used that prevents microbial growth, biofilm formation, and microbially induced corrosion in the water storage and distribution systems while minimizing logistical supply requirements associated with the biocide delivery system. Two biocide delivery systems have been developed that electrochemically produce silver ions for disinfecting water throughout the water storage and distribution system. One system uses a newly developed hybrid micro-filtration and ion-exchange membrane to produce an abundance of silver ions at the 1000 ppb level upstream in the water distribution system to prevent biofilm growth. This is followed by a downstream collection module that electrochemically removes these silver ions before the water is discharged. Another approach uses a membraneless reactor to produce a 1000 ppb silver ion concentration level that also has a mechanically driven electrode cleaning mechanism that removes oxide films ensuring long life operation. By maintaining a sufficiently high level of silver ions throughout the water storage and distribution system, biofilm formation is suppressed. This approach overcomes present concerns where spurious silver deposition occurs on the container and flow line surfaces thus lowering the silver ion concentration to unsatisfactory disinfection levels.

Slote, Benjamin M.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Treatment of brackish water reverse osmosis brine using only solar energy

Post-treatment of brine produced by reverse osmosis (RO) is a great challenge as it often requires high energy input and works under extreme operating conditions. In this study, brine from a RO plant in El Paso, TX USA was successfully treated using a pilot-scale nanophotonics enhanced solar membrane distillation (NESMD) system. The novel NESMD reactor has a nanophotonic membrane surface area of 0.2 m 2 and an internal heat recovery system to recover the latent heat released during vapor condensation. By utilizing a sweeping gas operational mode under real solar irradiation (585–827 W m -2 ), the NESMD realized successful desalination of RO brine with the membrane flux reaching 0.45–0.65 kg m -2 h -1 and total dissolved solids (TDS) removal greater than 99.5% without an external heat condenser. The decrease in the feed flow rate to the evaporation channel of the NESMD system led to an increase in the gained output ratio (GOR) from 0.35 to 0.62. We report to the best of our knowledge, this is the largest photothermal reactor utilized for the desalination of real RO brine under practical solar irradiation. Compared with conventional brine treatment processes that require high temperature or pressure, the NESMD desalinates RO brine at near-ambient temperature and pressure with free solar energy, providing a promising approach for water desalination, and RO brine post treatment.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Multiscale modeling and laser diagnostics to reveal non-equilibrium reaction chemistry at a plasma-liquid interface

Low-temperature, atmospheric-pressure plasmas in contact with liquid are at the core of a wide range of applications including water treatment, medicine, materials synthesis, and chemical transformation. In general, plasma-liquid processes are scientifically compelling because reactivity can be produced without a catalyst, in relatively inert molecules, such as air or nitrogen and liquid water, in their native states at ambient conditions. However, reactions at a plasma-liquid interface are extremely complex, occurring at a multiphase, gas-liquid boundary where excited or dissociate gaseous species dissolve and react with solution-phase species, and unique reaction pathways are induced by non-equilibrium chemistry. In particular, detailed knowledge of the physical and chemical processes, including what species are produced in the gas phase and how these species are subsequently transported across and react near the interfacial region, remains largely unanswered. In this project, modeling of the non-equilibrium reaction chemistry at the interface of low-temperature, atmospheric-pressure plasmas and liquid water is developed, supported by advanced laser diagnostics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Stannous chloride as a tool for mercury stripping in contaminated streams: Experimental assessment of toxicity in an invertebrate model species

In this work, the chronic toxicity of an innovative Hg water treatment system using tin (Sn) (II) chloride (SnCl 2 ) followed by air stripping was assessed through measurements of survival, growth, and reproduction rate in the freshwater cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia, a model species for toxicity testing. We first calculated the concentrations of Hg causing 25% reduction in survival and reproduction (Lethal or Inhibition Concentrations, or LC 25 and IC 25 , for survival and reproduction, respectively) through exposure to aqueous Hg at concentrations ranging from 0 to 25,000 ng L -1 . Then, we treated media (DMW and natural stream water) contaminated with Hg at LC 25 and IC 25 concentrations with SnCl 2 at a Sn:Hg stoichiometric ratio of 8:1 and air stripping and exposed C. dubia to this Sn-amended media. Our results showed that Hg significantly affected survival, reproduction rates and impaired growth. SnCl 2 -treatment removed 100% of the Hg from the media at all concentrations tested with no deleterious effects on survival, growth and reproduction. Our results confirmed the efficacy of SnCl 2 in removing aqueous Hg from stream water and showed that the added Sn did not impact C. dubia at the concentrations tested, supporting the suitability of SnCl 2 -based treatments in appropriate Hg-contaminated environments.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2025

Intensified atomic utilization efficiency of single-atom catalysts for nitrate conversion via electrified nanoporous membrane

Conventional electrochemical reactors for nitrate reduction typically suffer from limited reaction efficiency when applied for real-world water treatment due to poor utilization of electrocatalytic active sites. Here, we applied nanoporous electrofiltration to intensify atomic utilization by incorporating single-atom catalysts into an electrified membrane for reducing low-concentration nitrate to ammonia under realistic water conditions. We enhance the exposure of single atoms in nanopores by coating the catalysts on a carbon nanotube–interwoven membrane framework. Electrofiltration intensifies the transport and adsorption of nitrate in confined nanopores with highly exposed single-atom active sites to enhance reduction. The membrane enables a superior ammonia turnover frequency of 15.1 grams of nitrogen per gram of metal per hour, up to four orders of magnitude higher than that reported in the literature, under both high removal efficiency and Faradaic efficiency of over 86% when treating influents with a low nitrate concentration of 100 milligrams of nitrogen per liter in a residence time on the order of seconds.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

NASA NTRS1974

Application of the integrated utilities concept to community-size developments

It is shown that the modular integrated utility systems (MIUS) concept (combining the utility services of electrical power, heating and cooling, water supply and waste water treatment, and solid waste management into a single local plant) can be applied to community-size developments with major benefits of energy (fossil fuels) savings, reduction in solid waste haul-off quantity, and reduction in fresh water demand. Compared to a conventional utilities system, MIUS energy and water savings are found to reach 38 and 17%, respectively. Effluent and solid waste load reduction attain 17 and 80%, respectively. These benefits are obtainable through use of commercially available hardware and at costs competitive with conventional utilities.

Redding, T. E.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Experimental study of mechanistic factors influencing solvent-driven fractional crystallization of calcium sulfate

To advance dimethyl ether-driven fractional crystallization (DME-FC), a more sustainable method of water treatment and mineral recovery, a range of chemical equilibria were measured. These include varying concentrations of miscible organic solvents (MOS) used to experimentally measure the solvent-induced solid-liquid equilibrium (SLE) of calcium sulfate (CaSO 4 ) in water. Seven MOS, including dimethyl ether (DME), acetonitrile (MeCN), 1,4-dioxane, tetrahydrofuran (THF), acetone, ethanol, and diethylamine, were screened to establish trends associated with molecular volume, functional groups, and physical properties. The effect of MOS on CaSO 4 removal differed at concentrations <0.15 mol fraction MOS; MOS with greater molecular volume (THF, 1,4-dioxane, and diethylamine) induced greater CaSO 4 precipitation on a per mole basis. The solvent-induced SLE for all MOS converged between 0.15 and 0.2 mol fraction MOS, reaching a CaSO 4 concentration consistent with a water to MOS hydration ratio of 5:1 to 6:1, which may correspond to the solvent generating a solution-based pseudo-clathrate structure with continuity within the solution. Finally, solution pseudo-clathrate structures provide a mechanistic basis for DME-FC.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

NASA NTRS1992

Water Purifiers

Technology developed to purify the water aboard manned spacecraft has led to a number of spinoff applications. One of them is the Ambassador line of bacteriostatic water treatment systems, which employ high grade, high absorption media to inhibit bacteria growth and remove the medicinal taste and odor of chlorine. Company President, Ray Ward, originally became interested in the technology because of the "rusty" taste of his water supply.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2016

Non-Equilibrium Plasma Applications for Water Purification Supporting Human Spaceflight and Terrestrial Point-of-Use

2016 NASA Glenn Technology Day Panel Presentation on May 24, 2016. The panel description is: Environmental Impact: NASA Glenn Water Capabilities Both global water scarcity and water treatment concerns are two of the most predominant environmental issues of our time. Glenn researchers share insights on a snow sensing technique, hyper spectral imaging of Lake Erie algal blooms, and a discussion on non-equilibrium plasma applications for water purification supporting human spaceflight and terrestrial point-of-use. The panel moderator will be Bryan Stubbs, Executive Director of the Cleveland Water Alliance.

Water resource/reuse↗

DOE OSTI2022

Molecular insights into the structure-property relationships of 3D printed polyamide reverse-osmosis membrane for desalination

3D-printing is an emerging method for manufacturing polyamide (PA) reserve osmosis (RO) membranes for water treatment and desalination, which can precisely control membrane structural properties, such as thickness, roughness, and resolution. However, the synthesis-structure (i.e., degree of cross-linking (DC), m-phenylenediamine/trimesoyl chloride (MPD/TMC) ratio, and membrane thickness) to property (permeability and water-salt selectivity) relationships for these membranes has not been well understood. At the same time, a microscopic understanding of the physical mechanism of water and salt transport is needed to guide the design of high-performance 3D-printed membranes and improve the printing efficiency. Furthermore, the atomic-scale transport features and energetics of water and salt ions are studied at high pressure for the 3D-printed PA RO membranes with the different DCs and MPD/TMC ratios through non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations. Factoring in membrane structure properties, rejection ratio of salt ions and pressure-dependent water flux, 3D-printed PA membranes having an MPD/TMC ratio of 3.0:2.0 and a DC between 80%~90% attains ideal performance: high water flux, high rejection of salt ions, and excellent structural integrity. Mechanistically, water permeability for highly cross-linked PA RO membranes depends on the temporary on-and-off channels that allow water molecules to jump from one cavity to another at high pressure. In addition, higher pressures cause rapid compaction of PA membranes’ free volume and membrane thickness. Membrane failure at high pressure is determined by the DC and MPD/TMC ratios-dependent compressive yield strength. In short, these findings provide physical insights for optimizing existing PA membranes and designing next-generation desalination membranes at the molecular level.

3D-printed PA RO membrane↗

DOE OSTI2023

Analysis of Water-Energy Issues for Nuclear Power with Industry Perspective

The water-energy nexus is a dynamic, ever evolving challenge involving technological changes, regulatory updates, economic constraints, environmental issues, and political attributes. This report expands on a previous report that gave an initial assessment of the water-energy nexus challenges facing the U.S. commercial industry. This follow-up report provides analysis and insights from stakeholder interviews focusing on the issues faced by the U.S. commercial nuclear energy industry within the water-energy nexus space. This report updates and expand the “Cooling Water Issues and Opportunities at U.S. Nuclear Power Plants” This report includes analysis on water withdrawal and consumption by operating nuclear reactors, evolving policy risks that could impact the operation of the existing commercial nuclear fleet, implications of water markets, trading and water rights, the changing energy grid, progressing environmental risks (including analysis on the possible impact of climate change on water availability and nuclear power plant performance), and opportunities to reduce water related risk. The feedback from the stakeholders’ interviews helps incorporate viewpoints from within the nuclear and related industry that can lack representation in other research areas, without constituting a comprehensive opinion survey. Stakeholders interviewed include nuclear power plants operators, water treatment providers, developers, and vendors of reactor technologies.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Ion separations with membranes

Ion separations are important for resource recovery, water treatment, and energy production and storage. Techniques such as chemical precipitation, selective adsorption, and solvent extraction are effective, but membranes may separate ions continuously with less waste and lower energy costs. Separation of monovalent and multivalent ions with nanofiltration or electrodialysis membranes already enables water softening and edible salt purification. Similar membranes are attractive as separators in vanadium redox flow batteries. Selective partitioning of divalent counter-ions into ion-exchange membranes even allows transport of these ions against their concentration gradients in salt mixtures. However, separations of ions with the same charge is more challenging. Recent research demonstrated highly selective ion “sieving” at small scales. Here, separations using electrical potentials and differences in ion electrophoretic mobilities are promising, but relatively unexplored. Carrier-mediated transport affords high selectivity in liquid membranes, but these systems are not very stable, and selective transport via hopping between anchored carriers has proven elusive. Finally, this paper discusses how concentration polarization decreases selectivities in many membrane processes. Although development of selective, inexpensive ion-separation membranes is a work in progress, successes in water softening and edible salt purification suggests that future selective membranes will serve as complementary methods to traditional purification techniques.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

NASA NTRS2021

Assessing Cyanobacterial Frequency and Abundance at Surface Waters Near Drinking Water Intakes Across the United States

This study presents the first large-scale assessment of cyanobacterial frequency and abundance of surface water near drinking water intakes across the United States. Public water systems serve drinking water to nearly 90% of the United States population. Cyanobacteria and their toxins may degrade the quality of finished drinking water and can lead to negative health consequences. Satellite imagery can serve as a cost-effective and consistent monitoring technique for surface cyanobacterial blooms in source waters and can provide drinking water treatment operators information for managing their systems. This study uses satellite imagery from the European Space Agency’s Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) spanning June 2016 through April 2020. At 300-m spatial resolution, OLCI imagery can be used to monitor cyanobacteria in 685 drinking water sources across 285 lakes in 44 states, referred to here as resolvable drinking water sources. First, a subset of satellite data was compared to a subset of responses (n = 84) submitted as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s fourth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 4). These UCMR 4 qualitative responses included visual observations of algal bloom presence and absence near drinking water intakes from March 2018 through November 2019. Overall agreement between satellite imagery and UCMR 4 qualitative responses was 94% with a Kappa coefficient of 0.70. Next, temporal frequency of cyanobacterial blooms at all resolvable drinking water sources was assessed. In 2019, bloom frequency averaged 2% and peaked at 100%, where 100% indicated a bloom was always present at the source waters when satellite imagery was available. Monthly cyanobacterial abundances were used to assess short-term trends across all resolvable drinking water sources and effect size was computed to provide insight on the number of years of data that must be obtained to increase confidence in an observed change. Generally, 2016-2020 was an insufficient time period for confidently observing changes at these source waters; on average, a decade of satellite imagery would be required for observed environmental trends to outweigh variability in the data. However, five source waters did demonstrate a sustained short-term trend, with one increasing in cyanobacterial abundance from June 2016 to April 2020 and four decreasing.

remote sensing↗

DOE OSTI2020

Survey of PFAS Treatment Technologies

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of manufactured chemicals that have caught the attention of many governmental agencies and researchers. These chemicals are highly stable and possess hydrophobic properties that lead to the widespread use of PFAS in aqueous film forming foams, and household products such as carpets, paper and non-stick cookware (Prevedouros et al., 2006). Regulatory and health advisories have focused determining a lifetime drinking water health advisory of 70 ng/L for PFOA and PFOS (USEPA, 2016). Other PFASs may be present in the environment, along with PFOA and PFOS, due to product manufacturing processes (Prevedouros et al., 2006). A variety of proprietary AFFF formulations were manufactured and sold during different timeframes, thereby complicating the signature and distribution of PFASs in groundwater beneath former firefighting training areas (McGuire et al., 2014). PFOA and PFOS are stable chemicals that persistent in the environment and are difficult to remediate. The understanding of the physicochemical properties and fate and transport of PFASs in groundwater is growing but is still limited (USEPA, 2012). Many traditional approaches such as coagulation and conventional water treatment are ineffective in treating PFOA and PFOS. Selecting the most appropriate remedial strategy for PFOA and PFOS is therefore challenging. In this survey findings from the literature on PFASs removal using various technologies were compiled.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗