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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2024

This report provides the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the public with information on the level of radioactive and non-radioactive pollutants (if any) that are added to the environment as a result of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory’s (PPPL) operations. This report fulfills the annual public reporting requirements of DOE Order 231.1B. The results of PPPL’s 2024 environmental surveillance and monitoring program are presented and discussed. The report also summarizes environmental initiatives, assessments, and community involvement programs that were undertaken in 2024. PPPL has engaged in fusion energy research since 1951 and at its current locations since 1958. The Laboratory’s mission is to develop the scientific knowledge and advanced engineering to enable fusion to power the US and the world, and to develop the understanding of plasmas from the nano- to the astrophysical scale. PPPL’s primary experiment, the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U) is a collaboration among national laboratories, universities, and national and international research institutions and is a major element in the US Fusion Energy Sciences Program. Its design tests the physics principles of spherical torus (ST) plasmas, playing an important role in the development of smaller, more economical fusion reactors. Due to previous operational issues, NSTX-U did not operate in 2024. PPPL is engaged in a project to replace key NSTX-U components and systems to enable the operation of this international magnetic fusion user facility. In 2024, PPPL’s radiological environmental monitoring program measured tritium in the air at onsite sampling stations. Using highly sensitive air monitors, PPPL is capable of detecting small changes in the ambient levels of tritium. The operation of monitors located on D-site is used to demonstrate compliance with the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) regulations. Also included in PPPL’s radiological environmental monitoring program, are water monitoring – ground, surface, and waste waters. PPPL’s radiological monitoring program characterized the background levels of tritium in the environment and those data are presented in this report. Ground water monitoring continued under New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) Site Remediation Program regulations. PPPL monitored for nonradiological contaminants, mainly volatile organic compounds (components of common degreasing solvents). In 2024, PPPL complied with permit limits for surface water and sanitary wastewater discharges. PPPL was honored with an award for EPEAT-certified electronics purchasing from the Global Electronics Council on July 25, 2024.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

2022 Annual Site Environment Report, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

This report provides the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public with information on the level of radioactive and non-radioactive pollutants (if any) that are added to the environment as a result of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory’s (PPPL) operations. This report fulfills the annual public reporting requirements of DOE Order 231.1B. The results of PPPL’s 2022 environmental surveillance and monitoring program are presented and discussed. The report also summarizes environmental initiatives, assessments, and community involvement programs that were undertaken in 2022. PPPL’s on-site operations started to be restored in 2022, following curtailments in 2020 and 2021 for the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. PPPL has engaged in fusion energy research since 1951 and at its current locations since 1958. The Laboratory’s mission is to develop the scientific knowledge and advanced engineering to enable fusion to power the U.S. and the world, and to develop the understanding of plasmas from the nano- to the astrophysical scale. PPPL’s primary experiment, the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U) is a collaboration among national laboratories, universities, and national and international research institutions and is a major element in the US Fusion Energy Sciences Program. Its design tests the physics principles of spherical torus (ST) plasmas, playing an important role in the development of smaller, more economical fusion reactors. Due to previous operational issues, NSTX-U did not operate in 2022. PPPL is engaged in a project to replace key NSTX-U components and systems to enable the operation of this international magnetic fusion user facility. In 2022, PPPL’s radiological environmental monitoring program measured tritium in the air at onsite sampling stations. Using highly sensitive air monitors, PPPL is capable of detecting small changes in the ambient levels of tritium. The operation of monitors located on D-site is used to demonstrate compliance with the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) regulations. Also included in PPPL’s radiological environmental monitoring program, are water monitoring – ground, surface, and waste waters. PPPL’s radiological monitoring program characterized the background levels of tritium in the environment and those data are presented in this report. Ground water monitoring continued under New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) Site Remediation Program regulations. PPPL monitored for non-radiological contaminants, mainly volatile organic compounds (components of common degreasing solvents). In 2022, PPPL complied with permit limits for surface water and sanitary wastewater discharges. PPPL was honored with an award for EPEAT-certified electronics purchasing from the Global Electronics Council.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quantile-specific heritability of plasma fibrinogen concentrations

Fibrinogen is a moderately heritable blood protein showing different genetic effects by sex, race, smoking status, pollution exposure, and disease status. These interactions may be explained in part by “quantile-dependent expressivity”, where the effect size of a genetic variant depends upon whether the phenotype (e.g. plasma fibrinogen concentration) is high or low relative to its distribution. Determine whether fibrinogen heritability (h 2 ) is quantile-specific, and whether quantile-specific h 2 could account for fibrinogen gene-environment interactions. Plasma fibrinogen concentrations from 5689 offspring-parent pairs and 1932 sibships from the Framingham Heart Study were analyzed. Quantile-specific heritability from offspring-parent (β OP , h 2 = 2β OP /(1+r spouse )) and full-sib regression slopes (β FS , h 2 = {(1+8r spouse β FS ) 0.05 –1}/(2r spouse )) were robustly estimated by quantile regression with nonparametric significance assigned from 1000 bootstrap samples. Quantile-specific h 2 (±SE) increased with increasing percentiles of the offspring’s age- and sex-adjusted fibrinogen distribution when estimated from β OP (P trend = 5.5x10 -6 ): 0.30±0.05 at the 10 th , 0.37±0.04 at the 25 th , 0.48±0.05 at the 50 th , 0.61±0.06 at the 75 th , and 0.65±0.08 at the 90 th percentile, and when estimated from β FS (P trend = 0.008): 0.28±0.04 at the 10 th , 0.31±0.04 at the 25 th , 0.36±0.03 at the 50 th , 0.41±0.05 at the 75 th , and 0.50±0.06 at the 90 th percentile. The larger genetic effect at higher average fibrinogen concentrations may contribute to fibrinogen’s greater heritability in women than men and in Blacks than Whites, and greater increase from smoking and air pollution for the FGB -455G>A A-allele. It may also explain greater fibrinogen differences between: 1) FGB -455G>A genotypes during acute phase reactions than usual conditions, 2) GTSM1 and IL-6 -572C>G genotypes in smokers than nonsmokers, 3) FGB -148C>T genotypes in untreated than treated diabetics, and LPL PvuII genotypes in macroalbuminuric than normoalbuminuric patients. Fibrinogen heritability is quantile specific, which may explain or contribute to its gene-environment interactions. The analyses do not disprove the traditional gene-environment interpretations of these examples, rather quantile-dependent expressivity provides an alternative explanation that warrants consideration.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Zero Emission Cargo Transport (ZECT) II Demonstration: South Coast Air Quality Management District (Final Report)

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD), California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) — the agencies responsible for preparing the State Implementation Plan required under the federal Clean Air Act — have agreed that attainment of federal air quality standards for the region will require a transition to the broad use of zero and near-zero emission energy sources in cars, trucks and other equipment. Accordingly, the 2012 South Coast AQMD Air Quality Management Plan, the SCAG 2012 Regional Transportation Plan, and the “Vision for Clean Air: A Framework for Air Quality and Climate Control Planning” all identify the need to immediately enact a phasing in of zero and near-zero emission technologies to meet air quality goals. In 2014, South Coast AQMD was awarded grant funding under the US Department of Energy Zero Emission Cargo Transport (ZECT) II Demonstration program to develop and demonstrate zero-emission drayage trucks for goods movement operations between the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and Port of Long Beach (POLB) near dock rail yards and warehouses: 1) development and demonstration of zero-emission fuel cell range extended electric drayage trucks and 2) development and demonstration of hybrid electric drayage trucks. The purpose of this project was to accelerate deployment of zero emission cargo transport technologies to reduce harmful diesel emissions, petroleum consumption and greenhouse gases in the surrounding communities along the goods movement corridors that are impacted by heavy diesel traffic and the associated air pollution. Between 2014 – 2024, six ZECT II zero-emission fuel cell drayage truck platforms, including fuel cell range extended and CNG hybrid trucks, were successfully designed, developed, integrated, built, tested, and demonstrated with drayage fleet operators in transportation corridors within areas of the South Coast AQMD jurisdiction in Southern California such as in and around POLA and POLB. Portable hydrogen refueling was deployed to support the fuel cell vehicles. The project had real-time improvement with on-going debugging and optimizations while the vehicles were under demonstration. All platforms demonstrated sufficient or excess power, torque, and energy to support 82,000lbs Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and gradeability to perform their daily duty cycles. Collectively, the trucks drove over 23,000 miles during their respective demonstration phases. The ZECT II project was the first of its kind to demonstrate the commercial viability that supported the additional technology breakthroughs for Class 8 zero emission trucks and validations as well as the regulatory basis for all the zero-emission regulation that we know today, such as the Innovative Clean Transit regulation, Advanced Clean Trucks and Clean Fleet regulations.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

Simulated aging processes of black carbon and its impact during a severe winter haze event in the Beijing-Tianjin- Hebei region

Black carbon (BC) can mitigate or worsen air pollution through perturbing meteorological conditions. BC aging processes are important for the evolution of particle size, concentration, and optical properties of BC that determines its influence on the meteorology. Here we use the online coupled Weather Research and Forecasting-Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model to quantify the role of BC aging processes, including physical processes (PP) and absorption enhancements (AE), in exerting BC-induced meteorological changes and the associated feedback to PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in diameter) and O3 concentrations during a severe haze event in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region during 21-27 February 2014. Our results show that, compared to the simulation without the PP treatment, the simulated near-surface BC concentration and BC mass loading in BTH region is lowered by 6.6 % and 12.1 %, respectively, during the haze event with the PP included. PP increases the proportion of large-size BC (particle diameter greater than 0.312 µm) from 28 %-33 % to 59 %-64 % below 1000 m in BTH region. Both PP and AE enhance the “dome effect” of BC. With both PP and AE considered, a reduction in PBL height due to BC-PBL interaction is 116.3 m (20.7 %), compared to 75.7 m (13.5 %) without AE and 66.6 m (11.9 %) without both PP and AE. However, during this haze event, anomalous northeasterly winds are produced by the direct radiative effect of BC, which further affects the mixing and transport of aerosols. When PBL height is decreased (from 10:00 to 21:00), combining all the impacts on multiple meteorological factors, BC effect without PP and AE, without AE, and with PP and AE, respectively, increases surface concentrations of PM2.5 by 8.3 µg m-3 (6.1 % relative to the mean value), 6.1 µg m-3 (4.5 %) and 9.6 µg m-3 (7.0 %) but decreases surface O3 concentrations by 2.8 ppbv (7.4 %), 4.0 ppbv (9.0 %) and 5.0 ppbv (10.8 %) in BTH region averaged over 21-27 February 2014. Our results highlight the importance of the aging processes and absorption enhancements of BC in simulating weather and air quality.

Chen, Donglin↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ozone depletion in the Arctic and Antarctic stratosphere induced by wildfire smoke

Abstract. A record-breaking stratospheric ozone loss was observed over the Arctic and Antarctica in 2020. Strong ozone depletion occurred over Antarctica in 2021 as well. The ozone holes developed in smoke-polluted air. In this article, the impact of Siberian and Australian wildfire smoke (dominated by organic aerosol) on the extraordinarily strong ozone reduction is discussed. The study is based on aerosol lidar observations in the North Pole region (October 2019–May 2020) and over Punta Arenas in southern Chile at 53.2∘ S (January 2020–November 2021) as well as on respective NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change) ozone profile observations in the Arctic (Ny-Ålesund) and Antarctica (Neumayer and South Pole stations) in 2020 and 2021. We present a conceptual approach on how the smoke may have influenced the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), which are of key importance in the ozone-depleting processes. The main results are as follows: (a) the direct impact of wildfire smoke below the PSC height range (at 10–12 km) on ozone reduction seems to be similar to well-known volcanic sulfate aerosol effects. At heights of 10–12 km, smoke particle surface area (SA) concentrations of 5–7 µm2 cm−3 (Antarctica, spring 2021) and 6–10 µm2 cm−3 (Arctic, spring 2020) were correlated with an ozone reduction in terms of ozone partial pressure of 0.4–1.2 mPa (about 30 % further ozone reduction over Antarctica) and of 2–3.5 mPa (Arctic, 20 %–30 % reduction with respect to the long-term springtime mean). (b) Within the PSC height range, we found indications that smoke was able to slightly increase the PSC particle number and surface area concentration. In particular, a smoke-related additional ozone loss of 1–2 mPa (10 %–20 % contribution to the total ozone loss over Antarctica) was observed in the 14–23 km PSC height range in September–October 2020 and 2021. Smoke particle number concentrations ranged from 10 to 100 cm−3 and were about a factor of 10 (in 2020) and 5 (in 2021) above the stratospheric aerosol background level. Satellite observations indicated an additional mean column ozone loss (deviation from the long-term mean) of 26–30 Dobson units (9 %–10 %, September 2020, 2021) and 52–57 Dobson units (17 %–20 %, October 2020, 2021) in the smoke-polluted latitudinal Antarctic belt from 70–80∘ S.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

A {Ni 12 }-Wheel-Based Metal-Organic Framework for Coordinative Binding of Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Dioxide

Air pollution by SO 2 and NO 2 has caused significant risks on the environment and human health. Understanding the mechanism of active sites within capture materials is of fundamental importance to the development of new clean-up technologies. We report the crystallographic observation of reversible coordinative binding of SO 2 and NO 2 on open Ni II sites in a metal-organic framework (NKU-100) incorporating unprecedented {Ni 12 }-wheels; each wheel exhibits six open Ni II sites on desolvation. Immobilised gas molecules are further stabilised by cooperative host-guest interactions comprised of hydrogen bonds, π∙∙∙π interactions and dipole interactions. At 298 K and 1.0 bar, NKU-100 shows adsorption uptakes of 6.21 and 5.80 mmol g -1 for SO 2 and NO 2 , respectively. Dynamic breakthrough experiments have confirmed the selective retention of SO 2 and NO 2 at low concentrations under dry conditions. This work will inspire the future design of efficient sorbents for the capture of SO 2 and NO 2 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Modulation of Uptake and Reactivity of Nitrogen Dioxide in Metal-Organic Framework Materials

We report the modulation of reactivity of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) in a charged metal–organic framework (MOF) material, MFM-305-CH 3 in which unbound N-centres are methylated and the cationic charge counter-balanced by Cl - ions in the pores. Uptake of NO 2 into MFM-305-CH 3 leads to reaction between NO 2 and Cl - to give nitrosyl chloride (NOCl) and NO 3 - anions. A high dynamic uptake of 6.58 mmol g -1 at 298 K is observed for MFM-305-CH 3 as measured using a flow of 500 ppm NO 2 in He. In contrast, the analogous neutral material, MFM-305, shows a much lower uptake of 2.38 mmol g -1 . The binding domains and reactivity of adsorbed NO 2 molecules within MFM-305-CH 3 and MFM-305 have been probed using in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction, inelastic neutron scattering and by electron paramagnetic resonance, high-field solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and UV/Vis spectroscopies. The design of charged porous sorbents provides a new platform to control the reactivity of corrosive air pollutants.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Wasatch Environmental Observatory: A mountain to urban research network in the semi‐arid western US

Abstract The 2085 km 2 Jordan River Basin, and its seven sub‐catchments draining the Central Wasatch Range immediately east of Salt Lake City, UT, are home to an array of hydrologic, atmospheric, climatic and chemical research infrastructure that collectively forms the Wasatch Environmental Observatory (WEO). WEO is geographically nested within a wildland to urban land‐use gradient and built upon a strong foundation of over a century of discharge and climate records. A 2200 m gradient in elevation results in variable precipitation, temperature and vegetation patterns. Soil and subsurface structure reflect systematic variation in geology from granitic, intrusive to mixed sedimentary clastic across headwater catchments, all draining to the alluvial or colluvial sediments of the former Lake Bonneville. Winter snowfall and spring snowmelt control annual hydroclimate, rapid population growth dominates geographic change in lower elevations and urban gas and particle emissions contribute to episodes of severe air pollution in this closed‐basin. Long‐term hydroclimate observations across this diverse landscape provide the foundation for an expanding network of infrastructure in both montane and urban landscapes. Current infrastructure supports both basic and applied research in atmospheric chemistry, biogeochemistry, climate, ecology, hydrology, meteorology, resource management and urban redesign that is augmented through strong partnerships with cooperating agencies. These features allow WEO to serve as a unique natural laboratory for addressing research questions facing seasonally snow‐covered, semi‐arid regions in a rapidly changing world and an excellent facility for providing student education and research training.

Follstad Shah, Jennifer J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Urbanization Impact on Regional Climate and Extreme Weather: Current Understanding, Uncertainties, and Future Research Directions

Abstract Urban environments lie at the confluence of social, cultural, and economic activities and have unique biophysical characteristics due to continued infrastructure development that generally replaces natural landscapes with built-up structures. The vast majority of studies on urban perturbation of local weather and climate have been centered on the urban heat island (UHI) effect, referring to the higher temperature in cities compared to their natural surroundings. Besides the UHI effect and heat waves, urbanization also impacts atmospheric moisture, wind, boundary layer structure, cloud formation, dispersion of air pollutants, precipitation, and storms. In this review article, we first introduce the datasets and methods used in studying urban areas and their impacts through both observation and modeling and then summarize the scientific insights on the impact of urbanization on various aspects of regional climate and extreme weather based on more than 500 studies. We also highlight the major research gaps and challenges in our understanding of the impacts of urbanization and provide our perspective and recommendations for future research priorities and directions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Chapter 9.12 - Weather, Climatic and Ecological Impacts of Onshore Wind Farms

Wind power is an environmentally sustainable technology that is likely to be part of the solution to the climate change, air pollution, and energy security problems. Despite many positive benefits, the rapid development of wind power has raised concerns about some potential adverse environmental impacts. While converting wind?s kinetic energy into electricity, wind turbines (WTs) modify properties of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) including the vertical profiles and surface-atmosphere exchanges of energy, momentum, mass, moisture, and trace gases. Given the current installed capacity and the projected installation worldwide, wind farms (WFs) are likely becoming a major driver of manmade land use change on Earth. Hence, understanding WT-atmosphere-surface interactions and assessing potential environmental impacts of WFs are of significant scientific, societal and economic importance. Here we review our progress in assessing potential impacts of onshore wind power on weather, climate and vegetation activity. A consensus is emerging based on observations and modeling studies that WFs cause a local to regional warming effect, particularly at nighttime, while the impacts on precipitation, wind patterns, crop yields and vegetation activity are uncertain. The warming effect results simply from vertical heat redistribution within the ABL due to turbine-enhanced vertical turbulent mixing in the wakes. At the global scale, with a substantial installation of WFs, mesoscale and climate models predicted large regional changes but small global impacts on temperature, while the impacts on precipitation, clouds, wind patterns and large-scale circulation have large uncertainties and are region specific and scale dependent. Despite increasing number of research efforts, our assessment of potential WF impacts is still very limited. Although the WF impacts are mostly local and limited to the near-surface ABL, this is the layer where we live and plants grow. Hence, more studies are needed to improve our understanding of WT-atmosphere-surface interactions and our capability to model and project the weather, climatic and ecological impacts of large WFs.

atmospheric boundary layer↗
DOE OSTI2023

Electrified autonomous freight benefit analysis on fleet, infrastructure and grid leveraging Grid-Electrified Mobility (GEM) model

Fast-growing freight activities over the decades have become one of the major contributors to air pollution, leading to many efforts in freight decarbonization and electrification. However, the development of freight electrification is slow due to technological uncertainty, slow charging, high capital cost, etc. This paper analyzes the potential impact and benefit of heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) electrification and automation on fleet cost, infrastructure cost, the electricity grid, and environmental outcomes. In this work, we extended the vehicle electrification benefit analysis tool: Grid-Electrified Mobility (GEM) model, which had primarily been used to study light-duty passenger vehicles (LDVs), to analyze heavy-duty vehicle electrification. The extended model is derived for freight transportation electrification, and different freight electrification and automation adoption scenarios were analyzed. We find that the increased penetration of automated electric freight fleets within other types of electrified freight fleets from 1% to 99% will result in an overall cost reduction of 18.2%, fleet size reduction of 20.4%, and lower peak load reduction of 14.3%.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Raspberry colloid-templated approach for the synthesis of palladium-based oxidation catalysts with enhanced hydrothermal stability and low-temperature activity

It is becoming increasingly urgent to develop and utilize novel, more efficient and stable materials for mobile and stationary emission control applications as the deleterious consequences of anthropogenic air pollution are becoming more evident and pressing. Tightening regulations, particularly related to automotive exhaust treatment, together with continued improvements in engine design, that result in lowering the engine operating temperatures and inadvertently lead to the release of an overwhelming proportion of pollutants during the cold start, present new challenges for materials design, specifically for oxidation catalysts. In particular, improvements in the low-temperature activity while maintaining catalyst stability at high temperatures are required from the next-generation catalyst. Typical catalysts for removal of pollutants from automotive exhaust streams incorporate platinum group metals (PGMs). They tend to be inefficient at low temperatures (below 250 °C), thus accounting for the cold start problem, yet sinter and lose their activity at high temperatures that are frequently encountered during catalyst operation. High PGM loadings are often employed to compensate for catalyst inefficiencies and fast degradation, ultimately resulting in high-cost catalytic converters. Here, we have developed a new approach for the design and formation of catalytic materials that allows for both significantly more efficient PGM incorporation and improved overall catalyst performance at reduced PGM loadings. The method provides control over the composition and geometry of the support through self-assembly of sacrificial composite template — “raspberry” polymeric colloids decorated with catalytic particles — accompanied by infiltration with metal-oxide precursor and subsequent removal of the colloids. This method simultaneously structures the porous network and organizes the catalytic particles within it. Uniquely, the resulting catalytic particles are partially embedded in the support matrix and partially exposed to the pore interior, producing catalytic sites that are both stable and accessible. Herein, the feasibility of this novel and versatile approach for automotive catalytic conversion is demonstrated: the studies include testing alumina-based raspberry-colloid-templated (RCT) catalysts containing Pd nanoparticles (RCT Pd/Al2O3) for oxidation of propane and carbon monoxide under simulated diesel exhaust conditions and hydrothermal aging at 800 °C for 50 h in the simulated stream. The RCT Pd/Al2O3 catalysts exhibit exceptional activity toward CO oxidation, reduced reaction onset temperature, and high stability to elevated temperatures (demonstrated through prolonged exposure to temperatures up to 950 °C) and reactive gas streams, without migration, sintering or loss of the precious metal NPs. Notably, the novel catalyst shows the same or slightly better performance than the commercial catalysts even when the PGM load is reduced by ~80 % compared to the commercial counterparts. These results provide confidence for the utilization of the RCT approach for the fabrication of robust nanostructured catalysts for next-generation, energy-efficient catalytic converters with improved performance at low and high temperatures and reduced costs. The RCT methodology is, in addition, highly generalizable, and can thus be applied for the design of a wide range of catalytic systems in the automotive sector and beyond.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Interlaboratory Study: Testing Reproducibility of Solid Biofuels Component Identification Using Reflected Light Microscopy

Considering global market trends and concerns about climate change and sustainability, increased biomass use for energy is expected to continue. As more diverse materials are being utilized to manufacture solid biomass fuels, it is critical to implement quality assessment methods to analyze these fuels thoroughly. One such method is reflected light microscopy (RLM), which has the potential to complement and enhance current standard testing, leading to improving fuel quality assessment and, ultimately, preventing avoidable air pollution. An interlaboratory study (ILS) was conducted to test the reproducibility of biomass fuels component identification using a reflected light microscopy technique. The exercise was conducted on thirty photomicrographs showing biomass and various undesired components (like plastics or mineral matter), which were purposely added (by the ILS organizers) to contaminate wood pellets and charcoal-based grilling fuels. Forty-six participants had various levels of difficulty identifying the marked components, and as a result, the percentage of correct answers ranged from 52.2 to 94.4%. Among the most difficult components to distinguish were petroleum products and inorganic matter. Various reasons led to the misidentification, including insufficient morphological descriptions of the components provided to participants, ambiguities of the nomenclature, limitations of the analytical and exercise method, and insufficient experience of the participants. Overall, the results indicate that RLM has the potential to enhance the quality assessment of biomass fuels. However, they also demonstrate that the petrographic classification used in this exercise requires further refinement before it can be standardized. While a new simplified classification of solid biomass fuels components was created as an outcome of this study, future research is necessary to refine the nomenclature, develop a microscopic morphological description of the components, and verify the accuracy of component identification with a follow-up ILS.

biomass↗
DOE OSTI2023

The hazard components of representative key risks. The physical climate perspective

The framework of Representative Key Risks (RKRs) has been adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II in order to categorize, assess and communicate a wide range of regional and sectoral key risks, expected to become severe as a consequence of the potentially detrimental convergence of changing climate conditions, exposure and vulnerability of human and natural systems, and responses through (mal)adaptation measures. Other papers in this special issue treat each of eight RKRs by holistically assessing their current status and future evolution as a result of this convergence. However, their treatment cannot always organize such assessment according to a systematic gradation of climatic changes, often times having to extrapolate the big-picture evolution of risk from either qualitative effects of “low” medium” and “high” warming, or limited/focused analysis of the consequences of particular mitigation choices (e.g., benefits of limiting warming to 1.5 or 2C). In this study we offer as systematic a representation as possible – given current literature and assessments – of the future evolution of the hazard components of RKRs. We draw on the assessment of changes in climatic impact-drivers relevant to RKRs described in the 6th Assessment Report by Working Group 1 (WGI) supplemented when needed by more recent literature. We identify the relevant hazards for each RKR, based upon the WGII authors’ assessment, and we report on their current state and expected future changes in magnitude, intensity and/or frequency, linking these changes to Global Warming Levels to the extent possible. For some of these quantities - like regional trends in oceanic and atmospheric temperature and precipitation, some heat and precipitation extremes, permafrost thaw and Northern Hemisphere snow cover - a strong and quantitative relationship with global average temperature change has been assessed. For others - like frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones and extra-tropical storms, and fire weather - the link to increasing global temperatures can only be described qualitatively. For some processes - like the behavior of ice-sheets, or changes in circulation dynamics - large uncertainties about the effects of different levels of warming remain, and for a few others - like ocean pH and air pollution - the composition of the scenario of anthropogenic emissions is most relevant, rather than the warming reached. In almost all cases, however, the basic message remains that every small increment in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and associated warming will bring changes in climate phenomena that will contribute to increasing risk of impacts on human and natural systems when these changes happen in conjunction with these systems’ conditions of exposure and vulnerability, and in lack of effective adaptation. Our picture of the evolution of RKR-relevant climatic impact-drivers complements and enriches the treatment of RKRs in the other papers in at least two ways: by filling in an often only cursory or limited representation of the physical climate aspects driving impacts, and by providing a fuller representation of their future possible evolution which represents an important component – if never the only one – of the potential future evolution of risk severity.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

State-by-state energy-water-land-health impacts of the US net-zero emissions goal

As decisionmakers at various scales begin to design strategies to implement the US net-zero goal, a holistic understanding of its broader economic and sustainability implications at subnational scales is important to shape public support and facilitate implementation. Here, we use an integrated assessment model to explore four different pathways toward the US net-zero goal and investigate their energy-water-land-health implications at the state level. In this study, we show that achieving the net-zero goal implies significant capital turnover (170–200 billion USD/year capital investment and 16–29 billion USD/year stranded assets in the power sector), reduced water withdrawal (120–210 km 3 /year), avoided air pollution damages (220–300 billion USD/year), and expanded forests (300–500 thousand km 2 ). However, the economic and sustainability implications of achieving the net-zero goal at the state-level may not be correlated to a state's contribution to national emission reductions. Our study lays the foundations for a deeper understanding of the broader implications of the US net-zero goal to facilitate cost-effective and environmentally sustainable transitions toward that goal.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Assessing synergies and trade-offs of diverging Paris-compliant mitigation strategies with long-term SDG objectives

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement are the two transformative agendas, which set the benchmarks for nations to address urgent social, economic and environmental challenges. Aside from setting long-term goals, the pathways followed by nations will involve a series of synergies and trade-offs both between and within these agendas. Since it will not be possible to optimise across the 17 SDGs while simultaneously transitioning to low-carbon societies, it will be necessary to implement policies to address the most critical aspects of the agendas and understand the implications for the other dimensions. Here, we rely on a modelling exercise to analyse the long-term implications of a variety of Paris-compliant mitigation strategies suggested in the recent scientific literature on multiple dimensions of the SDG Agenda. The strategies included rely on technological solutions such as renewable energy deployment or carbon capture and storage, nature-based solutions such as afforestation and behavioural changes in the demand side. Results for a selection of energy-environment SDGs suggest that some mitigation pathways could have negative implications on food and water prices, forest cover and increase pressure on water resources depending on the strategy followed, while renewable energy shares, household energy costs, ambient air pollution and yield impacts could be improved simultaneously while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, results indicate that promoting changes in the demand side could be beneficial to limit potential trade-offs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗