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At least 37 records · Page 2

Rules and Tools Crosswalk: A Compendium of Computational Tools to Support Geologic Carbon Storage Environmentally Protective UIC Class VI Permitting

This report identifies computational tools useful for addressing aspects of the dedicated carbon storage (Class VI) well permit application under the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program. The survey was conducted by researchers of the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) Research and Innovation Center in collaboration with representatives of the U.S. EPA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and the four Regional Initiatives to Accelerate Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage: Carbon Utilization and Storage Partnership of the Western United States (CUSP), Plains CO 2 Reduction Partnership Initiative to Accelerate Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Deployment (PCOR Partnership), Midwest Regional Carbon Initiative (MRCI), and the Southeast Regional Carbon Utilization and Storage Partnership (SECARB-USA). A total of 59 tools were identified through the elicitation for this report. It is intended to serve as a reference that can be used by geologic carbon storage stakeholders to identify computational tools that may be used to develop Class VI permit applications.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Present State of Knowledge of the Upper Atmosphere 1996: An Assessment Report to Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency

This document is issued in response to the Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990, Public Law 101-549, which mandates that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other key agencies submit triennial report to congress and the Environmental Protection Agency. NASA is charged with the responsibility to report on the state of our knowledge of the Earth's upper atmosphere, particularly the Stratosphere. Part 1 of this report summarizes the objectives, status, and accomplishments of the research tasks supported under NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Program and Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program for the period of 1994-1996. Part 2 (this document) presents summaries of several scientific assessments, reviews, and summaries. These include the executive summaries of two scientific assessments: (Section B) 'Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 1994'; (Section C) 'l995 Scientific Assessment of the Atmospheric Effects of Stratospheric Aircraft); end of mission/series statements for three stratospherically-focused measurement campaigns: (Section D) 'ATLAS End-of-Series Statement'; (Section E) 'ASHOE/MAESA End-of-Mission Statement'; (Section F) 'TOTE/VOTE End-of-Mission Statement'; a summary of NASA's latest biennial review of fundamental photochemical processes important to atmospheric chemistry 'Chemical Kinetics and Photochemical Data for Use in Stratospheric Modeling'; and (Section H) the section 'Atmospheric Ozone Research" from the Mission to Planet Earth Science Research Plan, which describes NASA's current and future research activities related to both tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry.

Kurylo, M. J.↗

The 1997 JANNAF Propellant Development and Characterization Subcommittee and Safety and Environmental Protection Subcommittee Joint Meeting

In the Propellant Development and Characterization Subcommittee (PDCS) meeting, topics included: the analysis, characterization, and processing of propellants and propellant ingredients; chemical reactivity; liquid propellants; test methods; rheology; surveillance and aging; and process engineering. In the Safety and Environmental Protection Subcommittee (S&EPS) meeting, topics covered included: hydrazine propellant vapor detection methods; toxicity of propellants and propellants; explosives safety; atmospheric modeling and risk assessment of toxic releases; reclamation, disposal, and demilitarization methods; and remediation of explosives or propellant contaminated sites.

Cocchiaro, James E.↗

Joint Comments from the Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE NNSA) Los Alamos Field Office and Triad National Security, LLC on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s New Mexico State-Wide Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Strawman General Permit

In December 2020 and March 2021, EPA issued two MS4 strawman permit drafts specific to the Los Alamos area. EPA made text changes in the 2 nd strawman permit based on stakeholder comments related to the initial draft. During the public meeting on the Los Alamos area designation decision held on February 13, 2024, EPA staff stated that comments from the past strawman permits would be incorporated into the new MS4 permit to be issued state-wide. However, it does not appear that any of the text changes from the 2 nd Los Alamos area strawman permit were included in this state-wide general MS4 strawman permit. For reference, the 2 nd Los Alamos area revised strawman permit is included with these comments as Attachment 2. Many of the following comments refer to or state EPA’s updated text included in the 2 nd Los Alamos area strawman permit. The updated text from this 2 nd strawman permit that are referenced in the following comments should be applicable state-wide and it is suggested that this past work be reconsidered and incorporated.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Mutually beneficial outcomes for hydropower expansion and environmental protection at a basin scale

Reshaping the scale of planning for hydropower development, from reaches to basin-scales, has been recommended as a more effective way to ameliorate the environmental impacts of hydropower. One approach is identifying mutually exclusive areas where development is precluded for conservation purposes and areas of low conservation value that present fewer barriers to development. This strategy, however, is less adoptable in developed countries where hydropower is already widespread and large-scale construction of new dams is unlikely. To broaden the adoption of basin-scale planning, alternative approaches and planning tools are needed for identifying mutually beneficial opportunities for simultaneous increases in hydropower capacity while improving environmental conditions. In this study, we present the Basin Scale Opportunity Assessment as a methodology to improve environmental conditions through either direct (on-site) or indirect (off-site) mitigation. We assess whether direct or indirect mitigation activities lead to optimal results in terms of added hydropower, environmental improvement, and monetary cost at a basin scale. We present two case studies for the Connecticut River and Roanoke River Basins, USA. Significant opportunities for expanding hydropower generating capacity are numerous in both basins. Results suggest that total hydropower capacity could be increased 4 to 7 % in the Roanoke and Connecticut Basins, respectively, without new dam construction and with net improvements in environmental conditions. We found that environmentally and economically optimal win-win strategies for increasing hydropower capacity and improving environmental conditions included improving environmental conditions in rivers downstream of existing dams. Off-site mitigation opportunities, such as dam removal and wetland mitigation, were identified as optimum solutions for achieving net environmental improvements only when they were associated with new hydropower construction. Our results demonstrate that opportunities to increase hydropower capacity and improve environmental conditions are expanded by viewing cumulative benefits at basin scales; however, increasing regulatory flexibility may be required to realize these opportunities.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The Environmental protection agency industrial technology transfer program

Today TAC consists of a full service information center and five programs, which are: (1) our industrial program; (2) the energy information center; (3) the business and industry extension program; (4) the remote sensing program; and (5) the center for environmental research and development.

Suter, K. H.↗

Environmental protection requirements for scout/shuttle auxiliary stages

The requirements for enabling the Scout upper stages to endure the expected temperature, mechanical shock, acoustical and mechanical vibration environments during a specified shuttle mission were determined. The study consisted of: determining a shuttle mission trajectory for a 545 kilogram (1200 pound) Scout payload; compilation of shuttle environmental conditions; determining of Scout upper stages environments in shuttle missions; compilation of Scout upper stages environmental qualification criteria and comparison to shuttle mission expected environments; and recommendations for enabling Scout upper stages to endure the exptected shuttle mission environments.

Qualls, G. L.↗

Environmentally Sound Processing Technology: JANNAF Safety and Environmental Protection Subcommittee and Propellant Development and Characterization Subcommittee Joint Workshop

Topics covered include: Risk assessment of hazardous materials, Automated systems for pollution prevention and hazardous materials elimination, Study design for the toxicity evaluation of ammonium perchlorate, Plasma sprayed bondable stainless surface coatings, Development of CFC-free cleaning processes, New fluorinated solvent alternatives to ozone depleting solvents, Cleaning with highly fluorinated liquids, Biotreatment of propyleneglycol nitrate by anoxic denitrification, Treatment of hazardous waste with white rot fungus, Hydrothermal oxidation as an environmentally benign treatment technology, Treatment of solid propellant manufacturing wastes by base hydrolysis, Design considerations for cleaning using supercritical fluid technology, and Centrifugal shear carbon dioxide cleaning.

Pickett, Lorri A.↗

Consequences of Slot Transactions on Airport Congestion and Environmental Protection

Recent trends in the liberalization of market access by many commercial airlines have opened the skies to virtually unlimited flights between many countries. However, this liberalization is stultified by the lack of airport capacity to accommodate the many flights that are generated by demand for capacity. Accordingly, the allocation of slots for open skies airlines remain dependent on the expansion and effective management of airport capacity. This article examines the ramifications of slot allocation on traffic peaking at airports and environmental concerns, which may emerge with this activity.

Abeyratne, Ruwantissa I.R.↗

Resource Recovery and Environmental Protection in Wyoming’s Greater Green River Basin Using Selective Nanostructured Membranes (Final Report)

Produced water (PW) represents a sizable waste stream that is co-generated with oil and natural gas production. In 2021 Wyoming ranked 8th and 9th, respectively in domestic oil and natural gas production. In 2017 Wyoming ranked as the 4th highest generator of PW in the U.S, accounting for 7% of the total volume generated. In the context of being the 3rd most arid state in the U.S., the value of water reuse becomes obvious. PW reuse, and resource recovery, in any form requires some level of treatment to remove particulates, residual (free, dispersed) hydrocarbons, organics, and salts. The level of treatment depends on the requirements of the reuse, or resource recovery, application. PW management systems in Wyoming employ in order of volume of PW managed the following management strategies: reinjection for enhanced oil recovery, surface discharge, deep well injection, evaporation ponds (impoundments), and commercial management/treatment. Complicating treatment efforts are the relatively high concentrations of organics (natural and synthetic), dispersed/free hydrocarbons, benzene-toluene-ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) compounds, biologicals, salts, and minerals. Hydrocarbons (dispersed/dissolved crude oils) and BTEX compounds, as well as synthetic organics, present economic and environmental concerns. The former represents lost revenue, while the latter results in negative environmental impacts like emissions from surface impoundments. The overall objective of this proposal was to synthesize superhydrophilic/oleophobic and superhydrophobic/oleophilic membranes for selectively concentrating and then separating BTEX compounds and oil and grease (O&G) from PW originating from the Greater Green River Basin (GGRB) in Wyoming. Three specific research aims were pursued to accomplish this overall objective. This final report details the development of the superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic membranes, as well as the design of the membrane module prototypes specifically. The technoeconomic assessment is separately reported in another document. 1. Aim #1 – Material optimization and performance evaluation of superhydrophilic/oleophobic and superhydrophobic/oleophilic membranes made by electrospinning/spraying. 2. Aim #2 – Design and construction of cross-flow membrane modules for selectively concentrating and then separating BTEX/oil from GGRB produced water. 3. Aim #3 – Techno-economic assessment of BTEX/oil recovery, and clean water production, using superhydrophilic/oleophobic and superhydrophobic/oleophilic membrane separation for GGRB PW. Superhydrophobic membranes were synthesized by electrospinning poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) nanofibers onto polyester (PET) substrates and electrospraying nano-carbon black/PVDF-HFP onto the nanofibrous layer. These membranes were characterized by high (>8000 liters per square meter per hour per bar (LMH/bar)) permeance values for pure hydrocarbon phases and a high hydrocarbon selectivity (>96%) when treating GGRB PW. All results were obtained when operating the membrane in a crossflow configuration representative of actual field operating conditions. Solvent/oil properties, specifically viscosity and total surface energy/tension, affected permeance across the membrane, which resulted in light mineral oil (394 LMH/bar) and o-xylene (1834 LMH/bar) being characterized by lower permeance values in the pure phase tests. Mixed phase fluxes between 40 to 80 LMH were obtained for the PW when operating the membrane at a feed pressure of 0.3 bar. Flux decreased as the mixed phase concentration in the feed decreased pointing to the importance of maximizing the collision efficiency between the emulsion and the membrane surface and maximizing the emulsion concentration in the feed and the turbulence within the feed channel. These tests demonstrated that the superhydrophobic membranes developed here are a viable hydrocarbon recovery method for GGRB PWs and should be pursued for testing in pilot-scale trials. Superhydrophilic membranes were successfully synthesized via electrospinning/spraying using polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers as a base nanofibrous matrix. Integration of polyaniline (PANI) into the nanofibrous matrix produced a superior membrane, for water filtration applications, relative to PAN alone and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) when integrated into the nanofibrous matrix. This conclusion was based on the PANI-PAN resistance to flux loss (fouling) when treating model solvent/oil solutions representative of GGRB PWs and field collected PW from the GGRB. The synthesized PAN membranes outperformed a commercially available PAN membrane designed for oil/water separation. This finding indicates that the surface chemical and physical characteristics of the electrospun membranes presents improved properties for filtration of challenging waters like GGRB PWs. The electrospun membranes therefore show promise overall as a substitute for conventionally polymerized membranes in PW treatment applications. The PANI-PAN membrane specifically presents superior performance characteristics for concentration O&G prior to treatment by the hydrocarbon recovery membrane and producing high-quality filtrate for reuse and/or additional treatment (desalination).

02 PETROLEUM↗

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) 26r Detailed Produced Water Compositions (version 1.0)

A database of geochemical compositions of aqueous species in produced water reported to the PA DEP. Samples were collected between mid-2012 to early-2020. Data from publicly-available PA DEP 26r reports were scraped from pdf files and cumulated into tabular spreadsheet format for >1000 produced water streams from Marcellus wells in Pennsylvania. In addition to providing the original values, the NETL NEWTS team has reformatted the dataset to allow sample streams to be easily copied into OLI Studio and Geochemist WorkBench (GWB) software for modeling the geochemistry and the recovery of critical minerals, such as lithium, from these produced water streams. In addition, a version of the dataset has been included with predictions for some missing values in the original dataset using machine learning techniques within CoDaRT software, a public ML software developed by the Nation Energy Technology Laboratory. We have made the Input into CoDaRT and one example output from CoDaRT available in this dataset.

Aqueous Chemistry↗

Environmental protection to 922K (1200 F) for titanium alloys

Evaluations are presented of potential coating systems for protection of titanium alloys from hot-salt stress-corrosion up to temperatures of 755 K (900 F) and from oxidation embrittlement up to temperature of 922 K (1200 F). Diffusion type coatings containing Si, Al, Cr, Ni or Fe as single coating elements or in various combinations were evaluated for oxidation protection, hot-salt stress-corrosion (HSSC) resistance, effects on tensile properties, fatigue properties, erosion resistance and ballistic impact resistance on an alpha and beta phase titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo). All of the coatings investigated demonstrated excellent oxidation protectiveness, but none of the coatings provided protection from hot-salt stress-corrosion. Experimental results indicated that both the aluminide and silicide types of coatings actually decreased the HSSC resistance of the substrate alloy. The types of coatings which have typically been used for oxidation protection of refractory metals and nickel base superalloys are not suitable for titanium alloys because they increase the susceptibility to hot-salt stress-corrosion, and that entirely new coating concepts must be developed for titanium alloy protection in advanced turbine engines.

Groves, M. T.↗

Environmental protection of titanium alloys at high temperatures

Various concepts were evaluated for protecting titanium alloys from oxygen contamination at 922 K (1200 F) and from hot-salt stress-corrosion at 755 K (900 F). It is indicated that oxygen-contamination resistance can be provided by a number of systems, but for hot-salt stress-corrosion resistance, factors such as coating integrity become very important. Titanium aluminides resist oxygen ingress at 922 K through the formation of alumina (on TiAl3) or modified TiO2 (on Ti3Al, TiAl) scales. TiAl has some resistance to attack by hot salt, but has limited ductility. Ductile Ti-Ni and Ti-Nb-Cr-Al alloys provide limited resistance to oxygen ingress, but are not greatly susceptible to hot-salt stress-corrosion cracking.

Wright, I. G.↗