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DOE OSTI2024

CO2 Transport Planning Database

The CO2 Transport Planning Database v3.0 is a geospatial resource, containing over 70 gigabytes of data representing critical considerations for the spatial routing of pipelines and transport of CO2, from source to sink. Considerations include state-specific legislation, land use requirements, existing infrastructure, and hazard prevention areas. Built to support strategic domestic energy transport planning and development, more than 60 layers of this database have been weighted (Weight fields) according to current legislation and pipeline construction recommendations. Weighted values range from zero to one, where zero represents potentially more acceptable areas for transport based on the various considerations, and a value of one represents areas that should be avoided. This geospatial database provides a baseline for the Smart CO2 Transport Planning Tool.

Boundaries↗

DOE OSTI2021

Combined Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of an Integrated Direct Air Capture System with Advanced Algal Biofuel Production

The continuous increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere since the First Industrial Revolution correlates convincingly with the ongoing rise of the Earth's global average temperature contributing to climate change. As a response, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies are being implemented to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions by capturing CO2 from high emitting point sources, such as power plants, refineries, and cement factories, and subsequently buried in geological formations underground for long term storage. Recently direct air capture (DAC) has emerged as a promising alternative technology that captures CO2 directly from the atmosphere for use or sequestration. This study investigates the potential synergistic benefits of integrating a solid amine-based DAC system with advanced algal biofuel production in photobioreactors (PBRs). DAC utilization allows the removal of atmospheric CO2 while also decoupling algae production facilities from anthropogenic point CO2 sources and avoiding the cost and logistics challenges of transporting CO2 long distances to remote facilities. Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment are performed to assess the economic and environmental benefits of heat and mass integration between the DAC and the PBR for biofuel production. The DAC-PBR system integration also considers on-site flue gas handling options, DAC capital utilization, the tradeoff between centralization or decentralization of key unit operations, and the PBR array. This presentation will discuss how optimizing DAC-PBR process integration can enhance the algal biofuel's economic and environmental sustainability and the prospect of DAC enabling the circular carbon economy.

algal biofuel production↗

DOE OSTI2022

Techno-Economic Evaluation of Strategies to Approach Net-Zero Carbon Sustainable Aviation Fuel via Woody Biomass Gasification and Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Reducing the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the transportation industry is a key target for achieving global net-zero carbon goals. Wide-spread electrification, efficient engine design, and alternative fuel implementations have been introduced for light-duty vehicles and are projected to significantly reduce light-duty emissions in the near future. Conversely, the aviation sector contributes considerably towards transportation-based carbon emissions, but current projections do not show substantial reductions in carbon emissions over time. Challenges for the aviation sector include low compatibility with electrification, relative inflexibility to variations in fuel properties, and requirement of high energy density fuels. Thus, identifying pathways to decarbonize the aviation sector via liquid low- or net-zero carbon biofuels that are compatible with current aviation infrastructure is crucial. This work investigates the economic feasibility of approaching net-zero carbon sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from woody biomass via gasification and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. In doing so, this assessment identifies the economic opportunities and trade-offs of several carbon mitigation strategies coupled with renewable resource interventions required to approach net-zero carbon fuels via biomass. Renewable natural gas and green hydrogen utilization strategies are assessed to examine the impact of fuel yield improvements versus renewable resource cost. Additionally, both carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and carbon capture and utilization (CCU) are considered in this analysis to help mitigate carbon loss to the atmosphere. Each scenario was assessed on cost, carbon efficiency, energy efficiency, and overall technology-readiness level (TRL). The results of this analysis show that renewable natural gas, green hydrogen, and CCS can be viewed as a low-cost, near-term carbon abatement strategies. However, in the long-term, deployment of more expensive and less technologically mature CCU technologies can make use of point sources of CO2 to boost overall fuel production.

aviation fuel↗

DOE OSTI2024

Energy impact of heating electrification in mid-rise multifamily buildings in mixed-humid climates

Decarbonizing the electric grid in conjunction with electrifying residential heating is a critical step to combat climate change. Heating in multifamily buildings with the existing natural gas-fired central boiler is a complex process that not only leads to overheating in some apartment units but also results in energy waste and high gas bills. In this study, we consider a multifamily building in New York City, USA, to evaluate the performance of five different heating systems, which represent a step-by-step transition from the conventional to a fully electrified heating system, and determine their impact on the site energy consumption and source CO 2 emissions. Results indicate that overheating in a multifamily building can raise the indoor temperature by as much as 8°C above comfortable limits. Transitioning from conventional steam radiators to cold climate heat pumps can reduce annual site heating energy by up to 70% and source CO 2 emissions by up to 21%.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

Biomanufacturing from gaseous C1 feedstocks: A perspective on opportunities and challenges

Single-carbon (C1) substrates including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane are abundantly available from natural and anthropogenic sources and present potential feedstocks for biomanufacturing. Utilizing these C1 gas feedstocks in bioprocesses for sustainable production of chemicals and fuels could prove pivotal in removing excess carbon from the atmosphere. This perspective describes the spectrum and sources of CO2, CO, and CH4 and examines emerging opportunities in microbial bioconversion and bioelectrochemical processes for these feedstocks. We discuss existing challenges in bioprocess development that currently restrict the commercialization of C1 biomanufacturing technologies. We detail different aerobic and anaerobic bioconversion approaches for C1 feedstocks employing pure and mixed cultures and examine the suitability of each scenario for producing specific molecules. Beyond strain engineering and bioprocess constraints, we address often overlooked factors that limit the development of efficient and reliable bioprocesses, including technology availability for research and safety considerations. We then discuss and recommend the necessary safety features and technological research tools for developing fast, safe, and efficient bioprocesses using gaseous feedstocks to support the scale-up and commercialization of C1 biomanufacturing technologies. This perspective provides an overview of the current scientific and industrial state of the art and offers insights into future technological needs that must be addressed to realize the potential of biomanufacturing from gaseous feedstocks. Synopsis: C1 gases offer a sustainable feedstock for biomanufacturing of fuels and chemicals. This work analyzes bioconversion methods, challenges, and safety considerations, and emphasizes the need for improved technology to enable commercialization.

Biomanufacturing↗

DOE OSTI2021

Technoeconomic and Life Cycle Analysis of Synthetic Methanol Production from Hydrogen and Industrial Byproduct CO 2

Here CO 2 capture and utilization provides an alternative pathway for low-carbon hydrocarbon production. Given the ample supply of high-purity CO 2 emitted from ethanol and ammonia plants, this study conducted technoeconomic analysis and environmental life cycle analysis of several systems: integrated methanol-ethanol coproduction, integrated methanol-ammonia coproduction, and stand-alone methanol production systems, using CO 2 feedstock from ethanol plants, ammonia plants, and general market CO 2 supply. The cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas emissions of methanol produced from the stand-alone methanol, integrated methanol-ethanol, and integrated methanol-ammonia systems are 13.6, 37.9, and 84.6 g CO 2 -equiv/MJ, respectively, compared to 91.5 g CO 2 -equiv/MJ of conventional methanol produced from natural gas. The minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of methanol ($\$0.61-0.64$/kg) is 61-68% higher than the average market methanol price of $\$0.38$/kg, when using a Department of Energy target renewable hydrogen production price of $\$2.0$/kg. The methanol price increases to $\$1.24-1.28$/kg when the hydrogen price is $\$5.0$/kg. Without CO 2 abatement credits, the H 2 price needs to be within $\$0.77-0.95$/kg for the MFSP of methanol to equal the average methanol market price. With a CO 2 credit of $\$35$/MT according to tax credit per metric ton of CO 2 captured and used, the methanol price is reduced to $\$0.56-0.59$/kg.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

Modeling algae cultivation at scale: Productivity, pond reliability, and resource consumption across the United States

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Computational Analysis of the Effect of Structured Packing Design on Absorption Column Hydrodynamics for Post-Combustion Carbon Capture Applications

Solvent based post-combustion carbon capture technologies have a potential for reducing carbon emissions from fossil-fuel-fired power plants and industrial sources where CO2 emissions are inherently harder to mitigate, such as steel or cement industries. A prominent technology to achieve this is by retrofitting absorption columns to the existing infrastructure. While these systems have been among the less costly alternatives for carbon capture, they still impose a considerable energy penalty to the operation of power plants or industrial facilities. The optimization of CO2 capture rate in solvent-based absorption process is complex as it depends on several factors including CO2 solubility, solvent reaction kinetics and temperature effects on the solubility, reaction rates, surface tension, and thermophysical properties of the solvent and the flue gas. The overall heat and mass transfer also depends on the hydrodynamics, which in turn, is affected by the packing geometry. In the current work, we systematically quantify the effects the design of the structured packing has on the column hydrodynamics, by performing detailed CFD simulations for different geometrical configurations and operating conditions. We then obtain relationships between the key hydrodynamic metrics, such as liquid holdup, interfacial area, wetted area, and pressure drop to the parameters defining the packing geometries and identify new more effective packing designs for the given operating conditions.

Shah, Yash Girish↗

DOE OSTI2024

Assessing Suitable Geologic Carbon Storage Sites Across Utah

Utah has a wealth of potential geological reservoirs for carbon dioxide storage (CS) and a long history of geologic research resulting in an abundance of available subsurface data to evaluate CS potential. Reservoirs may include sandstone, carbonate, and basalt; these rock types are plentiful in Utah’s subsurface and the complex Phanerozoic history throughout the state requires evaluating each geologic region individually for promising reservoir-seal pairs for CO2 storage. Classifying Utah by geologic provinces (or “geo-regions”) allows for customized thinking about suitable CS reservoir and seal distribution, CO2 point sources, land use, and existing infrastructure. Preliminary results from this study highlight the geologic CS potential across 15 geo-regions. Four regions stand out as having high CS potential: the Uinta Basin, San Rafael Swell, Paradox Basin, and the southern Basin and Range Province. The Uinta Basin and San Rafael Swell geo-regions are well suited for CS and have several projects ongoing to evaluate Cretaceous Frontier and Naturita Formations, Jurassic Navajo Sandstone and Entrada Sandstone, and Permian Weber Sandstone reservoir units that lie beneath robust sealing units like the ~5000-ft-thick Mancos Shale and Carmel Formation. Reservoirs such as the Navajo and Weber Sandstones have been demonstrated to be suitable reservoirs through a long history of oil and gas exploration in Utah. New areas of interest include the southern Basin and Range in southwest Utah, where the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone is overlain by the sealing Carmel Formation at suitable depths (>3000 ft), and has good porosities based on outcrop analogue data. Just to the north (e.g., central Basin and Range), legacy wells and 2D seismic data show possible salt and subsurface basalt flows that may provide additional possible CS reservoirs and seals. This geo-region also has the advantage of being coupled with geothermal energy resources that may be used to power burgeoning direct air capture technologies. In the Paradox Basin of southeastern Utah, the Leadville Limestone is a potential storage reservoir beneath the thick (4000–5000 ft), salt-bearing Pennsylvanian Paradox Formation. Although the northern and western parts of Utah offer CS potential, these areas typically contain less infrastructure and subsurface penetrations, creating geologic uncertainty associated with subsurface seals and reservoirs due to a lack of data. Overall, this statewide assessment and ranking is the first step to aid in evaluating CS potential across Utah and provides a foundation for future research in the most favorable locations.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

SPRUCE Climate Warming and Elevated CO2 Rapidly Alter Peatland Soil Carbon Sources and Stability: Supporting Data

This data set reports a suite of complementary biogeochemical analyses of peat samples from the SPRUCE (Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments) experiment. Results were collected using quantitative molecular analysis of bulk soil carbon to assess the stability of soil organic carbon following whole-ecosystem warming and exposure to elevated carbon dioxide concentrations (eCO2). Targeted soil organic carbon components include solvent-extractable compounds (alkanoic acids, alkanols, alkanes, steroids, and terpenoids), ester-bound hydrolysable biopolymers (cutin and suberin markers), lignin phenols, and pyrogenic carbon. Bulk peat samples were analysed by Soxhlet extraction and solid phase separation for solvent-extractable compounds, alkaline hydrolysis to extract hydrolysable biopolymers, copper (II) oxide oxidation to extract lignin phenols and benzene polycarboxylic acids (BPCAs) as an approximation of pyrogenic carbon. Samples were analysed by gas chromatography (GC) equipped with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and compound identification was performed on GC coupled to mass selective detector (MS) for solvent-extractable compounds, ester-bound hydrolysable biopolymers and lignin phenols, and high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) for pyrogenic carbon. Results are presented in Ofiti et al. (accepted). The experimental work was conducted on samples collected in August 2018 at the SPRUCE climate manipulation experiment in northern Minnesota, 40 km north of Grand Rapids, in the USDA Forest Service Marcell Experimental Forest (MEF). Samples were collected and later analysed in a 10 cm increments over 0 to 50 cm depth and 25 cm intervals from 50 to 75 cm. Samples were analyzed for lignin phenols over 0 to 30 cm depth. This data set contains one file in comma separate (*.csv) format. This dataset contains data used to produce: Ofiti, N.O.E., Schmidt, M.W.I., Abiven, S., Hanson, P.J., Iversen, C.M., Wilson, R.M., Kostka, J.E., Wiesenberg, G.L.B., Malhotra, A. 2023. Climate warming and elevated CO2 rapidly alter peatland soil carbon sources and stability. Nat Commun 14, 7533. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43410-z.

SPRUCE experiment, Marcell Experimental Forest, so↗

DOE OSTI2024

A Workflow for Characterizing Legacy Wells as Potential Leakage Pathways for Integration to NRAP-Open-IAM

Carbon capture and storage is a crucial component of climate change mitigation strategies, involving the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from point sources and its injection into permeable subsurface formation. Many suitable CO2 storage sites coincide with legacy wells since the conditions that kept hydrocarbons in-situ for thousands of years are also ideal for storage of carbon dioxide. To protect underground sources of drinking water (USDW) during greenhouse gas injection, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandates area of review evaluations. These evaluations ensure that drinking water sources would not be contaminated by injected fluids. They include identification of legacy wellbores, integrity assessments, and implementing any necessary corrective action. Previous assessment approaches of legacy wells include high-level scoring of regional data and well construction and abandonment evaluation. This work describes a novel methodology that evaluates well construction and abandonment, ranks them based on complexity, and performs a risk assessment with NRAP-Open-IAM. A workflow of the methodology is presented, highlighting its capabilities and limitations.

Wise, Jarrett↗

DOE OSTI2023

Formate as an Energy Source to Allow Sugar Fermentation with No Net CO2 Generation: Integration of Electrochemistry with Fermentation

This poster summarizes at a high-level the scope of various groups' work on Formate as an Energy Source to Allow Sugar Fermentation with No Net CO2 Generation: Integration of Electrochemistry with Fermentation. The goals of this research are to develop and demonstrate an integrated process that electrochemically generates formate from CO2 and use the formate as an energy source for the fermentation of sugars to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) without net CO2 generation wherein formate provides reducing equivalents for sugar fermentation and a chemical looping reactor system takes advantage of intermittent low-cost electricity from wind and solar resources.

BIOMASS FUELS,INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND AN↗

DOE OSTI2024

The Integration and Mapping of an Open-Source National Well Resource to Inform Geologic Carbon Storage Site Selection and Risk Prevention: The CO2-Locate Database

Geologic carbon storage (GCS) offers a way to capture and permanently store CO₂ from fossil fuel operations in underground geologic structures, aiding in the transition to a carbon-neutral energy economy. However, CO₂ injection sites can experience gas leakage through existing wells that penetrate storage reservoirs, making knowledge of well locations and characteristics crucial for permitting, infrastructure reusability, and risk assessment in GCS. Currently, public wellbore data from state, federal, and tribal entities are inconsistent and fragmented, with gaps and redundancies. To address this, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) developed CO2-Locate, an open-source, geospatial database and online application. CO2-Locate integrates over 50 data sources from federal, state, and tribal entities, creating a standardized national well database. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the database is publicly available through the Energy Data eXchange (EDX) and viewable via the CO2-Locate web mapping application. This tool allows users to query, filter, and visualize well data to support GCS planning, permitting, and risk assessments. This presentation covers the methods used to create CO2-Locate, including data acquisition, processing, attribute mapping, and integration, much of which is automated for future updates. The web mapping application and its role in GCS site selection will also be discussed.

Tetteh, Daniel A.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Carbon Storage Planning Inquiry Tool (CS PlanIT)

The CS PlanIT provides stakeholders with easy access to geographically explore, query, and evaluate multiple data layers for a user-defined area of interest, with the goal to accelerate carbon storage resource, feasibility assessments, and planning efforts. The data within CS PlanIT are arranged and categorized to assess each stage of the Carbon Capture and Storage supply chain, from CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) emission sources, critical energy infrastructure (including transport), to CO2 geologic storage and sink locations. Furthermore, stakeholders can gain insights into community and environmental impacts, as CS PlanIT leverages Environmental Justice and Social Justice (EJSJ) and natural hazard datasets. Additionally, documentation in the form of an interactive ArcGIS story map and data catalog are included within the EDX publication to provide user’s information to better understand and explain CS PlanIT’s layout, functions, and associated data sets.

Justman, Devin M.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Biomethanation to Upgrade Biogas to Pipeline Grade Methane

NREL is working closely with DOE, Electrochaea GmbH, and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) to reduce costs of a biomethanation process capable of megawatt-scale deployment that upgrades organic biogas waste streams to produce pipeline quality renewable natural gas (RNG). Biomethanation is a two-step process using a single-celled methanogenic archaea that converts low-carbon low-cost hydrogen (H2) and waste carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce renewable methane (CH4). The process upgrades the biogenic CO2 - while allowing the CH4 to pass through - from biogas sources like dairies, wastewater treatment plants, and landfills. The CH4 produced is a drop-in direct replacement fuel and producers can participate in the growing number of carbon markets; like California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the Federal Renewable Fuel Standard. NREL and Argonne National Laboratory have completed a life cycle analysis using the GREET model to show that the biomethanation process produces RNG that is carbon negative even when H2 production via low-temperature water electrolysis is driven by the existing carbon intensity of California's electricity grid. And of course, even further carbon negative (-233 kg CO2e/kWh) when the electricity is produced from low-carbon sources like wind and solar. Leveraging lessons learned from operating SoCalGas' 700L 18-bar bioreactor system, NREL is designing and building a flexible RD&D platform that will enable field trials at biogas and other CO2 sources. A custom 16' long trailer will house a 20L 18-bar bioreactor, 3 - 25 kW proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, and dosing, thermal, and controls systems to support operations with only power, biogas, and water feedstocks required by the field locations. The end-of-project goal is to demonstrate pipeline quality RNG production (> 95% CH4, < 4% H2, <1% CO2, < 0.2% O2 and < 4 parts per million H2 sulfide) using real biogas feedstocks - thereby recycling both greenhouse gases for injection into the natural gas network or to be used onsite.

biogas upgrading↗

DOE OSTI2024

An integrated experimental–modeling approach to identify key processes for carbon mineralization in fractured mafic and ultramafic rocks

Abstract Controlling atmospheric warming requires immediate reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, as well as the active removal and sequestration of CO2 from current point sources. One promising proposed strategy to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels is geologic carbon sequestration (GCS), where CO2 is injected into the subsurface and reacts with the formation to precipitate carbonate minerals. Rapid mineralization has recently been reported for field tests in mafic and ultramafic rocks. However, unlike saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas reservoirs historically considered for GCS, these formations can have extremely low porosities and permeabilities, limiting storage volumes and reactive mineral surfaces to the preexisting fracture network. As a result, coupling between geochemical interactions and the fracture network evolution is a critical component of long-term, sustainable carbon storage. In this paper, we summarize recent advances in integrating experimental and modeling approaches to determine the first-order processes for carbon mineralization in a fractured mafic/ultramafic rock system. We observe the critical role of fracture aperture, flow, and surface characteristics in controlling the quantity, identity, and morphology of secondary precipitates and present where the influence of these factors can be reflected in newly developed thermo-hydro-mechanical–chemical models. Our findings provide a roadmap for future work on carbon mineralization, as we present the most important system components and key challenges that we are overcoming to enable GCS in mafic and ultramafic rocks.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2023

Decarbonization of Wastewater Treatment with Microalgae Processes.

Microalgae can contribute to the decarbonization of wastewater treatment by municipalities, industries and agriculture, by substituting sunlight for energy intensive conventional treatment processes, while capturing nutrients and carbon in the algal biomass. The carbon fixed into the algal biomass can be converted to renewable natural gas (RNG) using anaerobic digestion or into renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), with greatly reduce the carbon footprints compared to conventional fuels. Bioplastics, biofertilizers and other bioproducts from microalgae biomass also provide potential benefits in greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and domestic supply chains. Microalgae technologies can counter eutrophication caused by harmful algal blooms by recovering nutrients, N and P, from wastewaters, and even from very low nutrient concentrations found in surface waters. CO2 is required in microalgae cultivation and wastewater treatment to support maximal rates of the photosynthesis, with the CO2 obtained from the wastes themselves, other local sources or even atmospheric CO2. Greenhouse gas mitigation with microalgae processes is based on life cycle assessments, comparing such green processes with current energy intensive wastewater treatment, and nutrient reduction technologies. Microalgae technologies are specifically relevant to smaller, often disadvantaged, communities, where currently about 5,000 algae wastewater treatment ponds are operated by public utilities with many more are operated by industries. However, many, if not most, of these pond facilities require urgent technology upgrades to achieve the potential and goals of low cost GHG mitigation and efficient nutrient recycling. MicroBio Engineering Inc. is developing and has demonstrated several technologies that combine innovative carbon mitigation and decarbonization technologies for a circular economy, with longer-term potential for large-scale biofuels and biofertilizer production.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Decarbonization of Wastewater Treatment with Microalgae Processes.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗