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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Distribution Grid Impact Study in Highland Park, Michigan: Understanding Rooftop Solar, Behind-the-Meter Energy Storage, Electric Vehicle Charging, and Building Electrification [Slides]

Through the Communities LEAP (Local Energy Action Program) Pilot, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) engaged the Highland Park Stakeholder Coalition to scope four technical assistance work areas to address their energy needs and goals. This slide deck addresses the highlighted tasks under work area "B" related to policy analysis, due diligence, and case studies for removing barriers and providing best practices for local clean energy development. Highland Park community members face frequent, long-duration power interruptions due largely to the aging distribution system serving the area and the legacy design standards used in its construction. While degrading physical infrastructure such as poles, crossarms, and transformers can result in this substandard reliability, another notable characteristic of this legacy system is the lower, 4.8 kV, voltage class. This is a legacy construction standard which many utilities, DTE included, are phasing out in favor of higher, 15 or 25 kV, voltage classes instead. The existing 4.8 kV distribution system serving Highland Park may limit significant adoptions of clean-energy technologies like high percentages of building electrification or electric vehicle adoption. The following analysis seeks to quantify these limitations under a variety of clean-energy technology adoption scenarios. It compares the overall system risks of the present system to those of a hypothetical, upgraded 13.2 kV system, using NREL-developed risk metrics and offers upgrade cost considerations. The legacy 4.8 kV voltage class serving Highland park is not, as we have modeled it, a major limitation to the widespread adoption of cost-optimal rooftop solar and/or behind-the-meter energy storage. Within our modeling framework, these technologies namely impact secondary, low-voltage assets, which may be remedied without the need for a system-wide upgrade to a 13.2 kV voltage class. Our model of the current 4.8kV system indicates it is not capable of supporting community-wide electrification efforts. Widespread building electrification, and the resulting large increase in wintertime load, dramatically increases the prevalence of voltage violations and thermal overloading on the current 4.8 kV distribution system. These impacts illustrate the need for system-wide upgrades to a 13.2 kV voltage class to accommodate these technologies. Low to Moderate DER adoption does not adversely impact the grid but does improve undervoltage and asset overloading issues. However, these benefits are insufficient to defer grid upgrades. Higher DER penetration is shown to increase overvoltage and asset overloading in future electrification scenarios.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Third Harmonic Generator Optics Loop Transportation and Handling

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) uses crystal optics made from Potassium Di-Hydrogen Phosphate (KDP) for frequency conversion, changing the fundamental wavelength of 1053 nm to the third harmonic at 351 nm. The crystal optics are manufactured at a vendor and shipped to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) where they are measured, mitigated, cleaned, coated, and placed into line replaceable units (LRUs) in the Optics Processing Facility (OPF) clean room and transported to the NIF where they are stored under Nitrogen purge until they are installed in the beamline. The KDP crystal optics are sensitive to humidity and temperature, so they are stored under Nitrogen purge providing a clean and dry environment. The sensitivity to the environment and the brittle nature of the crystals makes transportation and handling (T&H) challenging. Coupled with challenges in holding the crystal optics in the LRU to not distort the optic, there is a balance between T&H and fixturing the optic in the laser system. The purpose of the LRU is to make the optics interchangeable allowing for a relatively quick interchange. Kinematic mounts and ceramic frames aid in making this possible. Optics in the NIF that are frequently changed out have an established recycle loop. The loop for an optic can be complex depending on the amount of processing and rework necessary. Some optics can’t be reconditioned so they are replaced with new optics.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Technical and Economic Assessment and Gap Analysis of Advanced Nuclear Reactor Integration with a Reference Oil Refinery

Efforts to identify the most-economic methods to decarbonize several sectors of the U.S. economy are underway. Industrial processes such as crude-oil refining rely heavily on energy-dense and easily stored and transported fossil fuels for powering their operations. Refineries use large amounts of energy, primarily derived from fossil sources to separate crude-oil components, break down heavier hydrocarbons into lighter compounds, remove impurities, reform hydrocarbon molecules, and generate steam and electricity for pumps and compressors and other various auxiliary systems. Crude-oil refining operations such as distillation, cracking, desulfurization, reforming, utilities systems and some offsite facilities collectively account for most of the energy consumption. Other operations such as hydrocracking or hydrotreating also require hydrogen for developing hydrogenation reactions which involve substantial heating to keep the reactors at high-temperature and pressure levels. All heat and energy demands are typically provided by natural gas (NG), oil, or other fuels, which makes refinery industry one of the most-difficult sectors to decarbonize. Nuclear power is a viable and energy-dense source of clean electricity, heat, and hydrogen to provide the large, sustainable energy supply that the refining industry demands. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Integrated Energy Systems (IES) program is working to perform research and development, design, economic siting, and risk analysis. This state-of-the-art work will enable the first on-site demonstrations and commercial deployments of advanced small modular nuclear reactors (SMNRs) integrated with industries such as chemical production, refining, iron and steel making, and more. IES seeks to demonstrate the ability of advanced nuclear reactors to meet the heat and power demands of these industries while reducing carbon emissions in a sustainable and cost-competitive way. The primary objective of this research effort is to analyze industrial-scale SMNR integration intended to decarbonize refining facilities. The foreseen outcome is the provision of reliable, cost-competitive, and sustainable clean energy, alongside a reduction of carbon emissions. Specifically, the focus of this work lies on meeting the reference facilities’ heat and electricity demands with nuclear power while also supplying clean hydrogen via integrated high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE). This report presents a comprehensive technical and economic assessment of the integration of advanced nuclear reactors into a reference refinery, leveraging financial incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The evaluation aims to explore the potential economic benefits and challenges associated with incorporating advanced nuclear reactors into refinery operations, particularly in terms of energy efficiency, economic implications and environmental impact. By examining both the technical feasibility and economic viability, this analysis seeks to identify existing gaps and propose solutions for successful nuclear integration implementation. The findings are intended to provide valuable insights for stakeholders considering the adoption of advanced nuclear reactors in the refining sector. A refinery reference-plant was developed, using an open-source refinery model, Petroleum Refinery Lifecycle Inventory Model (PRELIM) and expert assessment, as a base case for comparison with various nuclear integration options. The capacity of 100 kbd/day (KBD) of heavy crude-oil feed was selected to represent a general coking-type refinery with deep conversion capabilities (incorporating heavy-oil upgrading with FCC, coking, and associated hydrotreating process units), using a heavy crude-oil feed, which represents about 70% of U.S. refineries configurations. A summary of all cases considered in this study is shown in Table 1.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

NORTH DAKOTA CARBONSAFE PHASE III: SITE CHARACTERIZATION AND PERMITTING OF GEOLOGIC STORAGE OF CARBON DIOXIDE

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), in partnership with Minnkota Power Cooperative Inc. (Minnkota), SLB, and Computer Modelling Group Ltd. (CMG), supported wide-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) Initiative Phase III. This phase included the acquisition, analysis, and development of information to fully characterize two storage complexes to demonstrate viable storage resources for commercial volumes of CO2 (defined by DOE as a minimum of 50 million tonnes [MMt] of CO2 within a 30-year period) (National Energy Technology Laboratory, 2024). Phase III also involved the preparation, submission, and approval of North Dakota underground injection control (UIC) Class VI storage facility permits (SFPs)—required precursors to applications for Class VI injection well permits. The presumed viability of commercial-scale CCS, situated adjacent to Minnkota’s Milton R. Young Station (MRYS), is validated by Minnkota’s continued pursuit of Project Tundra—an initiative to build the world’s largest lignite-based CCS project in central North Dakota (www.projecttundrand.com). Project Tundra comprises two scopes of work, Tundra Capture (installation of postcombustion CO2 capture at MRYS) and Tundra SGS (secure geologic storage). The efforts of North Dakota CarbonSAFE Phase III, Site Characterization and Permitting, supported Tundra SGS. Extensive site-specific characterization activities included a successful multimeasurement geophysical approach and drilling a stratigraphic test well (J-ROC 1, subsequently renamed Liberty-1) adjacent to MRYS. Core collection and analyses, downhole testing and fluid sampling, and geophysical logging were performed on J-ROC 1 and on a nearby stratigraphic test well (known as J-LOC 1), which was drilled, cored, and tested under a complementary project funded by the North Dakota Lignite Research Program. The injection tests performed on J-LOC 1 positively impacted the CarbonSAFE project, resulting in fewer proposed injection wells and significant construction, operations, and monitoring cost savings. The characterization data collected and analyses performed were integrated into geologic models, and successive numerical simulations were run to determine CO2 plume extent and subsurface pressure buildup associated with the planned CO2 injection rate of nearly 4 MMt per year. The latter doubles the CarbonSAFE Initiative goal with an estimated 100 MMt of CO2 stored in 20 years. Application of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) method for estimating the Class VI Rule area of review (AOR) to the overpressurized Broom Creek Formation inspired an alternative method of calculation, called risk-based AOR delineation. This peer-reviewed method was applied for the first time during the storage facility-permitting process. The two SFP applications submitted in 2021 successfully resulted in North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) orders in 2022 authorizing the creation of the storage facility areas and amalgamation of pore space as well as establishing financial responsibility requirements. After approval of the SFPs, Minnkota filed in 2022 applications for permits to reenter the J-ROC 1 well and to drill two new wells—all with the intended purpose to become Class VI injection wells. To establish eligibility under the Internal Revenue Code for Section 45Q tax incentives, a monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) plan was prepared and submitted by Minnkota to EPA in 2022, resulting in the first such plan approved in North Dakota. Also in 2022, under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Minnkota prepared and submitted an environmental information volume (EIV) describing the proposed CCS project and associated potential environmental impacts. Based on the EIV, DOE determined that the proposed construction project required an environmental assessment, and Minnkota submitted the first draft in 2023 and a revised draft in 2024. Both submissions were followed by a public comment period. Subsequently, DOE issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) on September 13, 2024. A successful outreach program, strongly based in the production, presentation, and dissemination of informational material, fostered an environment to aid stakeholders in making informed decisions regarding the planned project. Opportunities for public input were provided at various steps along the way, including at county planning and zoning meetings, before and during the SFP administrative hearing, and during environmental assessment public comment periods. In addition, land/pore space owners and mineral owners had various points of contact, including granting access rights, securing pore space leasing, and mineral owner notifications. Based upon the successful storage facility permitting issued by NDIC, approval of the MRV plan by EPA, and receipt of a FONSI under the NEPA, Minnkota is continuing its pursuit of Project Tundra. In December 2023, the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations under its Carbon Capture Demonstrations Projects Program announced funding for the capture system (Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, 2023) and a proposal for CarbonSAFE Phase IV: Construction funding was submitted in March 2024 for the storage project. A go/no-go decision to proceed with construction and operations in the Broom Creek Formation is anticipated in 2024. References National Energy Technology Laboratory, CarbonSafe Initiative, https://netl.doe.gov/carbon-management/carbon-storage/carbonsafe (accessed August 2024). Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, 2023, OCED selects three projects in CA, ND, and TX to reduce harmful carbon pollution, create new economic opportunities, and advance carbon reducing technologies, December, www.energy.gov/oced/articles/oced-selects-three-projects-ca-nd-and-tx-reduce-harmful-carbon-pollution-create-new (accessed August 2024).

Peck, Wesley↗
DOE OSTI2024

Kansas City, Missouri, Streetlight Electric Vehicle Charging: Strategies and challenges for site selection of streetlight electric vehicle infrastructure in Kansas City, Missouri (Final Report)

Public streetlight charging, whether on streets in central business districts or residential areas, provides easy charging access for apartment residents and homeowners alike. While most electric vehicle (EV) drivers charge at home, they do so in garages or on driveways they own. For renters and residents of multifamily housing (MFH), however, this may not be an option. EVs have a lower cost of ownership compared to conventional vehicles, and a used EV may be an affordable option for a lower-income household. But without easy access to charging, even a low-cost used EV may not be an option for a prospective buyer. An affordable curbside charging network has the potential to expand EV adoption into neighborhoods that have to date seen minimal interest and uptake of the technology and associated charging infrastructure. Streetlight charging networks can provide an economical, scalable, and effective approach to providing equitable and convenient charging. Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) is dedicated to the mission of creating resource efficiency, environmental health, and economic vitality in the Kansas City region and beyond. Since 1983, MEC has provided resources, outreach, and training to make alternative fuels and energy efficiency commonplace. MEC led a streetlight charging pilot project that installed limited EV charging infrastructure on the streetlight system in Kansas City, Missouri, to demonstrate and test the benefits of curbside charging for EVs at existing on-street parking locations. The project aimed to cost-effectively expand the charging network in Kansas City to support residential charging and provide infrastructure in one or more charging deserts throughout the city. This pilot evaluates the impact and overall success of streetlight charging based on community feedback, utilization of charging infrastructure, technical feasibility, and cost. The project has pursued a data- and community-driven site selection process designed to identify sites with high demand and high opportunity for EV charging. This project was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and awarded to MEC through a competitive proposal process. The novelty and complexity of this project required an organization that could facilitate collaboration across levels of government, community members, and industry partners. For the past 25 years, through Kansas City Regional Clean Cities, MEC has worked with numerous public and private fleets on a variety of projects to improve the environmental performance and efficiency of the regional vehicle fleet. To advance affordable, efficient, and clean transportation efforts, DOE Clean Cities and Communities coalitions create local networks of public and private sector stakeholders and engage communities. Rooted within their local communities, the coalitions serve as experts and ambassadors, bringing to bear the collective knowledge, experience, and practical know-how of the entire network from within DOE, its national laboratories, and diverse stakeholders in the field. MEC and its project partners made in-kind contributions to leverage federal dollars for the benefit of the Kansas City community. Findings from this project will help determine the best applications for streetlight charging technologies to maximize funding impact and serve community needs. The team evaluated locations based on expected charging demand, technical feasibility, safety considerations, and enhanced charging network siting needs. Throughout the project, the team gathered feedback and evaluated ways to make public charging for EVs available to all community members. The insights will help Kansas City and other communities streamline future efforts to support EV drivers through public charging in the city right-of-way. Furthermore, this project will inform citywide guidance for future installations. MEC is committed to a transparent and publicly accessible approach that encourages the collaborative evaluation of streetlight charging. The project has engaged the community to proactively identify and evaluate the benefits and impacts of streetlight charging. It was a priority for the project to ensure the benefits of this pilot are distributed equitably to all members of the Kansas City community and that new charging opportunities and associated resources are available in diverse neighborhoods across the city. The charging infrastructure supports an affordable curbside charging network that will enable more drivers to choose EVs and provide easy charging access for all community members interested in driving an EV. The community feedback received through this project informed future resources and opportunities to make EVs more accessible to all members of the Kansas City community. MEC worked with several community partners on this project, including Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST), Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL); the city of Kansas City, Missouri; Evergy; Black and McDonald (B&M); LilyPad EV; EVNoire; and Westside Housing Organization (WHO). Project partners contributed to the cost match required for DOE grants through capital expenditures, personnel, and other in-kind contributions. Detailed descriptions of project team organizations can be found in Appendix A. Project Partners. Analysts at NREL and MST/PennState developed site maps based on demand and equity considerations. MEC conducted outreach to community members to garner input on project design and site selection, and received approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) for Evergy’s EV charging station ownership. MEC worked with all partners to gather additional siting criteria and developed a site selection evaluation checklist, and partners conducted site visits to proposed installation sites. Next, B&M, Evergy, and the city executed all site agreements, conducted site-specific engineering design, acquired associated permits, and issued notices to proceed site by site or in small batches. Finally, from January to April 2023, the project team installed 23 EV charging stations built on Kansas City’s streetlight system in six council districts. Evergy will own, operate, and monitor the stations for 10 years, sharing charging data with MEC for at least 1 year.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Demand Response in Residential Energy Code: Technical Brief

As buildings account for over 75% of U.S. electricity use, effectively managing their loads can greatly facilitate the transition towards a clean, reliable grid. Grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) combine efficiency and demand flexibility with smart technologies and communication to provide occupant comfort and productivity while serving the grid as a distributed energy resource (DER). In turn, GEBs can play a key role in ensuring access to an affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern U.S. electric power system. Their national adoption could provide $\$$100-200 billion in U.S. electric power system cost savings over the next two decades. The associated reduction in CO 2 emissions is estimated at 6% per year by 2030 (DOE 2021). Building codes represent standard design practice in the construction industry and continually evolve to include advanced technologies and innovative practices. Historically, national model energy codes establish minimum efficiency requirements for new construction (ICC 2020). Expanding codes to support GEB capabilities is a pivotal step towards realizing demand flexibility in support of a clean grid by addressing capabilities to improve interoperability between smart building systems, the grid, and renewable energy resources. Realizing GEBs requires buildings with automated demand response (DR) capabilities that enable standardized communication with or control of, subject to explicit consumer consent, energy smart appliances or home energy management systems. This is achieved through direct or indirect (i.e., via an aggregator) communication between appliances and the electric grid. Energy codes can also support DR communication standardization and advance the deployment of building-integrated DERs such as energy storage, generation, and electric vehicles (EVs). Incorporating automated DR capabilities in energy codes provides many benefits to the consumers. Specifically, it aligns building electric load demand with intermittent renewable energy source availability, decreases peak load on the electric grid, allows buildings to respond to utility price signals, supports electrical network reliability and market growth of products and processes aligned with clean economic growth. The incorporation of DR into the model residential energy codes was considered for both the 2021 and 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) code development cycles. The approved DR measures in the 2021 cycle were removed in response to appeals (ICC 2020). Updated language was presented for consideration again for the 2024 IECC, where it was negotiated and again approved, and again removed in response to appeals (ICC 2024). This resulted in many sections, including sections on demand responsive controls, being moved to the credits options or an appendix as a voluntary application. This technical brief updates the proposed DR components such that they can be considered by states and local governments for direct incorporation into their codes, as well as for future IECC energy code development. The proposal refinements are intended to support consistency in approach and provide a degree of certainty for building owners, designers, contractors, manufacturers, and building and fire safety professionals. The scope of this technical brief includes three strategies for DR in residential buildings: 1) smart thermostats with demand-responsive control, 2) electric water heating incorporating demand-responsive controls and communication and 3) grid Integrated solar and energy storage systems.

2021 IECC↗
DOE OSTI2025

CSP Plant Optimization Study for the California Power Market (“CalCSP”) (Final Technical Report)

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) with thermal energy storage offers a unique and strategic opportunity to support California’s clean energy transition. Unlike photovoltaic (PV) systems, CSP with thermal storage can generate electricity after sunset and during periods of high demand, making it a valuable complement to intermittent renewable resources. CSP also provides synchronous, inertia-contributing generation, long-duration storage, and flexible dispatch—capabilities increasingly important as thermal plants retire. This report summarizes the findings of the CSP Plant Optimization Study for the California Power Market or “CalCSP study,” which evaluated the technical, economic, environmental, and policy factors that influence the deployment of CSP technologies in California. The CalCSP study was conducted to assess how CSP can contribute to California’s long-term decarbonization goals while enhancing grid reliability, supporting local economic development, and making efficient use of land and transmission resources. It draws on detailed modeling of CSP performance and costs, site suitability analysis, policy reviews, and stakeholder engagement across utilities, regulators, developers, and community organizations. The analysis focuses on mature molten-salt tower technology and incorporates lessons learned from the global CSP fleet, distinguishing today’s CSP from earlier first-of-a-kind projects in the U.S. The findings support a more prominent role for CSP in California’s evolving clean energy landscape. With strategic planning, targeted policy support, and continued cost improvements, CSP can complement PV and batteries to deliver reliable, around-the-clock clean electricity—especially in areas with high solar resource and constrained grid capacity.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Upgrading of Raw Coal and Coal Waste for Coal-Derived Graphene Process

Conference presentation at 47th International Technical Conference on Clean Energy (Clearwater Clean Energy Conference), Clearwater, Florida, July 23–27, 2023. The University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) conducted a laboratory-scale coal-derived graphene (CDG) project focused on developing a technological process for making graphite from four U.S. domestic coals and coal wastes. Coal and coal waste preprocessing methods were developed and applied to clean and upgrade the coal precursors prior to graphitization and subsequent conversion to graphene products. Carbonization and graphitization of these preprocessed coals and coal wastes has produced graphite, which was used to make graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) were also made from the raw and upgraded coal precursors.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2023

Improving bioenergy recovery from municipal wastewater with a novel cloth-filter anaerobic membrane bioreactor

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR) have been used for treating high-strength industrial wastewater at full-scale and the potential to use them for mainstream municipal wastewater treatment presents an important opportunity to turn energy-intensive plants into net-energy producers. However, several limitations of the AnMBR technology have prevented their adoption in the municipal wastewater industry, namely, high membrane cleaning energy demand and low membrane flux. This study demonstrated a novel AnMBR configuration that uses a commercially available cloth filter technology to address the key limitations of cleaning energy and membrane flux. The cloth filter anaerobic membrane bioreactor (CFAnMBR) is comprised of an anaerobic fixed-film bioreactor coupled with a cloth filter membrane with nominal pore size of 5 µm. The pilot CFAnMBR was operated for 150 days through the winter at a municipal wastewater plant in central Illinois (minimum/average influent temperature 5/13°C). The CFAnMBR increased membrane flux by more than 2 orders of magnitude (3,649 ± 1,246 L per meter squared per hour) and reduced cleaning energy demand by 78%—92% (0.0085 kWh/m 3 ) relative to previously reported AnMBR configurations. With the CFAnMBR, average chemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids removal were 66% and 91%, respectively, and were shown to be increased up to 88% and 96% by in-line coagulant dosing with ferric chloride. Average headspace methane yield was 154 mL CH 4 /g COD removed by the end of the study period with influent temperatures of 11°C± 4°C. The CFAnMBR resolves major limitations of AnMBR technology by employing a commercially-available technology already used for other municipal wastewater treatment applications.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Modeling Systems’ Disruption and Social Acceptance—A Proof-of-Concept Leveraging Reinforcement Learning

As the need for a just and equitable energy transition accelerates, disruptive clean energy technologies are becoming more visible to the public. Clean energy technologies, such as solar photovoltaics and wind power, can substantially contribute to a more sustainable world and have been around for decades. However, the fast pace at which they are projected to be deployed in the United States (US) and the world poses numerous technical and nontechnical challenges, such as in terms of their integration into the electricity grid, public opposition and competition for land use. For instance, as more land-based wind turbines are built across the US, contention risks may become more acute. This article presents a methodology based on reinforcement learning (RL) that minimizes contention risks and maximizes renewable energy production during siting decisions. As a proof-of-concept, the methodology is tested on a case study of wind turbine siting in Illinois during the 2022–2035 period. Results show that using RL halves potential delays due to contention compared to a random decision process. This approach could be further developed to study the acceptance of offshore wind projects or other clean energy technologies.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Diesel Particulate Filter Durability Performance Comparison Using Metals Doped B20 vs. Conventional Diesel Part II: Chemical and Microscopic Characterization of Aged DPFs

This project's objective was to generate experimental data to evaluate the impact of metals doped B20 on diesel particle filter (DPF) ash loading and performance compared to that of conventional petrodiesel. The effect of metals doped B20 vs. conventional diesel on a DPF was quantified in a laboratory controlled accelerated ash loading study. The ash loading was conducted on two DPFs - one using ULSD fuel and the other on B20 containing metals dopants equivalent to 4 ppm B100 total metals. Engine oil consumption and B20 metals levels were accelerated by a factor of 5, with DPFs loaded to 30 g/L of ash. Details of the ash loading experiment and on-engine DPF performance evaluations are presented in the companion paper (Part I). The DPFs were cleaned, and ash samples were taken from the cleaned material. X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) were conducted on the ash samples. Core samples were taken from the cleaned DPF and were subjected to scanning electron microscope energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and XRF analysis. A comparison of the data from the two DPFs is presented. The XRD and XPS analysis showed that the compounds present in the ash from the two DPFs were nearly identical, though differing in concentrations. CaSO4 was the biggest component of the ash from both DPFs. The metals doped B20 fuel resulted in ash with similar characteristics to that deposited by the lube oil and did not appear to have any deleterious physical effects on the DPF substrate (did not penetrate the substrate).

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Open cells exhibit weaker entrainment of free-tropospheric biomass burning aerosol into the south-east Atlantic boundary layer

This work presents synergistic satellite, airborne and surface-based observations of a pocket of open cells (POC) in the remote south-east Atlantic. The observations were obtained over and upwind of Ascension Island during the CLouds and Aerosol Radiative Impacts and Forcing (CLARIFY) and the Layered Smoke Interacting with Clouds (LASIC) field experiments. A novel aspect of this case study is that an extensive free-tropospheric biomass burning aerosol plume that had been transported from the African continent was observed to be in contact with the boundary layer inversion over the POC and the surrounding closed cellular cloud regime. The in situ measurements show marked contrasts in the boundary layer thermodynamic structure, cloud properties, precipitation and aerosol conditions between the open cells and surrounding overcast cloud field. The data demonstrate that the overlying biomass burning aerosol was mixing down into the boundary layer in the stratocumulus cloud downwind of the POC, with elevated carbon monoxide, black carbon mass loadings and accumulation-mode aerosol concentrations measured beneath the trade-wind inversion. The stratocumulus cloud in this region was moderately polluted and exhibited very little precipitation falling below cloud base. A rapid transition to actively precipitating cumulus clouds and detrained stratiform remnants in the form of thin quiescent veil clouds was observed across the boundary into and deep within the POC. The subcloud layer in the POC was much cleaner than that in the stratocumulus region. The clouds in the POC formed within an ultra-clean layer (accumulation-mode aerosol concentrations of approximately a few cm -3 ) in the upper region of the boundary layer, which was likely to have been formed via efficient collision–coalescence and sedimentation processes. Enhanced Aitken-mode aerosol concentrations were also observed intermittently in this ultra-clean layer, suggesting that new particle formation was taking place. Across the boundary layer inversion and immediately above the ultra-clean layer, accumulation-mode aerosol concentrations were ~1000 cm -3 . Importantly, the air mass in the POC showed no evidence of elevated carbon monoxide over and above typical background conditions at this location and time of year. As carbon monoxide is a good tracer for biomass burning aerosol that is not readily removed by cloud processing and precipitation, it demonstrates that the open cellular convection in the POC is not able to entrain large quantities of the free-tropospheric aerosol that was sitting directly on top of the boundary layer inversion. This suggests that the structure of the mesoscale cellular convection may play an important role in regulating the transport of aerosol from the free troposphere down into the marine boundary layer. We then develop a climatology of open cellular cloud conditions in the south-east Atlantic from 19 years of September Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra imagery. This shows that the maxima in open cell frequency (> 0.25) occurs far offshore and in a region where subsiding biomass burning aerosol plumes may often come into contact with the underlying boundary layer cloud. If the results from the observational case study applied more broadly, then the apparent low susceptibility of open cells to free-tropospheric intrusions of additional cloud condensation nuclei could have some important consequences for aerosol–cloud interactions in the region.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

H2@Scale 2.0: Realizing the Benefits of a Hydrogen-Based Energy System

Throughout the world, hydrogen is increasingly recognized as the critical, central component for a clean, sustainable, efficient, and economic energy system. Hydrogen is remarkable for its ability to carry, store, and interconvert energy - its chemical energy can be used for clean and efficient chemical conversions to products and fuels; electricity generation; and heat generation. Hydrogen can be used as a storage medium, even for seasonal storage, to enable larger-scale deployment and use of renewable electricity. As an energy carrier, hydrogen is central to cross-sector coupling and clean, efficient transportation fuels and industrial processes, enabling decarbonization of products and services while meeting customer expectations.

chemical conversions↗
DOE OSTI2021

Building a Just Transition to a Sustainable Energy Future

Residential and commercial buildings consume roughly 74% of U.S. electricity and are responsible for approximately 35% of carbon emissions. As a result, there is no pathway to a sustainable energy future that does not prioritize a transformation in how we use, store, and generate energy in our nation’s buildings. Consequently, the importance and timeliness of research, development, demonstration, and deployment of clean energy building technologies is more pressing than ever. However, inequities that permeate society are acutely prevalent in the energy economy, particularly in the buildings sector. Therefore, as we transition to a sustainable energy future, we should prioritize a “just transition,” where we ensure the benefits, as well as costs, are more equitably distributed. As a scientific and technical community, we should take the lead in centering equity in clean energy technology innovation by permeating equity throughout the RDD&D spectrum. This talk will discuss pathways to achieving a just transition toward a sustainable energy future. It will highlight current Department of Energy and national laboratory RDD&D efforts that advance clean energy goals. The talk will conclude by challenging the ASME community to look through a lens of equity that prioritizes an equitable distribution of benefits and costs for our sustainable energy future.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2022

“Tailing” Phenomenon During Polymer Propagation at The Milne Point Polymer Flood

Chemical flooding simulators traditionally assume that polymer retention follows the Langmuir isotherm, while fractional-flow calculations assume concentration-independent retention. Both models predict a delay in propagation of the polymer front (in proportion to the retention value), followed by a rapid rise in produced polymer concentration to the injected level. In contrast, laboratory retention studies for the Milne Point polymer flood (North Slope of Alaska) consistently show virtually no delay in polymer propagation, a rapid rise in produced polymer to 70-90% of the injected concentration, followed by produced concentration gradually approaching the injected value over many pore volumes. From a practical viewpoint, this behavior means that retention causes no significant delay in propagation of the polymer bank (and therefore the oil bank), but the effective viscosity and displacement efficiency are less than originally planned. This paper explores why this polymer “tailing” phenomenon occurs. During core floods, effluent was analyzed for brine-tracer concentration, viscosity, total organic carbon, and total nitrogen. The latter three items allowed three independent measures of polymer concentration and polymer retention. Experiments were performed with Milne Point core material, oil, brine, and conditions. Mechanistic experiments were also performed with packs of glass beads with controlled levels of various minerals. In Milne Point cores, the presence of the tailing phenomenon was not sensitive to flow rate, polymer concentration, core heterogeneity, or whether the core was preserved, cleaned of oil, or cleaned and resaturated with oil, or cleaned, re-saturated and aged with oil. The three independent measures of polymer concentration confirmed that the tailing phenomenon was not an artifact associated with polymer degradation or detection interferences. Tailing was also observed during mechanistic floods using glassbead packs when sufficient levels of illite or kaolinite were present. This observation was consistent with high levels of illite noted in Milne Point cores. The tailing was not noted during mechanistic floods that contained beads with montmorillonite, chlorite, calcium carbonate, dolomite, siderite, pyrite, or calcium sulfate. A model is proposed to account for the tailing phenomenon. This work suggests that mineralogy analysis (especially for illite and kaolinite) may reveal whether tailing should be accounted for during simulations of polymer propagation/retention in a given field application.

Seright, Randy↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Essential Role of Nuclear Energy in Achieving Economy-wide Net-Zero Solutions

Governments and private industry around the world have established aggressive goals to achieve net-zero emissions for the power, industrial, and transportation sectors by 2050. These aggressive goals demand immediate action if we are to be successful, and they require us to think more holistically about our clean energy options. Programs within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are addressing these holistic solutions. Traditionally, electricity generation and management and meeting energy demands for industry and transportation are considered independently. As we seek to achieve net-zero, we need to reassess energy demands. When we consider overall energy use, only one-third is in the form of electricity. Additional energy demands are in the form of heat or steam for industrial processes, as well as transportation. These sectors are much harder to abate, and electrification may not be the best option. Reducing environmental emissions at an affordable cost, while maintaining grid reliability and resilience, will require us to use all of the clean energy resources that we have available. That means coordinating the use of nuclear, renewables, and fossil fuels with carbon capture to meet growing demands for electricity, industrial applications, and mobility. The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) program on Integrated Energy Systems (IES) is led by researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and work is conducted in partnership with an array of other DOE laboratories, industry, and academia. The primary focus of IES research is to assess the technical and economic potential of IES to enhance the flexibility and utilization of nuclear reactors working alongside renewable generators to meet an array of energy demands—thereby maximizing the utilization of clean energy resources across all energy sectors. Various energy applications and product streams beyond electricity are being evaluated, ranging from generation of potable water to production of hydrogen, fertilizers, synthetic fuels, and chemicals. The DOE-NE program additionally partners with the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office under the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to jointly fund the development of analysis tools, technologies, and nuclear-integrated hydrogen demonstration projects. This presentation highlights the wide array of R&D being conducted across multiple DOE-funded programs to develop and deploy nuclear-based IES that will be key to achieving our net-zero goals. By working with key collaborators in the nuclear industry, analytical studies are now becoming a reality in demonstration projects.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Hydrogen Production, Grid Integration, and Scaling for the Future

The Hydrogen Production, Grid Integration, and Scaling for the Future project will inform clean hydrogen production deployment across the planning, procurement, and operation stages of hydrogen production on the grid. Hydrogen production from renewables is a clean source of fuel which is near zero for greenhouse gas emissions and criteria pollutants. The results from this project will inform entities looking to build clean energy projects that produce good paying jobs in manufacturing, installation, maintenance and operation of these facilities. This project provides system characterization examples, multiple configurations, optimizations, and suggested metering and custody transfer points through multiple scenarios and hardware testing of NREL's state-of-the-art 1.25 MW polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system to characterize system performance in relevant scenarios. This work also creates a digital twin for emulation in the Advanced Research on Integrated Systems (ARIES) virtual environment and performs hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing of pilot-scale, decentralized, and centralized hydrogen systems.

centralized hydrogen production↗
DOE OSTI2023

Flow assisted anti-fouling geometries for compact heat exchangers

A header for a heat exchanger and method for cleaning a heat exchanger in a loop without disconnecting loop components is provided. The header is in flow communication with the heat exchanger for distributing fluid through a plurality of adjacent channels. The header is connected between a main heat exchanger inlet nozzle and a channel flow distributor. A filter element is disposed within the header between the nozzle and channel flow distributor. Under normal operation, the filter element removes particulates and fouling material from the main flow stream before it enters the heat exchanger channels. During the cleaning process, fluid is injected on or through the filter element to remove particulates and fouling material through at least one outlet port. The header arrangement allows the filter element to be ‘cleaned in place’ without draining the system and disconnecting the heat exchanger or other components from the flow loop.

Carlson, Matthew David↗