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This poster presentation coveys the progress and status of the Advanced Alkaline Electrolyzer (AAE) activity to demonstrate efficient generation of gaseous oxygen from water feedstock containing likely contaminates found in unprocessed water from in situ resource utilization (ISRU) water sources.
Chemical biocides play an important role in potable water storage and distribution systems. They provide protection against microbial growth that can negatively impact efficient water transport and crew health. Molecular iodine and ionic silver have been used on the International Space Station for decades. Future orbiting and surface habitats will have potable water systems that will require reliable potable water storage and challenging transport schemes during daily operations with potentially lengthy and repeated periods of non-use. Based on a review of literature, experimental data, and flight data this paper categorizes the advantages and disadvantages of the two heritage biocides on ISS: iodine and silver. The history of biocide practices on ISS is compared to requirements of future human missions beyond low Earth Orbit. The upstream water quality supply and downstream water uses are defined with respect to the two biocides. The methods of injection and removal of the two biocides are compared for a range of downstream water uses including drinking water, hygiene water, technical water, oxygen generation water, and extravehicular activity water. The paper provides mission planners with a technical and engineering assessment of the two biocides and identifies gaps in knowledge and on-orbit experiences.
The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Balloon Program offers low-cost access to a near-space environment. As the science community's needs continue to evolve, the NASA Balloon Program adjusts to support the scientific community, providing enhanced capabilities across a spectrum of balloon-related disciplines. The disciplines supported by the NASA Balloon Program include astrophysics, heliophysics, planetary science, earth science, technology development, and education. A broad overview of the NASA Balloon Program that touches on critical highlights, including launch locations, standard systems, and development efforts will be presented. In addition, the specific campaigns supported from 2021 through 2023 will be discussed. The period under review witnessed significant strides in balloon technology, payload instrumentation, and mission design, all aimed at enhancing the Program's scientific capabilities—the integration of cutting-edge technologies allowed for executing ambitious missions, and fostering collaboration with domestic and international partners. Specific information on commercial satellite communications with off-the-shelf hardware will be provided. The Program's strategic goals, emphasizing its commitment to advancing atmospheric and astrophysical research, are highlighted via the GUSTO mission. The Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory or GUSTO mission was the first NASA Explorer-class mission to utilize the balloon platform. The Program is vital in supporting educational and outreach activities, fostering the next generation of scientists and engineers. Collaborative efforts with educational institutions and outreach programs have expanded public engagement and inspired students to pursue careers in STEM fields. The Program's versatility and success in facilitating groundbreaking research underscore its continued significance in advancing our understanding of the Earth and the universe.
As humanity gears up for its return to the moon after more than half a century, collaborative efforts between NASA, Artemis Accords Partners, and private industry are underway to establish the necessary infrastructure and technologies for lunar habitation and eventual Mars exploration. However, the traditional ISS resupply and waste management model is impractical and economically infeasible for prolonged missions to the Moon and Mars. Advanced chemical conversion technologies are needed to generate vital consumable products from local planetary resources (ISRU) and recycled gasses and waste within semi-closed loop life-support systems. Low-temperature plasma reactors are emerging power-to-gas technologies with the potential to facilitate various chemical synthesis processes with hardware commonality and redundancy. In plasma-based systems, electrical power is used to ionize a feedstock gas, creating a highly reactive environment that leverages electron excitation chemistry to break stable molecular bonds and form value added products. Unlike thermal chemical processes, plasma reactors operate at non-equilibrium conditions, allowing for lower-temperature operation and instantaneous start-up, making them adaptable to intermittent power availability. Moreover, their scalability permits deployment in both portable astronaut systems and large-scale industrial setups for colonies. One promising application of plasmas is for CO 2 conversion. Carbon dioxide comprises 96% of the Martian atmosphere and is a byproduct of human respiration, which typically must be scrubbed and vented from space habitats. A plasma source integrated with membrane separation technology could generate a stream of oxygen for life support and rocket propellant. CO 2 splitting may also be beneficial as a precursor to manufacture carbon-based products and fuels in situ, like methane, methanol, and polyethylene. Plasma-assisted CO 2 conversion is a simpler case to study without the concern of selectivity and is the first step toward complex chemical synthesis. This work presents preliminary experimental case study from a plasma reactor for CO 2 conversion and casts a vision for the potential of plasma technologies in a sub-architecture for resource production to enable the next generation of human spaceflight activities.
The scalable, automated, semipermanent seismic array (SASSA) method is a flexible and relatively cost-effective surface geophysical method for regular time-lapse monitoring of the movement of injected carbon dioxide (CO2) in a reservoir for CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or geologic CO2 storage operations. It has the advantages of a low-environmental-footprint while monitoring regions of a reservoir from the surface without the need for a regular grid distribution of receivers. Automated data collection is possible. As only time-lapse amplitude changes at the reservoir level due to CO2 movement within the reservoir are monitored, the turnaround time to deliver results from the SASSA method can be short, without the need for long, time-consuming data-processing workflows. As data is collected and processed, incremental information can be provided to the field operator. The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) conducted a SASSA field test from September 2018 to November 2020 in a portion of the Bell Creek Field in Montana, which implemented new CO2 EOR field activities during the study period. Lessons learned from a proof-of-concept study were incorporated to improve the data quality of the SASSA method and demonstrate the viability of the technology. The EERC implemented several enhancements to improve data quality, including 1) an iterative survey design, which allowed placing the receivers in strategic locations where the movement of the CO2 in the reservoir could be tracked with minimum interference by the cultural noise in the study area; 2) the use of powerful seismic sources in the form of surface orbital vibrators, and 3) data acquisition during optimal periods. History-matched reservoir simulation was performed to predict gas saturation and pressure response induced by CO2 injection in the study area. The results were compared with the SASSA-measured responses to CO2 injection as a partial validation technique. A match between the two methods was observed for most of the SASSA points predicted to have intersected a CO2 saturation change. The validated results provide confidence that the SASSA method can be used independently as a CO2 saturation monitoring technique. As data are collected and processed, incremental information can be provided to the field operator. The critical components of the SASSA workflow for a successful application of the method are the following: Iterative survey design with information about CO2 injection activities from the oilfield operator. A detailed CO2 injection plan is the key driver to select the strategic monitoring location of the SASSA sensors. After this information is incorporated in the initial distribution of sources and receivers in the study area, high-resolution satellite images are used to identify ground locations not affected by cultural noise sources, such as power lines, pipelines/flow lines, or roadways. In the next iteration of the survey design, a scouting trip to the study area is needed to understand more details of the noise sources identified in the previous step and the intensity of the field activities that can also generate noise during the monitoring. Integrating the information from the scouting trip into the survey design to select the optimum source and receiver locations is the final step. Noise attenuation. The variety of noise types during seismic monitoring of an oil field is enormous. Tailored noise characterization and processing at a node-by-node level can enhance the performance and sensitivity of the SASSA technique. Future advancements that could improve the efficiency and application of the SASSA technology include: Gaining a better understanding of the noise field produced by the seismic source to aid the choice of receiver location. Surface noise from the source can overwhelm the small signal changes due to CO2 that the SASSA method measures. Improved data-processing workflow to automatically analyze and adapt to dynamic noise conditions associated with industrial settings. This subtask was funded through the EERC–DOE Joint Program on Research and Development for Fossil Energy-Related Resources Cooperative Agreement No. DE- FE0024233.
One of the main challenges associated with deployment of high shares of inverter-based resources (IBRs) in power grid is not only reduced system inertia but also degrading system strength that may cause severe stability impacts. A minimum level of system strength is needed for the power system to remain stable under normal conditions and to return to a steady state condition following a system disturbance. Significant system strength reduction is expected in almost all planned areas for solar and wind generation deployment. Synchronous condensers (SC) have been considered as one main technology to address the system strength issues for the areas with high levels of IBRs. SCs can help improving reliability and resiliency of power system but they do not provide the full range of services needed by power systems for reliable and economic integration of high shares of inverter-coupled variable generation such as PV generation. Services related to active power controls cannot be provided by SCs due to lack of prime mover. Even for provision of reactive power SCs have certain constraints based on their thermal and stability limits. NREL has been conducting research on a hybridized concept that combines SCs with grid forming (GFM) battery energy storage systems (BESS). This super flexible AC transmission system (SuperFACTS) that combines these two technologies in a single plant under the same controller offers a unique scalable set of services to the power system at all levels (transmission, sub-transmission, distribution, islands and isolated microgrids). Depending on use cases, SuperFACTS can be controlled to provide fully dispatchable and flexible operation using energy storage component, provide a full range of existing and future ancillary and reliability services to the grid (similar or better than conventional sources), maintain adequate levels of grid strength and inertia, and provide fault current for proper operation of protection systems. Therefore, this economic and easy to commercialize solution has potential for significant impacts on certain segments of global energy sector. All types of gird services (market based, reliability and resiliency) can be provided by SuperFACTS plants. GFM BESS can act as a self-black start source for each SuperFACTS module, which in turn can act a black start resource for co-located PV and wind power plants, segments of transmission and distribution networks, for conventional power plants, etc. The issue of in-rush currents during black start is addressed by overcurrent capability of SCs. In this paper we describe the results of modeling for SuperFACTS concept.
An annual status of the US TRISO fuel qualification program is provided, with a focus on activities linked to the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) Fuel and Fuel Cycle (FFC) Project Management Board (PMB).
Catalysts comprising MoP and MoP 2 are disclosed, wherein the catalyst is a composite. The catalyst may have a molar ratio of MoP:MoP 2 within a range of 5:95 to 95:5. The catalyst may be used as a cathode active material for hydrogen generation from neutral pH solutions, such as wastewater or seawater. Methods of making the catalyst also are disclosed.
An evaluation was conducted to assess the practicability of technologies of sufficient promise and maturity to warrant treatability tests for remediating radioiodine (I-129) in groundwater at the 200-UP-1 operable unit at the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site. Technologies were evaluated based on recent updated knowledge of subsurface iodine transport behavior at Hanford, and the effectiveness, implementability, and cost of potential treatment technologies for I-129. Because more than two-thirds of the iodine at Hanford is estimated to be present in its oxidized form as iodate, treatment technologies were evaluated with respect to addressing iodate. In situ treatments were identified as having limited implementability because the plume core is located directly beneath the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility disposal cells, a landfill used for the disposal of low-level radioactive, hazardous, and mixed wastes generated from Hanford cleanup activities. Further limitations in treatment technologies for radioiodine were due to the isotopic distribution of subsurface iodine. Data indicate that stable iodine (I- 127) concentrations are up to three orders of magnitude greater than I-129, limiting the effectiveness of potential technologies because they are not isotope-specific. Ex situ approaches also lacked the effectiveness and maturity required to treat I-129. Hence, the technology evaluation did not identify any technologies that needed treatability testing, driven by site and contaminant properties that hinder effectiveness and/or implementability of the technologies. (authors)
Abstract Microelectronic devices can directly communicate with biology, as electronic information can be transmitted via redox reactions within biological systems. By engineering biology’s native redox networks, we enable electronic interrogation and control of biological systems at several hierarchical levels: proteins, cells, and cell consortia. First, electro-biofabrication facilitates on-device biological component assembly. Then, electrode-actuated redox data transmission and redox-linked synthetic biology allows programming of enzyme activity and closed-loop electrogenetic control of cellular function. Specifically, horseradish peroxidase is assembled onto interdigitated electrodes where electrode-generated hydrogen peroxide controls its activity. E. coli ’s stress response regulon, oxyRS , is rewired to enable algorithm-based feedback control of gene expression, including an eCRISPR module that switches cell-cell quorum sensing communication from one autoinducer to another—creating an electronically controlled ‘bilingual’ cell. Then, these disparate redox-guided devices are wirelessly connected, enabling real-time communication and user-based control. We suggest these methodologies will help us to better understand and develop sophisticated control for biology.
Top-down proteomics by mass spectrometry (MS) involves the mass measurement of an intact protein followed by subsequent activation of the protein to generate product ions. Electron-based fragmentation methods like electron capture dissociation and electron transfer dissociation are widely used for these types of analyses. Recently, electron ionization dissociation (EID), which utilizes higher energy electrons (>20 eV) has been suggested to be more efficient for top-down protein fragmentation compared to other electron-based dissociation methods. In this paper, we demonstrate that the use of EID enhances protein fragmentation and subsequent detection of protein fragments. Protein product ions can form by either single cleavage events, resulting in terminal fragments containing the C-terminus or N-terminus of the protein, or by multiple cleavage events to give rise to internal fragments that include neither the C-terminus nor the N-terminus of the protein. Conventionally, internal fragments have been disregarded, as reliable assignments of these fragments were limited. Here, we demonstrate that internal fragments generated by EID can account for ~20–40% of the mass spectral signals detected by top-down EID-MS experiments. By including internal fragments, the extent of the protein sequence that can be explained from a single tandem mass spectrum increases from ~50 to ~99% for 29 kDa carbonic anhydrase II and 8.6 kDa ubiquitin. When searching for internal fragments during data analysis, previously unassigned peaks can be readily and accurately assigned to confirm a given protein sequence and to enhance the utility of top-down protein sequencing experiments.
Abstract Recent advancements in the electrochemical urea oxidation reaction (UOR) present promising avenues for wastewater remediation and energy recovery. Despite progress toward optimized efficiency, hurdles persist in steering oxidation products away from environmentally unfriendly products, mostly due to a lack of understanding of structure‐selectivity relationships. In this study, the UOR performance of Ni and Cu double hydroxides, which show marked differences in their reactivity and selectivity is evaluated. CuCo hydroxides predominantly produce N 2 , reaching a current density of 20 mA cm geo −2 at 1.04 V – 250 mV less than NiCo hydroxides that generate nitrogen oxides. A collection of in‐situ spectroscopies and scattering experiments reveal a unique in situ generated Cu (2‐x)+ ‐OO −• active sites in CuCo, which initiates nucleophilic substitution of NH 2 from the amide, leading to N‐N coupling between * NH on Co and Cu. In contrast, the formation of nitrogen oxides on NiCo is primarily attributed to the presence of high‐valence Ni 3+ and Ni 4+ , which facilitates N‐H activation. This process, in conjunction with the excessive accumulation of OH − ions on Jahn‐Teller (JT) distorted Co sites, leads to the generation of NO 2 − as the primary product. This work underscores the importance of catalyst composition and structural engineering in tailoring innocuous UOR products.
A fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) tool, as addressed by this study, is a tool that continuously identifies the presence of faults and efficiency improvement opportunities through a one-way interface to the building automation system and the application of automated analytics. Although FDD tools can inform operators of building operational faults, currently an action is always required to correct the faults to generate energy savings. Fault auto-correction integrating with commercial FDD technology offerings can close the loop between the passive diagnostics and active control, increase the savings generated by FDD tools, and reduce the reliance on human intervention. This paper presents the field study of seven fault auto-correction algorithms implemented in commercial FDD platforms. Implementation includes software changes in the FDD tools and additional controls hardware or software changes in the BAS that were required to enable the execution of different types of auto-correction algorithms in real buildings. The routines successfully and automatically correct faults and improve the operation of large built-up Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, common in most commercial buildings. The auto-correction algorithms are tested across four buildings and three different building automation systems, following a rigorous procedure to make sure they work properly and do not negatively impact the system and building occupants. Finally, technology benefits, market drivers, and scalability changes are drawn from the implementation effort and test results, to drive future research and industry engagement.
Progress in explaining variations of power experienced in the on-line operation of a 100 kW experimental wind turbine-generator is reported. Data are presented that show the oscillations tend to be characteristic of a wind-driven synchronous generator because of low torsional damping in the power train, resonances of its large structure, and excitation by unsteady and nonuniform wind flow. The report includes dynamic analysis of the drive-train torsion, the generator, passive driveline damping, and active pitch control as well as correlation with experimental recordings. The analysis assumes one machine on an infinite bus with constant generator-field excitation.
A systems view is necessary to detect, diagnose, predict, and mitigate adverse events during the flight of an aircraft. While most aircraft subsystems look for simple threshold exceedances and report them to a central maintenance computer, the vehicle integrated prognostic reasoner (VIPR) proactively generates evidence and takes an active role in aircraft-level health assessment. Establishing the technical feasibility and a design trade-space for this next-generation vehicle-level reasoning system (VLRS) is the focus of our work.
The processing of trash and waste is a welcome and valuable addition to humans living and working in space. Besides the obvious desire to have a pleasant and productive habitation environment, trash management has many practicalbenefits for crew health, resource recovery, and volume reclamation through garbage compaction. The Trash Compaction and Processing System (TCPS), which is a NASA project to develop a trash processing system for long-duration spaceflight, is currently undergoing concept development with engineering prototype validation through two contracted efforts. The development efforts are being supported with activities associated with the NASA Generation 2 Heat Melt Compactor (HMC). The HMC is a facility that compacts trash, recovers water, heats the trash to eliminate biological activity, and manages gas and vapor effluents. The resulting residual processed trash is a compact tile that is free of biological growth and that can be used for augmenting radiation shields. The work being conducted with the HMC focuses on high risk technical areas with respect to operations, subsystem performance, and ISS effluent management interface requirements. This paper gives an overview of the technical risks and the current use of the HMC as a facility for reducing risk.
This project develops the dynamic modeling of hydro plants and wind generation in Sitka, Alaska. A dynamic penetration of renewables was evaluated under various conditions. The impact of altering hydro generation control to synchronous condenser control was evaluated. While the existing hydro generations are sufficient to address voltage instability, a detailed study of the active-reactive capability limits of hydro generation operation should be conducted to uptake at various wind penetration levels.
Electrical polarization and defect transport are examined in 0.8BaTiO 3 –0.2BiZn 0.5 Ti 0.5 O 3 , an attractive capacitor material for high power electronics. Oxygen vacancies are suggested to be the majority charge carrier at or below 250°C with a grain conduction hopping activation energy of 0.97 eV and 0.92 eV for thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) and impedance spectroscopy measurements, respectively. At higher temperature, thermally generated electronic conduction with an activation energy of 1.6 eV is dominant. Significant oxygen vacancy concentration is indicated (up to ~1%) due to cation vacancy formation (i.e., acceptor defects) from observed Bi (and likely Zn) volatility. Oxygen vacancy diffusivity is estimated to be 10 -12.8 cm 2 /s at 250°C. Low diffusivity and high activation energies are indicative of significant defect interactions. Dipolar oxygen vacancy defects are also indicated, with an activation energy of 0.59 eV from TSDC measurements. In conclusion, the large oxygen vacancy content leads to a short lifetime during high voltage (30 kV/cm), high temperature (250°C) direct current (DC) electrical measurements.