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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 811 records · Page 45
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of odour on multisensory environmental evaluations of road traffic

This study investigated the effect of odour on multisensory environmental evaluations of road traffic. The study aimed to answer: (1) Does odour have any effect on evaluations on noise, landscape and the overall environment? (2) How different are participants' responses to odour stimuli and are these differences influential on the evaluations? Experimental scenarios varied in three Traffic levels, three Tree screening conditions and two Odour presence conditions were designed, and presented to participants in virtual reality. Perceived Loudness, Noise Annoyance, Landscape Quality and Overall Pleasantness of each scenario were evaluated and the results were analysed. It shows that Odour presence did not have significant main effect on any of the evaluations, but has significant interactions with Traffic level on Noise Annoyance and with Tree screening on Landscape Quality, indicating the potential of odour to modulate noise and visual landscape perceptions in specific environmental content. Concerning participants' responses to odour stimuli, large differences were found in this study. However, the differences did not seem to be influential on environmental evaluations in this study. Larger samples of participants may benefit this study for more significant results of odour effect.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Land quality, sustainable development and environmental degradation in agricultural districts: A computational approach based on entropy indexes

Land Degradation (LD) in socio-environmental systems negatively impacts sustainable development paths. This study proposes a framework to LD evaluation based on indicators of diversification in the spatial distribution of sensitive land. We hypothesize that conditions for spatial heterogeneity in a composite index of land sensitivity are more frequently associated to areas prone to LD than spatial homogeneity. Spatial heterogeneity is supposed to be associated with degraded areas that act as hotspots for future degradation processes. A diachronic analysis (1960–2010) was performed at the Italian agricultural district scale to identify environmental factors associated with spatial heterogeneity in the degree of land sensitivity to degradation based on the Environmentally Sensitive Area Index (ESAI). In 1960, diversification in the level of land sensitivity measured using two common indexes of entropy (Shannon's diversity and Pielou's evenness) increased significantly with the ESAI, indicating a high level of land sensitivity to degradation. In 2010, surface area classified as “critical” to LD was the highest in districts with diversification in the spatial distribution of ESAI values, confirming the hypothesis formulated above. Entropy indexes, based on observed alignment with the concept of LD, constitute a valuable base to inform mitigation strategies against desertification. - Highlights: • Spatial heterogeneity is supposed to be associated with degraded areas. • Entropy indexes can inform mitigation strategies against desertification. • Assessing spatial diversification in the degree of land sensitivity to degradation. • Mediterranean rural areas have an evident diversity in agricultural systems. • A diachronic analysis carried out at the Italian agricultural district scale.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Deciding over nature: Corruption and environmental impact assessments

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are an important analytic tool for identifying and potentially mitigating project risks and negative environmental and societal impacts. Their usefulness, however, depends on how they are implemented and on whether findings are used in public decision-making. Given the notorious vulnerability of public-private interactions to corrupt practices, we examine potential and actual corruption risks across four stages of a generic EIA process. Combined with case analysis of the EIA process in Albania, a Southeastern European context experiencing serious governance challenges, we reflect on the vulnerabilities of EIAs to various forms of corruption from a principal-agent perspective. We concur with earlier research suggesting that the fundamentally rationalist approach behind EIAs do not necessarily match the empirical realities of public environmental decision-making, particularly in less mature EIA systems. We conclude with suggestions for framing a future research agenda in this area and touch on tentative policy remedies.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Environmental exposure to human carcinogens in teenagers and the association with DNA damage

Background: We investigated whether human environmental exposure to chemicals that are labeled as (potential) carcinogens leads to increased (oxidative) damage to DNA in adolescents. Material and methods: Six hundred 14–15-year-old youngsters were recruited all over Flanders (Belgium) and in two areas with important industrial activities. DNA damage was assessed by alkaline and formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase (Fpg) modified comet assays in peripheral blood cells and analysis of urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels. Personal exposure to potentially carcinogenic compounds was measured in urine, namely: chromium, cadmium, nickel, 1-hydroxypyrene as a proxy for exposure to other carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), t,t-muconic acid as a metabolite of benzene, 2,5-dichlorophenol (2,5-DCP), organophosphate pesticide metabolites, and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) metabolites. In blood, arsenic, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners 118 and 156, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were analyzed. Levels of methylmercury (MeHg) were measured in hair. Multiple linear regression models were used to establish exposure-response relationships. Results: Biomarkers of exposure to PAHs and urinary chromium were associated with higher levels of both 8-OHdG in urine and DNA damage detected by the alkaline comet assay. Concentrations of 8-OHdG in urine increased in relation with increasing concentrations of urinary t,t-muconic acid, cadmium, nickel, 2,5-DCP, and DEHP metabolites. Increased concentrations of PFOA in blood were associated with higher levels of DNA damage measured by the alkaline comet assay, whereas DDT was associated in the same direction with the Fpg-modified comet assay. Inverse associations were observed between blood arsenic, hair MeHg, PCB 156 and HCB, and urinary 8-OHdG. The latter exposure biomarkers were also associated with higher fish intake. Urinary nickel and t,t-muconic acid were inversely associated with the alkaline comet assay. Conclusion: This cross-sectional study found associations between current environmental exposure to (potential) human carcinogens in 14–15-year-old Flemish adolescents and short-term (oxidative) damage to DNA. Prospective follow-up will be required to investigate whether long-term effects may occur due to complex environmental exposures. - Highlights: • Exposure to (potential) carcinogens is associated with (oxidative) damage to DNA. • Most associations of exposures are with urinary 8-OHdG. • 1-Hydroxypyrene and chromium are associated with the comet assay and 8-OHdG. • PFOA is associated with higher levels of DNA damage in the alkaline comet assay.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Meeting the imperative to accelerate environmental bioelectromagnetics research

Highlights: • Concerns mount about adverse health effects of low-level radiofrequency (RF) radiation. • Bioelectronics and environmental RF effects research both need an omics platform. • Standard bioelectromagnetic data models would advance dosimetry and omics work. • Steps toward developing standards and a shared research platform are proposed. In this article, the author draws on his experience in the world of geospatial information technology standards to suggest a path toward acceleration of bioelectromagnetics science. Many studies show biological effects of extremely low frequency (ELF) and radiofrequency (RF) radiation despite that fact that the radiation is too weak to cause temperature changes in biological features. Considered together in worst case scenarios, such effects, many of which appear to have long latencies, could have potentially disastrous consequences for the health and safety of humans and wildlife. Other studies show no such effects, and in both cases, often there are significant research quality deficits that make it difficult to draw firm conclusions from the data. The progress of bioelectromagnetics science is retarded by a lack of standard data models and experimental protocols that could improve the overall quality of research and make it easier for researchers to benefit from omics-related bioinformatics resources. {sup C}ertainty of safety{sup }of wireless devices used in digital communications and remote sensing (radar) is impossible without dosimetry standards that reflect the effects of non-thermal exposures. Electrical signaling in biological systems, a poorly funded research domain, is as biologically important as chemical signaling, a richly funded research domain, and these two types of signaling are inextricably connected. Entreprenuerial scientists pursuing bioelectronic innovations have begun to attract new funding. With appropriate institutional coordination, this new funding could equally benefit those investigating environmental effects of ELF and RF radiation. The author proposes a concerted effort among both bioelectronics technology stakeholders and environmental bioelectromagnetics science researchers to collaborate in developing institutional arrangements and standard data models that would give the science a stronger bioinformatics platform and give researchers better access to omics data. What is proposed here is essentially a bioelectromagnetics omics initiative.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

The effects of environmental conditions on the enrichment of antibiotics on microplastics in simulated natural water column

Highlights: • The relation between ageing conditions of MPs and adsorption for TC were explored. • The pH, ionic strength, and temperature have slight effects on the adsorption of MPs. • HA has significant effect on the adsorption of MPs toward TC and CBZ. • The electrostatic repulsion between HA and TC decreases the adsorption of TC. • The competing effect of HA for adsorption sites on MPs reduces the adsorption of TC. Concerns regarding the release of microplastics (MPs) into the environment led us to explore the relationship between the different environmental factors and physicochemical properties of MPs, as well as the change of interaction between MPs and organic pollutants. In this study, the effects of environmental factors (ageing conditions), such as pH, temperature, ionic strength, ageing time, and humic acid (HA) concentration, on the characteristics of MPs and their adsorption toward tetracycline (TC) were systematically investigated. The results showed that ageing factors such as pH, ionic strength, and temperature were found to have little impact on the adsorptive capacity of MPs for TC. However, MPs aged in HA solution exhibited a significant decreased adsorptive capacity for TC. HA, which has numerous functional groups, can cover the surface of MPs and change their hydrophobicity, thereby reducing the adsorption affinity to TC. The electrostatic repulsion between adsorbed HA and TC molecules may also decrease the adsorption of TC. In addition, the competing effect of HA for adsorption sites on the surface of MPs further reduces the adsorption of TC. The data presented in this work provide useful information for understanding the transfer of antibiotics by aged MPs, which is of fundamental importance to assess the environmental impact of MPs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

A synthesis of environmental and recreational mitigation requirements at hydropower projects in the United States

Environmental mitigation plays an important role in the environmentally sustainable development of hydropower resources. However, comprehensive data on mitigation required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) at United States (US) hydropower projects is lacking. Therefore, our objective was to create a comprehensive database of mitigation required at non-federal hydropower projects and provide a synthesis of available mitigation data. Mitigation data was collated for over 300 plants licensed or relicensed from 1998 through 2013. We observed that the majority of FERC mitigation requirements deal with either hydrologic flows or recreation and that hydropower plants in the Pacific Northwest had the highest number of requirements. Our data indicate opportunities exist to further explore hydropower mitigation in the areas of environmental flows, fish passage, and water quality. Lastly, connecting these data with ecological outcomes, actual flow data, and larger landscape level information will be necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation and ultimately inform regulators, managers, and planners.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Comprehensive process and environmental impact analysis of integrated DBD plasma steam methane reforming

Utilization of electricity generated from renewable sources to obtain hydrogen, H 2 , is of critical importance to decrease the overall carbon footprint. Here in this work, integration of a dielectric discharge barrier (DBD) plasma reactor to convert low calorific value gas, such as landfill gas or coal mine gas into hydrogen, into the existing steam methane reforming (SMR) technology was evaluated using process design considerations. In particular, a DBD-enhanced catalytic SMR reactor was modeled to operate at near atmospheric pressure and 500 °C sequentially with the conventional reformer to obtain ~ 65 kmol/hr H2 for distributed production. This allowed decreasing the size of the conventional reformer albeit at the increased overall electricity consumption. Calculated process economics showed that only at an electricity cost of less than $0.004/kWh does the hybrid DBD plasma process derived H 2 price become competitive with that of the conventional SMR. A Life Cycle Assessment framework was used to compare environmental impacts from the conventional SMR, hybrid DBD SMR and hybrid DBD SMR utilizing only onshore wind-derived electricity. Larger environmental impacts in the plasma reformer were obtained due to the use of electricity for the plasma reforming operation, which was modeled as coming from the typical U.S. grid mix. Utilizing only 100% wind-derived electricity provided certain environmental benefits, except for the ecotoxicity impact where the wind power scenario modeled here only reduced ecotoxicity impacts associated with electricity by 30%.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Developing expert scientific consensus on the environmental and societal effects of marine artificial structures prior to decommissioning

Thousands of artificial (‘human-made’) structures are present in the marine environment, many at or approaching end-of-life and requiring urgent decisions regarding their decommissioning. No consensus has been reached on which decommissioning option(s) result in optimal environmental and societal outcomes, in part, owing to a paucity of evidence from real-world decommissioning case studies. To address this significant challenge, we asked a worldwide panel of scientists to provide their expert opinion. They were asked to identify and characterise the ecosystem effects of artificial structures in the sea, their causes and consequences, and to identify which, if any, should be retained following decommissioning. Experts considered that most of the pressures driving ecological and societal effects from marine artificial structures (MAS) were of medium severity, occur frequently, and are dependent on spatial scale with local-scale effects of greater magnitude than regional effects. The duration of many effects following decommissioning were considered to be relatively short, in the order of days. Overall, environmental effects of structures were considered marginally undesirable, while societal effects marginally desirable. Experts therefore indicated that any decision to leave MAS in place at end-of-life to be more beneficial to society than the natural environment. However, some individual environmental effects were considered desirable and worthy of retention, especially in certain geographic locations, where structures can support improved trophic linkages, increases in tourism, habitat provision, and population size, and provide stability in population dynamics. The expert analysis consensus that the effects of MAS are both negative and positive for the environment and society, gives no strong support for policy change whether removal or retention is favoured until further empirical evidence is available to justify change to the status quo. The combination of desirable and undesirable effects associated with MAS present a significant challenge for policy- and decision-makers in their justification to implement decommissioning options. Decisions may need to be decided on a case-by-case basis accounting for the trade-off in costs and benefits at a local level.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fate and transport of unruptured tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles in the event of environmental release for advanced and micro reactor applications

Advanced nuclear reactor designs and advanced fuel types offer safety features that may reduce environmental consequences in an accident scenario when compared to conventional reactors and fuels. One advanced reactor fuel is tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles which are approximately 0.9 mm in diameter. TRISO particle mobility, assuming the particle is unruptured and the encapsulated radionuclides are contained, was explored through a theoretical examination of mobility through atmospheric, soil and groundwater, surface water, and non-human biota transport pathways. TRISO particles are too large and dense to travel in the atmosphere except under extreme conditions. TRISO particles are too large to penetrate most soil profiles and so cannot be transported with groundwater. TRISO particles will settle out of the water column in surface waters but the transport will depend on the energy of the body of water and likelihood of extreme dispersion events. TRISO particles could be transported by non-human biota. The size of TRISO particles could allow them to be intentionally moved by non-human biota if they are ingested as a gastrolith or if they are mistaken for something in the organism’s diet. Generally, TRISO particles will have reduced environmental mobility compared to releases of radionuclides in the event of an accident in a conventional nuclear reactor. The extent of transport has implications in emergency planning zone designations and other considerations for licensing and deploying TRISO-fueled reactors. Finally, further research and experimental work exploring TRISO particle mobility is required to understand the full environmental mobility of TRISO particles.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2018

Toward better hydraulic fracturing fluids and their application in energy production: A review of sustainable technologies and reduction of potential environmental impacts

Recent advances in hydraulic fracturing, in conjunction with horizontal drilling, have enabled large-scale extraction of natural gas and oil from shale formations. Despite its advances and enormous economic benefits, opportunities remain to increase hydraulic fracturing efficiency and minimize potential environmental impacts. This review specifically examines three key themes associated with development and utilization of hydraulic fracturing fluids: 1) characteristics and behavior of fracturing fluids, 2) understanding and predicting migration and fate of fracturing fluids, 3) technologies to reduce environmental impact of fracturing fluids. Furthermore, the paper discusses key and new techniques and findings on rheology of hydrogel-based fluids, high fidelity simulation of propagation transport, potential environmental impacts, geosynthetics in mitigating contamination, and greener fracturing fluids. It is indicated that future development relies on advances in understanding of physical processes, modeling capabilities, and monitoring techniques.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2023

Root and Microbial Soil CO 2 and CH 4 Fluxes Respond Differently to Seasonal and Episodic Environmental Changes in a Temperate Forest

Upland forest soils are typically major atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) sources and methane (CH 4 ) sinks, but the contributions of root and microbial processes, as well as their separate temporal responses to environmental change, remain poorly understood. This 2-year study was conducted in a temperate, deciduous forest located on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, USA. We used temporal CO 2 and CH 4 flux measurements, exclusion-source partitioning, and an ecosystem-scale flooding experiment to understand how carbon (C) fluxes, and their root and microbial sources, respond to seasonal and episodic environmental change. Here, we show that the root-and-rhizosphere component of soil CO 2 and CH 4 flux is significant and that its dependence on soil temperature and volumetric water content (VWC) influences soil C dynamics at seasonal timescales. Experimental flooding shows that CO 2 and CH 4 flux responses to episodic moisture change were driven by suppression of soil heterotrophs, while root respiration did not respond to transient hydrologic disturbance. Methane uptake responded strongly to episodic inundation, reinforcing the important role of soil moisture in the short-term control of the forest soil CH 4 sink. However, despite the clear seasonality of CH 4 uptake, as well as its strong response to short-term experimental inundation, temperature and VWC were weak predictors of CH 4 uptake at a seasonal timescale. We suggest that CH 4 consumption in the long-term may be determined by vegetation, nutrients, microbial communities, or other factors correlated with seasonal changes. Our results indicate that root and microbial sources of both CO 2 and CH 4 flux respond differently in timing and magnitude to seasonal and episodic environmental change.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

USEEIO v2.0, The US Environmentally-Extended Input-Output Model v2.0

USEEIO v2.0 is an environmental-economic model of US goods and services that can be used for life cycle assessment, footprinting, national prioritization, and related applications. This paper describes the development of the model and accompanies the release of a full model dataset as well as various supporting datasets of national environmental totals by US industry. Novel methodological elements since USEEIO v1 models include waste sector disaggregation, final demand vectors for US consumption and production, a domestic form of the model that can be used to separate domestic and foreign impacts, and price adjustment matrices for converting outputs to purchaser price and in various US dollar years. Improvements in modeling national totals of industry and environmental flows are described. The model is validated through reproduction of national totals from input data sources and through analysis of changes from the most recent complete USEEIO model that can be explained based on data updates or method changes. The model datasets can all be reproduced with open source software packages.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

AeDES: a next-generation monitoring and forecasting system for environmental suitability of Aedes-borne disease transmission

Aedes-borne diseases, such as dengue and chikungunya, are responsible for more than 50 million infections worldwide every year, with an overall increase of 30-fold in the last 50 years, mainly due to city population growth, more frequent travels and ecological changes. In the United States of America, the vast majority of Aedes-borne infections are imported from endemic regions by travelers, who can become new sources of mosquito infection upon their return home if the exposed population is susceptible to the disease, and if suitable environmental conditions for the mosquitoes and the virus are present. Since the susceptibility of the human population can be determined via periodic monitoring campaigns, the environmental suitability for the presence of mosquitoes and viruses becomes one of the most important pieces of information for decision makers in the health sector. We present a next-generation monitoring and forecasting system for Aedes-borne diseases’ environmental suitability (AeDES) of transmission in the conterminous United States and transboundary regions, using calibrated ento-epidemiological models, climate models and temperature observations. After analyzing the seasonal predictive skill of AeDES, we briefly consider the recent Zika epidemic, and the compound effects of the current Central American dengue outbreak happening during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, to illustrate how a combination of tailored deterministic and probabilistic forecasts can inform key prevention and control strategies .

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment Spreadsheet tool for Deep Direct-Use Geothermal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Campus

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) spreadsheet tool was developed to analyze potential environmental benefits of a deep direct-use (DDU) geothermal energy system (GES) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U of IL) campus. The LCA spreadsheet tool is a unique contribution to the feasibility study that provides further insight into the cradle-to-grave environmental impacts associated with the GES over the operating life time, as well as other DDU GES with similar objectives. The tool allows for a more in-depth analysis of the feasibility of DDU GES with respect to the overall environmental impacts. For the U of IL assessment, a doublet (two-well) system is evaluated, which is connected to aboveground mechanical system to supply heating to six agricultural research facilities. The additional of new equipment are assessed for the technical and economic feasibility. The results from this study will also allow geothermal resources from the entirety of the Illinois Basin (ILB) to be assessed and allow the DDU technology to be extended to additional areas of the ILB and other low-temperature sedimentary basins with similar characteristics.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

LCA-based environmental sustainability assessment of hybrid additive manufacturing of a turbine blade

In this paper, a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) method is used to compare the overall energy consumption and environmental impact of hybrid additive manufacturing (HAM) and the traditional CNC milling process with a case study of turbine blade manufacturing. Six environmental impacts are assessed in this study: acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), global warming potential (GWP), photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP), ozone depletion potential (ODP), and abiotic depletion potential (ADP). The results suggest that HAM can not only reduce energy consumption and material waste but also reduce the environmental impact by 53% from a life cycle perspective. Specifically, the results of GWP, AP, EP, ODP, POCP and ADP of the HAM are only 32.2%, 34.6 %, 44.7%, 27.2%, 25.6%, and 24.7 % of that in traditional CNC machining.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Site Environmental Report for 2012, Volumes 1 & 2

This report provides a comprehensive summary of the environmental program activities at LBNL for the calendar year 2012. Volume I is organized into an executive summary followed by six chapters that include an overview of LBNL, a discussion of its Environmental Management System (EMS), the status of environmental programs, summarized results from surveillance and monitoring activities, and quality assurance (QA) measures. Volume II contains individual data results from surveillance and monitoring activities.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring & Research Center: 2012 Annual Report

The final technical report and 2012 annual report regarding the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center's independent environmental monitoring program associated with the USDOE's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) located in Carlsbad, NM. This report covers the 22 year period of the financial assistance grant as well as all facets of the CEMRC environmental monitoring program and the results obtained.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗