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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2011

Demonstration of a Piston Plug feed System for Feeding Coal/Biomass Mixtures across a Pressure Gradient for Application to a Commercial CBTL System

Producing liquid transportation fuels and power via coal and biomass to liquids (CBTL) and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) processes can significantly improve the nation's energy security. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandates increasing renewable fuels nearly 10-fold to >2.3 million barrels per day by 2022. Coal is abundantly available and coal to liquids (CTL) plants can be deployed today, but they will not become sustainable without large scale CO 2 capture and storage. Co-processing of coal and biomass in CBTL processes in a 60 to 40 ratio is an attractive option that has the potential to produce 4 million barrels of transportation fuels per day by 2020 at the same level of CO 2 emission as petroleum. In this work, Southern Research Institute (Southern) has made an attempt to address one of the major barriers to the development of large scale CBTL processes - cost effective/reliable dry-feeding of coal-biomass mixtures into a high pressure vessel representative of commercial entrained-flow gasifiers. Present method for dry coal feeding involves the use of pressurized lock-hopper arrangements that are not only very expensive with large space requirements but also have not been proven for reliably feeding coal-biomass mixtures without the potential problems of segregation and bridging. The project involved the development of a pilot-scale 250 lb/h high pressure dry coal-biomass mixture feeder provided by TKEnergi and proven for feeding biomass at a scale up to 6 ton/day. The aim of this project is to demonstrate cost effective feeding of coal-biomass mixtures (50:50 to 70:30) made from a variety of coals (bituminous, lignite) and biomass (wood, corn stover, switch grass). The feeder uses a hydraulic piston-based approach to produce a series of plugs of the mixture that act as a seal against high back-pressure of the gasification vessel in to which the mixture is being fed. The plugs are then fed one by one via a plug breaker into the high pressure gasification vessel. A number of runs involving the feeding of coal and biomass mixtures containing 50 to 70 weight % coal into a high pressure gasification vessel simulator have shown that plugs of sufficient density can be formed to provide a seal against pressures up to 450 psig if homogeneity of the mixture can be maintained. However, the in-homogeneity of coal-biomass mixtures can occur during the mixing process because of density, particle size and moisture differences. Also, the much lower compressibility of coal as opposed to biomass can contribute to non-uniform plug formation which can result in weak plugs. Based on present information, the piston plug feeder offered marginal economic advantages over lock-hoppers. The results suggest a modification to the piston feeder that can potentially seal against pressure without the need for forming plugs. This modified design could result in lower power requirements and potentially better economics.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2012

DECREASE: Development of a Commercial Ready Enzyme Application System for Ethanol (Final Technical Report)

Conversion of biomass to sugars plays a central in reducing our dependence on petroleum, as it allows production of a wide range of biobased fuels and chemicals, through fermentation of those sugars. The DECREASE project delivers an effective enzyme cocktail for this conversion, enabling reduced costs for producing advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol. Benefits to the public contributed by growth of the advanced biofuels industry include job creation, economic growth, and energy security. The DECREASE primary project objective was to develop a two-fold improved enzyme cocktail, relative to an advanced cocktail (CZP00005) that had been developed previously (from 2000- 2007). While the final milestone was delivery of all enzyme components as an experimental mixture, a secondary objective was to deploy an improved cocktail within 3 years following the close of the project. In February 2012, Novozymes launched Cellic® CTec3, a multi-enzyme cocktail derived in part from components developed under DECREASE. The externally validated performance of CTec3 and an additional component under project benchmarking conditions indicated a 1.8-fold dose reduction in enzyme dose required for 90% conversion (based on all available glucose and xylose sources) of NREL dilute acid pretreated PCS, relative to the starting advanced enzyme cocktail. While the ability to achieve 90% conversion is impressive, targeting such high levels of biomass digestion is likely not the most cost effective strategy. Novozymes techno economic modeling showed that for NREL's dilute acid pretreated corn stover (PCS), 80% target conversion enables a lower total production cost for cellulosic ethanol than for 90% conversion, and this was also found to be the case when cost assumptions were based on the NREL 2002 Design Report. A 1.8X dose-reduction was observed for 80% conversion in the small scale (50 g) DECREASE benchmark assay for CTec3 and an additional component. An upscaled experiment (in 0.5 kg kettle reactors) was performed to compare the starting enzyme mixture CZP00005 with CTec3 alone; these results indicated a 1.9X dose- reduction for 80% conversion. The CTec3 composition does not include the best available enzyme components from the DECREASE effort. While these components are not yet available in a commercial product, experimental mixtures were assayed in a smaller scale assay using DECREASE PCS, at high solids loadings (21.5% TS). The results indicated that the newer mixtures required 2.9X-less enzyme for 90% conversion, and 3.2X-less enzyme for 80% conversion, relative to the starting enzyme cocktail. In conclusion, CTec3 delivers a 1.8-1.9X dose reduction on NREL PCS at high solids loadings, and the next generation enzyme from Novozymes will continue to show dramatically improved biochemical performance. CTec3 allows reduced costs today, and the experimental cocktails point to continued biotechnological improvements that will further drive down costs for biorefineries of tomorrow.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2012

CBTL Design Case Summary Conventional Feedstock Supply System - Herbaceous

A conventional bale feedstock design has been established that represents supply system technologies, costs, and logistics that are achievable today for supplying herbaceous feedstocks as a blendstock with coal for energy production. Efforts are made to identify bottlenecks and optimize the efficiency and capacities of this supply system, within the constraints of existing local feedstock supplies, equipment, and permitting requirements. The feedstock supply system logistics operations encompass all of the activities necessary to move herbaceous biomass feedstock from the production location to the conversion reactor ready for blending and insertion. This supply system includes operations that are currently available such that costs and logistics are reasonable and reliable. The system modeled for this research project includes the uses of field-dried corn stover or switchgrass as a feedstock to annually supply an 800,000 DM ton conversion facility.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2012

A Case Study of Agricultural Residue Availability and Cost for a Cellulosic Ethanol Conversion Facility in the Henan Province of China

A preliminary analysis of the availability and cost of corn stover and wheat straw for the area surrounding a demonstration biorefinery in the Henan Province of China was performed as a case study of potential cooperative analyses of bioenergy feedstocks between researchers and industry in the US and China. Though limited in scope, the purpose of this analysis is to provide insight into some of the issues and challenges of estimating feedstock availability in China and how this relates to analyses of feedstocks in the U.S. Completing this analysis also highlighted the importance of improving communication between U.S. researchers and Chinese collaborators. Understanding the units and terms used in the data provided by Tianguan proved to be a significant challenge. This was further complicated by language barriers between collaborators in the U.S. and China. The Tianguan demonstration biorefinery has a current capacity of 3k tons (1 million gallons) of cellulosic ethanol per year with plans to scale up to 10k tons (3.34 million gallons) per year. Using data provided by Tianguan staff in summer of 2011, the costs and availability of corn stover and wheat straw were estimated. Currently, there are sufficient volumes of wheat straw and corn stover that are considered 'waste' and would likely be available for bioenergy in the 20-km (12-mile) region surrounding the demonstration biorefinery at a low cost. However, as the industry grows, competition for feedstock will grow and prices are likely to rise as producers demand additional compensation to fully recover costs.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Carbon Calculator for Land Use Change from Biofuels Production (CCLUB). Users' Manual and Technical Documentation

The Carbon Calculator for Land Use Change from Biofuels Production (CCLUB) calculates carbon emissions from land use change (LUC) for four different ethanol production pathways including corn grain ethanol and cellulosic ethanol from corn stover, miscanthus, and switchgrass. This document discusses the version of CCLUB released May 31, 2012 which includes corn, as did the previous CCLUB version, and three cellulosic feedstocks: corn stover, miscanthus, and switchgrass. CCLUB calculations are based upon two data sets: land change areas and above- and below-ground carbon content. Table 1 identifies where these data are stored and used within the CCLUB model, which is built in MS Excel. Land change area data is from Purdue University's Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model, a computable general equilibrium (CGE) economic model. Section 2 describes the GTAP data CCLUB uses and how these data were modified to reflect shrubland transitions. Feedstock- and spatially-explicit below-ground carbon content data for the United States were generated with a surrogate model for CENTURY's soil organic carbon sub-model (Kwon and Hudson 2010) as described in Section 3. CENTURY is a soil organic matter model developed by Parton et al. (1987). The previous CCLUB version used more coarse domestic carbon emission factors. Above-ground non-soil carbon content data for forest ecosystems was sourced from the USDA/NCIAS Carbon Online Estimator (COLE) as explained in Section 4. We discuss emission factors used for calculation of international greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Section 5. Temporal issues associated with modeling LUC emissions are the topic of Section 6. Finally, in Section 7 we provide a step-by-step guide to using CCLUB and obtaining results.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Regulation of assimilate import into sink organs: update on molecular drivers of sink strength

Recent developments have altered our view of molecular mechanisms that determine sink strength, defined here as the capacity of non-photosynthetic structures to compete for import of photoassimilates. We review new findings from diverse systems, including stems, seeds, flowers, and fruits. An important advance has been the identification of new transporters and facilitators with major roles in the accumulation and equilibration of sugars at a cellular level. Exactly where each exerts its effect varies among systems. Sugarcane and sweet sorghum stems, for example, both accumulate high levels of sucrose, but may do so via different paths. The distinction is central to strategies for targeted manipulation of sink strength using transporter genes, and shows the importance of system-specific analyses. Another major advance has been the identification of deep hypoxia as a feature of normal grain development. This means that molecular drivers of sink strength in endosperm operate in very low oxygen levels, and under metabolic conditions quite different than previously assumed. Successful enhancement of sink strength has nonetheless been achieved in grains by up-regulating genes for starch biosynthesis. Additionally, our understanding of sink strength is enhanced by awareness of the dual roles played by invertases (INVs), not only in sucrose metabolism, but also in production of the hexose sugar signals that regulate cell cycle and cell division programs. These contributions of INV to cell expansion and division prove to be vital for establishment of young sinks ranging from flowers to fruit. Since INV genes are themselves sugar-responsive “feast genes,” they can mediate a feed-forward enhancement of sink strength when assimilates are abundant. Greater overall productivity and yield have thus been attained in key instances, indicating that even broader enhancements may be achievable as we discover the detailed molecular mechanisms that drive sink strength in diverse systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Opportunities for Energy Crop Production Based on Subfield Scale Distribution of Profitability

Incorporation of dedicated herbaceous energy crops into row crop landscapes is a promising means to supply an expanding biofuel industry while benefiting soil and water quality and increasing biodiversity. Despite these positive traits, energy crops remain largely unaccepted due to concerns over their practicality and cost of implementation. This paper presents a case study for Hardin County, Iowa, to demonstrate how subfield decision making can be used to target candidate areas for conversion to energy crop production. Estimates of variability in row crop production at a subfield level are used to model the economic performance of corn (Zea mays L.) grain and the environmental impacts of corn stover collection using the Landscape Environmental Analysis Framework (LEAF). The strategy used in the case study integrates switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) into subfield landscape positions where corn grain is modeled to return a net economic loss. Results show that switchgrass integration has the potential to increase sustainable biomass production from 48% to 99% (depending on the rigor of conservation practices applied to corn stover collection), while also improving field level profitability of corn. Candidate land area is highly sensitive to grain price (0.18 to 0.26 $·kg−1) and dependent on the acceptable subfield net loss for corn production (ranging from 0 to −1000 $·ha−1) and the ability of switchgrass production to meet or exceed this return. This work presents the case that switchgrass may be economically incorporated into row crop landscapes when management decisions are applied at a subfield scale within field areas modeled to have a negative net profit with current management practices.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS1988

Linear statistical analysis of maneuver optimization techniques

It is shown how a method for maneuver design during the Jovian satellite tour phase of the Galileo mission requires a full-scale redesign of the tour at each maneuver. Software was developed to provide insight into the statistical properties of this process; it is based on the use of linear perturbations to provide trajectory propagation and a least squares representation of the optimization. The result is a Monte Carlo program, making it possible to evaluate the proposed strategy.

Maize, Earl H.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Critical monitoring of the Cassini Saturn Orbit Insertion maneuver

The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft will have spent seven years since launch by the time it reaches Saturn and its satellites. The primary mission will begin after the Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI) scheduled for early July 2004. the insertion will require a critical navigational maneuver that involves firing the orbiter's thrusters leading to the capture in the gravity well of the planet. This paper will describe the challenges and plans by the Cassini Program to monitor the Saturn Orbit Insertion Maneuver.

Cassini↗
NASA NTRS2006

Correcting STIS CCD Point-Source Spectra for CTE Loss

We review the on-orbit spectroscopic observations that are being used to characterize the Charge Transfer Efficiency (CTE) of the STIS CCD in spectroscopic mode. We parameterize the CTE-related loss for spectrophotometry of point sources in terms of dependencies on the brightness of the source, the background level, the signal in the PSF outside the standard extraction box, and the time of observation. Primary constraints on our correction algorithm are provided by measurements of the CTE loss rates for simulated spectra (images of a tungsten lamp taken through slits oriented along the dispersion axis) combined with estimates of CTE losses for actual spectra of spectrophotometric standard stars in the first order CCD modes. For point-source spectra at the standard reference position at the CCD center, CTE losses as large as 30% are corrected to within approx.1% RMS after application of the algorithm presented here, rendering the Poisson noise associated with the source detection itself to be the dominant contributor to the total flux calibration uncertainty.

Goudfrooij, Paul↗
NASA NTRS2005

The Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan

The Cassini-Huygens mission is an international collaboration whose goal is an intense and detailed study of Saturn and its system. This paper provides a brief overview of the mission.

Huygen↗
NASA NTRS2004

Huygens Probe Relay Data Subsystem Anomaly and Recovery

European Space Agency Mission is designed to study the atmosphere and surface of Saturn's largest satellite, Titan carried by the Cassini spacecraft which provides: a) Power for support equipment; b) S-band antenna system; and c) Data storage and playback. Instruments/investigations include: 1) Aerosol Collector Pyrolyzer (ACP). Study of clouds and aerosols in the Titan atmosphere. 2) Descent Imager and Spectral Radiometer (DISR). Aerosol and cloud optical properties and spectroscopy measurements of Titan's atmosphere and surface. 3) Doppler Wind Experiment (DWE). Study of winds from their effect on the Probe during Titan descent. 4) Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectrometer (GCMS). Chemical composition of gases and aerosols in Titan's atmosphere. 5) Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument (HASI). In-situ study of Titan atmospheric physical and electrical properties. 6) Surface Science Package (SSP). Physical properties of Titan's surface and related atmospheric properties.

Huygens↗
NASA NTRS2013

The Chandra Delta Ori Large Project: Occultation Measurements of the Shocked Gas tn the Nearest Eclipsing O-Star Binary

Delta Ori is the nearest massive, single-lined eclipsing binary (O9.5 II + B0.5III). As such it serves as a fundamental calibrator of the mass-radius-luminosity relation in the upper HR diagram. It is also the only eclipsing O-type binary system which is bright enough to be observable with the CHANDRA gratings in a reasonable exposure. Studies of resolved X-ray line complexes provide tracers of wind mass loss rate and clumpiness; occultation by the X-ray dark companion of the line emitting region can provide direct spatial information on the location of the X-ray emitting gas produced by shocks embedded in the wind of the primary star. We obtained phase-resolved spectra with Chandra in order to determine the level of phase-dependent vs. secular variability in the shocked wind. Along with the Chandra observations we obtained simultaneous photometry from space with the Canadian MOST satellite to help understand the relation between X-ray and photospheric variability.

eclipsing binary↗
NASA NTRS2018

Global Patterns of Crop Yield Stability Under Additional Nutrient and Water Inputs

Agricultural production must increase to feed a growing and wealthier population, as well as to satisfy increasing demands for biomaterials and biomass-based energy. At the same time, deforestation and land-use change need to be minimized in order to preserve biodiversity and maintain carbon stores in vegetation and soils. Consequently, agricultural land use needs to be intensified in order to increase food production per unit area of land. Here we use simulations of AgMIP's Global Gridded Crop Model Intercomparison (GGCMI) phase 1 to assess implications of input-driven intensification (water, nutrients) on crop yield and yield stability, which is an important aspect in food security. We find region- and crop-specific responses for the simulated period 1980+/-2009 with broadly increasing yield variability under additional nitrogen inputs and stabilizing yields under additional water inputs (irrigation), reflecting current patterns of water and nutrient limitation. The different models of the GGCMI ensemble show similar response patterns, but model differences warrant further research on management assumptions, such as variety selection and soil management, and inputs as well as on model implementation of different soil and plant processes, such as on heat stress, and parameters. Higher variability in crop productivity under higher fertilizer input will require adequate buffer mechanisms in trade and distribution/storage networks to avoid food price volatility.

Maize↗