Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “capital”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 865 records · Page 48
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Emissions mitigation technology for advanced water-lean solvent-based CO 2 capture processes

This technical final report submitted to DOE/NETL presents all the research activities performed during the entirety of DE-FE0031660 project-Emissions Mitigation Technology for Advanced Water-Lean Solvent-Based CO 2 Capture Processes which spans from October 2018 through March 2022. RTI International has been conducting studies from fundamental and operational aspects to reduce the overall amine emissions from the advanced Water-Lean Solvent (WLS) systems, specifically RTI’s Non-Aqueous Solvent (NAS). This technical final report will highlight the key findings from project which align closely to the project objectives which are: Identify the contribution of vapor loss, entrainment, and aerosols to the overall emissions of water-lean systems; Determine the significance of CO 2 capture system operating parameters to the amine emissions; Develop an emissions model based on critical operating parameters; Evaluate the effectiveness of emissions mitigation devices to reduce the amine emissions to <1 ppm under flue coal-fired flue gas; and, Determine the contribution of the ECTs to the overall CO 2 capture cost. The following are the key findings based on numerous tests using both lab-scale setups and parametric testing performed at RTI’s Bench-scale Gas Absorption System (BsGAS). During the BP1, the aerosol generation system and monitoring equipment were installed at BsGAS to produce and determine the aerosol characteristics during the NAS CO 2 capture process. The aerosol produced by this setup produced aerosols with the peak diameter and concentration of 50 micron and 1.2E10 7 cm -3 , respectively. These particle sizes and concentrations are matched to those observed in the actual coal-fired power plant flue gases and expected to be found at the absorber inlet of the CO 2 capture system. Over 1,300 hours of parametric testing have been conducted to evaluate the impact of the aerosols and operating conditions during the CO 2 capture with NAS on the overall amine emissions in the treated flue gas. At the worse condition tested, the presence of the aerosols in the flue gas could increase the overall emissions by 10X compared to the baseline emissions from NAS’s vapor pressure. CO 2 capture rate was found to be a main factor impacting the overall emissions as well as aerosol size and concentrations in the absorber off-gas. The higher CO 2 capture rate, the higher amine emissions in the treated gas. The temperature difference between the temperature bulge seen in the absorber and the water wash temperature also impacts the particle growth where the larger the temperature difference, the more amine emissions from aerosols in the treated gas. The majority of the aerosols did not grow substantially in the system, and the particle concentrations remained nearly constant between the absorber inlet and wash outlet. Only a small portion of the particles were found to grow significantly. The high efficiency demister with mesh size of 5-10 micron can be installed to remove a portion of the aerosols from the gas stream leaving the water wash. Overall, these results from parametric testing have established the emission baseline and validate our assumption on the need of emission control technologies (ECT) in order to minimize the emissions from the baseline NAS CO 2 capture process. Over 2,000 of BsGAS operating hours was used to investigate a handful of process improvements which led to a selection of the vital few changes that effectively control the amine emissions. These process improvements are lime-coated-filters for absorber gas inlet, advanced demister at the top of the absorber, a second water wash with amine recovery unit were designed, installed, and tested at BsGAS at the end of BP1. The result showed that the NAS CO 2 capture process with these additional emission control devices could lower the amine emission in the treated gas to about 1 ppm using a simulated coal-fire flue gas stream. The main contributor in lowering the amine emission came from the second water wash with amine recovery unit where the amine concentration in the scrubbing water was kept below 2 wt% through a continuous amine removal via an adsorbent bed, resulting in a low amine vapor pressure. The adsorbent bed was regenerated via a direct steam regeneration and the recover amine was returned to the absorber to minimize wastewater and makeup amine. A flue gas generation system was designed and installed during the first half of BP2 to support the emission testing using a real coal-derived flue gas. The system is capable of generating both coal- and natural gas- derived flue gases with the composition of the gaseous species highly resemble to that of the power plant flue gases. The particulates detected in the coal-derived flue gas showed the mean diameter of 1 micron. The CO 2 capture operating was then proceed using the real coal-derived flue gas where the amine emission was controlled to be about 0-3 ppm for the total run time of about 200 hours. Similar testing was conducted with natural gas-derived flue gas and the result showed a highly amine emission of 30 ppm under the total run time of 200 hours. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the Partial Least Squares Projection to Latent Structures (PLS) techniques were applied to the parametric testing data to derive a multivariate statistical model. The model was validated and trained with half of the data collected, and the predictive ability of the model was evaluated using the remaining half of the data. The resulting empirical model was capable of predicting the overall emissions from the NAS process without the ECTs with ±15% accuracy (average absolute deviation, AAD) in BP1. As more emission data were obtained under the real coal-flue gas in the BP2, the model incorporated these new set of data to reflect the final process configuration, operating parameters, and amine emission. This results in the updated empirical model predicting the amine emission from the NAS CO 2 capture process with 84% goodness-of-fit (R 2 ), 85% predictability (Q 2 ), and 15% AAD. The study evaluates the use of RTI’s Non-Aqueous Solvent technology for 90% CO 2 capture from a net 650 MWe pulverized coal power plant, downstream of the flue-gas desulfurization unit. The captured CO 2 has a purity of > 95% CO 2 , and is dried, compressed to 15.3 MPa (2,215 psia), ready for sequestration. The analysis uses Case B12B from the DOE Baseline study on Bituminous Coal, Revision 4 where the Cansolv CO 2 capture plant is replaced by the RTI CO 2 Capture plant. The CO 2 capture plant has been sized to capture >90% CO 2 from flue gas derived from a net 650 MWe supercritical pulverized coal power plant. The CO 2 capture plant is equipped with emission control technologies that limits the amine emissions to < 1 ppm. Two different cases were evaluated for the technoeconomic study. The key difference between the two cases is the regenerator pressure. In Case 1, the regenerator operates at 0.195 MPa (28.3 psia), whereas in Case 2, the regenerator pressure is 0.44 MPa (64 psia) thus removing the need for the first stage of compression of the eight-stage compression train. Results from the TEA are compared against the DOE reference cases for SCPC plant with and without CO 2 Capture (Case B12A and Case B12B of the DOE Baseline study, respectively). Case 2 with CO 2 regeneration at higher pressure results in the lower cost of CO 2 capture. The total capital cost of the capture process has been estimated using 2018 dollars in Aspen Process Economic Analyzer and was estimated to be $579 MM. The capture plant operation leads to a total parasitic power loss rate of 96 MWe, resulting in a decrease in pulverized coal power plant efficiency of 7.8% points. The resulting cost of electric power increases from 64.4 mills/kWh, for no capture, to 97.5 mills/kWh, with 90% capture, an increase of 51% in the COE. The cost of capturing 90% CO 2 was estimated to be $38.2/tonne-CO 2 , and meets the DOE target of $40/t-CO 2 . Emission control technologies (ECT) investigated in this project includes a second water wash with use of activated carbon beds for removal of amine from the wash water prior to recirculation in the water wash. These ECT allow operation of the CO 2 capture plant with < 1 ppm amine emissions with the treated flue gas and contributes to $2.4/t-CO 2 captured. Amine emissions derived from thermal and oxidative degradations were investigated under this project along with the emissions derived from aerosols for the NAS system. The thermally degraded of the lean NAS showed less than 4% decreased of the original total amine content in the NAS at 150 °C while the result obtained at 120 °C showed no drop in total amine content, suggesting that thermal degradation of the NAS is minimal. These results also suggested that the thermally degraded species are not likely formed and contributed to the emissions due to the low regeneration temperature of the NAS at 90-105 °C. The oxidative degradation, on the other hand, could become problematic as some of these oxidative degraded species were observed during the NAS-5 testing at National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) and SINTEF in our previous project. The rapid screening of selected inhibitors suggested that oxidative degradation of NAS can be suppressed using thiol containing compounds in amounts of at least 1 mol%. The detailed mechanistic degradation pathway was conceived for a specific amine used in NAS formulation during BP2. he reduction of the nitrosamines caused by the NO x present in the flue gas was also examined. The study suggested that the thermo-chemical treatment of the NAS solvent would be a more effective and economically viable compared to removing NO x at the DCC.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2022

An Adaptable and Comprehensive Project Assessment Tool

Most companies, agencies, and other real property owners require capital asset projects to pass some type of scrutiny before budgets and authority to expend funds for the design, construction and eventual operations are approved. This process typically involves management approval of key/critical decision(s) or a project’s passage through gates (or critical decisions). Cost, functionality, safety, and risk are just some of the factors typically considered during project assessment processes. This paper describes a tool that was developed and is used by the Department of Energy to facilitate this project assessment process. There are three versions of this tool for construction, decontamination and decommissioning (D&D), and environmental restoration/cleanup project types. The tool’s elements and associated criteria are tailored for each project type; although some elements, such as cost estimating and scheduling, are used in common. The tool is easy to use, requiring little or no training. It provides a common assessment tool for project self-appraisals and independent project reviews. It promotes efficiency and reduces disagreements and unnecessary effort. A comprehensive array of elements covers the gamut of cost, schedule, scope/technical, and safety/security ensuring that no important project attributes are overlooked. The tool is adaptable for use by any organization.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Front-End Engineering Design for Piperazine with the Advanced Stripper

This Department of Energy (DOE) funded project was executed with the goal of preparing a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for the capture and compression of 90% of the CO2 that would normally be emitted from an existing natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) plant. The FEED focused on the application of the piperazine advanced stripper (PZAS) process at Mustang Station of the Golden Spread Electric Cooperative (GSEC), which consists of two gas turbines with common heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). The University of Texas at Austin (UT) served as the prime contractor, and subcontracted AECOM Technical Services and Trimeric Corporation to support FEED development. This project team has worked together to advance PZAS for more than a decade. ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Total provided project co-funding. The objectives of this work included: 1. To advance engineering design such that a comprehensive estimate for the total installed cost of a full-scale PZAS CO2 Capture Plant with CO2 compression can be developed on an existing NGCC power plant. a. These detailed costs can also be used to qualify PZAS and other related second generation (2G) amine scrubbing processes for use on cogeneration facilities in refineries and chemical plants that use gas turbines with HRSGs to produce steam. b. These detailed costs will help qualify 2G amine scrubbing for use on NGCC power plants and establish a more accurate baseline cost to be used as a target by other capture technologies. 2. To provide cost details to be used in the economic optimization of the process features of PZAS and other 2G amine scrubbing processes. 3. To provide DOE with a more detailed understanding of carbon capture costs in a commercial application, enabling DOE to better design its R&D program to improve the economics for carbon capture. 4. To provide the host site and cost share partners with the information necessary to determine whether a commercial project to capture and use CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or for sequestration can be justified (when accounting for the 45Q tax credit). A key component of the FEED is the estimated total installed cost, which provides a basis for the likely capital investment necessary to implement the PZAS carbon capture process at this location and scale. In combination with the included economic analysis, which accounts for potential revenue from the produced CO2, potential avenues to profitability are explored. The major findings of the FEED are as follows: The Mustang Station PZAS CO2 Capture Plant estimated total project cost of $698 MM of which $384 MM was direct costs. The annual operating costs were $32.6 MM. The total investment for a PZAS facility at Mustang Station is $725 MM. This estimate includes owner’s cost of $25 million and a contingency of $110 MM. • The study estimated the CO2 capture plant at Mustang Station would generate CO2 at $110/tonne for EOR, assuming a 12% IRR (internal rate of return) and an 85% capacity factor. For CO2 storage, the same case would achieve a 12% IRR at about $114/tonne. At a capacity factor of 52%, the storage and EOR cases would break even when carbon is priced ~$150/tonne. The economic analysis determined that the capacity factor and utility pricing, among other variable factors, had a significant effect on the economics and will need additional studied. • The energy penalty of the PZAS plant would be about 46 MW in connected power and 35 MW in operating load. The natural gas requirement (for the Gas Boiler package) would be about 354 MMBTU/hr. • The FEED revealed no major risks in process maturity. However, some areas were outlined for further engineering during detailed design, which included the Gas Boiler system, general arrangement and site layout, air coolers, schedule development, and optimization of the process for higher CO2 removal. • If PZAS were to be implemented at another host site, additional opportunities for cost reduction for would include cost reduction through use of cooling water and steam extraction.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Small Reactors in Microgrids: Technoeconomic Analysis

This report presents the results of technoeconomic analysis that advances understanding of the potential of small modular reactors and microreactors, collectively referred to as small reactors (SRs) in this report, in microgrids. This analysis was conducted using a proxy model for SR in microgrids based on the datapoints that were identified and explored in a predecessor report “Small Reactors in Microgrids: Technical Studies Guidance.” The results and the subsequent comparative analysis in this report show that SRs could be a cost-competitive generation option when capital costs are modeled considering potential economies of scale in sizing. If the CO 2 tax is imposed on carbon fuels, SRs would be even more attractive than gas generators. Then, SRs in microgrids would play a pivotal role in reducing the carbon footprint at the local distribution level. However, it is particularly important to identify the most suitable use cases for early adoption and the right balance of generation mix with other clean technologies as SRs achieve a level of technological and financial maturity.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Produced Water and Waste Heat-aided Blowdown Water Treatment: Using Chemical and Energy Synergisms for Value Creation

The project objective was to develop a cooling blowdown water (BDW) treatment process utilizing produced water (PW) and low-grade heat to maximize water reuse and saleable by-product generation while reducing chemical and energy footprints of the treatment. The proposed treatment process consists of mixing, softening, organics and suspended solids removal, reverse osmosis (RO), thermal desalination, and brine electrolysis. BDW samples collected from a local coal-fired power plant and PW samples from two shale gas production wells were used in this study. Each treatment unit was first designed and tested to quantify its treatment efficiency, and its chemical and energy requirements. In addition, a process model was developed and model simulations were conducted based on the experimental results and literature data to optimize the treatment process. A techno-economic analysis was conducted to quantify chemical and energy savings as well as production of 10-lb brine as a saleable product. With the field-collected BDW and PW samples, mixing experiments determined a volumetric mixing ratio 10:1 (BDW:PW) resulted in the best performance of multivalent ions removal and largest chemical savings for softening. Softening of the BDW/PW mixtures using alkaline chemicals (Na 2 CO 3 and NaOH) achieved 95%-100% removal of scaling-forming cations (Ca, Mg, Fe, Ba, Sr) and 60% of silicon, and 10% of total organic carbon (TOC). The mixing and softening treatments yielded an effluent with total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration of 23 g/L. Activated carbon (AC) filtration removed TOC to a low level (< 3 mg/L) and further removed remaining scale-forming divalent metals and silica from the softened water. The AC filtration resulted in a slight reduction of TDS from 23 g/L to 20 g/L, leaving behind only mostly monovalent ions (i.e., sodium and chloride) in the filtered water. These pretreatments yielded a feed water that met the criteria of the downstream reverse osmosis (RO) to prevent membrane fouling. A cross-flow RO system was used to further concentrate the TDS of the AC effluent. Various factors including TDS, pH, and applied pressure were examined and optimal conditions were determined for the co-treatment process. An integrated process consisting of mixing, softening, AC filtration and RO was used to treat a continuous flow (0.25 – 1.2 L/min, or 0.07 – 0.32 gpm) and successfully generated RO permeate as product water (TDS < 0.5 g/L) for reuse in cooling operation, and a concentrate (TDS ~ 45 g/L) to be further treated in a thermal desalination unit. These flow rates meet the FOA’s criterion of 0.01 – 1 gpm. Overall, the co-treatment of BDW/PW allowed shorter ramp-up time compared to treatment of BDW alone. It resulted in 40% and 55% savings of Na 2 CO 3(s) and NaOH, respectively, compared to treating the BDW and PW individually for the same level of softening. The co-treatment also resulted in a 29% energy saving compared to treatment of BDW only for the level of TDS concentration. A thermal desalination system was designed using CFD simulations and manufactured in the WVU Innovation Hub for further treatment of the RO concentrate to generate 10-lb brine. The system has a design flow rate of 2 gpm and has been successfully tested. A bench-scale brine electrolysis system was developed for on-site generation of chlorine/hypochlorite (Cl 2 /OCl - ) and caustic soda (NaOH) as useful chemicals for the co-treatment process. Using salt solutions (0.5 M and 1 M), the system achieved faradaic efficiencies of 93%-97% and 70%-77% for caustic soda and chlorine/hypochlorite generation, respectively. An economic analysis showed that the electricity costs for on-site generation of these chemicals were significantly lower than the chemical prices offered by suppliers. An industrial-scale process model consisting of mixing, softening, AC filtration, RO, thermal desalination, and brine electrolysis was developed using the Aspen Plus V9 in conjunction with Aspen Custom Modeler V9. The model serves as a solvable Aspen Plus model and as basis to form the costing infrastructure. In addition, techno-economic analysis considering capital, operating, and transportation costs was conducted. An optimization solution showed that produced water for mixing is still advantageous in low quantities. The optimum solution approaches a leveled cost of water (LCW) of 2 $/m 3 which becomes cost competitive with nominal water treatment prices.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Using Information Automation and Human Technology Integration to Implement Integrated Operations for Nuclear

The purpose of the research effort described in this report is to develop and demonstrate an approach to the design and implementation of advanced, automated systems intended to increase operational efficiencies at nuclear power plants. In particular, we describe methods for considering human-technology integration (HTI) issues throughout the various phases of system design, test, and implementation and how these considerations help promote effective design. This research project will develop planning tools and comprehensive guidance on how HTI principles and methods, in combination with information automation technologies, can enable effective data integration and coordination for full nuclear plant modernization. Specifically, this research project will develop an approach to automate the mapping of data from plant systems and processes to application needs, thereby significantly reducing the amount of human workload currently required for the execution of these tasks. In addition to developing an automated solution as a replacement for these tasks, this research will also analyze digitalization’s effectiveness in reducing operational costs of compliance related activities. Compliance activities are estimated to account for as much as 50% of operations and maintenance (i.e., non-fuel and non-capital) costs of plant operation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Inchfab – A ultra-low-cost micro and nanofabrication platform (CRADA Final Report)

Inchfab Inc. is developing an ultra-low cost suite of micro- and nanofabrication platforms which allows greater process flexibility and short development cycles. In traditional manufacturing environments, virtually all fabrication happens on 6-12” substrates–which requires prohibitively expensive fabrication facilities (“fabs”). By scaling the substrate size down to 1-2”, Inchfab reduces the capital cost and physical footprint of a fab by two to three orders of magnitude, while still retaining a similar level of performance. Additionally, the design of the Inchfab will allow users to develop fully-customizable fabrication processes, accommodating non-traditional materials and process diversity. Ultimately, the Inchfab platform will enable innovative device designs which currently have limited possibility of being realized. This CRADA project worked on preliminary research to test the feasibility of the Inchfab platform by utilizing equipment at Berkeley Lab to evaluate test samples and characterize equipment performance.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Co-production of Clean and Low Cost Hydrogen and Other Commodity Chemicals (CRADA Final Report)

We worked on the production of hydrogen and sulfuric acid electrochemically. We did this by building an electrolyzer and performing techno-economic analysis for which we published a paper (documented above). We also performed many leaching reactions with acid similar to the acid that we would have produced. We found that it was not commercially viable to cogenerate hydrogen and sulfuric acid because the technical problems would take too long to solve under the constraints of venture capital.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evaluation and Suitability of Using SERI QC Software for Estimating Measurement Uncertainty

SERI QC is a robust solar data quality assessment software tool that has been in continuous use for more than three decades. This report (the first of six in the Data Quality and Uncertainty Integration project) reviews and evaluates the software to determine its suitability for determining the estimated expanded measurement uncertainty of solar measurement data by including operational factors. Using redundancy incorporated in three-component (global, direct, diffuse) solar measurements, SERI QC can quantify the standard uncertainty estimates for estimating uncertainty. With minor modifications, SERI QC will provide an operational uncertainty to be used in conjunction with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory method for instrument uncertainty to provide an integrated estimate of solar measurement data sets. These modifications will capitalize on SERI QC's evaluation of data quality, including data input validation and a variety of built-in solar routines, and will further develop the utility of the software.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Liquid Hydrogen Heavy-Duty Vehicle Safety Review and Refueling Facility Design

Liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) used as a fuel onboard a heavy-duty vehicle can result in increased storage capacity and faster refueling relative to compressed gas. However, there are concerns about hydrogen losses from boil-off, potential safety issues, gaps in codes and standards for cryogenic hydrogen fuel, and technical challenges with LH 2 systems for widespread transportation applications. A failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), a safety codes and standards review, and a design review of the onboard liquid hydrogen system for a heavy-duty vehicle identified some of these potential safety issues and gaps in the codes and standards. The FMEA identified some medium and low risk failure points of the conceptual design, and the design review identified how carefully pressure relief needs to be considered for LH 2 systems. In addition, a conceptual design for a LH 2 refueling station was developed. Rough capital costs for the refueling station design were $\$1 million$ and the layout occupied approximately 13,000 ft 2 . These results can be used to inform future designs and analyses for LH 2 heavy-duty vehicles.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Investigating Benefits and Challenges of Converting Retiring Coal Plants into Nuclear Plants

A coal-to-nuclear (C2N) transition means siting a nuclear reactor at the site of a recently retired coal power plant. Three overarching questions from the C2N transition guide this research: where in the United States are retired coal facilities located and what factors make a site feasible for transition; what factors of technology, cost, and project timeline drive investor economics over such a decision; and how will C2N impact local communities? The study team evaluated the siting characteristics of recently retired plants and those operating coal-fired power plant sites run by a utility or an independent power producer utilizing publicly available data to screen U.S. coal power plant sites to nuclear-feasible locations. After screening all retired coal sites to a set of 157 potential candidates and screening operating sites to a set of 237 candidates, the study team estimates that 80% of retired and operating coal power plant sites that were evaluated have the basic characteristics needed to be considered amenable to host an advanced nuclear reactor. For the recently retired plant sites evaluated, this represents a capacity potential of 64.8 GWe to be backfit at 125 sites. For the operating plant sites evaluated, this represents a capacity potential of 198.5 GWe to be backfit at 190 sites. This report evaluates a case study for the detailed impacts and potential outcomes from a C2N transition. Based on the nuclear technology choices and sizes evaluated to replace a large coal plant of 1,200 MWe generation capacity at the case study site, nuclear overnight costs of capital could decrease by 15% to 35% when compared to a greenfield construction project, through the reuse of infrastructure from the coal facility. Nuclear replacement designs can have a lower capacity size because nuclear power plants run at higher capacity factors than coal power plants. In the case study replacing coal capacity with 924 GWe of nuclear capacity, the study team found regional economic activity could increase by as much as $\$275 million$ and add 650 new, permanent jobs to the region of analysis. The evaluated site choice in the report is hypothetical for analysis purposes only and based on available data and documented assumptions. Consequently, the findings only inform at a general level. A community, investor, or other interested stakeholder can use these results to set up a detailed, in-depth analysis for a specific application of interest, such as evaluating a C2N transition of a specific coal power plant and a specific nuclear technology design. The report was subjected to independent peer reviews by experts in systems engineering and regional economic modeling to evaluate analysis and assumptions.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Safeguards by Design Projects (Final Report-FY-22)

This University Engagement project challenged engineering students at universities, that do not have Bachelor degree programs in nuclear engineering but do have research reactors and some nuclear engineering coursework, to incorporate Safeguards by Design concepts into their Senior Capstone Design Project. This University Engagement project was part of the U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, Office of International Nuclear Safeguards, Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI), Human Capital Development (HCD): University Engagement Program. This program exposed university students with Mechanical Engineering majors and Nuclear Engineering minors to the concepts of international nuclear safeguards. In FY22, three teams at the University of Rhode Island and two teams at the University of Texas - Austin participated in researching, designing, building, and testing projects to support international nuclear safeguards measurements or verification. The projects involved engaging in activities at the university’s research reactors. All the projects engaged students with prototyping a design and/or tool for application at the Universities’ reactor. At the end of the course, most of the students expressed the experience was positive and they learned more about international nuclear safeguards and applying requirements than they had previously encountered. This school year the projects were further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both universities had limited in classes on campus, still relying on Zoom classes, and limited direct student/professor interactions. Furthermore, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) greatly restricted travel, therefore making it impossible to visit the students at the end of the semester for the review of their design projects. The final design and review meeting for the projects happened via meetings over the internet. Additionally, the teams did build and test some prototypes but could only do so in a limited capacity.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

High Energy Systems for Transforming CO 2 to Valuable Products (Final Report)

The objective of this project is to develop the Direct E-Beam Synthesis (DEBS) process that uses high-energy electron beams (E-Beam) to break chemical bonds. This allows the production of valuable chemicals, such as acetic acid, methanol, and carbon monoxide, at relatively low severity (pressure near one atmosphere and temperatures <150°C) from near-pure CO 2 captured from a pulverized coal-fired power plant and methane, imported as natural gas. Creating such valuable products will offset the cost of carbon capture and storage. Through this project, we have designed, constructed, and operated an E-Beam reactor to examine the feasibility of performing dry reforming reaction without a catalyst using only DEBS. We have verified the production of syngas with 1:1 H2:CO ratio and calculated that the energy cost for conversion is about 5.2 eV/molecule of product for dry reforming reaction which is similar to the energy cost for conversion using conventional thermochemical conversion but under significantly milder conditions (room temperature and atmospheric pressure). We have performed a technoeconomic analysis (TEA) to estimate the total capital requirement and the cost of production for a 99.4 MMSCFD syngas production plant via non-catalytic Direct E-Beam Synthesis (DEBS) technology utilizing a high-energy electron beam (E-Beam) accelerator. No assumption is made for syngas utilization downstream, and the incoming reactants are pure CO 2 from carbon capture (assumed to be at zero cost) and natural gas. The Total As-Spent Cost (TASC) was calculated to be $\$242.5$ million, resulting in a levelized cost of syngas (LCOS) of $\$175.84$/tonne (metric) at a natural gas price of $\$6.24$/MMBTU1. The cost of syngas is primarily determined by the price of natural gas. If the cost of the CO 2 feedstock is assumed to be non-zero, then the price of the CO 2 feed also heavily influences the levelized cost of syngas. The potential impact on the cost of electricity from syngas revenue is significant. Following DOE NETL’s guidance, a lifecycle analysis (LCA) was conducted to compare the cradle-to-gate life cycle emissions of GTI Energy’s novel Direct E-Beam Synthesis (DEBS) process that produces syngas via the reaction of methane and carbon dioxide to the emissions of a state-of-the-art Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) process that also produces syngas via the reaction of methane and steam. The DEBS process results in less GHG emissions than SMR (with CO product as the basis of comparison). openLCA was used for the LCA and the results show that the total global warming potential (GWP) of DEBS is 0.981 kg CO 2 e per kg CO product, while the SMR process has a global warming potential of 2.573 kg CO 2 e per kg CO product. The ratio of the GWP of the proposed product system to the comparison product system is 0.381. This percent change is 61.9% lower GWP than SMR.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Roadmap to Advance Heliostat Technologies for Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power

Heliostat-based concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) systems can offer immense potential to provide low-cost, dispatchable renewable thermal and electrical energy to help achieve 100% decarbonized energy infrastructure in the United States. Heliostats are a major capital cost technology and a performance-dominating component of state-of-the-art commercial molten salt towers and Generation 3 CSP systems. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) launched the Heliostat Consortium (HelioCon), a five-year initiative to advance heliostat technologies. The HelioCon mission is threefold: (1) establish strategic core testing and modeling capabilities and infrastructure at national labs; (2) support heliostat technology development in relevant industries; and (3) serve as a central repository to integrate industry, academia, and other stakeholders for heliostat technology research, development, validation, and deployment. In this report, HelioCon presents a roadmapping study on advancing heliostat technologies, intended as a central reference for the whole CSP community.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Aeroelastic Modeling for Distributed Wind Turbines: March 11, 2021 - November 10, 2021

Aeroelastic modeling (AM) is the primary methodology for structural and performance assessment of any wind turbine whereby providing an understanding of the impact of design parameters on its loading and power response before witnessing it in the field. Despite these advantages, the use of AM in the Distributed Wind Technology (DWT) sector is limited, especially within the less established manufacturers. This project represents an in-depth assessment of the status of AM and its role within the Standards for the DWT industry. The study gathered input and feedback from a large number of national and international stakeholders, reviewed technical strengths and weaknesses of the current edition of the design standards, analyzed recent industry workshops' and meetings' minutes, collected publicly available AM templates, and provided an evaluation of the existing AM codes. The study achieved several goals including providing strategies for the load assessment categorization of turbines based on rotor swept area and archetype, and guidance for AM verification and validation (V&V), which includes discussions of measurement requirements and a sample test-plan useful for future V&V campaigns and design standard development. This document summarizes the different tasks conducted in the course of the project and highlights the steps required to improve the AM adoption based on a multifaceted approach that encompasses: 1) augmenting AM software capabilities, 2) publishing AM best-practices and design-basis, 3) creating new model templates, 4) providing guidance for V&V of codes and specific turbine models leveraging field testing best-practice, and 5) addressing weaknesses in the current standards. Many of the future objectives identified in this study could leverage NREL's upcoming testing campaigns of three modern distributed wind turbines. Recommendations within this study will advance the value and the ease-of-use of AM, thereby allowing the industry to better capitalize this underutilized tool resulting in a more efficient design process, an easier path to certification, and overall better and more distributed reliable wind turbine products.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Large Area Projection Sintering Technology Development (CRADA Final Report)

This CRADA was formed through support of the Innovation Crossroads program, which has been an invaluable experience for Ascend Manufacturing and our additive manufacturing technology. Without Innovation Crossroads, the research, capital and operational requirements to develop our company would have been too high and Ascend Manufacturing simply would not exist. Our patented and federally funded technology would have gone to waste. Through this CRADA, Ascend has been able to collaborate with the worlds experts in additive manufacturing to assist in developing our state of the art technology. This project assisted in developing a fully scalable 3D printing process, developed an industrial and pilot system design, assisted in the fabrication of a pilot system, allowing us to print components with materials impossible by any other 3D printing process. This work has allowed us to achieve significant follow-on funding to fully commercialize this highly capable manufacturing technology.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Front End Engineering Design of Linde-BASF Advanced Post-Combustion CO 2 Capture Technology at a Southern Company Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

This document details the execution of Cooperative Agreement DE-FE0031847, “Front End Engineering Design of Linde-BASF Advanced Post-Combustion Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) Capture Technology at a Southern Company Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant” during the period of 10/1/2019 to 6/30/2022. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) and managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Southern Company Services, Inc. (SCS) was the prime recipient and led the project team. Other members of the project team included Linde, Inc. (Linde), Linde Engineering – Dresden (LED), and BASF. The overall goal of the project was to complete a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for installing the Linde-BASF post-combustion capture (PCC) technology at an existing domestic natural gas-fired combined cycle (NGCC) power plant within Southern Company’s portfolio of assets. The CO 2 capture plant was to be of commercial scale (at least 375 MWe) and include process units for pre-conditioning of the flue gas system, the CO 2 capture plant island, storage vessels, the CO 2 compression train, and any necessary components for integration into the NGCC plant. Mississippi Power’s Plant Daniel Unit #4 was chosen as the host site for the FEED with the target of capturing 90% of CO 2 emissions from the existing combustion turbines. The information produced by the FEED was used to develop a cost estimate of +/- 15% accuracy. Capital costs, excluding financing, are estimated at approximately $\$752$ million dollars (2021). The execution of a project based on this FEED study has an estimated duration of almost five years.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cast Components for High Temperature Concentrated Solar Power Thermal Systems

Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (CSP) components such as piping, valves fittings are required for use at temperatures up to 800°C. These are anticipated to be made using Nickel-based alloys such as Haynes ® 230 ® , Haynes ® 282 ® , or IN ® 740H ® and can contribute significantly to the cost of a CSP Gen 3 plant. Thus, there is a significant motivation to lower the cost of materials and components so that the capital costs can be minimized. In all these cases, the cost of the component has two contributions: 1. Materials cost, and 2. Manufacturing cost. Both materials cost and manufacturing costs must be kept low to attain the lowest possible cost. Materials cost can be lowered by using materials that have the ideal combination of properties at the lowest cost. Another avenue to lower cost is chose a manufacturing process that has the potential to lower the cost. Traditionally tubes are made from billets through a wrought process and can be expensive. An alternative process to consider is the centrifugal casting process where the tube is directly fabricated from molten metal. In this case, the molten metal is poured inside a cylindrical metallic mold with an insulating layer and is spun rapidly. A wide range of sizes (diameter, wall thickness, and length) can be cast using this process. The objective of this project was to develop the process for fabricating pipes and related components using a centrifugal casting process and to measure the properties of alloys fabricated using this process.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗