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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

High Performance Solvent for NGCC Flue Gas CO 2 Capture (Final Technical Report)

Amine-based solvent absorption is the most mature and reliable technology for large scale CO 2 capture, dating back to the 1930s when monoethanolamine (MEA) was used to treat acid gases from oil refineries. However, while strategic advancements have optimized the CO2 capture process, the cost of capture remains high, where current estimates suggest that CO 2 capture costs are around $\$$72/tonne of CO 2 . To address this, solvent development and optimization have become a focus of current research. This project sought to develop a high-performance solvent to reduce the overall cost of CO 2 capture from NGCC flue gas. Here, solvent optimization focused on: (1) reducing the energy required for CO 2 desorption in a reboiler, (2) improving CO 2 absorption and desorption reaction kinetics, (3) improving solvent stability, and (4) reducing environmental impacts. Susteon has developed and evaluated a promoted solvent, Sustenol™, for NGCC flue gas CO 2 capture. The optimized Sustenol™ also shows a higher dynamic CO 2 absorption capacity of ~0.5 mol CO2 /mol amine compared to 0.25 mol CO2 /mol amine for 30 wt% MEA. Additionally, the solvent is oxidatively, thermally and hydrothermally stable, which leads to lower solvent loss and emissions. These advancements have resulted in a solvent regeneration energy of 2.16 GJ/tonne of CO 2 which is >30% lower than current state-of-the-art commercial and emerging solvents. Combined with empirical data from the bench and pilot scale testing, this preliminary TEA study indicated the cost of CO 2 capture by Sustenol™ for 97% CO 2 removal at $\$$54/tonne and for 90% removal at $\$$49/tonne, with a pathway to achieve $\$$45/tonne of CO 2 with continued process and solvent advancements. Susteon has developed a technology roadmap to reduce the cost of CO 2 capture to <$\$$45/tonne for NGCC flue gas. Susteon plans to derisk this technology for commercial deployment through comprehensive solvent degradation testing, long-term testing in a pilot plant at 5 tonne CO2 /day and demonstration scale testing at 100 tonne CO2 /day with NGCC flue gas and engineering design studies to qualify Sustenol™ as a drop-in replacement solvent.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Application of Sequential Design of Experiments (SDoE) to Large Pilot-Scale Solvent-Based CO2 Capture Process at Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM)

The United States Department of Energy’s Carbon Capture Simulation for Industry Impact (CCSI2) program has developed a framework for sequential design of experiments (SDoE) that aims to maximize knowledge gained from budget- and schedule-limited pilot scale testing. SDoE was applied to the planning and execution of campaigns for testing CO2 capture systems at pilot-scale in order to optimally allocate resources available for the testing. In this methodology, a stochastic process model is developed by quantifying the parametric uncertainty in submodels of interest; for a solvent-based CO2 capture system, these may include physical properties and equipment performance submodels (e.g., mass transfer, interfacial area). This uncertainty is propagated through the full process model, over variable operating conditions, for estimating the resulting uncertainty in key model outputs (e.g., percentage of CO2 capture, solvent regeneration energy requirement). In developing a data collection plan, the predicted output uncertainty is incorporated into an algorithm that seeks simultaneously to select process operating conditions for which the predicted uncertainty is relatively high and to ensure that the entire space of operation is well represented. This test plan is then used to guide operation of the pilot plant at varying steady-state conditions, with resulting process data incorporated into the existing model using Bayesian inference to refine parameter distributions. The updated stochastic model, with reduced parametric uncertainty from data collected, is then used to guide additional data collection, thus the sequential nature of the experimental design. The SDoE process was implemented at the pilot test unit (12 MWe in scale) at Norway’s Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) in a summer 2018 test campaign with aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA). During the test campaign, the varied operating conditions included the flowrates of circulated solvent, flue gas, and reboiler steam and the CO2 concentration in the flue gas. The process data were used to update probability distributions of mass transfer and interfacial area parameters of a stochastic process model developed by the CCSI2 team. Two iterations of the SDoE process were executed, resulting in the uncertainty in model predicted CO2 capture percentage decreasing by an average of 58.0 ± 4.7% over the full input space of interest. This work demonstrates the potential of the SDoE process for model refinement through reduction in process model parametric uncertainty, and ultimately risk in scale-up, in CO2 capture technology performance.

carbon capture↗
DOE OSTI2025

Transforming Aeration Energy in Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs) through Suboxic Nitrogen Removal (Final Report)

The objective of this project was to advance two key technological components—aeration control strategies and process design methodologies—to support the development and broader adoption of suboxic biological nitrogen removal (SBNR). The project focused on achieving the following three goals: • Enhance Model Predictive Control (MPC) Technology: Advance the DO/Nmaster MPC platform from its initial 2018 pilot deployment at the Chico Water Resource Recovery Facility in California to full-scale integration. This included partnering with a blower technology commercialization partner and incorporating machine learning (ML) capabilities to enable nationwide deployment. • Bridge Knowledge Gaps in SBNR Process Design: Address fundamental gaps in SBNR process understanding through controlled pilot-scale testing at a dedicated pilot facility. These efforts supported the development of robust kinetic models to inform reliable SBNR control, operational strategies, and design frameworks. • Demonstrate Full-Scale Implementation of Low DO/SBNR with ML: Transition low dissolved oxygen (DO)/SBNR coupled with ML from pilot-scale trials to full-scale demonstration in flow-through biological nutrient removal (BNR) systems, with the goal of enabling scalable, nationwide adoption in activated sludge treatment processes. The project included demonstration of SBNR at the pilot scale as performed by Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) and at the full-scale as performed by the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts' (LACSD) Pomona Water Reclamation Plant (POWRP).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Noble Metals Testing on the DM1200 Pilot Melter System with AZ-101 HLW Simulants, VSL-03R3740-2, Rev. 0

This report documents the results obtained with respect to the behavior of noble metals in tests on the DM1200 HLW Pilot Melter during processing of simulated HLW AZ-101 feed. The principal objective of these tests was to collect data to determine the extent of retention of noble metals in the melter since that is an important uncertainty in determining the expected life of the WTP HLW melter. The present results constitute one part of an integrated testing strategy that has been developed to address this risk.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2026

Engineering-Scale Test of a Water-Lean Solvent for Post-Combustion Capture

EPRI, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, RTI International, and their project collaborators developed an engineering-scale test of a new water-lean solvent, N-(2-ethoxyethyl)-3-morpholinopropan-1-amine (EEMPA or 2-EEMPA) as a post-combustion CO 2 capture solvent for power plant applications. This test was conducted using the Pilot Solvent Test Unit at the National Carbon Capture Center. The primary objective of this test was to collect long-term data operating EEMPA with both coal- and natural gas-representative flue gases at the approximately 0.5 MW e -equivalent scale (5–10 metric tons CO 2 /day captured). This report details the activities preparing for that test, data collected during the test campaign, and analyses and interpretations of that data.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Exxon Mobil-NETL Testing of DAC Materials

This joint initiative is aimed at extending our understanding of real DAC testing conditions at the NETL DAC testbed facility. Of particular focus will be: • Small Scale testing of powdered and formulated materials (supplied by ExxonMobil) to evaluate various performance metrics under DAC process cycles • Pilot scale testing of formulated materials at larger scales ExxonMobil will work with NETL to shake down equipment, validate testing methods, and define best practices for data analysis. Three tasks are proposed: 1. Validation of multi-cycle test data on powdered and formulated materials to benchmark various performance metrics of these materials. 2. Steam regeneration of powdered samples at small scale to define baseline performance under commercially relevant conditions. 3. Pilot scale testing of larger formulated materials to test commercially relevant samples under actual process cycles.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Vitrification of Inactive Incineration Ash in a Full Industrial Scale In Can Melter - 20502

In the framework of the H2020 THERAMIN project funded by the European Commission, CEA performed a pilot-scale trial consisting of the vitrification of inactive ash (Al, Ca, Si, Zn, Bi, K, Mg, etc.) using the In- Can Melter technology. These ashes were coming from incineration of simulated technological wastes such as cotton, latex, neoprene, polyethylene. The borosilicate glass feasibility was first evaluated at a laboratory scale (10-100 g of glass). The volatile behavior of fly ash was controlled by pelletizing to avoid pipes clogging when performing the pilot scale test. A 10 wt.% inorganic binder was added to obtain cohesive pellets. The glass frit composition was selected and its ratio was fixed at 50 wt.%. After this step, a bench test (1 kg of glass) was done to verify the absence of container corrosion. Finally, it was followed by a pilot scale test (50 kg of glass) with 75,000 ash pellets used. The same glass microstructure and chemical composition were observed at each scale. Typical crystals of apatites (Ca, P), zincochromites (Zn, Cr, Al) and bismuth alloys (Bi, Sb) dispersed into a borosilicate glass matrix were observed. The chemical durability of the wasteform was measured during 28 days in a 90 deg. C water. Although there were durable crystalline phases, the hydrolysis rate of the vitreous part is relatively high because of the B and Na contents. However, leach rate profiles suggest that an alteration layer will form, leading to an alteration rate decrease. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

10 MWE CDCL Large Pilot Plant – pre-FEED Study

Coal Direct Chemical Looping (CDCL) is an advanced oxy-combustion technology that has the potential to substantially reduce the energy penalty and the cost of electricity (COE) for coal-fired power generation with CO₂ capture. The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) and The Ohio State University (OSU) have been collaborating on the development of an iron oxide oxygen-carrier based chemical looping technology for clean power generation with inherent carbon capture. In this process, coal is dried and pulverized prior to being transported into a moving-bed reducer. In the reducer, coal reacts with the oxygen-carrier particles, forming combustion byproducts, predominantly CO₂ and H₂O, while reducing the iron oxide oxidation state from Fe₂O₃ to a mixture of FeO and Fe. The reduced state particles are then transported to a combustor reactor and re-oxidized with air. Following the oxidation, the oxygen-carrier particles are regenerated, and a large amount of heat is released for steam production. The produced steam is sent to a turbine for electricity generation. Meanwhile, the CO₂–rich stream leaving the reducer is cooled, cleaned, and compressed for subsequent pipeline transportation and sequestration. By combining air separation and fuel conversion into a single system, the CDCL technology enables the intensification of oxy-combustion processes by eliminating the energy and cost intensive cryogenic air separation unit and thereby results in higher overall plant efficiencies and lower COE’s. The use of a moving-bed reducer results in high conversions of volatile hydrocarbons and high CO₂ purity, which reduces the cost of downstream CO₂ purification for sequestration or utilization. The Babcock & Wilcox Company in collaboration with The Ohio State University, Johnson & Matthey, The Electric Power Research Institute, and Dover Light & Power completed a Preliminary Front-End Engineering and Design (Pre-FEED) study of a 10 MWe coal-direct chemical looping (CDCL) pilot plant. The planned system is a modular 10 MWe CDCL large pilot facility consisting in 4 modules of 2.5 MWe each, working in parallel and to be hosted within the current structure at the City of Dover’s Municipal Power Plant. The CDCL system can achieve auto-thermal operation and includes a sub-critical steam cycle for power generation. The pilot system was designed to demonstrate full commercial operation at a reduced scale. The coal distribution per plan area is a representative slice of larger commercial arrangements. The system includes a CO₂ recycle system, but it does not include a compression system. The large pilot includes all the environmental control equipment and oxygen carrier and ash handling systems. As part of the project, the Team performed laboratory testing and carried out multiple pilot test campaigns to obtain design and performance information at the 250 kWth CDCL pilot facility at the Babcock & Wilcox Company’s Research Center. The Team demonstrated sustained operations at designed coal inputs, high coal conversion, high CO₂ purity, heat generation on the combustor, low carbon carryover between reactors and low particle attrition. Emissions generated in the reducer reactor were identified as SO₂ and NO x . The commercial manufacturing cost of oxygen carrier particle was evaluated by JM. A particle manufacturing report was generated and submitted to the DOE. Based on the results from the pilot tests and the pre-FEED design efforts, a techno-economic analysis was performed. The study shows that the CDCL process is a promising carbon-friendly technology capable of producing electricity with high efficiency. The estimated COE of the supercritical CDCL plant is $83.3 / MWh, which meets DOE’s target of less than 30% increase in COE when compared to a supercritical PC plant without CO₂ capture. This is the lowest among the existing carbon capture technologies (post-combustion and oxy-combustion) for fossil fuel power plant. CDCL is evaluated to be the most promising technology for carbon capture from the economic aspect.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2020

PILOT PLANT EVALUATIONS OF RARE EARTH ELEMENT RECOVERY AND CONCENTRATION FROM PRE-COMBUSTION BITUMINOUS COAL SOURCES

Rare earths and other critical elements are commonly associated with coal-based sources and sometimes at concentrations that may be attractive for recovery as a byproduct of coal production. The results obtained from laboratory research performed during the past five years have led to the design, construction and testing of a pilot plant that recovered rare earth elements from several bituminous coal-based materials including coarse refuse as well as solutions from a small heap leach and acid mine drainage. From this initial design, rare earth oxide (REO) concentrates having a purity greater than 90% have been produced using solvent extraction as the primary means of concentration. Following cost reduction and process intensification efforts, the circuit was revised to include feed calcination and several selective precipitation stages as a substitute for the original direct leach-solvent extraction circuit. Pilot test results revealed that the modified circuit was ideal for treating the relatively low-grade feedstocks and provided similar final REO purities at a significantly lower cost. This communication will present the flowsheets evaluated in the pilot plant along with technical and economic analyses for each circuit.

Coal↗
DOE OSTI2022

A framework for evaluating power electronic systems for grid integration

As power electronic systems (PESs) grow increasingly complex, integrating and testing these systems in the development stages is becoming more crucial and more challenging. New modes and resource integration strategies are in development and must be tested before pilot demonstrations and mass production. This paper proposes a framework for testing of PES technologies including early validation with integration of simulated resources. The framework is demonstrated to work in two example configurations as proof of principle.

Dean, Ben↗
DOE OSTI2021

Sample Identifiers and Metadata to Support Data Management and Reuse in Multidisciplinary Ecosystem Sciences

Physical samples are foundational entities for research across biological, Earth, and environmental sciences. Data generated from sample-based analyses are not only the basis of individual studies, but can also be integrated with other data to answer new and broader-scale questions. Ecosystem studies increasingly rely on multidisciplinary team-science to study climate and environmental changes. While there are widely adopted conventions within certain domains to describe sample data, these have gaps when applied in a multidisciplinary context. In this study, we reviewed existing practices for identifying, characterizing, and linking related environmental samples. We then tested practicalities of assigning persistent identifiers to samples, with standardized metadata, in a pilot field test involving eight United States Department of Energy projects. Participants collected a variety of sample types, with analyses conducted across multiple facilities. We address terminology gaps for multidisciplinary research and make recommendations for assigning identifiers and metadata that supports sample tracking, integration, and reuse. Furthermore, our goal is to provide a practical approach to sample management, geared towards ecosystem scientists who contribute and reuse sample data.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Distributed Optical Fiber Sensor Systems: Application to Natural Gas Pipeline Monitoring

Distributed fiber optic sensing is a cutting-edge technology that has found extensive applications in the monitoring of pipelines. Considering the low backscattering level of standard single-mode fiber as fiber under test, a Rayleigh enhanced optical fiber embedded within the tight-buffered cable is demonstrated in field testing. We analyzed the increased backscattering fiber cable's vibration performance to the conventional single-mode telecom fiber using a custom-built Φ-OTDR interrogator system. Thereafter, using a 4-inch steel pipeline with a flow rate of 5, 10, 15, and 20 ft/s and a fixed pressure level of 1000 psi, we field-tested the sensor system for monitoring natural gas pipeline acoustic vibrations. We also field tested Brillouin optical time domain analysis (BOTDA) system for pipeline hoop strain monitoring under various pressure conditions. The pilot-scale testing results presented in this study suggested that pipeline operators can accurately perform flow monitoring, leak detection, and pressure monitoring for pipeline integrity monitoring.

Lalam, Nageswara↗
DOE OSTI2020

Modifying Network Guided Vehicle for Repeatable EcoCAR ACC Energy Testing

The newest iteration of the Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions is the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge. In this paper, ANL and HORIBA MIRA collaborate to propose and pilot a test method that enables controlled, repeatable track-based energy consumption testing of semi-autonomous features. The testing was performed at MIRA’s proving ground facility in Nuneaton, UK, using their Network Guided Vehicle (NGV) connectivity and automation test platform. The NGV served as a repeatable lead vehicle following prescribed drive traces around two different track circuits while the host vehicle under test, a Honda Civic with full speed range Adaptive Cruise Control, followed behind. Over the course of a two day test, multiple iterations of certification and custom EPA drive traces were performed on track, demonstrating the viability of a two vehicle energy test. Results were analyzed to assess NGV lead vehicle performance in following the prescribed cycle using SAE J2951 standard calculations in an effort to quantify how repeatably and accurately the lead vehicle followed the trace. Host vehicle energy consumption was assessed using both vehicle CAN bus monitoring and an on-board fuel flow meter.

ACC↗
DOE OSTI2023

High-moisture pelleting of corn stover using pilot- and commercial-scale systems: Impact of moisture content, L / D ratio and hammer mill screen size on pellet quality and energy consumption

Here, high-moisture pelleting of corn stover was tested in pilot- and commercial-scale systems. For the pilot-scale study, a 6.35 mm screen size hammer mill ground corn stover was reconditioned to moisture between 14 and 29.6% (w.b.), and 5, 7 and 9 L/D ratio pellet die were used. At 29% corn stover moisture content and L/D ratios of 5 and 9, the bulk density and durability of the pellets were ≤450 kg/m 3 and <90% and >540 kg/m 3 and >90%, respectively. Increasing the feedstock moisture and L/D ratio increased the pelleting energy. Increasing the hammer mill screen size to 11.11 mm reduced the bulk density but not the durability. The response surface models adequately described the pelleting process (R 2 ≥ 0.88), and analysis of variance showed a strong interaction between the process variables and pellet properties. Commercial-scale testing of high-moisture pelleting using 6.35 mm ground corn stover bales in the moisture range 24–26% (w.b.) produced pellets with a density of >675 kg/m 3 and durability of >98%, whereas increasing the hammer mill screen size to 11.11 mm reduced the bulk density by about 100 kg/m 3 but not the durability. The energy consumption of the commercial-scale unit operations for the high-moisture pelleting process was in the range 98–124 kW h/ton, which is 64–72% less energy than conventional pelleting that requires energy about 350 kW h/ton for biomass drying from 30% (w.b.) to 10% (w.b.) moisture content before pelleting. Pellets produced using high-moisture pelleting met International Organization for Standardization and Pellets Fuel Institute international standards. Published 2023. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Experimental Investigation of Polymer Induced Fouling of Heater Tubes in the First-Ever Polymer Flood Pilot on Alaska North Slope

Mineral fouling in heat exchangers has been extensively investigated by researchers in recent times. The oil and gas industry has a long history of fouling issues in production systems as a result of produced fluids treatment. Due to decline in production rates in oilfields new technologies are being developed and field tested in pilots. Polymer flooding is one such technology that involves addition of polymers to injection fluids to enhance oil production. A polymer flood pilot has been set up in the Schrader Bluff viscous oil reservoir at Milne Point field on the Alaska North Slope (ANS). The results from the pilot are encouraging, however a major concern of the operator is the influence of polymer on the production system after breakthrough, especially the fouling in heat exchangers. This study investigates the propensity of polymer fouling on the heater tubes as a function of different variables, with the ultimate goal of determining safe and efficient operating conditions. This work applies a multi-experimental approach to study the severity of polymer-induced fouling in both dynamic and static states of produced fluids as well as studying the stability of polymer solutions at different temperatures. A unique experimental setup was designed and developed in-house to simulate the fouling process on the heating tube. The influence of heating tube skin temperature, tube material, and polymer concentration on fouling tendency was investigated. Each test was run five times with the same tube, and in each run, the freshly prepared synthetic brine and polymer solution was heated from 77°F to 122°F to mimic field-operating conditions. The heating time and fouling amount were recorded for each run. Dynamic Scale Loop (DSL) tests were conducted to study fouling due to polymer at different temperatures (165°F to 350°F) in a dynamic state of fluid flow where the fluids mimic the residence time of fluids in the heat exchanger on the field pilot. Cloud point measurement has also been conducted to find the critical temperature at which the polymer in solution becomes unstable and precipitates out. The morphology and composition of the deposit samples were analyzed by environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. It was found that the presence of polymer in produced fluids would aggravate the fouling issues on both carbon steel and stainless-steel surfaces at all tested skin temperatures. Only higher skin temperatures of 250°F and 350°F could cause polymer-induced fouling issues on the copper tube surface, and the fouling tendency increased with polymer concentration. At the lower skin temperatures of 165°F, no polymer-induced fouling was identified on the copper tube. A critical temperature that is related to the cloud point of the polymer solution was believed to exist, below which polymer-induced fouling would not occur, and only mineral scale was deposited but above which the polymer would aggravate the fouling issue. The cloud point of the tested polymer solution was determined to be between 220°F and 230°F. In the DSL tests it was found that at higher skin temperatures of 250°F and 350°F tube blocking was observed in the DSL tests whereas the tests at 165°F and 200°F did not show any tube blocking in the same time period. These experiments also manifested the influence of cloud point of the solution as deposit rate increased significantly in both carbon steel and stainless-steel tubes when the skin temperature was higher than the solution cloud point. The results of this study have provided guidance to the operator for the field-operations.

Dhaliwal, Anshul↗