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DOE OSTI2023

Status of the High Field Cable Test Facility at Fermilab

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) are building a new High Field Vertical Magnet Test Facility (HFVMTF) for testing superconducting cables in high magnetic field. The background magnetic field of 15 T in the HFVMTF will be produced by a magnet provided by LBNL. The HFVMTF is jointly funded by the US DOE Offices of Science, High Energy Physics (HEP), and Fusion Energy Sciences (FES), and will serve as a superconducting cable test facility in high magnetic fields and a wide range of temperatures for HEP and FES communities. This facility will also be used to test high-field superconducting magnet models and demonstrators, including hybrid magnets, produced by the US Magnet Development Program (MDP). The paper describes the status of the facility, including construction, cryostat designs, top and lambda plates, and systems for powering, and quench protection and monitoring.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Current Status of the High Field Cable Test Facility at Fermilab

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) are collaborating to construct a new High Field Vertical Magnet Test Facility (HFVMTF) designed for testing superconducting cables in high magnetic fields. This state-of-the-art facility will be situated at Fermilab and will provide capabilities comparable to EDIPO at PSI and FRESCA2 at CERN. The HFVMTF’s background magnetic field, reaching 15 T, will be generated by a magnet supplied by LBNL. The HFVMTF is a collaborative effort supported by the US DOE Offices of Science, High Energy Physics, and Fusion Energy Sciences. It will serve as a vital testbed for superconducting HTS cables, subjecting them to high magnetic fields and a wide range of temperatures, benefiting both scientific communities. Additionally, this facility will play a key role in testing high-field superconducting magnet models and demonstrators, including hybrid magnets, developed by the US Magnet Development Pro gram (MDP). These hybrid magnets, utilizing both LTS and HTS superconductors, are significant advancements toward achieving 18+ T dipoles for future hadron-hadron colliders. The presentation outlines the current status of the facility, covering aspects such as construction progress, cryostat designs, top and lambda plates, and systems for powering, quench protection, and monitoring.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Report on DOE-Supported Participation in the 18th International Congress on Photosynthesis Research (IPC 2022)

Photosynthesis is the primary natural process for conversion of solar energy to chemical energy. Solar energy is the only clean, renewable source of energy that has sufficient capacity to replace fossil fuels and meet rising global energy needs. Meeting this challenge means understanding photosynthetic energy conversion at a molecular level, a task requiring perspectives from all disciplines of science. The 18th International Congress on Photosynthesis (IPC) is facilitating just that by providing a forum for scientists from all corners of the world to come together to share ideas and build new collaborations that will improve the lives of future generations. A vibrant knowledge of each of the diverse aspects of basic and applied photosynthesis research obviously depends upon a healthy scientific exchange among the members of the research community. While senior scientists are more likely able to make the long trip to this important meeting, the travel costs for students and postdocs would otherwise prohibit participation for talented junior US scientists. At the same time, this is precisely the kind of meeting that strengthens interest and careers in the important scientific directions represented by this conference. For all scientists this is an opportunity to learn firsthand about the very latest advances in the field and to meet and brainstorm with collaborators as well as make new collaborations. For junior scientists, this funding is giving an opportunity to do these things plus it is often the first tangible experience regarding the global, international significance of their own projects. Overall, the diversity of topics and technical approaches is providing an extremely stimulating multidisciplinary environment for junior and senior scientists performing research in a variety of areas that are within the scope to the US DOE mission. In collaboration with the executive members of the North American Photosynthesis Conference Association (NAPCA and the International Society of Photosynthesis research (ISPR), a competitive selection of junior participants is being made based upon the quality of the abstracts and materials submitted by self-identified candidates that have applied following a broadcast call for applications from junior US scientists. Financial support is consisting of waivers for the registration cost of the meeting and partial living expenses at local dormitory facilities at the conference site.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

High Performance Metal-Supported SOFC System for Range Extension of Commercial Aviation

The DOE ARPA-E REEACH program [1] has enabled this Phase 1 study that conceptualizes a commercial 154 passenger electric aircraft using renewable aviation fuel for range extension while meeting similar mission performance levels as current commercial aircraft. Commercial aviation accounts for about 2.5% of global CO2 emissions, and close to 5% of overall anthropogenic climate change due to the added accounting of contrail’s effects [2]. The sector has adopted a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 [3]. 110 nations, and recently the new US administration, have embarked on work to address this important challenge. The US DOE has released a roadmap to enable the further development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the hopes that it could meet all of aviation’s fuel needs by 2050 [4]. However, SAF fuel price and sufficient future feedstock availability remains a concern [5]. Considering the first commercial biofuel flight demonstration 14 years ago [6] and that SAF still only comprises less than 0.1% of jet fuel use, the question arises as how it can ramp up to 100% use in the next 27 years. One option that has the potential to substantially reduce the need for SAF is to implement light-weight Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) that can efficiently utilize SAF or other sulfur-free hydrocarbon fuels. As opposed to lower temperature PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cells that can use high-purity hydrogen, SOFC’s fuels are very flexible, ranging from low cost liquefied natural gas (LNG), renewable liquefied natural gas (RLNG), to SAF, to generate clean electrical power for use in aviation propulsion and auxiliary power units [7] [8]. Research progress is needed to enable SOFCs to achieve 3.0 kW/kg power density, making them viable for aviation [9]. The DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) has therefore initiated an aviation SOFC R&D program that is anticipated to dramatically reduce aircraft fuel use though the implementation of “Range Extenders for Electric Aviation with low Carbon and High efficiency” (REEACH) [1] for medium range commercial aircraft. This report summarizes the progress during phase 1 of the REEACH program.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Syracuse University Industrial Assessment Center (Final Report)

Syracuse University Industrial Assessment Center (SU-IAC) project is focused on the two primary objectives: (i) educate undergraduate and graduate students in engineering and associated disciplines on the concepts of energy sustainability and to provide hands-on training by performing energy assessment at industrial facilities to become future energy efficiency experts, and (ii) offer energy assessments to small and mid-sized manufacturing companies in SU-IAC 2 the greater New York State region, perform analytical engineering work in support of assessment recommendations, and to report the results of those analyses to the client companies, to DOE, and to Field office personnel Through this project period, SU-IAC successfully trained 77 engineering students who were undergraduate or graduate students at Syracuse University College of Engineering, or at SU- IAC’s satellite center at Clarkson University. Each of these students received comprehensive ‘in-class’ technical training, safety training, and hands-on field training. The students performed various tasks related to energy assessment at the manufacturing facilities, including billing analysis, energy use reduction recommendations, and report preparation. Through this project period, a total of 34 students have completed all requirements of the SU-IAC program and have received the US DoE Certificate on Energy Efficiency, with the remaining students continuing at various stages of field work or training. During this project period, due to Covid-related measures in New York State, Syracuse University campus and most of the manufacturing facilities were completely closed or were under severe restrictions for access, for an extended period from March 2020 through April 2021. The closures affected our project execution, with the project Sponsor offering structured relief to carry-out a modified project during the affected budget periods. During this project period, SU-IAC student teams, led by its Director, completed a total of 77 energy assessments at small- and medium-scale manufacturing facilities located in New York State. For these facilities, SU-IAC prepared and presented details for 569 assessment recommendations (ARs). The facilities implemented a total of 258 of these ARs, realizing annual average energy savings in the range of $\$ $3,300 to $\$ $55,000 per facility. Cumulatively, these facilities have reduced their “first year after implementation” energy use by a total of 4.37 million kwh, and fuel use by a total of 27.7 billion BTU. SU-IAC project has successfully met the two primary objectives (and the associated sub objectives) and helped the manufacturing facilities in New York State achieve quantitative energy use reductions as a result of this project.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Design and Construction of a High Field Cable Test Facility at Fermilab

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, together with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is building a new High Field Vertical Magnet Test Facility (HFVMTF) to be situated in the Magnet Test Facility at Fermilab. The HFVMTF is jointly funded by the US DOE Offices of Science, High Energy Physics, and Fusion Energy Sciences, and will serve as a superconducting cable test facility for both communities. The background magnetic field for test samples is 15 T and will be produced by a magnet provided by LBNL operating at 1.9 K in superfluid helium. The samples will be placed in the background magnetic field, cooled to between 4.5 K and a user-specified upper limit, and will be powered with a super-conducting transformer at up to 100 kA. Additionally, this facility will be used to test high-field superconducting magnet models and demonstrators, including hybrid magnets, produced by the US Magnet Development Program. Presently, the various tasks of the project are at different stages of execution, from conceptual to ready-for-construction designs. Here, this paper describes the parameters and design status of the pit construction, cryostat, heat exchanger, lambda plate, power system, and quench protection and monitoring systems of the facility.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

AI for Materials Design and Discovery Using Atomistic Scale Information [Industrial and Governmental Activities]

The design and discovery of materials with desired functional properties is pivotal to the scientific mission of the United States Department of Energy (US-DOE) [1], which includes within its portfolio several important applications for the national economy and security. Importantly, these applications range from: renewable energy (e.g., solar cells, organic photovoltaics, and organic light-emitting diodes), energy storage (e.g., batteries and supercapacitors), and carbon capture and sequestration, to synthesis of manufacturing of new materials (e.g., drugs, or materials with desired conductivity, thermal stability, and catalytic activity), and nuclear energy (e.g., highly performant nuclear fuels and materials with improved nuclear shielding properties).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

A System Approach to Deep Heating Savings Through Measurement, Management, and Motivation

Across multi-tenant commercial office and multifamily buildings, centrally metered fuel use represents a substantial fraction of whole-building energy use. Energy audit practitioners understand that improving heating distribution efficiency is typically more of an opportunity than combustion efficiency and that differing thermal comfort preferences between tenants are the bane of operators across these building typologies. There is an unmet market need for retrofit technologies that allow for the delivery of the right amount of heat to the right spaces, at the right time. The Energy Management and Information System (EMIS) package fills this gap through enhanced controls and metering, incorporating low-cost sensors and wireless communication infrastructure to provide a platform for ongoing commissioning and tenant feedback, including heat cost allocation. With support from the US DOE Building Technologies Office, Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) partnered with Sentient Buildings, E Source, building owners, and utility and policy stakeholders, to demonstrate a market viable EMIS that achieves a reduction in space heating energy use by reducing heating load, improving control, and positively impacting behavior while providing an acceptable financial return. In this study, EMIS packages were implemented in two New York City multifamily rental buildings. Both buildings conducted basic mechanical work (e.g., repairing steam traps) to ensure the heating system was operating well before any tenant feedback was layered in. Heating Energy Use Reports (HEUR) were created to provide tenants with social comparisons and energy savings tips to influence their behavior; these were provided monthly to all tenants in both buildings. Additionally, one building allocated heating costs to a portion of the tenants. Heat cost allocation (HCA) has a long history in the European Union (EU), although it is not common in the US or in steam-heated buildings. SWA leveraged existing EU best practices and stakeholder feedback to develop a Heat Cost Allocation algorithm that was considered equitable and intuitive. Energy use and tenant behavior impacts were tracked throughout the study. The basic mechanical repair work saved between 11-20% of heating energy. Those savings rose to 17-24% with the addition of tenant feedback. While it may not be possible to precisely determine the impact of COVID-19 on research studies like this, there may have been additional savings realized had the study taken place in a period of normal occupancy patterns. These types of central heating systems have been a blind spot for utilities, who have traditionally had little visibility into detailed behind-the-meter gas usage. Heating energy savings stayed consistent during the coldest months, indicating the potential for utilities to utilize EMIS packages for peak gas demand reductions or demand response programs. Tenant comfort was also improved. Post installation, room temperatures more closely matched thermostat set points. Perhaps due to this greater level of control, the vast majority of tenants being billed for heating were accepting of the allocation costs. And tenants receiving heat cost allocations were more likely to reduce their thermostat setpoints than tenants receiving behavioral feedback without financial impacts were. Variation in building specifics makes it difficult to provide precise energy and financial savings estimates. But within the range of expected conditions, the study identified a few key variables that can have the greatest impact on financial returns: the cost of fuel, the ability and willingness to allocate heating costs to tenants, and a well-functioning heating system as a starting point. This study focused on two multifamily buildings, but additional use cases, such as commercial buildings and affordable housing, should be explored to better understand the full market potential. While this type of upgrade has the potential for deep energy reductions and cost savings, future projects should take into account the balance of costs and benefits between owners and tenants, especially in the affordable, regulated, or other low-to-moderate income (LMI) segments of the market. Rent credits, utility allowances, or a shared savings program are possible options to accelerate adoption of this strategy in these market segments.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Building an EPA Class VI Permit Application

Summary To accelerate the commercialization of carbon capture and storage (CCS), the US Department of Energy (US DOE) is building on decades of characterization efforts and pilot-scale projects through their CarbonSAFE program. Administered through their National Energy Technology Laboratory, this program seeks to bring fully integrated projects to the sector that can store more than 50 million tonnes of CO2 over a 30-year period. The program, which was enacted before the enhancement of Internal Revenue Code Section 45Q, is in the capture assessment, characterization, and permitting phase. The objectives of this paper are to discuss (a) the injection permitting requirements of the CarbonSAFE projects; (b) information gathering in support of the permit; (c) the timelines of field development and permit-related activities; (d) the major technical components of the field development plan; and (e) early feedback from the regulators toward acceptance of the permit. In Mississippi, more than 30,000 acres have been characterized by six deep characterization wells, a deep groundwater well, and 92 line miles of 2D seismic as part of the CarbonSAFE Project ECO2S. During the acquisition of seismic data, all receiver lines were live, which resulted in the generation of a pseudo-3D seismic design. The incorporation of a 3D seismic survey was not included as part of this project due to logistical difficulties presented by the undulating, wooded surface terrain. A suite of openhole geophysical logs was taken from each well, allowing for a detailed interpretation of prospective storage reservoirs and confining intervals to complement the analysis carried out on the 290 ft of a whole core that was cut through the prospective confining zone and storage reservoir. The detailed geologic and reservoir data were assembled and entered into a 3D model to assess the injection capacity and the area of review (AoR). This information fed into the detailed corrective action, monitoring, testing, and postinjection site care (PISC) modeling. The results have been exceptional. The geologic assessment has revealed three primary storage targets, ranging in depth from 3,500 ft to 6,000 ft. These storage reservoirs net 1,300 ft of sandstone, with mean porosity and permeability of 29% and 3.6 darcies, respectively. Together, these reservoirs have storage capacities that may exceed 20 million tonnes per square mile, making this a gigatonne prospect. Forward modeling of the project resulted in an AoR of 16 sq miles, injecting about 8000 t/d, for 30 years, via two deep injection wells. The excellent confining characteristics of the caprock, relatively simple geologic structure, and lack of historical well drilling activity in this area provide excellent containment of the injected CO2. Based on this work, the project has proposed 20 years of PISC. To date, only two US CO2 injection permits have been granted. These projects relied on a singular capture point feeding a singular sequestration point (source to sink), and considerations have not been made to garner CO2 emissions from other industrial sources. The Kemper County Storage Complex is a first-of-its-kind storage hub concept that looks to develop an area capable of storing significant quantities of CO2 from the region. Also, this work will show how characterization efforts, geological and numerical modeling efforts, and plan development were constructed in support of permit and incentives acceptance.

Energy & Fuels↗
DOE OSTI2025

Challenges in Tracking Waste Reduction Performance Improvement in Manufacturing Plants

The recently released Circularity Gap Report 2023 by the Circle Economy Foundation states that the circularity score for the global economy is declining. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tracked municipal solid waste from 1960 to 2018 and found that 50% of the waste was destined for landfills. EPA estimates that US industry is responsible for 2.7 Gt of solid nonhazardous waste annually in the US mostly linear economy model. The circular economy framework aims to decouple economic value generation from the extraction of virgin materials from nature. The linear model of material extraction and disposal at the end of life is highly unsustainable. Manufacturing companies are adopting ambitious waste reduction targets to achieve sustainability. Through the Better Plants program, US DOE has established the Waste Reduction Network, which offers technical assistance to partners to achieve their ambitious waste reduction goals. Basic requirements of establishing a target include identifying a baseline, quantifying waste performance, and measuring progress over time. One problem faced by industry is unstandardized metrics for quantifying waste performance that may not be well suited to demonstrate progress. This paper studies traditional methods used to measure waste performance and highlights advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of each method. It also examines the suitability of applying the methods in different manufacturing circumstances. Finally, the paper presents a case study of a large manufacturer that faced inconsistencies in its tracked measurement metric. A solution was proposed and implemented to alter the methodology to enable more accurate waste performance tracking against a baseline.

circular economy↗
DOE OSTI2021

Internet of Samples

Abstract Material samples are indispensable data sources in many natural science, social science, and humanity disciplines. More and more researchers recognize that samples collected in one discipline can be of great value for another. This has motivated organizations that manage a large number of samples to make their holdings accessible to the world. Currently, multiple projects are working to connect natural history and other samples managed by individual institutions or individuals into a universe of samples that follow FAIR principles. This poster reports the progress of the US NSF‐funded iSamples project, in the context of other efforts initiated by US DOE, DiSCCo, BCoN, and GBIF. By October 2021, we will also be able to present an iSamples prototype. We encourage individual organizations that hold material samples to get to know these projects and help shape these projects to realize the goal of a global linked sample cloud that connects all material samples and is accessible to all.

Richard, Stephen M.↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Sensitivity of PBX 9502 to Drilling Operations

Polymer-bonded explosive (PBX) 9502 (95% TATB, 5% Kel-F 800 by weight) is dry-drilled on a CNC milling machine and its thermomechanical response to varying feed rates, drilling speeds, and peck depths with 4 mm and 5 mm diameter drill bits is investigated. The tested samples are affixed to a force sensor that enables recording temporally resolved cutting forces and torques, and a drill-embedded thermocouple yields local temperature data. From the data, an empirical relationship between temperature changes and feed per revolution is developed, which reveals reduced temperatures in higher feed per revolution regimes for PBX 9502. The observed relationship allows extrapolating to temperatures for other hole diameters, indicating increased temperature for smaller diameter drilling across the board. Additional testing was performed with PBX 9501 (95% HMX, 2.5% Estane®, 2.5% BDNPA/BDNPF by weight), albeit over a reduced parameter space, which revealed the opposite behavior for the feed per revolution temperature dependence. It is concluded that both PBX 9502 and PBX 9501 can be dry-drilled efficiently beyond the limits of presently applicable US-DOE standards, where cutting interface temperatures remain far below material critical temperatures. Finally, data reveals that coolant usage in the drilling process for these materials provides a wide safety margin.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Scalable training of trustworthy and energy-efficient predictive graph foundation models for atomistic materials modeling: a case study with HydraGNN

We present our work on developing and training scalable, trustworthy, and energy-efficient predictive graph foundation models (GFMs) using HydraGNN, a multi-headed graph convolutional neural network architecture. HydraGNN expands the boundaries of graph neural network (GNN) computations in both training scale and data diversity. It abstracts over message passing algorithms, allowing both reproduction of and comparison across algorithmic innovations that define nearest-neighbor convolution in GNNs. This work discusses a series of optimizations that have allowed scaling up the GFMs training to tens of thousands of GPUs on datasets consisting of hundreds of millions of graphs. Our GFMs use multitask learning (MTL) to simultaneously learn graph-level and node-level properties of atomistic structures, such as energy and atomic forces. Using over 154 million atomistic structures for training, we illustrate the performance of our approach along with the lessons learned on two state-of-the-art US Department of Energy (US-DOE) supercomputers, namely the Perlmutter petascale system at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center and the Frontier exascale system at Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility. The HydraGNN architecture enables the GFM to achieve near-linear strong scaling performance using more than 2000 GPUs on Perlmutter and 16,000 GPUs on Frontier.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Linear and Nonlinear Solvers for Simulating Multiphase Flow within Large-Scale Engineered Subsurface Systems

Simulation of multiphase flow in the subsurface is well-known to be computationally challenging. While there have been many studies that have explored approaches to overcoming these challenges, they often utilize relatively simple case studies. In this paper, we focus on the unique numerical challenges posed by modeling large-scale engineered subsurface systems, characterized by discrete features embedded in a heterogeneous natural subsurface setting. The man-made features such as shafts, tunnels, and barriers often cause multiple challenges in modeling the domain for multiphase porous media flow. This flow scenario can have a wide range of applications such as nuclear waste repositories, enhanced recovery of a petroleum reservoir, geothermal engineering, and carbon sequestration. An example of these severe numerical challenges is the case of performance assessment (PA) for Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the only operating deep geological repository in the US, which simulates extreme material properties of bedded salt rock formation and extreme contrast due to open excavation next to the formation. The models have extremes not only of permeability and porosity but also of the constitutive models needed for multiphase flow; additionally, they have process models like salt creep closure reducing porosity over time, fracturing in clay and anhydrite interbeds of the bedded salt, gas generation from the waste materials, and unintentional human borehole intrusions in some scenarios. Numerical simulations require the solution of coupled systems of nonlinear PDEs; in our work, we use the open-source simulator PFLOTRAN which is based on Finite Volume discretization. The solution of the nonlinear equations requires use of the Newton-Raphson iteration at each time step, which entails the solution of the linearized Jacobian system at each iteration. The effects of all the processes (i.e., large number of unknowns, highly nonlinear constitutive relations, large contrasts in material properties in short distances) lead to an ill-conditioned Jacobian matrix that severely challenges traditional linear solver, i.e., stabilized biconjugate gradient with block Jacobi incomplete LU preconditioner (BCGS-ILU) leading to non-convergence for traditional Newton-Raphson nonlinear solver causing unacceptably long computation time for each model. This paper presents linear solvers such as constrained pressure residual (CPR) two-stage preconditioner with alternate-block-factorization (ABF) and quasi- implicit pressure and explicit saturation (QIMPES) decouplers and flexible generalized residual solver (FGMRES). The new general-purpose nonlinear solver, Newton trust-region dogleg Cauchy (NTRDC), is also introduced to resolve extreme nonlinearities in the models. We demonstrate the effectiveness of each method relative to the default BCGS-Newton solver. The two best cases had nearly 50 times speed-up and achieved completion of a simulation in 14 hours that never completed due to non-convergence with the default solver. We also investigate the strong scalability of each method and discuss some of the deficiencies found for Block Jacobi preconditioner using parallel domain decomposition, and node packing effects of modern processor architecture.

Preconditioner, Nonlinear, Porous media, Multiphas↗
DOE OSTI2020

Elimination of NO Pollutant in Semi-enclosed Spaces over Sodium-promoted Cobalt Oxyhydroxide (CoOOH) by Oxidation and Adsorption Mechanism

Low concentrations of NOx accumulated in air in semi-enclosed spaces is a severe health hazard, but its efficient removal at low cost is a grand challenge. A simple method in preparing CoOOH for low-concentration NO removal at room temperature is described here. The samples are synthesized by oxidizing Co(OH)2 to CoOOH with different oxidants (Na2S2O8, O2 and H2O2). Among them, CoOOH prepared by Na2S2O8 (Co-NS) shows remarkable performance for NO abatement, while the samples synthesized by and H2O2 (Co-HO) and O2 (Co-OG) have no apparent NO removal capacity. It is found that the Co-NS material contains a higher concentration of residual Na, which contributes to the decreased crystallinity and increased concentrations of surface active species (Co2+, active oxygen) for NO storage. Following NO storage, the material can be readily regenerated by water washing. The authors from East China University of Science and Technology acknowledge support from National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB933200), National Natural Science Foundation of China (21577035, 21577034), Commission of Science and Technology of Shanghai Municipality (15DZ1205305) and 111 Project (B08021). Aiyong Wang acknowledges the China Scholarship Council for the Joint-Training Scholarship Program with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL is operated by Battelle for the US DOE under contract DE-AC05-76RL01830. FG is supported by the U.S. DOE/Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office.

NOx abatement, NOx adsorber, ambient temperature, ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Operando carbon corrosion measurements in fuel cells using boron-doped carbon supports

Carbonaceous materials are the most common catalyst supports in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFCs), yet their corrosion is one of the limiting factors in achieving high durability. Herein, we doped carbon supports with boron (B) to increase the corrosion-resistance of the support. Two types of B-doped carbons were synthesized and studied as platinum support materials. Further, they varied in their morphologies, surface areas, and the types of boron species. The durability of Pt/B-doped carbon catalysts was investigated using the US-DOE catalysts’ supports accelerated stress test (AST) and a mass-spectrometer connected to the fuel cell effluent stream to quantify the mass of corroded carbon support in operando. The addition of boron to the carbon increased the stability of Pt catalysts in long-term usage of PEMFC. After 4000 AST cycles, more than 50% of initial current density was preserved for the boron-containing systems, while less than 30% of it remained with Vulcan carbon (Pt/V). Also, the Pt/B-doped carbon samples demonstrated better electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) stability when compared to Pt/V. Carbon loss measurements showed that B-doped carbons have higher resistance to electrochemical corrosion than unmodified carbon. Specifically, the substitutional boron-doped carbon demonstrated an extremely high stability and low corrosion rate.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluation of IrO 2 catalysts doped with Ti and Nb at industrially relevant electrolyzer conditions: A comprehensive study

A series of commercial Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) IrO 2 -based materials doped with acid-stable titanium and niobium species were comprehensively characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray Scattering. Electrocatalysts were integrated into Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) using a fabrication method developed under the US DOE H2NEW consortium. An electrolysis performance in a commercial setup as well as a laboratory screening system was performed at conditions relevant to industrial application. According to the comprehensive characterizations, the studied materials are closer to doped iridium oxides rather than core–shell structures. In an electrolysis cell, the IrO 2 /TiO x catalyst slightly outperforms the IrO 2 /NbO x based on the activity. It was demonstrated that the operation of electrolysis cells at elevated temperatures and the implementation of thinner Nafion-type membranes allows for substantially increased performance, which is consistent with the literature report. Finally, this work provides valuable baselines including characterization and performance for guiding future research in this direction.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Optimization of harvest and logistics for multiple lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks in the northeastern United States

A mixed-integer linear programming model was developed to optimize the multiple biomass feedstock supply chains, including feedstock establishment, harvest, storage, transportation, and preprocessing. The model was applied for analyses of multiple biomass feedstocks at county level for 13 states in the northeastern United States. In the base case with a demand of 180,000 dry Mg/year of biomass, the delivered costs ranged from $\$67.90$ to $\$86.97$ per dry Mg with an average of $\$79.58$ /dry Mg. The biomass delivered costs by county were from $\$67.90$ to 150.81 per dry Mg across the northeastern U.S. Considered the entire study area, the delivered cost averaged $\$85.30$ /dry Mg for forest residues, $\$84.47$ /dry Mg for hybrid willow, $\$99.68$ for switchgrass and $\$97.87$ per dry Mg for Miscanthus. Seventy seven out of 387 counties could be able to deliver biomass at $84 per dry Mg or less a target set by US DOE by 2022. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to evaluate the effects of feedstock availability, feedstock price, moisture content, procurement radius, and facility demand on the delivered cost. Lastly, our results showed that procurement radius, facility capacity, and forest residue availability were the most sensitive factors affecting the biomass delivered costs.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗