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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 1,009 records · Page 56
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Data and Code for 'GHG Mitigation and Land Use Change Implications of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in the United States'

BEPAM, Biofuel and Environmental Policy Analysis Model, models the agricultural sector and determines economically optimal land-use and feedstock mix at the US scale by maximizing the sum of agricultural sector consumers’ and producers’ surplus subject to various resource balances, land availability, and technological constraints under a range of biomass prices, from zero to $140 Mg-1 over the 2016-2030 period. Here BEPAM is used to model SAF production using energy crops and crop residues. BEPAM uses the GAMS format and uses yield and GHG balance projections from the biogeochemical model, DayCent.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

High Temperature Gas Sensor for Coal Combustion System

Robust gas sensors that offer real-time feedback about combustion in coal-fired power plants promise greater energy efficiency with fewer harmful emissions while also improving the bottom line for power generators. Currently, no technology meets this objective. Therefore, the objectives of this project are to develop an accurate, robust, reliable, high temperature sensor offering near real-time feedback to plant operators using a novel catalytic/non-catalytic sensor design to detect target gases available for oxidization. Such a sensor would inform power plant operators how to adjust the amount of fuel and air for an optimal performance.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2024

A deep decarbonization framework for the United States economy – a sector, sub-sector, and end-use based approach

Achieving the United States' target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will require technological transformations and energy sector mitigation. To understand the role of dynamically evolving technologies, identify synergies and dissonance and the effect of allocating limited low-carbon biomass resources in decarbonizing the U.S. economy, we developed the Decarbonization Scenario Analysis Model. A Life Cycle Assessment based approach is implemented considering the U.S. economy as the functional unit, to estimate greenhouse gas mitigation potential for projected energy demand based on several sector-level and cross-sectoral decarbonization pathways. Direct and supply-chain emissions are accounted, resulting from changes in patterns of energy generation and consumption, technology breakthroughs, and reductions in fugitive emissions over time at the granularity of economic sectors, sub-sectors, and end-use. Decarbonization strategies are implemented over a reference case developed using Energy Information Administration (EIA AEO) projection of economic activities for 2020–2050. Based on the considered scenarios, 80–90% economy-wide decarbonization relative to the 2020 reference case is projected. Electrification, low-carbon fuels, and reduction of fugitive emissions play the most significant role to decarbonization. The majority of the remaining emissions are accounted to the supply-chain and end-use emissions from natural gas and diesel fossil-based fuels in heavy duty transportation and heavy industries, highlighting the need for developing low-carbon and carbon-negative alternatives to mitigate those fossil-based carbon emissions.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Economic Case for Replacing High-Emitting Peaker Plants with Fuel Cells for Automotive Applications

The identification of clean and cost-effective solutions to replace high-emitting peaker plants and support a just transition is a challenge faced by utilities across the US today. However, falling costs of hydrogen production as well as the widespread availability of fuel cells for automotive applications have made them an attractive option for a zero-emission peak power supply. This study evaluates the techno-economics, operation, and environmental justice impacts of siting a peaker plant based on fuel cells for automotive applications through the lens of the existing Intermountain Power Plant, in order to supply peak power to the Los Angeles basin. Compared to the fossil fuel-fired peakers in operation today, the fuel cell peaker would be lower-cost up to a 17% capacity factor with Inflation Reduction Act incentives while also reducing air pollution in environmental justice communities. With corresponding transmission upgrades, the Intermountain site could host up to a 5 GW fuel cell peaker in the future.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Leveraging automotive fuel cells can supply zero-emission peak power in the near-term

An increasingly decarbonized yet resilient power grid requires the corresponding build-out of dispatchable zero-emission resources to supply peak power. However, there is a recognized dearth of solutions which can serve multi-day peak demand events both cost-effectively and with near-term deployability. Here, we find that pairing low-cost automotive fuel cells with hydrogen storage in salt caverns can serve as a peaker plant at less than 500 US$/kW at present, a fraction of the cost of conventional fossil fuel-fired peakers. We demonstrate the peaker’s value for long duration storage by comparing it with pumped hydro and assessing its profitability within Texas’ energy-only market region. Although deployment of these peakers is constrained by the presence of salt caverns, we show that a number of sites in the United States and Europe are endowed with suitable salt formations, while utilizing hydrogen storage in pressurized containers could form a location-agnostic peak power solution.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

AOI-2, A Novel Access Control Blockchain Paradigm for Cybersecure Sensor Infrastructure in Fossil Power Generation Systems

Fossil power generation systems are increasingly vulnerable to attack from both cybercriminals as well as internal threats. These vulnerabilities demand that emerging technologies such as blockchains be utilized to secure the data involved in the information flows within the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems of the fossil power generation plants. The publicly accessible blockchain protocols, although secure, are visible to everyone. Even private blockchains currently are unable to support different levels of access to different participants, which is a critical requirement for the existing SCADA systems running the power plants. In light of the above, novel blockchain protocols that are specifically adapted to fossil power generation environments need to be developed in order to achieve the goal of cybersecure sensor networks. In this work, we address this question by creating a novel blockchain technology, namely smart private ledger, for cybersecure communication within the fossil power generation systems. A lab-scale sensor network consisting of strain and temperature sensors is constructed to develop the ledger. The technology has hierarchical access control which is compatible with the existing SCADA systems in fossil power plants. The sensor data is used with cryptographic digital signatures and secret sharing protocols within the nodes of the blockchain technology. The research results will lead to cybersecurity for machine-to-machine interactions, infrastructure for secure data logging for sensors, decentralized data storage, and second-layer technologies for high volume machine-to-machine interactions in the power plants. The work aims to largely address the concerns for the security of distributed sensor networks in such systems that can be compromised by insider threats and by cybercriminals. The research has led to the training of the next generation of engineers and scientists in the important areas of sensor engineering and blockchain technology.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quantifying Socioeconomic Impacts of Electricity Generating Technologies

The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and other cost metrics used in energy planning do not account for out-of-market impacts of the technology choice. While a decision-maker at the utility or asset owner level may compare multiple forms of electricity generating technology using LCOE, a decision-maker over energy policy or community stakeholders may be interested in considering impacts beyond those that LCOE measures. This report quantifies economic impacts such as jobs and wage growth across electricity generation technologies then develops an approach to systematically compare socioeconomic metrics across technology choices. To address additional workforce related impacts, this report also compares the typical workforce education requirements and annual income levels for multiple types of electricity generating facilities. The grid scale electricity generating technologies analyzed in this report produce power using conventional hydroelectric dams, coal, natural gas, nuclear reactors, solar PV, land-based wind turbines, geothermal heat, and woody biomass combustion. Although it doesn’t generate electricity itself, the economic impacts associated with battery storage equipment manufacturing and installation were also analyzed.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Development of Enabling Technologies for Chemical Looping Combustion and Chemical Looping with Oxygen Uncoupling (Final Report)

This report summarizes results from the project, “Development of Enabling Technologies for Chemical Looping Combustion and Chemical Looping with Oxygen Uncoupling,” which evaluated several aspects of dual fluidized bed chemical looping combustion and chemical looping with oxygen uncoupling (CLOU). The objective was to provide tools and enabling technologies to help advance fluidized bed chemical looping technology to pilot, demonstration and commercial scale. One focus area is oxygen carriers, which are key to chemical looping combustion. The copper oxygen carrier-coal ash system was systematically evaluated through a combination of thermodynamic modeling and lab-scale experiments, taking into consideration different oxygen carrier support materials and coal types. A method of mapping “safe” and “risk” zones for different combinations was established, and recommendations for target conditions are provided. In addition, a simple solution for limiting negative influence of some coal ashes, namely adding small amounts of calcium to the system, is proposed. In addition, a novel process for recovering and recycling copper from spent oxygen carriers is proposed. A new approach for design and operation of loop seals in a CLOU system was developed, and involves distinct gas injection points and a short horizontal section to help control the fate of the fluidizing gases. For the air-to-fuel reactor loop seal, the upstream side is fluidized with air, ideally input into the side rather than into the bottom, which prevents uncoupling (reduction) of the oxygen carrier before entering the fuel reactor. Also, alternative for separating oxygen carrier particles and gas in circulating fluidized bed-based chemical looping system is proposed. A new reduced reaction scheme for conversion of coal in copper-based CLOU was developed and implemented into CPFD Software’s Barracuda VR package. The resulting model provides higher fidelity than the baseline, especially when it comes to minor reactions that are part of the overall combustion environment. For in-reactor heat extraction, it was determined in this project that the best way to do that in a dual circulating fluidized-bed system is through heat exchange low in the air reactor. The air reactor is the hotter of the two and for a fast-fluidized circulating bed, the lower, more dense section has a higher heat transfer coefficient and offers more consistent particle-wall contact since it doesn’t have the splashing behavior the top of the bed does. It was determined that just the wall surface area in the lower quarter to third of the air reactor is sufficient to control temperatures in both reactors. Finally, consideration was given to a new concept for CLC, which involves a staged fuel reactor with a different type of oxygen carrier in each stage.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hydrogen as Part of a 100% Clean Energy System: Exploring Its Decarbonization Roles

Today's energy system uses a variety of fuels and energy carriers in molecular forms, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, each contributing to CO2 emissions (Figure 1). As solar and wind levels grow and the energy system becomes more electrified, fossil molecular fuels will contribute a progressively smaller fraction of overall energy. As shown in Figure 2, hydroelectric storage and molecules, such as coal and natural gas, provide substantial storage and dispatch functionality today that will become increasingly critical for electricity operation and stability. Emerging low-carbon gases, such as hydrogen, can support the efficient integration of renewables in the transition from today's energy system to one that is 100% clean from a carbon emissions perspective.

clean energy system↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cooled Gas Turbine and Combined Cycle Analysis for NH 3 -CH 4 Fuel Mixes (Up to 100% NH 3 )

In this study, a cooled gas turbine (GT) analysis was conducted for varying levels of ammonia (NH 3 ) blends with methane. The ultimate goal is to have a gas turbine design that can be used for all the fuel blends (including 100% NH 3 ) without any changes to the system. The technological developments in the cooling system, gas turbine design, and materials that will be required for NH 3 combustion were identified and analyzed in this study to develop an advanced gas turbine design for NH 3 fuels. The study includes a combined cycle performance analysis with the NH 3 fuel blends using the advanced gas turbine design developed in this study. A techno-economic analysis was conducted for analyzing the impact of the NH 3 fuels on the levelized cost of electricity and cost sensitivities to fuel price and capacity factor.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Permitting Commercial Geologic CO 2 Storage Projects

Conference presentation at 2023 Rocky Mountain Section-American Association of Petroleum Geologists (RMS-AAPG) Annual Meeting, Bismarck, ND, June 4–6, 2023. Successful Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) projects depend on clear and applicable regulatory requirements that are thoroughly understood by project developers. It is evident that states are best positioned to regulate CO 2 storage through comprehensive regulations and permitting efficiencies. Further, tax incentives and an emphasis on low-carbon fuels compound to make CCUS more attractive to investors and states alike.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Shock tube/laser absorption measurement of the rate constant of the reaction: H 2 O 2 + CO 2 2OH + CO 2

We address the role of the linear mixing rule in the kinetics of the H 2 O 2 decomposition system by reporting the rate constant for H 2 O 2 + M = 2OH + M (M = Ar and CO 2 ) in the temperature range of 1087-1234 K at low pressures in a mixture of 20% CO 2 in Argon. The reaction rate constant was inferred from H 2 O concentrations monitored by using a laser-absorption spectroscopy-based water diagnostic. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first measurement of the rate constant of this reaction in a mixture to be reported in literature. A significant discrepancy was found between the rate constants derived using the traditional linear mixing rule and the reduced pressure linear mixing rule. Furthermore, this discrepancy can have serious implications on the predictive accuracy of these kinetic models, especially under conditions relevant to the operation of supercritical CO 2 (sCO 2 ) power cycles that rely on oxy-fuel combustion in a working fluid comprised almost entirely of CO 2 .

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Noncontact Flow Rate Using Laser Ultrasonics

Several types of advanced nuclear reactors are cooled with high-temperature liquid metal or molten salt flows. There is a critical need to measure flow velocity in flow channels for test purposes, and eventually in operational reactors. In conventional ultrasonic flow sensors, ultrasonic waves traveling in both the upstream and downstream directions are generated and detected by transducers that must contact the flow channels. A shift in the frequency or transit time between the two ultrasonic waves is measured to determine flow velocity. We describe here an initial effort to apply that sensing concept when the contact transducers are replaced by laser-based generation and detection instrumentation. This noncontact sensing avoids many practical problems associated with contact transducers when implemented on flow channels at high temperature. Laser-based flow monitoring can also be applied to hot-process piping in the geothermal energy, chemical-processing and petroleum-refining industries. Our effort has included theoretical simulation of noncontact laser-based flow monitoring, indicating capability of measuring flow velocities relevant to reactor cooling. It also included a room-temperature experimental demonstration using water as the flow liquid, and indicating capability of measuring flow velocity at a responsivity roughly consistent with simulation predictions. Plans were made for an experimental demonstration at Oregon State University using liquid metal at 110 degrees C.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2023

Anti-Biofouling Surface Treatments for Improved Condenser Performance for Coal-Based Power Plants

Condenser performance is a critical area for improving the economic efficiency of coal-based power facilities, since more than 50% of generated heat is lost during condenser operation. Decline in condenser performance due to fouling of condenser heat transfer tubes greatly has a significant and detrimental effect on power plant efficiency and controlling biofilm formation remains a major operational challenge. Biofilm formation in condenser tubes decreases the effective diameter for cooling water and increases the surface roughness, which increases the hydraulic resistance of each tube. In addition, biofouling can result in the degradation of the condenser tubing by facilitating corrosion. Therefore, this project aims to develop novel surface treatments and secondarily applied remediation components to mitigate biofilm growth on condenser tube surfaces used in coal-fueled power plants.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2020

2020 Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) Cost and Performance Data for Electricity Generation Technologies

Starting in 2015 NREL has presented the Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) in an Excel workbook that contains detailed cost and performance data, both current and projected, for renewable and conventional technologies. The workbook includes a spreadsheet for each technology. This updated version of the workbook provides data for the 2020 ATB. In 2019 and 2020, NREL has also provided selected data in Tableau workbooks and structured summary csv files. A website documents this data at https://atb.nlr.gov .

02 PETROLEUM↗