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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 1,207 records · Page 67
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Improved Offshore Wind Resource Assessment in Global Climate Stabilization Scenarios

This paper introduces a technique for digesting geospatial wind-speed data into areally defined -- country-level, in this case -- wind resource supply curves. We combined gridded wind-vector data for ocean areas with bathymetry maps, country exclusive economic zones, wind turbine power curves, and other datasets and relevant parameters to build supply curves that estimate a country's offshorewind resource defined by resource quality, depth, and distance-from-shore. We include a single set of supply curves -- for a particular assumption set -- and study some implications of including it in a global energy model. We also discuss the importance of downscaling gridded wind vector data to capturing the full resource potential, especially over land areas with complex terrain. This paperincludes motivation and background for a statistical downscaling methodology to account for terrain effects with a low computational burden. Finally, we use this forum to sketch a framework for building synthetic electric networks to estimate transmission accessibility of renewable resource sites in remote areas.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Corn Storage Protein - A Molecular Genetic Model

Corn is the highest yielding crop on earth and probably the most valuable agricultural product of the United States. Because it converts sun energy through photosynthesis into starch and proteins, we addressed energy savings by focusing on protein quality. People and animals require essential amino acids derived from the digestion of proteins. If proteins are relatively low in certain essential amino acids, the crop becomes nutritionally defective and has to be supplemented. Such deficiency affects meat and fish production and countries where corn is a staple. Because corn seed proteins have relatively low levels of lysine and methionine, a diet has to be supplemented with soybeans for the missing lysine and with chemically synthesized methionine. We therefore have studied genes expressed during maize seed development and their chromosomal organization. A critical technical requirement for the understanding of the molecular structure of genes and their positional information was DNA sequencing. Because of the length of sequences, DNA sequencing methods themselves were insufficient for this type of analysis. We therefore developed the so-called “DNA shotgun sequencing” strategy, where overlapping DNA fragments were sequenced in parallel and used to reconstruct large DNA molecules via overlaps. Our publications became the most frequently cited ones during the decade of 1981-1990 and former Associate Director of Science for the Office of Basic Energy Sciences Patricia M. Dehmer presented our work as one of the great successes of this program. A major component of the sequencing strategy was the development of bacterial strains and vectors, which were also used to develop the first biotechnology crops. These crops possessed new traits thanks to the expression of foreign genes in plants. To enable such expression, chimeric genes had to be constructed using our materials and methods by the industry. Because we made our materials and methods freely available to academia and industry, progress in plant research and new crop development could accelerate and benefit the public.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Flexible Opportunity Fuels for Process Heat and Steam Generation

The majority of industrial process heating and steam generation is currently fueled by natural gas or coal. Other fuels that are not used throughout industry, such as biomass, anaerobic digester gas and petroleum coke can potentially supplement or replace natural gas and coal in various process heating and steam generation applications. These non-traditional fuel supply options, also known as opportunity fuels, can enhance energy security for industrial facilities by increasing fuel flexibility and reducing or eliminating reliance on traditional fossil fuels. They can also provide significant economic benefits, by reducing fuel costs and improving profit margins. Some fuels may even be available at a negative cost, as owners seek to dispose of waste products that may have energy content.

Lemar, Jr, Paul L.↗
DOE OSTI2013

Identification and genetic characterization of maize cell wall variation for improved biorefinery feedstock characteristics

The objectives of this program are to 1) characterize novel maize mutants with altered cell walls for enhanced biorefinery characteristics and 2) find quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to biorefinery characteristics by taking advantage of the genetic diversity of maize. As a result a novel non-transgenic maize plant (cal1) has been identified, whose stover (leaves and stalk) contain more glucan in their walls leading to a higher saccharification yield, when subjected to a standard enzymatic digestion cocktail. Stacking this trait with altered lignin mutants yielded evene higher saccharification yields. Cal-1 mutants do not show a loss of kernel and or biomass yield when grown in the field . Hence, cal1 biomass provides an excellent feedstock for the biofuel industry.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Integrated Advanced Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine System for Increased Utilization of Gaseous Opportunity Fuels

The project is addressing barriers to or opportunities for increasing distributed generation (DG)/combined heat and power (CHP) use in industrial applications using renewable/opportunity fuels. This project brings together novel gas quality sensor (GQS) technology with engine management for opportunity fuels such as landfill gas, digester gas and coal bed methane. By providing the capability for near real-time monitoring of the composition of these opportunity fuels, the GQS output can be used to improve the performance, increase efficiency, raise system reliability, and provide improved project economics and reduced emissions for engines used in distributed generation and combined heat and power.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Uranium Anodic Dissolution under Slightly Alkaline Conditions Progress Report Full-Scale Demonstration with DU Foil

Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) is developing an alternative method for digesting irradiated low enriched uranium (LEU) foil targets to produce 99 Mo in neutral/alkaline media. This method consists of the electrolytic dissolution of irradiated uranium foil in sodium bicarbonate solution, followed by precipitation of base-insoluble fission and activation products, and uranyl-carbonate species with CaO. The addition of CaO is vital for the effective anion exchange separation of 99 MoO 4 2- from the fission products, since most of the interfering anions (e.g., CO 3 2- ) are removed from the solution, while molybdate remains in solution. An anion exchange is used to retain and to purify the 99 Mo from the filtrate. The electrochemical dissolver has been designed and fabricated in 304 stainless-steel (SS), and tested for the dissolution of a full-size depleted uranium (DU) target, wrapped in Al foil. Future work will include testing with low-burn-up DU foil at Argonne and later with high-burn-up LEU foils at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

2013 Vehicle Technologies Market Report

This is the fifth edition of this report, which details the major trends in U.S. light-duty vehicle and medium/heavy truck markets as well as the underlying trends that caused them. This report is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), and, in accord with its mission, pays special attention to the progress of high-efficiency and alternative-fuel technologies. After opening with a discussion of energy and economics, this report features a section each on the light-duty vehicle and heavy/medium truck markets, and concluding with a section each on technology and policy. The first section on Energy and Economics discusses the role of transportation energy and vehicle markets on a national (and even international) scale. For example, Figures 12 through 14 discuss the connections between global oil prices and U.S. GDP, and Figures 21 and 22 show U.S. employment in the automotive sector. The following section examines Light-Duty Vehicle use, markets, manufacture, and supply chains. Figures 24 through 51 offer snapshots of major light-duty vehicle brands in the U.S. and Figures 56 through 64 examine the performance and efficiency characteristics of vehicles sold. The discussion of Medium and Heavy Trucks offers information on truck sales (Figures 73 through 75) and fuel use (Figures 78 through 81). The Technology section offers information on alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure (Figures 84 through 95), and the Policy section concludes with information on recent, current, and near-future Federal policies like the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard (Figures 106 through 110). In total, the information contained in this report is intended to communicate a fairly complete understanding of U.S. highway transportation energy through a series of easily digestible nuggets.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Uranium Anodic Dissolution under Slightly Alkaline Conditions

Argonne National Laboratory is developing an alternative method for digesting irradiated low enriched uranium foil targets to produce 99 Mo in neutral/alkaline media. This method involves the electrolytic dissolution of irradiated uranium foil in sodium bicarbonate solution, followed by the precipitation of carbonate, base-insoluble fission and activation products, and uranyl species with CaO. The addition of CaO is vital for the effective anion exchange separation of 99 MoO 4 2- from the fission products, since most of the interfering anions (e.g., CO 3 2- ) are removed from the solution while the molybdate remains in it. An anion exchange is used to retain and purify the 99 Mo from the filtrate. The electrochemical dissolver has been designed and will be tested with low-burnup depleted uranium foil at Argonne and later with high-burnup targets at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Guelis, Artem V.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Recovery Act: Beneficial CO 2 Capture in an Integrated Algal Biorefinery for Renewable Generation and Transportation Fuels

DOE DE-FE0001888 Award, Phase 2, funded research, development, and deployment (RD&D) of Phycal’s pilot-scale, algae to biofuels, bioproducts, and processing facility in Hawai’i. Phycal’s algal-biofuel and bioproducts production system integrates several novel and mature technologies into a system that captures and reuses industrially produced carbon dioxide emissions, which would otherwise go directly to the atmosphere, for the manufacture of renewable energy products and bioproducts from algae (note that these algae are not genetically engineered). At the end of Phase 2, the project as proposed was to encompass 34 acres in Central Oahu and provide large open ponds for algal mass culturing, heterotrophic reactors for the Heteroboost™ process, processing facilities, water recycling facilities, anaerobic digestion facilities, and other integrated processes. The Phase 2 award was divided into two modules, Modules 1 & 2, where the Module 1 effort addressed critical scaling issues, tested highest risk technologies, and set the overall infrastructure needed for a Module 2. Phycal terminated the project prior to executing construction of the first Module. This Final Report covers the development research, detailed design, and the proposed operating strategy for Module 1 of Phase 2.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Chemical Composition and PCT Data for the Initial Set of Hanford Enhanced Waste Loading Glasses

In this report, the Savannah River National Laboratory provides chemical analyses and Product Consistency Test results for 20 simulated high level waste glasses fabricated by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The results of these analyses will be used as part of efforts to revise or extend the validation ranges of the current Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant glass property models to cover a broader span of waste compositions. The measured chemical composition data are reported and compared with the targeted values for each component for each glass. Two components of the study glasses, fluorine and silver, were not measured since each of these species would have required the use of an additional preparation method and their measured values were likely to be near or below analytical detection limits. Some of the glasses were difficult to prepare for chemical analysis. A sodium peroxide fusion dissolution method was successful in completely dissolving the glasses. Components present in the glasses in minor concentrations can be difficult to measure using this dissolution method due to dilution requirements. The use of a lithium metaborate preparation method for the minor components (planned for use since it is typically successful in digesting Defense Waste Processing Facility HLW glasses) resulted in an unacceptable amount of undissolved solids remaining in the sample solutions. An acid dissolution method was used instead, which provided more thorough dissolution of the glasses, although a small amount of undissolved material remained for some of the study glasses. The undissolved material was analyzed to determine those components of the glasses that did not fully dissolve. These components (e.g., calcium and chromium) were present in sufficient quantities to be reported from the measurements resulting from the sodium peroxide fusion preparation method, which did not leave undissolved material. Overall, the analyses resulted in sums of oxides that ranged from about 98 to 101.5 wt % for the study glasses, indicating excellent recovery of all the components in the chemical composition analyses. Comparisons of the targeted and measured chemical compositions indicated that, in general, the measured values for the glasses met the targeted concentrations. Exceptions were Cr 2 O 3 , MgO, and P 2 O 5 . The measured values for Cr 2 O 3 were somewhat low when compared to the targeted values for all of the study glasses targeting Cr 2 O 3 concentrations above 0.5 wt %. Many of the measured MgO and P 2 O 5 values were below the targeted values for those glasses that contained these components. Two of the study glasses exhibited differences from the targeted compositions that may indicate a batching error. Glasses EWG-HAI-Centroid-2 and EWG-OL-1672 had measured values for Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 that were lower than the targeted values, and measured values for B 2 O 3 that were higher than the targeted values. Glass EWG-HAI-Centroid-2 also had a measured value for Fe 2 O 3 that was lower than the targeted value. A review of the PCT data, including standards and blanks, revealed no issues with the performance of the tests. The PCT results were normalized to both the targeted and measured compositions of the study glasses. Comparisons of the normalized PCT results for both the quenched and Canister Centerline Cooled versions of the study glasses are made with the Environmental Assessment benchmark glass for reference.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2014

The Effect of Cellulose Crystal Structure and Solid-State Morphology on the Activity of Cellulases

Consistent with the US-DOE and USDA “Roadmap” objective of producing ethanol and chemicals from cellulosic feedstocks more efficiently, a three year research project entitled “The Effect of Cellulose Crystal Structure and Solid-State Morphology on the Activity of Cellulases” was initiated in early 2003 under DOE sponsorship (Project Number DE-FG02-02ER15356). A three year continuation was awarded in June 2005 for the period September 15, 2005 through September 14, 2008. The original goal of this project was to determine the effect of cellulose crystal structure, including allomorphic crystalline form (Cellulose I, II, III, IV and sub-allomorphs), relative degree of crystallinity and crystallite size, on the activity of different types of genetically engineered cellulase enzymes to provide insight into the mechanism and kinetics of cellulose digestion by “pure” enzymes rather than complex mixtures. We expected that such information would ultimately help enhance the accessibility of cellulose to enzymatic conversion processes thereby creating a more cost-effective commercial process yielding sugars for fermentation into ethanol and other chemical products. Perhaps the most significant finding of the initial project phase was that conversion of native bacterial cellulose (Cellulose I; BC-I) to the Cellulose II (BC-II) crystal form by aqueous NaOH “pretreatment” provided an increase in cellulase conversion rate approaching 2-4 fold depending on enzyme concentration and temperature, even when initial % crystallinity values were similar for both allomorphs.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Research and Development Needs to Enable Expansion of Natural Gas Use in Transportation

In the transportation sector, users are taking a new look at natural gas (NG) as an affordable alternative, often priced at $1.50-2.00/gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) less than gasoline or diesel, and offering potential societal benefits like reductions in petroleum use, air pollutant emissions, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Unlike petroleum, a significant portion of which is imported and vulnerable to external disruptions at key points in the supply chain, NG is almost completely domestic and supplies are diverse. NG from renewable sources like landfills and anaerobic digesters or from fossil sources like shale gas is found in nearly every state, with associated benefits for state economies. An extensive transmission and distribution infrastructure exists in much of the country. There are, however, significant barriers that limit the speed and breadth of NG uptake into the transportation sector. Many of the barriers to NG use in this sector are technical in nature and overcoming them will require a concerted R&D effort. This paper focuses on those barriers and associated R&D opportunities for using compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), and NG-derived liquid fuels in internal combustion engines (ICEs) for light duty vehicle (LDV) and medium- and heavy-duty truck (M/HDT) applications. This paper is organized into five key areas that highlight R&D needs: NG distribution, liquid fuel production from stranded gas, vehicle fuel use, NG storage, and impact analysis and assessment.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Operating on Alternative and Renewable Fuels

This DOE project at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) initially involved Siemens Energy, Inc. to (1) develop new fuel processing approaches for using selected alternative and renewable fuels – anaerobic digester gas (ADG) and commercial diesel fuel (with 15 ppm sulfur) – in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power generation systems; and (2) conduct integrated fuel processor – SOFC system tests to evaluate the performance of the fuel processors and overall systems. Siemens Energy Inc. was to provide SOFC system to Penn State for testing. The Siemens work was carried out at Siemens Energy Inc. in Pittsburgh, PA. The unexpected restructuring in Siemens organization, however, led to the elimination of the Siemens Stationary Fuel Cell Division within the company. Unfortunately, this led to the Siemens subcontract with Penn State ending on September 23rd, 2010. SOFC system was never delivered to Penn State. With the assistance of NETL project manager, the Penn State team has since developed a collaborative research with Delphi as the new subcontractor and this work involved the testing of a stack of planar solid oxide fuel cells from Delphi.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2015

2014 Vehicle Technologies Market Report

This is the sixth edition of this report, which details the major trends in U.S. light-duty vehicle and medium/heavy truck markets as well as the underlying trends that caused them. This report is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), and, in accord with its mission, pays special attention to the progress of high-efficiency and alternative-fuel technologies. After opening with a discussion of energy and economics, this report features a section each on the light-duty vehicle and heavy/medium truck markets, and concluding with a section each on technology and policy. The first section on Energy and Economics discusses the role of transportation energy and vehicle markets on a national (and even international) scale. The following section examines Light-Duty Vehicle use, markets, manufacture, and supply chains. The discussion of Medium and Heavy Trucks offers information on truck sales and technologies specific to heavy trucks. The Technology section offers information on alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure, and the Policy section concludes with information on recent, current, and near-future Federal policies like the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. In total, the information contained in this report is intended to communicate a fairly complete understanding of U.S. highway transportation energy through a series of easily digestible tables and figures.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2015

High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) Graphite Pebble Fuel: Review of Technologies for Reprocessing

This report reviews literature on reprocessing high temperature gas-cooled reactor graphite fuel components. A basic review of the various fuel components used in the pebble bed type reactors is provided along with a survey of synthesis methods for the fabrication of the fuel components. Several disposal options are considered for the graphite pebble fuel elements including the storage of intact pebbles, volume reduction by separating the graphite from fuel kernels, and complete processing of the pebbles for waste storage. Existing methods for graphite removal are presented and generally consist of mechanical separation techniques such as crushing and grinding chemical techniques through the use of acid digestion and oxidation. Potential methods for reprocessing the graphite pebbles include improvements to existing methods and novel technologies that have not previously been investigated for nuclear graphite waste applications. The best overall method will be dependent on the desired final waste form and needs to factor in the technical efficiency, political concerns, cost, and implementation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2015

High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) Graphite Pebble Fuel: Review of Technologies for Reprocessing

This report reviews literature on reprocessing high temperature gas-cooled reactor graphite fuel components. A basic review of the various fuel components used in the pebble bed type reactors is provided along with a survey of synthesis methods for the fabrication of the fuel components. Several disposal options are considered for the graphite pebble fuel elements including the storage of intact pebbles, volume reduction by separating the graphite from fuel kernels, and complete processing of the pebbles for waste storage. Existing methods for graphite removal are presented and generally consist of mechanical separation techniques such as crushing and grinding and chemical techniques through the use of acid digestion and oxidation. Potential methods for reprocessing the graphite pebbles include improvements to existing methods and novel technologies that have not previously been investigated for nuclear graphite waste applications. The best overall method will be dependent on the desired final waste form and needs to factor in the technical efficiency, political concerns, cost, and implementation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Using The Corngrass1 Gene To Enhance The Biofuel Properties Of Crop Plants

The development of novel plant germplasm is vital to addressing our increasing bioenergy demands. The major hurdle to digesting plant biomass is the complex structure of the cell walls, the substrate of fermentation. Plant cell walls are inaccessible matrices of macromolecules that are polymerized with lignin, making fermentation difficult. Overcoming this hurdle is a major goal toward developing usable bioenergy crop plants. Our project seeks to enhance the biofuel properties of perennial grass species using the Corngrass1 (Cg1) gene and its targets. Dominant maize Cg1 mutants produce increased biomass by continuously initiating extra axillary meristems and leaves. We cloned Cg1 and showed that its phenotype is caused by over expression of a unique miR156 microRNA gene that negatively regulates SPL transcription factors. We transferred the Cg1 phenotype to other plants by expressing the gene behind constitutive promoters in four different species, including the monocots, Brachypodium and switchgrass, and dicots, Arabidopsis and poplar. All transformants displayed a similar range of phenotypes, including increased biomass from extended leaf production, and increased vegetative branching. Field grown switchgrass transformants showed that overall lignin content was reduced, the ratio of glucans to xylans was increased, and surprisingly, that starch levels were greatly increased. The goals of this project are to control the tissue and temporal expression of Cg1 by using different promoters to drive its expression, elucidate the function of the SPL targets of Cg1 by generating gain and loss of function alleles, and isolate downstream targets of select SPL genes using deep sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation. We believe it is possible to control biomass accumulation, cell wall properties, and sugar levels through manipulation of either the Cg1 gene and/or its SPL targets.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗