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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 1,351 records · Page 75
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

"Development and Commercialization of Alternative Carbon Precursors and Conversion Technologies" (CRADA Final Report)

The overall objective of the collaborative research performed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Dow Chemical Company under this Cooperative Research And Development Agreement (CRADA NFE-10-02991) was to develop and establish pathways to commercialize new carbon fiber precursor and conversion technology. This technology is to produce alternative polymer fiber precursor formulations as well as scaled energy-efficient advanced conversion technology to enable continuous mode conversion to obtain carbonized fibers that are technically and economically viable in industrial markets such as transportation, wind energy, infrastructure and oil drilling applications. There have been efforts in the past to produce a low cost carbon fiber. These attempts have to be interpreted against the backdrop of the market needs at the time, which were strictly military aircraft and high-end aerospace components. In fact, manufacturing costs have been reduced from those days to current practice, where both process optimization and volume production have enabled carbon fiber to become available at prices below $20/lb. However, the requirements of the lucrative aerospace market limits further price reductions from current practice. This approach is different because specific industrial applications are targeted, most specifically wind turbine blade and light vehicle transportation, where aircraft grade carbon fiber is not required. As a result, researchers are free to adjust both manufacturing process and precursor chemistry to meet the relaxed physical specifications at a lower cost. This report documents the approach and findings of this cooperative research in alternative precursors and advanced conversion for production of cost-effective carbon fiber for energy missions. Due to export control, proprietary restrictions, and CRADA protected data considerations, specific design details and processing parameters are not included in this report.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2014

Advanced Automotive Fuels Research, Development, and Commercialization Cluster (OH) (Final Report)

Technical aspects of producing alternative fuels that may eventually supplement or replace conventional the petroleum-derived fuels that are presently used in vehicular transportation have been investigated. The work was centered around three projects: 1) deriving butanol as a fuel additive from bacterial action on sugars produced from decomposition of aqueous suspensions of wood cellulose under elevated temperature and pressure; 2) using highly ordered, openly structured molecules known as metal-organic framework (MOF) compounds as adsorbents for gas separations in fuel processing operations; and 3) developing a photocatalytic membrane for solar-driven water decomposition to generate pure hydrogen fuel. Several departments within the STEM College at YSU contributed to the effort: Chemistry, Biology, and Chemical Engineering. In the butanol project, sawdust was blended with water at variable pH and temperature (150 – 250 °C), and heated inside a pressure vessel for specified periods of time. Analysis of the extracts showed a wide variety of compounds, including simple sugars that bacteria are known to thrive upon. Samples of the cellulose hydrolysate were fed to colonies of Clostridium beijerinckii, which are known to convert sugars to a mixture of compounds, principally butanol. While the bacteria were active toward additions of pure sugar solutions, the cellulose extract appeared to inhibit butanol production, and furthermore encouraged the Clostridium to become dormant. Proteomic analysis showed that the bacteria had changed their genetic code to where it was becoming sporulated, i.e., the bacteria were trying to go dormant. This finding may be an opportunity, as it may be possible to genetically engineer bacteria that resist the butanol-driven triggering mechanism to stop further fuel production. Another way of handling the cellulosic hydrolysates was to simply add the enzymes responsible for butanol synthesis to the hydrolytic extract ex-vivo. These enzymes are generally not available commercially, however, and those that are can be quite expensive. Accordingly, the genes responsible for enzyme synthesis were inserted into other microorganisms in order to accelerate enzyme production. This was demonstrated for two of the required enzymes in the overall series. In the MOF project, a number of new MOF compounds were synthesized and characterized, as well as some common MOFs well-known for their adsorption properties. Selectivity for specific gases such as CO 2 and H 2 was demonstrated, although it was seen that water vapor would frequently act as an interferent. This work underscored the need to test MOF compounds under real world conditions, i.e., room temperature and above instead of liquid N 2 temperature, and testing adsorption using blends of gases instead of pure components. In the solar membrane project, thin films of CdTe and WO 3 were applied to steel substrates and used as p-type and n-type semiconductors, respectively, in the production of H 2 and O 2 . Testing with 2 H and 18 O isotopically labeled water enabled substantiation of net water-splitting.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2014

Scale-up of Novel Low-Cost Carbon Fibers Leading to High-Volume Commercial Launch

The project started in September, 2012 with the goal of scaling up from the existing laboratory scale process for producing carbon fiber (CF) from polyolefin (PO) based precursor fiber using a Dow proprietary sulfonation-desulfonation stabilization process. The award was used to develop a process that was capable of producing market development quantities of CF from PO precursor fiber at a rate of 4 kg/h of CF. The CF would target properties that met or exceeded the Department of Energy (DOE) Vehicles Technology [1] standard; i.e., 172 GPa modulus and 1.72 GPa strength at greater than or equal to 1% strain. The Dow proprietary process was capable of meeting and exceeding these targets properties. Project DE-EE0005760 resulted from a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Dow and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) with support from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and DOE. In the first budget period, the main goal was to design a sulfonation-desulfonation market development plant capable of stabilizing PO precursor fiber at a rate of 5 kg/h using a sulfonation solution. The detailed design, location, and cost estimate were determined as scheduled in the Project Management Plan (PMP). In parallel with this DOE award project was a fundamentals and economic evaluation funded by The Dow Chemical Company (Dow). The goal of the Dow sponsored project was to finalize the mass balances, energy balances, and levelized cost to produce CF using the Dow process. A Go-No-Go decision was scheduled in June, 2013 based on the findings of the DOE sponsored scale up project and the Dow sponsored project. In June, 2013, Dow made the No-Go decision to halt and abandon the Dow proprietary sulfonation-desulfonation process for stabilizing PO precursor fibers for the manufacturing of CF. This No-Go decision was identified in the original proposal and at the start of this project, and the decision was made as scheduled. The decision was based on the high levelized economic cost of the process relative to the manufacture of CF from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor fibers. The capital required to sulfonate the fibers adds a significant cost to the process due to the need for investment in a sulfuric acid recovery plant. This high additional capital over the capital for a PAN based CF plant, reduces the levelized economic cost to slightly advantaged over PAN based CF. The sulfonation-desulfonation stabilization route failed to meet the Dow’s return on investment criterion and the cost advantage target set forth for the DOE project. The DOE and Dow decided to halt spending on the project until a new PO fiber stabilization process could be identified that met the DOE physical properties standard and the levelized economic cost constraints of Dow. When the new technology was developed, then award DE-EE0005760 would be re-started with the same goals of the development of a market development plant capable of producing CF at 4 kg/h with the properties that met or exceed those set forth by the Department of Energy Vehicles Technology standard. Progress on the development of the new process has been slow and thus has delayed the scale up project. Dow’s efforts to date have not progressed to the point of demonstrating a commercially-viable process for production of low cost CF from PO precursors for Dow’s rigorous economic constraints. After extensive discussions within Dow and consultation with DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) Headquarters and Golden Field Office teams, Dow has decided to proceed with the formal recommendation to terminate subject project. DOE’s AMO Headquarters and Golden Field Office teams agreed with the termination of the project.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electronic Safety Resource Tools -- Supporting Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Commercialization

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Hydrogen Safety Program conducted a planning session in Los Angeles, CA on April 1, 2014 to consider what electronic safety tools would benefit the next phase of hydrogen and fuel cell commercialization. A diverse, 20-person team led by an experienced facilitator considered the question as it applied to the eight most relevant user groups. The results and subsequent evaluation activities revealed several possible resource tools that could greatly benefit users. The tool identified as having the greatest potential for impact is a hydrogen safety portal, which can be the central location for integrating and disseminating safety information (including most of the tools identified in this report). Such a tool can provide credible and reliable information from a trustworthy source. Other impactful tools identified include a codes and standards wizard to guide users through a series of questions relating to application and specific features of the requirements; a scenario-based virtual reality training for first responders; peer networking tools to bring users from focused groups together to discuss and collaborate on hydrogen safety issues; and a focused tool for training inspectors. Table ES.1 provides results of the planning session, including proposed new tools and changes to existing tools.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2013

Functional Testing Protocols for Commercial Building Efficiency Baseline Modeling Software

This document describes procedures for testing and validating proprietary baseline energy modeling software accuracy in predicting energy use over the period of interest, such as a month or a year. The procedures are designed according to the methodology used for public domain baselining software in another LBNL report that was (like the present report) prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric Company: ?Commercial Building Energy Baseline Modeling Software: Performance Metrics and Method Testing with Open Source Models and Implications for Proprietary Software Testing Protocols? (referred to here as the ?Model Analysis Report?). The test procedure focuses on the quality of the software?s predictions rather than on the specific algorithms used to predict energy use. In this way the software vendor is not required to divulge or share proprietary information about how their software works, while enabling stakeholders to assess its performance.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2014

Review of Prior Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit Evaluation: A Report to Snohomish Public Utilities District

Snohomish County Public Utilities District (the District or Snohomish PUD) provides electricity to about 325,000 customers in Snohomish County, Washington. The District has an incentive programs to encourage commercial customers to improve energy efficiency: the District partially reimburses the cost of approved retrofits if they provide a level of energy performance improvement that is specified by contract. In 2013 the District contracted with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to provide a third-party review of the Monitoring and Verification (M&V) practices the District uses to evaluate whether companies are meeting their contractual obligations. This work helps LBNL understand the challenges faced by real-world practitioners of M&V of energy savings, and builds on a body of related work such as Price et al. (2013). The District selected a typical project for which they had already performed an evaluation. The present report includes the District's original evaluation as well as LBNL's review of their approach. The review is based on the document itself; on investigation of the load data and outdoor air temperature data from the building evaluated in the document; and on phone discussions with Bill Harris of the Snohomish County Public Utilities District. We will call the building studied in the document the subject building, the original Snohomish PUD report will be referred to as the Evaluation, and this discussion by LBNL is called the Review.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2015

Development and Quality Assessments of Commercial Heat Production of ATF FeCrAl Tubes

Development and quality assessment of the 2 nd generation ATF FeCrAl tube production with commercial manufacturers were conducted. The manufacturing partners include Sophisticated Alloys, Inc. (SAI), Butler, PA for FeCrAl alloy casting via vacuum induction melting, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for extrusion process to prepare the master bars/tubes to be tube-drawn, and Rhenium Alloys, Inc. (RAI), North Ridgeville, OH, for tube-drawing process. The masters bars have also been provided to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) who works with Century Tubes, Inc., (CTI), San Diego, CA, as parallel tube production effort under the current program.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Refrigeration Playbook: Natural Refrigerants; Selecting and Designing Energy-Efficient Commercial Refrigeration Systems That Use Low Global Warming Potential Refrigerants

This report provides guidance for selecting and designing energy efficient commercial refrigeration systems using low global warming potential refrigerants. Refrigeration systems are generally the largest energy end use in a supermarket type building, often accounting for more than half of a building's energy consumption.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2015

Technology Implementation Plan. Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated Fuel for Commercial Light Water Reactor Application

This report is an overview of the implementation plan for ORNL's fully ceramic microencapsulated (FCM) light water reactor fuel. The fully ceramic microencapsulated fuel consists of tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particles embedded inside a fully dense SiC matrix and is intended for utilization in commercial light water reactor application.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Commercializing Wide Range Sensor

The purpose of the CRADA was to allow Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) to assist H2Scan Corporation, in the transfer of the Wide Range Hydrogen Sensor (WRS) to commercial applications. The overall goal was to develop a very stable, low-cost hydrogen (H 2 ) sensor that functioned in the complex environments of H 2 production facilities, petrochemical plants, power plants, and in the H 2 transportation economy. This project has resulted in improved H 2 sensor performance with greater resistance to the contaminants found in these environments than possible previously. Benefits include: improved H2 sensor performance, new markets and improved competitive position for H2scan, greater chemical sensor expertise and a more robust chemical testing capability at Sandia that can be applied to DOE’s nuclear weapons mission, and job creation and economic development for the public.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2016

Commercial Refrigeration: Heat Transfer Optimization and Energy Reduction, Measurement and Verification of a Liquid Refrigerant Pump System Retrofit

This study describes the test results of a Refrigerant Pump System integrated into a commercial supermarket direct expansion (DX) vapor compression refrigeration system. The Liquid Refrigerant Pump System retrofit (patent-pending; application number 13/964,198) was introduced to NREL in August 2014 by CTA Architects Engineers.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2016

Comparison of ORNL Low Cost Carbon Fiber with Commercially Available Industrial Grade Carbon Fiber in Pultrusion Samples

Composite Applications Group LLC in collaboration with Heil Trailer International partnered in a project to design and develop solutions for light weighting of aluminum dry bulk tank trailers. The project approach was to utilize pultruded composite sections in place of aluminum components to reduce weight thereby saving energy through more efficient transport. Low cost carbon fiber was evaluated as a potential cost saving option that could enhance weight savings at reduced cost versus current commercial material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Commercialization at Los Alamos

This report gives some commercialization examples that have been done at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗