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At least 1,387 records · Page 77

Prairie State Generating Company Site: Storage Field Development Plan

This Storage Field Development plan presents the Storage Complex characterization results, construction, monitoring, operational plans, and costs associated with the proposed Prairie State Energy Campus - Carbon Capture and Storage (PSEC-CCS) project in Washington County, Illinois, near Marissa. The proposed storage complex, known as the St. Peter-Everton Storage Complex, comprises the St. Peter Sandstone and Everton sandstone reservoirs, with the Maquoketa Shale serving as the primary confining unit and the Knox Group as lower confining unit. The lowermost Underground Source of Drinking Water (USDW) identified for the site is the Pennsylvanian section.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Hydrogen at Scale (H 2 @Scale): Key to a Clean, Economic, and Sustainable Energy System

Much of hydrogen's value to the energy-system lies in its ability to be cleanly and efficiently converted between chemical and electrical energy, while also possessing the high energy density and long-term storage potential of chemical bonds. For these reasons, hydrogen's importance is expected to grow substantially in the coming decades, providing cross-sector and cross-temporal impact through clean, efficient processes. Many of these processes are electrochemical in nature, such as electrolysis of water and electricity production using fuel cells. Hydrogen also offers significant flexibility in how it can integrate into the energy system as a function of scale (from W to GWs), source (fossil fuels, nuclear, biomass, solar, wind, thermal), and end use (grid, buildings, industry, transportation). This flexibility, along with the ability to be used as a dispatchable load or power generation source, allows hydrogen and hydrogen-based processes to couple with the overall energy system in an integrated or hybridized fashion, offering dramatic system optimization potential. However, achieving the scale necessary to have impact - the vision 'Hydrogen at Scale' (H2@Scale) still has research challenges, many of which center around electrochemistry.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Energy-Storing Cryogenic Carbon Capture™ for Utility and Industrial-scale Processes (Final Report)

This project leverages work completed under funding from previous U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) projects and other sources of funding around the Cryogenic Carbon Capture Process™ (CCC). The purpose of this project is to further develop a perturbation of the CCC process that stores energy called the Cryogenic Carbon Capture™ Energy Storing (CCC-ES) process. The successful completion of the tasks in this project has prepared the CCC-ES process for scaling and developed initial plans and a feasibility analysis for an engineering-scale or small-commercial scale system that can store at least 10 MWh of energy. The specific areas of work in this project are: (1) Develop a conceptual, site-specific integrated process flow diagram: Sustainable Energy Solutions (SES) developed a conceptual, site-specific plan including a process flow diagram for integrating CCC-ES at a specific location. The proposed system was based on a typical engineering-scale CCC system designed to capture 30-50 metric tonnes of CO 2 per day (TPD), with modifications and additional changes and equipment put in place to add the energy storage element to the system. The 30-50 TPD scale corresponds to the required 10 MWh of stored energy. This task includes updating simulation software for transient analysis. SES also coordinated with the Jim Bridger Power Plant in Point of Rocks, Wyoming to get site-specific data. Using these data, SES completed site-specific preliminary process flow diagrams, estimated capital and operating costs for the CCC-ES system, and used the upgraded software package to estimate the primary figures of merit. (2) Complete a technoeconomic analysis (TEA): SES completed a full-scale TEA of the CCC-ES system to meet specific success criteria. This TEA used process information from the host site selected above. (3) Technology and data gap assessment for the CCC-ES process: As part of the technology gap assessment, SES performed an assessment of the best alternative energy storage solutions including figures of merit and operational strengths and weaknesses. SES then compared the proposed system with a discussion of how it addresses the weaknesses of alternative systems, showing for example a cost of stored energy at less than $50/MWh and with a roundtrip efficiency of greater than 95%. This assessment includes technical and other risk analyses and technology gaps with research and development needs to commercialize the process by 2030. Finally, work includes a commercialization roadmap/development pathway outlining the major milestones to move to a commercially operating CCC-ES system. (4) Phase II pre-FEED project plan: SES completed a project plan for the Phase II pre-FEED analysis using the same host site as in the Phase I conceptual study.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Lithium-Ion Battery Technologies for Electric Vehicles: Progress and challenges

Electric Vehicle (EV) sales and adoption have seen a significant growth in recent years, thanks to advancements and cost reduction in lithium-ion battery technology, attractive performance of EVs, governments' incentives, and the push to reduce greenhouse gases and pollutants. In this article, we will explore the progress in lithium-ion batteries and their future potential in terms of energy density, life, safety, and extreme fast charge. Here we will also discuss material sourcing, supply chain, and end-of-life-cycle management as they have become important considerations in the ecosystem of batteries for the sustained growth and adoption of EVs. With significant government and private sector investments in research and development, processing, and manufacturing and advances in anodes (lithium and silicon), cathodes (high nickel), designs, supply chain development, and the circularity of lithium-ion batteries, lithium-based batteries are on track to make EVs mainstream, addressing climate concerns of fossil-fueled vehicles.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Carbon Capture Plant Front-End Engineering Design Study for Cement Manufacturing

The objective of this project was to conduct a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study for capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from cement plant flue gas using non-aqueous solvents (NAS) with a 95% capture efficiency. The study aimed to develop AACE (Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering) Class 3 cost estimates for a commercial-scale CO₂ capture system with a capacity of 2.4 million tonnes of CO₂ per year (t-CO₂/yr). The results will provide Cemex and the U.S. Department of Energy with reliable data to support investment decisions, evaluate economic feasibility, and guide future project development and implementation.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Demonstration of Novel Monitoring Techniques for a North Dakota Carbon Capture and Storage Project

Conference paper presented at 16th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT-16), Lyon, France, October 23–27, 2022. We present an overview and initial results of the novel and sustainable monitoring techniques developed by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) and its commercial partners associated with the Red Trail Energy (RTE) carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. RTE is an investor-owned 64-million-gallon dry mill ethanol production plant in Richardton, North Dakota, USA. Currently in operation as of June 2022, the RTE facility will capture 180,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) annually (>99% CO 2 ) that is otherwise emitted during the ethanol production process and inject it into the Broom Creek Formation, a deep saline aquifer, for permanent on-site geologic storage.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

High Performance Nano-Crystalline Oxide Fuel Cell Materials. Defects, Structures, Interfaces, Transport, and Electrochemistry

This project addresses fundamental materials challenges in solid oxide electrochemical cells, devices that have a broad range of important energy applications. Although nano-scale mixed ionically and electronically conducting (MIEC) materials provide an important opportunity to improve performance and reduce device operating temperature, durability issues threaten to limit their utility and have remained largely unexplored. Our work has focused on both (1) understanding the fundamental processes related to oxygen transport and surface-vapor reactions in nano-scale MIEC materials, and (2) determining and understanding the key factors that control their long-term stability. Furthermore, materials stability has been explored under the “extreme” conditions encountered in many solid oxide cell applications, i.e, very high or very low effective oxygen pressures, and high current density.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Emerging Energy Market Analysis Initiative, Methodological Framework

Planning and operations of the electric power sector are undergoing radical changes. Climate change mitigation efforts have forced rapid changes to the technology mix. Technologies like wind and solar have experienced rapid growth, while investment in fossil sources has peaked or is declining. These foundational changes are forcing changes to energy systems. Demand-side adoption of electrified technologies, including electric vehicles, is changing load profiles and opening up new avenues for consumer participation in the power systems. The implications of an evolving power system pertain to more than environmental and technical dimensions. Changes to the generation mix and its consequent upstream and downstream impacts such as fuel production have significant and highly concentrated consequences on economies and employment. Shifts towards distributed (or decentralized) generating assets offer the potential to reshape economic and employment opportunities associated with the energy sector across space and socioeconomic groups. The Emerging Energy Market Analysis (EMA) initiative aims to identify sustainable, regionally acceptable, and high-value energy solutions that are secure and equitable. Unlike short-term, least-cost choices that can narrowly account for traditional options, EMA’s focus on emerging energy markets recognizes that new or adapted practices and technologies can alter the frontier of solutions and advance a community’s social, economic, and natural pathways. Such change requires a more comprehensive analysis of societal input, resources, capabilities, and infrastructure. These considerations lay the foundation for community decision-making models that are responsive to community values as well as the history and drivers. The result is a community-based decision and engagement model that will be valuable to decisionmakers and developers of advanced and emerging energy solutions, seeking a social license to operate prior to project development.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

High-Performance, Hybrid Polymer Membrane for Carbon Dioxide Separation from Ambient Air

The Department of Energy (DOE) seeks to develop carbon capture materials specifically tailored for Direct Air Capture (DAC) processes. Related to this, they require recipients to develop novel DAC materials such as: solvents, membranes, or sorbents that demonstrate high affinities or capacities for carbon dioxide (CO2) at concentrations typically available in air and at near ambient conditions. Toward this, InnoSense LLC (ISL) is developing High-Performance, Hybrid Polymer Membranes (HypoMemTM) for Carbon Dioxide Separation from Ambient Air. HypoMem consists of two major layers. The first layer is the active layer which contains the active ingredients that help to separate CO2 from ambient air. The second is the support layer that provides good mechanical support to have a free-standing membrane without interfering with the properties of the active layer.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

The Costs and Feasibility of Floating Offshore Wind Energy in the O'ahu Region

The State of Hawai'i has set a target to achieve a 100% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by 2045, and is well suited to become the first state to achieve this goal due to its relatively small load, high electricity prices, heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels, and favorable conditions for wind and solar. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management contracted NREL to conduct a cost and feasibility study to provide information to decision makers on Hawai'i about the viability of floating offshore wind to be a part of the 100% RPS. We used NREL's Offshore Regional Cost Analyzer (ORCA) spatial cost model to evaluate the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) in the region surrounding O'ahu as this is the island with the highest energy demand. The ORCA results showed that LCOE could range from around $\$$83 MWh to $\$$194 MWh for commercial operation dates in 2019 but has the potential to decrease to $\$$48 MWh - $\$$109 MWh by 2032 due to maturing global supply chains, increasing turbine rating, and new technological innovations. These costs are expected to be competitive with global floating wind costs in the early 2030s. The strong wind resource, proximity to infrastructure on land, and benign metocean conditions can potentially compensate for the logistical complexities of installing projects in Hawai'i far from mainland supply chains if sufficient investments are made to develop ports, grid infrastructure, and workforce on O'ahu to support the construction and operation of offshore wind projects. In addition to the cost results, this report also discusses the likely technologies that would comprise floating wind projects near O'ahu, the existing infrastructure available to projects, unique conditions facing offshore wind in the region such as exposure to hurricanes and limits on allowable export cable capacity, newly developed wind resource data sets for the region, and local stakeholder perspectives on offshore wind.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Simulation of CO 2 Storage

This report is a compilation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) accomplishments on CO 2 storage simulation and modeling research, performed for the US-­China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC). Within the CERC project management structure, this work is referred to as Subtask 6.4.a Simulation and Modeling. The task falls under CERC’s Advanced Coal Technology Consortium (ACTC) Research Theme 6—CO 2 Sequestration Capacity and Near-­Term Opportunities. The goals of the task were to develop new CO 2 sequestration simulation approaches and tools, then apply them to CO 2 storage projects in the U.S. and China. Work on this task paused when funding was redirected to CERC’s other efforts. Two sections of this report provide valuable snapshot of LLNL’s progress when funding was curtailed: 1) Section 5.2.2 is a 14-­page presentation written January 8, 2013; and 2) Section 5.1.3 is a progress report from the first quarter of Fiscal year 2013.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

MRCI - Final Technical Report

The objective of the Midwest Regional Carbon Initiative (MRCI) project was to implement a collaborative Regional Initiative to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in the Midwest-Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic areas of the United States. This area encompasses a 20-state region with much of the country’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The MRCI project is co-led by Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle) in Columbus, Ohio, and the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) in Champaign, Illinois, and benefitted from the experience these organizations have acquired over the past 10-plus years leading two Department of Energy (DOE) Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs): the Midwestern Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP), led by Battelle, and the Midwest Geologic Sequestration Consortium (MGSC), led by the ISGS.

CCS↗

Technical - Coal Gasification Technologies Subtopic d: Hybrid Integrated Concepts for IGCC (with CCS) and Non-Biomass Renewable Energy (e.g. Solar, Wind)

Currently in the United States, there are more than five hundred coal-fired power plants producing a total of 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. 1 The total annual CO 2 sequestration and transportation cost for the five hundred coal-fired power plants in the United States can surmount $98.6 billion per year. 2 Therefore, power generation technologies that utilize domestic coal resources while reducing carbon emissions are heavily sought in order to maintain energy security while decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Coal gasification can convert domestic coal resources into syngas which can be used in a combined cycle power block to generate power while reducing GHG emissions. In addition, carbon capture and sequestration technologies are more economical in gasification processes than in direct combustion, which reduces capital and maintenance costs for power generation. Under a Department of Energy (DOE) Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program entitled “Hybrid Solar Coal Gasifier”, (Contract number: DE-SC0008355) Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) designed and developed an innovative, indirectly heated, fuel flexible, heat pipe driven gasification reactor that can be hybridized with concentrated solar power (CSP) towers to further reduce the carbon emissions over current gasification processes. This hybridization of solar and coal gasification technologies helps to bridge the transition from traditional fossil fuel power generation towards systems based on more sustainable, renewable energy resources. The nine month program started on May 28, 2012 and ended March 27, 2013.

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Low-Energy Water Recovery from Subsurface Brines

A novel non-aqueous phase solvent (NAS) desalination process was proposed and developed in this research project. The NAS desalination process uses less energy than thermal processes, doesn’t require any additional chemicals for precipitation, and can be utilized to treat high TDS brine. In this project, our experimental work determined that water solubility changes and selective absorption are the key characteristics of NAS technology for successful desalination. Three NAS desalination mechanisms were investigated: (1) CO 2 switchable, (2) high-temp absorption to low-temp desorption (thermally switchable), and (3) low-temp absorption to high-temp desorption (thermally switchable). Among these mechanisms, thermally switchable (low-temp absorption to high-temp desorption) showed the highest water recovery and relatively high salt rejection. A test procedure for semi-continuous, bench scale NAS desalination process was also developed and used to assess performance under a range of conditions.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Modeling Power Plant Siting Opportunities and Constraints in the Eastern Interconnection

The electrical transmission grid is a critical part of the U.S. national infrastructure, and its modernization is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) priority. We describe the Energy Zones Mapping Tool (EZMT), a unique, powerful, and public web-based system with multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) models for more than 20 power plant technologies and many other capabilities. Through a case study on natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants in the Eastern Interconnection (EI), we provide an example of incorporating an EZMT MCDA model into a larger planning context, with projections of interconnection-level capacity expansion, thermoelectric power plant retirements, and water availability. Our results provide insights on candidate NGCC site distributions and the criteria influencing them. The case study provides both an efficient methodology for performing similar analyses and hundreds of candidate NGCC power plant sites that can be studied in more detail as potential project sites.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Effects of Peptide-Functionalized Surfaces on the Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract This review outlines the approaches and mechanisms through which peptides and amino acids functionalize electrocatalytically active surfaces to promote or inhibit the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). HER is important in many electrochemical systems. For example, HER is highly desired in water electrolysis, which if driven by renewable energy could serve as a green alternative to the fossil-fuel-driven steam methane-reforming process. However, HER is often an undesired side reaction and thus limits the selectivity of promising electrochemical technologies such as electrochemical nitrogen reduction or carbon dioxide reduction. In pursuing higher product selectivity and yield in emerging and existing electrochemical systems, amino acids and short-chain peptides are promising molecules for the modification of electrochemically active surfaces. Peptides are attractive because they are highly tunable, which allows for versatility in their applications. This short review article summarizes literature that illustrates the mechanisms through which electrode-bound peptides can affect HER including via modulating surface binding and adsorbate coverage, altering the surface composition, and controlling proton transfer rates. Our goal is to motivate additional studies utilizing electrode-bound peptides to modulate electrochemical hydrogen evolution reactions.

Electrochemistry↗

An Assessment of the National Risk Assessment Program’s CO 2 Sequestration Leakage Modeling Tools, Subtask 6.1 – NRAP Assessment Topical Report

The CarbonSAFE East Sub-Basin project team explored and assessed the carbon sequestration site characterization National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP) Toolset, developed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the NRAP. We ran the Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) tool using inputs derived from verified regional geologic data. We investigated CO 2 and brine leakage rates, and total CO 2 and brine leaked, from a hypothetical cemented injection well borehole to the nearest underground source of drinking water (USDW), identified as the St. Peter Sandstone, in a hypothetical monitoring well. The distance of the monitoring well from the injection well was varied to identify leakage variations with increasing distance from the injection well and to establish an area of review (AOR) for the project, and the effect of high and low wellbore cement permeability on model results was compared.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Wyoming Trails Carbon Hub (WyoTCH)

The Wyoming Trails Carbon Hub (WyoTCH) project completed a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for a commercial-scale, open-access carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) transport pipeline in Wyoming under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Award DEFE0032347, funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Carbon Capture Technology Program and administered by the National Energy Technology Laboratory. The project’s approach of designing a multi-source, multi-destination pipeline, rather than a dedicated line serving a single project, would lower the barrier to entry for individual CO 2 projects. The projects would leverage Wyoming's concentrated industrial and power generation CO 2 sources, its existing CO 2 pipeline infrastructure, and its extensive CO 2 storage and utilization capacity. This is the project's final technical report.

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