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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 1,387 records · Page 77
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Reducing Economy-Wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions with Electrofuels and Biofuels as the Grid Decarbonizes

Biofuels and electrofuels have the potential to complement electrification in speeding greenhouse gas emissions reductions, especially in hard-to-decarbonize sectors. Concentrated waste CO 2 streams that can be used as a feedstock for electrofuels, however, may become less available as the share of renewable electricity increases and industries undergo decarbonization. Here, we conduct an analysis with detailed treatment of biofuels and electrofuels to probe their role in decarbonizing multiple industrial sectors and transportation. We examine how the changing availability of CO 2 could affect electrofuel production and the potential role of direct air capture in stabilizing the supply of CO 2 . The results indicate that biofuels could fulfill 12% of the total final energy demand across all U.S. sectors in 2050. Using seven industrial source points of CO 2 available in 2050, 15,388 PJ of electrofuels could be produced, which amounts to 25% of the total final energy demand. This result holds even upon decarbonization that requires direct air capture to boost the CO 2 supply. Biofuels and e-fuels have the potential to reduce economy-wide GHG emissions by 7 and 21% beyond electrification alone. However, electricity consumption and land use grow markedly with decarbonization at scale.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cummins Electric Truck with Range-Extending Engine (ETREE) Project (Final Technical Report)

The Cummins Electric Truck with Range Extending Engine (ETREE) program designed, developed, and demonstrated a range extending electric vehicle that employs an electrified propulsion system installed in a class 6 commercial vehicle (Peterbilt 220). This project was relevant to industry and the greater public because at the time of the project there were two keys to widespread electrified commercial vehicle adoption yet to be realize: 1) For pure electrified vehicle adoption, battery improvements are needed: Cost must decrease, and energy density must increase. 2) Electric vehicles must overcome fleet operator risks such as: operations in cold climates, hilly terrain, or where majority of conventional trucks are replaced with electrified vehicles. In the near to medium term these adoption hurdles were address by the objectives of this project. A plug-in hybrid vehicle that could be operated in all electric mode for most of its workday optimizing the use of grid energy with the ability to supplement energy demand with the onboard range extending engine. This project’s architecture provided ability to match a conventional class 6 commercial vehicle range and performance characteristics prior to the ubiquitous adoption of battery electric vehicle charging infrastructure as well. Additionally, the vehicles produced as part of this project can be considered a prototype for a commercially viable heavily electrified commercial vehicle because most of the physical hardware used for the project is commercially available in the market today. The ETREE program met its main objectives and demonstrated 65% fuel consumption reduction as compared to a conventional class 6 vehicle while meeting performance and range expectations. This was achieved by drawing upon the strengths of the assembled team: Cummins, PACCAR, the Ohio State University, Argonne National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Performance Test Code for Determining and Reporting Annual Heat Rate and CO2 for Coal Fueled EGUs

This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number DEFE0031933. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has retained the services of ASME Standards Technology LLC (ASME ST-LLC) to develop a standardized test method and calculation protocol for determining and reporting annual/long-term heat rate for coal-fueled plants electricity generating units. ASME ST-LLC has retained the services of McHale & Associates, Inc. and Licata Energy & Environmental Consultants, Inc. to provide the technical input to this study. This code applies to hydrocarbon fueled Rankine cycle power generating facilities of any size. It is intended to be used for the determination of continuous power output and heat rate of a generating facility in its operating load cycle and in its operational lineup during the reporting period.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2024

MW-Class SOFC Pilot System Development

The overall objective of this project is to develop a low-cost, efficient, and reliable MWe-class Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) power system towards commercial deployment in natural-gas fueled distributed generation applications. This report details the successful completion of all project objectives. The main goals of the project were to develop the conceptual design of a MWe-class SOFC power system, and to complete a techno-economic analysis (TEA) to determine system costs at low-volume production levels of >100MW per year. The combination of the BoP equipment cost and SOFC stack module factory cost provided the net fabrication cost of the selected 1MW SOFC system configuration. The results of the study showed that the cost target of less than $6000/kW is achievable for a FOAK 1MW SOFC system, exclusive of the first-time engineering cost. Also, the project included an exploratory analysis of the factory cost of next generation stack technology based on the Compact Solid-oxide Architecture (CSA) design at a high annual manufacturing rate of one-GW produced in a giga-factory. The BoP capital cost for one giga-watt power production was estimated using learning-curve analysis based on the historical manufacturing cost data related to similar high temperature Molten Carbonate fuel cell systems built by FuelCell Energy (FCE). The giga-factory manufactured SOFC cost estimate combined with the BoP cost at high production rates led to the estimation of entire system capital cost. Ultimately, a Cost of Electricity (COE) analysis was performed including natural gas fuel prices, installation and O&M costs, and stack replacement cost. The results of the techno-economic analysis were summarized by parametric estimation of COE for 1MW SOFC NOAK (Nth-of-a-Kind) system with natural gas prices as a variable parameter.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Numerical Study of PAHs and Soot Emissions from Gasoline–Methanol, Gasoline–Ethanol, and Gasoline– n -Butanol Blend Surrogates

Soot formation is an intricate phenomenon, and soot propensity of a fuel is interwoven with the fuel composition, physical and chemical properties, and combustion environment. Here, the present study examines the hypothesis that in addition to the chemical composition of the fuel, the sooting nature of the fuel is closely coupled with its chemical property known as octane sensitivity (S). With this motivation, the present study numerically investigates the effects of gasoline surrogate composition and its property, octane sensitivity (S), on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and soot emissions. Four-component toluene primary reference fuel (TPRF)–alcohol blends, comprising iso-octane, n-heptane, toluene, and one of the three different alcohols- methanol, ethanol, and n-butanol, are used as gasoline surrogates. A total of 320 TPRF–alcohol mixtures, with S in the range of 1–10, are examined under laminar counterflow diffusion flame conditions. A detailed chemical mechanism coupled with a comprehensive soot model, which includes reactions for soot inception, surface growth, PAH condensation, and oxidation, is adopted. The analysis indicates that the toluene content in the fuel mixture has a prominent effect, while the alcohol content and octane sensitivity of the fuel have a weak correlation with the PAHs and soot. Thus, it is not clear if any of these three variables, namely, toluene content in the fuel, alcohol content in the fuel, and S, are individually sufficient to characterize the PAHs and soot across various blends. For this reason, a new variable (X CHO ) based on the elemental composition of the fuel mixture is identified and it is shown that X CHO along with S of the fuel characterize soot emissions satisfactorily. Further, a reaction path analysis indicates that the efficacy of alcohols in reducing soot emissions follows the order: methanol > ethanol > n-butanol.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

High Yield, Economical and Environmentally Benign Production of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Ash [Abstract]

Fly ash stored in landfills and ponds across the United States is an attractive, abundant domestic resource for the cost-effective recovery of rare earth elements (REE) and other critical minerals (CM). Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) and its team members, Winner Water Services (WWS) and University of Kentucky/Center for Applied Energy Research (UK/CAER) successfully executed a multiphase program that developed and demonstrated pilot plant operations for cost-effective and environmentally-friendly production of rare earth element oxide (REO) concentrates, and the critical minerals scandium and aluminum (in the forms of salts or oxide products). We constructed and operated a sub-scale (0.5 kg/day) micropilot facility to demonstrate the key physical and chemical processing operations, predict yields, and troubleshoot process bottlenecks. The project team then designed, constructed and operated two decoupled pilot plant operations: (1) an operational pilot plant for physical separation processes with a capacity of 0.4 metric tons per day (tpd) where we optimized processes to produce selected ash fractions as the feedstock for chemical processing as well as valuable byproducts such as cement substitute, cenospheres, magnetic ash and secondary fuel carbon, and (2) an operational pilot plant for chemical processing with a capacity of 0.5 tpd that developed optimized processes for the production of: (a) REO concentrates, (b) critical minerals recovery (Sc, Al), and (c) beneficiated ash as valuable byproduct suitable for cement applications.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2023

Implementing the First Incentive-Drive Carbon Capture and Storage Projects

Conference presentation at International Fuel and Ethanol Workshop and Expo (FEW), Omaha, Nebraska, June 13, 2023. An overview of the Plains CO 2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership Initiative and active commercial carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) activity in the region. Includes solutions for CCUS deployment challenges.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2020

Radiant boiler for pressurized oxy-combustion and method of radiant trapping to control heat flux in high temperature particle-laden flows at elevated pressure

A boiler has a shell surrounding a vertical centerline. The shell defines an inner surface having an inner diameter and an inner length extending between an upper upstream end and a lower downstream end. The inner surface defines a hollow interior, the boiler having a pre-combustion zone, a combustion zone downstream from the pre-combustion zone, and a post-combustion zone downstream from the combustion zone. The shell is tapered outward along its length in at least a portion of the combustion zone. An oxidizer inlet is in fluid communication with the pre-combustion zone, and a fuel nozzle introduces fuel into the combustion zone. A tube assembly is mounted in the hollow interior of the shell for transferring heat to fluid flowing through the tube assembly. A flue duct is in fluid communication with the post-combustion zone for transporting flue gases from the hollow interior.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2022

DEVELOPMENT OF OIL FREE CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER AS ENABLING TECHNOLOGY FOR SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL ANODE GAS RECYCLING

Broad commercialization of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), requires anode offgas recycle blowers (AORB) that are specifically designed for handling the challenging operating conditions presented by the SOFC process gases. Otherwise, they can be susceptible to frequent maintenance, low reliability, and short life. This work presents details of the development and testing of an oil-free, low cost centrifugal AORB based on compliant foil bearing (CFB) technology for support of a 100 kW solid oxide fuel cell power plant. The advantages of this novel technology are discussed, particularly its long life and maintenance-free operation, which are derived from the use of CFBs. Also included are preliminary techno-economic analysis considerations for cost-effective deployment of the technology.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between National Energy Technology Laboratory and Korea Institute of Energy Research [Abstract]

The Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) intend to collaborate under a CRADA to advance the development of oxy-combustion technology, with an emphasis on process modeling, optimization, and techno-economic analysis. This collaboration will result in the development of a full-scale process model of a commercial oxy-fueled circulating fluid bed combustion (oxy-CFBC) plant, informed from pilot-scale data and built using the Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) process systems engineering framework. It will also generate cost comparisons of the optimized oxyCFBC process with an air-CFBC process with and without carbon capture and sequestration.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Transitioning Coal Power Plants to Nuclear Power

Most large U.S. power companies are setting zero-carbon-emission goals and is a reflection of utility commitments to carbon reduction and policies at the Federal and State levels. Increasing the rate of coal power plant (CPP) retirements has been seen across the industry. Previous transitions of coal to gas fuel are becoming less desirable as having zero carbon emissions become ever more import. As CPPs are retired, a reliable and affordable zero-emission power replacement is desired. Nuclear power plants (NPP) is the only existing dispatchable and clean source of energy that can directly replace a CPP. The report covers different factors that affect CPP to NPP projects.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Hydrogen and Power Co-Production Using Direct sCO 2 Power Cycles

This report presents the techno-economic analysis (TEA) results of integrating a modified autothermal reforming (ATR) hydrogen (H 2 ) production plant with a natural gas-fired, utility-scale power plant based on the direct supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ) power cycle. In this study, the H 2 production and the power plant are fully integrated in terms of heat, fuel, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). The ATR process has significant waste heat available for heat integration with a direct-fired sCO 2 power plant that benefits the power plant efficiency. The off-gas stream from the modified ATR process is primarily carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), and residual H 2 . As supplemental fuel, it has beneficial heating value in the CO and H 2 that can be used in the direct sCO 2 power cycle. Finally, the direct sCO 2 power plant can isolate the CO 2 produced at the facility for CCS.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Primary Power Large-Scale Pilot Plant

The United States electrical power generation fleet encompasses a wide range of technologies, ranging from traditional combustion-based power generation, to nuclear power, to renewable energy. While the distribution of these assets continues to shift due to economic and regulatory influences, coal combustion continues to be a key part of the US energy portfolio. Despite the relative maturity of coal combustion technology, improvements in overall fuel-to-power efficiency and generation flexibility are still possible and will improve both the economic and environmental factors of coal combustion. Echogen Power Systems proposes to lead a world-class team including the University of Missouri, Electric Power Research Institute and Louis Perry Associates in the design, construction and operation of a 10MWe coal-fired supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ) large-scale pilot. This transformational technology uses sCO 2 as a working fluid instead of water to achieve high thermodynamic efficiencies that can significantly exceed advanced steam-Rankine cycles. Further, the compact nature of sCO 2 turbomachinery offers capital cost and footprint advantages, and the low maintenance of a water-free power cycle can significantly reduce operation and maintenance (O&M) costs over conventional steam-Rankine systems. Recent integration studies of sCO 2 with coal combustion power plants highlight the significant improvements in plant efficiency that sCO 2 can offer relative to even advanced steam Rankine cycles. At commercial scales, coal-sCO 2 plant net efficiency is predicted to be 39-44.0% (HHV), or 10-20% higher output than conventional steam-Rankine systems, which will significantly improve the competitiveness of coal-fired generation. This proposal builds upon projects previously funded by the Department of Energy, including DE-FE0025959 (High-Efficiency Thermal Integration of Closed Supercritical CO 2 Brayton Power Cycles with Oxy-Fired Heaters) and DE-NE0008470 (Conceptual Design for sCO 2 Power Cycle Test Facility). An appropriately-scaled and properly designed and operated pilot project is essential to overcome the natural risk-aversion of the power generation industry and project financing community. The 10 MWe coal-fired sCO 2 pilot power plant proposed herein will reduce the technical and economic risk of this transformational technology, enabling commercial deployment at the conclusion of the project. For the second phase of this project, Echogen lead a team that completed and refined the pilot system conceptual system and key component designs resulting in the completion of a front-end-engineering-design (FEED) study, completed the NEPA review process, completed the permitting process for construction and operation, refined the techno-economic analysis of the proposed system at commercial scale and received commitments for Phase III cost share. The end result of the program will be to demonstrate the technical and economic superiority of the sCO 2 power cycle for coal-fired operation. Major risk elements will have been retired with sufficient operation at high power to enable the power generation industry to move forward with the first commercial deployment of this transformational system.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2025

Development of Hydrogen Burner for FT4000® Aeroderivative Engine - Final Report

This report details an effort to develop a retrofittable fuel/air injector for the FT4000® aeroderivative gas turbine that enables use of hydrogen as a carbon-free fuel for efficient power generation. The FT4000 engine’s low-NOx combustor was developed by Pratt & Whitney and RTX Technology Research Center with core technology from the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 turbofan aircraft engine. The current FT4000 production engine operates on either natural gas or No. 2 fuel oil with water injection to achieve high thermal efficiency and low emissions. This engine is fielded by Mitsubishi Power Aero and delivers 70 MW of power with a simple-cycle efficiency of over 41% when operating with wet compression. The work reported here advances the technology readiness level of the FT4000 combustor for operation with hydrogen, starting with an experimental assessment of the current production hardware with increasing hydrogen content mixed with natural gas and ending with improved nozzle concepts for fully robust operation with 100% hydrogen. High-pressure single-sector combustor rig tests have been completed, demonstrating the ability for the dual fuel nozzle to operate an FT4000 combustor on 100% hydrogen with low nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Metal temperature measurements and video images of the flame structure from zero to 100% hydrogen highlight opportunities to improve the fuel nozzle robustness for high hydrogen conditions. The design of new fuel/air mixer concepts to improve durability and operability with high hydrogen levels was also completed. A total of eleven new concepts were developed and analyzed, ranging from modifications to the bill-of-materials nozzle to fully clean sheet designs. The concepts were evaluated with non-reacting and reacting flow evaluations to assess the performance of the new hardware designs. Non-reacting tests included Phase Doppler Particle Analysis (PDPA) for droplet size and velocity, mechanical patternation for liquid water flux, and planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) with acetone-seeding for gaseous fuel/air mixing characterization. Five scaled candidate fuel nozzle designs, in addition to a scaled bill-of-materials nozzle, were then successfully evaluated in an atmospheric pressure burner rig. The nozzles were evaluated for performance with natural gas, hydrogen/natural gas blends, and pure hydrogen. For 100% hydrogen, the nozzles were evaluated with and without water injection. Optical and infrared imaging of the flame and fuel nozzle was captured. NOx emissions were sampled from fixed emissions probes. The results show measurable differences between the various designs, and the data was used to down-select the two most promising designs to advance to future full pressure rig testing. Results from this study have cleared the current production FT4000 engines with dual fuel nozzles to operate at baseload power on blends of hydrogen mixed with natural gas and water. Two promising nozzle designs have been developed to enable fully robust operation with up to 100% hydrogen. These nozzles require validation at full baseload operating conditions before they can be introduced to the field.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Advanced Modular Sub-Atmospheric Hybrid Heat Engine (Final Report)

The Phase 1 Final Technical Report describes the results of the work completed during the “Advanced Modular Sub-Atmospheric Hybrid Heat Engine” project. A key part of the Phase 1 work was the completion of a thermodynamic cycle analysis for the MHHE at the selected module size. The hybrid heat engine has been developed as a modular unit (sized in the range of 500kW – 60MW) that can be used with modular coal or biomass gasifiers, with distributed power generation systems, with large power plants comprised of multiple generating units, and with natural gas compression stations. The MHHE will provide cleaner, more efficient, and lower cost generation with better load following capabilities than existing competing technologies with a singular generating source such as solar farm, gas turbine, or combustion engine. The drivers of the MHHE technology are: benefits of modular power generation (reduced equipment cost, construction cost and implementation time, connection ready on delivery, flexible scalability, serviceability), fuel flexibility, lowest cost power generation and reduced emissions.A logical progression of work and a clear path forward toward meeting the FOA goals and objectives have been established. Namely, a preliminary market analysis and primary fuel identification was completed first and then the modularity of the system was defined. The benefits of the proposed hybrid and modular heat engine were described when applied to modular coal gasifiers, distributed power generators, and larger power plants. Based on the market analysis, modularity, and chosen primary fuel, a conceptual design and layout of the hybrid heat engine was developed, analyzed, and characterized. The technology gaps already identified have been reviewed and expanded upon, and a test plan to address these gaps through bench scale testing in Phase 2 has been developed. Cost estimate methodology and considerations in support of a potential Phase 2 project have been described.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2020

Operability of a Natural Gas–Air Rotating Detonation Engine

A combustor was developed to operate with natural gas and air as the primary propellants at elevated chamber pressures and air preheat temperatures representative of land-based power generation gas turbine engines. Detonation dynamics were studied to characterize the operability of rotating detonation-based pressure gain combustion systems for this application. Measurements of chamber wave dynamics were performed using high-frequency pressure transducers and high-speed imaging of broadband combustion chemiluminescence. The rotating detonation engine was tested with two injector configurations across a broad range of mass flux (200–500 kg/m 2 /s), equivalence ratio (0.85–1.2), and oxygen mass fraction (23.2–35%) conditions to determine the effect of operating parameters on the propagation of detonation waves in the combustor. Wave propagation speeds of up to 70% of the mixture Chapman–Jouguet detonation velocity and chamber pressure fluctuations greater than 4 times the mean chamber pressure were observed. Supplementing the air with additional oxygen, varying the equivalence ratio, and enriching the fuel with hydrogen revealed that combustor operability is sensitive to the chemical kinetics of the propellant mixture. Comparing the operational trends of the two injector configurations suggests that one design mixes the incoming propellants more effectively. Although most test conditions exhibited counter-rotating detonation waves within the chamber, the injector design with superior mixing characteristics was able to support single-wave propagation.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗