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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 1,513 records · Page 84
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Bubbling bed catalytic hydropyrolysis process utilizinig larger catalyst particles and small biomass particles featuring an anti-slugging reactor

This invention relates to a process for thermochemically transforming biomass or other oxygenated feedstocks into high quality liquid hydrocarbon fuels. In particular, a catalytic hydropyrolysis reactor, containing a deep bed of fluidized catalyst particles is utilized to accept particles of biomass or other oxygenated feedstocks that are significantly smaller than the particles of catalyst in the fluidized bed. The reactor features an insert or other structure disposed within the reactor vessel that inhibits slugging of the bed and thereby minimizes attrition of the catalyst. Within the bed, the biomass feedstock is converted into a vapor-phase product, containing hydrocarbon molecules and other process vapors, and an entrained solid char product, which is separated from the vapor stream after the vapor stream has been exhausted from the top of the reactor. When the product vapor stream is cooled to ambient temperatures, a significant proportion of the hydrocarbons in the product vapor stream can be recovered as a liquid stream of hydrophobic hydrocarbons, with properties consistent with those of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel. Separate streams of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel may also be obtained, either via selective condensation of each type of fuel, or via later distillation of the combined hydrocarbon liquid.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Chemical looping integration with a carbon dioxide gas purification unit

A chemical looping system that contains an oxidizer and a reducer is in fluid communication with a gas purification unit. The gas purification unit has at least one compressor, at least one dryer; and at least one distillation purification system; where the gas purification unit is operative to separate carbon dioxide from other contaminants present in the flue gas stream; and where the gas purification unit is operative to recycle the contaminants to the chemical looping system in the form of a vent gas that provides lift for reactants in the reducer.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Model-based Extracted Water Desalination System for Carbon Sequestration

The focus of this research effort centered around water recovery from high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) extracted waters (180,000 mg/L) using a combination of water recovery (partial desalination) technologies. The research goals of this project were as follows: 1. Define the scope and test location for pilot-scale implementation of the desalination system, 2.Define a scalable, multi-stage extracted water desalination system that yields clean water, concentrated brine, and, salt from saline brines, and 3. Validate overall system performance with field-sourced water using GE pre-pilot lab facilities. Conventional falling film-mechanical vapor recompression (FF-MVR) technology was established as a baseline desalination process. A quality function deployment (QFD) method was used to compare alternate high TDS desalination technologies to the base case FF-MVR technology, including but not limited to: membrane distillation (MD), forward osmosis (FO), and high pressure reverse osmosis (HPRO). Technoeconomic analysis of high pressure reverse osmosis (HPRO) was performed comparing the following two cases: 1. a hybrid seawater RO (SWRO) plus HPRO system and 2. 2x standard seawater RO system, to achieve the same total pure water recovery rate. Pre-pilot-scale tests were conducted using field production water to validate key process steps for extracted water pretreatment. Approximately 5,000 gallons of field produced water was processed through, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and steam regenerable sorbent operations. Improvements in membrane materials of construction were considered as necessary next steps to achieving further improvement in element performance at high pressure. Several modifications showed promising results in their ability to withstand close to 5,000 PSI without gross failure.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2017

Composite perfluorohydrocarbon membranes, their preparation and use

Composite porous hydrophobic membranes are prepared by forming a perfluorohydrocarbon layer on the surface of a preformed porous polymeric substrate. The substrate can be formed from poly (aryl ether ketone) and a perfluorohydrocarbon layer can be chemically grafted to the surface of the substrate. The membranes can be utilized for a broad range of fluid separations, such as microfiltration, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration as membrane contactors for membrane distillation and for degassing and dewatering of fluids. The membranes can further contain a dense ultra-thin perfluorohydrocarbon layer superimposed on the porous poly (aryl ether ketone) substrate and can be utilized as membrane contactors or as gas separation. membranes for natural gas treatment and gas dehydration.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

3D Microstructures for Materials and Damage Models

Many challenges exist with regard to understanding and representing complex physical processes involved with ductile damage and failure in polycrystalline metallic materials. Currently, the ability to accurately predict the macroscale ductile damage and failure response of metallic materials is lacking. Research at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is aimed at building a coupled experimental and computational methodology that supports the development of predictive damage capabilities by: capturing real distributions of microstructural features from real material and implementing them as digitally generated microstructures in damage model development; and, distilling structure-property information to link microstructural details to damage evolution under a multitude of loading states.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Production of heavy water

Disclosed are methods and apparatuses for producing heavy water. In one embodiment, a catalyst is treated with high purity air or a mixture of gaseous nitrogen and oxygen with gaseous deuterium all together flowing over the catalyst to produce the heavy water. In an alternate embodiment, the deuterium is combusted to form the heavy water. In an alternate embodiment, gaseous deuterium and gaseous oxygen is flowed into a fuel cell to produce the heavy water. In various embodiments, the deuterium may be produced by a thermal decomposition and distillation process that involves heating solid lithium deuteride to form liquid lithium deuteride and then extracting the gaseous deuterium from the liquid lithium deuteride.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Bio-Oil Separation and Stabilization by Near-Critical Propane Fractionation

Bio-oils produced by thermal process are promising sources of sustainable, low greenhouse gas alternative fuels. These thermal processes are also well suited to decentralized energy production due to low capital and operating costs. Algae feedstocks for bio-oil production are of particular interest, due in part to their high-energy growth yields. Further, algae can be grown in non-arable areas in fresh, brackish, salt water, or even waste water. Unfortunately, bio-oils produced by thermal processes present significant stability challenges. These oils have complex chemical compositions, are viscous, reactive, and thermally unstable. Further, the components within the oils are difficult to separate by fractional distillation. By far, the most effective separation and stabilization method has been solvent extraction. However, liquid phase extraction processes pose two main obstacles to commercialization; they require a significant amount of energy to remove and recover the solvent from the product, and they have a propensity for the solvent to become contaminated with minerals from the char and ash present in the original bio-oil. Separation and fractionation of thermally produced bio-oils using supercritical fluids (SCF) offers the advantages of liquid solvent extraction while drastically reducing energy demands and the predisposition to carry over solids into the extracted phase. SCFs are dense fluids with liquid-like solvent properties and gas-like transport properties. Further, SCF density and solvent strength can be tuned with minor adjustments in pressure, co-solvent addition, or gas anti-solvent addition. Catalytic pyrolysis oils were produced from Scenedesmus dimorphus algae using a fluid catalytic cracking catalyst. Bio-oil produced from catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) was separated using critical fluids. Propane extraction was performed at 65 °C at a fluid reduced pressure of 2.0 (85 bar) using an eight to one solvent to feed ratio by weight. Extraction of catalytic fast pyrolysis oil with near critical propane produced an oil extract that was physically and chemically different from and more stable than the original oil. The propane extract displayed lower viscosity and lower average molecular weight. The species present in the propane extract were likely the less polar that would be expected from using a non-polar solvent (propane). Carbonyl containing species in the extract were likely ketones and esters. The raffinate contained a higher amnount of OH bonded species along with the more polar more polar acids, amides, and alcohols. The higher concentration of nitrogen in the raffinate may confirm the presence of amides. Viscosity of the propane extract increased only half as much as that of the CFP bio-oil. Further, In situ NMR aging studies showed that the propane extract was more stable than the raw oil. In conclusion, propane extraction is a promising method to decrease the nitrogen content of bio-oils and to improve the stability of bio-oils obtained by the catalytic pyrolysis of algae based biomass.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2017

A REVIEW OF HUMAN-SYSTEM INTERFACE DESIGN ISSUES OBSERVED DURING ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL AND DIGITAL-TO-DIGITAL MIGRATIONS IN U.S. NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program is developing a scientific basis through targeted research and development (R&D) to support the U.S. nuclear power plant (NPP) fleet in extending their existing licensing period and ensuring their long-term reliability, productivity, safety, and security. Over the last several years, human factors engineering (HFE) professionals at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have supported the LWRS Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) System Technologies pathway across several U.S. commercial NPPs in analog-to-digital migrations (i.e., turbine control systems) and digital-to-digital migrations (i.e., Safety Parameter Display System). These efforts have included in-depth human factors evaluation of proposed human-system interface (HSI) design concepts against established U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) design guidelines from NUREG-0700, Rev 2 to inform subsequent HSI design prior to transitioning into Verification and Validation. This paper discusses some of the overarching design issues observed from these past HFE evaluations. In addition, this work presents some observed challenges such as common tradeoffs utilities are likely to face when introducing new HSI technologies into NPP hybrid control rooms. The primary purpose of this work is to distill these observed design issues into general HSI design guidance that industry can use in early stages of HSI design.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Apparatus for diffusion-gap thermal desalination

A thermal distillation apparatus including evaporation surfaces that are wetted with a solution, and from which at least some of the volatile solvent contained in the solution evaporates, condensers having an external surface in close proximity to, but not touching, a corresponding one of the one or more evaporation surfaces, and on which vapors of the solvent condense, releasing thermal energy that heats a flow of the solution moving upward within the condensers, spacers that prevent contact between the evaporating surfaces and the condensers, wherein spaces between the evaporating surfaces and the condensers are filled with a gaseous mixture composed of solvent vapor and one or more non-condensable gases, and except for diffusion of the solvent vapor relative to the non-condensable gases, the gaseous mixture is stationary.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Final Project Report (Oct 2014-Dec 2017): Zeolite Membranes for Krypton/Xenon Separation from Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Off-Gas

The overall focus of this project is to develop and understand SAPO-34 zeolitic membranes that can separate mixtures of radioisotope krypton-85 and xenon released as off-gases during used nuclear fuel recycling. The primary advantage of separating 85 Kr from Xe is to reduce the volume of radioactive waste for storage. The second advantage is the revenue generated from the sale of high-purity Xe. Zeolite membranes are attractive because of their much lower energy requirements relative to cryogenic distillation, and their high resistance to radiation degradation. We report the detailed study of silicoaluminophosphate zeolite SAPO-34 materials and membranes for this application, due to hypothesized favorable molecular sieving properties. In the 3-year Mission Support project, we developed a novel, high-performance, low-energy intensity, lower-cost zeolite membrane process for Kr/Xe separation during SNF processing; and investigated the underlying molecular adsorption and transport processes in both ‘idealized’ and ‘realistic’ operating conditions to develop reliable synthesis-structure-property relationships for such membranes. Adsorption and diffusion measurements on SAPO-34 crystals indicate their potential for use in Kr-Xe separation membranes, but also highlight competing effects of adsorption and diffusion selectivity. SAPO-34 membranes synthesized on α-alumina substrates via steam-assisted conversion seeding and hydrothermal growth are characterized in detail, with Kr permeances 26 GPU and ideal Kr/Xe selectivities >20 at 298 K after thickness reduction. Post-synthesis cation exchange shows large (>50%) increases in selectivity at ambient or slight sub-ambient conditions. In addition, we confirm that SAPO-34 membrane is stable under radiation exposure and the impact of radiation exposure on membrane performance would not be substantial. We also successfully synthesized hollow-fiber SAPO-34 membranes with the same performance levels as the disk-type and tubular membranes. This important development will allow a very compact and low-cost Kr/Xe separation system. Finally, a detailed process calculation for techno-economic analysis was performed by integrating Maxwell-Stefan model into cross-flow membrane system, in order to estimate the required number of membrane stages and the total cost.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2017

A UNIFAC-Based Approach to Gasoline Droplet Evaporation and the Role of Oxygenates on PM Precursor Vaporization

In some studies, a relationship has been observed between increasing ethanol content in gasoline and increased particulate matter (PM) emissions from vehicles equipped with spark ignition engines. The fundamental cause of the PM increase seen for moderate ethanol concentrations is not well understood. As a result, existing PM indices such as PMI may not be indicative of measured PM emissions for oxygenated biofuel blends. Ethanol features a greater heat of vaporization (HOV) than gasoline and also influences vaporization by altering the liquid and vapor composition throughout the vaporization process. A droplet vaporization model was developed to explore ethanol's effect on the evaporation of aromatic compounds known to be PM precursors. The evolving droplet composition is modeled as a distillation process, with non-ideal interactions between oxygenates and hydrocarbons accounted for using UNIFAC group contribution theory. Detailed hydrocarbon analysis was applied to fuel samples, and used as input for the initial droplet composition. The droplet can be modeled in terms of energy transfer, which in turn provides the transient mass transfer, droplet temperature, and droplet diameter. Model predictions suggest that non-ideal vapor-liquid equilibrium along with an increase in HOV can alter the droplet composition evolution. Results predict that the presence of ethanol causes enrichment of the higher boiling fractions (T90+) in the aromatic components as well as lengthens the droplet lifetime. A simulation of the evaporation process in a transient environment as experienced within an engine cylinder predicts a decrease in mixing time of the heaviest fractions of the fuel prior to spark initiation, possibly explaining observations linking ethanol to PM. A correlation between liquid phase PM precursors and measured PM emissions is shown.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Long-haul high rate quantum key distribution

Multiple bit values can be encoded on a single photon in a quantum key distribution (QKD) system using a plurality of sidebands of an optical carrier frequency. Computational and conjugate bases can be defined, and photons decoded based on a selected state from either basis. If n sidebands are available, as many as log.sub.2n bits can be encoded on a single photon. Errors in detected bit values due to selection of an incorrect basis state or other errors can be at least partially corrected by bit distillation to identity bit strings for which a transmitter and a receiver record the same values, without insecure transmission of these values.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Petabytes to Science

A Kavli foundation sponsored workshop on the theme \emph{Petabytes to Science} was held 12$^{th}$ to 14$^{th}$ of February 2019 in Las Vegas. The aim of the this workshop was to discuss important trends and technologies which may support astronomy. We also tackled how to better shape the workforce for the new trends and how we should approach education and public outreach. This document was coauthored during the workshop and edited in the weeks after. It comprises the discussions and highlights many recommendations which came out of the workshop. We shall distill parts of this document and formulate potential white papers for the decadal survey.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2019

Enterprise: a reduced-scale, flexible fuel, single-cylinder crosshead marine diesel research engine

A custom-built 1/10 scale, flexible-fuel, single-cylinder crosshead marine diesel research engine, dubbed the Enterprise, was designed and built as a platform for conducting marine lubricant research. The engine design was focused on maintaining lubricant boundary conditions similar those of full-scale engines. The Enterprise has a rated speed of 625 rpm to match the linear mean piston speed of full-scale marine engines with the reduced stroke and is capable of 18 bar brake mean effective pressure (BMEP). A high-swirl, uniflow-scavenged, two-stroke combustion system was designed to operate on either distillate diesel or heavy fuel oil (HFO). A hydraulic electronic unit injector (HEUI) fuel injection system with two injectors having customized three-hole nozzles provides fueling and is driven by the MAHLE Flexible ECU (MFE). Intake air boost is provided using a variable speed industrial air compressor along with closed-loop electronically controlled pressure regulation. Exhaust backpressure is also controlled electronically using an electro-pneumatic butterfly valve. A customized, miniaturized Hans Jensen Lubetronic cylinder lubrication system, which is capable of delivering 0.88 mg of cylinder oil per lubricator per injection to the ring pack at up to the maximum engine overspeed rating of 656 rpm, was commissioned for the Enterprise. Four independently temperature-controlled cooling zones are used to provide control of the liner temperature profile. The four coolant zones as well as the system oil and cylinder oil supplies are all controlled within 1°C for consistent thermal boundary conditions. The engine is instrumented with an in-cylinder pressure transducer as well as an inline torque transducer and numerous process temperature and pressure measurements to allow for detailed thermodynamic efficiency analysis, and experimental facilities allow for precise measurement of liner wear and characterization of deposits on the piston and rings. A radio telemetry system from IR Telemetrics is used to measure piston crown temperatures during engine operation. Engine design considerations and experimental facilities are described in detail, along with the results of a study investigating the impact of both system oil and cylinder oil viscosity on friction and efficiency. A test matrix was designed to compare base stock chemistries and viscosities for both system and cylinder oils. Experiments were completed using a fuel economy test protocol that was defined, consisting of repeating six speed/load operating conditions. An automated dynamometer control system was implemented to ensure repeatability of the test procedure. Preliminary testing indicated that the coolant, oil, and exhaust temperatures reach a steady state within 5 minutes of changing operating conditions. The system oil viscosity was found to have a significant impact on friction, with a reduction in viscosity from SAE 30 to SAE 20 resulting in over 6% reduction in friction mean effective pressure (FMEP) and over a 2% reduction in brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC). Chemistry effects were also evident in the system and cylinder oils. Repeatability comparisons between the individual repetitions of each operating condition were used to ensure that results are statistically valid. For the initial cylinder oil viscosity experiments, observed changes were within the established/normal repeatability; ongoing experiments will determine whether improvements in boundary condition control will enable cylinder friction changes of this magnitude to be measured on this engine platform.

Kaul, Brian↗
DOE OSTI2019

EVAPORATION INSIDE POROUS MEDIUM UNDER HEAT LOCALIZATION

Solar Vaporization using heat localization under solar irradiation has the potential to serve as an inexpensive and viable component of seawater desalination processes, industrial wastewater treatment, hydroponic greenhouse humidifiers, and steam generation systems. In this paper we tested different porosities of carbon foam (CF) and combinations of CF as interface media at 1.2 sun solar concentration, in search of a suitable candidate for use with distillation process. We developed an experimental condition to analyze how the heat localization is achieved in each case and investigated vapor temperatures, surface temperatures with single CF as interface. The rate of evaporation, temperature distribution in each combination is studied and suitable combination is selected to use in further testing of desalination model.

Jaladi, Divya↗
DOE OSTI2019

Recovering rare earth metals from magnet scrap

A method is provided for treating a rare earth metal-bearing scrap material by melting an extractant selected from the group consisting of bismuth (Bi) and lead (Pb) and contacting the melted extractant and the scrap material at a temperature and time to recover at least one of the light rare earth metal content and the heavy rare earth metal content as a metallic extractant alloy, which can be subjected to vacuum distillation or sublimation to recover the rare earth metal(s). The method can be practiced to recover the light rare earth metal content and the heavy rare earth metal content concurrently in a one-step process or separately and sequentially in a two-step process.

Ott, Ryan T.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Composite perfluorohydrocarbon membranes, their preparation and use

Composite porous hydrophobic membranes are prepared by forming a perfluorohydrocarbon layer on the surface of a preformed porous polymeric substrate. The substrate can be formed from poly(aryl ether ketone) and a perfluorohydrocarbon layer can be chemically grafted to the surface of the substrate. The membranes can be utilized for a broad range of fluid separations, such as microfiltration, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration as membrane contactors for membrane distillation and for degassing and dewatering of fluids. The membranes can further contain a dense ultra-thin perfluorohydrocarbon layer superimposed on the porous poly(aryl ether ketone) substrate and can be utilized as membrane contactors or as gas separation membranes for natural gas treatment and gas dehydration.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗