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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 1,567 records · Page 87
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Using Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing for Wind Turbine Blade Core Structures

This report describes the techno-economic potential of using additive manufacturing technologies to design large wind turbine blade structures. After considering all additive technologies, the authors identified large-scale, polymer-based, material extrusion as the three-dimensional (3D) printing technology best suited to meet modern wind turbine blade manufacturing costs, cycle times, and geometric scale. Due to the lower structural performance requirements and the opportunity to reduce resin uptake mass penalties within the blade, the core material within the sandwich composite sections of the wind turbine blade is established as a logical entry point into advanced wind turbine blade manufacturing.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Scale-up Testing of Advanced Polaris Membrane in CO2 Capture Technology

This final technical report describes work conducted by Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) on the scale-up and testing of advanced Polaris™ membrane CO2 capture technology at the Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) under award number DE-FE0031591. The work was performed from August 1, 2018 through January 31, 2023. The overall goal of this project was to design, build and operate an advanced Polaris membrane CO2 capture system at TCM. MTR was assisted in this project by Trimeric Corporation (Trimeric), an engineering design services company, the Carbon Capture Simulation for Industry Impact (CCSI2), a partnership among national laboratories, industry, and academic institutions, and the Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM), who provided the host site for the slipstream field test. This report details the work conducted to scale-up MTR’s second-generation (Gen-2) Polaris membrane and advanced planar membrane modules to a final form factor optimized for commercial use; validate their performance in an engineering-scale field test at TCM; and to show the potential of the MTR process to meet DOE CO2 capture targets from large source point emitters. Work for this project included membrane optimization and scale-up, advanced planar module design and fabrication, design and fabrication of an engineering-scale field test membrane skid, operation of the field test skid processing Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) industrial flue gas at TCM, and a detailed techno-economic analysis (TEA) of the MTR membrane post-combustion process for CO2 capture. This project validated recent membrane technology advancements at the engineering-scale, moves the MTR advanced post-combustion capture technology to TRL-6, and mitigates risk in future Large Pilot or Demonstration scale-up activities.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cummins R-SOFC System Development

The overall purpose of this project was to reduce the Reversible-Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (R-SOFC) system cost by developing two technologies, an improved cell design and the incorporation of an ejector in the fuel recycle loop instead of a blower. A Simulink model of the baseline SOFC system was developed and calibrated with experimental test data. The R-SOFC system model was built by integrating GT Suite developed models of the steam generation components into the baseline Simulink SOFC system model. The ability to run the stack in SOEC operating mode was also added to the model. The system model was used to explore the ability of the R-SOFC system to meet operational constraints on Steam/Carbon ratio and H2 concentration on the fuel side electrode. A CFD ejector model was developed and used to explore a range of ejector design parameters, leading to the final ejector design that was prototyped for testing. A prototype steam ejector was first tested in a laboratory environment using room temperature air. The steam ejector was subsequently tested using the full hot recycle loop with all relevant heat exchangers and steam generation components. The test conditions utilized temperatures, pressures, and flow rates expected in an R-SOFC application. Throughout the experimental testing work, ejector performance test data was used to improve and then validate the CFD ejector model. A CFD cell model was developed and used to optimize thermal gradients, voltage, and cost of a new cell substrate design. A CFD comparison of co-flow and cross-flow cell designs informed the decision to use a co-flow design for the new cell substrate. Multiple rounds of CFD simulation were used to improve the cell design to minimize the variation in air and fuel distribution across cell channels and to minimize the variation in air and fuel distribution across different cells in the stack. A few prototypes of the new cell substrate design were produced and validated in a laboratory environment by thermally spraying and verifying that they met established manufacturing specifications. The cell manufacturing process was adjusted in order to bring these metrics within acceptable tolerances. Cummins’ internal calculations show that the new cell design reduces cost ~50% compared to the baseline cell, while the ejector + superheater/boiler concept reduces cost of the recycle loop by ~40%. The impact of these cost reductions on the cost of producing H2 will depend on the specific system where they are applied. Therefore, a Techno-Economic Analysis was completed using system cost as a variable, and showing how the NREL Current and Future system costs translate into H2 production cost.

Henrichsen, Lars↗
DOE OSTI2023

Assessment of Nuclear Energy to Support Negative Emission Technologies

The feasibility and performance of nuclear energy coupled with Negative Emission Technology (NET) processes were investigated in this report. Three overarching questions from nuclear NET systems guided this research: which NET would be able to use heat and/or electricity from nuclear power plants (NPPs); what is the performance and cost of a nuclear NET system; and what would be the market outlook for this system? Among the various NETs that are actively being developed, several were found to potentially benefit from coupling with an NPP via (1) large amounts of decarbonized and constant-output electricity; (2) free waste heat or cheap low-temperature heat; or (3) high-temperature heat. NPPs were found to be compatible with Direct Air Capture (DAC) systems, and a detailed techno-economic analysis of coupled NPP&DAC systems was performed. Preliminary analysis also indicated that biomass and water-based NETs are potentially compatible with NPPs, but further work is needed to quantify the performance of these nuclear NET systems. Design and performance analyses were completed for both liquid solvent DAC (L-DAC) and solid sorbent DAC (S-DAC) technologies. A 1.0-GWth NPP coupled with L-DAC and S-DAC was found to be able to capture 12–15 Mt CO 2 /yr and 1.0–1.5 Mt CO 2 /yr, respectively. While the L-DAC process enables much greater CO 2 capture than the S-DAC process when both are sized with a 1 GWth NPP, the NPP&L-DAC system considered also requires >2 GWth natural gas oxy-combustion to reach adequate temperature in the calciner. CO 2 generated from natural gas combustion is also captured as part of the calcination process, in addition to the CO 2 captured from air, resulting in overall CO 2 sequestration of close to 30% more than what is captured from air. The cost of carbon capture calculated with the levelized cost of DAC (LCOD) had a range of $\$170–260$/tCO 2 for NPP&L-DAC systems and a range of $\$650–680$/tCO 2 for NPP&S-DAC systems. For both DAC systems, the NPP provides economic benefit when compared to previous National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) studies of non-nuclear DAC systems, leading to reduction of LCOD by 5–7% for L-DAC, and 8–13% for S-DAC. For the NPP&DAC systems, a preliminary market analysis reviewed potential CO 2 market prices and eligibility for incentives. The estimated potential revenues for CO 2 capture (coming from federal incentive, CO 2 commodity markets, or offset market) is in the range of $\$170–979$ tCO 2 , and the results show that because of lower LCOD, the NPP&L-DAC process would be more attractive to a market than the NPP&S-DAC process. The large investment needed for NPP&DAC processes would require long-term certainty of sufficient market size, CO 2 prices, and incentives. Enabling NPPs to ramp DAC operation up or down based on electricity market price is not expected to significantly increase revenues of the NPP&DAC system. This is because the revenues from CO 2 sequestration are required to be very high to justify the deployment and continuous operation of the very expensive DAC technologies. In this analysis, several new research questions were uncovered, and follow-up analyses are recommended for further investigation, including a detailed feasibility study of NPP coupled with other NET systems such as biomass pyrolysis and gasification with carbon capture and storage, and seawater carbon capture.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Methane Partial Oxidation over Multifunctional 2-D Materials

The objective of this research is to design, synthesize, and evaluate highly selective, active, and stable multifunctional catalysts for the low temperature (< 500 Kelvin (K)) partial oxidation of methane to methanol (MTM) with molecular oxygen: CH 4 (g) + $\frac{1}{2}$O 2 (g) → CH 3 OH(g). Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is a source of energy and economic growth as well as an environmental concern. Recent developments in horizontal drilling and enhanced extraction methods have resulted in production of an estimated 62.4 trillion m 3 of ‘stranded’, or uneconomic, natural gas. Uneconomical natural gas is often flared or vented at remote oil production sites. Leaked, flared, and/or vented gas represents a "lost opportunity”, and this research project aims to maximize the value of the resource. Conventional catalysts for MTM suffer from low methanol selectivity since they exhibit ~0.55 eV higher barrier for C-H bond activation of methane compared to methanol. Without breaking these scaling relations, methanol oxidation is orders of magnitude faster than methane oxidation and it is very challenging to envision a process with economically viable single-pass yield. Here, we chose to investigate single-atom catalysts embedded and stabilized in two-dimensional materials such as graphene (GR) and "supported" on Group VIII and IB transition metals such as nickel. The electronic atomic monolayer-metal support interaction (EAMSI) present in these systems could promote methanol selectivity by breaking the scaling relations of the C-H bond activation of methane and methanol. A density functional theory (DFT) based computational study focused on predicting families of GR-based catalysts that could be active and selective for MTM. The catalyst systems predicted by the computational study were synthesized and evaluated for the gas phase MTM under relevant conditions. Unfortunately, the experimental activity and selectivity was lower than computationally predicted. The origin for the discrepancy is likely related to difficulties in synthesizing single atom catalysts in a threecomponent catalyst system at high density and with high selectivity. Future work in our groups is thus focused on reducing the system complexity to a two-component catalyst system. Finally, a techno-economic analysis (TEA) was also conducted to identify critical bottlenecks that inhibit future commercialization.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Organic Waste Resource Assessment for the Detroit Region

This study summarizes major sources of organic wastes in the Detroit region to (1) characterize target feedstock magnitudes and distribution in support of techno-economic analysis (TEA), and (2) guide the design of blended feedstock conversion experiments using hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). Feedstocks considered in this review include municipal wastewater sludge solids (untreated) and scum; bulk municipal solid waste (MSW); the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OF-MSW); residential food waste, non-residential food waste including institutional, industrial, and commercial (IIC) sources; confined animal manures (i.e., lactating dairy, feedlot beef, and market swine); waste fats, oils and greases (FOG); agricultural residues; forest residues. The scope of the investigation was limited to existing modeled or publicly available reporting datasets. Bulk MSW data were only collected for context and to generate estimates of OF-MSW by waste type and should not be included in total organic waste estimates. Because the TEA analysis boundary was not defined prior to conducting the resource assessment, the data are summarized within six spatial contexts (boundaries), including (1) city of Detroit (census); (2) Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) service area; “Tri-county” urban area (census); “Metro” Detroit-Warren-Dearborn Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) (census); Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor Combined Statistical Area (CSA) (census); and the Michigan Councils of Government (COG) Region-1. All of the spatial contexts are entirely within the State of Michigan, and some overlap one another. A broader context could be developed to include data from surrounding states or Canada.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Customization for Current Market Applications of the Carbon Nanotubes Produced by PNNL’s Regenerable Catalytic Pyrolysis (ReCaP) for Scaled Hydrogen Production

Here, we demonstrated the Regenerative Catalytic Pyrolysis (ReCaP) process that generates carbon dioxide-free hydrogen (CO 2 -free H 2 ) from inexpensive and domestically abundant natural gas (NG), while simultaneously producing H 2 at net production cost of $1.0/kg through the sale of valuable carbon nanotube (CNT) co-product. The specific goal of this project is to 1) scale up the production of CNT, 2) correlate the properties of the CNT with the reaction conditions, 3) perform a techno-economic analysis to obtain minimum selling price of H 2 and CNT, and 4) identify industrial partners interested in the CNT co-product.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Long-Duration Energy Storage: Resiliency for Military Installations

This report provides a quantitative techno-economic analysis of a long-duration energy storage (LDES) technology, when coupled to on-base solar photovoltaics (PV), to meet the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD's) 14-day requirement to sustain critical electric loads during a power outage and significantly reduce an installation's carbon footprint. The LDES modeled is Antora Energy's battery energy storage system (BESS). It is currently at a technology readiness level (TRL) of 7 and not ready for full-scale deployment. To support decisions on the value of near-term demonstrations, this analysis looked at the potential value of Antora Energy's BESS if deployed in the future.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Hydrogen Production Cost with Alkaline Electrolysis

Rigorous stakeholder-vetted techno-economic analysis was performed to assess the cost of hydrogen (H 2 ) produced using state-of-the-art Liquid Alkaline (LA) electrolysis. Projected high-volume, untaxed levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) range from 2020US $\$ 1.84$ to $\$ 2.88$/kg-H 2 depending on technology year, process design, and electrolyzer project scale, assuming an electricity price of $\$ 0.03$/kWh. The total installed capital cost for a LA electrolysis plant was estimated from bottom-up stack and installed cost models that account for purchased equipment, installation costs, site preparation, and general overhead costs. For this study, the LA electrolysis plant is assumed to be a stick-built, greenfield project developed by an EPC firm with electrolysis stacks purchased directly from an electrolysis stack manufacturer. The price of the electrolysis stacks is based on a bottom-up cost assessment with business markup for the electrolysis company fabricator. Methods from the Hydrogen Analysis (H 2 A) production model, a peer-reviewed national laboratory-developed discounted cash flow model, were used to calculate the LCOH production in 2020$/kg-H 2 . The baseline electricity price case ($\$ 0.03$/kWh) corresponds to average wholesale electricity prices currently possible in U.S. markets with plentiful wind. Similar low-cost electricity pricing is possible from solar Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) although these prices are typically limited by renewable energy capacity factors.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

FORCE Integration with DRAFT and IDAES

Integrated energy systems (IES) combine, in mutually beneficial ways, power from variable renewable energy sources and nuclear power plants (NPP) to produce multiple commodities and improve economic viability under uncertain market conditions. Technical and economic analysis of IES requires modeling of complex processes with software models having enough fidelity to capture real-world dynamics while still being capable of running using reasonable computing resources. The open-source Framework for Optimization of Resources and Economics (FORCE) tool suite, developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), has enabled comprehensive modeling and simulation of IES. The capabilities within FORCE include grid portfolio optimization through the Holistic Energy Resource Optimization Network (HERON) and the transient process model analysis library HYBRID, among others. Recent developments for the FORCE toolset have centered on strengthening the flexibility and modularity to link with external models and other available software to enhance IES simulations. Adding versatility to the FORCE toolset improves capability resulting in better techno-economic simulation of nuclear and IES components (both in potential higher fidelity and accuracy to expected performance after deployment). It also helps leverage existing work in the IES field and improve efficiency in national code development. This report focuses on two such endeavors: integration of the Dynamic Reliability Analysis Framework Tool (DRAFT) and the Design Integration and Synthesis Platform to Advance Tightly Coupled Hybrid Energy Systems (DISPATCHES) software packages into FORCE.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Development of an Advanced Hydrogen Energy Storage System using Aerogel in a Cryogenic Flux Capacitor

The Cryogenic Flux Capacitor (CFC) is a cold, dense fluid storage core with integrated design features that afford the designer flexibility and provide new possibilities for the storage and discharge of energy. The stored energy, in this case, is represented by hydrogen physically bonded within the nanoscale pores within the aerogel composite blanket material, and the process of bonding or debonding is governed by the principles of physical adsorption (physisorption) and thermodynamics. The large surface area afforded by the nanoporous aerogel (~1,000 m 2 /g) allows for storage densities close to, or in some cases exceeding, that of normal boiling point liquids. Its performance easily exceeds what can be achieved via ambient temperature and high-pressure gas storage for an equivalent volume. CFC storage is predicted to be easily scalable, constructed from readily available commercial materials, and lends itself to a range of pressure applications. The project team designed and manufactured the CFC, integrating it into a set of temperature-controlled flow loops. The CFC test setup was validated against existing data from previous NASA work. Tests used bottled hydrogen gas for test validation. A cryogenic fluid, nitrogen, flowed through a metered control system. Hydrogen temperature, pressure, and flow rates, as well as the temperature control targets, provided all necessary control targets. The team analyzed the recorded data and updated the Technology Maturation Plan based on the results of the test, making recommendations for a follow-up test, scale-up, and maturation pathway. For the engineering development and maturation of CFC hydrogen storage technology, a Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) and Commercialization Plan for the integration of this technology with various power generation assets were produced. A companion analytical model was developed, experimentally validated, compared against performance metric, and used to tune the model and scale up the technology.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

Grid Resilient, Self-Powered, Fuel Flexible, High Efficiency Heating System (Final Report)

The Grid Independent High Efficiency System (GIHES) delivers a heating system that operates free from the power grid and provides ultra-low emissions and high efficiency heating for residential and commercial buildings. The project demonstrated two weeks of continuous grid independent operation of a storage water heater equipped with a powered damper. The Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) integrated GIHES technology revolutionizes heating systems to provide grid resilient hot water production, while delivering significant value to the end user by eliminating impacts of power interruption and enhancing comfort, convenience and productivity. The system maximizes the thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency by optimizing location and orientation of the TEGs and durability while lowering system costs. The TEGs generate enough power to charge a battery and run the storage water heater unit with a powered damper uninterrupted by providing the required parasitic electrical power for start-up, shutdown and during idling. Several TEGs were analytically and experimentally evaluated based on the size, surface area and the power being generated before designing and fabricating a complete multi-TEG assembly for integration with the water heater. The GIHES technology can be extended to boilers, furnaces and tankless water heaters and integrated with heat pump to further increase the overall equipment efficiency. The technology has the potential to reduce the amount of dispatch power and peak power plant operation. An advanced burner was designed, developed and 3D printed for fuel flexible operation. The burner was designed to enable tighter integration with TEGs for potentially higher TEG output, should this be necessary. A bench-scale test rig to perform testing of a 200,000 Btu/h burner and capable of handling up to 10% H2 (by volume) was setup at GTI’s laboratory with appropriate safety and controls to ensure smooth and safe operation. Testing of the 3D burner showed < 5 ppm NOx emissions can be achieved for the entire firing range and with different levels of hydrogen blends with natural gas. The burner will enable a more integrated TEG-burner module design for improved system performance, should this be required in the future. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) of the TEG integrated with the water heaters was performed. The testing data and the power output were used to develop the TEA. The analysis for the storage unit with damper showed that the TEG integrated system costs $95. This is much lower than a one-time charge needed to wire and install dedicated power. Discussions with TEG manufacturers and OEM’s will provide more detailed information and methods to further lower these costs.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Assessment of Carbonated Brine Injection as Low-risk Strategy for Geologic Carbon Storage

The main objective of this early-phase research was to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility and risk associated with combined brine and CO 2 storage in SWD wells using brine dissolution in the North Dakota portion of the Williston Basin. Three simulation studies were conducted to investigate: (1) CO 2 phases at different conditions, (2) wellbore compatibility, and (3) long-term storage fate in reservoir. (1) A simple reservoir model and injection simulations were created using data to represent the BEST (brine extraction and storage test) site, an operational SWD facility located near Watford City, North Dakota. The pressure evolution caused by CO 2 comingled in produced water injectate in a layer cake reservoir was then modeled while tracking aqueous CO 2 throughout the project. The salinity of the injection water, the salinity of the reservoir brine, and the amount of dissolved CO 2 comingled in the injection water were varied. (2) A wellbore corrosion model was performed using the CO 2 concentrations selected based on the reservoir modeling to examine the carbonated produced water impact on wellbore. (3) Reactive transport modeling was conducted with the optimal CO 2 concentration for this injection site to study the rock-fluid interactions and CO 2 fate in the reservoir. Results suggest that CO 2 dissolved in produced water can be injected without appreciably increasing subsurface pressure or leakage risks. Pressure buildup was found to vary with salinity but not with CO 2 mass fraction. Simulation results show that lower CO 2 percent mass fraction leads to a higher amount of CO 2 that can be dissolved at a higher injection salinity. Furthermore, the long-term goal of dissolution trapping in a traditional carbon storage project is accomplished from the start, mitigating risks associated with potential migration of buoyant CO 2 , so long as the reservoir pressure and temperature are used to determine the maximum mass fraction of the dissolved CO 2 .

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hydrolytic Softening of Ocean Water for Carbon Dioxide Removal

This project provided the proof of concept testing for hydrolytic softening, a process for ocean carbon dioxide removal (CDR) based on precipitation softening, where the hydrated lime used to initiate carbonate precipitation is regenerated using a low-energy thermochemical cycle. These proof of concept tests demonstrated each key step of the hydrolytic CDR process including: 1) precipitation of dissolved carbon dioxide from seawater using hydrated lime, 2) decomposing the precipitated calcium carbonate to separate a high-purity stream of carbon dioxide, and 3) regenerating hydrated lime from the decomposition products to complete the cycle. The experimental results were used as the basis for a chemical process model of hydrolytic CDR, which was then used to estimate the techno-economic performance of a conceptual full-scale system. Results included a total energy consumption estimate of 248 kJ per mole of separated and compressed CO 2 . The predicted levelized cost of ocean CDR using hydrolytic softening could reach the Department of Energy’s Carbon Negative Shot target of $\$$100/tCO 2 assuming optimally-sited wind power resources with a power cost of $\$$26/MWh. If developed further, hydrolytic CDR could be a near-term, scalable, and cost-effective method to draw down legacy carbon dioxide emissions that have been absorbed in the oceans. Offshore operations would create highly skilled jobs directly at the CDR facilities in addition to supporting a wider network of coastal service providers and their communities.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Distribution Grid Impacts of Community Solar [Slides]

Community solar (CS) projects often face uncertain interconnection costs and fees associated with distribution grid infrastructure upgrades required to connect the project. These costs can determine the economic viability of a CS project, but they are difficult to assess. Cost uncertainty can discourage new projects and prevent communities from accessing the benefits of community solar projects. At the same time, CS deployment strategies hold potential to defer or avoid some distribution costs due to new loads. To mitigate CS interconnection costs, it is important to find least-cost combinations of distribution system infrastructure solutions (transformer upgrades, reconductoring, voltage regulators, storage), and to understand how location of CS projects within a feeder impact distribution grid upgrade costs. This study aims to quantify CS impacts on the distribution grid and provide policy and regulatory insights and CS deployment strategies to address them. It is the first analysis that has systematically studied the technical impacts of community solar projects on a wide range of distribution feeders using state-of-the-art optimization and power flow tools. The analysis employs Berkeley Lab’s novel Least-cost Optimal Distribution Grid Expansion (LODGE) model, a deterministic version of the REPAIR model, that optimally upgrades hundreds or even thousands of distribution circuits or feeders. This is the first application of the LODGE model. LODGE finds the least-cost portfolio of traditional distribution system upgrades to integrate CS in combination with alternative solutions, such as utility-owned storage and downsizing CS capacity. Working with a set of least-cost solutions per feeder allows us to benchmark, compare and find techno-economic trends in CS interconnection.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Electrically Engaged UnduLation (EEL) Marine Energy System

Current technologies at the forefront of instrumentation for ocean observation through acoustic mapping are powered by batteries that cannot achieve the lasting durations required for high-resolution measurements. Pyro-E has designed an Electrically Engaged unduLation (EEL) system capable of in situ energy harvest and deployment in sub-sea configurations. By extracting kinetic energy from the ocean, EEL proposes to provide power output ranging from 1 mW to 1,000 mW. Such a magnitude of power can sustain active instrumentation with onboard processing of data and over-the-horizon telemetry. Pyro-E and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have utilized software tools and powerful computing resources to develop a techno-economic design of the EEL capable of harvesting 5 W. The material response of the EEL under simulated hydromechanical loads is described through time-accurate predictions. All physical tests were conducted by Pyro-E to guide simulations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2023

Direct Air Capture Using Novel Structured Adsorbents (DE-FE0031959 Final Technical Report)

The objective of this project was to advance direct air capture (DAC) technology through a novel combination of a vacuum-temperature swing CO 2 adsorption process and structured adsorbent beds (SABs). The technical approach was to construct and operate an Integrated DAC System (IDS) at a test facility in Orange County, California. A 30 kilogram per day (kg/day) integrated field test unit was deployed into the field for testing, producing a concentrated CO 2 stream of at least 95% purity. A novel combination of DAC process and hardware with a transformational structured adsorbent laminate filter was fielded and tested at this site. The field testing also captured operational data on the novel process and material combination under real conditions. Data from this were used to advise techno-economic and life cycle analyses (TEA/LCA) of the technology. Despite the early development status and IDS aiming at field validation at TRL 5 rather than commercial scale operations, these analyses give valuable indications of this new technology route’s potential for cost reductions in DAC-based carbon dioxide removal. Climeworks and Svante are committed to further development of the technology route, including the realization of existing further cost reduction potential.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗