A prototype device containing twelve membrane tubes was designed, built, and demonstrated. The device produced almost 300 scfh of purified hydrogen at 200 psig feed pressure. The extent of purification met the program target of selectively removing enough impurities to enable industrial-grade hydrogen to meet purity specifications for PEM fuel cells. An extrusion process was developed to produce substrate tubes. Membranes met several test objectives, including completing 20 thermal cycles, exceeding 250 hours of operating life, and demonstrating a flux of 965 scfh/ft2 at 200 psid and 400 C.

The primary objective of this project was to develop a true Flex Fuel Vehicle capable of running on any blend of ethanol from 0 to 85% with reduced penalty in usable vehicle range. A research and development program, targeting 10% improvement in fuel economy using a direct injection (DI) turbocharged spark ignition engine was conducted. In this project a gasoline-optimized high-technology engine was considered and the hardware and configuration modifications were defined for the engine, fueling system, and air path. Combined with a novel engine control strategy, control software, and calibration this resulted in a highly efficient and clean FFV concept. It was also intended to develop robust detection schemes of the ethanol content in the fuel integrated with adaptive control algorithms for optimized turbocharged direct injection engine combustion. The approach relies heavily on software-based adaptation and optimization striving for minimal modifications to the gasoline-optimized engine hardware system. Our ultimate objective was to develop a compact control methodology that takes advantage of any ethanol-based fuel mixture and not compromise the engine performance under gasoline operation.

This document is the final technical report for Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-04NT41992, 'Pilot Testing of Mercury Oxidation Catalysts for Upstream of Wet FGD Systems,' which was conducted over the time-period January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2010. The objective of this project has been to demonstrate at pilot scale the use of solid catalysts and/or fixed-structure mercury sorbents to promote the removal of total mercury and oxidation of elemental mercury in flue gas from coal combustion, followed by wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) to remove the oxidized mercury at high efficiency. The project was co-funded by the U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL), EPRI, Great River Energy (GRE), TXU Energy (now called Luminant), Southern Company, Salt River Project (SRP) and Duke Energy. URS Group was the prime contractor. The mercury control process under development uses fixed-structure sorbents and/or catalysts to promote the removal of total mercury and/or oxidation of elemental mercury in the flue gas from coal-fired power plants that have wet lime or limestone FGD systems. Oxidized mercury not adsorbed is removed in the wet FGD absorbers and leaves with the byproducts from the FGD system. The project has tested candidate materials at pilot scale and in a commercial …

Oil shale and oil sands resources located within the intermountain west represent a vast, and as of yet, commercially untapped source of energy. Development will require water, and demand for scarce water resources stands at the front of a long list of barriers to commercialization. Water requirements and the consequences of commercial development will depend on the number, size, and location of facilities, as well as the technologies employed to develop these unconventional fuels. While the details remain unclear, the implication is not – unconventional fuel development will increase demand for water in an arid region where demand for water often exceeds supply. Water demands in excess of supplies have long been the norm in the west, and for more than a century water has been apportioned on a first-come, first-served basis. Unconventional fuel developers who have not already secured water rights stand at the back of a long line and will need to obtain water from willing water purveyors. However, uncertainty regarding the nature and extent of some senior water claims combine with indeterminate interstate river management to cast a cloud over water resource allocation and management. Quantitative and qualitative water requirements associated with Endangered Species protection also stand …

Hydrogen (H2) offers advantages as an energy carrier: minimal discharge of pollutants, production from multiple sources, increased thermodynamic efficiencies compared to fossil fuels, and reduced dependence on foreign oil. However, potential impacts from the H2 generation processes, transport and distribution of H2, and releases of H2 into the atmosphere have been proposed. The goal of this project was to analyze the effects of emissions of hydrogen, the six criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases on climate, human health, materials and structures. This project was part of a larger effort by DOE to assess the life-cycle costs and benefits and environmental impacts to inform decisions regarding future hydrogen research. Technical Approach: A modeling approach was developed and used to evaluate the potential environmental effects associated with the conversion of the on-road vehicle fleet from fossil-fuel vehicles to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. GATOR-GCMOM was the primary tool used to predict atmospheric concentrations of gases and aerosols for selected scenarios. This model accounts for all feedbacks among major atmospheric processes based on first principles. The future scenarios and the emission rates selected for this analysis of hydrogen environmental effects are based on the scenarios developed by IPCC. The scenarios selected for the model simulations …

Like other industrial sectors, the electrical power industry is facing challenges involved with the increasing demand for interconnected operations and control. The electrical industry has largely been restructured due to deregulation of the electrical market and the trend of the Smart Grid. This moves new automation systems from being proprietary and closed to the current state of Information Technology (IT) being highly interconnected and open. However, while gaining all of the scale and performance benefits of IT, existing IT security challenges are acquired as well. The power grid automation network has inherent security risks due to the fact that the systems and applications for the power grid were not originally designed for the general IT environment. In this paper, we propose a conceptual layered framework for protecting power grid automation systems against cyber attacks. The following factors are taken into account: (1) integration with existing, legacy systems in a non-intrusive fashion; (2) desirable performance in terms of modularity, scalability, extendibility, and manageability; (3) alignment to the 'Roadmap to Secure Control Systems in the Energy Sector' and the future smart grid. The on-site system test of the developed prototype security system is briefly presented as well.

This final report was compiled from the detailed annual reports that were submitted for efforts in 2008 and 2009, and from individual task reports from 2010. Reports, case studies, and presentations derived from this work are available through the Building America website. The BIRA team is led by ConSol, a leading provider of energy solutions for builders since 1983. In partnership with over fifty builders, developers, architects, manufactures, researchers, utilities, and agencies, research work was performed in California, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii and five (5) climate regions (Hot-Dry, Marine, Hot-Humid, Cold, and Hot/Mixed Dry). In addition to research work, the team provided technical assistance to our partners whose interests span the entire building process. During the three year budget period, the BIRA team performed analyses of several emerging technologies, prototype homes, and high performance communities through detailed computer simulations and extensive field monitoring to meet the required climate joule milestone targets.

The main goal of this project is to gain fundamental knowledge about the relation between surface composition and catalytic performance of Pt alloy catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Specific objectives are: to develop and improve a first-principles based multiscale computation approach to simulating surface segregation phenomena in Pt alloy surfaces; to evaluate the surface electronic structure and catalytic activity of Pt alloy catalysts and; to relate the surface composition to the catalytic performance of Pt alloy catalysts.

This project focused on the demonstration of an innovative technology, referred to as the Sunexus CO2 Solar Reformer, which utilizes waste CO2 as a feedstock for the efficient and economical production of synthetic diesel fuel using solar thermal energy as the primary energy input. The Sunexus technology employs a two stage process for the conversion of CO2 to diesel fuel. A solar reforming system, including a specially designed reactor and proprietary CO2 reforming catalyst, was developed and used to convert captured CO2 rich gas streams into syngas (primarily hydrogen and carbon monoxide) using concentrated solar energy at high conversion efficiencies. The second stage of the system (which has been demonstrated under other funding) involves the direct conversion of the syngas into synthetic diesel fuel using a proprietary catalyst (Terra) previously developed and validated by Pacific Renewable Fuels and Chemicals (PRFC). The overall system energy efficiency for conversion of CO2 to diesel fuel is 74%, due to the use of solar energy. The results herein describe modeling, design, construction, and testing of the Sunexus CO2 Solar Reformer. Extensive parametric testing of the solar reformer and candidate catalysts was conducted and chemical kinetic models were developed. Laboratory testing of the Solar Reformer …

The primary areas of university research were combustion, aerodynamics/heat transfer, and materials, with a few projects in the area of instrumentation, sensors and life (ISL).

This report summarizes the activities and accomplishments of a two-year DOE-funded project on Grid-Integrated Vehicles (GIV) with vehicle to grid power (V2G). The project included several research and development components: an analysis of US driving patterns; an analysis of the market for EVs and V2G-capable EVs; development and testing of GIV components (in-car and in-EVSE); interconnect law and policy; and development and filing of patents. In addition, development activities included GIV manufacturing and licensing of technologies developed under this grant. Also, five vehicles were built and deployed, four for the fleet of the State of Delaware, plus one for the University of Delaware fleet.

Mask inspection is essential for the success of any pattern-transfer lithography technology, and EUV Lithography in particular faces unique challenges. EUV masks resonant-reflective multilayer coatings have a narrow, wavelength-specific response that dramatically affects the way that defects appear, or disappear, at various illuminating wavelengths. Furthermore, the ever-shrinking size of 'critical' defects limits the potential effectiveness of DUV inspection techniques over time. Researchers pursuing numerous ways of finding and characterizing defects on EUV masks and have met with varying degrees of success. Their lessons inform the current, urgent exploration to select the most effective techniques for high-volume manufacturing. Ranging from basic research and demonstration experiments to commercial inspection tool prototypes, we survey the recent history of work in this area, including sixteen projects in Europe, Asia, and America. Solutions range from scanning beams to microscopy, dark field imaging to pattern transfer.

Siemens Energy, Inc. (formerly Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation) worked with Clean Energy Systems and Florida Turbine Technologies to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of advanced turbines for oxy-fuel based power systems that discharge negligible CO{sub 2} into the atmosphere. The approach builds upon ultra supercritical steam turbine and advanced gas turbine technology with the goal of attaining plant efficiencies above 50% in the 2015 timeframe. Conceptual designs were developed for baseline, near term, and long term oxy-fuel turbine cycles, representing commercial introductions of increasingly advanced thermal conditions and increasing exposure to steam-CO{sub 2} mixtures. An economic analysis and market demand study was performed by Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), and indicated that long-term oxy-fuel turbine cycles start to look attractive in 2025 when the CO{sub 2} tax is assumed to reach $40/ ton, and by 2030 it has a clear advantage over both IGCC with sequestration and pulverized coal with sequestration. A separate risk analysis of the oxy-fuel combustor, HP turbine, re-heater, and IP turbine of the long-term cycle identified and categorized risks and proposed mitigation measures. In 2007 the program began to focus on a potential oxy-fuel turbine power generation demonstration project in the 2012 -13 time period while still …