13. MATERIALS RESEARCH FOR ADVANCED NUCLEAR ENERGY SYSTEMS

The Generation IV nuclear energy initiative is an international collaboration to identify, assess, and develop sustainable nuclear energy technologies that are competitive in most markets, while further enhancing nuclear safety, minimizing the nuclear waste burden, and further reducing the risk of proliferation (reference 1).  Many nuclear energy systems have been proposed to advance the goals of the Generation IV program (see references 2-8), including designs that use liquid-metal coolants such as sodium and lead, gas coolants such as helium, water coolants such as supercritical water, and molten salt coolants.  For these systems, operation at higher temperature has been identified as a means to improve economic performance and to support the thermochemical production of hydrogen.  However, the move to higher operating temperatures will require the development and qualification of advanced materials to perform in the more challenging environment.  As part of the process of developing advanced materials for these reactor concepts, a fundamental understanding of materials behavior must be established and a database that defines the critical performance limitations of these materials under irradiation must be developed.  A recent workshop details many of the research challenges for higher temperature materials associated with proposed Generation IV systems (reference 9).  Grant applications are sought only in the following subtopics: 

a.   Advanced Radiation Resistance Ferritic-Martensitic Alloys—Because of their resistance to void swelling, 9 Cr and 12 Cr ferritic-martensitic steels are considered prime candidates for intermediate temperature reactors such as the proposed liquid metal and supercritical water concepts operating in the temperature range of 400-750°C.  However, many ferritic-martensitic steels are limited by poor higher temperature creep strength, typically degrading at temperatures greater than 550-600°C (reference 10).  Grant applications are sought to improve the creep strength of 9 Cr and 12 Cr ferritic-martensitic steels through alloying, dispersion strengthening, or precipitation hardening.  Innovative alloys with protective coatings are also of interest.  Proposed approaches must provide for (1) isotropic creep properties with strength greater than that of Sandvik HT9 steel, (2) a ductile to brittle transition temperature less than room temperature, and (3) a minimum plane-strain fracture toughness of 0.25σ_y.  Alloying elements that act as neutron poisons (e.g., boron) or that become highly activated in a neutron spectrum (e.g, cobalt) must be minimized or eliminated.  Because the ferritic-martensitic steels likely would be used in conjunction with sodium-cooled, lead- or lead-bismuth-cooled, or supercritical water-cooled reactor concepts, approaches that optimize corrosion performance while achieving improved high temperature strength would be considered high priority.  Lastly, approaches that also address irradiation performance are strongly encouraged.

b.   Advanced Refractory, Ceramic, Ceramic Composite, or Coated Materials—Some Generation IV concepts aim for very high temperature (>900°C) operation.  However, with the exception of limited data on SiC-based systems, the radiation resistance of construction materials subjected to very high temperatures has not been identified or proven.  Grant applications are sought to develop advanced refractory, ceramic, ceramic composite, or coated materials that can meet the very demanding conditions required to operate at temperatures greater than 900°C in a fast spectrum nuclear energy system.  For these conditions, the materials should have low thermal expansion coefficients, excellent high temperature strength, excellent high temperature creep resistance, and good thermal conductivity.  For post-irradiation handling at lower temperatures, sufficient room temperature fracture toughness must be maintained.  Additionally, the materials need to be easily fabricated and capable of being joined.  Because the reactors operating in this temperature regime are expected to be helium cooled, the materials must have low erosion properties in flowing helium, resist helium diffusion, and be able to survive an air ingress condition.  Because the high temperature strength and corrosion resistance may be difficult to achieve with a single material, composite or coated systems may be required.  Finally, because sustainable nuclear energy systems may be based on fast spectrum (i.e., fast flux) designs, materials intended for fast reactor concepts should avoid low atomic mass components such as hydrogen and carbon.

References:

1.       Moving Forward:  Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems, U.S. DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology, http://gen-iv.ne.doe.gov

2.       Sekimoto, H., et al., Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 10), Arlington, VA, April 14-18, 2002, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2002.  (Paper No. 10-22049)*

3.       Wade, D. C., et al., Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 10), Arlington, VA, April 14-18, 2002, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2002.  (Paper No. 10-22202)*

4.       Hejzlar, P., et al., Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 10), Arlington, VA, April 14-18, 2002, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2002.  (Paper No. No. 10-22377)*

5.       Kiryushin, A. I. et al., “BN-800--Next Generation of Russian Sodium Fast Reactors,” Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 10), Arlington, VA, April 14-18, 2002, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2002.  (Paper No. ICONE 10-22405) (Available via FAX from DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology.  Contact Madeline Feltus at madeline.feltus@hq.doe.gov.)

6.       Hittner, D., Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 10), Arlington, VA, April 14-18, 2002, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2002.  (Paper No. 10-22423)*

7.       King, R. L. and Porter, D. L., Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 10), Arlington, VA, April 14-18, 2002, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2002.  (Paper No. 10-22524)*

8.       Oka, Y. and Koshizuka, S., “Design Concept of Once-Through Cycle Supercritical-Pressure Light Water Cooled Reactors,” Proceedings of SCR-2000:International Symposium on Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactors, Design and Technology, Tokyo, Japan, November 6-9, 2000, Tokyo:  Tokyo University, July 1, 2000.  (ISBN: 4-901332-00-4) (OSTI ID: 20218877) (Abstract available at:  http://www.osti.gov/doeecd/.  Under “Basic Search” enter OSTI ID #.)

9.       Allen, T., et al., Higher Temperature Reactor Materials Workshop Sponsored by the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology (NE) and the Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES), La Jolla, CA, March 18-21, 2002.  (Report No. ANL-02/12) (Available on the DOE Information Bridge at:  http://www.osti.gov/bridge/search.results.jsp?queryId=2&start=0&)

10.   Klueh, R. L. and Harries, D. L., High Chromium Ferritic and Martensitic Steels for Nuclear
Applications, West Conshohocken, PA:  American Society for Testing and Materials, 2001.  (Standard No: ISBN: 0803120907)

__________________________

*    Abstract available at:   http://www.asmeconferences.org/icone10/SearchPaperSchedule.cfm.   To order proceedings see: http://www.asmeconferences.org/icone10/.

14. NEUTRON AND ELECTRON BEAM INSTRUMENTATION

The Department of Energy supports a number of large-scale, national user facilities that provide intense beams of neutrons and electrons for the characterization of materials.  Grant applications are sought only in the following subtopics:

a.   Neutron Facilities—As a unique and increasingly utilized research tool, neutrons have made invaluable contributions to the physical, chemical, and biological sciences.  The Department is committed to enhancing the operation and instrumentation of its present and future neutron science facilities so that their full potential is realized.

Grant applications are sought to develop improved neutron detectors and associated electronics needed for DOE’s existing and proposed steady-state and pulsed neutron scattering facilities (References 1-2, 5).  New detectors must represent substantial improvements in one or more of the following parameters: efficiency at short wavelengths, high counting rate capability, high spatial resolution in one or two dimensions, cost per unit area, or adaptability to unique geometries.  Detectors for pulsed neutron applications must be able to identify the time of arrival of each neutron.  All detectors must have low intrinsic dark count rates and low sensitivity to gamma radiation.

Grant applications are also sought to develop novel or improved neutron optical components for use in neutron scattering instruments (References 2-3, 5).  Such components include, but are not limited to, neutron choppers, neutron guides, neutron lenses and focusing mirrors, neutron monochromators, or neutron polarization devices including ³He olarizing filters.  Applications are also sought for novel use of such components in neutron scattering instruments.

b.   Electron Beam Microcharacterization Facilities—The Department of Energy supports four collaborative research centers for electron beam microcharacterization of materials.  These tools are important in the materials and biological sciences and are used in numerous research projects funded by the Department.  Innovative instrumentation developments offer the promise of radically improving the capabilities of electron beam microcharacterization and thereby stimulate new innovations in materials science.  Grant applications submitted to this subtopic must address improvements in electron beam instrumentation capabilities beyond the present state-of-the-art.

Grant applications are sought to develop stages, holders, and/or detectors with new capabilities for quantifying data and collection efficiency in electron beam instruments.  Areas of interest include:  (1) extremely stable holders and stages that allow long exposure/analysis times, with accurate tilting and alignment capability (to an angle accuracy ±0.05 degrees on two axes while maintaining eucentricity to within 20 nm); (2) fast CCD camera systems that allow electron imaging exposure times in the millisecond range and kHz frame rates; (3) high sensitivity electron imaging systems that allow energy-filtered imaging over large areas (which may include systems based on image-plate technology or montaging, and frame-averaging software systems utilizing CCD cameras); and (4) improved electron and x-ray detectors that are robust and not susceptible to electron beam damage.  Proposed approaches for electron detectors must show suitability for either low- or high-energy electrons, and address one or more of the following three aspects:  high quantum efficiency, high spatial resolution, and high temporal resolution.  Proposed approaches for x-ray detectors should show significant improvement in sensitivity or spectral resolution for elemental analysis in electron microscopes.

Grant applications are also sought to develop stages and holders with new capabilities for in situ experiments or sample manipulation in the transmission electron microscope.  Stages and/or holders must provide for one or more of the following:  (1) application of magnetic field up to 5000 Oe in the plane of the specimen, with capability to rotate field orientation in the specimen plane with respect to the sample;  (2) manipulation or measurement of the sample using a 4-probe nanomanipulator, including capability to measure deflection or strain, or capability to apply electric fields
or current; and (3) precision control of specimen temperature (to an accuracy of 10^oC in the range 5-2000K), ambient gas pressure and flow rate (to within several percent for each), and alignment (to an angle accuracy ±0.05 degrees on two axes).

Grant applications are also sought to develop electron sources for scanning transmission electron microscopy with brightness on the order 10⁹ Amp/cm²/steradian or higher.  Current sources are based on tungsten emitters, and it is hoped that higher brightness can be achieved with new materials and designs.  Proposed electron sources must be suitably robust for practical applications, have long lifetimes (greater than 6 months), and offer a significant increase in brightness over existing sources.

Grant applications are also sought for systems for automated data collection, processing, and quantification.  Systems should include hardware and platform-independent software for data collection and visualization, including automated measurement and mapping of crystallography, internal magnetic or electric field, or strain, and for multi-spectral analysis.  Software and quantification routines for image reconstruction and for interpretation of interference patterns/holography are encouraged.

Finally, grant applications are sought for extremely stable power supplies to improve lens stability in electron beam instruments.  Power supplies should be capable of producing 15 amperes with current stability exceeding 0.1 ppm, or 5 amperes with current stability exceeding 0.05 ppm.

References:

1.       Carpenter, J. M., et al., eds., Neutrons, X-Rays, and Gamma Rays: Imaging Detectors, Material Characterization Techniques, and Applications, San Diego, CA, July 21-22, 1992, Proceedings of the SPIE (International Society for Optical Engineering), Vol. 1737, Bellingham, WA: SPIE, 1993.  (ISBN: 0819409103)

2.       Majkrzak, C., ed., Thin-Film Neutron Optical Devices: Mirrors, Supermirrors, Multilayer Monochromators, Polarizers, and Beam Guides, San Diego, CA, August 16-17, 1988, Proceedings of the SPIE, Vol. 983, Bellingham, WA: SPIE, 1989.  (ISBN: 0819400181)

3.       Majkrzak, C. F. and Wood, J. L., eds., Neutron Optical Devices and Applications, San Diego, CA, July 22-24, 1992, Proceedings of the SPIE, Vol. 1738, Bellingham, WA: SPIE, 1992.  (ISBN: 0819409111)

4.       Proceedings of the Microscopy Society of America, Annual Meetings, Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.  (Printed version ISSN: 1431-9276) (Electronic version ISSN: 1435-8115)

5.       Technology and Science at a High-Power Spallation Source:  Proceedings of a Workshop Held at Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, May 13-16, 1993, Argonne National Laboratory, 1993.  (Report No. ANL/IPNS/PROC-81937) (NTIS Order No. DE94009685) (See Solicitation “General Information and Guidelines,” Section 7.1.)

6.       Wilpert, Th., ed., International Workshop on Position-Sensitive Neutron Detectors:  Status and Perspectives, Hahn-Meitner-Institute, Berlin, Germany, June 28-30, 2001.  (URL: www.hmi.de/bensc/psnd2001)

7.       Ultramicroscopy, 78(1-4), Elsevier-Holland, June 1999.  (ISSN: 0304-3991)

8.       Williams, D. B. and Carter, C. B., Transmission Electron Microscopy: A Textbook for Materials Science, Vols. 1-4, Plenum Publishing Corp., New York-London, 1996.  (ISBN: 0-306-45247-2)

9.       Windsor, C. G., Pulsed Neutron Scattering, London:  Taylor & Francis, 1981.  (ISBN: 0-85066-195-1)

15. ADVANCED FOSSIL FUELS RESEARCH

For the foreseeable future, the energy needed to sustain economic growth will continue to come largely from fossil fuels.  In supplying this energy need, the Nation must address growing global and regional environmental concerns, supply issues, and energy prices.  Maintaining low-cost energy in the face of growing demand, diminishing supply, and increasing environmental pressure requires new technologies and diversified energy supplies.  These technologies must allow the Nation to use all of its indigenous resources more wisely, cleanly, and efficiently.  These resources include inherently clean natural gas and the Nation’s most abundant and lowest cost resource, coal.  Grant applications are sought only in the following subtopics:

a.   Natural Gas Hydrate Recovery—Because of the widespread occurrence of gas hydrate-bearing sediments, and the enormous amount of methane stored therein (approximately 200,000 Tcf of the total U.S. methane resource of 227,500 Tcf resides in methane hydrates), gas hydrate should be considered as a potential energy resource.  The natural gas industry has demonstrated that methane can be recovered from naturally occurring gas hydrates by dissociating the solid hydrates into gas and water, and then transporting the dissociated gas in the same manner as conventional natural gas.  Dissociation of gas hydrates can be accomplished in at least three ways:  (1) thermal (hot water) injection, in which heat is added at constant pressure until the system temperature reaches the dissociation temperature, an expensive method requiring the simultaneous movement of hot fluid downward and gas upward (without heat loss, the injected energy is about 10% of the recovered energy, but with heat loss to reservoir rock and water, the injected energy may exceed the heating value of the gas) (2) pressure reduction (depressurization), which operates by lowering the pressure in a gas reservoir with embedded or adjacent zones of solid hydrate (when the pressure reaches the dissociation pressure, gas hydrates at the interface convert to gas and water); and (3) slurry mining, which is suggestive of grinding up the ocean bottom to recover a slurry of solid hydrates that are likely to dissociate in the riser.

Although the first two methods described above have shown the most promise, none have yet been shown to be economically viable; i.e., the cost of the energy used to decompose hydrate at depth, and thereby release methane, is not significantly less than the economic value of the methane recovered.  Therefore, grant applications are sought to develop viable natural gas hydrate recovery techniques.  One possible approach is to inject CO₂ into the natural gas hydrate field in order to replace the naturally occurring methane hydrates with carbon dioxide hydrates.  Because methane gas hydrates stabilize at higher pressures than CO₂ gas hydrates, the pressure requirement would be reduced.  Also, the heat released from the formation of the CO₂ gas hydrate can be used to decompose the CH₄ gas hydrate.  However, very complex phase behaviors may add to the difficulty of this process.  Phase I should include thermodynamic and economic models that can be substantiated by pilot scale testing and eventually field tests in Phase II.

b. Biogeochemical Carbon Sequestration/Conversion —Carbon sequestration is a relatively new approach to the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentration (i.e., new compared to the other two pathways – improving the efficiency of energy use and reducing the carbon content of fuels).  Current approaches include the conversion of carbon dioxide to benign, stable compounds for long-term storage or to value added products for reuse.  Grant applications are sought to develop practical methods to:  (1) grossly accelerate the natural bioconversion of carbon dioxide to methane in geologic reservoirs by employing methanogen microorganisms as catalysts, as well as other geochemical reactants, (2) apply similar processes to the capture of carbon dioxide at large point sources, and (3) efficiently employ microorganisms and/or biomimetic catalysts to convert carbon dioxide in flue gas to intermediates that can be subsequently reacted to calcium/magnesium carbonates for terminal sequestration.

c.      Instrumentation and Sensors for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Materials Science—The use of fuel cells for power generation offers the opportunity for high efficiency and nearly pollution free operation.  SOFCs consist of an ionically conducting solid oxide electrolyte layered between catalytically active porous electrodes.  The electrochemically active cells are configured into a stack involving gas seals and electrical interconnections.  The systems operate at high temperatures (600 to 1000^oC) and suffer from chemical and mechanical stability limitations (see references 18 and 19).  The search for suitable materials involves the synthesis of functional layers and interfacial regions with enhanced electrochemical properties.  Unfortunately, a fundamental understanding of fabricated SOFC structures is limited by the ability to adequately characterize the functional materials in an SOFC cell and stack.  Traditionally, the evaluation of SOFC materials has involved techniques such as x-ray diffraction and cross-sectional electron microscopy for structural properties (reference 15) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for charge conduction measurements (reference 17).  However, the ultimate development of economically viable SOFCs will require more advanced measurement techniques.

Grant applications are sought to develop innovative instrumentation and sensors to advance the scientific investigation of SOFC materials.  Some of the important materials parameters that require measurement include:  (1) depth and/or area resolved residual stress in a layered cell, (2) ionic vacancy distributions, (3) cracks and interfacial delaminations, (4) structural and conduction continuity across interfaces; (5) porosity distributions and gradients; (6) ionic and electronic conductivity profiles; (7) catalytic activity distributions, (8) electrical conductivity and structural integrity of thin oxide films on metal interconnects, and (9) small area defect characterization (such as images of gas pinhole or electrical shorts in electrolyte layers).  Of particular interest are techniques and sensors that allow for in situ measurements; pre- and post-operation non-destructive evaluation involving buried interfacial regions; and imaging techniques that can characterize spatial inhomogeneities with regard to charge transfer activity and transport, or its underlying functional materials properties.  For the latter, a connection between image data sets and finite element modeling approaches should be made apparent, with the ultimate goal of validating SOFC performance models (reference 16).  Grant applications also should demonstrate that the instrumentation and sensors, though focused on basic materials science, will have relevance to developers and manufacturers of optimized SOFCs.

d.   Improved Processes or New Sources for Fuels from Fossil Resources—It is likely that the World will depend primarily on fossil fuels, especially coal, for another hundred years.  At the end of 1999, two alternative processes were being developed for making liquid fuels from coal, Direct Liquefaction and Indirect Liquefaction.  Since then, funding of Indirect Liquefaction has continued while further research and development for Direct Liquefaction has diminished.  However, Direct Liquefaction still offers the promise of significant cost reductions through process modifications.  This is because the process steps and equipment used in Direct Liquefaction are virtually the same as in the early 1970s when significant government support was first provided, namely, premix-slurry, slurry-bubble-column reactor(s), filter or critical solvent deashing, final fixed-bed polishing hydro-treater, and pressure let-down.  Grant applications are sought for new or improved processes for the direct liquefaction of coal.  The research and development effort should include preliminary cost estimates for a distillable product, a comparison with the costs of products from the conventional direct liquefaction process, a test of the critical steps in the process, and a demonstration of the process and its economics.

Because some parts of coal react fast and other parts react slowly, one possible approach would be to remove products from the reaction as soon as they form, in order to avoid over-reaction to refractory forms.  Other possible approaches include (see references):  (1) nearly instantaneous feed coal heating to reaction temperature, at reducing conditions, by feeding it without recycle solvents; (2) exposing the partly liquefied feed coal to the reducing gas as a thin film (thereby enhancing mass transfer efficiency because each portion of the partly liquefied feed has ready access to react with the reducing gas before it degrades); and (3) allowing the carrier-reactant mass to move in slug flow to the reactor exit, while the reducing gas, flowing up through the beds, sweeps products, as they become volatile, up and out of the reactor.  The latter approach would provide an opportunity for separate carrier recovery and catalyst recycle.

References:

Subtopic a:  Natural Gas Hydrate Recovery

1.        National Methane Hydrate R&D Program
U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), http://www.netl.doe.gov/scng/hydrate/index.html

2.       NETL Research Focus Area:  Ocean Sequestration, U.S. DOE NETL http://www.netl.doe.gov/coalpower/sequestration/inhouse.html (Scroll down page to “Ocean Sequestration)

3.       Milkov, A.V. and Sassen, R. “Structurally Focused Gas Hydrate a Future Northwest U.S. Gulf Resource,” Offshore, 61(9): 92-94, September 2001.  (Available on the Web at: http://www.gasnet.com.br/artigos/artigos_view2.asp?cod=95&idio=1

4.       Kvenvolden, K.A. (1995 December). A review of the geochemistry of methane in natural gas hydrate. Organic Geochemistry, 23(11-12), pp. 997-1008. (ISSN: 0146-6380)

5.       Lee, S.Y. & Holder, G.D. (2001). Methane hydrates potential as a future energy source. Fuel Processing Technology, 71(1-3), pp. 181-186.  (ISSN: 0378-3820)

Subtopic b:  Biogeochemical Carbon Sequestration/Conversion

6.      Beecy, D. J., et al., “Biogenic Methane:  A Long-Term CO₂ Recycle Concept,” presented at the First National Conference on Carbon Sequestration, May 14-17, 2001.  (Available on the Web at: http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/01/carbon_seq/5a1.pdf)

7.       Bond, G. M., et al., “CO₂ Capture from Coal-Fired Utility Generation Plant Exhausts, and Sequestration by a Biomimetic Route Based on Enzymatic Catalysis—Current Status,” presented at First National Conference on Carbon Sequestration, May 14-17, 2001.  (Available on the Web at: http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/01/carbon_seq/5a5.pdf)

8.       Koide, H., “Prospect of Geological Sequestration for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation and Natural Gas Recovery,” International Journal of the Society of Materials Engineering for Resources, 7(1), 1999. 

9.       Putting Carbon Back in the Ground, IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme, February 2001.  (ISBN: 1 898373 28 0)  

10.   Rice, D. D. and Claypool, G. E., “Generation, Accumulation, and Resource Potential of Biogenic Gas,” AAPG Bulletin, 65:5-25, 1981.  (ISSN: 0149-1423)  

11.   Schoell, M., “Multiple Origins of Methane in the Earth,” Chemical Geology, 71:1-10, 1988.  (ISSN: 0009-2541) 

12.   Scott, A.R., “Improving Coal Gas Recovery with Microbially Enhanced Coalbed Methane,” Coalbed Methane: Scientific, Environmental, and Economic Evaluations, pp. 89-111, July 1999.  (ISBN: 0792356985)

13.   Stevens, S. and Gale, J., “Geologic CO₂ Sequestration,” Oil and Gas Journal, 98(20):40-44, May 15, 2000.  (ISSN: 0030-1388)

14.   Wolfe, R. S., “1776-1996: Alessandro Volta’s Combustible Air,” ASM News, 62(10): 529-534, October 1996.  (ISSN: 0044-7897)

Subtopic c:  Instrumentation and Sensors for SOFC Materials Science

15.   Bai, W., et al., “The Process, Structure and Performance of Pen Cells for the Intermediate Temperature SOFCS,” Solid State Ionics, 113-115(1-4): 259-263, December 1, 1998.  (ISSN: 0167-2738) (For ordering information and to view abstract go to: http://www.elsevier.com/gej-ng//10/40/37/46/21/56/abstract.html)

16.   Herbstritt, D., et al., “Modelling and DC-polarisation of a three dimensional electrode/electrolyte interface,” Journal of the European Ceramics Society, 21(10-11): 1813-1816. 2001.  (ISSN: 0955-2219) (For ordering information and to view abstract go to: http://www.elsevier.com/gej-ng//10/25/37/42/39/144/abstract.html)

17.   Hu, H., et al., “Interfacial Studies of Solid-State Cells, Based on Electrolytes of Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors,” Solid State Ionics, 109(3-4): 259-272, 1998.  (ISSN: 0167-2738) (For ordering information and to view abstract go to: http://www.elsevier.com/gej-ng//10/40/37/41/22/30/abstract.html

18.   Minh, N. Q. and Takahashi, T. Science and Technology of Ceramic Fuel Cells, Amsterdam:  Elsevier, 1995.  (ISBN 0-444-89568-X) 

19.   Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance, National Energy Technology Laboratory/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, http://www.pnl.gov/energy/fuelcells/secabrochure.pdf 

Subtopic d:  Improved Processes or New Sources for Fuels from Fossil Resources  

20.   Callejas, M. A., and Martinez, M. T., “Hydroprocessing of a Maya Residue. 1. Intrinsic Kinetics of Asphaltene Removal Reactions” Energy & Fuels, 14(6): 1304-1308, 2000.  (ISSN: 08870624) 

21.   Comolli, A.G., et al., Low Severity Catalytic Two Stage Liquefaction Process, U.S. Department of Energy, September 1988.  (Report No. DOE/PC/80002-9) (NTIS Order No. DE89003441) (See Solicitation General Information and Guidelines, section 7.1) 

22.   Guin, S. A., et al., “Mechanisms of Coal Particle Dissolution,” Industrial Engineering Chemistry Research, Process Design and Development 15(4): 490-494, 1976.  (ISSN: 0888-5885) (Full text available from American Chemical Society.  Web site: http://www.acs.org/.  Under “Choose a page” click on “ACS Publications,” then on “Journals & Magazines,” and then on journal title.  Type in volume & issue, select “Go” & scroll down to title.) 

23.   Simpson, T. B. “Improved Methods for Conversion of Our Fossil Fuels to Commercial Fuels,” Energy & Fuels, publication scheduled for Fall 2002.  (Available from author.  Telephone: 301-903-3913) 

24.   Song, C. S., et al, “A New Process for Catalytic Liquefaction of Low-Rank Coal Using Dispersed MoS₂ Catalyst Generating In-Situ with Added H₂O,” Proceedings of the 14th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference and Workshop,Pittsburgh, PA, September 23-27,1997, Paper No. S08.4, Pittsburgh, PA:  Pittsburgh Coal Conference, 1997.  (Report No. CONF-970931)

16. SOLID STATE ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DIODES FOR GENERAL LIGHTING

Many researchers believe that solid state lighting represents an unparalleled opportunity to achieve major energy conservation in general illumination applications, with attendant benefits in pollution reduction.  The development of Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) appears to be a promising approach.  However, to achieve the price ($3.00 per 1000 lumens) and performance (90 lumens per watt) required to enable the wholesale energy conservation sought in general illumination applications, quantum leaps in device performance are needed.  In particular, several key technical milestones must be addressed:  (1) major efficacy improvements at all wavelengths to obtain high efficiency white-light sources; (2) major cost reduction of practical device structures and form factors in order to be competitive with traditional light sources; (3) development of a new support infrastructure such as powering, fixtures, etc.; and (4) identification of new approaches to lighting enabled by OLEDs such as "smart" light sources.  These and other issues have been addressed in several recent workshops sponsored jointly by the Department of Energy (DOE), the Optoelectronics Industrial Development Association (OIDA), and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) in collaboration with participants from industrial, academic, and national laboratories.

This topic provides small businesses with an opportunity to carry out substantially novel research and development on the fabrication, processing, and characterization of solid state organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) associated systems suitable for general lighting.  To realize very large increases in performance, grant applications should be directed toward breakthrough research that offers significant advances in materials, processing, and/or characterization, ultimately leading to high-quality OLEDs capable of producing white light.  Grant applications will be declined if they are limited to a minor or incremental improvement of an existing material or process.  Grant applications are sought in the following subtopics:

a.   Device Synthesis and Architecture—Grant applications are sought to develop methods for improving the synthesis and architecture of OLED devices.  Areas of interest include:  (1) cost effective, continuous deposition processes that can be scaled-up for large area coatings; (2) novel substrate and electrode materials; and (3) novel device architecture designs that are practical for large-scale manufacturing and/or that simplify the layer structures while increasing device performance.

b.   Device Efficiency—Grant applications are sought to achieve higher OLED device efficiency, as characterized by quantum efficiency, luminous efficiency, and luminous yield.  Some potential areas of interest include:  (1) reduction of injection barriers and balancing charge injection; (2) searching and developing new efficient emitters and activation catalysts; (3) new methods to increase internal quantum efficiency by employing phosphorescence, fluorescence, or other luminous molecular process; and (4) developing new methods, device geometries, and materials for more efficient light extraction to yield higher external quantum efficiency.

c.   Reliability and Lifetime—Grant applications are sought to improve the lifetime and reliability of OLEDs devices.  Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:  (1) characterization of the degradation mechanisms; (2) understanding the role and evolution of organic and inorganic impurities in OLEDs; and (3) new schemes, materials, and geometries for device encapsulation and sealing from environmental contaminants.

References:

1.       Burrows, P. E., et al., “Color-Tunable Organic Light-Emitting Devices,” Applied Physics Letters, 69(20): 2959-2962, November 11, 1996.  (ISSN: 0003-6951) (Available from American Institute of Physics.  Web site: http://ojps.aip.org/aplo)

2.       Shen, Z., et al., “Three-Color, Tunable, Organic Light-Emitting Devices,” Science, 276:2009-2011 June 27, 1997.  (ISSN: 0036-8075) (Available from the American Association for the Advancement of Science at: http://www.sciencemag.org/.  Browse “Archives of Science.”)

3.       Stolka, Milan, “Organic Light Emitting Diodes for General Illumination,” OLED Solid State Lighting Workshop Report, Washington, DC:  OIDA, March 2001.  (Available to OIDA members only.  See OLED Solid State Lighting Workshop Report at: http://www.oida.org/pubs.html)

4.       Tang, C. W. and Van Slyke, S.A., Chen, C. H., Applied Physics Letters, 65:3610 (1989).  (ISSN: 0003-6951)

5.       Van Slyke, S.A., et al., “Organic Electroluminescent Devices with Improved Stability,” Applied Physics Letters, 69(15): 2160-2162, October 7, 1996.  (ISSN: 0003-6951) (Available from American Institute of Physics.  Web site: http://ojps.aip.org/aplo)

17. ENERGY STORAGE AND CONVERSION TECHNOLOGIES FOR ELECTRIC AND HYBRID VEHICLES

The commercial use of electric and hybrid electric vehicle technologies has been limited by the performance and excessive costs of power sources and storage devices.  In conjunction with the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is interested in identifying and developing innovative concepts for advanced energy storage and conversion devices (batteries and fuel cells) that will improve the performance, extend the life, and significantly reduce the cost of the vehicles.

Battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs) require energy storage devices with high energy density; hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) require devices that can deliver high power pulses.  Both types of devices must be able to accept high power recharging pulses from regenerative braking.  For high energy density systems, the cells must provide 200 Watt-hours/kg, 400 Wh/l, 400 W/kg and 800 W/l or greater; have a life of 1000 cycles at 80 percent depth of discharge; and have a calendar life of at least 10 years.  For high power applications, the cells must provide peak power of 1500 W/kg or greater, have a cycle life of at least 300,000 shallow cycles, and have a calendar life of 15 years.  For both types of systems, materials to be utilized should be plentiful, have low cost (< $10/kg), be environmentally benign, and be easily recycled.  Evaluation of the technology with regard to the above criteria should be performed in accordance with applicable U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium test procedures or Society of Automotive Engineers recommended practices [see references that follow].

Fuel cell systems for vehicles (FCVs) require high efficiency, power density, and specific power; low cost; and automotive durability.  Fuel cells systems operating on direct hydrogen must achieve by 2005, 59% energy efficiency at quarter power, 500 W/l, 500 W/kg, $125/kW, and 2,000 hours durability.

Grant applications must show how proposed innovations would result in significant advances in performance and cost reduction over state-of-the-art technologies.  Grant applications are sought only in the following subtopics:

a.   Lithium Battery Cathode Materials with Enhanced Stability for EV and/or HEV Applications—The instability of conventional lithium and lithium-ion cathode materials has been shown to contribute in a significant manner to the performance, calendar life, and abuse tolerance limitations of lithium-ion cells and batteries.  Grant applications are sought to develop new cathode materials that meet the criteria given in the introduction and offer enhanced performance for lithium or lithium-ion batteries in EV or HEV applications.  Proposed approaches must demonstrate how the particle morphologies and/or the compositional tailoring at the molecular level will enhance the performance of the novel materials in cathode structures. Of particular interest are: (1) nanophase species, used either as the active material itself or as a stability-enhancing coating; and (2) materials whose voltage profile and other properties would be compatible with a conductive polymer electrolyte.  Proposed approaches must be demonstrated in full cells of at least 0.2 Ampere-hour in size.

b.   Novel Electrochemical Couples for Advanced Batteries—New electrochemical couples offer the potential to overcome the limitations of current electrochemical systems, and to provide high-specific energy, long-life, and low-cost alternatives.  Grant applications are sought to develop and demonstrate novel rechargeable couples that meet the criteria given in the introduction to this topic.  Rechargeable, intercalation battery couples that incorporate anodic active materials such as aluminum or magnesium and rechargeable lithium/sulfur (Li/S) couples are of particular interest because of their potential use in high-performance, non-aqueous batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles.  Areas of interest include (1) the synthesis and/or characterization of ionic conducting polymers and gel electrolytes that can transport polyvalent ions or would be suitable for use in a Li/S system; (2) development and demonstration of a method to avoid lithium dendrite formation or other deleterious electrode morphology changes in a lithium/sulfur cell; (3) development of electrolytes that are capable of conducting alkaline earth, other divalent cations, and trivalent transition metal ions;  (4) development of cathodes composed of intercalation compounds that allow the rapid diffusion of polyvalent ions; and (5) development of novel non-lithium couples that do not involve a polyvalent species.  Proposed approaches must be demonstrated in full cells of at least 0.2 Ampere-hour in size.

c.   Solid Electrolyte Systems for Lithium Based Batteries—Solid electrolyte systems offer great promise for advanced batteries.  Grant applications are sought to develop advanced, lithium-ion conducting solid electrolytes, along with associated manufacturing processes, capable of supporting advanced battery technologies for EV or HEV applications.  Desired electrochemical properties of these systems include: ionic conductivity greater than 10^-3 S/cm, electrical conductivity less than 10^-7 S/cm, electrical breakdown greater than 5 volts/m, lithium ion transference number greater than 0.3, and stability of the electrolyte adjacent to a cathode material up to 5 volts versus lithium.  (Note:  for polymers that are single ion conductors, the above requirements may be modified suitably, provided that equivalent performance is obtained.)  Desired mechanical properties include: lack of reactive plasticizer, high tensile strength, high melting point, low glass transition temperature, and high molecular weight.  In addition, proposed lithium-ion conducting systems should have mass-production capability, good interface properties including compatibility and adhesion, and ambient temperature operation.  Grant applications should clearly address how the proposed system would perform relative to existing polymer electrolyte systems.  Phase I should focus on formulating samples of the candidate material and demonstrating that its properties are appropriate for high power systems.  In order to be considered for Phase 2 funding, proposed approaches must be demonstrated in full cells of at least 0.2 Ampere-hour in size.

d.   Improved Fuel Cell Cathode Catalysts Using Combinatorial Methods—Improved cathode structures that demonstrate higher voltage than state-of-the-art systems are needed to increase single cell voltage and reduce the number of cells in a fuel cell stack.  This can be achieved by improving catalyst utilization in state-of-the-art cathodes, or by developing alternative catalyst formulations (e.g., binary and ternary alloys, non-precious metal catalysts) with improved activity.  Grant applications are sought to develop or employ combinatorial methods that enable high throughput screening and testing of potential catalysts, and the identification of improved air cathode catalysts.  The improved cathode performance must contribute to an overall cell performance greater than or equal to 0.5 A/cm² at 0.8 V in continuous cell operation with pressurized hydrogen and cathode loadings of 0.05 mg/cm² or less of precious metals.  Targets for reformate/air operation are 0.4 A/cm² at 0.8 V, and 0.1 A/cm² at 0.85 V.  These performance targets represent an order of magnitude improvement over the current state-of-the-art for Pt alloy based cells.  To achieve the MEA (Membrane Electrode Assembly) cost target of $10/kW for transportation applications, the technology must have the potential to achieve total precious metal loadings (anode and cathode) of 0.2 g/peak kW, or non-precious metal loadings capable of meeting the cost target.  Phase I should focus on developing and demonstrating combinatorial methods, and on identifying catalysts with significantly higher activity compared to state-of-the-art fuel cell cathode catalysts.

References:

1.       Alper, M. D., Complex Systems:  Science for the 21st Century, based on A Workshop on Complex Systems, Berkeley, CA, March 5-6, 1999, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, June 23, 1999.  (Report No.: PUB-826) (Available on the Web at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/bes/CompSystems.pdf)

2.       Amatucci, G. G., et al., “Polyvalent Intercalation Batteries, a Step into Next Generation Energy Storage,” presented at the 198th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Phoenix, AZ, October 22-27, 2000, Abstract No. 215, Meeting Abstracts, Vol. MA2000-2, Electrochemical Society, 2000.  (ISSN: 1091-8213) (Paper published under new title:  “Investigation of Yttrium and Polyvalent Ion Intercalation into Nanocrystalline Vanadium Oxide,” Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 148(8): 940-A950, 2001.  ISSN: 0013-4651) 

3.       Batteries for Advanced Transportation Technologies Program, Quarterly and Annual Reports.  (Available on the Web at: http://berc.lbl.gov/BATT/BATT.html)  (Scroll down to bottom of page.)

4.       Dagani, R., “Combinatorial Chemistry:  A Faster Route to New Materials,” Chemical and Engineering News, 77(10): 1-60, March 8, 1999.  (ISSN: 0009-2347) (Title also listed as “Materials Discovery: (A Faster Route to New Materials)”)

5.       Fuel Cells for Transportation, 2001 Annual Progress Report, U.S. DOE Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies, 2002.  (Available on the Web at http://www.cartech.doe.gov/research/fuelcells/index.html)

6.       Landgrebe, A. R. and Klingler R. J., Interfaces, Phenomena, and Nanostructures in Lithium Batteries:  Proceedings of the International Workshop on Electrochemical Systems, Vol. 2000-36, Pennington, NJ:  Electrochemical Society, 2001. (ISBN: 1566773059) 

7.       Lowndes, D. H., Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology Research Directions, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1999. (Document No. M99-105015) (Available on the Web at: http://www.ornl.gov/~webworks/cpr/misc/105015.pdf)

8.       PNGV Battery Test Manual, [for hybrid electric vehicles], Technical Report, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, July 1, 1997. (Report No. DOE/ID-10597) (NTIS Order No. DE98050485) (Available on the Web at: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/578702-lJOESi/webviewable/)*

9.       Sutula, R. A., FY 2000 Progress Report for the Advanced Technology Development Program, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies, December 2000. (Full 77-page document available on the Web at: http://www.ott.doe.gov/pdfs/atdfy2000progressreport.pdf)

10.   Advanced Automotive Technology Resources and Publications Library, U.S. DOE Office of Advanced Transportation Technologies.http://www.cartech.doe.gov/  (Select either “Resources” or “Publications.”) 

11.  USABC Electric Vehicle Battery Test Procedures Manual, Revision 2, Technical Report, Washington, DC:  U.S. Department of Energy, January 1, 1996.  (Report No. DOE/ID-10479-Rev.2) (NTIS Order No. DE96009671) (Available on the Web at: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/214312-wzdRsH/webviewable/)*

18. BIOBASED PRODUCTS AND BIOENERGY

Energy from sunlight, our abundant natural resource, offers the opportunity to utilize a sustainable source of raw materials, namely, biomass from our nation's crops, forestry, aquatic, and agricultural wastes.  Biomass can provide a domestic, renewable source of carbon to be used in cleaner and renewable fuels, chemicals, and power production technologies.  Biomass resources include trees, forest residues, agricultural crops, crop residues such as corn stover and wheat straw, high productivity grass species such as switchgrass, and animal wastes.  Its utilization can contribute to a dramatic reduction in our dependence on foreign oil, a priority goal of the Department of Energy.  To this end, the Office of Basic Energy Sciences together with The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is seeking biotechnology research in plant sciences and processing to improve the use of bio-based renewable resources in the production of home-grown transportation fuels, chemical materials, and consumer products, and in the generation of clean, locally-based power.  Grant applications are sought only in the following subtopics:

a.      Modification of Biomass Agronomic Traits through Plant Sciences—Current crops, trees, and grasses offer significant potential for use as feedstock for biobased products and bioenergy. Modification of these plants can offer many additional advantages.  For example, conventional commodity agricultural crops have been bred to improve productivity and disease resistance with tremendous success.  The explosion of modern biotechnology and advanced molecular breeding technology offers yet far greater possibilities.  Grant applications are sought to develop further improvements in agronomic traits that could greatly reduce the energy and inputs required to produce the biomass, while maintaining, or better still, increasing yields per acre.  Approaches of interest include, but are not restricted to, agronomic improvements in stress tolerance, disease resistance, pest resistance, fertilizer uptake efficiency or lower fertilizer requirements, and higher yields at equal or lower input rates.  All of these modifications can result in more sustainable agriculture, less energy use, and lower costs for the resulting bioproducts and bioenergy produced from the biomass.

b.      Modification of Biomass Composition through Plant Sciences—Advances in modern biotechnology and advanced molecular breeding technology also presents opportunities for modifying the composition of the biomass plant.  Modified biomass compositions could include higher amounts of desirable components that currently exist, as well as new components that are not currently produced.  Ultimately, new chemicals, materials, and fuels produced directly in the biomass could result.  Therefore, grant applications are sought to modify the composition of plants and trees in order to reduce the energy and cost required to produce bioproducts and biofuels.  Possible approaches include modifications leading to plants that yield more carbohydrates or lipids and less lignin in their composition; plants with better fiber properties for bioproducts; plants that produce more of certain fatty acid compositions that are better suited as lubricants, polymer precursors, or other bioproducts; plants that produce new valuable chemicals or even polymers not now produced; and plants that can be taken apart into their components more easily.

c.   Biomass Gasification and Conversion to Bioproducts and Biofuels—Biomass can be converted to synthesis gas, which consists primarily of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and hydrogen (H₂), via the gasification process.  Although gasification technologies have been intensely developed for two decades, resulting in both large-scale demonstration facilities and commercial units, economic problems have limited their widespread application.  In the past, the products from gasification have been electricity and/or steam energy.  However, the relatively low value of these products in today's market makes it difficult to justify the capital and operating costs.  If gasification could be coupled with the production of higher-value liquid fuels or chemicals, a viable biorefinery could result from the combination.  Grant applications are sought to further develop one of two routes, fermentation and catalytic thermochemical transformation, for the production of chemical products and liquid fuels from gasification, leading to an economically attractive opportunity.

In the fermentation route, anaerobic bacteria such as Clostridium ljungdahlii are used to convert CO, CO₂, and H₂ into ethanol.  High conversion rates can be obtained because the process is limited only by the transfer of gas into the liquid phase, instead of by the rate of substrate uptake by the micro-organism, which in turn limits the sugar fermentation to ethanol.  Proposed approaches should further develop and improve the fermentation of syngasses to ethanol or other bioproducts.

In the catalytic thermochemical route, Fischer-Tropsch chemistry has shown that biofuels and bioproducts can be produced.  To be commercially attractive, the cost of this technology must be reduced.  Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, gasification gas composition and clean up, improved Fischer-Tropsch chemistry or new chemistry, better catalysts, and better more efficient reactors.   

References:  

1.       Biobased Industrial Products:  Research and Commercialization Priorities (2000). (Available on the Web at:  http://books.nap.edu/books/0309053927/html/2.html#pagetop)

2.       Biomass R&D Technical Advisory Committee Recommendations, December 2001.  (Full text available on the Web at: http://www.bioproducts-bioenergy.gov/pdfs/AdvisoryCommitteeRDRecommendations.pdf)

3.       Biomass Research and Development Initiative
U.S. Department of Energy, National Biomass Coordination Office http://www.bioproducts-bioenergy.gov

4.       Hardy, R. W. and Segelken, J. B., eds., Agricultural Biotechnology:  Novel Products and New Partnerships, Report No. 8, Ithaca, NY:  National Agricultural Biotechnology Council, 1996.  (ISBN: 0-9630907-6-3) (Table of Contents and ordering information available at: http://www.cals.cornell.edu/extension/nabc/pubs/pubs_reports.html#nabc8)

5.       Himmel, M. E., et al., “Cellulases: Structure, Function, and Applications,” Handbook on Bioethanol: Production and Utilization, Chapter 8, pp. 143-161, Washington, DC:  Taylor & Francis, 1996.  (ISBN: 1560325534) (See also U.S. DOE Office of Transportation, Cellulase Enzyme Research.  URL:  www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/cellulase.html)

6.       Klass, Donald L., Biomass for Renewable Energy, Fuels and Chemicals, Academic Press, 1998.  (ISBN 0-12-410950-0) (Available from Academic Press.  Web site: http://www.academicpress.com)  

7.       Klasson, K. T.,et al., “Biological Production of Liquid and Gaseous Fuels from Synthesis Gas,” Applied Biochemistry and Bioengineering, 24/25:857-873, 1990.  (ISSN: 0147-0248)  

8.       Napier, J.A., et al., “Plant Desaturases:  Harvesting the Fat of the Land,” Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 2(2): 123-127, 1999.  (ISSN: 1369-5266)  

9.       Plant/Crop-Based Renewable Resources 2020, U.S. DOE Office of Industrial Technology, January 1998.  (Available on the Web at http://www.oit.doe.gov/catalog/.  On menu at left, click on “Alphabetical Index.”  At top of page, click on “P-Q,” and scroll down to title.) 

10.   Tengerdy R.P. and Szakács G., “Perspectives in Agrobiotechnology,” Journal of Biotechnology, 66(2-3): 91-99, 1998.  (ISSN: 0963-6048)  

11.   The Technology Roadmap for Plant/Crop-Based Renewable Resources 2020, DOE Office of Industrial Technology, February 1999.  (Available on the Web at http://www.oit.doe.gov/catalog/.  On menu at left, select “Alphabetical Index.”  At top of page, select “T,” and scroll down to title.)

12.   Wooley, R. J., “Meeting the Challenges of a Growing Industry,” 6th Annual Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) National Ethanol Conference:  Policy and Marketing, Las Vegas, NV, February 18-20, 2001.  (DOE PowerPoint presentation.  For automatic download click on following URL: http://www.ethanolrfa.org/wooley.ppt)

13.   Wu, R., et al., “Molecular Genetics and Developmental Physiology:  Implications for Designing Better Forest Crops,” Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 19(5): 377-393, 2000.  (ISSN: 0735-2689)  

14.   Zechendorf, B., “Sustainable Development:  How Can Biotechnology Contribute?” Trends in Biotechnology, 17(6): 219-225, 1999.  (ISSN: 0167-7799)

19. CATALYSIS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING AND REFINERY OPERATIONS

Chemical manufacturing and refinery operations account for over 50% of the total global industrial process energy use.  Over 80 percent of petroleum refining processes involves catalysis.  About 90 percent of petrochemical manufacturing processes and more than 20% of all industrial products in the U.S. employ underlying catalytic steps.  Catalysis plays a substantial role in the production of 30 of the top 50 U.S. commodity chemicals.  Six more of the remaining 20 are made from raw materials that are produced catalytically.  The U.S. energy use component in the production of the top 50 chemicals is significant – 5 quadrillion BTUs per year – 3 quadrillion BTUs per year for those with catalytic production routes.  It has been estimated that if all the catalytic processes associated with the petroleum refining and the manufacture of the top 50 chemicals were raised to their maximum yields, total energy savings would exceed one quadrillion BTUs per year.  More efficient petroleum refining and chemical production, resulting from improvements to catalytic processes, would also contribute to significantly reduced carbon emissions.  This topic seeks to accelerate the catalyst discovery and applications process by identifying catalysts that have higher selectivities, can operate at modest temperatures and pressures, and contribute to a reduction in the number of unit operations, all of which impact overall resource efficiency.  Grant applications are sought only in the following subtopics:

a.   Catalysts for Optically Active Fine Chemical Syntheses—Many fine chemicals, used as starting materials for other chemicals (e.g., pharmaceutical manufacture, photographic chemicals, dyes and pigments), have one or more asymmetric carbons or other chiral centers that exhibit optical activity.  Asymmetric syntheses, based on catalysis, is the preferred process for producing these fine chemicals because alternative processes (separating optical isomers from unwanted isomers, which are discarded and converted to desired isomers) use too much energy.  However, existing asymmetric processes are inefficient.  Therefore, grant applications are sought to develop new or improved catalysts – heterogeneous, homogeneous, or hybrid – for the asymmetric syntheses of optically
active compounds.  Reactions of interest include oxidations, reductions, alkylations, isomerizations, and substitutions such as halogen substitutions.  Proposed approaches are restricted only by the following:  (1) the target synthetic compounds must have commercial application, (2) the target compounds exhibit optical activity, and (3) the catalysts synthesize only one optically active isomer from starting materials that do not exhibit optical activity.

b.      Commodity Chemical Synthesis—Oxidation is the most energy intensive of all chemical processes for the production of commodity chemicals and polymers.  These commodity chemicals include ethylene and propylene oxide, styrene, phenol and acetone, and nitric acid.  More selective oxidation could reduce energy consumption by increasing the yield of desired compounds.  Grant applications are sought to develop catalysts and associated processes for the synthesis of olefins, aromatics, and oxygenates, the critical building blocks of these commodity chemicals.

c.   Catalysts for Petrochemical Syntheses—The petrochemical “building blocks” (including ethylene, propylene, butane, butene, butadienes, benzene, toluene, and xylenes, and their immediate substituted products such as cumene chemicals) are used as starting materials for the manufacture of all other chemicals.  Grant applications are sought for improved processes for the petrochemical synthesis of these building block chemicals (starting from petroleum fractions or natural gas liquids), based on the development of new catalysts.  As an example, a catalyst used to synthesize ethylene from natural gas liquids, for example, would be of interest under this subtopic. 

d.   Refinery Catalysts—Catalysts are used in many refinery operations, including catalytic cracking, hydrotreatment, isomerization, reforming, and alkylation.  Grant applications are sought to improve the above processes through the development and use of new or improved catalysts.  Catalysts selected for investigation must:  (1) have applicability to a U.S. refinery operation, and (2) demonstrate energy savings either by saving feedstock or by lowering operating conditions such as temperature and pressure.  Small business applicants would be expected to work with a U.S. refiner, chemical company, or catalyst manufacturer in the development and application of the new or improved catalysts and applications. 

References:

1.       Technology Vision 2020:  The U. S. Chemical Industry, Washington, DC:  American Chemical Society (ACS), 1996.  (Available on the Web at http://www.oit.doe.gov/chemicals/visions.shtml.) (Also available from ACS. Telephone:  202-872-4386)

2.       Vision 2020 Catalysis Report.  (Available on the Web at: http://www.oit.doe.gov/chemicals/visions_catalysis.shtml.)*

3.       Vision 2020 Reaction Engineering Roadmap.  (Available on the Web at

http://www.oit.doe.gov/chemicals/visions_reaction_engineering.shtml)*

4.       Vision 2020:  The Materials Technology Workshop Report.  (Available on the Web at http://www.oit.doe.gov/chemicals/visions_mat_tech.shtml.)*

5.       Vision 2020:  Workshop Report on Alternative Media, Conditions and Raw Materials, a working document.  (Available on the Web at

http://www.oit.doe.gov/chemicals/visions_alternative.shtml)*

6.       Chemical Industry of the Future:  Energy and Environmental Profile of the U.S. Petroleum Refining Industry, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Industrial Technologies, 2000.  (Available on the Web at http://www.oit.doe.gov/chemicals/tools_profile.shtml.)*

7.       Petroleum Industry of the Future:  Energy and Environmental Profile of the U.S. Petroleum Refining Industry, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Industrial Technologies, 1998.  (Available on the Web at http://www.oit.doe.gov/petroleum/tools.shtml.  Scroll down, and click on “Energy & Environmental Profile….”)*

______________________________

*    Also available through the Office of Industrial Technologies Clearinghouse, 1-800-862-2086, or at 202-586-7543.

20. NANOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS IN INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY

Many of the recent discoveries in nanotechnology, undertaken at universities and national laboratories, may have an important influence on the manufacture and uses of chemicals and materials.  In this topic, small businesses are encouraged to take advantage of these discoveries and conduct further R&D that may lead to marketable products of importance to the U.S. chemical industry.  The subtopic areas focus on materials research in catalysis, in polymers and polymer manufacture, in composite materials, and in new materials with special properties that mimic properties of living organisms (i.e., “biomimetics” applications).  Grant applications must show an energy benefit, derived from saving energy in manufacture, conserving materials, or longer life in applications.  Grant applications should also include a plan for introducing the new technology into a major chemical company with capabilities for widespread technology implementation and manufacturing.  Grant applications are sought only in the following subtopics:

a.      Nanomaterials with Catalytic Activity—Recent discoveries suggest that some materials with nanosized features may exhibit novel heterogeneous catalytic activity.  Grant applications are sought to develop new nanoscale materials with catalytic properties.  Chemical transformations of interest include, but are not limited to isomerizations, halogenations, oxidations, reductions, stereospecific transformations, or combinations of these.  Proposed approaches must demonstrate that (1) the materials exhibit catalytic behavior only when their functional properties are imparted at the nanoscale, and (2) the intended products of the chemical reactions have commercial value.  Partnership with chemical companies that have the manufacturing capabilities needed to bring the technology to widespread commercial application is strongly encouraged.

b.   New Nanoscale Polymer Materials, Polymer Composites, and Polymer Processes—Recent research has shown that polymer materials with controlled nanocrystalline features may exhibit special or new properties that are not exhibited otherwise when the polymer material’s nanosize features are not controlled.  Furthermore, a composite material comprising both polymers and nanosize organic or inorganic substances could exhibit useful properties that are not exhibited by the polymer alone.  Grant applications are sought to develop novel polymer processes with the potential to control features of the polymer at the nanoscale, resulting in polymer materials that have properties unmatched by any other materials.  (Examples of such naturally occurring processes include the spinning of a web by a spider or the clotting of blood.)  Grant applications should (1) address commercial applications or markets for proposed approaches, (2) demonstrate a careful review of the relevant scientific literature, and (3) address possibilities for forming partnerships with industrial chemical companies willing to assist in the development and application of the technology. 

c.      Development of Materials with Structure or Function Derived from Analogy with Properties Exibited by Living Systems (“Biomimetics”)—Grant applications are sought to develop materials that, due to the nanoscale features of the material, mimic some of the remarkable properties exhibited by living organisms.   Such properties include self-repair, unusual hardness or strength or both, novel optical or electromagnetic behavior, or unusual transport properties for heat or mass.  Grant applications must identify:  (1) the novel biomimetic features to be developed; (2) the basis in nanoscience for the proposed materials development; (3) reasonable commercial applications for the new materials, and how these applications would save energy or materials or both in their intended use; and (4) a chemical industry partner that would participate in the development of the materials and that has the manufacturing capability to bring the materials to the marketplace. 

d.      Nanomaterials and Specialty Products Chemistry—In addition to the catalysts sought in subtopic a above, grant applications are sought to develop new products, based on nanoscience and nanotechnology, for use in specialty chemicals markets.  These products include adhesives, antoxidants, biocides, corrosion inhibitors, dyes, flame retardants, flavorings and fragrances, specialty coatings, surfactants, and water-soluble polymers.  Grant applicants must identify (1) specialty chemicals markets that will use the new materials, (2) energy benefits to be obtained from using the new materials, (3) the basis in nanoscience for the properties of the new materials, and (4) a specialty chemicals manufacturer that is prepared to assist in the commercialization of new materials technology.

References:

1.       National Nanotechnology Initiative: Leading to the Next Industrial Revolution, [Supplement to President's FY 2001 Budget], Washington, DC:  NSTC/CT, IWGN, February 2000.  (Full 100-page text available on the Web at: http://www.ostp.gov/NSTC/html/iwgn/iwgn.fy01budsuppl/nni.pdf

2.        Roco, M. C., et al., eds., Nanotechnology Research Directions: IWGN Workshop Report. Vision for Nanotechnology Research and Development in the Next Decade, prepared under guidance of NSTC/CT, Baltimore, MD:  Loyola College, September 1999.  (Full 227-page text available on the Web at: http://itri.loyola.edu/nano/IWGN.Research.Directions) (Also available at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/bes/IWGN.Research.Directions/welcome.htm  

3.       Siegel, R. W., et al., eds. Nanostructure Science and Technology:  A Worldwide Study, prepared under guidance of National Science and Technology Council Committee on Technology, (NSTC/CT) Interagency Working Group on NanoScience, Engineering and Technology (IWGN), Baltimore, MD:  Loyola College, August 1999.  (Full 336-page text available on the Web at: http://itri.loyola.edu/nano/IWGN.Worldwide.Study/