11 Search Results

Peat soils are a critical component of the global carbon cycle as natural producers of biogenic greenhouse gases (e.g., methane and carbon dioxide) that accumulate within the soil and are released to the atmosphere. Previous studies have showed the ability of ground-based minimally-invasive geophysical methods such as ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to characterize carbon dynamics in peat soils. However, ground-based GPR is limited by scale of measurement and soil disturbance potentially altering gas releases during deployment. Here, we explore the potential of drone-based GPR for identification of hot spots and hot moments of gas accumulation and release in subtropical soils. Here,more » we collected drone-based GPR data sets across two grids (∼17,500 m²) in the Everglades during January (dry season), September, and November (wet season) of 2023 to characterize peat thickness and seasonal variability of gas content. Results show that drone-based GPR is effective and efficient for: (a) capturing the temporal variation of in situ biogenic gas content in peat soils with changes between 1% and 25 % volumetric gas content over repeatable grids; (b) inferring a total peat thickness between 0.8 and 1.2 m; and (c) estimating flux releases of 63 and 135 mg CH₄ m⁻² day⁻¹ for specific locations and periods that are strikingly consistent with our coincident gas trap measurements. This work also indicates that (a) spatial distribution of gas content in the Everglades is strongly controlled by landscape morphology such as ridges and sloughs and (b) the temporal variation of gas content is seasonal with increased gas production during the wet season.« less

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are protein shells encapsulating multiple enzymes of a metabolic pathway. Interpretations of early experiments on carboxysomes led to the narrative that transport of small gases (CO₂, O₂) across the shell membrane is restricted. Since then, this notion has been largely contradicted by studies of engineered shells, although these shell constructs lack important proteins present in the native BMCs, altering the synthetic shells’ topology, surface and mechanical properties. Here, we discuss here an updated model of gas permeability that informs the design of engineered shells for catalysis on gas substrates and outline how nonshell suprastructures of BMC shellmore » proteins could be used in formulating sustainable biomaterials for hydrogen generation via methane pyrolysis and for other greenhouse gas mitigations.« less

Recent increases in gas-fired power generation have engendered increased interdependencies between natural gas and power transmission systems. These interdependencies have amplified existing vulnerabilities in gas and power grids, where disruptions can require the curtailment of load in one or both systems. Although typically operated independently, coordination of these systems during severe disruptions can allow for targeted delivery to lifeline services, including gas delivery for residential heating and power delivery for critical facilities. To address the challenge of estimating maximum joint network capacities under such disruptions, we consider the task of determining feasible steady-state operating points for severely damaged systems whilemore » ensuring the maximal delivery of gas and power loads simultaneously, represented mathematically as the nonconvex joint Maximal Load Delivery (MLD) problem. To increase its tractability, we present a mixed-integer convex relaxation of the MLD problem. Then, to demonstrate the relaxation’s effectiveness in determining bounds on network capacities, exact and relaxed MLD formulations are compared across various multi-contingency scenarios on nine joint networks ranging in size from 25 to 1191 nodes. The relaxation-based methodology is observed to accurately and efficiently estimate the impacts of severe joint network disruptions, often converging to the relaxed MLD problem’s globally optimal solution within ten seconds.« less

The New Experiments With Spheres-Gas (NEWS-G) collaboration intends to achieve sub-GeV/c² Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) detection using Spherical Proportional Counters (SPCs). SPCs are gaseous detectors relying on ionisation with a single ionization electron energy threshold. The latest generation of SPC for direct dark matter searches has been installed at SNOLAB in Canada in 2021. This article details the different processes involved in the fabrication of the NEWS-G experiment. Also outlined in this paper are the mitigation strategies, measurements of radioactivity of the different components, and estimations of induced background event rates that were used to quantify and address detectormore » backgrounds.« less

In the last decade, zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) have been studied extensively for their potential as selective separation membranes. In this review, we highlight unique structural properties of ZIFs that allow them to achieve certain important separations, like that of propylene from propane, and summarize the state of the art in ZIF thin-film deposition on porous substrates and their modification by postsynthesis treatments. We also review the reported membrane performance for representative membrane synthesis approaches and attempt to rank the synthesis methods with respect to potential for scalability. To compare the dependence of membrane performance on membrane synthesis methods andmore » operating conditions, we map out fluxes and separation factors of selected ZIF-8 membranes for propylene/propane separation. Lastly, we provide future directions considering the importance of further improvements in scalability, cost effectiveness, and stable performance under industrially relevant conditions.« less

The experimental observation of the depression effect in gas devices designed for X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) is reported. The measurements were carried out at the Linac Coherent Light Source using a two-bunch FEL beam at 6.5 keV with 122.5 ns separation passing through an argon gas cell. The relative intensities of the two pulses of the two-bunch beam were measured, after and before the gas cell, from X-ray scattering off thin targets by using fast diodes with sufficient temporal resolution. At a cell pressure of 140 hPa, it was found that the after-to-before ratio of the intensities of the second pulse was aboutmore » 17% ± 6% higher than that of the first pulse, revealing lower effective attenuation of the gas cell due to heating by the first pulse and subsequent gas density reduction in the beam path. This measurement is important in guiding the design and/or mitigating the adverse effects in gas devices for high-repetition-rate FELs such as the LCLS-II and the European XFEL or other future high-repetition-rate upgrades to existing FEL facilities.« less

Newtonian fluid dynamics simulations were performed using the Navier–Stokes–Fourier formulations to elucidate the short time-scale (µs and longer) evolution of the density and temperature distributions in an argon-gas-filled attenuator for an X-ray free-electron laser under high-repetition-rate operation. Both hydrodynamic motions of the gas molecules and thermal conductions were included in a finite-volume calculation. It was found that the hydrodynamic wave motions play the primary role in creating a density depression (also known as a filament) by advectively transporting gas particles away from the X-ray laser–gas interaction region, where large pressure and temperature gradients have been built upon the initial energymore » depositionviaX-ray photoelectric absorption and subsequent thermalization. Concurrent outward heat conduction tends to reduce the pressure in the filament core region, generating a counter gas flow to backfill the filament, but on an initially slower time scale. If the inter-pulse separation is sufficiently short so the filament cannot recover, the depth of the filament progressively increases as the trailing pulses remove additional gas particles. Since the rate of hydrodynamic removal decreases while the rate of heat conduction back flow increases as time elapses, the two competing mechanisms ultimately reach a dynamic balance, establishing a repeating pattern for each pulse cycle. Finally, by performing simulations at higher repetition rates but lower per pulse energies while maintaining a constant time-averaged power, the amplitude of the hydrodynamic motion per pulse becomes smaller, and the evolution of the temperature and density distributions approach asymptotically towards, as expected, those calculated for a continuous-wave input of the equivalent power.« less

Here we find that negative charges on an armchair single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) can significantly enhance the migration of a carbon adatom on the external surfaces of SWCNTs, along the direction of the tube axis. Nanotube charging results in stronger binding of adatoms to SWCNTs and consequent longer lifetimes of adatoms before desorption, which in turn increases their migration distance several orders of magnitude. These results support the hypothesis of diffusion enhanced SWCNT growth in the volume of arc plasma. This process could enhance effective carbon flux to the metal catalyst.

Here, optimized incorporation of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL, reaction in water at elevated temperature and pressure) within an integrated biorefinery requires accurate models to predict the quantity and quality of all HTL products. Existing models primarily focus on biocrude product yields with limited consideration for biocrude quality and aqueous, gas, and biochar co-products, and have not been validated with an extensive collection of feedstocks. In this study, HTL experiments (300 °C, 30 min) were conducted using 24 different batches of microalgae feedstocks with distinctive feedstock properties, which resulted in a wide range of biocrude (21.3–54.3 dry weight basis, dw%), aqueous (4.6–31.2more » dw%), gas (7.1–35.6 dw%), and biochar (1.3–35.0 dw%) yields. Based on these results, a multiphase component additivity (MCA) model was introduced to predict yields and characteristics of the HTL biocrude product and aqueous, gas, and biochar co-products, with only feedstock biochemical (lipid, protein, carbohydrate, and ash) and elemental (C/H/N) composition as model inputs. Biochemical components were determined to distribute across biocrude product/HTL co-products as follows: lipids to biocrude; proteins to biocrude > aqueous > gas; carbohydrates to gas ≈ biochar > biocrude; and ash to aqueous > biochar. Modeled quality indicators included biocrude C/H/N contents, higher heating value (HHV), and energy recovery (ER); aqueous total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents; and biochar carbon content. The model was validated with HTL data from the literature, the potential to expand the application of this modeling framework to include waste biosolids (e.g., wastewater sludge, manure) was explored, and future research needs for industrial application were identified. Ultimately, the MCA model represents a critical step towards the integration of cultivation models with downstream HTL and biorefinery operations to enable system-level optimization, valorization of co-product streams (e.g., through catalytic hydrothermal gasification and nutrient recovery), and the navigation of tradeoffs across the value chain.« less