84 Search Results

Deep decarbonization of the US power system would require rapid deployment of variable renewable energy (VRE) resources, which are projected to provide a substantial share of electricity generation at the time of net-zero emissions. However, the exact share of generation met by VRE and the roles of other technologies in supplying key electricity services—energy and firm capacity—remain uncertain. This study employs a detailed model of the US power sector to decompose the provision and value of electricity services, including negative emissions, by technology across a range of deep decarbonization scenarios. Results indicate that while technology deployment and the share ofmore » services provided by each technology vary significantly depending on future technological and market conditions, the value composition and future roles of individual technologies remain consistent. These findings offer guidance for research and development priorities and provide insights to inform electricity policy and planning.« less

Global CO₂ emissions are increasing at about a 1.5% rate per year. Fossil fuel-based plants are one of the main contributors to this rise. In the power generation industry, fossil fuel plants are dominant, and many plants are under development. In this study, a natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plant with postcombustion capture using a leading water-lean solvent is considered. For optimal design and operating schedule, large-scale dynamic optimization is undertaken for net present value (NPV) optimization. The first principle dynamic model of NGCC is developed, including a model of the highly efficient H-class gas turbines. For computational tractabilitymore » of the dynamic optimization problem, a reduced-order model is developed by using the Hankel singular value decomposition. A waterlean solvent, N-(2-ethoxyethyl)-3-morpholinopropan-1-amine, is used for carbon capture. A model of the capture system is developed in Aspen Plus, which is used to develop a reduced-order model by using ALAMO, a machine learning software. In addition, a reduced model of the CO₂ compression system with a dehydration unit is also considered. The integrated system is used for NPV optimization by using the Python-based PYOMO platform. The PCC process is analyzed for three configurations-conventional packed bed, rotating packed bed (RPB), and a combination of RPB and direct contact cooler. The NPV optimization is performed for 14 regional markets by considering year-long clustered and continuous locational marginal price data with a 1 h interval. Optimization results show that the PCC can achieve 90% CO₂ capture with a positive NPV for six regions. Sensitivity studies conducted by using the PCC configurations indicate that the process is economically feasible for 9 regions out of 14 regional electricity markets with NPV values in the range of 33−540 $MM.« less

The engineering of rivers by dams is a formative feature of human-nature systems and the interconnectivity of water, energy, and the climate. Sufficient and broad-based representations of dams in large-scale hydrological models prove essential to mapping their extensive regulation of river flow and biogeochemistry and gauging climate-linked provisions, including freshwater supply and hydropower. We present an integrated modeling framework to investigate future streamflow and hydropower generation in the Contiguous U.S. (1990–2075), leveraging an ensemble of six downscaled and bias-corrected General Circulation Models (GCMs) from the high-end SSP585 scenario of the CMIP6. To achieve this, we develop a reservoir operations andmore » parameterization scheme for 1,384 dams in a high-resolution river network, including simulated hydropower generation for 326 dams. For the GCM ensemble mean, we simulate a widespread increase in regulated streamflow into the late-century (11% annual and 17% in winter for the dam median) with region-specific changes in summer streamflow that feature prominent declines in the Northwest (−7%). Mediation by reservoirs is shown to dampen intra-annual streamflow changes, delivering additional summer releases that partially mitigate declining flows. Total hydropower generation is projected to increase modestly (+3%), with boosted generation in the winter (+9%) and spring (+5%) offsetting declined summer generation (−3.4%), suggesting strong adaptation potential for hydropower in the future energy portfolio. Further analysis reveals that the choice of GCM, particularly in western regions, has significant bearing on projected streamflow and hydropower changes.« less

Here, we report the growth of single-phase epitaxial FeWO₄ thin films, using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, and investigate structural, optical, and electronic properties. The FeWO₄ films grow in (100) orientation on c-plane sapphire (0001) substrates and exhibit 3 rotational twin variants where FeWO₄ [001] is aligned to sapphire [100] equivalent in-plane directions. X-ray diffraction measurements indicate that the epitaxial FeWO₄ (100) structure is optimized when 80-100 W of rf power is applied to an atomic oxygen source during growth, yielding films with minimal strain and impurity phases or other orientations. In films grown with 120 W of rf power, FeWO₄more » crystallites develop inhomogeneous and homogeneous strains and are potentially contaminated with Fe³⁺ oxide phase impurities. In films grown with 60 W of rf power, FeWO₄ crystallites do not form fully epitaxial layers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that the structural changes are correlated with the Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ oxidation state ratio increasing from 0.6-1.4 with rf power from 60-120 W. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy indicates that the Fe/W composition ratio is also increasing from 1.1-1.8 with rf power from 60-120 W. Ultraviolet and visible optical absorption spectra indicate a 1.8 ± 0.1 eV band gap with an additional interband absorption feature at 3.1 ± 0.1 eV in the 80-100 W films, with similar onsets observed in the 60 W films. In the 120 W films, the higher lying transition is shifted to 2.7 ± 0.1 eV due to the Fe³⁺ enrichment. Electrical resistivity decreases over 2 orders of magnitude with oxidation from 10⁴-10⁵ Ω cm in 60 W films to 120 ± 10 Ω cm in 120 W films. Thermopower measurements show p-type to n-type conductivity conversion when oxidation states shift from Fe²⁺ majority in the 100 W films to Fe³⁺ majority in the 120 W films. We conclude that electron polaron hopping driven by Fe³⁺ is a dominant transport mechanism and a source of n-type conductivity in overoxidized FeWO₄ films.« less

Power is an often-cited reason for the move to advanced architectures on the path to Exascale computing. Here, this is due to practical considerations related to delivering enough power to successfully site and operate these machines, as well as concerns about energy usage while running large simulations. Since obtaining accurate power measurements can be challenging, it may be tempting to use the processor thermal design power (TDP) as a surrogate due to its simplicity and availability. However, TDP is not indicative of typical power usage while running simulations. Using commodity and advanced technology systems at Lawrence Livermore and Sandia Nationalmore » Labs, we performed a series of experiments to measure power and energy usage in running simulation codes. These experiments indicate that large scale Lawrence Livermore simulation codes are significantly more efficient than a simple processor TDP model might suggest.« less

Light emission and detection through tunnel junctions have emerged as a promising platform for studying nanoscale light–matter interactions, including electroluminescence and photoassisted transport. However, controlling these interactions in the tunneling regime has been challenging due to complex underlying mechanisms that remain poorly understood. A major obstacle is the difficulty in forming stable junctions that can function reliably over extended periods. In this study, we fabricate ultrastable tunneling junctions consisting of epitaxial indium–tin-oxide, epitaxial lutetium oxide, and gold. With their stable and consistent tunneling currents, we investigate photon-assisted transport phenomena using simple direct-current detection. Our results demonstrate that optical rectification ismore » the primary contributor to the laser-induced current, alongside thermal effects and hot-electron currents. Furthermore, owing to their epitaxial nature and high breakdown threshold, this ultrastable platform holds promise for future real-world applications, including nanoscale light sources and multifunctional photodetectors.« less

In the United States, more than 2 Gt of coal combustion residuals (i.e., coal ash) are stored in hundreds of disposal units. Recent federal regulations mandate the closure or retrofitting of most coal ash impoundments, presenting significant challenges for waste management. These regulatory pressures also present opportunities to reuse coal ash. However, the quality and quantity of discarded coal ash across the U.S. are not well known, even though this information is crucial for spurring its reuse for conventional and new material applications. This study describes a predictive model for the major element composition of coal ash in reserve atmore » disposal sites of major U.S. coal-fired power plants. This model was constructed from coal purchase records of 705 power stations from 1973 to 2022 and was trained on coal ash composition data, showing that coal ash elemental composition is strongly associated with the source of feedstock coal. The model showed regional shifts in the major element contents of ash produced by power plants in the last 50 years, particularly for calcium and iron (expressed as %CaO and %Fe2O3), as power stations changed their source of coal over this time frame. Our approach enables an estimation of chemical composition for ash stored in waste impoundments at individual power stations. Such information can help to delineate the regional market resource potential of supplementary cements for concrete and other material innovations that would utilize coal ash harvested from disposal sites across the U.S.« less

The 3α phenomenological model describes the structure of the carbon-12 nucleus as a cluster of three alpha particles. This model includes a pairwise α–α interaction and a three-body force. To fit the three-body potential, the ¹²C data are used, while ensuring that the pair potential reproduces the α–α scattering data. Alternatively, the mass-energy compensation (MEC) effect can be used to simulate the effect of the three-body potential by adjusting the mass of the α particle within the effective-mass approach. We demonstrate the MEC effect for the 3α ground state by numerically solving the differential Faddeev equation, in which the α–αmore » interaction is described by the Ali-Bodmer potential. The effective masses of α particles are evaluated for the ground and excited 0⁺ and bound 2⁺ states. Here, we demonstrate a coupling between the ground and first excited 0⁺ states, indicated by an anti-crossing of these energy levels in the energy–mass coordinates. A correspondence between the effective mass and a three-body potential is demonstrated. We discuss the results of the 0$$^{+}_{2}$$ calculations for various models of the α–α interaction.« less

GeSn is a group-IV alloy with immense potential to advance microelectronics technology due to its intrinsic compatibility with existing Si CMOS processes. With a sufficiently high Sn composition, GeSn is classified as a direct bandgap semiconductor. Polycrystalline GeSn holds several additional advantages, including its significantly lower synthesis cost compared to its epitaxial counterpart, as well as the versatility to grow these films on a variety of substrates. Here, in this work, we present a polycrystalline thin-film GeSn phototransistor on a fused silica substrate with a Sn composition of ~10%, showing a photoresponse in the short-wave infrared wavelength range, critical formore » emerging sensing applications. This device shows a gate-tunable response, with responsivities approaching up to 1.7 mA/W with only a 30 nm-thick GeSn layer. Furthermore, phototransistors offer additional adaptability through gating, which allows for the reduction of dark current. This not only enhances the signal-to-noise ratio but also offers more flexible integration with various image sensor readout implementations using different substrates. The specific detectivity of this phototransistor is within an order of magnitude of those of previously reported GeSn photodetectors grown by molecular beam epitaxy and chemical vapor deposition, even though the absorber is 3 to 20× thinner while the electrode spacing for photocarrier transport is approximately 15× longer than the carrier diffusion length in this work, showing great potential benefits of extending similar device structures to epitaxial GeSn layers. As these GeSn phototransistors utilize a noncrystalline substrate, our work establishes a fundamentally more versatile path toward monolithically integrated GeSn-based photodetectors for next-generation multimodal sensors.« less