Manufacturing Efficiency

The University of Minnesota will develop a non-thermal, low-temperature, plasma-assisted system for (1) in-situ flare gas reforming, (2) ignition, and (3) flame stabilization for small, unmanned pipe flares. Flares safely dispose of waste gases by burning them under controlled conditions. The new system will substantially enhance fuel reactivity by producing intermediate species such as ethylene, acetylene, and hydrogen. These hydrocarbons are highly reactive compared with methane and dramatically increase flare efficiency.

Cornell University will develop a scalable technology to co-utilize waste construction and demolition (C&D) residues and CO2 to produce sustainable construction materials via several closely integrated innovations in cement production.

Columbia University proposes a low-temperature water electrolyzer for hydrogen production based on ultrathin oxide membranes that can increase electrolysis efficiency by 20% compared with conventional polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. The enhanced performance of Columbia’s proton-conducting oxide membrane (POM) electrolyzers is enabled by the lower ionic resistance of dense oxide-based membranes that are 2 orders of magnitude thinner than conventional catalyst-coated membranes.

General Electric (GE) Gas Power will develop an innovative, super energy-efficient single-piece furnace for IC to produce future high-technology blades and vanes for IGTs. During the past 20 years IGT blades and vanes have grown larger with increasingly complex internal features. GE proposes an innovative furnace design coupled with additive ceramic mold technologies to make single crystal blades and vanes.

HighT-Tech aims to develop advanced high-entropy alloy (HEA) catalysts for ammonia oxidation with enhanced catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability. HighT-Tech’s technical approach includes scalable high-temperature thermal shock manufacturing of uniformly mixed multi-metallic nanoparticle HEA catalysts, reduced precious metal contents by >50%, reduced operating temperature, enhanced selectivity to desired reaction products, and extended catalyst lifetime.

North Carolina State University (NC State) will develop transformative, autothermal Redox-Dehydrogenation (RDH) technology to flexibly produce a variety of alkenyl benzenes in modular packed beds with integrated air separation and greatly simplified product separation. Styrene alone represents a market of over $50 billion/year and its production emits more than 27 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Sublime Systems will develop the first platform technology that uses electrochemistry to upcycle waste products and low-value minerals into valuable, CO2-neutral materials. The technology consists of an impurity-tolerant renewable electricity-powered electrochemical reactor. It generates strong acids and bases to separate, extract, and purify the elements contained in the input materials. The focus is on recovering magnesium, silica, and valuable metals from waste products (coal bottom ash and demolition waste concrete) and highly abundant but low-value mafic or ultramafic rocks.

Precision Combustion (PCI) proposes an innovative modular array to eliminate the release of ventilation air methane (VAM) associated with coal production. The team’s technology combines (1) a short contact time, low thermal mass reactor design to achieve high methane conversion in a small volume, (2) catalyst formulation and loading to minimize the required operating temperature of the oxidation reactor, and (3) system design and architecture to maximize the degree to which released heat is retained and recirculated.

Cimarron Energy aims to develop a cost-competitive flare and control system to achieve over 99.5% methane destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) from the current 98% DRE. The proposed system will include a novel flare apparatus to overcome all observed difficulties in achieving high DRE for flares, a microprocessor based electronic controller, an image-based closed-loop feedback system, and flow meters for high-pressure (HP) and low-pressure (LP) flare gas streams sent to the flare. The HP gas is associated with oil extraction and contains a large fraction of methane.

Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT) proposes an innovative Swiss-roll incinerator that effectively recuperates the heat from combustion products to fully combust the flare gas over a wide range of flow rates and concentrations. ACT's design comprises a spiral heat exchanger surrounding the incinerator, which effectively minimizes the heat losses from flue gas, incinerator wall convection, and radiation. The excess enthalpy in the reactants significantly extends the range of flammable mixtures to provide a complete methane combustion.