Award Data

Currently the commercially available technologies for H2 separation such as pressure swing adsorption and cryogenic distillation are very energy intensive. Membrane technologies can be very energy efficient; but for high selective membranes low flux and high cost are the major challenges that frustrate commercialization. Recently, cermet has shown promise because of less precious metal usage and m ...

Higher operating temperature for the gas turbine engine is needed for enhanced efficiency, lower emission and increased performance goal. The current state-of-the-art thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are not adequate to provide the needed protection for the metallic components of the turbine engine operating at higher TBC surface temperature (>1300

Atmospheric aerosols influence the global radiation balance through direct scattering, and perhaps more importantly, through modification of the earth

Hydrogen produced today from coal, natural gas, or biomass must be separated and purified outside the reactors using pressure swing absorption (PSA), a process that requires significant additional space and energy. Placing hydrogen-permeable membranes inside the reactors themselves would allow hydrogen to diffuse out, thereby reducing the cost of hydrogen production. In this Phase I effort, Mainst ...

Low-Flow Liquid Desiccant Air Conditioning (LDAC) has the potential to dramatically lower the electricity used for commercial air conditioning by directly removing moisture from the air prior to cooling. But in order to achieve widespread market adoption, the mechanisms by which the liquid desiccant is regenerated must be made more energy efficient, reliable and cost-effective. Membrane technolo ...

Due to the current oil crisis, the United States has begun to focus on alternative energy sources for transportation and other domestic applications. Methanol offers a renewable alternative to many fossil fuels that can be a raw material for the synthetic hydrocarbons and their products. ISL proposes to fabricate a photo-electrochemical cell that converts carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas which can ...

Although carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has received the most attention for its potential to reduce emissions, processes that convert CO2 into a useful product can provide a positive return on investment and not just be an unrecoverable cost. Compared to CCS technology, the potential revenue generated by the use of CO2-based product is likely to grow popular with time while reducing ...

We need transformational manufacturing technologies for fabrication of nanomaterials for manufacturing batteries and capacitors that will have a huge impact on improving the energy and power density of batteries and capacitors for transportation, energy storage and consumer electronics applications. Development of novel nanomaterials with high energy and power capability and a novel, nontraditiona ...

Despite significant advancement in PV technology and efficiency, qualification testing and market penetration, actual performance in the field of operation under a myriad of environemental constraints remains an important topic. PV arrays are subject to degradation mechanisms that can significantly impact power production capability. For revenue-critical PV arrays, detection of underperformance an ...

Present day photoinjector cathodes have a poor lifetime or inadequate quantum efficiency for advanced applications. In addition, the efficiency is constrained by the frequency up- conversion in the drive laser from infrared to ultraviolet photons. Novel nanofabrication techniques allow for the sub-wavelength patterning of grooves and hole-array surfaces on the cathode. Exploiting the surface plas ...