CARBON DIOXIDE BASED MINING FOR CARBON NEGATIVE MINERAL RECOVERY (iEdison No. 0685901-23-0075)
This project will develop the first integrated technology and comprehensive suite of methods for in situ Supercritical CO2-Enhanced Mineral Recovery (scCO2-EMR) and permanent carbon storage via carbonate mineralization of mafic-ultramafic formations. This technology addresses the need for cost-effective transformative technologies to decarbonize the mining industry, address depletion of high value ore grades, minimize hazardous legacy of tailing piles, and ultimately develop a resilient supply chain of domestic energy-relevant minerals. We propose to transform mining of energy relevant minerals (e.g., Ni, Co, Cu, Pt, Mn), with the initial focus on Ni, using a carbon-negative technology that will leverage existing horizontal drilling technologies to deliver proprietary scCO2-based leaching fluids to mixed-grade ultramafic assets. Energy-relevant mineral rich fluids will be brought to the surface for processing and CO2 will be permanently sequestered at depth in the form of carbonate minerals. Our carbon-negative technology will expand the CM supply chain by harnesses low value assets while creating a carbon-negative pathway that reduces energy cost by 63% and mineralizes ~110 kg CO2 per kg of metal extracted.
Process model simulator for deception
Software the that runs a model of a physical process either generated from extrapolative machine learning or from canned physics simulators to generate realistic data for feeding deceptive controller decoys for defense. This is the software implementation of the IP defined in IPID 31305-E.
System and Method for Anomaly Detection
A method for decomposing a continuous variable into a collection of discrete variables for purposes of statistical modeling.
Polymer-Sulfur Composite Materials for Electrodes In Li-S Energy Storage Devices
The high capacity Li/S battery with low cost and improved safety is one of the most promising technologies for the next generation of energy storage systems. However, its practical application has been plagued by a poor cycling ability caused by soluble polysulfide intermediates. Herein, a flexible interwoven sulfurized polyaniline (referred as SPANI hereafter) is designed to imbed sulfur in the form of S/SPANI composite. The soluble long chain polysulphides produced during repeated cycling are effectively constrained within the SPANI spatial network through both physical and chemical interactions. Even after 500 cycles a capacity retention rate of 68% is observed in the S/SPANI composite with a reversible capacity of around 600 mAh g-1. Compared with the conventional carbon matrix the framework of the elastic SPANI polymer functions very differently in that the volume of SPANI varies in the same pace as that of S addressing the dislocation issue of sulfur appropriately. The amine groups and/or imine groups decorated on SPANI surface further interacts or attracts the soluble polysulfides anions leading to the superior electrochemical performances. The attractive behavior exhibited by the SPANI/S composite not only underlies a new concept for designing sulfur-based electrode material but can be applied into many other different applications.
Porous Thin Film and Process for Analyte Preconcentation and Determination
This invention disclosure describes a novel method for making porous thin films of known thickness and porosity, and functionlizing them for use to selectively preconcentrate analytes for spectroscopic interrogation.
POLYMER COMPOSITES FOR FUSED FILAMENT FABRICATION AND METHODS OF MAKING THE SAME
Material formulation for additive manufacturing (AM) will be central to the progression of the industry as it moves from novelty to a mainstream, disruptive technology. We disclose in the document methods and techniques of formulating highly porous specially engineered materials for use in fused deposition modeling printers, achieving high loadings of several species of Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) combined with a sacrificial fluoropolymer process that enables the retention of the parent MOF chemical characteristics. We have achieved loadings up to 50% with MOFs while still retaining the ability to print the material on a standard FDM machine. Through a sacrificial process, we show that surface areas up to 712 square meters per gram of printed material can be achieved. We have further demonstrated that high loadings are required to attain the functionality of the parent MOF characteristics, and have defined the lower threshold for viability of this loading.
ELECTROCHEMICAL LEACHING FOR NUTRIENT DELIVERY IN WATER (iEdison No. 0685901-23-0084)
Photosynthetic productivity has the potential to capture and store atmospheric carbon as biomass. Trace metal nutrient limitations often constrain the capacity for carbon capture and fixation in marine photosynthetic algae. Increases in algal CO2 uptake and carbon sequestration can be achieved by removing nutrient limitations to growth and metabolism via the local addition of nutrients. To address this, open ocean iron fertilization was tested at-scale in the 1970s, but the experiments were conducted with little control, generating public concern. However, as marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) is a topic of growing interest both within DOE (FECM, WPTO etc.) and private sector (Climate Works Foundation, Ocean Visions etc.), interest in open ocean Fe fertilization is resurging as an avenue to achieve scalable ocean decarbonization. The aim for the new generation of Fe-fertilization experiments is to have significant control on delivery so benefits are maximized, and any potential unintended ecosystem impacts are minimal. To that end, unlike the original experiments which relied on one-time addition of chemicals shipped to the open ocean, we have developed and demonstrate here an electrochemical method for controlled addition of Fe for maximum benefit and process control. Not only can electrodes containing Fe be placed local to algal populations and fertilization initiated without human intervention, but dosage can be kept to controllable minimums and in a bioavailable form. We demonstrated an 890% increase in harvest densities of algae cultures fertilized via electrochemical iron leaching compared to controls. This is the first example of electrochemically controlled nutrient fertilization in algae cultivation. Electrically iron-dosed cultures captured 1.04 ± 0.29 g L-1 day-1 CO2 during maximum growth, 10 times more than iron-limited cultures. We refer to this as 'precision electrofertilization". While we demonstrate the concept for Fe, the same method can be extended to various other micronutrients that are critical to the growth of algae (e.g., Mn, Zn, etc.) by simply changing the alloy of the electrode and electrochemical process conditions. Note that while this work originated from our interest in marine carbon dioxide removal in the open oceans, the near-term applications are likely to be in near-shore or on-shore aquaculture where controlled nutrient delivery can generate significant increase in productivity.
Sensitivity calculator for low-background experiments
The code calculates sensitivity for low background counting experiments that require radioassays to determine the expected background rate. It allows the user to choose from several Bayesian priors for the radioassay results.
Process for Producing Cyclic Compounds
The invention relates to a method for producing cyclic amine compounds such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone. In the preferred embodiment the precursor is diammonium succinate prepared from fermentation. The invention reports on a way of producing an intermediate that can be purified before the ultimate step, which requires precious metal catalysis. Impurities in the fermentation broth can harm such catalysts. Several examples are given that illustrate the invention.
PerSeq: A workflow for functional and taxonomic classification of sequences
Functional annotation in addition to linking those functions to taxonomic groups presents a challenge due to many established tools performing one task and not the other creating disparate downstream data. PerSeq aims to address these challenges by performing local alignments against a reference database annotated for both aspects, function and taxonomy, to annotate sequences individually. Downstream results are merged into count tables facilitating complex analyses based on observed function or functional potential in addition to being able to separate out function by taxonomic level to determine metabolic contributions by present organisms.