Collaborative Research: ECO-CBET: Multi-scale design of liquid hydrogen carriers for spatio-temporal balancing of renewable energy systems

合作研究：ECO-CBET：用于可再生能源系统时空平衡的液氢载体的多尺度设计

• 批准号: 2318617
• 负责人: Dharik Mallapragada
• 金额: $ 42.5万
• 依托单位: New York University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-15 至 2027-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2318617&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; ECO; CBET; Multi

The affordability of transporting and storing liquid petroleum products has facilitated worldwide accessibility to transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel. Similarly, the widespread adoption of variable renewable energy to decarbonize the energy sector relies on developing cost-effective energy transportation and storage technologies. Employing hydrogen for storing and transporting variable renewable energy is a promising solution, but technological advancements are necessary to ensure economic viability. Two-way liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) are organic molecules whose well-known reactions can be exploited to store hydrogen. LOHC-based hydrogen storage and transportation technologies require a global network of distributed processing sites where LOHCs are produced (at the hydrogen source) or consumed (where hydrogen or energy is in demand); molecules are transported between these sites. The choice of LOHC molecule impacts the reactions that can be used, processes that can be employed at the processing sites, and the economics and sustainability of the entire supply chain. Thus, designing LOHC-based technologies must consider the interdependent aspects holistically. Accordingly, this project seeks to accelerate the discovery of alternative high hydrogen capacity LOHCs that are cost-effective, safe, and environmentally sustainable. A multidisciplinary team with scientific expertise from the atomic/molecular to the global scale will tackle this complex multiscale challenge. Complementing this research, the team will train the next generation of STEM engineers from diverse backgrounds. The team will also mentor students from underrepresented groups through on-campus programs and local organizations, such as the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) student chapter. Additionally, the team will engage with an Alaskan village, leveraging the participation of a local educator, to demonstrate the advantages of next-generation variable renewable energy storage and transportation technologies.The central hypothesis of the research is that alcohol-based LOHCs such as ethanol can overcome the challenges of traditional carriers, including poor thermochemistry and low hydrogen capacity. To evaluate this hypothesis, the investigators will (1) rigorously evaluate the discharging and charging catalytic chemistries of ethanol LOHC, both thermochemically and electrochemically, (2) develop kinetic models of these reactions, and (3) leverage the kinetic models to assess the techno-economics and sustainability of deploying this LOHC system in a regional and global supply chain. Given the vast space of organic molecules and several types of acceptor-less dehydrogenation chemistries, many carriers and mixtures of carriers potentially exist. Systematically exploring this space is essential to discovering optimal, cost-effective, and environmentally benign carriers. Building on the insights from studying ethanol, the investigators will explore novel alternative alcohol-based LOHCs using a new chemistry-cognizant molecule discovery platform, experimentally validate top candidates, and evaluate the economics and environmental impacts of the leading candidates relative to ethanol and currently known LOHCs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

运输和储存液态石油产品的经济性促进了全球范围内获得汽油和柴油等运输燃料。同样，广泛采用可变可再生能源来实现能源部门脱碳依赖于开发具有成本效益的能源运输和存储技术。使用氢来存储和运输可变的可再生能源是一个有前途的解决方案，但技术进步对于确保经济可行性是必要的。双向液态有机氢载体（LOHC）是有机分子，其众所周知的反应可用于储存氢。基于LOHC的氢存储和运输技术需要一个全球分布式处理站点网络，在该网络中生产LOHC（在氢源处）或消耗（在需要氢或能源的地方）；分子在这些位点之间运输。 LOHC 分子的选择会影响可使用的反应、可在加工场所采用的工艺以及整个供应链的经济性和可持续性。因此，设计基于 LOHC 的技术必须全面考虑相互依赖的方面。因此，该项目旨在加速发现具有成本效益、安全且环境可持续的替代高氢容量 LOHC。一支拥有从原子/分子到全球规模的科学专业知识的多学科团队将应对这一复杂的多尺度挑战。作为这项研究的补充，该团队将培训来自不同背景的下一代 STEM 工程师。该团队还将通过校园项目和当地组织（例如路易斯斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（LSAMP）项目和美国印第安人科学与工程学会（AISES）学生分会）为来自代表性不足群体的学生提供指导。此外，该团队还将与阿拉斯加的一个村庄合作，利用当地教育工作者的参与，展示下一代可变可再生能源储存和运输技术的优势。该研究的中心假设是，乙醇等酒精基低挥发物可以克服传统载体的挑战，包括热化学性能差和氢容量低。为了评估这一假设，研究人员将（1）严格评估乙醇 LOHC 的放电和充电催化化学性质，包括热化学和电化学，（2）开发这些反应的动力学模型，以及（3）利用动力学模型来评估技术-在区域和全球供应链中部署该 LOHC 系统的经济性和可持续性。鉴于有机分子的巨大空间和几种类型的无受体脱氢化学，可能存在许多载体和载体混合物。系统地探索这个空间对于发现最佳的、具有成本效益的和环境友好的载体至关重要。基于对乙醇研究的见解，研究人员将使用新的化学认知分子发现平台探索新型替代酒精基 LOHC，通过实验验证顶级候选物，并评估领先候选物相对于乙醇和目前已知的经济和环境影响LOHC。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。