Research
Carbon Capture and Nuclear
Ensuring Nuclear Energy & Carbon Constrained Technologies for Electric Power in Florida Research Projects: |
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Title:Biocatalytic Lignin Modification for Carbon Sequestration |
| PI: Jon Stewart Research Interests and Contact Information | |
| Description: After cellulose, lignin is the second most abundant form of carbon in plants. Lignin’s complex structure makes it difficult to use this material in value-added products, and the vast majority of lignin is currently burned to provide energy for factory operations. While burning plant derived lignin does not add to global greenhouse gas levels, having options to remove lignin from the global carbon cycle would lead to diminished atmospheric CO2 levels. This could be accomplished by chemically altering lignin’s structure to facilitate long-term terrestrial sequestration or using it in value-added products that would not be discarded immediately. We will use Nature’s catalysts (enzymes) to tailor the chemical structure of lignin for both deep-well injection (by using lignin derivatives as drilling “muds”) and for materials that can be used in building, packaging, and other manufactured products.) | |
| Budget: $200,000 | |
| Universities: UF | |
| This project has been completed. | |
| November 2011 Annual Report May 2010 Progress Report November 2010 Annual Report May 2011 Progress Report |
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Title:Reducing Residential Carbon Emission in Florida: Optional Scenarios Based on Energy Consumption, Transportation, and Land Use |
| PI: Tingting Zhao Research Interests and Contact Information | |
| CO-PI: Mark W. Horner | |
| Description: In 2007 the Governor of Florida established targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which mandate that the State of Florida aims to reduce emissions to 2000 levels by 2017 and to 1990 levels by 2025. To fulfill these goals, not only is the development of renewable sources of energy and fuel needed, but it is also necessary to achieve more sustainable energy/fuel consumption patterns. This project is dedicated to the latter objective, i.e., exploring the effectiveness of optional scenarios for households’ consumption of energy and transportation fuels with respect to CO2 mitigation. Human land use is another major concentration of this research, as changes in the built environment and vegetation cover may create sources or sinks of CO2 and hence affect the intensity and origins of carbon emissions. | |
| Budget: $21,707 | |
| University: FSU | |
| This project has been completed | |
| November 2011 Annual Report May 2010 Progress Report November 2010 Annual Report May 2011 Progress Report |
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Title:Enhanced Thermal Performance and Microstructure Simulation of Nuclear Fuels |
| PI: Justin Schwartz | |
| Description: The objective of this proposal was to perform preliminary investigations to determine the viability of improved oxide nuclear fuels through high thermal conductivity coatings such as “BeO.” To meet Florida’s sustainable energy demands, we pursued the option of enhanced oxide nuclear fuel performance by considering the potential for improved thermal behavior through high thermal conductivity oxide coatings. This work included a literature search of past investigations of the impact of enhanced thermal conductivity on nuclear fuel and reactor performance, the temperature and irradiation dependence of the thermal conductivity of BeO and other high thermal conductivity oxides, the chemical and thermal compatibility of BeO and nuclear fuels (UO2, PuO2, ThO2 and MOX), and initial studies into BeO coatings on HfO2 particles, where HfO2 serves as a benign surrogate for nuclear fuel oxides. We conducted an evaluation of possible coating processes and measured their thermal behavior. We used these findings to pursue external funding. | |
| Budget: $15,000 | |
| Universities: FSU | |
| This project has been completed. | |
| November 2011 Annual Report May 2010 Progress Report November 2010 Annual Report May 2011 Progress Report |
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Title:Database Infrastructure for Integrative Carbon Science Research |
| PI: Sabine Grunwald Research Interests and Contact Information | |
| Co-PI: Tim Martin | |
Description: Database infrastructure for integrative carbon science research (Grunwald, Martin and Beck): Rising CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and effects on global climate change have been well documented, and future impacts are uncertain but potentially devastating. Florida’s natural and agro-forest ecosystems have much potential to sequester carbon in biomass and soils due to unique climatic and landscape conditions. However, research gaps exist to accurately assess carbon pools and fluxes at coarse scales, ranging from county to the region and larger. The overarching objective of this project is to address these obstacles by creating a terrestrial carbon information system (called “TerraC”) for the carbon science community, focused on ecosystems in Florida. The information system will be administered through the UF Carbon Resources Science Center (http://carboncenter.ifas.ufl.edu ), a multi-disciplinary Center dedicated to research in support of enhanced agricultural and natural resource carbon management |
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| Budget: $199,440 | |
| Universities: UF | |
| External Collaborators: Natural Resources Conservation Service-U.S. Department of Agriculture | |
| This project has been completed. | |
| November 2013 Annual Report May 2013 Progress Report November 2012 Annual Report November 2011 Annual Report May 2010 Progress Report November 2010 Annual Report May 2011 Progress Report |
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Title:Creation of Carbon Sequestration Data, Technologies and Professional Cohorts for Florida |
| PI: Mark Stewart Research Interests and Contact Information | |
| Co-PIs: Jeffrey Cunningham, Maya Trotz | |
| Description: Rising concerns over increasing levels of green house gases, especially carbon dioxide, have led to suggestions to capture carbon dioxide at fixed sources, such as fossil fuel power plants, and sequester the carbon for millennia by injecting it underground. Florida overlies many thousands of feet of carbonate rocks which may be suitable for geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide. This project will investigate the potential for geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide in Florida, the physical and chemical changes that may occur as a result of injection, assess the potential for escape of injected carbon dioxide, determine the risk, if any, to aquifer systems used for water supplies, develop methodologies for Florida utilities to predict the performance and risks of proposed sequestration projects, and educate a cohort of geologic sequestration professionals t create a carbon sequestration industry in Florida. | |
| Budget: $479,640 | |
| Universities: USF | |
| External Collaborators: TECO, RTI, ECT, DOE | |
| This project has been completed. | |
| November 2012 Annual Report November 2011 Annual Report May 2010 Progress Report November 2010 Annual Report May 2011 Progress Report |
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