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Available Technologies

Title Sort descending Date Posted Patent Information Opportunity
A Unique Split Laser System for Environmental Monitoring USPN 7,421,166; USPN 8,786,840; USPN 8,934,511; USPN 9,297,696; USPN 9,548,585

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) have developed a novel split laser system for in situ environmental monitoring via Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) or Raman analysis.  The design features fiber-coupled, optically-pumped, passively Q-switched lasers that are small, portable, low cost and robust enough for even downhole applications.  The technology can be used in a wide array of applications, including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide (CO2) monitoring for CO2 sequestration, oil and gas monitoring, and water analysis (groundwater and municipal systems).  The technology is available for licensing and/or further collaborative research with NETL.

Proof of concept experimentation has been completed. NETL researchers are continuing to design miniaturized lasers and optical delivery systems to allow further size and cost reductions. The researchers have identified the need to complete and demonstrate both single point and multipoint measurement prototypes.  The results would further validate the technology and expedite its deployment to the private sector. 

Allyl-Containing Ionic Liquid Solvents for Co2 Capture USPN 9,975,080

Research is active on the technology titled,“Sulfur Tolerant Ionic Liquid Solvent for Pre-combustion Carbon Capture.” This invention is available for licensing and/or further collaborative research from U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Application of Oxide Dispersion Strengthening Coatings for Improved Transpiration Cooling USPN 9,579,722

Research is active on the development and incorporation of oxide dispersion strengthening (ODS) coatings for use in gas turbine component cooling applications. This invention is available for licensing and/or further collaborative research from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Blended Polymer for Gas Separation Membranes USPN 11,219,857

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has developed a new high performance microporous polymeric blend for carbon dioxide (CO2) gas capture and separation applications. This invention is available for licensing and/or further collaborative research from NETL.

Bottom-Up Assembly of Graphene Quantum Dots to Form Two-Dimensional Amorphous Carbon Film U.S. Patent Pending

This invention describes a uniquely engineered 2-D amorphous carbon film and a memristor fabricated with coal-derived carbon quantum dots as the dielectric (switching) media for resistive random-access memory (RRAM). The atomic dielectric carbon layer can provide large storage density and 3-D packing ability, allowing memory and logic devices to be integrated in one chip, providing faster data processing with low energy consumption. This patent application is jointly owned by NETL and the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (UIUC) and it is available for licensing and/or further collaboration.

Challenge
Memory is essential to future computing with the exponential growth of data. These emerging memory technologies aim to revolutionize the existing memory hierarchy. Various emerging memory technologies are actively being investigated to meet ideal performance characteristics. RRAM has various advantages such as easy fabrication, simple metal-insulator-metal structure, excellent scalability, nanosecond speed, and long data retention. RRAM has been commercialized since 2013. Despite showing great promise over conventional RAM and its popularity in academia, RRAM has not become commercially popular. This is due to high device variability and high operation voltage.

Catalysts for Thermal Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Carbon Monoxide or Synthesis Gas Using Fuels U.S. Patent Pending

This invention describes novel iron-based catalysts for conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce valuable gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) or syngas in the presence of fuel (biomass, coal, methane) for commercial and industrial applications while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This technology is available for licensing and/or further collaborative research from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Challenge
Syngas production from solid fuels such as biomass or coal is commercially conducted via a solid fuel gasification process. However, conventional solid fuel gasification processes are generally capital-intensive and require significant amounts of parasitic energy. Typically, the gasification process involves partial coal combustion with either O2 or air. When air is utilized, nitrogen (N2) may enter the syngas, diluting the syngas and making extraction difficult. When oxygen (O2) is utilized, expensive oxygen production units tend to generate high parasitic losses. As a result, the development of alternative methods for syngas production from solid fuels are a significant area of current interest. For oxygen-based commercial solid fuel gasification, oxygen must be separated from air, which requires an air separation unit. Cryogenic air separation has been used and is very expensive. In addition, steam is also required for the process. Gasification of solid fuel with CO2 has many advantages over conventional solid fuel gasification with oxygen/steam. 
Syngas production from methane is currently conducted via catalytic steam methane reforming and the process is energy intense with high carbon footprint. Catalytic methane dry reforming using CO2 to produce syngas has a potential to be more economical route for syngas production.  However, the catalysts used for methane dry reforming are either very expensive or has shown poor performance stability due to catalyst deactivation. Therefore, catalyst development is important for methane dry reforming technology to be commercially viable.
 

Chromia Refractory Brick with Carbon Treatment for Resistance to Slag Penetration in Gasifier Environments USPN 9,598,318

Research is active on the development of a chromia refractory brick composed principally of Cr2O3, Al2O3, and carbon deposits for operation in the slagging environment of a gasifier operating at temperatures between 1250°C and 1575°C, pressures between 300 and 1000 psi, and oxygen partial pressures between 10-4 and 10-10. This invention is available for licensing and/or further collaborative research from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). 

Computational and Simulation-Based Tools for Drilling Optimization U.S. Patent Pending

Research is active on the patent pending technology titled, “MSE-Based Drilling Optimization Using Neural Network Simulation.” This technology is available for licensing and/or further collaborative research from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Conducting Metal Oxides Integrated With Surface Acoustic Waves (SAW) Sensors For Use In Harsh Environments USPN 10,976,287

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has developed a method for achieving tunable gas sensitivity of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. The innovation implements a class of materials with tunable absolute film conductivities called conducting metal oxides (CMOs), which enables SAW devices to be calibrated for gas sensitivity in diverse harsh-environment conditions.

Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Carbon Monoxide or Synthesis Gas by Reforming or Gasification Using Oxygen Carriers/Catalysts USPN 10,864,501; USPN 10,427,138

Research is active on the development of metal ferrite oxygen carriers/catalysts for use in processes that convert carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO) or synthesis gas by reforming or gasification. This invention is available for licensing and/or further collaborative research from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Challenge

A variety of approaches have been employed to harness CO2 activation in order to produce useful products for chemical processes and to control greenhouse gas emissions. These approaches include catalytic dry reforming of methane, chemical looping dry reforming of fuel, and coal gasification with CO2.

CO and synthesis gas are very useful precursors for various chemical processes and can be used as a fuel for energy production. In catalytic dry reforming, the production of syngas from CO2 and methane is achieved in the presence of a catalyst that offers several advantages, such as mitigation of greenhouse gases emissions and conversion of CO2 and methane into syngas which can be used to produce valuable downstream chemicals. In chemical looping dry reforming, oxygen from an oxygen carrier or metal oxide is used for partial combustion of methane or coal to produce syngas or CO. The reduced oxygen carrier is then oxidized using CO2 to produce CO and oxidized oxygen carrier. In coal gasification with CO2, production of syngas from coal is achieved through the reaction of coal with CO2 instead of air or steam, which can be enhanced by the presence of metal oxide/metal promoters. Since the gasification process does not require steam, significant cost reductions would be expected. However, finding low-cost and efficient catalysts/oxygen carriers for these processes has been a major challenge, limiting their commercial success.