DOE Grant Recipients Technology Marketing Summaries

Here you’ll find marketing summaries for technologies available for licensing from the DOE Grant Recipients (GRANT). The summaries provide descriptions of the technologies including their benefits, applications and industries, and development stage.

18 Technology Marketing Summaries
Category	Title and Abstract	Laboratories	Date
Energy Analysis Geothermal	Thermodynamic Database Population Software (DBCreate) Update Thermodynamic Databases for Modeling Geochemical Processes The DBCreate software quickly and accurately updates thermodynamic databases used in geochemical modeling, based on changes in temperatures and pressures. The software facilitates the production of pressure, temperature and problem specific geochemical thermodynamic databases conveniently and quickly while minimizing the possibility of introducing errors caused by manual entry.	DOE Grant Recipients	01/25/2013
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Industrial Technologies	Filamentous Carbon Particles for Cleaning Oil Spills The invention provides methods and apparatus for the creation of carbon filaments used for cleaning oil spills. Crude oil and other petroleum products can cause severe damage to the environment and wildlife when spilled into the water. Oil is not only transferred by supertanker, but also by underwater pipelines an kept in coastal storage facilities. All of these have the potential to accidentally release crude oil int the ocean and sea. Due to the extreme environmental... read more	DOE Grant Recipients	10/02/2012
Advanced Materials Hydrogen and Fuel Cell	Method and Apparatus for Three-Dimensional Carbon Fiber Production UCF researchers have discovered a method for producing three-dimensional carbon fibers. These novel fibers have a surface area approximately two orders of magnitude greater than the surface area of primary fibers.They are composed of original carbon fibers (OCF) with secondary carbon filaments (SCFs) grown thereon. Additional tertiary carbon filaments (TCF) can also be grown from the surface of SCFs, forming a filamentous carbon network with high surface area. The presence of carbon... read more	DOE Grant Recipients	10/02/2012
Biomass and Biofuels	Autothermal Partial Oxidation of Ethanol and Alcohols Autothermal Reforming of Ethanol and Alcohols into Syngas Ethanol and alcohols can be converted into syngas using a robust autothermal reforming process. Syngas is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen that can be used to synthesize other chemicals or directly as a fuel. The recent advancements in fuel cell technology have spurred an interest in converting alcohols into hydrogen rich gas streams. This robust method enables the conversion of a nontoxic liquid such as an... read more	DOE Grant Recipients University of Minnesota	08/07/2012
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Solar Photovoltaic	Directly-irradiated Two-zone Solar Thermochemical Reactor for H2O/CO2 Splitting Solar Thermochemical Reactor Produces Syngas A thermochemical reactor has been developed to produce syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide from concentrated solar energy, water, and carbon dioxide. The solar reactor efficiently produces affordable hydrogen that can be used directly as fuel. The reactor features dual zones for the simultaneous reduction and oxidation through the continuous cycling of metal oxide to split water and carbon dioxide. The physical contact area... read more	DOE Grant Recipients	08/07/2012
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell	Involatile Protic Electrolytes and Ionic Acids for Fuel Cells and other Applications Currently, there is a surge in interest in fuel cell research, as companies across the globe race to take advantage of the high energy capacity that fuel cells provide in comparison to other portable electrochemical systems. Many approaches to fuel cell technology use strong acid electrolytes. Such systems suffer from corrosion problems, which limit their functional life. Despite significant research in the area, there remains a need for higher-performance proton carriers for use in fuel cells.	DOE Grant Recipients Arizona Technology Enterprises	03/13/2012
Biomass and Biofuels Hydrogen and Fuel Cell	Nanojunction Sensors for the Detection of chemical and Biological Species Commercial applications of nanotechnology require reliable and cost-effective methods to mass-fabricate various nanostructured materials and devices. Atomic-scale contacts between metal electrodes have been created mechanically by breaking a fine metal wire and by separating two metal electrodes in contact. The breaking and separating are usually controlled by an apparatus involving stepping motor or piezoelectric transducer. The contacts fabricated by the mechanical methods cannot be removed... read more	DOE Grant Recipients Arizona Technology Enterprises	03/13/2012
Energy Storage Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Solar Photovoltaic	Polyanionic Polymers with High Alkali-Ion Conductivity and Wide Electrochemical Windows As mobile electronics continue to evolve, the need for high-output, long-lasting rechargeable batteries has grown tremendously. In the search for suitable materials from which to construct high energy density solid state batteries, one of the principal obstacles has been the provision of a suitable electrolyte that exhibits the right combination of conductivity and ion mobility, consistency, wide electrochemical window, and good adherence to electrode surfaces. Very few electrolytes have been... read more	DOE Grant Recipients Arizona Technology Enterprises	03/13/2012
Energy Storage Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Solar Photovoltaic	Environmentally Benign Electrolytes With Wide Electrochemical Windows As mobile electronics continue to evolve, the need for safe, long-lasting rechargeable batteries has grown tremendously. In the search for suitable materials from which to construct high energy density solid state batteries, one of the principal obstacles has been the provision of a suitable electrolyte that exhibits the right combination of conductivity and ion mobility, consistency, wide electrochemical window, and good adherence to electrode surfaces. Very few electrolytes have been... read more	DOE Grant Recipients Arizona Technology Enterprises	03/13/2012
Energy Storage Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Solar Photovoltaic	Wide Electrochemical Window Solvents Typical electrolyte solvents for use in liquid or polymer electrolyte solutions include alkyl ethers and alkene carbonates. These solvents are used to dissolve electrolyte solutes and/or rubberizing polymer additives to form electrolyte solutions which may be used in electrochemical devices. However, these materials have significant disadvantages. Ethers are volatile and have low dielectric constants, while carbonates are unstable around alkali metals and have high melting points.	DOE Grant Recipients Arizona Technology Enterprises	03/13/2012
Energy Storage	Lithium Ion Conducting Ionic Electrolytes As mobile electronics continue to evolve, the need for high-output, long-lasting rechargeable batteries has grown tremendously. In the search for suitable materials from which to construct high energy density batteries, one of the principal obstacles has been the provision of a suitable electrolyte that exhibits the right combination of conductivity and ion mobility, stability, and wide electrochemical window. Very few electrolytes have been developed thus far that exhibit the above combination... read more	DOE Grant Recipients Arizona Technology Enterprises	03/13/2012
Energy Storage Solar Photovoltaic	Electrolytes for Lithium Ion Batteries As mobile electronics continue to evolve, the need for high-output, long-lasting rechargeable batteries has grown tremendously. In the search for suitable materials from which to construct high energy density batteries, one of the principal obstacles has been the provision of a suitable electrolyte that exhibits the right combination of conductivity and ion mobility, stability, and wide electrochemical window. Very few electrolytes have been developed thus far that exhibit the above combination... read more	DOE Grant Recipients Arizona Technology Enterprises	03/13/2012
Solar Thermal	Creation of Light and/or Surface Plasmons with Heated Metallic Films Thin Metal Film Plasmonic Device Ultrasmooth thin metal films with a nanoscale bull’s eye pattern of circular concentric grooves produce a monochromatic beam of collimated light when heated. The plasmonic device can be made from different metals such as tungsten, gold and silver or other combinations of materials. The wavelength of the emitted light can be tuned by changing the metal and the spacing of the concentric grooves of the bull’s eye pattern. The monochromatic... read more	DOE Grant Recipients University of Minnesota	03/13/2012
Advanced Materials	Supertough Polylactide Composites Biodegradable Plastics from Strengthened Polylactic Acid Polylactic acid is a renewable polymer used for creating biodegradable plastics. Unfortunately, polylactic acid has limited applications due to its brittleness when compared to petroleum-derived plastics. A process developed at the University of Minnesota can strengthen polylactic acid using less added material (as little as 1 wt% of non-polyactic acid material as opposed to 2-3 wt% for commercial additives) by creating a... read more	DOE Grant Recipients University of Minnesota	03/13/2012
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicles and Fuels	Fabrication of Robust Nanoporous Polymer Films with Cocontinuous Structures Nanofiltration Membrane for Ultrafiltration, Gas Separation and Liquid Separation The separation membrane has high throughput, and can be used in separation and purification of gas and/or liquid substances. Due to its high strength, the polymer nanofiltration membrane can be used as a high surface area catalyst support or as a proton exchange membrane in fuel cell applications. The membrane demonstrated good separation of ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen. The polymer membrane is not... read more	DOE Grant Recipients University of Minnesota	03/13/2012
Biomass and Biofuels	Reactive Flash Volatilization of Solid, Nonvolatile Fuel Syngas or Synthesis Gas Created from Biomass using a Catalyst for the Thermal Decomposition of Hydrocarbon with no Char Formation A biomass gasification process to efficiently create syngas with a reaction time 10 to 100 times faster than current biomass to syngas conversion technologies has been developed. This thermal decomposition of solid carbon and hydrogen containing biomass creates hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide gas without requiring heat inputs (autothermal) and has... read more	DOE Grant Recipients University of Minnesota	03/13/2012
Vehicles and Fuels	Olefins from High Yield Autothermal Reforming Process The autothermal reforming method employs an improved dehydrogenation process for olefin production, utilizing platinum based dehydrogenation catalysts in the presence of oxygen. The autothermal process requires no external energy input following ignition and produces high conversions and yields from the gaseous hydrocarbon feeds. Autothermal reforming is an effective solution that meets the high demands of the chemical market industry by producing high yields of olefins while reducing... read more	DOE Grant Recipients University of Minnesota	03/06/2012
Vehicles and Fuels	Co-cultured Synechococcus and Shewanella Produce Hydrocarbons without Cellulosic Feedstock The Shewanella bacteria naturally produce hydrocarbons but the University of Minnesota clarified the key protein responsible for fuel production, OleA and recently obtained the proteins’s crystal structure. Based on this knowledge, experiments are currently in process to optimize fuel production through both metabolic engineering and optimization of OleA.	DOE Grant Recipients University of Minnesota	03/06/2012

DOE Grant Recipients Technology Marketing Summaries

Autothermal Reforming of Ethanol and Alcohols into Syngas

Solar Thermochemical Reactor Produces Syngas

Thin Metal Film Plasmonic Device

Biodegradable Plastics from Strengthened Polylactic Acid

Nanofiltration Membrane for Ultrafiltration, Gas Separation and Liquid Separation

Syngas or Synthesis Gas Created from Biomass using a Catalyst for the Thermal Decomposition of Hydrocarbon with no Char Formation