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Electrobioreactor for Renewable Energy Storage
The production of renewable electricity from wind and solar sources is curtailed to avoid overloading the power grid when supply exceeds demand, leading to the loss of electricity that could otherwise be utilized. A collaboration among Lawrence Livermore; SoCalGas in Los Angeles, California; and Electrochaea in Munich, Germany; has created an electrobioreactor capable of converting this excess renewable energy into storable natural gas for later use.
To generate natural gas, the electrobioreactor first converts water into hydrogen and oxygen using the energy from excess renewable electricity. Next, microbes in the reactor use the hydrogen in situ to convert carbon dioxide into methane, a major component of natural gas. Methane can then be transported in natural gas pipelines and stored indefinitely, unlike the original excess electricity, lowering stress on the power grid and enabling energy from the gas to be recovered when most needed.
The research partners express optimism for the electrobioreactor’s capabilities compared to those of existing conversion technology, which utilizes separate components. Simon Pang, a Livermore materials scientist who leads the Laboratory’s project team, says, “By integrating the electrolyzer and bioreactor together into a single device, we can achieve higher energy efficiency and performance in a compact device that will allow production of pipeline-quality renewable natural gas directly from biogas and renewable electricity. Moreover, we can increase the value of biogas and reduce the likelihood that it will be vented to the atmosphere, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and improving local air quality.”
Contact: Simon Pang (925) 423-8832 (pang6 [at] llnl.gov (pang6[at]llnl[dot]gov)).
Earlier Risk Detection in Combat Wounds
Combat trauma has a severely invasive nature compared to other injury types, leading to massive regions of potential colonization and infection by pathogens. An estimated 18 to 25 percent of combat-related injuries develop infections, and multidrug-resistant microorganisms hinder wound recovery. Seeking to detect microbial factors earlier, Livermore researchers developed a targeted panel for the capture and sequencing of microbial genomic signatures relevant to wounds from combat injuries. Their results appear in the December 2023 issue of Microbiology Spectrum.
The team’s panel uses microbial metagenomic sequencing to selectively sequence thousands of microbial genomic regions relevant to bioburden (unsterilized bacteria) in traumatic wound injuries. In this process, microbial signatures such as genus- and species-level pathogen identification, antimicrobial resistance, and virulence can be detected with high confidence, a step in effectively predicting risks and improving care for military service members.
Another element of the bioburden equation is understanding risks in operational environments, such as pathogens that can survive on warfighters’ gear. A team of researchers from Livermore and Tripler Army Research Center obtained and sequenced swab specimens of gear in two independent military cohorts. The results of the study appear in the January 2024 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology. This research informs antimicrobial materials design to minimize contamination and infection risks. Livermore postdoctoral scientist and lead author of the paper Car Reen Kok says, “Both studies collectively demonstrate the likely and undesired impact of environmental microbial contamination on military wounds and the potential of using microbial features derived from sequencing as biomarkers for microbial surveillance and risk detection.”
Contact: Car Reen Kok (925) 424-6715 (kok1 [at] llnl.gov (kok1[at]llnl[dot]gov)).
Extended Life for Vanadium Redox Flow Battery
Flow batteries—specifically efficient, scalable, and safe vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs)—have emerged as promising technology for stationary grid energy storage. Redox reactions in these batteries occur at the surfaces of the electrodes in contact with the electrolyte. Modifications to the electrode surface can affect the electrochemical activity and the overall battery performance. In an effort to extend the lifespans of VRFBs, a collaboration between Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and a team of Livermore researchers, led by Sabrina Wan, explored the surface functionality of carbon electrodes and their propensity for degradation during electrochemical cycles. The team’s results appear in the February 21, 2024, issue of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
The researchers explored a variety of carbon electrodes using carbon K edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) with a coupled experimental–theoretical approach, allowing them to characterize electrodes prepared under different conditions and identify relevant functional groups contributing to their unique spectroscopic features. They also conducted density functional theory calculations to obtain XAS signatures of relevant carbon atoms in the electrode before and after interaction with the vanadium redox complexes in different charge states.
Livermore researcher Wenyu Sun says, “Our research identified the reactive functional groups present on the carbon electrodes, which play a crucial role in determining their electrochemical performance.” Livermore co-principal investigator Jon Lee adds, “This work will contribute to a deeper understanding of the electrochemical reactions occurring at the electrode–electrolyte interface, ultimately aiding in the design and optimization of high-efficiency VRFBs.”
Contact: Wenyu Sun (925) 422-6810 (sun39 [at] llnl.gov (sun39[at]llnl[dot]gov)).
