Projects
Decentralized Control of Modular Multi-Level Converters in Photovoltaic Systems
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
Renewable energy resources (e.g. solar or wind) provide economic and environmental benefits for energy generation systems and are the best alternatives to conquer global warming issues. The goal of this project is to incorporate the novel application of Modular Multi-level Converters (MMC) to solar photovoltaic modules with energy storage devices to increase the efficiency, reliability, and value of the overall system.
Design and Development of an Innovative Re-Roofing Solution That Demonstrates the Feasibility of Retrofitting a Leaky Vacant Building to a Watertight and Energy Producing System
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
This proposal is part of a cross-institutional, multidisciplinary initiative that is directed toward revitalization of New Kensington, PA, a Rust Belt area, into a vibrant community that supports economic growth and sustainable development through entrepreneurial and innovative initiative. One of the biggest challenges in this initiative is developing an optimal solution to the existing problem of old, leaky buildings, some vacant. If our proposal is successful, the investigators will design and test a conceptual model for a new roofing composite that will sit on top of the existing roof.
Energy Efficient Buildings: Using Data Analytics to Incorporate Occupancy in Scheduling and Load Profiling
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
The proposed research is a new collaboration between a junior and senior faculty at Penn State Great Valley and research faculty at Penn State at The Navy Yard, and aims at leveraging the available big data on Penn State buildings at The Philadelphia Navy Yard to: (a) create a comprehensive, open-source database of validated data as the foundation for subsequent analysis in this project and to facilitate research on energy efficient buildings for other researchers and practitioners; (b) develop novel statistical and data visualization tools to analyze historical data, monitor real-time perf
Experiment and Modeling of Multi-Physics Gas Flow Dynamics through Multiscale Shale Pores
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
Shale gas revolution has dramatically changed the energy landscape of North America. Despite this enormous success, significant technological challenges remain, and the flow and production mechanisms of shale gas are far from fully understood. The proposed research presents a multiscale study of the fundamentals of gas transport dynamics using a multi-physics approach. The project recognizes that methane is in a supercritical fluid state at the in-situ reservoir condition and desorption of the adsorbed gas from nanopores of the kerogen exhibits both non-monotonic and hysteresis behavior.
Heavy Metal Removal from Industrial Runoff Using Manganese Modified Diatomite
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
The goal of this project is to remove lead (Pb II), copper (Cu II), and zinc (Zn II) ions from industrial stormwater runoff using diatomite modified with sodium hydroxide and manganese oxide (Mn-DM). In this system, the runoff water and diatomite (also known as diatomaceous earth) serve as absorbate and absorbent, respectively.
Location, Location, Location: Changing the Real Estate of Plant Cell Walls via Lignin Nanolocalization
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
Lignin is a major component of plant cell walls and is the primary inhibitor of biomass degradability during biofuel production, but reducing lignin content by genetic manipulation often results in poor plant growth.
Maximization of Permanent Trapping of CO2 in Geological Formations
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
One of the major concerns in geological storage of CO2 is the risk of leakage of buoyant free-phase CO2. Securing significant volumes of CO2 in deep formations can be achieved through occurrence of natural processes, such as solubility (i.e., CO2 dissolution in brine), residual saturation trapping, and mineral trapping that lead to permanent storage of CO2. The dissolution of injected CO2 into brine and carbonate mineral formation reactions are complex processes that dependent on temperature, pressure, brine composition, and effectiveness of the contact between brine and free-phase CO2.
Multi-Scale Estimates of Solar Power Water Stress by Integrating Process-Based Descriptions with Deep-Learning-Based Mapping of Solar Farms
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
Photovoltaic solar power generation has grown exponentially in recent years and will further accelerate. Solar development induces a land use land cover change which may alter water and energy cycles and increase water stress, but these impacts have been overlooked. On a global scale, two road blocks for studying such impacts on water are: (i) no detailed data exist on where, how much, what kind of solar power exist; (ii) models have not incorporated physical processes related to solar panels.
Novel Inocula for Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal: Bridging Stream and Engineered Ecosystems
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
Microbial activities can significantly affect the fate of phosphorus (P) in both natural and engineered contexts, such as agricultural soils, streams, and biological wastewater treatment systems. Much of the research in these areas has occurred in parallel research communities, with relatively little exchange of ecological and phenotypic insights between different ecosystems.
Projecting Flood Risk from Extreme Precipitation: Interaction Between Climate Change and Urbanization
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
We will study changing risks of catastrophic floods in populated areas. Floods result from the interaction between meteorological processes and landscape characteristics, both of which are changing due to human activity. We will examine how climate change and urbanization combine to influence flood risk now, and into the future. This project has three interdependent components. First, we will develop statistical models that can describe the frequency, severity, and spatial extent of the most extreme precipitation events.
Utilizing Hydrotropes to Increase Redox Flow Battery Storage Densities
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
The current electrical power grid cannot stabilize fluctuations, which results in inefficiencies and inabilities to integrate intermittent renewable energy supplies, such as solar and wind, into the grid. To address this problem, the Department of Energy has strongly supported the development of flow batteries, which are large (i.e., building-scale) stationary energy storage devises that buffer fluctuations. Flow batteries differ from conventional batteries in that charge is stored in redox-active compounds dissolved in an electrolyte (kept in tanks), instead of at electrodes.
What Would the Susquehanna River Basin (SRB) Look Like in a European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive?
Awarded: 2018 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
Agricultural intensification, coupled with highly individualistic approaches to farmland management, has resulted in persistent water quality problems. Across the US, UK, and EU, policymakers have generally sought to remedy this situation through reactionary policies that incentivize and/or coerce farmers to change their behavior. Taken as a whole, however, these efforts are challenged by insufficient incentive structures, the diffuse nature of agricultural runoff, and the effects of legacy nutrient sources in the landscape.