Publications
Showing 43 results for Author: Kristina O. Armstrong
Feb, 2025
Journal
Estimating Energy Consumption and GHG Emissions in the U.S. Food Supply Chain: Informing the Net-Zero Transformation
This work provides a database of the U.S. food system’s energy consumption and GHG emissions at the national and state levels by food supply chain (FSC) stage, fuel type, and food commodity. We estimate that the U.S. FSC consumed a total 4660 TBTU (4900 PJ) of site energy, 7130 TBTU (7500 PJ) of primary energy, and generated 970 MMT of GHG emissions in 2016. Among all the…
Dec, 2024
Journal
Life cycle assessment of coir fiber-reinforced composites for automotive applications
Past decades have seen an increasing prevalence of natural fiber-reinforced composites (NFRCs) due to growing conscientiousness around sustainability and a push towards vehicle lightweighting. The environmentally friendly and sustainable claims of NFRCs need to be validated due to their large variability and variety, particularly where material substitutions are concerned,…
Nov, 2024
ORNL Report
Techno-Economic Analysis of Additively Manufactured Brackets Deployed for the US Browns Ferry Nuclear Reactor
During the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) program, multiple nuclear safety-related brackets were made by ORNL researchers at the MDF. These brackets were then provided to Framatome for assembly onto a fuel assembly and later insertion into TVA's Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant (Unit 2). This report analyzes the economics of creating these additively manufactured…
Dec, 2023
Journal
The Energy Footprint of Automotive Electronic Sensors
Information and communication technologies (ICT) have emerged as one of the leading technologies to reduce global emissions, particularly in the mobility sector. Automotive electronics, such as sensors/actuators and microcontrollers (commonly known as electronic control units (ECU) which control one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a vehicle), play a key…
Nov, 2023
Journal
Initial Findings from US Department of Energy’s Better Plants Virtual in-Plant Training on 50001 Ready
Manufacturing facilities use about 35% of the domestic energy in the United States every year. Implementing an effective energy management system (EnMS) is one of the most important approaches to improve energy efficiency. However, the implementation of EnMS is low for many countries (including the US) and even for energy-intensive sectors. The reasons for the low implemen…
Nov, 2023
ORNL Report
Study of Additive Manufacturing Applications to Geothermal Technologies Final Project Report
This report summarizes work performed to assess the potential for utilizing additive manufacturing (AM) to substantially improve either the availability, performance or cost basis for tools and components that are required for geothermal energy production. A systematic cataloging of geothermal activities, associated technologies, and current manufacturing methods was first…
Nov, 2023
ORNL Report
Sustainable Manufacturing and the Circular Economy
DOE's multi-lab Strategic Analysis Team published this report that presents five manufacturing case studies and examines relevant pathways and strategies for moving toward the sustainable manufacturing goal of conserving resources by minimizing material waste and nonrenewable resource extraction. The case studies apply circular economy strategies to understand not only the…
Nov, 2023
ORNL Report
Combined Heat and Power in Mexico: Market Opportunity Analysis
Energy reforms in Mexico have emphasized the need for a more diversified energy portfolio to enhance energy security, decrease environmental degradation, and increase Mexico’s economic competitiveness. Starting in 2013, these reforms provide new opportunities for the cogeneration of heat and power (also called combined heat and power, or CHP) in the following ways: (1) the…
Nov, 2023
Journal
Estimation of and barriers to waste heat recovery from harsh environments in industrial processes
This paper discusses the industrial potential for waste heat recovery (WHR) in harsh environments – defined as a waste heat stream having either a temperature of at least 650 °C or containing reactive constituents that complicate heat recovery. The analysis covers five industries (steel, aluminum, glass, cement, and lime), chosen based on volume of production, discharge of…
Nov, 2023
Journal
Life cycle cost, energy, and carbon emissions of molds for precast concrete: Exploring the impacts of material choices and additive manufacturing
Molds for precast concrete are commonly used to create simple- to complex-shaped concrete products away from construction sites. These molds are often handmade from wood; however, additively manufacturing (AM, or 3D printing) fiber-reinforced polymer composites is an advantageous alternative, producing significantly more durable, highly complex molds faster, but likely at…