Ammonia Combustion and Non-Thermal Plasma for Gas Turbines and Industrial Heat
The National Energy Technology Laboratory's (NETL's) record of success has been built on understanding the future of energy and the technologies required to make that future possible. We’ve long touted our success in developing the technologies that took on acid rain in the 1970s and mercury in the early 2000s.
Program Goals
The NETL Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program (Postdoc) is a high-intensity program designed to identify recent Doctoral graduates of high promise and to foster advanced skill development. It allows the postdoc to systematically outline career goals and helps provide the means of achieving these goals. NETL principal investigators and leads serve as mentors to postdoctoral participants during the program. This interaction affords the postdoc a unique opportunity to develop critical skills needed to become an independent professional.
The program goals include providing the opportunity to participants to:
- Develop skills and knowledge in their field of study
- Engage with new areas of basic and applied research
- Network with world-class scientists
- Exchange ideas and skills with the Laboratory community
- Use state-of-the-art equipment
- Contribute to answers for today's pressing scientific questions
- Collaborate with the broader scientific and technical communities
Project Details
Through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), this posting seeks a post-Doctoral researcher to engage in projects with the Research Innovation Center (RIC) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in the area of Ammonia Combustion and Non-Thermal Plasma under the mentorship of Clinton Bedick. This project will be hosted at the NETL Pittsburgh, PA campus.
The project will focus on studying ammonia as a carbon-free fuel for gas turbine engines and industrial process heating. A major component (50%) of the research will involve the use of non-thermal plasma to enhance combustion characteristics and mitigate pollutant formation. Specifically, the project will: 1) perform fundamental experiments to quantify laminar flame speeds and species concentrations in canonical burner configurations, 2) setup and characterize non-thermal plasma generation via nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) discharge, 3) engage in 0D/1D modeling of ammonia flame, plasma, and ammonia flame + plasma configurations (ex. Cantera, ZDPlasKin, Comsol), 4) collaborate on the development and application of plasma and advanced diagnostics (ex. TDLAS, LDV/PIV, PLIF) in a variety of ammonia-relevant burner configurations.
Learning objectives may include:
- Learn about the technical challenges and R&D needs associated with ammonia combustion - in particular relating to model validation and combustion strategy optimization.
- Learn about the underlying physics associated with non-thermal plasma generation and how it can be used to impact combustion characteristics and/or emissions formation in flames. Specifically, as relevant to ammonia.
- Learn about the development and application of advanced diagnostic techniques for flames and plasmas.
Stipend: The selected participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.
- Post-Doctoral stipend is $7735 per month.
Deliverables: To document the effectiveness of the program, participants are required to submit a pre-appointment and post-appointment survey, as well as a reflection on their appointment experience when they renew or end their appointment. The reflection should summarize their project(s), additional activities, and overall experience. Details are provided as the appointment end date approaches.
Participants may also have the opportunity to contribute to manuscripts, journal articles, book chapters, conference presentations, posters, patents, and other publications as a part of their appointment. Such achievements should also be reported to ORISE; additional details are provided after an offer has been accepted.
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory system, is owned and operated by the DOE. NETL supports the DOE mission to advance the energy security of the United States. This is an educational opportunity offered by NETL and administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Participants in the program are not considered employees of NETL, DOE, the program administrator, or any other office or agency.
Qualifications
To be eligible, you must either:
- have received a Doctoral degree within the last five years or be currently enrolled in a Doctoral degree program and complete the degree prior to the appointment start date.
The ideal candidate would have some, but not necessarily all, of the following:
- Good communication and technical writing skills
- Highly preferred technical: prior experience with plasmas, strong Python/Matlab skills, prior combustion experience
- Preferred technical: prior experience with nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) plasmas, prior experience with advanced laser/imaging diagnostics (plasma and/or combustion - ex. TDLAS, LDV/PIV, PLIF, emission spectroscopy)