TS-072615 — The Need Efficient carbon dioxide (CO₂) utilization and separation remain critical challenges in energy, chemical, and environmental sectors. Existing processes for CO₂ conversion to carbon monoxide (CO) and for separating CO₂/CO mixtures are energy-intensive, costly, and often lack selectivit…

TS-072583 — The Need The ammonia industry is a major contributor to global CO₂ emissions, primarily due to its reliance on fossil fuels for hydrogen production and the energy-intensive air separation process for nitrogen. With over 500 million tons of CO₂ emitted annually from ammonia synthesis, there is a …

TS-072582 — The Need Current hydrogen production methods, such as steam methane reforming, are energy-intensive and emit significant CO₂, posing challenges for industries seeking low-carbon solutions. There is a critical need for scalable, efficient processes that enable continuous hydrogen generation while a…

TS-072580 — The Need Rising atmospheric CO₂ levels from fossil fuel combustion pose urgent climate and regulatory challenges. Existing carbon capture and sequestration technologies are often costly, energy-intensive, or limited in scalability. There is a critical need for economically viable solutions that no…

TS-072579 — The Need Industrial processes that utilize syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) often generate tail gas streams rich in CO₂ and other byproducts. Conventional carbon capture methods, such as acid gas removal units, are highly energy-intensive and reduce overall plant efficiency. There is a critic…

TS-072577 — The Need The transition to sustainable energy is hindered by the limitations of current hydrogen production methods, which rely heavily on fossil fuels and struggle with efficient, low-emission processing of solid fuels like biomass and coal. Existing chemical looping systems face challenges such as…

TS-072576 — The Need Drinking water utilities face mounting challenges in managing alum sludge, a byproduct of water treatment, as landfill options dwindle and disposal costs rise. Simultaneously, utilities must address increasingly stringent regulations for organic contaminants such as disinfection byproducts …

TS-072330 — The Need Current solid-state batteries (SSBs) offer high energy density and improved safety but require high stack pressures for stable operation, limiting their practicality in electric vehicles and consumer electronics. Silicon anodes, while promising for their high capacity, suffer from rapid deg…

TS-072328 — The Need Current firefighting methods often rely on water, toxic foams, or pre-installed systems, which can strain resources, pose environmental hazards, and limit portability. There is a growing demand for safer, non-toxic, and portable fire suppression solutions that can be rapidly deployed in div…

TS-071809 — The Need Syngas is an essential intermediate for producing high-value chemicals such as gasoline, methanol, and dimethyl ether. Current industrial methods (steam reforming, autothermal reforming, and partial oxidation) are energy-intensive, costly, and environmentally burdensome. Moreover, these met…

TS-071808 — The Need Industrial syngas and hydrogen production processes are highly energy-intensive and contribute significantly to carbon emissions due to reliance on fossil fuel combustion. Existing methods require multiple unit operations, resulting in low efficiency and high operational costs. There is a c…

TS-071806 — The Need Current syngas production from methane relies on energy-intensive air separation units (ASUs) to supply molecular oxygen, driving up capital and operating costs. Conventional catalysts also suffer from carbon deposition at low oxidant concentrations, limiting process flexibility and efficie…

TS-071746 — The Need Oil spills continue to pose significant threats to aquatic environments, public health, and economies worldwide. Existing sorbent technologies struggle to efficiently capture thin oil sheens and often lack buoyancy, limiting their effectiveness in real-world conditions. There is a critica…

TS-071606 — The Need There is a critical need for compact, long-lasting, and maintenance-free power sources for applications where conventional energy harvesting is impractical or impossible. These include deep space missions, implantable medical devices, and remote or harsh environments where solar or thermoel…

TS-071386 — The Need The search for sustainable, high-performance battery materials is hindered by reliance on finite metal-based resources and slow, trial-and-error development cycles. Organic electrode materials (OEMs), composed of earth-abundant elements, offer a more sustainable path but present challenges …

TS-070971 — The Need Modern gas turbines and compressors rely on bladed disks, which are highly sensitive to mistuning caused by manufacturing tolerances, wear, or damage. Existing modeling tools are fragmented, complex, and often limited to specific mistuning types. Industry will greatly benefit from a unified…

TS-070970 — The Need Many vibration-based energy harvesting systems are limited by narrow operational frequency bands, making them inefficient for environments where excitation frequencies drift—such as in bridges, machinery, or vehicles. Current solutions often sacrifice energy density to broaden bandwid…

TS-070635 — The Need We urgently need to be able to evaluate the effectiveness of environmental controls in buildings to reduce viral transmission and to prioritize resources. In 2021, $200 billion dollars was allocated in the US to improving ventilation in schools in response to COVID-19, but without reliable …

TS-070633 — The Need Stranded natural gas (SNG), a by-product of crude oil extraction, is often flared due to the high cost and logistical challenges of pipeline transport. Approximately 15 tons/day of SNG is flared from one oil well. This results in significant greenhouse gas emissions and wasted energy. With …

TS-070630 — The Need Fixed bed chemical looping systems offer operational simplicity and minimal attrition compared to moving bed systems, but they suffer from transient behaviors like feed breakthrough, uneven solid conversion, and coking. These issues compromise efficiency, scalability, and product consistenc…

TS-070629 — The Need Current industrial processes for hydrogen and syngas production—such as steam methane reforming and autothermal reforming—are energy-intensive, prone to catalyst coking, and economically viable only at large scales. These methods also struggle with CO₂ emissions and integratio…

TS-070308 — The Need Current lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials suffer from poor electronic conductivity and limited lithium-ion diffusion, especially under high-rate charging conditions. These limitations hinder the performance of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) in demanding applications such as elect…

TS-070306 — The Need In many under-resourced or remote regions, access to safe drinking water is compromised by the lack of reliable electricity needed to power standard point-of-use (POU) treatment systems, such as UV disinfection units. Where clean water infrastructure is absent or unreliable, communities fac…

TS-070030 — The Need Current photocatalytic technologies often require UV light for activation, limiting their efficiency and applicability under natural sunlight. Additionally, the short lifespan of photogenerated electrons and holes in TiO₂ nanoparticles hinders effective utilization. There is a need for a…

TS-069650 — The Need The urgent need to mitigate climate change has driven the demand for efficient carbon capture technologies. Current methods often fall short in achieving high capture rates and purity levels, especially for industrial applications. This technology addresses the critical need for a scalable…

TS-069524 — The Need Global water scarcity is a critical issue, with many regions lacking access to clean and reliable water sources. Traditional water harvesting methods are often energy-intensive and inefficient. There is a pressing need for innovative, sustainable, and energy-efficient technologies to extra…

TS-069522 — The Need The biofuel and biochemical industries face challenges in efficiently converting fermentation byproducts, such as butyrate, into higher-value products like butanol. Traditional methods often result in the accumulation of waste products, limiting overall process efficiency and economic viab…

TS-067793 — The technology is a device and method for producing high purity tritium gas by irradiating a lithium composition within a gas cell that selectively allows tritium to diffuse while blocking other byproducts, ensuring efficient and direct collection of pure tritium without extensive purification. This system is designed to enhance the purity, efficiency, and scalability of tritium production for various industrial and research applications.

TS-067535 — The Need In future decades, more people than ever will be spending time in space. Current crop production systems onboard spacecraft are not self-sustainable, relying on fertilizer and substrate materials that must be launched from Earth. These resupply missions can cost thousands of dollars per po…

TS-066963 — The Need Exposure to mold in homes costs billions of dollars every year. Exposure is particularly harmful to the 8% of the United States population that suffers from asthma; a leading cause of disability in children. Currently, odor, visible mold growth, and dampness are the best indicators of mold…

TS-066957 — The Need Colorimetric tests and remote image analysis are used in a wide range of industrial and medical applications. Digital image-based measurements made with smartphones are a promising platform to quantify colors at low cost, but suffer from inconsistency and errors caused by lens quality, sen…

TS-065430 — Cost-effective method to prevent damaged electrodes when welding thin foils.

TS-065424 — Due to environmental concerns and the decreasing supply of fossil fuels, there is substantial demand for nuclear-based energy production. Nuclear energy now provides about 10% of the world's electricity from about 440 power reactors and is the second largest source of low-carbon power. In addition, over 50 smaller countries utilize nuclear energy in about 220 research-size reactors. These reactors are used to produce medical and industrial isotopes and several other purposes.

TS-065423 — Turbine aircraft engines (jet engines) are a type of propulsion system commonly used in aviation. These engines operate on jet propulsion, where air is drawn into the engine, mixed with fuel, ignited, and then expelled at high speed to generate thrust. Jet engines are used in commercial and military aircraft, as well as helicopters.

TS-065422 — Light olefins, such as ethylene and propylene, are essential building blocks in the petrochemical industry and have a wide range of uses in various applications. The most common uses for olefins include polymers, chemical intermediates, solvents, rubber, and nanomaterials, among others.

TS-063346 — A reliable compact device for efficiently compressing natural gas fuel for automobiles

TS-063283 — As the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) becomes more widespread, there is an increasing emphasis on improving charging technologies. There is substantial commercial need for technologies that sit on-board EVs, enhancing charging efficiency and reducing mechanical complexity. The Ohio State U…

TS-063224 — The Need In the rapidly evolving landscape of electric vehicle (EV) technology, there exists a pressing commercial need for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) that can not only deliver high charge capacities and power densities but also address the critical issues of capacity fading and safe…

TS-063007 — The Need In disaster-stricken areas, timely and accurate reconnaissance is paramount for effective response and recovery efforts. Traditional methods of assessing damage to critical infrastructure, such as power distribution poles, often involve time-consuming manual inspections, leading to delays …

TS-062601 — Only a small fraction of the radio frequency (RF) energy transmitted by smartphones and other wireless devices is used to communicate with a wireless access point. It would be useful to collect or harvest the unused RF signals in order to convert them to direct current (DC) power and supplement th…