Feasibility studies for hydrogen reduction of ilmenite in a static system for use as an ISRU demonstration on the lunar surface

Sargeant, Hannah; Abernethy, F. A. J.; Anand, M.; Barber, S. J.; Landsberg, P. T.; Sheridan, S.; Wright, I. P.; Morse, A. D.

doi:10.1016/j.pss.2019.104759

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Simultaneously, volatile products (probably gas water) resulted from complex chemical processes deplete in the agglutinates and escape into the vacuum of the space. [14,15] This is why the lunar regolith is dry and barren, and investigation of volatiles transport is essential to understand the evolution of lunar regolith. Now that the retention of water in the super cial lunar soil is unlikely.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport of Volatiles in Agglutinates from Lunar Regolith of Chang’E-5 Mission

Zhang

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Volatiles transport in the lunar regolith is essential for lunar soil evolution and in-situ resources utilization (ISRU) and has not been fully understood. Here, we characterize a typical agglutinate particle from Chang’E-5 samples and demonstrate the transport behavior of volatiles through the porous structure. The results of surface and 3D structural characterization indicate that the formation of the smooth porous structure is mainly caused by volatiles flow. Based on the element distribution analysis, we further speculate the main component of the volatiles is gas water attributed to the reduction of FeO by abundant hydrogen in the superficial lunar regolith during micrometeoroids impacts. Numerical models of volatiles (gas water) transport in the porous agglutinate have been developed for different pressure conditions. The results show the ultrafast transport of volatiles makes the superficial regolith dry and barren under high-vacuum condition. We conclude that rapid escape of volatiles can hardly retain water in the superficial lunar soil yet provides opportunities for development of ISRU technology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport of Volatiles in Agglutinates from Lunar Regolith of Chang’E-5 Mission

Zhang

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…From lunar regolith, oxygen is typically obtained in three ways. The first way is chemical reduction, which is used to reduce oxides into metals and secondary oxides through external reagents: for example, using hydrogen (H 2 ) to reduce ilmenite (FeTiO 3 ) to generate Fe, TiO 2 , and H 2 O, which can be further electrolyzed to H 2 and O 2 . A carbothermal reduction process has also been extensively studied, and the reducing agents mainly include solid carbon, CO gas, methane, etc. − Thermodynamically, the efficiency of chemical reduction depends on the limited oxides such as FeTiO 3 and Fe 2 O 3 of the lunar regolith.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extracting Oxygen from Chang’e-5 Lunar Regolith Simulants

Shi

Yang

Zheng

et al. 2022

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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Harvesting oxygen and metals from the local resources of the Moon is a key step to advancing outer space exploration. A large amount of oxygen is stored in the lunar regolith in the form of oxides. Many efforts have been devoted to electrochemically splitting oxides to oxygen and metals in molten oxides and molten salts. However, a cheap oxygen-evolution inert anode is still a serious challenge, especially in the supercorrosive molten halides. Herein, we combine a molten CaCl 2 electrolyzer that can convert Chang'e-5 lunar regolith simulants to metals and CO 2 using a carbon anode and a molten carbonate electrolyzer that can convert the generated CO 2 to carbon and oxygen using a cheap Ni11Fe10Cu oxygen-evolution anode. Further, the electrolytic carbon is reused as the anode in the molten CaCl 2 electrolyzer, thereby closing the carbon cycle. Hence, the overall electrochemical reaction of the dual-electrolyzer system is to convert lunar regolith to metals and oxygen. More broadly, this system can convert the CO 2 generated by humans living on the Moon and Mars to oxygen and carbon materials.

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“…There is an ever-growing interest in space exploration, with a multitude of satellite missions planned for the next few years and the Moon being one of the main objectives. Projects such as the Russian LUNA 27 lander [3], NASA's Artemis [31] and VIPER [12] programmes, ESA's PRO-SPECT mission [38], JAXA's SLIM [30], the Indian Chandrayaan 3 [16], and China's Chang'e 6 [10] are expected to land on the Moon before the end of the decade. Furthermore, commercial missions by private companies like Astrobotic Technology [33], SpaceX [41], and Blue Origin [11] are also scheduled to land and perform experiments on the lunar surface in the near future.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel approach to the analytical modelling of an auger conveyor system for lunar regolith transportation

et al. 2022

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Auger-based transportation systems are a promising method to transport lunar regolith for in situ resource utilisation. An analytical model based on terrestrial auger conveyor industry guidelines is used to predict the behaviour and performance parameters of an auger conveyor system under a range of initial conditions. Key aspects of the model have been validated with published experimental data. The proposed model produces more accurate predictions than previous methods and calculates the inclination angle with the best conveying efficiency. The proposed model output flow predictions have on average $$47\%$$ 47 % less deviation from the experimental data mean than previous model predictions, while the predictions for power requirements without considering energy losses present 42.9% and $$59.2\%$$ 59.2 % less deviation than previous predictions. When the losses are considered, the proposed model predictions are 70% and $$86.4\%$$ 86.4 % more accurate than the previous models, which have been found to underestimate the power requirements of this type of conveyors.

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Feasibility studies for hydrogen reduction of ilmenite in a static system for use as an ISRU demonstration on the lunar surface

Abstract: Feasibility studies for hydrogen reduction of ilmenite in a static system for use as an ISRU demonstration on the lunar surface. Planetary and Space Science, 180, article no. 104759. For guidance on citations see FAQs.

Cited by 13 publications

References 13 publications

Transport of Volatiles in Agglutinates from Lunar Regolith of Chang’E-5 Mission

Transport of Volatiles in Agglutinates from Lunar Regolith of Chang’E-5 Mission

Extracting Oxygen from Chang’e-5 Lunar Regolith Simulants

A novel approach to the analytical modelling of an auger conveyor system for lunar regolith transportation

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