Hydrogen reduction of lunar samples in a static system for a water production demonstration on the Moon

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

doi:10.1016/j.pss.2021.105287

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…5) These are processes for separating metal and oxygen based on an electrochemical process and related research is ongoing. 69) Sargeant et al 10) reported that it is possible to produce water by reducing iron oxide-bearing minerals in lunar soil by hydrogen; in particular, the abundance of ilmenite in lunar soil greatly affects the production of water.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Titanium Dioxide on Aggregation of Reduced Metallic Iron in Molten Slag

et al. 2023

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The reduction process of lunar regolith simulant was designed to obtain metallic iron (Fe) and utilize lunar resources, focusing mainly on the effect of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) on the recovery of metallic Fe from molten slag. Thermodynamic calculations were conducted to predict the equilibrium phases existing at high temperature upon heating the regolith simulant to 1600°C under an oxygen partial pressure of 10 ¹15 atm, in which the metallic Fe coexisted with the molten slag. Based on these predictions, two steps were applied in the experimental procedure: a reduction step followed by a melting step. The results showed that metallic Fe droplets were obtained by aggregating fine metallic Fe particles in the melting step. The viscosity of molten slag was found to decrease when TiO 2 was added to the regolith simulant, but the recovery ratio® defined as the weight ratio of the metallic Fe obtained from the aggregation of fine metallic Fe particles to the total amount of Fe in the regolith simulant®also decreased. The wettability between liquid Fe and molten slag improved upon increasing the TiO 2 content in the latter. These results indicate that wettability exerts a substantially more dominant effect than the viscosity of molten slag does in the recovery of metallic Fe from regolith simulant.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Titanium Dioxide on Aggregation of Reduced Metallic Iron in Molten Slag

et al. 2023

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“…H 2 gas, which is easily compressed and transported, may serve as an alternative hydrogen source if chemically possible. H 2 exposure to lunar regolith alongside heating is shown to result in appreciable amounts of H 2 O . However, experiments to assess the results of H 2 exposure to lunar silica or silicates without the introduction of a secondary energy source have yet to be attempted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation and Destruction of Si₆O₁₂ Nanostructures in the Gas Phase: Applications to Grain Nucleation and Water Generation

Flint,

Fortenberry

2023

ACS Earth Space Chem.

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Silica grains are ubiquitous in both circumstellar media and rocky bodies and are vital to cosmic chemical processes, such as surface-catalyzed reactions and lunar water generation. Despite their pervasiveness, the chemical processes behind their formation and destruction, both of which are key to understanding their broader chemistry, are not fully established as of yet. Using chemically accurate CCSD(T)-F12/cc-pVTZ-F12 quantum chemical calculations, a reaction pathway including the possible bulk silica precursors Si3O6 and Si6O12 is mapped out herein. Through the reaction of SiO and H2O, the formation of such precursors is possible under circumstellar conditions. Expansion of this pathway may contribute to a complete understanding of silica and silicate chemistry throughout the universe. The constructed reaction pathway also shows that in the reverse reaction, processing of lunar silicates under the available photon flux of the sun can result in H2O production, following previous observations. The acceleration of H2O generation may be made possible through exposure of lunar silica to applied H2 in future aerospace ventures.

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“… What are the physical and chemical processes that can be applied to extract and process local resources? Many processes have been proposed 83 – 85 , however not all are appropriate for all locations (e.g., hydrogen reduction in the lunar highlands 100 ). Strategies for establishing either the most suitable location or the most suitable process are required.…”

Section: Open Science Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward the utilisation of resources in space: knowledge gaps, open questions, and priorities

2023

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There are many open science questions in space resource utilisation due to the novelty and relative immaturity of the field. While many potential technologies have been proposed to produce usable resources in space, high confidence, large-scale design is limited by gaps in the knowledge of the local environmental conditions, geology, mineralogy, and regolith characteristics, as well as specific science questions intrinsic to each process. Further, the engineering constraints (e.g. energy, throughput, efficiency etc.) must be incorporated into the design. This work aims to summarise briefly recent activities in the field of space resource utilisation, as well as to identify key knowledge gaps, and to present open science questions. Finally, future exploration priorities to enable the use of space resources are highlighted.

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Hydrogen reduction of lunar samples in a static system for a water production demonstration on the Moon

Cited by 20 publications

References 30 publications

Effect of Titanium Dioxide on Aggregation of Reduced Metallic Iron in Molten Slag

Effect of Titanium Dioxide on Aggregation of Reduced Metallic Iron in Molten Slag

Formation and Destruction of Si₆O₁₂ Nanostructures in the Gas Phase: Applications to Grain Nucleation and Water Generation

Toward the utilisation of resources in space: knowledge gaps, open questions, and priorities

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Hydrogen reduction of lunar samples in a static system for a water production demonstration on the Moon

Cited by 20 publications

References 30 publications

Effect of Titanium Dioxide on Aggregation of Reduced Metallic Iron in Molten Slag

Effect of Titanium Dioxide on Aggregation of Reduced Metallic Iron in Molten Slag

Formation and Destruction of Si6O12 Nanostructures in the Gas Phase: Applications to Grain Nucleation and Water Generation

Toward the utilisation of resources in space: knowledge gaps, open questions, and priorities

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Formation and Destruction of Si₆O₁₂ Nanostructures in the Gas Phase: Applications to Grain Nucleation and Water Generation