Mars in situ oxygen and propellant production by non-equilibrium plasmas

Ogloblina, Polina; Morillo-Candas, Ana Sofia; Silva, Ana Filipa; Silva, Tiago; Tejero-del-Caz, Antonio; Alves, L. L.; Guaitella, Olivier; Guerra, Vasco

doi:10.1002/essoar.10505142.2

Cited by 3 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…In the shock layer of atmospheric entry body, there is a high temperature plasma, cooling while diffusing toward the low temperature surface [348,349]. An interesting application of the present section can be also to explore the possibility to create O 2 on the Mars soil from CO 2 taken from Mars atmosphere and transforming the CO 2 in CO and O 2 by using plasma discharges [2,[37][38][39].…”

Section: Vibrational Kinetics In Hypersonic Entry Problems 71 General Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The key role of O atoms as very efficient quenchers of the CO 2 vibrations, even though already described in the CO 2 laser community, has been recently clearly evidenced by using large surface area silica surfaces to strongly recombine O atoms and monitoring the changes in the CO 2 vibrational distributions [108]. The effect is further investigated by modeling in a couple of preliminary simulations [39,94] that confirm its importance in low-pressure discharges.…”

Section: Surface Recombination Of Atomic Oxygenmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…This effect was recently evinced experimentally in [108] (see also Sect. 8) and in simulations [39]. Moreover, O atoms and O 2 molecules can participate in back reactions converting CO into CO 2 .…”

Section: Insights Obtained From 0d Kinetic Models Of Co 2 Plasmasmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Following the experimental evidence of an important role of the electronically excited state CO(a 3 Π r ) in the decomposition of CO 2 [131], its kinetics is included and carefully discussed in the model. The addition of the stateto-state CO 2 vibrational kinetics within low-excitation conditions, i.e., accounting for the same ∼ 70 individual vibrational levels and corresponding reactions and rate coefficients as in [61,62], was achieved very recently [39].…”

Section: Reaction Mechanism For Vibrationally-cold Co 2 Plasmasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The interest on CO 2 plasma, however, has a long history starting from the 1960s with a wide variety of applications, ranging from CO 2 lasers [18], to astrophysical observations [19,20], surface treatment processes on carbon-containing substrates [21][22][23][24][25][26] and polymer deposition [27][28][29], or the design of spacecraft shields for planetary atmosphere entry [30,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. Recently, also the possibility of in situ oxygen production from the CO 2 present locally in the atmosphere is being developed for futuristic human mission to Mars [2,[37][38][39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Advances in non-equilibrium $$\hbox {CO}_2$$ plasma kinetics: a theoretical and experimental review

et al. 2021

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Numerous applications have required the study of CO2 plasmas since the 1960s, from CO2 lasers to spacecraft heat shields. However, in recent years, intense research activities on the subject have restarted because of environmental problems associated with CO2 emissions. The present review provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge on the physical chemistry of cold CO2 plasmas. In particular, the different modeling approaches implemented to address specific aspects of CO2 plasmas are presented. Throughout the paper, the importance of conducting joint experimental, theoretical and modeling studies to elucidate the complex couplings at play in CO2 plasmas is emphasized. Therefore, the experimental data that are likely to bring relevant constraints to the different modeling approaches are first reviewed. Second, the calculation of some key elementary processes obtained with semi-empirical, classical and quantum methods is presented. In order to describe the electron kinetics, the latest coherent sets of cross section satisfying the constraints of "electron swarm" analyses are introduced, and the need for self-consistent calculations for determining accurate electron energy distribution function (EEDF) is evidenced. The main findings of the latest zero-dimensional (0D) global models about the complex chemistry of CO2 and its dissociation products in different plasma discharges are then given, and full state-to-state (STS) models of only the vibrational-dissociation kinetics developed for studies of spacecraft shields are described. Finally, two important points for all applications using CO2 containing plasma are discussed: the role of surfaces in contact with the plasma, and the need for 2D/3D models to capture the main features of complex reactor geometries including effects induced by fluid dynamics on the plasma properties. In addition to bringing together the latest advances in the description of CO2 non-equilibrium plasmas, the results presented here also highlight the fundamental data that are still missing and the possible routes that still need to be investigated.

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Section: Vibrational Kinetics In Hypersonic Entry Problems 71 General Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Surface Recombination Of Atomic Oxygenmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Insights Obtained From 0d Kinetic Models Of Co 2 Plasmasmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Reaction Mechanism For Vibrationally-cold Co 2 Plasmasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Advances in non-equilibrium $$\hbox {CO}_2$$ plasma kinetics: a theoretical and experimental review

et al. 2021

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Producing oxygen and fertilizer with the Martian atmosphere by using microwave plasma

Kelly

Verheyen²,

Cowley³

et al. 2022

Chem

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Mars in situ oxygen and propellant production by non-equilibrium plasmas

Ogloblina

Morillo-Candas

Silva

et al. 2021

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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It has been recently advocated that Mars has excellent conditions for oxygen and fuel production directly from atmospheric CO 2 using non-equilibrium plasmas. The Martian conditions would be favorable for vibrational excitation and/or enhanced dissociation by electron impact, two important pathways for CO 2 plasma dissociation. Herein we confirm these theoretical predictions by measuring, for the first time, the vibrational temperatures of CO 2 and the CO and CO 2 concentrations in realistic Martian conditions. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements are performed in experiments conducted in DC glow discharges operating at pressures p = 1-5 Torr, discharge currents I = 10-50 mA, initial gas temperatures of 220 K and 300 K, both in pure CO 2 and in the synthetic Martian atmosphere 96% CO 2 -2% Ar-2% N 2 . To analyze and interpret the experimental results, we develop a detailed self-consistent kinetic model for pure CO 2 plasmas, describing the coupled electron and heavy-particle kinetics. The simulation results are in very good agreement with the experimental data. It is shown that the low-temperature conditions may enhance the degree of vibrational non-equilibrium and that the Martian atmospheric composition has a positive effect on CO 2 decomposition. Accordingly, the present investigation confirms the potential of plasma technologies for in situ resource utilization on Mars.

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Mars in situ oxygen and propellant production by non-equilibrium plasmas

Cited by 3 publications

References 53 publications

Advances in non-equilibrium $$\hbox {CO}_2$$ plasma kinetics: a theoretical and experimental review

Advances in non-equilibrium $$\hbox {CO}_2$$ plasma kinetics: a theoretical and experimental review

Producing oxygen and fertilizer with the Martian atmosphere by using microwave plasma

Mars in situ oxygen and propellant production by non-equilibrium plasmas

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