The reduction of lunar regolith by carbothermal processing using methane

Balasubramaniam, R.; Gökoğlu, Süleyman A.; Hegde, U.

doi:10.1016/j.minpro.2010.06.001

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 4 publications

(4 reference statements)

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“…'Yield' in this context is defined as weight of oxygen extracted divided by total weight of regolith processed. The carbothermal reduction of molten regolith at ~1600 °C (also requiring subsequent methanereforming and electrolysis steps; Rosenberg et al, 1992;Gustafson et al, 2006;Balasubramaniam, 2010;Sanders and Larson, 2012), and the direct electrolysis of molten regolith at >1600 °C Haskin, 1992, 1993;Vai et al 2010;Sirk 2010;Wang et al 2011;Schreiner 2016), are less feedstock-dependent and higher yielding (theoretically 10-20% and 20-30% respectively), but require the handling of molten regolith at extreme temperatures. Research has also been conducted into the use of molten fluoride salts as a flux to dissolve lunar regolith oxide simulants and related silicate rocks at 960 -1250 °C, and hence to extract a mixed alloy electrochemically; however, these processes rely on the solubility of the various oxides and the efficacy in terms of oxygen yield has not been quantified (Kesterke 1970;Liu et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proving the viability of an electrochemical process for the simultaneous extraction of oxygen and production of metal alloys from lunar regolith

Lomax

Conti

Khan

et al. 2020

Planetary and Space Science

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The development of an efficient process to simultaneously extract oxygen and metals from lunar regolith by way of in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) has the potential to enable sustainable activities beyond Earth. The Metalysis-FFC (Fray, Farthing, Chen) process has recently been proven for the industrial-scale production of metals and alloys, leading to the present investigation into the potential application of this process to regolith-like 2 materials. This paper provides a proof-of-concept for the electro-deoxidation of powdered solid-state lunar regolith simulant using an oxygen-evolving SnO2 anode, and constitutes the first in-depth study of regolith reduction by this process that fully characterises and quantifies both the anodic and cathodic products. Analysis of the resulting metallic powder shows that 96% of the total oxygen was successfully extracted to give a mixed metal alloy product. Approximately a third of the total oxygen in the sample was detected in the off-gas, with the remaining oxygen being lost to corrosion of the reactor vessel. We anticipate, with appropriate adjustments to the experimental setup and operating parameters, to be able to isolate essentially all of the oxygen from lunar regolith simulants using this process, leading to the exciting possibility of concomitant oxygen generation and metal alloy production on the lunar surface.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proving the viability of an electrochemical process for the simultaneous extraction of oxygen and production of metal alloys from lunar regolith

Lomax

Conti

Khan

et al. 2020

Planetary and Space Science

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“…[8][9][10] Several of those components, such as the methanation reactor, reverse water gas shift reactor, and electrolyzer, are common to a Mars production plant. One option, therefore, to estimate the mass and power of the production plant was to use these component models where they exist.…”

Section: Propellant Production Plantmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mars Surface Mobility Leading to Sustainable Exploration

Linne

Barsi

et al. 2012

50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition

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A Mars rocket-propelled hopper concept was evaluated for feasibility through analysis and experiments. The approach set forth in this paper is to combine the use of in-situ resources in a new Mars mobility concept that will greatly enhance the science return while providing the first opportunity towards reducing the risk of incorporating ISRU into the critical path for the highly coveted, but currently unaffordable, sample return mission. Experimental tests were performed on a high-pressure, self-throttling gaseous oxygen/methane propulsion system to simulate a two-burn-with-coast hop profile. Analysis of the trajectory, production plant requirements, and vehicle mass indicates that a small hopper vehicle could hop 2 km every 30 days with an initial mass of less than 60 kg. A larger vehicle can hop 15 km every 30 to 60 days with an initial mass of 300 to 430 kg.= conversion factor u = upstream h = heat transfer coefficient M = Mach number Greek m = mass π = flow coefficient mdot = mass flow rate γ = ratio of specific heats P = pressure µ = dynamic viscosity Pr = Prandtl number σ = heat transfer coefficient correction factor q" = heat flux R = gas constant r = radius of curvature T = temperature

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“…Background Figure 1 shows a schematic of the carbothermal process. A model of the processing of lunar regolith by this method is described in Ref [4]. In this analysis we focus on the heating and melting of the regolith.…”

Section: Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The amount of oxygen produced and its rate of production crucially depend on the volume of the melt. We have developed a chemical processing model of the carbothermal process 4 to predict the rate of production of carbon monoxide, and the volume of the melt is an input parameter to that model.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%