TDA RESEARCH, INC. — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: Z12

Description

In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) increases the efficiency of space missions by utilizing indigenous resources on a planet or moon to reduce the amount of material that must be brought from Earth. Oxygen is one of the most valuable materials in space operations and is abundant in Lunar regolith (up to 40%).nbsp; Unfortunately, the lunar regolith beneficiation process for producing oxygen results in process gases that may be contaminated with sulfur (H2S) and halide (HCl, HF) impurities, all of which must be removed.nbsp;TDA Research, Inc. proposes to develop durable, high-capacity regenerable sorbents that can remove sulfur and halide contaminants from the process gas containing the oxygenated species produced from lunar regolith.nbsp; We will use two regenerable sorbents, one of which will reduce the amount of HCl and HF, while the other will remove the H2S to parts per billion levels.nbsp;In the proposed work we will synthesize new sorbent formulations and evaluate their performance under representative conditions.nbsp; We will explore the methods to prepare these sorbents on engineered structures to increase their durability and promote better heat transfer during the thermal regeneration process.nbsp; We will perform a minimum of 500 adsorption/regeneration cycles to demonstrate the life of these sorbents.nbsp; Finally, we will carry out a detailed engineering analysis and design to assess the technical viability of the concept.nbsp;