NUMAT TECHNOLOGIES INC — National Aeronautics and Space Administration STTR Phase I: T6

Description

<p style="margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in">Protection against the buildup of CO₂ in spacecraft is of crucial importance to astronaut health. Currently, several methods are used to remove CO₂ from spacecraft including amine scrubbers, lithium hydroxide canisters, and adsorbent-based carbon dioxide removal assemblies (CDRAs). Each scrubbing method has individual benefits and drawbacks: amine scrubbers have no particulate release but require high-energy regeneration; lithium hydroxide offers high capacity but the canisters are non-regenerable; and CDRAs offer moderate regeneration but suffer from dusting. The ideal unit would afford high CO₂ capacity, low regeneration costs, minimized footprint and weight, and minimal particulate release.</p><p style="margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in">CDRAs, the preferred technology of NASA, currently utilize beds of Zeolite 5A and Zeolite 13x to remove CO₂ and H₂O, respectively. The drawbacks of this system are a result of the zeolite. Zeolites are a restrictive class of materials, where the inability to tune the material prevents further improvements in the CDRA system. &nbsp;Furthermore, utilizing zeolites in different environments beyond the CDRA system may further highlight the weakness of these materials for CO₂ management.</p><p style="margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in">In contrast to zeolites, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a diverse class of chemically tunable adsorbents. &nbsp;NuMat Technologies (NuMat) proposes displacing zeolites in CDRA systems with MOFs, enhancing the properties of these systems. The ability to displace the water and carbon dioxide zeolites with a MOF will be evaluated. In addition, the ability of MOFs to be employed in other CO₂ management environments will be investigated. During Phase I, NuMat will develop an understanding of how MOFs can enhance existing systems by utilizing the components of the system and simply replacing the zeolite bed with MOFs. This protocol of utilizing existing engineered systems will allow for MOFs to be rapidly transitioned through later technology readiness levels. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>