Compact, Lightweight Adsorber and Sabatier Reactor for CO_2 Capture and Reduction for Consumable and Propellant Production

摘要

The utilization of CO_2 to produce (or recycle) life support consumables, such as O_2 and H_2O, and to generate propellant fuels is an important aspect of NASA's concept for future, long duration planetary exploration. One potential approach is to capture and use CO_2 from the Martian atmosphere to generate the consumables and propellant fuels. Precision Combustion, Inc. (PCI), with support from NASA, continues to develop its regenerable adsorber technology for capturing CO_2 from gaseous atmospheres (for cabin atmosphere revitalization and in-situ resource utilization applications) and its Sabatier reactor for converting CO_2 to methane and water. Both technologies are based on PCI's Microlith* substrates and have been demonstrated to reduce size, weight, and power consumption during CO_2 capture and methanation process. For adsorber applications, the Microlith substrates offer a unique resistive heating capability that shows potential for short regeneration time and reduced power requirements compared to conventional systems. For the Sabatier applications, the combination of the Microlith substrates and durable catalyst coating permits efficient CO_2 methanation that favors high reactant conversion, high selectivity, and durability. Results from performance testing at various operating conditions will be presented. An effort to optimize the Sabatier reactor and to develop a bench-top Sabatier Development Unit (SDU) will be discussed.