Carbon dioxide removal system for closed loop atmosphere revitalization, candidate sorbents screening and test results.

摘要

The purpose of this work is to evaluate sorbents being considered for carbon dioxide (CO2) removal for future long-term manned spaceflight missions where re-supply is not readily available, such as on a lunar or Mars habitat. The sorbents are evaluated using an experimental setup allowing the materials to adsorb CO2 under the same conditions seen during spaceflight. For spaceflight, there are additional constraints to consider that do not apply to industrial carbon dioxide capture, which include: mass, volume, and power. Also, because the end goal is to create a life support system that is continuously recycling, consumable products are undesirable. Grace-Davidson Zeolite 5A (Grade 522) and UOP OXYSIV MDX (LiLSX) were tested with variable CO2 partial pressures and flow rates then material capacities were calculated for each set of conditions. An uncertainty analysis was performed to verify repeatable results. It was determined that LiLSX is a good candidate for future spacecraft applications.