THIS SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH IS INTENDED TO DEVELOP A LONG-LIFE, HIGHLY EFFICIENT O2-CO COGENERA…

Public award description

THIS SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH IS INTENDED TO DEVELOP A LONG-LIFE, HIGHLY EFFICIENT O2-CO COGENERATION SYSTEM TO SUPPORT NASA'S ENDEAVORS TO PURSUE EXTRATERRESTRIAL EXPLORATION (MOON, MARS, AND ASTEROIDS/PHOBOS). THE COGENERATION SYSTEM WILL BE BUILT USING A TUBULAR, NEGATIVE ELECTRODE-SUPPORTED SOLID-OXIDE ELECTROLYSIS CELL (TUNE-SOEC) EMPLOYING MSRI'S MOST PROMISING DEGRADATION-RESISTANT CERAMIC MATERIALS AND A UNIQUE CELL DESIGN. THE SYSTEM WILL BE CAPABLE OF CO-GENERATING BREATHABLE OXYGEN AND CO FUEL DIRECTLY FROM CARBON DIOXIDE EXTRACTED FROM THE MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE, LUNAR REGOLITH/SOIL, OR FROM THE CABIN AIR OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL HUMAN MISSIONS AT 750-850 C. IN PHASE I, CO2 ELECTROLYSIS DEGRADATION MECHANISMS WILL BE INVESTIGATED VIA NONEQUILIBRIUM THERMODYNAMIC ANALYSES AND TESTS OF TUNE-SOECS WITH SPECIAL EMBEDDED REFERENCE ELECTRODES. UNIQUE SOLUTIONS FOR LONG-TERM, HIGH PERFORMANCE CO2 ELECTROLYSIS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED. IN PHASE II, A PROTOTYPE O2-CO COGENERATION SYSTEM USING THE TUNE-SOEC TECHNOLOGY WILL BE DEVELOPED. A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT SYSTEM WILL BE DEMONSTRATED, COGENERATING O2-CO DIRECTLY FROM A CO2 SOURCE AT TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM 750 C TO 850 C; SHOWING THE CAPABILITY OF USING ISRU TO GENERATE 1 KG OXYGEN PER DAY (ENOUGH TO SUPPORT 1 HUMAN).