Carbon Dioxide and Water Removal Technology for Closed-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus

Currently, the United States Army encounters many scenarios where soldiers must enter hazardous areas, yet still maintain isolation from contaminants such as chemical and biological agents as well as hazardous material exposure. This requires that the soldiers respiratory tract be isolated to prevent exposure to these contaminants. In order to accomplish this, the soldiers wear protective suits and/or masks which include a respiratory isolation system, more commonly called a rebreather.Inherently, current rebreather technologies fall short in several areas primarily caused by the CO2 scrubbers used, creating both discomfort and unsafe conditions for the soldier.Lynntech has developed a safe and novel solution to address the above concerns by creating a regenerable scrubber based off high surface area macroporous ion exchange resins.Lynntech will further development efforts by designing and optimizing a new long-duration rebreather system that incorporates Lynntechs regenerable resins for CO2 capture.This will entail the full investigation of the most optimal rebreather design and canister configuration to reduce potential negative effects for human use.Furthermore, the regenerability of the sorbent will be optimized, with development of regeneration processes and equipment for sustained use and reuse.