Regenerable Carbon Dioxide Removal Technology Based on Novel Macroporous Ion Exchange Resins for Closed-Circuit Breathing Apparatus

Currently, the U.S. Military encounters many scenarios where soldiers must enter hazardous areas, yet still maintain isolation from chemical and biological contaminants as well as hazardous materials. This requires the soldiers"respiratory tract be isolated from encountering these contaminants. To accomplish this, the soldiers wear protective suits and/or masks which include a respiratory isolation system, more commonly called a rebreather. Current carbon dioxide scrubbers, which absorb exhaled carbon dioxide within the rebreather, are inherently prone to dusting, caustic, generate heat, and have single use lifetimes, causing risks to the soldier and increased logistical costs associated with ice packs and shelf life. Lynntech proposes a safe and novel solution to address these concerns by developing a scrubber based off a high surface area macroporous ionic resin with advanced grafting techniques using amines to create a fully regenerable sorbent to be used for carbon dioxide capture within the self contained breathing apparatus. This sorbent eliminates dusting, operates at a much more neutral pH value, has increased carbon dioxide capacity, and is more tolerant of high levels of humidity. Additionally, the sorbent eliminates ice packs by creating no noticeable heat of reaction and thus reduces the overall costs of the rebreather apparatus.