RECOVERY OF OXYGEN FROM LUNAR SOILS IN A PLASMA REACTOR

THE SPECIFIC FOCUS OF THIS PROJECT IS A PLASMA PROCESS FOR THE RECOVERY OF OXYGEN AT HIGH YIELD FROM MINIMALLY BENEFICIATED LUNAR SOILS. IN THE PROCESS, THE SOIL IS DISSOCIATED INTO ITS ELEMENTS IN A PLASMA ARC, AND THE OXYGEN IS RECOVERED BY QUENCHING THE PRODUCT MIX. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM IS TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF OXYGEN RECOVERY FROM LUNAR SOILS IN A PLASMA REACTOR WITHOUT THE ADDITION OF CHEMICALS. THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ARE PLANNED. IN THE THEORETICAL PART OF THE PROGRAM, ESTIMATES WILL BE MADE OF THE TEMPERATURE NEEDED TO ENSURE THAT MOST OF THEORE IS DISSOCIATED INTO ATOMS, AND THE HEAT-TRANSFER RATE REQUIRED TO QUENCH THE REACTION OF COOLING THE PRODUCT STREAM. THESE RESULTS WILL THEN PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR EVALUATING THE FINDINGS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL TESTS TO BE CONDUCTED IN A LABORATORY-SCALE PLASMA REACTOR. THE COST OFA FULL-SCALE FACILITY WILL BE ESTIMATED. THE SPECIFIC FOCUS OF THIS PROJECT IS A PLASMA PROCESS FOR THE RECOVERY OF OXYGEN AT HIGH YIELD FROM MINIMALLY BENEFICIATED LUNAR SOILS. IN THE PROCESS, THE SOIL IS DISSOCIATED INTO ITS ELEMENTS IN A PLASMA ARC, AND THE OXYGEN IS RECOVERED BY QUENCHING THE PRODUCT MIX. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM IS TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF OXYGEN RECOVERY FROM LUNAR SOILS IN A PLASMA REACTOR WITHOUT THE ADDITION OF CHEMICALS. THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ARE PLANNED. IN THE THEORETICAL PART OF THE PROGRAM, ESTIMATES WILL BE MADE OF THE TEMPERATURE NEEDED TO ENSURE THAT MOST OF THEORE IS DISSOCIATED INTO ATOMS, AND THE HEAT-TRANSFER RATE REQUIRED TO QUENCH THE REACTION OF COOLING THE PRODUCT STREAM. THESE RESULTS WILL THEN PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR EVALUATING THE FINDINGS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL TESTS TO BE CONDUCTED IN A LABORATORY-SCALE PLASMA REACTOR. THE COST OFA FULL-SCALE FACILITY WILL BE ESTIMATED.