PHOTOCHEMICAL AIR SEPARATION

A NEED EXISTS FOR A PROCESS FOR SEPARATING OXYGEN FROM AIR WHICH IS HIGHLY SELECTIVE, RAPID, OR MINIMAL WEIGHT AND BULK, AND ENERGY EFFICIENT. WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE A NOVEL SYSTEM IN WHICH OXYGEN IS SEPARATED FROM AIR BY A CYCLIC PROCESS; OXYGEN IS FIRST BOUND BY AN EXOTHERMIC REACTION AT A TRANSITION METAL SITE IN A CARRIER MOLECULE, AND LATER RELESED BY A PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTION INDUCED BY IRRADIATING THE CARRIER MOLECULE. IN PHASE I OF THIS PROJECT WE WILL DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS CONCEPT, IDENTIFY THE MOST EFFICIENT CARRIERS, AND DEFINE OPERATING PARAMETERS FOR A DEVICE USING THIS TECHNOLOGY. A PROTOTYPE DEVICE WILL BE CONSTRUCTED AND TESTED IN PHASE II.