Compact, Lightweight Adsorber and Sabatier Reactor for CO2 Capture and Reduction for Consumable and Propellant Production

Abstract

The utilization of CO 2 to produce (or recycle) life support consumables, such as O 2 and H 2 O, and to generate propellant fuels is an important aspect of NASA's concept for future, long duration planetary exploration. One potential approach is to capture and use CO 2 from the Martian atmosphere to generate the consumables and propellant fuels. Precision Combustion, Inc. (PCI), with support from NASA, continues to develop its regenerable adsorber technology for capturing CO 2 from gaseous atmospheres (for cabin atmosphere revitalization and in-situ resource utilization applications) and its Sabatier reactor for converting CO 2 to methane and water. Both technologies are based on PCI's Microlith ® substrates and have been demonstrated to reduce size, weight, and power consumption during CO 2 capture and methanation process. For adsorber applications, the Microlith substrates offer a unique resistive heating capability that shows potential for short regeneration time and reduced power requirements compared to conventional systems. For the Sabatier applications, the combination of the Microlith substrates and durable catalyst coating permits efficient CO 2 methanation that favors high reactant conversion, high selectivity, and durability. Results from performance testing at various operating conditions will be presented. An effort to optimize the Sabatier reactor and to develop a bench-top Sabatier Development Unit (SDU) will be discussed. Nomenclature

Hydrogen-powered Electrochemically-driven CO2 Removal from Air Containing 400 to 5000 ppm CO2

“…Unlike the submarine life support systems, space-based life support systems are nearly closed-loop as resupply is not feasible during extended missions. 60 The life support system includes oxygen generation, CO 2 removal, particulate and odor removal, and water recovery. Water and oxygen are valuable resources and must be recycled within the life support system.…”

Optimization and simulation of the Sabatier reaction process in a packed bed

“…The Ni/Al 2 O 3 powder catalysts are packed in the tube, and the cold air concurrently flowed through the shell to cool the reactor to the desired temperature for obtaining high hydrogen conversion. Recently, to further improve the steep axial gradient of temperature and reduce the volume and power consumption of the reaction system, Junaedi 6 replaced the powder catalyst with PCI's Microlith substrates. Brooks 7 employed the microchannel reactors to perform this reaction in the intrinsic kinetics region.…”