초록 ▼

A manufacturing plant and process for production of oxygen on the moon uses lunar minerals as feed and a minimum of earth-imported, process materials. Lunar feed stocks are hydrogen-reducible minerals, ilmenite and lunar agglutinates occurring in numerous, explored locations mixed with other mineral

A manufacturing plant and process for production of oxygen on the moon uses lunar minerals as feed and a minimum of earth-imported, process materials. Lunar feed stocks are hydrogen-reducible minerals, ilmenite and lunar agglutinates occurring in numerous, explored locations mixed with other minerals in the pulverized surface layer of lunar soil known as regolith. Ilmenite (FeTiO3) and agglutinates contain ferrous (Fe+2) iron reducible by hydrogen to yield H2O and metallic Fe at about 700°-1,200°C. The H2O is electrolyzed in gas phase to yield H2 for recycle and O2 for storage and use. Hydrogen losses to lunar vacuum are minimized, with no net hydrogen (or any other earth-derived reagent) consumption except for small leaks. Feed minerals are surface-mined by front shovels and transported in trucks to the processing area. The machines are manned or robotic. Ilmenite and agglutinates occur mixed with silicate minerals which are not hydrogen-reducible at 700°-1,200°C. and consequently are separated and concentrated before feeding to the oxygen generation process. Solids rejected from the separation step and reduced solids from the oxygen process are returned to the mine area. The plant is powered by nuclear or solar power generators. Vapor-phase water electrolysis, a staged, countercurrent, fluidized bed reduction reactor and a radio-frequency-driven ceramic gas heater are used to improve thermal efficiency.

대표청구항 ▼

An integrated lunar materials manufacturing process comprising mining a particulate lunar feed material containing ilmenite and lunar agglutinates, transporting said feed material to a processing area for beneficiation, separating particulate material in the size range of about 20-200 microns, separ

An integrated lunar materials manufacturing process comprising mining a particulate lunar feed material containing ilmenite and lunar agglutinates, transporting said feed material to a processing area for beneficiation, separating particulate material in the size range of about 20-200 microns, separating silicates and other non-reducible minerals from said separated particulate material to produce an enriched feed containing about 80-90% ilmenite and lunar agglutinates, passing said enriched feed into a fluidized bed reactor, fluidizing said enriched feed in said fluidized bed reactor with a hydrogen-containing gas stream at a temperature of 700°-1,200°C. and pressure in excess of about 30 psia, to produce a gaseous effluent containing substantially an equilibrium amount of water and by-product solids comprising at least partially reduced ilmenite and lunar agglutinates, electrolyzing the product water to oxygen and hydrogen, storing or using the electrolytic product oxygen, and recycling the electrolytic product hydrogen to the fluidized bed reactor at a pressure in excess of about 30 psia.