Proving the viability of an electrochemical process for the simultaneous extraction of oxygen and production of metal alloys from lunar regolith

Lomax, BA; Conti, M; Khan, N; Bennett, NS; Ganin, AY; Symes, MD

Proving the viability of an electrochemical process for the simultaneous extraction of oxygen and production of metal alloys from lunar regolith

Lomax, BA Conti, M Khan, N Bennett, NS Ganin, AY Symes, MD

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Publisher:: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Planetary and Space Science, 2020, 180
Issue Date:: 2020-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Lomax, BA
dc.contributor.author	Conti, M
dc.contributor.author	Khan, N
dc.contributor.author	Bennett, NS
dc.contributor.author	Ganin, AY
dc.contributor.author	Symes, MD
dc.date.accessioned	2020-05-11T05:50:26Z
dc.date.available	2020-05-11T05:50:26Z
dc.date.issued	2020-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	Planetary and Space Science, 2020, 180
dc.identifier.issn	0032-0633
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/140630
dc.description.abstract	© 2019 Elsevier Ltd The development of an efficient process to simultaneously extract oxygen and metals from lunar regolith by way of in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) has the potential to enable sustainable activities beyond Earth. The Metalysis-FFC (Fray, Farthing, Chen) process has recently been proven for the industrial-scale production of metals and alloys, leading to the present investigation into the potential application of this process to regolith-like materials. This paper provides a proof-of-concept for the electro-deoxidation of powdered solid-state lunar regolith simulant using an oxygen-evolving SnO2 anode, and constitutes the first in-depth study of regolith reduction by this process that fully characterises and quantifies both the anodic and cathodic products. Analysis of the resulting metallic powder shows that 96% of the total oxygen was successfully extracted to give a mixed metal alloy product. Approximately a third of the total oxygen in the sample was detected in the off-gas, with the remaining oxygen being lost to corrosion of the reactor vessel. We anticipate, with appropriate adjustments to the experimental set-up and operating parameters, to be able to isolate essentially all of the oxygen from lunar regolith simulants using this process, leading to the exciting possibility of concomitant oxygen generation and metal alloy production on the lunar surface.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
dc.relation.ispartof	Planetary and Space Science
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.pss.2019.104748
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
dc.subject.classification	Astronomy & Astrophysics
dc.title	Proving the viability of an electrochemical process for the simultaneous extraction of oxygen and production of metal alloys from lunar regolith
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	180
utslib.for	0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	true
dc.date.updated	2020-05-11T05:50:25Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	180

Abstract:

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd The development of an efficient process to simultaneously extract oxygen and metals from lunar regolith by way of in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) has the potential to enable sustainable activities beyond Earth. The Metalysis-FFC (Fray, Farthing, Chen) process has recently been proven for the industrial-scale production of metals and alloys, leading to the present investigation into the potential application of this process to regolith-like materials. This paper provides a proof-of-concept for the electro-deoxidation of powdered solid-state lunar regolith simulant using an oxygen-evolving SnO2 anode, and constitutes the first in-depth study of regolith reduction by this process that fully characterises and quantifies both the anodic and cathodic products. Analysis of the resulting metallic powder shows that 96% of the total oxygen was successfully extracted to give a mixed metal alloy product. Approximately a third of the total oxygen in the sample was detected in the off-gas, with the remaining oxygen being lost to corrosion of the reactor vessel. We anticipate, with appropriate adjustments to the experimental set-up and operating parameters, to be able to isolate essentially all of the oxygen from lunar regolith simulants using this process, leading to the exciting possibility of concomitant oxygen generation and metal alloy production on the lunar surface.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/140630