SBIR-STTR Award

Molten regolith electrolysis (MRE) is a high-temperature electrolytic process in which the naturally high-oxide lunar regolith is dissolved in a molten oxide solvent comprising already liquefied regolith and by the action of electric current is dissociated to electrowin liquid metal as a product and oxygen as a by-product. The process involves using an extractor reactor and a refiner reactor. The liquid metals can be extracted in sequence according to the stabilities of their oxides as expressed by the values of the free energy of oxide formation (e.g. Cr, Mn, Fe, Si, Ti, Al, Mg, and Ca). The Moon is rich in mineral resources capable of sustaining the production of oxygen, Si, and a variety of metals, (e.g., Fe, Al, and Ti). However, the extraction of these elements will require the use of rather different processes from those used on Earth 10. For example, mineral beneficiation has been an enduring paradigm in terrestrial extractive metallurgy for economic reasons but the reliance on such unit operations as froth flotation with its attendant consumption of huge quantities of water summarily disqualifies beneficiation from consideration in the lunar setting. To eliminate the need for beneficiation prior to processing and to minimize the import of consumable reagents from Earth, the project team proposes to advance MRE for the production of oxygen using lunar regolith as feedstock that has not been subjected to any form of pretreatment. Potential NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) The availability of low-cost, abundant indigenous oxygen on the lunar surface is critical to the aggressive implementation of the nation’s Artemis program. Oxygen extracted from the Moon can be utilized for propellent to NASA's lunar landers, breathable oxygen to NASA astronauts, and a variety of other industrial and scientific applications for NASA's future missions to the Moon. Potential Non-NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) Non-NASA applications of processing of regolith through molten regolith electrolysis is extraction of metals, silicon and rare earth minerals for manufacturing and life support applications. Such material can be used to manufacture a variety of lunar and cislunar infrastructure such as solar cells and antennas.

Lunar Resources proposes to develop, test and validate a full-scale prototype molten regolith electrolysis (MRE) oxygen capturing, filtering and storage system (OxPS) designed during the Phase I effort. The OxPS is being developed to capture vaporized gasses extracted from lunar regolith by an MRE (or other types of high temperature electrolytic processes). Then the OxPS will filter out the containments to yield 99.5% high-purity oxygen which is stored for human consumption or utilized as an oxidizer for launch vehicles. In addition, the OxPS has been designed to filter any vaporized metals (Mg, Ca, etc.). The prototype OxPS being developed as part of this Phase II effort will be built at full scale and tested with a protoflight MRE system. The success of the Phase II effort will raise the maturity of the OxPS to a TRL 5 and demonstrate the ability to capture, purify, and store oxygen extracted from an MRE technology at an industrial scale (3,650kg oxygen per year). Potential NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words): The OxPS will provide NASA with 99.5% purity oxygen extracted from regolith from an MRE process. The oxygen can be used for human consumption on a Lunar Base, the Gateway, ISS, or other future human space assets. In addition, the oxygen can be used as an oxidizer to refuel lunar landers and spacecraft. Other direct uses are lunar or in-space farming, utilization for science experiments, gas to clear regolith from surface infrastructure. And the technology can be used on Mars for future Martian missions. Potential Non-NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words): Non-NASA applications of the OxPS involves utilizing the system to capture, filter and store vaporized gasses for high-temperature resource extraction processes such as steel and aluminum production. By capturing the emissions, the OxPS will be may be able to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions produced during resource processing activities. Duration: 24