ISRU Soil Water Extraction: Thermal Challenges

Abstract

Water extraction from regolith requires significant energy input; heating efficiency is key to system power balanceRegolith has low thermal conductivityRecuperated heat from either reacted regolith or other systems merits examination, but must be done at the system model level (not component level)Water capture system may require significant reduction in temperature of the water vapor (e.g. condenser) Unknown parameters for modeling include:Residence time for water releaseConvection/conduction coefficients (sweep gas and/or flowing soil)Heat of dehydration for Mars hydrates.