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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Sr 1-x Ca x Fe 1-y Co y O 3-δ as facile and tunable oxygen sorbents for chemical looping air separation

Abstract Chemical looping air separation (CLAS) is a promising technology for oxygen generation with high efficiency. The key challenge for CLAS is to design robust oxygen sorbents with suitable redox properties and fast redox kinetics. In this work, perovskite-structured Sr 1-x Ca x Fe 1-y Co y O 3 oxygen sorbents were investigated and demonstrated for oxygen production with tunable redox properties, high redox rate, and excellent thermal/steam stability. Cobalt doping at B site was found to be highly effective, 33% improvement in oxygen productivity was observed at 500 °C. Moreover, it stabilizes the perovskite structure and prevents phase segregation under pressure swing conditions in the presence of steam. Scalable synthesis of Sr 0.8 Ca 0.2 Fe 0.4 Co 0.6 O 3 oxygen sorbents was carried out through solid state reaction, co-precipitation, and sol-gel methods. Both co-precipitation and sol-gel methods are capable of producing Sr 0.8 Ca 0.2 Fe 0.4 Co 0.6 O 3 sorbents with satisfactory phase purity, high oxygen capacity, and fast redox kinetics. Large scale evaluation of Sr 0.8 Ca 0.2 Fe 0.4 Co 0.6 O 3 , using an automated CLAS testbed with over 300 g sorbent loading, further demonstrated the effectiveness of the oxygen sorbent to produce 95% pure O 2 with a satisfactory productivity of 0.04 g O2 g sorbent −1 h −1 at 600 °C.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS2010

Analyses of the Integration of Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly, Compressor, Accumulator and Sabatier Carbon Dioxide Reduction Assembly

A tool has been developed by the Sabatier Team for analyzing/optimizing CO2 removal assembly, CO2 compressor size, its operation logic, water generation from Sabatier, utilization of CO2 from crew metabolic output, and Hz from oxygen generation assembly. Tests had been conducted using CDRA/Simulation compressor set-up at MSFC in 2003. Analysis of test data has validated CO2 desorption rate profile, CO2 compressor performance, CO2 recovery and CO2 vacuum vent in CDRA desorption. Optimizing the compressor size and compressor operation logic for an integrated closed air revitalization system Is being conducted by the Sabatier Team.

Jeng, Frank F.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Orientation Control in Epitaxial PdO Thin Films Grown on MgO (001) – Role of Oxygen Chemical Potential

Control of crystal orientations in thin films of functional materials allowsedictive tuning of their strain states, electronic properties, and surface chemical reactivity. Here, conditions for orientation control in epitaxial PdO films are investigated. Due to its tetragonal structure, PdO can form two orientational relationships with the MgO (001). It is shown that, under an oxygen-rich environment provided by oxygen-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, both (00l)- and (100)-oriented PdO domains form on MgO (001). Subsequent thermal annealing in a vacuum promotes film restructuring to a predominantly (100)-oriented PdO with improved crystallinity. Ab initio calculations reveal that the (001) orientation has lower strain energy but weaker interfacial interactions and serves as an oxygen vacancy sink, whereas the (100) orientation benefits from significantly stronger MgO─PdO bonding. Consequently (100)-oriented domains become favored under oxygen-poor conditions. A mechanism is proposed whereby vacuum annealing drives orientation transformation by generating oxygen vacancies that destabilize the (001) domains and promote (100) ordering. These findings deepen the understanding of how oxygen content impacts interfacial stability and reorganization, thereby offering a route to tune domain orientations in oxide thin films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1972

Portable breathing apparatus for coal mines

The state of the art in portable oxygen breathing equipment is reported. Considered are self-containing as well as chemically generating oxygen sources and their effectiveness and limitations in mine rescue operations.

Vandolah, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Space Station evolution study oxygen loop closure

In the current Space Station Freedom (SSF) Permanently Manned Configuration (PMC), physical scars for closing the oxygen loop by the addition of oxygen generation and carbon dioxide reduction hardware are not included. During station restructuring, the capability for oxygen loop closure was deferred to the B-modules. As such, the ability to close the oxygen loop in the U.S. Laboratory module (LAB A) and the Habitation A module (HAB A) is contingent on the presence of the B modules. To base oxygen loop closure of SSF on the funding of the B-modules may not be desirable. Therefore, this study was requested to evaluate the necessary hooks and scars in the A-modules to facilitate closure of the oxygen loop at or subsequent to PMC. The study defines the scars for oxygen loop closure with impacts to cost, weight and volume and assesses the effects of byproduct venting. In addition, the recommended scenarios for closure with regard to topology and packaging are presented.

Wood, M. G.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Understanding how defects and dopant atoms in copper surface oxides affect reactivity

Copper and its oxides are key catalytic materials, on which reactions often occur at the metal/oxide interface. Here, in this work, we directly connect the induction period observed during methanol-driven reduction of thin-film copper oxides to their atomic-scale structural order. Using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) methanol titrations combined with scanning tunneling microscopy, we show that highly ordered oxide phases – particularly the “29” structure with its low defect density – exhibit long induction periods and initially low reactivity. The induction period, defined as the number of methanol TPD cycles required to reach half of the maximum formaldehyde yield, scales with oxide order and oxygen coverage. Enhanced reactivity of well-ordered oxides emerges only after repeated methanol adsorption/desorption cycles generate oxygen vacancies and new Cu(111)/Cu x O interfacial sites. In contrast, disordered or sub-stoichiometric oxides, which contain more intrinsic defects and interfaces, are active from the first TPD cycle. We further examine how dilute Pt and Rh dopants influence oxide order and reactivity: 1% Pt increases defect density and catalytic activity, while 1% Rh promotes oxide ordering and longer induction periods. These findings demonstrate that dilute alloying provides a potential method for tuning the structure and reactivity of Cu(111)/Cu x O interfaces.

Cu(111)Methanol oxidation↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Scroll Pump Dust Tolerance Test for Martian Atomospheric Acquisition

The ability to generate oxygen on the Martian surface will be essential to establishing a human presence on Mars. Flow generating devices such as pumps, compressors, and blowers will be essential components in Martian atmospheric acquisition and processing systems that need to work reliably during the mission duration. A concern with the reliability of the system is its ability to continue to perform nominally when Martian dust, if it bypasses the inlet filter, enters into the system. A series of tests were conducted to simulate the ingesting of Martian dust on a small scroll pump, similar to the one used on the MOXIE payload, during its pumping operation. The inlet of the pump was connected to a large volume closed-loop pipe system, known as the Mars Atmospheric Flow Loop, containing pure CO2 gas at a Martian pressure of 7 Torr. A length of stainless steel tubing was extended from the inlet port of scroll pump, which was mounted outside the flow loop, to the inside volume of the flow loop using a feed-through compression fitting. A steady low-speed flow was generated inside the flow loop to continuously disperse and transport the dust toward the inlet tubing. JSC-Mars 1 Martian simulant was used to challenge the pump. The pump performance parameters such as flow rate, pump speed, pressures and temperature were monitored during these tests. Samples of the dust entering the pump inlet were taken prior to exposure tests, using an inline filter element to determine the rate of dust ingestion into the internal components of the pump. After two tests with exposure times of the order of 60 minutes, the data indicated that small changes in pump performance took place under high rates of dust exposure.

scroll pump↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Scroll Pump Dust Tolerance Test for Martian Atmospheric Acquisition

The ability to generate oxygen on the Martian surface will be essential to establishing a human presence on Mars. Flow generating devices such as pumps, compressors, and blowers will be crucial components in Martian atmospheric acquisition and processing systems that need to work reliably during the mission duration. A concern with the reliability of the system is its ability to continue to perform nominally when Martian dust, if it bypasses the inlet filter, enters into the system. A series of tests were conducted to simulate the ingestion of Martian dust on a small scroll pump, similar to the one used on the MOXIE payload. The inlet of the pump was connected to a large volume closed-loop pipe system, known as the Mars Atmospheric Flow Loop, containing pure CO2 gas at a Martian pressure of 7 Torr. A length of stainless steel tubing was extended from the inlet port of scroll pump, which was mounted outside the flow loop, to the inside volume of the flow loop using a feed-through compression fitting. A steady low-speed flow was generated inside the flow loop to continuously disperse and transport the dust toward the inlet tubing. JSC-Mars 1 Martian simulant was used to challenge the pump. Pump performance parameters such as flow rate, pump speed, pressure and temperature were monitored during these tests. Samples of the dust entering the pump inlet were taken prior to the exposure tests, using an inline filter element to determine the rate of dust ingestion into the internal components of the pump. After two tests with exposure times of one hour, the data indicated that small changes in pump performance took place under high rates of dust exposure.

Martian Atmospheric↗
DOE OSTI2020

A modular chemo-selective oxygen production unit to deliver oxygen for advanced combustion systems

Commercial oxygen generation technologies deploy either cryogenic air separation or vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA). These technologies can provide nearly pure oxygen but are only economically viable at oxygen production rates of 100-7,000 tonnes/day. The state-of-theart cryogenic air separation plants are impending the theoretical limits of thermodynamic efficiency but cannot be scaled down to cater future needs. Therefore, there is great incentive to develop a new approach for oxygen separation that can accommodate the upcoming demands. Our proposed research approach address to find novel methodologies to provide energy efficient modular O 2 on demand systems for modular gasification and other applications. Small scale modular systems for O 2 production offer certain benefits including enhanced energy efficiency, reduced operating costs and flexibility to tailor location specific needs. Our hypothesis is that a small modular system could be engineered using solvent-based capture and thermal release of oxygen, to enable “oxygen on demand” for any combustion-related technology.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Cryogenic Modules for Synergistic O2 Generation and CO2 Retention in Closed-Circuit Escape Respirators

Since 2018, NASA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have been developing a liquid oxygen storage module (LOXSM) based on the NASA patent-pending Cryogenic Flux Capacitor (CFC) technology. LOXSM’s could potentially replace the gaseous or chemical-based oxygen supply in current closed-circuit escape respirators (CCER), with reducing CCER size being a primary goal. By virtue of the CFC functionality, cryogenic oxygen stored within the LOXSM is released in response to heat input, ideally from the breathing loop. Prior efforts focused on the oxygen storage potential of silica aerogel materials that the CFC utilizes, and were previously reported. Current work explored the LOXSM’s potential to remove and retain CO 2 produced by the CCER user, in conjunction with oxygen generation, creating a synergy that may be exploited to reduce or eliminate the chemical CO 2 absorber used in current CCERs. A test program for determining CO 2 retention is presented, as well as the evolution of LOXSM prototypes. Testing showed that it is possible to completely remove CO 2 out of an effluent stream at the flowrate required for the capacity of the CCER for an appreciable time, and that the LOXSM prototype design progression had a positive effect on that duration.

A.M. Swanger↗
NASA NTRS2013

Hydrogen-Enhanced Lunar Oxygen Extraction and Storage Using Only Solar Power

The innovation consists of a thermodynamic system for extracting in situ oxygen vapor from lunar regolith using a solar photovoltaic power source in a reactor, a method for thermally insulating the reactor, a method for protecting the reactor internal components from oxidation by the extracted oxygen, a method for removing unwanted chemical species produced in the reactor from the oxygen vapor, a method for passively storing the oxygen, and a method for releasing high-purity oxygen from storage for lunar use. Lunar oxygen exists in various types of minerals, mostly silicates. The energy required to extract the oxygen from the minerals is 30 to 60 MJ/kg O. Using simple heating, the extraction rate depends on temperature. The minimum temperature is approximately 2,500 K, which is at the upper end of available oven temperatures. The oxygen is released from storage in a purified state, as needed, especially if for human consumption. This method extracts oxygen from regolith by treating the problem as a closed batch cycle system. The innovation works equally well in Earth or Lunar gravity fields, at low partial pressure of oxygen, and makes use of in situ regolith for system insulation. The innovation extracts oxygen from lunar regolith using a method similar to vacuum pyrolysis, but with hydrogen cover gas added stoichiometrically to react with the oxygen as it is produced by radiatively heating regolith to 2,500 K. The hydrogen flows over and through the heating element (HE), protecting it from released oxygen. The H2 O2 heat of reaction is regeneratively recovered to assist the heating process. Lunar regolith is loaded into a large-diameter, low-height pancake reactor powered by photovoltaic cells. The reactor lid contains a 2,500 K HE that radiates downward onto the regolith to heat it and extract oxygen, and is shielded above by a multi-layer tungsten radiation shield. Hydrogen cover gas percolates through the perforated tungsten shielding and HE, preventing oxidation of the shielding and HE, and reacting with the oxygen to form water vapor. The water vapor is filtered through solid regolith to remove unwanted extraction byproducts, and then condensed to a liquid state and stored at 300 to 325 K. Conversion to usable oxygen is achieved by pumping liquid water into a high-pressure electrolyzer, storing the gaseous oxygen at high pressure for use, and diverting the hydrogen back to the reactor or to storage. The results from this design effort show that this oxygen-generating concept can be developed in an efficient system with low specific mass. Advantages include use of regolith as an oxygen source, filter, and thermal insulator. The system can be tested in Earth gravity and can be expected to operate similarly in lunar gravity. The system is scalable, either by increasing the power level and output of a standard module, or by employing multiple modules.

Burton, rodney↗
NASA NTRS2009

Oxygen Production from Lunar Regolith using Ionic Liquids

The objective of this work and future follow-on work is to develop a safe, efficient, and recyclable method for oxygen and/or metals extraction from lunar regolith, in support of establishing a manned lunar outpost. The approach is to solubilize the oxides that comprise lunar regolith in media consisting of ionic liquids (ILs) and/or their mixtures at temperatures at or below 300 C. Once in solution, electrolysis can either be performed in-situ to generate oxygen at the anode and hydrogen and/or metals (silicon, iron, aluminum, titanium, etc.) at the cathode. Alternatively, the water that is generated during the solubilization process can be distilled out and condensed into a separate IL and then electrolysized to produce hydrogen and oxygen. In the case of lunar regolith, this method could theoretically produce 44g oxygen per 100g of regolith. The oxygen can be used for human life support and/or as an oxidizer for rocket fuels, and the metals can be used as raw materials for construction and/or device fabrication. Moreover, the hydrogen produced can be used to re-generate the acidic medium, which can then be used to process additional regolith, thereby making the materials recyclable and limiting upmass requirements. An important advantage of IL acid systems is that they are much "greener" and safer than conventional materials used for regolith processing such as sulfuric or hydrochloric acids. They have very low vapor pressures, which means that they contain virtually no toxic and/or flammable volatile content, they are relatively non-corrosive, and they can exhibit good stability in harsh environments (extreme temperatures, hard vacuum, etc.). Furthermore, regolith processing can be achieved at lower temperatures than other processes such as molten oxide electrolysis or hydrogen reduction, thereby reducing initial power requirements. Six ILs have been synthesized and tested for their capability to dissolve lunar simulant, and for electrochemical and thermal stability. The results showed that ILs can be very efficient electrolytes; in particular IL/phosphoric-acid mixtures appear extremely promising for solubilizing lunar simulant. Results from preliminary experiments for distillation of water produced from the oxygen within the metal oxides of the simulant and the hydrogen from the acid indicates that over 75% of the oxygen from the simulant can be harvested as water at a temperature of 150 C. A method for collection of oxygen from electrolysis of the water derived from solubilizing simulant was developed by using a liquid nitrogen trap to liquefy and collect the oxygen. Although precise quantification of the liquid oxygen trapped is difficult to obtain, the amount of hydrogen and oxygen collected from electrolysis of water in this system was greater than 98%. This set-up also included a portable mass spectrometer for the identification of gases released from electrolysis cells. Regeneration of ILs through re-protonation was also demonstrated. Four sequential re-generations of an IL following solubilization of simulant showed no significant differences in amounts of simulant dissolved. Follow-on work for this project should include more studies of IL/phosphoric acid systems. Also, much more work is necessary for defining methods for electrolysis and purification of metals from regolith solubilized in ILs, and for developing a system to use the produced hydrogen to regenerate the spent IL. Finally, design and development of flight breadboard and prototype hardware is required.

Paley, Mark Steven↗
NASA NTRS1972

Aircrew oxygen system

Closed-loop rebreather system which includes pilot provides oxygen for use in aircraft by safe, reliable method of low weight and size and reduces expense of ground equipment. Water electrolysis generated oxygen is fed into rebreather loop which allows nitrogen elimination and water and carbon dioxide removal.

Babinsky, A. D.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Regeneration of oxygen from carbon dioxide and water.

In a closed ecological system it is necessary to reclaim most of the oxygen required for breathing from respired carbon dioxide and the remainder from waste water. One of the advanced physicochemical systems being developed for generating oxygen in manned spacecraft is the solid electrolyte-electrolysis system. The solid electrolyte system consists of two basic units, an electrolyzer and a carbon monoxide disproportionator. The electrolyzer can reclaim oxygen from both carbon dioxide and water. Electrolyzer preparation and assembly are discussed together with questions of reactor design and electrolyzer performance data.

Weissbart, J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Oxygen stress mitigation for microalgal biomass productivity improvement in outdoor raceway ponds

Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations at supersaturated levels are commonly observed in outdoor microalgae cultures due to photosynthesis during periods of rapid growth. Paradoxically, the photosynthetically generated oxygen is inhibitory and lowers biomass productivity, therefore, increasing the cost of microalgal biofuels. In this study, photosynthetic rates of Monoraphidium minutum 26B-AM and Scenedesmus obliquus UTEX393, two of the top DISCOVR strains, were compared at three DO levels, 0, 8, and 30 mg L -1 . Increasing DO from 0 to 30 mg L -1 caused a 36.6% and 26.1% reduction in photosynthetic rate for M. minutum 26B-AM and S. obliquus UTEX393, respectively. To improve the outdoor pond biomass productivity of each strain, three oxygen stress mitigation methods were tested. The first method raised the dissolved bicarbonate concentration by an order of magnitude to favor bicarbonate transport into the cell, increasing the CO 2 :O 2 ratio near RuBisCO, thus reducing photorespiration. Although this method increased the observed photosynthesis rate of M. minutum 26B-AM by 26% and S. obliquus UTEX393 by 13% in laboratory testing, it failed to improve biomass productivity under outdoor pond conditions for both strains. The second method added sodium sulfite as an oxygen scavenger to chemically lower the DO concentration in the culture. Chemical reduction of dissolved molecular oxygen did not significantly improve the biomass productivity of M. minutum 26B-AM; however, a 10% improvement in biomass productivity for S. obliquus UTEX393 was observed. The final method sparged cultures with air to strip oxygen out of the liquid medium. This did not improve the biomass productivity of M. minutum 26B-AM, likely due to unfavorable weather conditions during cold season cultivation; however, an improvement of 36% in biomass productivity was achieved for S. obliquus UTEX393 during the warm season cultivation. Of the three tested methods, air-sparging was the most effective and practical for improving outdoor biomass production.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1991

Mathematical modeling of a nickel-cadmium battery

Extensions are presented for a mathematical model of an Ni-CD cell (Fan and White, 1991). These extensions consist of intercalation thermodynamics for the nickel electrode and oxygen generation and reduction reactions during charge and overcharge. The simulated results indicate that intercalation may be important in the nickel electrode and that including the oxygen reactions provides a means of predicting the efficiency of the cell on charge and discharge.

Fan, Deyuan↗
NASA NTRS2011

Influence of Oxygenated Compounds on Reaction Products in a Microwave Plasma Methane Pyrolysis Assembly for Post-Processing of Sabatier Methane

The state-of-the-art Carbon Dioxide Reduction Assembly (CRA) was delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) in April 2010. The system is designed to accept carbon dioxide from the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly and hydrogen from the Oxygen Generation Assembly. The two gases are reacted in the CRA in a Sabatier reactor to produce water and methane. Venting of methane results in an oxygen resupply requirement of about 378 lbs per crew member per year. If the oxygen is supplied as water, the total weight for resupply is about 476 lb per crew member per year. For long-term missions beyond low Earth orbit, during which resupply capabilities will be further limited, recovery of hydrogen from methane is highly desirable. For this purpose, NASA is pursuing development of a Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA) capable of recovering hydrogen from methane. Under certain conditions, water vapor and carbon dioxide (nominally intended to be separated from the CRA outlet stream) may be present in the PPA feed stream. Thus, testing was conducted in 2010 to determine the effect of these "oxygenated" compounds on PPA performance, particularly the effect of inlet carbon dioxide and water variations on the PPA product stream. This paper discusses the test set-up, analysis, and results of this testing

Mansell, J. Matthew↗
NASA NTRS2012

Influence of Oxygenated Compounds on Reaction Products in a Microwave Plasma Methane Pyrolysis Assembly for Post-Processing of Sabatier Methane

The state-of-the-art Carbon Dioxide Reduction Assembly (CRA) was delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) in April 2010. The system is designed to accept carbon dioxide from the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly and hydrogen from the Oxygen Generation Assembly. The two gases are reacted in the CRA in a Sabatier reactor to produce water and methane. Venting of methane results in an oxygen resupply requirement of about 378 lbs per crew member per year. If the oxygen is supplied as water, the total weight for resupply is about 476 lb per crew member per year. For long-term missions beyond low Earth orbit, during which resupply capabilities will be further limited, recovery of hydrogen from methane is highly desirable. For this purpose, NASA is pursuing development of a Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA) capable of recovering hydrogen from methane. Under certain conditions, water vapor and carbon dioxide (nominally intended to be separated from the CRA outlet stream) may be present in the PPA feed stream. Thus, testing was conducted in 2010 to determine the effect of these oxygenated compounds on PPA performance, particularly the effect of inlet carbon dioxide and water variations on the PPA product stream. This paper discusses the test set-up, analysis, and results of this testing.

Mansell, J. Matthew↗