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“Oxygen flooded into the atmosphere as a pollutant, even a poison, until natural selection shaped living things to thrive on the stuff and, indeed, suffocate without it.”
― Richard Dawkings
On the left side of this before and after image is a pile of simulated lunar soil, or regolith; on the right is the same pile after essentially all the oxygen has been extracted from it, leaving a mixture of metal alloys. Both the oxygen and metal could be used in future by settlers on the Moon.
Samples returned from the lunar surface confirm that lunar regolith is made up of 40-45% percent oxygen by weight, its single most abundant element.
“This oxygen is an extremely valuable resource, but it is chemically bound in the material as oxides in the form of minerals or glass, and is therefore unavailable for immediate use,” explains researcher Beth Lomax of the University of Glasgow, whose PhD work is being supported through ESA’s Networking and Partnering Initiative, harnessing advanced academic research for space applications.
“This research provides a proof-of-concept that we can extract and utilise all the oxygen from lunar regolith, leaving a potentially useful metallic by-product.
“The processing was performed using a method called molten salt electrolysis. This is the first example of direct powder-to-powder processing of solid lunar regolith simulant that can extract virtually all the oxygen. Alternative methods of lunar oxygen extraction achieve significantly lower yields, or require the regolith to be melted with extreme temperatures of more than 1600°C.”
The process involves placing the powdered regolith in a mesh-lined basket with molten calcium chloride salt serving as an electrolyte, heated to 950°C. At this temperature the regolith remains solid.
Passing a current through it causes the oxygen to be extracted from the regolith and migrate across the salt to be collected at an anode. It took 50 hours in all to extract 96% of the total oxygen, but 75% can be extracted in just the first 15 hours.
Beth adds: “This work is based on the FCC process – from the initials of its Cambridge-based inventors – which has been scaled up by a UK company called Metalysis for commercial metal and alloy production.”
“We are working with Metalysis and ESA to translate this industrial process to the lunar context, and the results so far are very promising,” notes Mark Symes, Beth’s PhD supervisor at the University of Glasgow.
James Carpenter, ESA’s lunar strategy officer comments: “This process would give lunar settlers access to oxygen for fuel and life support, as well as a wide range of metal alloys for in-situ manufacturing – the exact feedstock available would depend on where on the Moon they land.”
“It could also be used to extract useful materials on Mars as well, where pre-processing the feedstock would give pure metals and alloy products,” adds ESA materials engineer Advenit Makaya.
This published research can be found here.
This week is Space Resources week, including a two-day workshop on space resource utilisation, hosted jointly by ESA and the Luxembourg Space Agency, with researchers from across Europe discussing the future use of lunar, martian and asteroid resources.
Credits: Beth Lomax - University of Glasgow
The man collects empty oxygen cylinders.
Oxygen consumption in a covid hospital is very high, uncomparable to a regular hospital.
Taken in J.Strusia Hospital, Poznań.
Land description
"Break the rules and you go to prison, break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz. THE ROCK was inspired by Alcatraz....
megustolafoto=)
Y también encontré un estado mental
En donde podría quedarme sin palabras
Tenia que intentarlo por un rato
Para entender este sentimiento
Esto se siente tan bien
Ponme al revés a un lugar
Donde has estado esperando. .
Que me condenen a 100 años, que me detengan si te beso, que me perdone Dìos si peco y grito a vos de que te Quiero..pero jure no creer en el amor para no sufrir màs de lo que sufri y tu hiciste que creyera en todo en lo que jamàs crei. . y aprendi a quitarle al tiempo los segundos ,tu me hiciste ver el cielo màs profundo me enseñaste a decir
mentiras piadosas para poder verte a horas no adecuadas y a reemplazar palabras
por miradas....entonces ves que todo esto es de verdad , que juntos podemos volar..
(8)
Land description
"Break the rules and you go to prison, break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz. THE ROCK was inspired by Alcatraz....
320/365 - 13/52
Wait in line
'Till your time
Ticking clock
Everyone stop
Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me
Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me
Woooohh
Do you believe
In what you see
There doesn't seem to be anybody else who agrees with me
Do you believe
In what you see
Motionless wheel
Nothing is real
Wasting my time
In the waiting line
Do you believe in
What you see
Nine to five
Living lies
Everyday
Stealing time
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can
Woooohh
Do you believe
In what you feel
It doesn't seem to be anybody else who agrees with me
I should apologise for diss-appearing again, i have had so much on and still have a lot to sort out. Hopefully things will get on the right path for me so until then please bare with me.
On another note this is my entry for this weeks Teleidoscope theme of Oxygen. I had wanted to go in my friends swimming pool, i had some great ideas but unfortunately things are still freezing here, despite it being a heated pool! Another time then, besides i managed to try this out in a large bucket indoors, it was transparent but had a murky pearlescent tint to it so it is not as clear as i wanted it to be. It didn't help that the bubbles kept floating straight up either, i had to improvise them with a straw!
Not my finest edit skills but an image that turned out how i at least visioned it in my head.
I have also noticed i have a re-occuring blue and water theme recently, strange as i didn't intend for that!
Anyway have a great weekend peeps and catch you later. :)
when you touch me , i start believing that love is like OXYGEN
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At this overlook in the Porcupine Mountains, all I could think of is, "Damn. Look at all those trees pumping out oxygen." Looking back, I think I was probably high on fresh air haha. Its just amazing to think that everything used to look like that before human civilization. Its a truly humbling view.