Joule-Heated Molten Regolith Electrolysis Reactor Concepts for Oxygen and Metals Production on the Moon and Mars

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Sibille, Laurent Dominguez, Jesus A.
Copyright Year	2012
Abstract	The maturation of Molten Regolith Electrolysis (MRE) as a viable technology for oxygen and metals production on explored planets relies on the realization of the self-heating mode for the reactor. Joule heat generated during regolith electrolysis creates thermal energy that should be able to maintain the molten phase (similar to electrolytic Hall-Heroult process for aluminum production). Self-heating via Joule heating offers many advantages: (1) The regolith itself is the crucible material, it protects the vessel walls (2) Simplifies the engineering of the reactor (3) Reduces power consumption (no external heating) (4) Extends the longevity of the reactor. Predictive modeling is a tool chosen to perform dimensional analysis of a self-heating reactor: (1) Multiphysics modeling (COMSOL) was selected for Joule heat generation and heat transfer (2) Objective is to identify critical dimensions for first reactor prototype.
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
DOI	10.2514/6.2012-639
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20120003037.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2012-639
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article