MARRS
Mars Atmosphere Resource Recovery System MARRS
Presentation to NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts 2nd Annual Meeting June 6-7, 2000
CE/ERG June 2000
Christopher England
ER G
tel: 626.355.1209 fax: 626.355.1209 cengland@earthlink.net
En g i n e e r i n g R e s e a r c h Gr o u p the chemical and mechanical engineering sciences
MARRS
Making Oxygen from Martian Air Mostly CO2 with oxygen, CO and water as trace components!
Ref: qust.arc.nasa.gov/mars/background
CE/ERG June 2000
Composition (Viking Data) Component
% by vol
CO2 Nitrogen Argon Oxygen CO Water Neon Krypton Xenon Ozone Missing
95.32 2.7 1.6 0.13 0.07 0.03 0.00025 0.00003 0.000008 0.000003 0.149709 100
MARRS
Electrolysis of CO2 • Compression of CO2 followed by electrolysis yields CO and O2 • Experiment on Mars 2001 lander -- MAAC* & MIPS*
2e- + CO2 -> CO + O=
O= -> 1/2 O2 + 2eO
Overall Reaction: CO2 -> CO + 1/2 O2
* • MIPS - Mars In-Situ Propellant Precursor • MAAC - Mars Atmosphere Acquisition and Compression
=
700-900oC
A great method for small scale O2 & CO production, but … YSZ electrolyte (yttria-stabilized zirconia)
CE/ERG June 2000
MARRS
Martian Atmosphere is 0.13% O2
0.0006% oxygen in the ocean Ref: Deep-Sea Research, Vol.17, pp 721-735 CE/ERG June 2000
Does the fish electrolyze water to get oxygen?
MARRS
How can we best use the Martian atmosphere?
CE/ERG June 2000
MARRS
MARRS* - A New Process For Recovering Oxygen and Water on Mars 1. 2. 3. 4.
Compress the atmosphere, Condense the carbon dioxide, Separate the carbon dioxide from the permanent gases, Concentrate and use the resulting oxygen, water, CO, N2 and Ar
3% O2 Mars atmosphere, 0.8 kPa
O2 N2, Ar
400 kPa
CO H2O (s) *U.S. Patent pending
CE/ERG June 2000
CO2 (l)
purification of O2-rich gas
MARRS
Compression Energy • Mars has an atmosphere that is easily condensable – unlike the Earth. • The energy to liquefy the CO2 is unexpectedly low – even better with good energy recovery
Triple point, liquid, P = 5.1 atm
Triple point, gas, P = 5.1 atm Liquid-Gas
Solid-Gas
CE/ERG June 2000
Mars ambient, P = 0.01 atm
• The temperatureentropy diagram provides key data • The chemical engineering says “no solids please.” • Compress to pressure above the triple point.
MARRS
Triple point, liquid, P = 5.1 atm
Triple point, gas, P = 5.1 atm Liquid-Gas
Solid-Gas
CE/ERG June 2000
Mars ambient, P = 0.01 atm
MARRS
The Permanent Gases Will Separate! 3% O 2
O2 N 2, Ar CO
CO 2(l)
• Apply Raoult’s Law + Clausius-Clapeyron equation to estimate distribution of gases X = Y PT/PS ln X = ln [Y P] - [HV/R] [1/TB-1/T] •After condensation, oxygen is concentrated 27-fold. • A surprising result - much better than expected • Product gas is still mostly CO2 CE/ERG June 2000
MARRS
SP-100 Reactor Supplies the Energy
Th e
Re ac tor !
• 5 megawatts • 30 liters • 300 kg • System mass of 2200 kg.
CE/ERG June 2000
• Adapt temperatures and materials for the Martian atmosphere
MARRS
MARRS Product Manifest Power Production
Heat Recovery
Turbo Compressors
Mars Atm
Primary CO2 Condenser
To oxygen purification
Cool
Heat
Bulk CO2 Storage
+H
e at
Turbo-Expanders
+H
eat
To reserve/ aux. power
M A R R S P ro d u ct M a n ife st: B a sis: S P -1 0 0 S p a c e R e a c to r, 4 0 % C o m p re ssio n E ffic ie n cy K ilo g ra m s p ro d u c e d fro m o n e 5 M W th e rm a l so u rce , p e r h o u r L CO2 O2 N2 Ar CO H2O E n e rg y R e c o v e ry , % 0 2 2 1 7 2 .6 2 2 .0 7 9 9 .4 6 7 6 .6 2 0 .8 5 .8 20 0 2 7 .5 9 9 9 .3 8 4 5 .8 2 6 .0 7 .3 40 0 4 5 .8 1 6 6 5 .4 1 4 0 9 .6 4 3 .3 1 2 .1 60 0 1 1 4 .6 4 1 6 3 .5 3 5 2 4 .0 1 0 8 .3 3 0 .2 80 0 5 7 2 .9 2 0 8 1 7 .7 1 7 6 1 9 .8 5 4 1 .7 1 5 1 .0
CE/ERG June 2000
MARRS
An Integrated Resource Architecture • MARRS provides products -• Oxygen • Water • Nitrogen and argon, components of air • Carbon monoxide, a fuel precursor • Mechanical and electrical power • MARRS supplies an open-cycle working fluid, and propellants • Liquid CO2 in very large amounts • For drilling and other stationary machinery • For local transportation •with transportable heat source
CE/ERG June 2000
MARRS
Functional Elements of Making Air on Mars All it takes is energy, equipment, and knowledge
CO2 Storage Energy Storage Reserve Power Mars Atmosphere
O2 N2 CO Ar Xe
L CO2 Compression and Energy Recovery
Product Storage and Distribution
Thermal Source & Energy Conversion Atmosphere Component Separation
CE/ERG June 2000
Atmosphere Component Concentration
Component Purification
MARRS
Equipment Dimensions
Atmospheric Intake 1 of 9
2m
Compressed Atmosphere Pipe
Condensed-Phase, 2-Phase Pipe
Primary Separation Vessel CE/ERG June 2000
MARRS
MARRS vs. Electrolysis Mass Comparison for Oxygen Production (Roughest Estimate)
MARRS Mass (k g/k g O 2 /day) Energy (k w/k g O 2 /day) Co-products
• Continuous extraction process benefits from economies of scale • Electrolysis attractive for small systems
CE/ERG June 2000
SP-100 2 to 4
PV ?
10 to 40 carbon monoxide water nitrogen argon (inert gases)
Electrolysis SP-100 8 to 16
PV 300-1200
10 to 20 carbon monoxide
MARRS
MARRS Research for NIAC • Focus on processing of the atmospheric gases • The chemical engineering • Provide a good estimate of how much compression is needed • Make first estimate of launch mass • Outline architecture and compression strategy • A good architecture makes MARRS a “pull” technology • It must accommodate dramatic environmental variability. CE/ERG June 2000
MARRS
The Martian Dead State • The “dead state” is a term for the ground state that determines efficiency • Second law process analysis tells where the inefficiencies occur • For large in-situ installations, high efficiency is a primary design goal
Energy ~ 1/η Mass ~ 1/η
CE/ERG June 2000
MARRS chemical engineering will include process design with second law optimization.
MARRS
MARRS -- An Enabling Technology • Uniquely uses the Martian environment • Helps define new disciplines in space technology • Planetary chemical engineering • Many MARRS concepts applicable to other planetary bodies
• NIAC provides a unique opportunity to introduce MARRS and other unique ideas into NASA’s advanced planning • Planetary chemical engineering will be introduced to the AIChE in November
CE/ERG June 2000