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Creating Methane from Plastic: Recycling at a Lunar OutpostThe high cost of re-supply from Earth demands resources to be utilized to the fullest extent for exploration missions. The ability to refuel on the lunar surface would reduce the vehicle mass during launch and provide excess payload capability. Recycling is a key technology that maximizes the available resources by converting waste products into useful commodities. One example of this is to convert crew member waste such as plastic packaging, food scraps, and human waste into fuel. This process thermally degrades plastic in the presence of oxygen producing CO2 and CO. The CO2 and CO are then reacted with hydrogen over catalyst (Sabatier reaction) producing methane. An end-to-end laboratory-scale system has been designed and built to produce methane from plastic, in this case polyethylene. This first generation system yields 12-16% CH4 by weight of plastic used.
Document ID
20110008529
Acquisition Source
Kennedy Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Santiago-Maldonado, Edgardo
(NASA Kennedy Space Center Cocoa Beach, FL, United States)
Captain, Janine
(NASA Kennedy Space Center Cocoa Beach, FL, United States)
Devor, Robert
(ASRC Aerospace Corp. Cocoa Beach, FL, United States)
Gleaton, Jeremy
(South Carolina Univ. Columbia, SC, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
January 4, 2010
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Report/Patent Number
KSC-2009-314
Meeting Information
Meeting: 48th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting
Location: Orlando, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: January 4, 2010
End Date: January 7, 2010
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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