Development of a solid electrolyte carbon dioxide and water reduction system for oxygen recovery

A 1/4-man solid electrolyte oxygen regeneration system, consisting of an electrolyzer, a carbon deposition reactor, and palladium membranes for separating hydrogen, was operated continuously in a 180-day test. Oxygen recovery from the carbon dioxide-water feed was 95%. One percent of the oxygen was lost to vacuum with the hydrogen off-gas. In a space cabin, the remaining 4% would have been recycled to the cabin and recovered. None of the electrolysis cells used in the 180-day test failed. Electrolysis power rose 20% during the test; the average power was 283.5 watts/man. Crew time was limited to 18 min/day of which 12 min/day was used for removing carbon. The success achieved in operating the system can be attributed to an extensive component development program, which is described. Stability of operation, ease of control, and flexibility in feed composition were demonstrated by the life test

Conceptual design study of a six-man solid electrolyte system for oxygen reclamation

A six-man solid electrolyte oxygen regeneration system (SEORS) that will produce 12.5 lbs/day of oxygen has been designed. The SEORS will simultaneously electrolyze both carbon dioxide and water vapor and be suitable for coupling with a carbon dioxide concentration system of either molecular sieve, solid amine or hydrogen depolarized electrochemical type. The total system will occupy approximately 19 cu ft (34.5 in. x .26 in. x 36 in. high) and will weigh approximately 500 pounds. It is estimated that the total electrical power required will be 1783 watts. The system consists of three major components; electrolyzer, hydrogen diffuser, and carbon deposition reactor. There are 108 electrolysis stacks of 12 cells each in the electrolyzer. Only 2/3 of the 108 stacks will be operated at a time; the remainder will be held in reserve. The design calls for 96 palladium membranes for hydrogen removal to give 60 percent redundancy. Four carbon deposition reactors are employed. The iron catalyst tube in each reactor weighs 7.1 lb and 100 percent redundancy is allowed

Feed Materials Production Center. Final phase-in report volume 12 of 15, productivity retention program, October 25, 1985--December 31, 1985

This transition task focused on a review of the Productivity & Radiological Improvements Line Item Program (Package 1) and the Productivity Retention Programs (Packages 2, 3 & 4). Specific objectives include: (1) Understanding the status of the programs. (2) Identifying critical path projects. (3) Identifying current and potential problems. (4) Reviewing the process and procedures employed by NLO for Line Item projects, covering the planning, estimating, justifying, approving, and acquisition and construction of facilities. (5) Preparing recommendations. Primary effort in this study was focused on Packages 1 and 2, since this is where current NLO activity is concentrated. This allowed the authors to proceed with a minimum of interruptions to on-going work effort. This report will cover findings and recommendations for all four subtasks which were defined to address the completion of the four packages

Feed Materials Production Center. Final phase-in report volume 8 of 15 engineering and construction, October 25, 1985--December 31, 1985

This transition task focused on a review of the engineering and construction activities at FMPC with the objectives of: (1) Understanding the current organization, its work load, its strengths and weaknesses, and its effectiveness in accomplishing its work. (2) Recommending improvements in organization, training, personnel and interfacing with the DOE. (3) Developing the procedures to be utilized in managing construction work to be carried out under the new Westinghouse/Rust contract that is to take effect upon take over by Westinghouse. This study included Line item Projects, General Plant Projects (GPP), Capital Projects, and Action Requests received by Project Engineering from Maintenance - both for design services and for procuring and following work by outside contractors on certain maintenance jobs. Other engineering services, provided primarily by the Production Technology Department, include direct support of production operations, customer liaison, resolution of product quality problems, and product development. These activities were not reviewed in detail during the transition due to the higher priority on improving Project Engineering performance. Waste Management Projects are reviewed separately in Section 11 of this report