Oxygen production by electrolysis of molten lunar regolith

The goal of this study was threefold. First, the theoretical energy requirements of the process were to be defined. This includes studies of the relevant oxidation-reduction reactions in the melt, their kinetics and energies of reaction, and experimental determination of production efficiencies and melt resistivities as functions of melt composition and applied potential. Second, the product(s) of silicate electrolysis were to be characterized. This includes: (1) evaluating the phase relationships in the systems SiO2-TiO2-Al2O3-MgO-FeO-CaO and Fe-Si; (2) estimating the compositions of the metal products as a function of applied potential and feedstock composition based on phase equilibria in the Fe-Si system and free energy values for SiO2 and FeO reported in the literature; (3) definition of compositions of products in actual experiments; and (4) definition of the form the product takes (whether phases separate or remain fixed, whether crystals settle or float in the remaining melt, and how large crystals form). Third, materials for these highly corrosive high-temperature silicate melts were to be identified. This includes identifing materials that may be either inert or thermodynamically stable in these melts, and experimental testing of the materials to confirm that they do not deteriorate. The results are discussed within this framework

Hierarchy Of GAAP vs. IFRS The Case Of Bankruptcy Accounting

With increased movement toward convergence of major accounting principles between U.S. GAAP and IFRS, the issue of which authoritative source should be referenced becomes increasingly important. An important question is: what is the hierarchy of authority for pronouncements and documents under U.S. GAAP and IFRS? FASB Accounting Standards Codification is the single official source ofauthoritative U.S. GAAP. The hierarchy under international standards is less clear. The IASB promulgated a hierarchy in IAS 8, but interpretation concerning many issues is required. There are several issues not addressed at all by IFRS and one of these is bankruptcy accounting. ASC 852 is the guidance for bankruptcy accounting under U.S. GAAP. This study will investigate whether companies in countries which use IFRS are influenced by the guidance of ASC 852 when confronted with bankruptcy. A review of the financial statements of bankrupt companies in countries using or converting to IFRS was conducted into the reporting of reorganization-type bankruptcies

Evaluating Service Departments As Value Streams

Evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of service departments in a lean accounting environment is a subject that has received little attention. The cost of service departments is usually a substantial portion of the total costs of operating a business or other entity. This paper proposes a unique method of evaluating service departments in a lean accounting environment by recasting them as value streams. The Internal Auditing department is used as an example, although these techniques are applicable to all service departments of entities that use the lean accounting model

Oxygen from the lunar soil by molten silicate electrolysis

Accepting that oxygen, rather than gigantic gems or gold, is likely to make the Moon's Klondike, the extraction of oxygen from the lunar soil by molten silicate electrolysis has chosen to be investigated. Process theory and proposed lunar factory are addressed

Oxygen and iron production by electrolytic smelting of lunar soil

Work during the past year involved two aspects: (1) electrolysis experiments on a larger scale than done before, and (2) collaboration with Carbotek Inc. on design for a lunar magma electrolysis cell. It was demonstrated previously that oxygen can be produced by direct electrolysis of silicate melts. Previous experiments using 50-100 mg of melt have succeeded in measuring melt resistivities, oxygen production efficiencies, and have identified the character of metal products. A series of experiments using 1-8 grams of silicate melt, done in alumina and spinel containers sufficiently large that surface tension effects between the melt and the wall are expected to have minor effect on the behavior of the melt in the region of the electrodes were completed. The purpose of these experiments was to demonstrate the durability of the electrode and container materials, demonstrate the energy efficiency of the electrolysis process, further characterize the nature of the expected metal and spinel products, measure the efficiency of oxygen production and compare to that predicted on the basis of the smaller-scale experiments, and identify any unexpected benefits or problems of the process. Four experimental designs were employed. Detailed results of these experiments are given in the appendix ('Summary of scaling-up experiments'); a general report of the results is given in terms of implications of the experiments on container materials, cathode materials, anode materials, bubble formation and frothing of the melt, cell potential, anode-cathode distance, oxygen efficiency, and energy efficiency

Lunar resources: Toward living off the lunar land

The following topics are addressed: (1) lunar resources and surface conditions; (2) guidelines for early lunar technologies; (3) the lunar farm; (4) the lunar filling station; (5) lunar construction materials; (6) the lunar power company; (7) the electrolysis of molten silicate as a means of producing oxygen and metals for use on the Moon and in near-Earth space

Resource availability at Taurus-Littrow

Early lunar technologies will probably use a common lunar material as ore. They will be robust to minor fluctuations in feedstock composition and will not require appreciable feedstock beneficiation such as rock grinding or mineral concentration. Technologies using unprocessed soil and indifferent to its composition will have the advantage. Nevertheless, the size and grade of the ore body must be confirmed for even the most indiscriminate process. Simple uses such as heaping unprocessed lunar soil for thermal insulation or radiation shielding onto a habitat require that we know the depth of the regolith, the size distributions of its soils, the locations of large boulders, and the ease of excavation. Costs of detailed site surveys trade against restrictions on site selection and conservative engineering design to accommodate unknown conditions of a poorly explored site. Given the above considerations, we consider briefly some abundant lunar materials, their proposed uses, and technologies for their preparation, with particular attention to the Taurus-Littrow site

Oxygen and iron production by electrolytic smelting of lunar soil

Oxygen, present in abundance in nearly all lunar materials, can theoretically be extracted by molten silicate electrolysis from any known lunar rock. Derivation of oxygen by this method has been amply demonstrated experimentally in silicate melts of a variety of compositions. This work can be divided into three categories: (1) measurement of solubilities of metals (atomic) in silicate melts; (2) electrolysis experiments under various conditions of temperature, container material, electrode configuration, current density, melt composition, and sample mass (100 to 2000 mg) measuring energy required and character of resulting products; and (3) theoretical assessment of compositional requirements for steady state operations of an electrolysis cell

Lunar oxygen and metal for use in near-Earth space: Magma electrolysis

Because it is energetically easier to get material from the Moon to Earth orbit than from the Earth itself, the Moon is a potentially valuable source of materials for use in space. The unique conditions on the Moon, such as vacuum, absence of many reagents common on the Earth, and the presence of very nontraditional ores suggest that a unique and nontraditional process for extracting materials from the ores may prove the most practical. With this in mind, an investigation of unfluxed silicate electrolysis as a method for extracting oxygen, iron, and silicon from lunar regolith was initiated and is discussed. The advantages of the process include simplicity of concept, absence of need to supply reagents from Earth, and low power and mass requirements for the processing plant. Disadvantages include the need for uninterrupted high temperature and the highly corrosive nature of the high-temperature silicate melts which has made identifying suitable electrode and container materials difficult

Legal Consciousness and the Legal Culture of NAGPRA

This thesis explores the life history of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). It chronicles NAGPRA\u27s story beginning with what created the perceived need for such an act, the work and the groups of people that went into its ultimate advent in 1990, the nitty-gritty details/language of the policy itself, and its various successes and failures throughout the years. With research conducted through the lens of legal anthropology, this paper focuses on the certain requirements (education, class, race, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, etc.) that have allowed people(s) to actively participate in the formation/policy-building of NAGPRA, become NAGPRA representatives, and benefit from the policy. The primary focus of this thesis is on the question What is the legal culture of NAGPRA? It examines NAGPRA\u27s legal culture by utilizing American sociologists Patricia Ewick and Susan S. Silbey\u27s legal consciousnesses of before, with, and against the law. It then goes on to show that a fourth, new consciousness --beyond the law -- presents itself in the legal culture of NAGPRA. This fourth consciousness is developed in this thesis and necessary to more fully address the spirit of the law -- a key force in building and sustaining the legal culture of NAGPRA