Development of a Temperature-Swing Adsorption Compressor for Carbon Dioxide 2003-01-2627

A closed-loop air revitalization system requires continuous removal of CO₂ from the breathing air and an oxygen recovery system to recover oxygen from the waste CO₂. Production of oxygen from CO₂ is typically achieved by reacting CO₂ with hydrogen in a reduction unit such as a Sabatier reactor. The air revitalization system of International Space Station (ISS) currently operates on an open loop mode where CO₂ is being vented into the space vacuum due to lack of a Sabatier Reactor. A compressor and a storage device are required to interface the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) and the Sabatier reactor. This compressor must acquire the low-pressure CO₂ from CDRA and provide it at a high enough pressure to the Sabatier reactor. The compressor should ensure independent operations of CDRA and Sabatier reactor at all times, even when their operating schedules are not synchronized.

This paper describes a, solid-state, Temperature-Swing Adsorption Compressor (TSAC) that was developed and tested at NASA Ames Research Center with potential application in the closed-loop air revitalization systems of ISS, future spacecraft and transit vehicles.