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This paper presents results of our experimental work and its applications to trace contaminant control systems for spacecraft.

It is part of an effort to predict results, via simulation, of changing a spacecraft CO2 removal system's operational configuration. The mathematical and numerical modeling approach, with emphasis on identification and independent verification of important adsorption physics, is described.

The current CO2 removal technology of NASA is very energy intensive and contains many non-optimized subsystems. This paper discusses the concept of a next-generation, membrane-integrated, adsorption processor for CO2 removal and compression in closed-loop air revitalization systems. The membrane module removes water from the feed, passing it directly into the processor's exhaust stream; it replaces the desiccant beds in the current four-bed molecular sieve system, which must be thermally regenerated. Moreover, in the new processor, CO2 is removed and compressed in a single two-stage unit. This processor will use much less power than NASA's current CO2 removal technology and will be capable of maintaining a lower CO2 concentration in the cabin than that can be achieved by the existing CO2 removal systems.

Oxygen loop closure is of high priority for an advanced space station air revitalization system. Closure will require the system's CO2 removal and reduction assemblies to be linked; however, the hardware for these two assemblies that is presently considered for use on the International Space Station (ISS) cannot be connected directly and so an interface device is needed. The interface device must provide an adequate vacuum for the CO2 removal assembly, must provide CO2 at a high enough pressure for the CO2 reduction assembly, and must also store sufficient CO2 to accommodate the difference in operating periods of the two processes. A mechanical vacuum pump/compressor with a buffer tank is one solution to the interface, but has drawbacks particularly in the areas of power consumption and size. A solid-state, adsorption-based compressor design is being developed at NASA Ames Research Center that meets the requirements of the interface device.