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CO2 removal, recovery and reduction are essential processes for a closed loop air revitalization system in a crewed spacecraft. Typically, a compressor is required to recover the low pressure CO2 that is being removed from the spacecraft in a swing bed adsorption system. This paper describes integrated tests of a Temperature-Swing Adsorption Compressor (TSAC) with high-fidelity systems for carbon dioxide removal and reduction assemblies (CDRA and Sabatier reactor). It also provides details of the TSAC operation at various CO2 loadings. The TSAC is a solid-state compressor that has the capability to remove CO2 from a low-pressure source, and subsequently store, compress, and deliver it at a higher pressure. TSAC utilizes the principle of temperature-swing adsorption compression and has no rapidly moving parts.

The International Space Station's air revitalization system operates in an open loop mode and relies on the re-supply of oxygen and other consumables from earth for the life support of astronauts. A compressor is required to deliver the carbon dioxide from a removal assembly to a reduction unit to recover oxygen and close the oxygen loop. We have developed a temperature-swing adsorption compressor (TSAC) that is energy efficient, quiet, and has no rapidly moving parts for performing these tasks. The TSAC has the capability to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from a low-pressure source, and subsequently store, compress, and deliver it at a higher pressure as required by a processor. As such, the TSAC is an excellent candidate for interfacing CO2 removal and reduction units in the air revitalization loop of a spacecraft for oxygen recovery. A TSAC that uses air as a cooling medium was developed and tested at NASA Ames Research Center.

This paper describes the mechanical design, thermal model development, and compression test results of a solid-state compressor prototype. This compressor utilizes the principle of temperature–swing adsorption compression and has no rapidly moving parts. Temperature-swing adsorption compressors (TSAC) have multiple applications in space exploration where acquisition, separation, purification, transportation or compression of gases are involved. NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) has developed a TSAC for potential application in a closed-loop air revitalization system (ARS) for a future spacecraft or crew exploration vehicle. Since the ARS of International Space Station (ISS) naturally serves as the baseline for future systems, we chose the design guidelines for this TSAC based on the ISS requirements. ARC has designed and successfully tested similar compressors that use a liquid cooling medium in the past.