4 ms·
Yeah -- soda lime, etc. e.g. https://minearc.com/remove-co-co2-in-refuge-chamber-chemical-scrubber/ https://minearc.com/remove-co-co2-in-refuge-chamber-chemica
by rdl 4y ago
Yeah -- soda lime, etc. e.g. https://minearc.com/remove-co-co2-in-refuge-chamber-chemical-scrubber/ https://minearc.com/remove-co-co2-in-refuge-chamber-chemical...
- JoshTriplett 4y agoAre there solutions for CO2 scrubbing that use electricity and can run indefinitely, rather than chemical substrates that get used up and require replenishing?
- rdl 4y agoYes, but the context of this post was emergency systems which are purely chemical. For routine operations on e.g. a submarine, https://www.naval-technology.com/contractors/materials/atmosphere-control-international/ https://www.naval-technology.com/contractors/materials/atmos... As other people have mentioned, this is a great introduction to the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Ud6mHdhlQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Ud6mHdhlQ
- atrus 4y agoWhile probably not as applicable on Earth, the ISS CO2 scrubbers use a chemical substrate that is then exposed to space where the CO2 is sent off. https://www.eni.com/en-IT/scientific-research/space-free-co2.html https://www.eni.com/en-IT/scientific-research/space-free-co2...
- frederikvs 4y agoIt looks like Monoethanolamine (MEA) can be reused after a regeneration cycle. Of course, you will need somewhere to dump the CO2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanolamine#Gas_stream_scrubbing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanolamine#Gas_stream_scrubb...
- adrianN 4y agoSoda lime can also be used after a regeneration cycle. If you heat it sufficiently it releases the CO2 again.
- krisoft 4y agoSure. The trick is that there are regenerative chemical substrates. The material absorbes co2, gets saturated, cycled to a different part where it is heated and releases the co2 and can be used to capture again. If you use electricity to do the heating and cycling you have exactly what you asked for. On the other hand these units are usually not small or portable. Here is a press release from a manufacturer: https://www.naval-technology.com/contractors/materials/atmosphere-control-international/ https://www.naval-technology.com/contractors/materials/atmos...
- elihu 4y agoOne method if you have enough electricity is to capture some amount of air from the room, compress and/or refrigerate it until the various gasses liquefy (they each liquefy at a different temperature/pressure), and drain off each liquefied gas that you want to separate into its own container. At least, that's how the CO2-filtering device described in The Martian worked. I'm not sure if anyone uses that system in real life. Apparently on the ISS they use filters made of zeolite[1]. From that article though it didn't say if the filters were reusable. If they are, maybe just using filters is good enough for quite a long time. [1] https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/nasa-launched-an-upgraded-co2-eliminator https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/nasa-launched-an-upgraded-co2...
- thescriptkiddie 4y agoThe zeolite filters are regenerated by heating them, which causes them to release the captured CO2. This is obviously done in a sealed chamber so that the CO2 can be captured or vented overboard.
- numpad0 4y agoRemember the talks about DIY Oxygen concentrators during COVID emergency days, using two pipes filled with zeolite beads alternatingly pressurized from pumps and valves so to separate Nitrogen in the air and leaving Oxygen in the gas? Apparently the same Pressure Swing Adsorption principle is used to extract couple other gases as well, and CO2 is one of them.
- bookofjoe 4y agoYes. There is a soda lime canister integrated into the design of anesthesia machines.