Reactor Design for NASA Oxygen Recovery

Project goal: To develop a methane pyrolysis reactor to increase oxygen recovery aboard the International Space Station.On the International Space Station,carbon dioxide and hydrogen are run through a Sabatier reactor that produces methane and water. An electrolysis reactor splits the water into oxygen and hydrogen, and the methane is vented overboard. The reactor will close the resource loop in the air revitalization systems and reduce the need for hydrogen resupply.The methane pyrolysis reactor designed for this project uses waste methane from the current system to increase percentage oxygen recovery. The reactor takes in methane gas and heats it by induction to over 1,000 degrees Celsius while using a vacuum pump to keep the pressure below 300 torr. This combination of high heat and low pressure facilitates pyrolysis, which splits methane molecules into their constituent atoms, carbon and hydrogen. The carbon adheres to a porous substrate designed by the sponsor, and the hydrogen continues through the oxygen recovery system, starting the cycle over again.