Award

In this Phase I SBIR, XploSafe proposes to confirm the technical feasibility of a regenerable integrated Trace Contaminant Control (TCC) and Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) system for the continuous removal of CO2 and trace contaminants from the ventilation loop of the Exploration Portable Life Support System (xPLSS). XploSafe has developed regenerable TCC and CO2 adsorbents that are capable of maintaining the CO2 and trace contaminant levels below their xEMU exposure thresholds and scaled their production to commercial scale. In addition, XploSafe has also constructed TCC and RCA test rigs for evaluating sorbents in closed-loop recirculating swing beds, which are capable of simulating Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) conditions, including sub-atmospheric pressure, flow rate, temperature control, contaminant source rates, and desired dosing metabolic profiles. The target deliverable is combining the TCC and RCA capabilities toward Lunar and Martian extravehicular activities (EVAs) to simplify the current xPLSS and eliminate redundant sorbent beds. The main advancement is integrating the TCC and CO2 sorbents based on nanoporous silica and acrylonitrile-modified tetraethylenepentamine (TEPAN), respectively, inside a single cartridge. TEPAN comprises of primary and secondary amines that offer adequate regeneration and considerable affinity toward carbon dioxide, while nanoporous silica can reversibly adsorb volatile organics from various chemical classes. Different combinations of these sorbents will be screened against a mixture of nine select TCC compounds and CO2, and their optimal configuration will be identified. XploSafe possesses all the required equipment to complete new material characterization, conduct TCC and CO2 breakthrough experiments, and execute large-scale testing with an xEMU simulating sub-atmospheric swing-bed. Ultimately, a prototype design that can be integrated into the next-generation xEMU with a combined RCA/TCC system will be proposed.