A Method for the Extraction of Alumina and Silica from Lunar Regolith Using Hydrochloric Acid
Notice bibliographique
Résumé
50 years after the last Apollo mission, humanity is finally returning to The Moon.Thanks to advances in rocketry, additive manufacturing techniques, and material sciences, we are in a position where we can not only go to the Moon, but also establish permanent colonies once there.The aim of this research has been to confirm a proposed method for extraction of silica and alumina from lunar regolith using hydrochloric acid leaching.This process has the potential of being the starting point for a sustainable industrial basis for lunar resource extraction.This research built a workbench prototype for later payload development which will be used to decompose lunar anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8) using acid weathering.The intent of this experiment was to extract alumina (Al2O3) and silica (SiO2) from anorthite.Given that anorthite is abundant in the lunar highlands and practically free of sodium, it is a particularly attractive source of base materials.The intent was to confirm a sustainable means of producing smelter grade alumina for the purpose of in-situ manufacturing as well as silica extraction as part of a near closed-cycle environment.The silica produced is intended for the manufacturing of fused silica glass, thermal insulation fibers, and optical fiber cables.The alumina on the other hand can be used for the production of neutral refractory ceramics which can withstand temperatures of approximately 2000⁰C.Both the silica and alumina can also act as sources of metals (pure Si and Al) through electrochemical reduction which also produces oxygen (O2) as a useful biproduct.Lunar soil samples not being readily available, commercially sourced lunar simulant was used in its stead for our demonstration.To generate alumina and silica, the simulant was treated with hydrochloric acid (HCl) to dissolve the anorthosite.Silica remained as a precipitate, while the calcium and aluminium dissolved into solution.After further sparging, aluminium chlorite hexahydrate (AlCl3•6H2O) precipitated out of solution and upon completion of a double calcination, alumina was produced.The result obtained in the thesis demonstrates that resource extraction could be accomplished on the Moon using minimal Earth-sourced reagents; however, to achieve desirable levels of purity an effective beneficiation step will have to be put in place to generate high quality feedstock.Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAAE) department, for his valuable insight, support, and advice throughout my research.He has given the latitude to explore and trust to achieve the goal that we had set out.I also which to gratefully acknowledge Beth MacLarty-Halfkenny and Dr. Brian Cousens from the Carleton Earth Sciences Department, without their support and insight this thesis would not have been possible.Further, I would like to thank Xavier Walls who has been at my side throughout this endeavour and has coached me in the mystic arts of chemistry.His insight throughout the conduct of this experiment has helped me greatly.I wish him all the best in carrying on with the follow-on research that will unfurl from this
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Comment cette classification a été obtenuedéplier
Prédiction machine sur la base complète
Imitation des enseignantsNi prévalence calibrée, ni vérité terrain. Validation humaine à venir. Le volet Gemma est une étiquette directe du modèle pour chaque travail de la base, lue sur la notice réduite au titre. Le volet Codex est un classifieur appris des 10 348 étiquettes directes de Codex et calibré sur les taux pondérés de l'échantillon; les champs sans appui suffisant ne portent aucun appel Codex. Le mode candidate est l'union des deux volets; le consensus est leur intersection. Ces sorties portent le statut machine_predicted_unvalidated et ne sont pas des étiquettes humaines.
Scores du classifieur distillé par catégorie (deux têtes)
| Catégorie | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Métarecherche | 0,000 | 0,000 |
| Méta-épidémiologie (sens strict) | 0,001 | 0,000 |
| Méta-épidémiologie (sens large) | 0,000 | 0,000 |
| Bibliométrie | 0,001 | 0,000 |
| Études des sciences et des technologies | 0,001 | 0,000 |
| Communication savante | 0,000 | 0,000 |
| Science ouverte | 0,000 | 0,000 |
| Intégrité de la recherche | 0,001 | 0,001 |
| Charge utile insuffisante (le modèle a refusé de juger) | 0,003 | 0,002 |
Scores machine (provisoires)
Les deux têtes enseignantes du modèle étudiant, lues sur ce travail. Un score ordonne la base pour la relecture; il n'affirme jamais une catégorie, et le statut de validation accompagne chaque rangée tel quel.
Scores de référence d'un modèle non mature (critères de maturité non atteints, 7 itérations). Un score ordonne; il n'affirme jamais une catégorie.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · tel quel depuis la passe de notation : score_only signifie que le nombre peut ordonner les travaux, et qu'aucune étiquette de catégorie n'en découleClassification
machine, non validéePrédiction automatique; un appel candidat d’une seule source (Gemma direct ou Codex distillé), pas un consensus.
Le détail, modèle par modèle et score par score, se trouve en fin de page sous « Comment cette classification a été obtenue ».