Lunar soil could produce oxygen and fuel

Scientists from Nanjing University, Yingfang Yao and Zhigang Zou, are designing a mechanism called “extraterrestrial photosynthesis” that aims to take advantage of aggregates on the lunar surface that could work as catalysts to produce products such as oxygen and carbon dioxide.

The researchers want to take advantage of the most abundant resources on the moon, the lunar soil and solar radiation. The Moon’s soil has active compounds, which can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuels, according to Chinese studies published in the journal Joule.

The analysis carried out by the scientists on the lunar soil sample showed that it contains substances rich in iron and titanium “that could function as catalysts to manufacture desired products, such as oxygen, using sunlight and carbon dioxide.”

According to researchers, with the extraterrestrial photosynthesis strategy the process will allow the production of hydrocarbons such as methane, which could be used as fuel, but this strategy will not use “external energy, but sunlight, to produce a series of desirable products, such as water, oxygen and fuel, which could support life on a lunar base.”

According to Yingfang Yao, the catalytic efficiency of the lunar soil is lower than that of the catalysts available on Earth. However, the group of researchers “is testing different approaches to improve the design, such as melting the lunar soil into a high-entropy nanostructured material, which is a better catalyst.”

M. Rodríguez

Source: tribunasalamanca.com