Christian M Knudsen, 615 Estates Rd, Allen, TX 75002

4948477, Aug 14, 1990

Nov 6, 1987

7/118414

Michael A. Gibson - Houston TX
Christian W. Knudsen - Houston TX

Carbotek, Inc. - Houston TX

C25B 102

204129

A manufacturing plant and process for production of oxygen on the moon uses lunar minerals as feed and a minimum of earth-imported, process materials. Lunar feed stocks are hydrogen-reducible minerals, ilmenite and lunar agglutinates occurring in numerous, explored locations mixed with other minerals in the pulverized surface layer of lunar soil known as regolith. Ilmenite (FeTiO. sub. 3) and agglutinates contain ferrous (Fe. sup. +2) iron reducible by hydrogen to yield H. sub. 2 O and metallic Fe at about 700. degree. -1,200. degree. C. The H. sub. 2 O is electrolyzed in gas phase to yield H. sub. 2 for recycle and O. sub. 2 for storage and use. Hydrogen losses to lunar vacuum are minimized, with no net hydrogen (or any other earth-derived reagent) consumption except for small leaks. Feed minerals are surface-mined by front shovels and transported in trucks to the processing area. The machines are manned or robotic.

5348696, Sep 20, 1994

Feb 12, 1990

7/479419

Michael A. Gibson - Houston TX
Christian W. Knudsen - Houston TX

Carbotek Inc. - Houston TX

C04B 3564
C04B 3546

264 65

A feed material which is a mixture of chemically reduced lunar ilmenite and lunar agglutinates having a particle size in the range of 20-200 microns produced by hydrogen reduction in a fine particulate state is compacted into a shape and sintered to produce structural, radiation shielding construction blocks or bricks.

5536378, Jul 16, 1996

Sep 20, 1994

8/309990

Michael A. Gibson - Houston TX
Christian W. Knudsen - Houston TX

Carbotek Inc. - Houston TX

C25B 102

204234

A reactor apparatus for production of Lunar oxygen uses feed stocks comprising a particulate hydrogen-reducible enriched feed in the size range from about 20-200 microns, containing 80-90% Lunar ilmenite (FeTiO. sub. 3) and ferrous Lunar agglutinates. The reactor apparatus has three vertically spaced fluidized zones with downcomers from the upper to the central fluidized zone and openings for introducing a hydrogen-containing gas stream through the lower fluidized zone. A solid-to-gas RF-dielectric heater has a ceramic honeycomb with small parallel channels separated by thin, ceramic walls and electrodes surrounding the honeycomb connected to an external RF power source for heating the gas stream to a reducing reaction temperature. A top inlet introduces the enriched feed into the upper fluidized zone for fluidization therein and flow into middle and lower fluidized zones countercurrent to the flow of the gas stream. A solid-state electrolyzer is composed of calcium oxide- or yttrium oxide-stabilized zirconia ceramic fabricated by sintering or slipcasting into a perforated cylindrical shape having platinum electrodes on outer and inner longitudinal surfaces thereof.

4938946, Jul 3, 1990

Apr 13, 1988

7/181318

Michael A. Gibson - Houston TX
Christian W. Knudsen - Houston TX

Carbotek, Inc. - Houston TX

C01B 302

4236481

A manufacturing plant and process for production of hydrogen on the moon uses lunar minerals as feed and a minimum of earth-imported, process materials. Lunar feedstock is the pulverized surface layer of lunar soil known as regolith. The regolith contains up to about 150 ppm (wt. ) hydrogen presumably derived from the "solar wind". The regolith is screened and fines of less than 200 micron size are recovered. The 200 micron, and smaller, particles are introduced into a fluidized bed reactor and fluidized in a hydrogen gas stream at a temperature of about 600. degree. C. The off-gas is passed through an absorber to separate by-product gases, such as hydrogen sulfide, which may be generated in the process, part of the hydrogen is removed to storage, and the remainder is recycled to fluidize the reactor. The recovered raw product gas is preferably further treated using combinations of selected membrane permeations and cryogenic distillations to purify product hydrogen and recover byproduct. sup. 3 He,. sup. 4 He, N. sub. 2, carbon oxides, hydrogen sulfide and other species desorbed with the hydrogen.