月壤原位利用技术研究进展

Research progress in the in-situ utilization of lunar soil

  • 摘要: 月球矿物资源的原位利用技术是月球基地建立和后续深空探索的基础。由于月球特殊环境及地月运输成本的限制,现有矿冶技术难以直接应用于月球矿物的原位开发。各国的科研人员围绕月球矿物资源原位利用方向开展了卓有成效的研究工作,发展了几种极具应用潜力的技术。这些方法可分为材料化成型和提取冶金两类,其中材料化成型工艺如烧结法、3D增材制造法等,主要用于将月壤直接材料化成型以制备月球基地建材。提取冶金工艺包括碳/氢化学介质还原法、电解还原法以及真空热解法等,可生产月壤矿物对应的金属单质或其低价氧化物,并获得氧气。本文概述了已有月壤原位利用技术的一般原理、基本过程、热力学动力学基础及近期研究进展。探讨了这些方法的一些优缺点,并展望了其在月球矿物原位利用上的应用前景。

     

    Abstract: The in-situ utilization of lunar mineral resources is fundamental process for the establishment of a lunar base and subsequent exploration of deep space. However, the special environment of the moon and the cost of earth–moon transportation limit the direct application of existing mining and metallurgy technologies to achieve the in-situ utilization of lunar regolith. Since the 1980s, when NASA first proposed the “In-situ Resource Utilization” program (ISRU) and began to put it into practice, scientific researchers from all over the world have carried out fruitful research on the orientation of the in-situ utilization of lunar mineral resources and developed several technologies with great application potential. These methods can be divided into materialized molding and extractive metallurgy. Materialized molding processes, such as the sintering method and 3D additive manufacturing method, are mainly used to directly materialize the lunar soil to prepare building materials for the lunar base. Meanwhile, metallurgical extraction processes include carbon/hydrogenation medium reduction, electrolytic reduction, and vacuum pyrolysis, which can produce the corresponding metal or its suboxides and oxygen. At present, the main raw materials used in related engineering applications and ISRU research are lunar soil simulants. This paper briefly summarized the special space environment of the moon and its influence. Moreover, the characteristics and applications of lunar soil simulants synthesized in different countries were compared. The main steps, technological characteristics, research status, and application prospects of lunar soil and lunar soil simulant’s materialized molding process were then introduced. This work also summarized the general principles, basic processes, thermodynamics, and kinetics of the lunar soil’s in-situ extraction metallurgical technology, as well as the latest research progress. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of these methods were discussed, and their applications in the in-situ utilization of lunar minerals were proposed. In addition, the possible impact of the special lunar environment on the implementation of related technologies and products in the future was discussed and prospected.

     

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