For six decades, how to efficiently and reliably produce enough oxygen for people to breathe has been a major challenge during manned spaceflight. An international team of scientists claims to have found a simple and elegant solution to this problem.
They propose using ordinary magnets to improve life support systems on space stations and spacecraft.
The problem with producing oxygen in space is the lack of gravity. On Earth, oxygen is produced through a process called electrolysis. In this process, when electricity is passed through water, it breaks down into hydrogen and oxygen. Bubbles of these gases easily rise to the surface. In space, due to the lack of gravity, bubbles do not float anywhere. They stay in the water and stick to electrodes, which hinders the process. To handle this, the International Space Station uses complex and large systems, such as the Russian-made "Electron-VM" and the American-made "OGS". These systems use centrifuges to separate the gas from the liquid.
These machines are heavy, take up a lot of space, and are very energy-intensive, consuming about a third of the energy needed for the station's life support systems. This approach is not suitable for future long-term missions to Mars, where every kilogram and every watt of energy is important in space.
The new solution proposed by scientists at the University of Warwick, the Bremen Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM), and the Georgia Institute of Technology could help avoid the complex equipment. As Katharina Brinkert, a professor at ZARM, explains, "When splitting water in space, we don't need complex centrifuges or other mechanical devices to separate hydrogen and oxygen. "We don't need to spend extra energy on it. "It's a completely passive system that doesn't require any special maintenance."
According to a new study, adding ordinary neodymium magnets to an electrolysis device can increase its efficiency by up to 240%. This means that oxygen production can be as efficient as on Earth.
It works in two ways. The first is by exploiting the natural property of water to move slightly away from the magnets. Gas bubbles don't react to a magnetic field. As a result, a phenomenon called magnetic buoyancy occurs. This gently pushes the bubbles away from the electrodes and guides them to a collection point.
The second method relies on magnetohydrodynamic forces. This phenomenon is caused by the interaction between the electricity used for electrolysis and the magnetic field. This interaction causes the liquid to spin into tiny vortices.
The idea is the result of four years of collaborative work. The Georgia Institute of Technology PhD student Álvaro Romero-Calvo had already suggested the use of magnets in 2022 and had made all the necessary calculations. Then Katharina Brinkert's team designed and built the experimental equipment. To test the theory, the scientists conducted a series of experiments in a special ZARM installation called the "Bremen Leaning Tower". Then Katharina Brinkert's team developed and built the experimental equipment. To test the theory, the scientists conducted a series of experiments in a special ZARM installation called the "Bremen Leaning Tower". This tower allows for short-term creation of conditions very close to weightlessness. These experiments fully confirmed the calculations.
Ömer Akay, a researcher at ZARM, said that the cells developed by him can produce hydrogen and oxygen in zero gravity conditions, with an efficiency similar to that on Earth. This technology not only solves an old engineering problem, but also provides a lighter, more reliable and less expensive life support system, which is necessary for space travel. The team aims to test the system in a real flight on a sub-orbital rocket in the next phase.
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