Non-Thermal Plasma Recovery of Hydrogen from Sabatier Waste Methane

Effective methods for recovery and regeneration of cabin atmosphere to supply oxygen are critical to facilitate extended duration manned missions including expeditions to Mars or a return to the Moon. Currently, oxygen is recovered as water using the Sabatier reduction process. One of the by-products of this reaction is waste methane, which is vented into space. Lynntech proposes to reclaim the hydrogen from the methane by utilizing a low power, high efficiency, non-thermal plasma (NTP) process based on high frequency dielectric barrier discharge (HFDBD). The HFDBD is characterized by electrons and heavy particles being in thermodynamic non-equilibrium. The electron temperatures are near 10,000K, while the ions and neutrals species remain at ambient temperature. The high energy electrons have the potential to recover up to 75% of the hydrogen from methane. Since the majority of the electrical energy in the discharge is used to accelerate electrons rather than heat the plasma gas, Lynntech's process produces minimal soot. Hence, a complex filtration system to remove soot from the exhaust stream is not required. Recovery of hydrogen from methane minimizes the hydrogen resupply requirements and improves the efficiency of the Sabatier process by closing the mass loop of the reduction reaction.

Potential non-NASA applications include reformation of natural gas to produce hydrogen to be utilized directly as a fuel, or to power PEM fuel cells for commercial and military applications. In addition, the non-thermal plasma process is capable of reforming any liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon feedstock such as JP-8 and heavy oils to produce low molecular weight fuels and fuel additives such as gasoline, diesel, aviation fuels, methanol and ethanol. The proposed plasma approach provides an alternative means for the US to battle rising crude oil prices.

Potential NASA applications include reducing hydrogen resupply requirements and improvement of the Sabatier process efficiency for oxygen recovery using the Carbon Dioxide Reduction Assembly (CRA). The plasma process can also be tweaked to produce other low molecular weight fuels such as methanol and ethanol which can be used for power co-generation.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.