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We worry about oxygen production, but realistically martians won't struggle with having enough oxygen. Instead, they'll probably have too much. The reason is that steel and aluminium production also produces oxygen--.43 kg O2 per kg of Steel, .88kg per kg of Aluminium. In the US, steel consumption is about 300kg per person per year, plus about 15 kg of Aluminium, which would generate about 140kg per year of Oxygen on Mars. But Mars is likely to use way more steel and iron per capita than Earth does, both since it'll be growing faster and because structures will use more of it per volume. China uses double our steel per capita, and I think we should expect Mars to exceed even that. Agriculture is also likely to generate excess oxygen. Necessarily, producing the food we eat also produces the oxygen we breathe. But no plant is 100% edible, and that excess plant matter also means excess oxygen. Rockets also typically run fuel rich, meaning even more excess oxygen. Any plastics, polymers, rubbers, etc will also generate comparable volumes of excess oxygen.
Anyway, my question for you all: What's the best use for extra oxygen? Is there any? Or will it just be released off into the wind?
-Josh
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I'm hoping someone will come up with at least ** one ** potential market for excess oxygen.
(th)
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Some thoughts:
-Habitat leaks: All habitats will leak, and if you have extra oxygen hanging around you don't need to worry about it as much
-Airlocks: Don't worry about pumps or anything, fill it with pure ox and let it bleed out
-Energy storage: Use it as the working fluid in a compressed gas system for blackouts. Don't worry about pumping down when it's exhausted, just let it go.
Having said that, all these combined still don't really add up to enough
-Josh
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For JoshNH4H re #3
In recent years while you were away, members have considered economic value of various products that might be created at Mars.
Louis is a name that comes to mind as a leading proponent of economic value, and there are others who've contributed.
With that background in mind, I wonder if raw oxygen might be a commodity of immense value to space faring people.
A recent science fiction story explored that theme, with the twist that the process used to "make" the oxygen was biological, so there were traces of various natural fragrance in the air, and part of the story had to do with how the various "flavors" of the air affected the value to the consumer.
Until you introduced the possibility there might be excess oxygen in the context of Mars, I have not seen that idea considered.
(th)
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I think much will depend upon how we produce steel. If it has to be produced using hydrogen generated by electrolysis, then extra oxygen will be produced. If we find sources of methane and hydrogen gas within the crust it will be energetically favourable to use them. Butbwe do not know that such resources exist and we won't know until humans scout the surface.
I have a strong suspicion that people living on Mars will desire open spaces. Until Mars is terraformed, the habitats will be underground spaces or regolith covered structures. There will be a desire for open structures with high ceilings that resemble open sky. There will be a need for new industrial facilities. Oxygen will be needed to fill these. The need for new habitable volume will outpace population.
Additional: If perchlorates can be removed from regolith by dissolving in water and concentrated by freeze thaw cycles, oxygen can be produced by chemical decomposition.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemica … _generator
Last edited by Calliban (2024-08-13 07:13:21)
"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."
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New liquid air storage system bottles electricity on demand, producing 10 tons daily
Korean researchers have unlocked a new way to bank clean energy and turn it back into power on demand.
Scientists at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) have developed Korea’s first homegrown Liquid Air Energy Storage system, which uses surplus electricity to chill air into liquid, store it, and later release it to generate power.
The team recently achieved the production of up to 10 tons of liquid air per day, representing a significant milestone in advancing the technology toward large-scale commercial viability.
Power on demand
When the grid has more electricity than it needs, the surplus is used to cool air to extremely low temperatures until it becomes liquid. This liquid air is stored in insulated tanks like a giant energy reserve.When demand spikes, the air is warmed again. As it rapidly expands about 700 times its liquid volume, the pressure drives turbines to generate electricity.
When demand spikes, the air is warmed again. As it rapidly expands about 700 times its liquid volume, the pressure drives turbines to generate electricity.
Led by Principal Researcher Dr. Jun Young Park, the KIMM team designed two key components entirely in-house.
A turbo expander that spins faster than 100,000 revolutions per minute and a cold box equipped with multi-layer insulation and a powerful vacuum to keep air at cryogenic temperatures.
These innovations enabled Korea’s first successful air liquefaction test for energy storage. It shows that liquid air storage can work using domestic technology.
“This is an essential step for Korea’s renewable future,” said Dr. Park. “Large-scale energy storage is the missing piece and our work shows LAES can deliver it without geographical limits.”
Most large-scale storage today relies on pumped hydro or compressed air. Both can be effective but they require mountains, valleys, or underground caverns. They also come with environmental trade-offs.
Liquid air avoids those problems. It can be built almost anywhere which makes it a flexible option for cities and industrial hubs. It also comes with added benefits. The extreme cold can be tapped for industrial cooling, and waste heat from factories can be reused to make the process more efficient.
A global race
Korea is not the only country chasing this technology. Companies in the UK, China, and the United States are already exploring liquid air as a storage medium. What makes KIMM’s achievement stand out is that it is fully homegrown.That is a critical step for Korea’s plan to build an energy superhighway to carry renewables across the nation.
The current system is modest compared to the country’s power needs. But its successful operation is proof of concept. If scaled up, bottling air could become one of the cleanest and most versatile ways to store renewable energy.
For now, it is still early days. But in a world desperate for long-duration storage, Korea’s breakthrough shows that the future of power might be hiding in plain sight.
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