New Mars Forums
You are not logged in.
- Topics: Active | Unanswered
Announcement
#1 2026-02-12 22:11:39
- Void
- Member
- Registered: 2011-12-29
- Posts: 9,298
Flash Recycling, Salt Mining
This topic could be moved or altered as the moderators may desire.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/r … &FORM=VIRE Quote:
Flash Recycling: The Circular Economy Weapon Against China
YouTube
Dr. James Tour
90 views
The main focus of the video is recycling, but have the impression that the methods may be used on the Moon and Mars.
https://tech.news.am/eng/news/5704/chlo … ature.html
Does the Moon have Chlorine? Quote:
Yes
Yes, the Moon does contain chlorine. Recent studies have shown that lunar rocks, particularly those collected during the Apollo missions, exhibit elevated levels of chlorine, indicating that the Moon has a chemical composition that includes chlorine. This chlorine isotope fractionation suggests that the Moon's history involved significant processes, such as volcanic activity and meteorite impacts, which contributed to its chemical composition.
Quote:
Researchers link this difference to the presence of metal chloride vapors, which were likely concentrated only above the near side. These vapors may have formed due to degassing during basaltic eruptions, as well as from meteorite impacts that induced chemical changes in the rocks. On the near side, these processes led to enrichment of the surface with chlorine and other volatile elements.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spodumene
In the video Spodumene is said to have 5% Lithium and it seems their process can extract it.
And of course, Mars has Sodium Chloride.
I I understand the video correctly Chlorine can bond with some metals like Iron and very strongly lower the boiling point of the metals, such as Iron.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron(III)_chloride
Quote:
(anhydrous)
37 °C (99 °F; 310 K) (hexahydrate)[1]
Boiling point
316 °C (601 °F; 589 K) (anhydrous, decomposes)[1]
280 °C (536 °F; 553 K) (hexahydrate, decomposes)
So, I am guessing it can displace Oxygen from Iron Oxide???
But then how do you separate the Iron and Chlorine?
I am thinking that the desire is to reuse the Chlorine repeatedly.
But I have not found a reference as to how to separate the Iron and Chlorine. It may be difficult.
It may be the electrolysis of some kind could be used: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine_production
Of course, Chlorine is dangerous.
I think that I read that Kreep has Chlorine in it.
https://lunarpedia.org/w/KREEP#:~:text= … 0zirconium.
Quote:
KREEP is an acronym used in geochemistry to represent a mixture of K- potassium, REE- rare earth elements, and P- phosphorus. It is not only the main source of these elements on the moon, but also many other trace elements such as uranium, thorium, fluorine, chlorine, and zirconium.
It is quite possible that I have misunderstood some of the presentation but, it seems like it could provide some critical resources in outer space.
Since SpaceX has a stronger interest in the Moon, this seems important.
Ending Pending 
So much fun!
Ending Pending
Last edited by Void (2026-02-14 16:27:40)
Is it possible that the root of political science claims is to produce white collar jobs for people who paid for an education and do not want a real job?
Offline
Like button can go here
#2 2026-02-12 23:01:59
- Void
- Member
- Registered: 2011-12-29
- Posts: 9,298
Re: Flash Recycling, Salt Mining
How weird. Within a few minutes of my post #1, this video showed up on Utube:
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/r … ORM=VAMGZC Quote:
A new way to make steel competitively at room temperature
YouTube
Rowow
1.8K views
So, the video seems to answer hot to separate the Iron from the acid with the Chlorine in it.
Ending Pending
Last edited by Void (2026-02-12 23:03:18)
Is it possible that the root of political science claims is to produce white collar jobs for people who paid for an education and do not want a real job?
Offline
Like button can go here
#3 2026-02-13 07:22:12
- Calliban
- Member
- From: Northern England, UK
- Registered: 2019-08-18
- Posts: 4,305
Re: Flash Recycling, Salt Mining
Thanks Void, that is fascinating. To summerise: Chlorine is one of the most electronegative elements on the periodic table, beaten only by flourine. When material is vaporised in the presence of chlorine gas, it reliably reacts to produce chlorides. These have relatively low boiling points, allowing different metal chlorides to be seperated from mixtures with high selectivity. We can then reverse the process, producing pure elements from the seperated chlorides using electrolysis.
The use of electric arcs to generate the chlorides and electrolysis to reduce the chlorides, makes this relatively energy intensive. However, in high Earth orbit, sunlight is available 24/7 without interuption. This should make electricity cheap. This process can be applied to lunar ores to produce bulk metals as well as extracting trace elements.
Chlorine is relatively rare on the moon, but can be recycled. In the longer term, it is a common element in Martian soil. This is one of the volatile elements that a Mars colony could end up exporting to HEO.
Last edited by Calliban (2026-02-13 07:25:14)
"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."
Offline
Like button can go here
#4 2026-02-14 16:28:41
- Void
- Member
- Registered: 2011-12-29
- Posts: 9,298
Re: Flash Recycling, Salt Mining
Thanks Calliban. I added "Salt Mining" to the topic title as this material seems to possibly be related.
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 64#p238064
Quote:
Ceres is a place that has very low gravity but not microgravity. So, perhaps it would be a good place for this: https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/r … &FORM=VIRE
Quote:Why Asteroid Mining Fails… Until You Go Closed-Loop (SEM TECH vs. the Problems)
YouTube
Rowow
1.3K views
1 week agoSo, then perhaps the gravity is enough for nearly Earth-Like processes, and then also you could have centrifuges if you need more.
I think this could be better then trying to process Bennu or other rubble piles.
Quote:
SEM TECH (Salt Electro Mining Technology) is a closed-loop approach to asteroid mining that generates and regenerates its chemistry on-site using electrolysis and a salt-based feedstock. This method is designed to be efficient and cost-effective, addressing the challenges of asteroid heterogeneity and difficult-to-separate mineral forms. SEM TECH is particularly effective for carbonaceous asteroids, as it directly addresses the issues highlighted in a major 2025 paper on carbonaceous asteroids. The technology is flexible and can accept a wide range of feedstocks, making it a promising solution for asteroid mining.
YouTubeHere is some more materials from the same source: https://www.youtube.com/@Rowow
Mars will have salts so perhaps good for Mars also.
The Mare materials might have some Chlorine: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ge … 20chlorine
Quote:
Abstract
The last liquids of the lunar magma ocean, known as urKREEP, should be highly enriched in volatiles, such as water, fluorine, and chlorine. We find chlorine-rich glasses in two pristine KREEP basalts from the Moon and calculate the volatile contents of the urKREEP component, and use this to estimate the fluorine and chlorine content of the lunar magma ocean. The Cl/Nb and F/Nd of KREEP imply that the lunar magma ocean was depleted in fluorine and chlorine by an order of magnitude compared to the Earth’s mantle. The extremely dry nature of most lunar samples is simply a result of partial melting of magma ocean cumulates that had already lost their volatiles to the urKREEP layer. The volatile-rich KREEP component may have helped lower the solidus of high-temperature magma ocean cumulates that were melted to form the Mg-suite rocks of the highlands, and also aided the dissemination of the KREEP signature into the upper crust. The chlorine-rich KREEP glasses also demonstrate that the large chlorine isotope anomaly found in lunar samples is likely an early lunar signature.
So, yes it looks like you have to do some work to have substantial amounts of Chlorine on the Moon, but some rocks have more of it.
Kreep it seems does.
Ending Pending
.
Last edited by Void (2026-02-14 16:48:33)
Is it possible that the root of political science claims is to produce white collar jobs for people who paid for an education and do not want a real job?
Offline
Like button can go here