CHRSy (Carbon Dioxide/Hydrogen Recovery System)
This project centres around the production of oxygen by electrolysis of water for breathing gas generation in space. The “waste” hydrogen can be vented to space but in an ideal system would be recycled to produce more water for oxygen generation. Our CHRSy system allows the selective reduction of exhaled carbon dioxide to produce water and waste carbon monoxide which can be vented to space. This recycling can reduce water requirement for breathing by up to 100%. The system is also being designed to operate with carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere for in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) to allow full recycling of water in Martian a combined ACLS/ISRU systems.