Regolith processing includes a growing set of methods and technologies that will be used to extract resources found within regolith, or to transform the regolith itself into a useful product. In this chapter we describe the basic properties of granular regolith on the surfaces of the Moon, Mars, and asteroids, and the processing steps necessary to upgrade its value as a potential space resource. The mineralogy, chemistry and physical properties of regolith differ by solar system body and according to local geology, and these are necessary to consider in designing a regolith processing architecture. Particularly important is the distinction between mineralogy and bulk chemistry, which often causes confusion because of certain conventions used by geologists to report compositions. Regolith processing techniques are divided into excavation and transport, separation/beneficiation, particle bonding, and extracting resources from regolith. Regolith excavators will be highly automated, and are divided into discrete and continuous methods with trade-offs between the two. Some of the most efficient excavator designs have emerged from trends in successive robotic mining competitions, with bucket ladders, front-end loaders and bucket belts being the most popular choices. After excavation, regolith will likely need to be beneficiated or pre-processed to select specific size fractions or compositions. We discuss methods and challenges for each of these steps, emphasizing the difficulty of beneficiating dry, fine-grained lunar regolith which is a fiendishly complex material. Particle bonding techniques impart strength back to unconsolidated regolith and include sintering, geopolymers, regolith concrete and 3D printing, with 3D printing showing the most promise for large structures constructed in challenging planetary environments. For extracting space resources found within regolith, the challenge is to choose the right type of energy (concentrated solar, microwave, etc.) and system configuration (closed vessel, covered dome, etc.) to deliver that energy to the regolith to extract the resource in question. Finally, techniques with future potential include using biologic processes as a form of “biomining” to extract specific elements from regolith.
Regolith Processing
Handbook of Space Resources ; Kapitel : 11 ; 399-427
2023-04-28
29 pages
Aufsatz/Kapitel (Buch)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1996
|NTRS | 2017
|NTRS
|NTIS | 2021
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