A mobile mining platform for operation on a lunar surface can excavate and deposit regolith into a mill. The mill can agitate at least a portion of the excavated regolith to release volatile gases from the portion of the excavated regolith, without heat being applied to the portion of the excavated regolith. A refinery can perform molecular separation of the released volatile gases. In some embodiments, pressure in the mill can be increased through introduction of a diluent gas into the mill, to improve the efficiency of pumping the released volatile gases from the mill to the refinery. In some embodiments, volatile liquids stored on the platform and/or generated by the refinery can be used to cool the released volatile gases prior to molecular separation of the released volatile gases. In some embodiments, the mill can separate and collect regolith material of different sizes for different uses.
Lunar Regolith Processing System for Mining and Beneficiation
2024-06-20
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
Electrostatic Beneficiation of Lunar Regolith: Applications in In Situ Resource Utilization
Online Contents | 2013
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