Effect of Heater Preset Temperature on Efficiency and Power Consumption of the CO2 Removal Device for use Onboard the International Space Station

Abstract

CO2 adsorption and desorption experiments were conducted by using zeolite 5A to clarify the dependence of the CO2 removal efficiency of this device on the heater preset temperature in the range of 250-500 C for use onboard the International Space Station. The CO2 concentration was almost independent of the heater preset temperature. High removal efficiency, indicated by the ratio of the exhausted volume of CO2 to that of the absorbed CO2, was obtained in the range of 350-450 C. When the heater preset temperature was higher than 350 C, the CO2 removal efficiency increased owing to the removal of other components. On the contrary, at a heater preset temperature of 500 C the CO2 removal efficiency was low because the temperature did not reach room temperature within the cooling phase. The energy consumption can be expressed with a linear relationship using the heater preset temperature.