Microfluidic Systems for Asteroid Minerals Processing and Nanoformulation of Fortified Designer Beverages for Astronauts
Volker Hessel, Professor, The University of Adelaide
Space laboratories are the ultimate disruptive barrier and the modern
playground for out-of-box thinking. Space manufacturing and resource
utilization is the key to human space exploration. Flow chemistry
is the ideal technology for chemical manufacturing in space – it
operates (even on Earth) at ‘zero-gravity’, is suited for vacuum
operation, while being light-weight and ready for remote control
Two
advanced microfluidic reactors - a coiled-flow inverter (CFI) and an
industrial re-entrance flow reactor from Corning® were operated at high
(Asteroid) metal concentrations and high nickel to cobalt ratios (3:0.3
mol/l Ni:Co). Using Cyanex 272 as a selective extractant for cobalt,
extraction efficiencies of 60% with high separation factors (>1000)
were reached in just one extraction stage. The CFI showed high
extraction efficiency for a residence time of 60 s. The Corning® reactor
performs better at higher flow rates and thus can leverage higher
productivity. Finally, the meteorite Campo del Cielo, the third-largest
one which ever hit Earth, was leached and extracted at maximal 87%
efficiency.
We aim to develop a space beverage
system that allows astronauts to adjust the beverage’s taste and
nutritional value to individual likes and needs, utilizing beverage
nanoemulsions to incorporate hydrophilic (micro-)nutrients and flavour
components. Thereby, we can address space-specific health threats such
as microgravity-related bone loss with an increased intake of omega-3
fatty acids. By using literature reported solvent/surfactanant
compositions, “spontaneous emulsification” nanoemulsions (d32 ˜ 100 nm)
were reliably obtained. Compared to a conventional burette setup, a
microfluidic device was able to form emulsions considerably faster (time
reduction by a factor of 5) and potentially more efficiently, i.e.
forming emulsions with smaller droplet sizes at certain surfactant
concentrations.
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Add to Calendar ▼2021-09-30 00:00:002021-10-01 00:00:00Europe/LondonThe Space Summit 2021The Space Summit 2021 in BostonBostonSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
