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| LUNAR VERSUS MARTIAN STEEL PRODUCTION |
| An actual lunar steel production system using recycled CO gas will be very complex with many valves, regulators, compressors and pumps. These devices might be made from titanium by 3D additive manufacturing on the Moon, but a substantial Moon base manufacturing capability will be needed, so this system will not be built until advanced Moon bases emerge after years of development. Making steel by the crucible or blister steel process is much much simpler and will come first. |
| REGULATOR |
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| This system for making steel on Mars is simpler than the closed/recycled CO gas system envisioned for the Moon. There is plenty of CO2 in the martian atmosphere for deriving CO gas and water in permafrost to supply hydrogen. Mars is also rich in hematite, Fe2O3, an excellent iron ore that is certain to be a better source of iron than FeSiO3 and Fe2SiO4 on the Moon. Even so, early Mars bases will probably use regolith electrolysis to get iron and carburize it with the crucible or blister steel process. The crucible steel process is very slow and direct reduction ( I like to call them "blast furnaces" but this is inaccurate) is much faster. DR will produce as much iron and steel in a matter of hours that the crucible process would in a week or more. Heat exchangers are used for both systems to preheat reductant gases with off gas waste heat. |
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| David A. Dietzler, 2007 |