can facilitate this reaction using raw materials found on the Martian surface is a key element of future research. The production of ethylene using a chemical reaction of methane and oxygen at a satisfactory level is vital to the creation of in situ plastic. A recently analyzed process that achieves the appropriate level of efficiency used a Sm2O3 catalyst in a simulated countercurrent moving bed chromatographic reactor (SCMBCR)[]. This reaction is uses a method known as one-step oxidative coupling of Methane (OCM). An industrial method for causing dimerization (the chemical union of two identical molecules) of oxygen and methane to produce ethylene plastic, typically involves a gas-reactor that utilizes an electrocatalytic reactor unit, a recycle pump, and a molecular sieve trap. The ethylene is created using electrodes to charge oxygen molecules which separate and react with methane. The ethylene plastic is then extracted from the byproducts (CO2 , CO, O2, CH4 and Water )by heating up the molecular sieve, releasing the ethylene and leaving the byproducts behind. Helium is then used to push the products out of the sieve trap. Once the ethylene is produced, it can be used generate polyethylene by three processes: slurry, solution, and fluidized bed. In a slurry reactor, ethylene is introduced to an inert solvent (hydrocarbon) medium in which the polymer and catalyst are not soluble at the reaction temperature. In a solution reaction, the solvent is heated to the above melting point of the desired polymer. During this polymerization process, the polymerized monomer forms into a solution. The amount of polymerization is limited by the solubility of the heated solvent and its ability to increase in viscosity during polymerization. The process using a fluidized bed reactor involves catalyst reactions that create a reaction zone of bedded polymer particles. As the polymer particles grow, they fall through the bed and are collected. The slurry process forms large
can facilitate this reaction using raw materials found on the Martian surface is a key element of future research. The production of ethylene using a chemical reaction of methane and oxygen at a satisfactory level is vital to the creation of in situ plastic. A recently analyzed process that achieves the appropriate level of efficiency used a Sm2O3 catalyst in a simulated countercurrent moving bed chromatographic reactor (SCMBCR)[]. This reaction is uses a method known as one-step oxidative coupling of Methane (OCM). An industrial method for causing dimerization (the chemical union of two identical molecules) of oxygen and methane to produce ethylene plastic, typically involves a gas-reactor that utilizes an electrocatalytic reactor unit, a recycle pump, and a molecular sieve trap. The ethylene is created using electrodes to charge oxygen molecules which separate and react with methane. The ethylene plastic is then extracted from the byproducts (CO2 , CO, O2, CH4 and Water )by heating up the molecular sieve, releasing the ethylene and leaving the byproducts behind. Helium is then used to push the products out of the sieve trap. Once the ethylene is produced, it can be used generate polyethylene by three processes: slurry, solution, and fluidized bed. In a slurry reactor, ethylene is introduced to an inert solvent (hydrocarbon) medium in which the polymer and catalyst are not soluble at the reaction temperature. In a solution reaction, the solvent is heated to the above melting point of the desired polymer. During this polymerization process, the polymerized monomer forms into a solution. The amount of polymerization is limited by the solubility of the heated solvent and its ability to increase in viscosity during polymerization. The process using a fluidized bed reactor involves catalyst reactions that create a reaction zone of bedded polymer particles. As the polymer particles grow, they fall through the bed and are collected. The slurry process forms large
Final_report.docx