Oxide decomposition system

A combined solar and electron beam energy system efficiently decomposes regolith to produce oxygen and metals on the Moon, addressing environmental challenges and enabling infrastructure development.

WO2026147550A2PCT designated stage Publication Date: 2026-07-09SPACE AGE TECHNOLOGIES LLC
View PDF 0 Cites 0 Cited by

Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
WO · WO
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
SPACE AGE TECHNOLOGIES LLC
Filing Date
2025-05-12
Publication Date
2026-07-09

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing methods for oxygen production on terrestrial objects lacking vapor phase oxygen, such as the Moon, are limited by factors like low pressure environments, lack of accessible power, and the need for additional systems, making it difficult to efficiently extract oxygen and metals from regolith.

Method used

A system utilizing a combination of solar and electron beam energies to heat regolith below its melting point, breaking chemical bonds to release oxygen as a gas phase and leaving metals behind, which are then processed separately, using a Cassegrain optical system and electron beam guns to facilitate this process.

Benefits of technology

This method enables efficient production of oxygen and metals from regolith, scalable for lunar surface operations, overcoming environmental limitations and providing a reliable source of oxygen and valuable metals for infrastructure development.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

Smart Images

  • Figure US2025028948_09072026_PF_FP_ABST
    Figure US2025028948_09072026_PF_FP_ABST
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

An oxide decomposition apparatus can include: a housing having a material inlet configured to receive oxide material into the housing, the oxide material including oxygen and an oxide base material; an oxide material holder in the housing and configured to hold the received oxide material; an oxide material heater configured to heat the oxide material held in the oxide material holder; an electron beam gun configured to bombard the heated oxide material with electrons in the housing so that the oxide material is decomposed into oxygen and the oxide base material; and an oxygen collector configured to collect the oxygen in the housing. A method of decomposing an oxide material containing oxygen and an oxide base material can include: heating the oxide material; bombarding the heated oxide material with electrons from an electron gun so that the heated oxide material is decomposed into oxygen and the oxide base material.
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art