Scholarly record
CONCENTRATION OF LUNAR PLAGIOCLASE FOR SOLAR CELLS FABRICATION. AN ISRU CONCEPTUAL ARCHITECTURE
Abstract
Because of the incoming mission of Artemis on the Moon, the extraction of water, oxygen, and metal from the lunar regolith is necessary, which involves intensive power requirements. To keep a mining unit operation running continuously, a technical solution known as the Tall Lunar Tower (TLT) claims to be able to capture sunlight 93% of the time through a solar panel structure. The composition of a typical panel is 76% glass, 10% polymer, 8% aluminum, 5% pure silicon, and 1% other metals. Fortunately, we just need to transport polymers, wire, and minor components from Earth because the regolith on the Moon contains large amounts of silicon and aluminum oxides. This article presents an ISRU architecture to provide plagioclase ore concentrate, the main mineral for the extraction of aluminum and silicon, detailing aspects such as the engineering challenges and the technological solutions for excavation, transport, and processing; all these calculations are based on a hypothetical construction and deployment of TLT at the South Pole. Processing techniques such as screening and magnetic separation are discussed to evaluate their advantages and drawbacks to obtain a concentrate of 70% plagioclase with 18% of global recovery.
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