SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
TDA Research, Inc.
12345 West 52nd Avenue
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 - 1916
(303) 422-7819

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Dr. Gokhan Alptekin Ph.D.
krhodus@tda.com
12345 West 52nd Avenue
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 - 1916
(303) 940-2349

CORPORATE/BUSINESS OFFICIAL (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Mr. John D. Wright
krhodus@tda.com
12345 West 52nd Avenue
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 - 1916
(303) 940-2300

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

Technology Available (TAV) Subtopics
Mars Atmosphere Acquisition, Separation, and Conditioning for ISRU is a Technology Available (TAV) subtopic that includes NASA Intellectual Property (IP). Do you plan to use the NASA IP under the award?
No

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)

Human exploration of Mars and unmanned sample return missions can benefit greatly from the resources available on Mars.  The first major step of any Mars in-situ propellant production system is the acquisition of carbon dioxide and its compression for further processing. 

TDA Research Inc. proposes to develop a compact, lightweight, advanced sorbent-based compressor to recover high-pressure, high purity CO2 from the Martian atmosphere. The system eliminates the need for a mechanical pump, increasing the reliability with relatively low power consumption. TDA’s system uses a new, high capacity sorbent that selectively adsorbs CO2 at 0.1 psia and regenerates by temperature swing, producing a continuous, high purity CO2 flow at pressure (> 15 psia). 

In the Phase I work, we successfully completed bench-scale proof-of-concept demonstrations, elevating the TRL to 3. In Phase II, we will further optimize the sorbent and scale-up its production using advanced manufacturing techniques such as continuous microwave synthesis.  We will carry out multiple adsorption/desorption cycles to demonstrate the sorbent's cycle life.  Finally, we will design and fabricate a sub-scale prototype to fully demonstrate the technology under simulated Martian atmospheres (TRL-5); this unit will be sent to NASA for further testing and evaluation.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The main attraction of our research to NASA is its ability to provide a lightweight, compact and energy efficient adsorbent based solid-state CO2 compressor system to collect and pressurize CO2 from the Martian atmosphere. The sorbent developed will also find application as a CO2 control system for commercial space craft cabin air revitalization and space suit.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The sorbent developed in this project could potentially find use in a large commercial market in the removal of CO2 emissions from the coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. If regulations are put in place this market could develop in to billions of dollar. It is also applicable to CO2 removal from biogas, natural gas, and the water-gas-shift reaction in hydrogen manufacturing.