Cryogenic air Liquefaction/Fractionation plant derived CO2 & CH4 for launch vehicle propellant

Cryogenic air Liquefaction/Fractionation plant derived CO2 & CH4 for launch vehicle propellant

(A) Cryogenic air liquefaction/fractionation distillation plants are used to manufacture cryogenic fluids for aerospace, electronic and medical applications.CO2 and Methane are also produced in the process.(A)(1) CO2 and methane are atmospheric warming gasses and utilizing them as feedstock for launch vehicle propellants would make for good environmental policy and public relations.

Utilizing solar voltaic power to convert the CO2 to Methane using the reverse gas shift method and combining this with Methane from both distilled Atmospheric Methane and BioMethane sources should even out fluctuations in production from all sources to ensure timely deliveries for launch cadence.

Issues that make for the need for atmospheric CO2 production to methane,(B)(1) Landfill BioMethane is already utilized as power production for electrical power as is Biomethane from sewage treatment plants, so these existing sources are very limited as their use as transportation fuels. There are new sources of BioMethane as transportation fuels coming online in the future.California and Florida are states that are well positioned to produce BioMethane from agricultural crops if a launch vehicle customer was found.Florida has USDA subsidized Sugar cane production that could be converted to methane production although it should be noted that Florida sugar cane is giving way to Everglades restoration.

Our thoughts here at Terrestrial & Cislunar Exploration technologies is that ULA,  Blue Origin, and SpaceX would allow our firm to bring in by train CO2 sourced from atmospheric liquefaction plants to a onsite solar-powered reverse gas shift plant to manufacture methane for propellants. In the case of Blue Origin, BioEthane or BioPropane could approximate a “BioLNG” mix.