Re: Lunar dust rocket fuel

On Sep 20, 1:22 pm, Fred J. McCall <fmcc...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Frogwatch <dboh...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

:
:Problem is that even though the lunar dust is 17% aluminum oxide,
:getting aluminum from that is difficult. You have to dissolve the Al
:oxide in caustic soda to separate it from everything else and then
:make a solution of that and cryolite and then put it in a big crucible
:with LOTS of current.
:

Really not that big a problem, as there is LOTS of power available.
Solar cells can be fabricated from local materials. Solar furnaces
are easy. If you use the right process, you get oxygen (which you
also need) at the same time you get the aluminum.

--
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable
man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore,
all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
--George Bernard Shaw

I have not found any easy way to get Al from the lunar dust.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Lunar dust rocket fuel
    ... :Problem is that even though the lunar dust is 17% aluminum oxide, ... :getting aluminum from that is difficult. ... Solar cells can be fabricated from local materials. ... Firstly, lunar dust can be much more than 17% Al2O3, depending on ...
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  • Re: Lunar dust rocket fuel
    ... :Problem is that even though the lunar dust is 17% aluminum oxide, ... :getting aluminum from that is difficult. ... Solar cells can be fabricated from local materials. ... Firstly, lunar dust can be much more than 17% Al2O3, depending on ...
    (sci.space.policy)
  • Re: Lunar dust rocket fuel
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    (sci.space.policy)
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