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Concentrating CaO from Lunar Simulant by Calciothermic Reduction Process

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Abstract

The lunar regolith can be utilized as raw materials for constructing lunar bases through the fabrication of lunar cement. However, the low CaO content in lunar regolith presents a challenge for producing silicate cement. This study explores enriching CaO in NEU-1 lunar soil simulant by calciothermic reduction. Non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry analysis indicated that calcium reacted with Fe2O3, SiO2, and Al2O3 at approximately 808°C, 816°C, and 826°C, respectively. The reaction ratios were 1.1, 1.6, and 0.8, with apparent activation energies of 941.6 kJ/mol, 965.17 kJ/mol, and 547.28 kJ/mol. The products obtained from the calciothermic reduction of lunar soil simulant were CaO, Ca2Si, and AlFe, as analyzed by X-ray diffraction. Increasing the temperature was found to be beneficial to the reaction process, and a suitable reaction temperature of 850°C was determined. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that the reduction percentages of SiO2 and Al2O3 were 93.01% and 91.04%, respectively, at 850°C for 30 min. The CaO content in the product obtained by calciothermic reduction was 50.65%, which could be further increased to 81.16% after crude purification, and the CaO yield was 82.57%. These results demonstrated that the process has a significant CaO enrichment effect.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52074084).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Minerals, Ministry of Education, Shenyang, 110819, Liaoning, China

    Jie Zhang, Yuankun Zhang, Sen Feng, Chengfang Li & Aimin Liu

  2. Science and Technology on Vacuum Technology and Physics Laboratory, Lanzhou Institute of Physics, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Detian Li, Chengdan He, Jin Wang & Yongjun Wang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

    Zhongning Shi

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  1. Jie Zhang
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  2. Detian Li
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Correspondence to Zhongning Shi.

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Zhang, J., Li, D., Zhang, Y. et al. Concentrating CaO from Lunar Simulant by Calciothermic Reduction Process. JOM 76, 2403–2413 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-024-06488-4

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