Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “KO2”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

13 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

The use of superoxide mixtures as air-revitalization chemicals in hyperbaric, self-contained, closed-circuit breathing apparatus

In portable breathing apparatus applications at 1 atm, potassium superoxide (KO2) has exhibited low-utilization efficiency of the available oxygen (O2) and diminished carbon dioxide-(CO2) scrubbing capacity caused by the formation of a fused, hydrated-hydroxide/carbonate product coating on the superoxide granules. In earlier work, it was discovered that granules fabricated from an intimate mixture of KO2 and calcium superoxide, Ca(O2)2, did not exhibit formation of a fused product coating and the utilization efficiency with respect to both O2 release and CO2 absorption was superior to KO2 granules when both types of granules were reacted with humidified CO2 under identified conditions. In the work described here, single pellets of KO2, KO2/Ca(O2), mixtures and commercially available KO2 tables and granules were reacted with a flow of humidified CO2 in helium at 1- and 10-atm total pressure and at an initial temperature of 40 C. In the 1-atm flow tests, the reaction rates and utilization efficiency of the KO2/Ca(O2)2 pellets were markedly superior to the KO2 pellets, tablets, and granules when the samples were reacted under identical conditions. However, at 10 atm, the rates of O2 release and CO2 absorption, as well as the utilization efficiencies of all the superoxide samples, were one-third to one-eighth of the values observed at 1 atm. The decrease in reaction performance at 10 atm compared to that at 1 atm has been attributed principally to the lower bulk diffusivity of the CO2 and H2O reactants in helium at the higher pressure and secondarily to the moderation of the reaction temperature caused by the higher heat capacity of the 10-atm helium.

Wood, P. C.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Improved Oxygen Sources for Breathing Apparatus

Research is described which is directed toward the preparation of chemical oxygen sources which exhibited improved O2 storage and reaction characteristics when compared to potassium superoxide (KO2). The initial focus of the research was the preparation of calcium superoxide (Ca(O2)2) by the disproportionation of calcium peroxide diperoxyhydrate. the Ca(O2)2 was characterized by chemical, thermal, and x ray analyses. Several methods for scaling up the Ca(O2)2 syntheis process were studied. The reactivity of Ca(O2)2 toward humidified carbon dioxide (CO2) was evaluated and was compared to that of KO2 under flow test conditions approximating those existing in portable breathing apparatus. The reactivities of mixtures of KO2 and Ca(O2)2 or lithium peroxide towards humidified CO2 were also studied. Finally, an analysis of two commercial, KO2-based, self contained self rescuers was conducted to determine the potential weight and volume savings which would be possible if Ca(O2)2 or a mixture of KO2 and Ca(O2)2 were used as a replacement for KO2.

Wood, P. C.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A flow-system comparison of the reactivities of calcium superoxide and potassium superoxide with carbon dioxide and water vapor

A single pass flow system was used to test the reactivity of calcium superoxide with respiratory gases and the performance was compared to that of potassium superoxide. The KO2 system is used by coal miners as a self-contained unit in rescue operations. Particular attention was given to the reactivity with carbon dioxide and water vapor at different temperatures and partial pressures of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. The calcium superoxide beds were found to absorb CO2 and H2O vapor, releasing O2. The KO2 bed, however, released O2 at twice the rate of CO2 absorption at 37 C. It is concluded that the calcium superoxide material is not a suitable replacement for the KO2 bed, although Ca(O2)2 may be added to the KO2 bed to enhance the CO2 absorption.

Wood, P. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Improved Oxygen Sources for Breathing Apparatus

Since the 1920s, the only respiratory protection which coal miners had available during exposure to toxic or irrespirable environments was a filter self-rescuer that catalytically converted carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide (CO2). The deficiencies of this self-rescuer, which have been described elsewhere (37) led to the support by the Bureau of Mines of the development of a new generation of self-rescuers which utilized potassium superoxide (KO2) as the air-revitalization chemical. Since KO2 reacts with exhaled breath and releases oxygen (O2) while it absorbs CO2, the new self-rescuers were closed-circuit devices which isolated the miner from contact with toxic or irrespirable atmospheres. A device with a one-h duration developed by Lockheed under contract with the Bureau of Mines (18) utilized 1.5 Ib of KO2, weighed 4.54 Ib and measured 6.5 by 3.6 by 7.7 in. Since the earlier, filter self-rescuer weighed about 2.5 lb and was worn continuously by the miner, the one-h, KO2-based device represented a substantial addition to the equipment that the miner was accustomed to carrying and, therefore, was considered to be too large and too heavy.

Wood, Peter C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Air Revitalization Using Superoxides

Pellets made from powder mixtures of potassium superoxide, KO2, and calcium superoxide, Ca(O2)2, proven markedly superior to pellets of pure KO2 for adding O2 to and removing CO2 from atmospheric-pressure flow of humidified CO2 in He. Superoxides used extensively to supply O2 and scrub CO2 in variety of ambient-pressure life-support applications, including portable self-contained breathing apparatuses, spacecraft, and undersea submersible craft.

Wydeven, Theodore↗
NASA NTRS1972

Synthesis of calcium superoxide

Efforts to prepare Ca(O2) sub 2 from reactions of calcium compounds with 100% O3 and with O(D-1) atoms generated by photolysis of O3 at 2537 A are described. Samples of Ca(OH) sub 2, CaO, CaO2, Ca metal, and mixtures containing suspected impurities to promote reaction have been treated with excess O3 under static and flow conditions in the presence and absence of UV irradiation. Studies with KO2 suggest that the superoxide anion is stable to radiation at 2537 A but reacts with oxygen atoms generated by the photolysis of O3 to form KO3. Calcium superoxide is expected to behave in an analogous.

Rewick, R. T.↗
NASA NTRS1974

The synthesis of higher oxides of alkali and alkaline earth metals in an electric discharge: Theoretical and experimental studies

Potassium hydroxide was subjected to the products of an electrical discharge sustained in oxygen and produced both potassium peroxide and superoxide. The conversion to higher oxides was shown to strongly depend upon the particle size of KOH, the position of KOH in the discharge zone, and the operating conditions of the discharge. Similar experiments were performed with hydroxides of lithium and calcium which do not form superoxides, but are converted to peroxides. The yields of peroxides were shown to strongly depend upon the operating conditions of the discharge. The absence of superoxides and the presence of peroxides of lithium and calcium was explained from the consideration of relative thermodynamic stability of the oxides of lithium and calcium. Thermogravimetric analysis was shown to provide a more accurate means for determining the amount of KO2 than previous methods.

Bell, A. T.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Preflight studies on tolerance of pocket mice to oxygen and heat. IV - Observations on the brain

Experiments designed to ascertain the effects of oxygen at 8, 10, and 12 psi partial pressure on the brains of pocket mice (Perognathus longimembris) were carried out at room temperature (24 C, 75 F) and at 32 C (90 F). The animals exposed to 8-12 psi at 32 C had been in earlier KO2 oxygen tests. Five animals exposed either to 10 or 12 psi (517 mm or 620 mm Hg) O2 partial pressure at 32 C died during the course of the tests, possibly as a consequence of injury sustained by the earlier O2 partial pressure testing. Autopsy was not carried out. In the other 36 exposed animals, no pathological changes were observed in the brain. It is thus highly probable that oxygen pressures at the hyperbaric levels to which the pocket mice would be exposed during the Apollo XVII mission would not result in any lesions in the brain.

Bailey, O. T.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Results of examination of the nasal mucosa

The olfactory epithelium, but not the nasal respiratory epithelium, of the four pocket mice (Perognathus longimembris) that survived their flight on Apollo XVII showed both diffuse alterations and numerous disseminated focal lesions. The olfactory mucosa of the mouse that died during flight was also affected, but to a minor degree insofar as could be determined. All this was in contrast to the normal appearance of the olfactory mucosa of the numerous control animals. A number of possible causes were considered: systemic or regional infection; inhaled particulate material (seed dust); by-products from the KO2 bed in aerosol or particulate form; gas contaminants originating in the flight package; volatile substances from the dead mouse; weightlessness; and cosmic ray particle radiation. Where feasible, studies were conducted in an effort to rule in or rule out some of these potentially causative factors. No definitive conclusions were reached as to the cause of the lesions in the flight mice.

Kraft, L. M.↗
NASA NTRS1977

The preparation of calcium superoxide from calcium peroxide diperoxyhydrate

There is interest in solid materials containing a high percentage of stored oxygen for use in emergency breathing apparatus for miners and as auxiliary oxygen sources for astronauts. In theory, the amount of available oxygen in calcium superoxide, Ca(O2)2 is higher than in potassium superoxide, KO2, and its availability during use should be unhindered by the formation of a low melting and hydrous coating. The decomposition of solid calcium peroxide diperoxyhydrate, CaO2.2H2O2 has been studied, using an apparatus which allows good control of the critical reaction parameters. Samples have been prepared showing apparent superoxide contents in excess of those previously reported and higher than the theoretical 58.4% expected from a disproportionation reaction.

Ballou, E. V.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Potassium cuprate (3)

The reaction of KO2 and CuO in an O2 atmosphere at 400 to 450 C results in KCuO, which is a steel-blue and nonmagnetic compound. This substance exhibits a characteristic X-ray diagram; it decomposes in dilute acids to form O2 and Cu(II) salts. It decomposes thermally above 500 C.

Wahl, Kurt↗
NASA NTRS1990

The stabilization of electrolytes for rechargeable lithium batteries

Recent experimental studies of Li secondary cells are reviewed, focusing on (1) the novel anion lithium trifluoromethanesulfonyl imide (LTI) and (2) the use of KO2 and KOH additives to stabilize the electrolyte. Sample data are presented in tables and graphs and briefly characterized. The charging limits of LTI were found to compare favorably with those of LiAsFe6/THF and 2-MeTHF. Significant improvements were also obtained with the additives, but the results were erratic, with 2-3-fold variations among identical preparations. These differences are tentatively attributed to Li-film inhomogeneities and reactions of O2(-) with the solvent and impurities, especially in the cathode pores.

Dominey, L. A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Theoretical determination of the alkali-metal superoxide bond energies

The bond dissociation energies for the alkali-metal superoxides have been computed using extensive Gaussian basis sets and treating electron correlation at the modified coupled-pair functional level. Our computed D0 values are 61.4, 37.2, 40.6, and 38.4 kcal/mol for LiO2, NaO2, KO2, and RbO2, respectively. These values, which are expected to be lower bounds and accurate to 2 kcal/mol, agree well with some of the older flame data, but rule out several recent experimental measurements.

Partridge, Harry↗