Dahua Institute carbon dioxide reduction module stable operation for more than half a year

On January 4, news came out from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, that the carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction component developed by the team of researcher Huang Yanqiang and Academician Zhang Tao of the institute has been in stable operation for more than 6 months in the core module of the space station, and the key parameters such as water recovery rate, water production and water quality of the components are higher than the design indicators, reducing the dependence of the space station on water replenishment
.

The carbon dioxide reduction component belongs to the environmental control and life support subsystem of the space station, which can convert the carbon dioxide exhaled by astronauts and hydrogen, a by-product of electrolysis of water to oxygen, into water and methane through catalytic reaction, and realize the recovery of oxygen in the form of water, so as to realize the cycle
of oxygen for astronauts to breathe.

The special space application environment of the space station puts forward strict requirements
for components, such as miniaturization, low energy consumption, long life and high reliability.
The research team closely meets the needs of the Chinese astronaut scientific research and training center and the construction of the Chinese space station, and develops a carbon dioxide reduction component
suitable for the characteristics of China's space station based on the innovation of materials (catalyst and adsorbent), reactor and system integration.

The prototype of the module was sent to the space station with the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft on May 10, 2022, and the Shenzhou-14 astronaut crew completed the on-orbit assembly and transferred to daily operation
on June 23, 2022.
The successful application of this component has further improved the degree of closed circulation of materials in the space station, marking that China's renewable environmental control and life support technology level ranks among the international advanced
ranks.