Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4)

This is one possible way to get oxygen for Lunar mare basalt.

(Aqueous Solutions)

1. 1. 1. Parameter check list:
         1. Number of rare chemicals
            1. Two – hydrogen and sulfur
            2. Luna does have a little bit of sulfur. Troilite (FeS) is found at less than 1% concentration in all the Lunar regolith samples we have. And it’s found in higher (not high) concentrations in ilmenite, spinel, and basalt. So we might want to try and capture it anyway.
         2. Danger of chemical reagents
            1. Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is a really dangerous chemical compound, especially in high concentrations.
               1. It can cause severe burns.
               2. Creating it is a highly exothermic reaction.
               3. It is colorless and odorless so you won’t even know it’s there.
               4. It is also hygroscopic. This means it readily absorbs water, including moisture from the air. This isn’t good because it can cause the aforementioned exothermic reaction.
         3. 1 SLH Atmosphere
         4. Able to be constructed/maintained locally
         5. Ease of maintenance
         6. Simple
         7. Durable
         8. Energy input
         9. Heat output
         10. No hazardous materials are produced.
         11. Efficiency
         12. Processes that extract more than just oxygen are preferred.
         13. Weight/mass/volume
         14. Other uses for the reagents
             1. Sulfuric acid is really useful. It’s used in a lot of different industrial and scientific processes. So having some on-hand isn’t a bad thing.
      2. We should look at this process more closely.