A New Zealand-based student engineer has developed a device that’s capable of converting everyday bleaching agents into rocket propellants.
Working from his lab at theUniversity of Canterbury, grad student Simon Reid has come up with a 3D printed catalyst bed, which decomposes hydrogen peroxide into an energetic gas. If this reaction can be perfected, Reid believes it’ll enable bleach to be used as a safer fuel for rockets requiring low-to-medium amounts of thrust, hence he’s now working with local launch firmDawn Aerospaceto test this out.
Identifying a safer propellant
九世纪后期首次开发的氢津仍然是当今航空航天部门中普遍使用的火箭推进剂。但是，尽管该物质仍然是一种为将卫星发射到轨道所需的火箭所需的高效手段，但众所周知，它在干燥时也不稳定，并且对人类的触感非常有毒，以至于现在是一种可疑的致癌物。
According to Reid, the extra care required when handling hydrazine, including the safety gear and protocols necessary during usage, drive up the price of deploying it too, thus he’s identified the need for a safer, low-cost alternative. Interestingly, the substitute the student has opted for is hydrogen peroxide, a product often used to bleach hair or clean wounds, that only causes mild irritation upon exposure.
To generate thrust from such household bleaches, Reid initially recognized that a catalyst, the likes of which are often made from precious metals, would be required to break it down into a gas. In his case, the engineer opted to use ceramic, likely due to its lower cost than silver or platinum, to 3D print a bed coated in catalyst that effectively triggers a chemical change as hydrogen peroxide passes through it.
“By passing liquid hydrogen peroxide over a catalyst bed it speeds up the decomposition reaction,” explains Reid. “The reaction disassociates the molecule, turning it into water and oxygen. It is the breakup of the molecule that produces a large amount of energy and heat. The heat vaporizes the water and results in a high temperature gas – passing the hot gas through a nozzle provides thrust.”
Using bleach as a rocket fuel
Now two years into a three-and-a-half-year PhD, Reid is seeking to refine the design of his 3D printed bleach-converting catalyst bed. Specifically, the engineer aims to maximize the thrust generated from hydrogen peroxide, while limiting the loss of catalyst from the bed and making all his device’s parts as light and commercially-competitive as possible.
In order to achieve this, Reid has begun working with New Zealand’s state-backedCallaghan Innovationagency, to 3D print devices into geometries with improved properties from other catalytic materials that yield better thruster performance.
博士生发现的一种方法在优化催化转化方面具有特殊的希望，是将床打印成甲状腺形状，这是通过传统生产方法不可能的。里德（Reid）这样做，他认为他的最新设计将是对其前身的升级，因为它可以最大程度地减少催化剂的损失，避免大量压力下降并更好地平衡燃料浓度。
Moving forwards, the grad student now intends to test the efficacy of his revised catalytic bed and compare the results against prior designs. More broadly, he also aims to work with project collaborator Dawn Aerospace, which uses hydrogen peroxide to fuel its reusable spaceplane, to identify a catalyst that enables it to do so more efficiently.
“Only a few companies are seriously considering hydrogen peroxide,” concludes Reid. “Hopefully by designing these efficient catalysts, we can promote it as a viable alternative to hydrazine, and help make the aerospace industry that little bit safer.”
3D printing’s rocket propellant potential
雷电竞充值增材制造业继续满足世界各地的火箭制造商的需求，不仅是在高级推进系统的生产中，而且在用于为它们提供动力的可燃物。最高的例子之一是Rocket Lab, a firm that went public last year in a$4.1 billion SPAC merger, which is said to power theRutherford engines of its rocketsvia printed propellants.
Back in late-2020,Firehawk Aerospacealso raised $2 million towards the R&D of its unique additive manufactured propulsion systems. Powered by a fuel, designed to provide a safer, more reliable, and lower-cost propellant for the engines of satellite launchers, the firm’s3D printed solid fuel rodswere said at the time to deliver a ‘new level of performance.’
Likewise, in a similar project, scientists at詹姆斯·库克大学Australia, have previously come up with3D printed fuel grains，能够为混合动力火箭电机供电。该团队的商业聚合物集成的火箭燃料在测试过程中的商业聚合物集成燃料的响应是为了响应商业空间的迅速增长，作为将设备射击到低地轨道（LEO）的可访问手段。
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Featured image shows University of Canterbury PhD student Simon Reid’s 3D printed catalyst bed. Image via the University of Canterbury.
