The most immediate application of the technology being proposed herein is the control of trace contaminants, like ammonia and formaldehyde, in a space suit. The same technology could also find application for trace contaminant control in spacecraft cabins and on the International Space Station (ISS). Currently, an acid treated, non-regenerable carbon bed is used to remove ammonia. However, a highly selective SLM vented to space would be a continuous system that demands very little power, with negligible losses of nitrogen or oxygen.
This technology could also find application for trace contaminant control to improve indoor air quality in factories and laboratories. For example, workers are exposed to formaldehyde in the manufacture of formaldehyde-based resins and their use in particleboard products. Morticians and laboratory workers may also be exposed to formaldehyde. Risk of exposure to ammonia is high in the manufacture of fertilizers. For these applications a vacuum pump would be used on the low pressure side to provide the driving force for separation. With the very high selectivity potentially available with an SLM, the flow through the pump would consist primarily of the contaminants and very little oxygen or nitrogen. This would minimize the flow through the pump and therefore the required power.
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