Mini modular plant design for ethylene production using Martian atmosphere on Mars

Abstract

A main shift in the competitive landscape of technology development is in 3D printing of complex articles made of variety of materials due to faster manufacturing and less human error in the production. In fact, it seems to be a viable candidate for the construction of structures for terrestrial and extraterrestrial life in future. Thus, new or damaged equipment in space explorations could be replaced instantly, and habitats could be manufactured using 3D printing in varying gravitational fields in the solar system. Among 3D printing materials, HDPE is commonly used in the projects, such as a prototype manufacturing or pipes or damp-proof membrane. This study initially focused on the preliminary design of the self-sustaining mini ethylene production plant from Martian atmosphere with scale-out architecture. UniSIM® was integrated with MATLAB® via CAPE-OPEN extension to design mini-ethylene production plant at low gravity. Ethylene capacity was found as 17.71 tons/year for 100 modules.