Demonstrating Carbothermal Reduction of Lunar Regolith Using Concentrated Solar Energy

The Moon is comprised of a variety of oxygen-bearing minerals, providing a virtually unlimited quantity of raw material which can be processed to produce oxygen. One attractive method to extract oxygen from the lunar regolith is the carbothermal reduction process. The carbothermal reduction process is not sensitive to variations in the mineral composition of the lunar regolith. It also creates other valuable resources within the processed regolith, such as iron and silicon. This paper discusses recent development work to demonstrate the carbothermal reduction of simulated lunar regolith using concentrated solar energy.