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Issued patent

Pressurized Oxygen via Solid Oxide Electrolysis

An issued NASA patent from the Technology Transfer catalog.

View at technology.nasa.gov
Media from NASA Technology Transfer

About this technology

Overview

Innovators at NASA's Glenn Research Center have developed a method for producing pure high-pressure oxygen via an electrochemical pumping process through a solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) cell stack. Glenn's device can either concentrate the oxygen in the ambient atmosphere or extract the oxygen via the chemical reduction of carbon dioxide, water, or any combination of these substances. This solid-state device does not use any moving parts or any extra separation processes to purify the delivered oxygen. Instead, Glenn's technology relies on a multi-stage stack design and an SOE process that includes an oxygen-ion-conducting ceramic membrane to generate high-pressure oxygen within a compact, noiseless device. This process has great potential for use in industrial, medical, and recreational applications.