Generating Breathable Oxygen from Seawater for Underwater Operations
Abstract
Approved for Public Release The undersea environment engenders extreme challenges for human performance. Of these challenges, the unavailability of oxygen (O2) is the most basic impediment to human existence, performance and health. Today, O2 generation in our technological world occurs in pristine and highly controlled conditions, mostly for energy applications. The ability to generate breathable O2 directly from seawater in undersea environs is beyond our grasp and requires fundamentally new breakthrough advances. The generation of O2 from seawater must occur at breathing rates with minimal energy input and at high purity, free from undesirable seawater oxidation byproducts, most notably Cl2 and Br2 and their hydrous acids HOCl and HOBr. A proposed workplan to achieve the goal of delivering pure and breathable oxygen on the fly in the undersea environment comprises three specific aims. Aim 1 focuses on the design of new O2-generating catalysts that are selective and operate at the lowest energy input. Additionally, a novel flow-through electrode design in which the top electrode is poised at a negative potential to reject anions and the bottom electrode performs OER. Aim 2 will develop porous catalyst supports to enable O2 generation at 1.5 L/min for an active diver in underwater environments. To meet this objective high-surface-area porous catalyst electrodes will be designed that will be coated with the O2 generating catalysts developed in Aim 1. The science resulting from Aims 1 and 2 of the proposed project underpins future engineering designs to harvest O2 directly from the ocean for Navy divers in the undersea environment. The ability to provide pure O2 continuously from seawater offers greater flexibility to the ONR in executing undersea operations as oxygen tanks would not be needed as the tanks are replaced by a small light-weight battery. Consequently, new capabilities are available for multi-domain operations as oxygen tanks would not need to be managedduring sea-land transitions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 24, 2025
- Source ID
- N000142512152
Entities
People
- Daniel G. Nocera
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- President and Fellows of Harvard College
- United States Navy