Space Station Freedom Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly

Carbon dioxide removal from the Space Station Freedom atmosphere is an essential part of the overail life support and oxygen reclamation process. The system must selectively remove carbon dioxide from an air supply stream, then concentrate it for downstream processing in a carbon dioxide reduction system where oxygen is eventually recovered.

Space Station Freedom will utilize a four-bed molecular sieve system for the carbon dioxide removal assembly. This system uses the principle of adsorption to selectively remove and concentrate carbon dioxide. The technology required for the four-bed system is well established and was proven in space flight during the Skylab program.

This paper describes the four-bed molecular sieve carbon dioxide removal system, its operation and its key components.