The photocatalytic oxidation of trace contaminants such as human metabolite gas and outgas from the component materials over a UV-illuminated film of titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been studied to apply for an environmental purification in manned spacecraft. The trace contaminants studied were as follows: methanol, ethanol, acetal-dehyde, toluene, acetone, methane, ethylene, ammonia, 1,4-pentadiene, hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Most of these compounds are the representative human metabolic gas. It was found that these compounds except for methane, ethylene, carbonyl sulfide, hydrogen and carbon monoxide are sufficiently removed in the photocatalytic reactor.
This report describes the result of the removal test using the photocatalysts performed in National Space Development Agency of Japan/Tsukuba Space Center (NASDA / TKSC).