Optimization of Carbon Dioxide Absorption (CDA) and Surface Erosion (SE) of Potassium Superoxide based respiratory air Tablets Using Taguchi Method

Potassium superoxide tablets can be used in respiratory air regeneration systems within confined spaces such as spacecraft, submarines, coal mines and individual and collective masks. These tablets reacts with moisture and carbon dioxide in air and releases oxygen. In this study, The effect of four parameters; Pressure press (0.5, 2, 4 and 5 bar), humidity (10, 15, 20, 25 %), Catalyst additives (CuSO4.5H2O, (Cu2(OH)3Cl2)2, CuO, TiO2), H2O Absorbent additives (SiO2, LiCl, CaO, SiO2.Al2O3) and CO2 Absorbent additives (LiOH, NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)2) were investigated in four levels using Taguchi method. The carbon dioxide absorption and Surface erosion were selected as criteria for optimizing the performance of Potassium Superoxide tablets based on analysis of variance and the optimal conditions of each were evaluated separately and simultaneously. The optimal conditions for higher carbon dioxide absorption and smaller Surface erosion include Humidity 15% , pressure press 4 bar, CuSO4.5H2O as Catalyst, SiO2 as H2O absorbent and Ca(OH)2 as CO2 absorbent. Experiments performed in the performance test show that the optimized tablets in this study show a 28% and 79% increase in carbon dioxide absorption compared to commercial tablets and pure potassium superoxide, respectively. The results showed that the catalysts with copper cation had the greatest effect on the performance of the tablets