Study on Novel Catalytic System against Chemical Weapons

Filter masks are conventional protective devices for human respiratory system against chemical weapons. Due to the diffusion of some ultra high risk chemical agents through the masks, it is necessary to use the enclosed air breathing system. In other words, human exhalation can be applied with no need to use the contaminated ambient air. In this work, a new system containing three parts (dehumidifier and odorants remover, oxygen generation system (OGS) and COx remover) is proposed and tested which led to the production of 2.5ml/min of O2 from human exhalation. The key step in the system is conversion of CO2 to CO and O2 in OGS. OGS works on the principle of proper solid oxide electrolysis (such as Yttria Stabilized Zirconia or YSZ) which acts as oxygen ion conductor at elevated temperatures. The experiments showed that such system is steadily able to produce 300ml of O2 for at least 2 hours.