Intrinsic Thermal Desorption in a 3D Printed Multifunctional Composite CO Sorbent with Embedded Heating Capability.

Efficient removal of CO from enclosed environments is a significant challenge, particularly in human space flight where strict restrictions on mass and volume are present. To address this issue, this study describes the use of a multimaterial, layer-by-layer, additive manufacturing technique to directly print a structured multifunctional composite for CO sorption with embedded, intrinsic, heating capability to facilitate thermal desorption, removing the need for an external heat source from the system. This multifunctional composite is coprinted from an ink formulation based on zeolite 13X, and an electrically conductive sorbent ink formulation, which includes metal particles blended with the zeolite.