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Is it a feasible method of obtaining different gases - such as nitrogen and argon - in space to form the composition of a normal atmosphere in the space settlement?

peterh
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Fizza Syed
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    Welcome to space.SE. Your question is an interresting one but you really should make editing efforts to avoid making so many typo in so few words. Moreover, you may include in your question some context. Why do you think this technic is different in space? Where the initial gas come from? – Manu H Dec 26 '17 at 14:12
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    @ManuH so many typo -> so many typos; you may include -> you should include; technic -> technique; where the -> where does the – 2012rcampion Dec 26 '17 at 19:21
  • For a breathable atmosphere with 1 bar pressure in a space settlement, the gases nitrogen and oxygen are necessary, but argon is not. Also helium, neon, xenon and krypton are not needed for breathing. – Uwe Dec 26 '17 at 21:37
  • @2012rcampion I thought I could edit my comment but I cannot find how. Fortunatly, it is possible to edit the original question. Next time, I'll try harder to avoid typos. :) – Manu H Dec 28 '17 at 22:17
  • It’s still not clear what the question is asking. Is it asking if fractional distillation will work in space? Is the question about a space settlement in free fall / microgravity? What is being distilled? The question says "pure air" but then implies the point of this technology would be to make air. It would be relatively easy to make air by mixing the components in the right ratios, so is this about distilling the components from some other gas mixture? If so, what? Like the Martian atmosphere? This question needs several additional paragraphs before it’s ready to be answered. – Adam Wuerl Dec 29 '17 at 00:18

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Fractional distillation requires a way to separate liquids from gases. The easiest way to do this is with gravity (with hot gases rising, and liquids falling to collect). In freefall, you'd get bubbles of liquid mixed in with the gas.

On the ISS, a distillation unit is part of the Environmental Control and Life Support System:

The Urine Processor Assembly uses a low pressure vacuum distillation process that uses a centrifuge to compensate for the lack of gravity and thus aid in separating liquids and gasses.

Hobbes
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  • "settlement" sounds like people will be there for a while, in which case there is a good chance they'd have some gravity to maintain bone density. – uhoh Dec 26 '17 at 17:18