Recent Advancements in Green Propulsion Green Propellants for Micropropulsion Systems

This book introduces recent developments in green propellants and green propulsion systems by various worldwide research groups. Various space agencies across the globe have accelerated the development of non-toxic green propellants, and the European Union is planning to phase out hydrazine (liquid) and ammonium perchlorate (solid) as propellants in the future, as it was identified as a substance of high concern by the REACh regulation.

Although the process is still ongoing, it has triggered the development of attractive new propellants and technologies for the market, fostering research for non-toxic, high-performance alternative technologies. Several green propellants and green propulsion systems have been developed, tested, and even commercialized, such as ADN- or HAN-based propulsion, hydrogen peroxide propulsion, and water propulsion technology, where water is electrolyzed in orbit to O2 and H2, then combusted for the generation of thrust. This book describes proposed solutions to replace hydrazine, its derivatives and ammonium perchlorate with green propellants, discusses recent progress in environmentally friendly propellant systems and covers recent advancements on materials, catalysts and oxidizers for green solid rocket propellants. It aims to provide necessary technical information for space mission and propulsion systems' designers and researchers in this aerospace field.

Prof. Rachid Amrousse (1983-) got his Ph.D. degree from the University of Poitiers, France in collaboration with CNES and Air Liquide. The Ph.D. dissertation was: Ignition of cold H2/O2 mixtures for satellite control reactions. In 2011, he joined Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan, as Research Associate and he was the first foreign national recruited by JAXA. The topic of his research was: The development of highly energetic materials and a survey of catalysis applied to space propulsion, thermal decomposition, combustion mechanisms, characterization, stability…etc. In 2016, Prof. Amrousse received a competitive budget from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan, for 2 years to develop a green propellant thruster for a reaction control system to be used for small satellites. The 1N-HAN thruster was used in the small demonstration satellite-4 (SDS-4) developed by JAXA. In 2018, he joined the University of Chouaib Doukkali (UCD) located in El Jadida City in Morocco. Resume, Prof. Amrousse accumulated grants and awards for his research topics from France: Poitou-Charentes Region's Allowance for the Master's Degree, CNES's funding for the Ph.D. degree, from European Green Aerospace Propellant (GRASP) Project, from JAXA, and JSPS. He published more than 60 peer-reviewed papers and proceedings. He also gave more than 80 talks, keynote speeches, and plenary lectures on topics related to green propellants and he is an active member of the Japan Explosives Society. He reviews more than 10 papers per year for different journals related to propulsion and catalysis. In 2016, he got the National Medal of Merit from the King of the Kingdom of Morocco Mohammed VI.

 

Prof. Qi-Long Yan (1983-) is currently working as a Full Professor at the Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU). He is a member of the academic committee of the Key Laboratory on Combustion and Explosion, focusing his research on the preparation, characterization, and reactivity of nanocomposite energetic materials. Before joining NPU, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University (Israel). He obtained his Ph.D. in 2015 from the University of Pardubice (Czech Republic), working in the field of preparation and thermal analysis of polymer-bonded energetic composites. Before his Ph.D. studies, he worked for 4 years as an Associate Researcher at the Xi'an Modern Chemistry Research Institute (China), dealing with thermal analysis and combustion of composite energetic materials. Dr. Yan has published over 140 journal and conference papers, as well as 16 patents. He was recently awarded as the world's highly-cited author in the field of astronautical and aerospace technology, with more than 3200 citations and an H-index of 31.