I just caught a video the other day about manufacturing on the moon. He referred to this kind of research being a potential game changer for lunar colonization.
There are many metal oxides on the moon, and if you were trying to construct a habitat then a reduction reaction gives you industrial feedstocks and Oxygen to breathe. But electrolytic refinement of aluminum produces CO2 via the sacrificial anode, so you need a different chemistry to avoid that, or a steady graphite supply and a lot of photosynthesis.
He also mentioned that you can use electrolysis to refine iron, but that we have cheaper (but much heavier) terrestrial options.
There are many metal oxides on the moon, and if you were trying to construct a habitat then a reduction reaction gives you industrial feedstocks and Oxygen to breathe. But electrolytic refinement of aluminum produces CO2 via the sacrificial anode, so you need a different chemistry to avoid that, or a steady graphite supply and a lot of photosynthesis.
He also mentioned that you can use electrolysis to refine iron, but that we have cheaper (but much heavier) terrestrial options.