A study was conducted to compare the performance of three different ISRU production plants that extract metals and oxygen from regolith at the lunar South Pole. The processes selected were: (1) hydrogen reduction of ilmenite and carbonylation to produce low-carbon steels, (2) molten regolith electrolysis to produce ferrosilicon alloys, and (3) molten salt electrolysis, in particular the FFC-Cambridge process, together with vacuum distillation, to produce aluminum–silicon alloys. Holistic system sizing models, including excavation, beneficiation, handling, oxygen extraction and purification, metal processing, gas liquefaction and storage, thermal control, and power, were developed to determine the overall ISRU mass and power budgets. The most effective ISRU production plant preliminarily requires 6776 kg of hardware mass to produce 25 t/a of ferrosilicon alloys from Highlands regolith through molten regolith electrolysis. This facility coproduces 23.9 t/a of oxygen, presenting a total mass payback ratio of 0.14 kg of hardware/(kg of product/a). Sensitivity analyses are presented for the initial ilmenite and anorthite concentrations in regolith. The salt ratio (kg of molten salt per kg of regolith) of the FFC-Cambridge process and the degradation rate of the molten regolith electrolysis reactor are identified as key parameters that determine the feasibility of these ISRU processes. The mass and power of the production plants exhibit a slight economy of scale, indicating that larger amounts of metals and oxygen can be produced more efficiently.

一项研究比较了三种不同的 ISRU 生产工厂的性能，这些工厂从月球南极的风化层中提取金属和氧气。选择的工艺是：(1) 钛铁矿的氢还原和羰基化生产低碳钢，(2) 熔融风化层电解生产硅铁合金，以及 (3) 熔盐电解，特别是 FFC-剑桥工艺，连同真空蒸馏，生产铝硅合金。开发了整体系统规模模型，包括挖掘、选矿、处理、氧气提取和净化、金属加工、气体液化和储存、热控制和功率，以确定整体 ISRU 质量和功率预算。最有效的 ISRU 生产工厂初步需要 6776 公斤的硬件质量，才能通过熔融风化层电解从高地风化层生产 25 吨/年的硅铁合金。该设施每年共同生产 23.9 吨氧气，总质量回报率为 0.14 千克硬件/（千克产品/a）。对风化层中的初始钛铁矿和钙长石浓度进行了敏感性分析。FFC-剑桥工艺的盐比（每公斤风化层的熔盐公斤数）和熔融风化层电解反应器的降解率被确定为决定这些 ISRU 工艺可行性的关键参数。生产工厂的质量和功率表现出轻微的规模经济，表明可以更有效地生产更多的金属和氧气。