(Sorry just got to get this out of the way, then i'll vote)
>>6316003To maximise efficiency, I was planning on having the refining module also become the main heating module of later habitat modules.
The refinery building would likely have to be assembled in space in multiple parts, with many of the internals being put together once it has landed moon-side and can be tended to by the robotic construction crew.
I imagine the initial raw rock that would be refined would be from the digging of a flat area where future spacecraft can land as well as the future construction locations. With the refining process as productive at creating oxygen, there would quickly be a likely overabundance even if a lot of it was used in the process of making building materials. Thus, I would speculate that a potential avenue for rocket propellant might be using the quick decomposition of ozone by passing it through a manganese oxide filter nozzle, the catalyst quickly decomposing the ozone into O2 and reactive singlet oxygen.
That would, of course, take a lot of energy to make too. But hey, if solar is free and silicon is abundant, just build more until demand is met.
