Comment Re:Nope (Score 1) 237
Apologies for commenting on my own post. Just a random pick from the list, an experiment done back in the day, Zeolite Crystal Growth (ZCG).
Some exerpts:
Zeolites, which are mineral crystals of aluminosilicates, have a rigid crystalline structure with a network of interconnected tunnels and cages that is similar to a honeycomb. A sort of mineral sponge, zeolites have the ability to absorb and release liquids and gases such as petroleum or hydrogen while remaining as hard as rock.
...
Results from the samples mixed on ISS suggest that the Lewis acid catalytic sites are altered in microgravity, as indicated by lower catalytic activity in the MPV probe reaction compared to Earth-grown zeolite. This further suggests that the control of fluid dynamics during crystallization may be important in making better industrial catalysts. Although space-grown zeolites had the same particle morphology and identical surface framework as zeolites grown on Earth, the average zeolite size of the space-grown crystals was 10% larger than crystals grown on Earth (Akata et al. 2004).
Larger zeolite crystals allow researchers to better define the structure and understand how they work, with a goal of producing improved crystals on Earth. Improved zeolites may have applications in storing hydrogen fuel, reduction of hazardous byproducts from chemical processing, and more efficient techniques for petroleum processing.
So just tacking a random pick of the huge experiment list, something called ZCG, I found that there are substantial results. These people just need to get the public interested with this stuff by communicating it more efficiently. "The science we do might lower gas prices and also contribute to hydrogen car research".
