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Case studies of selected streams from the EPA Leachate Dataset. Includes OLI Studio and Geochemist's Workbench example files. Original data from: Nguyen, Dan-Tam, Eastern Research Group. Sep 29, 2015. Analytical Database for the Steam Electric Rulemaking - DCN SE05359. https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819-5640
Data from the US EPA Gasification Database containing gasification effluent data from selected U.S. coal power plants. Original data from: Nguyen, Dan-Tam, Eastern Research Group. Sep 29, 2015. Analytical Database for the Steam Electric Rulemaking - DCN SE05359. https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0819-5640 Files include: Original data tab, processed data and charge balance information in "NEWTS_EPA_Gasification_Effluent_Dataset_all_tabs.xlsx" Individual .csv files for data in format for input into aqueous chemistry modeling software (OLI Systems and Geochemist's Workbench) Data input templates for modeling streams in OLI Systems and Geochemist's Workbench Case studies for selected solved streams modeled in OLI Systems and Geochemist's Workbench
Adaption of the luminol-carbon monoxide injection system to a flowing type system is reported. Analysis of actual wastewater samples was carried out and revealed that bacteria can be associated with particles greater than 10 microns in size in samples such as mixed liquor. Research into the luminol reactive oxidation state indicates that oxidized iron porphyrins, cytochrome-c in particular, produce more luminol chemiluminescence than the reduced form. Correlation exists between the extent of porphyrin oxidation and relative chemiluminescence. In addition, the porphyrin nucleus is apparently destroyed under the current chemiluminescent reaction conditions.
Part of the initial concern with using the wet scrubbers on the hypergolic propellants was the subsequential disposal of the liquid wastes. To do this, consideration was given to all possible methods to reduce the volume of the wastes and stay within the guidelines established by the state and federal environmental protection agencies. One method that was proposed was the use of water hyacinths in disposal ponds to reduce the waste concentration in the effluent to less than EPA tolerable levels. This method was under consideration and even in use by private industry, municipal governments, and NASA for upgrading existing wastewater treatment facilities to a tertiary system. The use of water hyacinths in disposal ponds appears to be a very cost-effective method for reduction and disposal of hypergolic propellants.
A direct approach utilizing ion pairing reversed-phase chromatography coupled with suppressed conductivity detection was developed to monitor biodegradation of anionic surfactants during wastewater recycling through hydroponic plant growth systems and fixed-film bioreactors. Samples of hydroponic nutrient solution and bioreactor effluent with high concentrations (up to 120 mS electrical conductance) of inorganic ions can be analyzed without pretreatment or interference. The presence of non-ionic surfactants did not significantly affect the analysis. Dynamic linear ranges for tested surfactants [Igepon TC-42, ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate and sodium alkyl (C10-C16) ether sulfate] were 2 to approximately 500, 1 to approximately 500, 2.5 to approximately 550 and 3.0 to approximately 630 microg/ml, respectively.
Ultrafiltration is examined for use as the first stage of a primary treatment process for spacecraft wastewater. It is hypothesized that ultrafiltration can effectively serve as pretreatment for a reverse osmosis system, removing the majority of organic material in a spacecraft wastewater. However, it is believed that the interaction between the membrane material and the surfactant found in the wastewater will have a significant impact on the fouling of the ultrafiltration membrane. In this study, five different ultrafiltration membrane materials are examined for the filtration of wastewater typical of that expected to be produced onboard the International Space Station. Membranes are used in an unstirred batch cell. Flux, organic carbon rejection, and recovery from fouling are measured. The results of this evaluation will be used to select the most promising membranes for further study.
While there are always barriers to energy efficiency efforts, few challenges have been as severe as the global COVID-19 pandemic. Many manufacturers throughout the United States and the world have been trying to determine how to safely open and operate their plants. To minimize the number of people working within facilities and maximize the physical distance between workers, only essential facility engineers are allowed into plants to ensure proper operations. The Department of Energy’s Better Plants Program created In-Plant Trainings (INPLTs) to help partners develop in-house expertise in energy efficiency. Delivering INPLTs in the traditional in-person fashion is infeasible under these circumstances. To continue providing INPLTs during this difficult time, the Better Plants Program piloted Virtual Cohort In-Plant Trainings (VINPLTs) on wastewater treatment and ammonia industrial refrigeration systems from October 27 to November 19, 2020. This paper provides an overview of the pilot, then discusses successful strategies and lessons learned from this pilot for delivering effective virtual energy-focused trainings.
The treatment of radioactive wastewater from the operating nuclear industry (energy production, reprocessing of spent fuel, decommissioning of shut-down facilities, etc.) or in case of incidental or accidental situation (such as Fukushima Daichii NPP accident) is an important issue requiring constant improvement of the technologies and techniques used to prevent radioactive releases into the environment and/or to reduce the production of secondary waste. CEA, Orano and CTI are collaborating since 2014, with the support of the French government's program 'investments for the future', to develop Sorbmatech{sup R}Cs, an innovative and patented selective sorbent (Grandjean and Barre 2014) to deal with the removal of radioactive {sup 137}Cs, one of the most hazardous isotope to be managed in nuclear waste, highly efficient either in agitated reactor or in column process. Sorbmatech{sup R}Cs sorbent consists of mesoporous silica particles loaded with potassium-copper hexacyanoferrate nanoparticles (KCu-HCF). This peculiar structure enables much faster sorption kinetics compared to denser crystalline structures, such as Silicotitanate or Zeolite sorbents, whose drawback consists in hindering the diffusion process through the material, and whose larger sorbent particles slow down the ion exchange process. The equilibrium of Sorbmatech{sup R}Cs is reached in few minutes, even at high flow rates in a fixed-bed column process (up to 10 m.h{sup -1} Darcy velocity) with low drop pressure. Moreover, Sorbmatech{sup R}Cs can be used over a wide pH range from 2 to 10 and has a very high selectivity towards {sup 137}Cs even in brine solution (saline, mineral or sea water). This new sorbent also has a K{sub d} higher than 10{sup 5} mL.g{sup -1} depending on the salinity of the wastewater, enabling a highly efficient removal of Cs trace in radioactive wastewater compared to Cs selective sorbent such as Zeolites and Silicotitanates. Its radiological resistance enables the treatment of high, medium and low activity wastewater. The CEA-Orano-CTI/ALSYS partnership leads to the development of a simple and low-cost synthetic route, which demonstrated large-scale manufacturing of the product on a batch of 100 kg. Two products have been developed and are ready for short run market introduction so far with grain size well adapted either for column processes or agitated reactors.. Finally, the industrial implementation has been studied and largely benefits from the properties of the sorbent. Indeed, its high sorption kinetics enable high flow rates resulting in a decrease of operation times, unit sizes, and volumes of secondary waste produced. Moreover, Sorbmatech{sup R}Cs is designed to be combined into a full and integrated solution, ranging from preliminary optimization of operating conditions through numerical dimensioning model, industrial implementation and treatment of the wastewater (through cartridge or preconditioned columns systems developed thanks to Orano's extensive expertise), to long-term stabilization of generated waste (under progress). (authors)
Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD) has evolved as the most promising approach to reclaim potable water from wastewater for future long-term manned space missions. Life Systems, Inc. (LSI), working with NASA, has developed a preprototype Vapor Compression Distillation Subsystem (VCDS) which processes wastewater at 1.4 kg/h. The preprototype unit weighs 143 kg, occupies a volume of 0.47 cu m, and will reclaim 96 percent of the available wastewater. This unit has been tested by LSI and is scheduled for further testing at NASA-JSC. This paper presents the preprototype VCDS design, configuration, performance data, test results and flight system projections.
This paper describes the results of acceptance testing of the Vapor Phase Catalytic Ammonia Removal (VPCAR) technology. The VPCAR technology is currently being developed by NASA as a Mars transit vehicle water recycling system. NASA has recently completed a grant to develop a next generation VPCAR system. This grant was peer reviewed and funded through the Advanced Life Support (ALS) National Research Announcement (NRA). The grant funded a contract with Water Reuse Technology Inc. to construct an engineering development unit. This contract concluded with the shipment of the final deliverable to NASA on 8/31/03. The objective of the acceptance testing was to characterize the performance of this new system. This paper presents the results of mass power, and volume measurements for the delivered system. In addition, product water purity analysis for a Mars transit mission and a planetary base wastewater ersatz are provided. Acoustic noise levels, interface specifications and system reliability results are also discussed. An assessment of the readiness of the technology for human testing and recommendations for future improvements are provided.
The Membrane Aerated Bioreactor (MABR) is an attached‐growth biological system for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. This design is an innovative approach to common terrestrial wastewater treatments for nitrogen and carbon removal. Implementing a biologically‐based water treatment system for long‐duration human exploration is an attractive, low energy alternative to physiochemical processes. Two obstacles to implementing such a system are (1) the "start‐up" duration from inoculation to steady‐state operations and (2) the amount of surface area needed for the biological activity to occur. The Advanced Water Recovery Systems (AWRS) team at JSC explored these two issues through two tests; a rapid inoculation study and a wastewater loading study. Results from these tests demonstrate that the duration from inoculation to steady state can be reduced to two weeks and that the surface area to volume ratio baseline used in the Alternative Water Processor (AWP) test was higher than what was needed to remove the organic carbon and ammonium from the system.
The ability to recover and purify water through physiochemical processes is crucial for realizing long-term human space missions, including both planetary habitation and space travel. Because of their robust nature, distillation systems have been actively pursued as one of the technologies for water recovery. The Cascade Distillation System (CDS) is a vacuum rotary distillation system with potential for greater reliability and lower energy costs than existing distillation systems. The CDS was previously under development through Honeywell and NASA. In 2009, an assessment was performed to collect data to support down-selection and development of a primary distillation technology for application in a lunar outpost water recovery system. Based on the results of this testing, an expert panel concluded that the CDS showed adequate development maturity, TRL-4, together with the best product water quality and competitive weight and power estimates to warrant further development. The Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Water Recovery Project (WRP) worked to address weaknesses identified by The Panel; namely bearing design and heat pump power efficiency. Testing at the NASA-JSC Advanced Exploration System Water Laboratory (AES Water Lab) using a prototype Cascade Distillation Subsystem (CDS) wastewater processor (Honeywell International, Torrance, Calif.) with test support equipment and control system developed by Johnson Space Center was performed to evaluate performance of the system with the upgrades. The CDS will also have been challenged with ISS analog waste streams and a subset of those being considered for Exploration architectures. This paper details interim results of the AES WRP CDS performance testing.
In order to limit and mitigate the environmental impacts associated with coal combustion, flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems have been put into place to reduce the release of contaminates. The main constituent targeted by FGD systems is sulfur oxide gasses (SOx). While FGD systems have been able to achieve high removal rates of SOx gasses, the wastewater effluent requires treatment before release back into the environment. The release of wastewater is heavily regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and their effluent guideline limitations rule (ELG). The ELG rule set new limits on discharges containing constituents such as selenium, nitrogenous species, mercury, and arsenic in the effluent. This report seeks to give background on abiotic removal methods as well as highlight the most important issues when utilizing biological treatment to treat the FGD wastewater for the constituents of interest mentioned. This report also seeks to discuss the issues of foaming which can occur during biological treatment.
The goal of the Biological Water Processor (BWP) is to remove 90% organic carbon and 75% ammonium from an exploration-based wastewater stream for four crew members. The innovative design saves on space, power and consumables as compared to the ISS Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) by utilizing microbes in a biofilm. The attached-growth system utilizes simultaneous nitrification and denitrification to mineralize organic carbon and ammonium to carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas, which can be scrubbed in a cabin air revitalization system. The BWP uses a four-crew wastewater comprised of urine and humidity condensate, as on the ISS, but also includes hygiene (shower, shave, hand washing and oral hygiene) and laundry. The BWP team donates 58L per day of this wastewater processed in Building 7.
The Cascade Distillation System (CDS) is a rotary distillation system with potential for greater reliability and lower energy costs than existing distillation systems. Based upon the results of the 2009 distillation comparison test (DCT) and recommendations of the expert panel, the Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Water Recovery Project (WRP) project advanced the technology by increasing reliability of the system through redesign of bearing assemblies and improved rotor dynamics. In addition, the project improved the CDS power efficiency by optimizing the thermoelectric heat pump (TeHP) and heat exchanger design. Testing at the NASA-JSC Advanced Exploration System Water Laboratory (AES Water Lab) using a prototype Cascade Distillation Subsystem (CDS) wastewater processor (Honeywell d International, Torrance, Calif.) with test support equipment and control system developed by Johnson Space Center was performed to evaluate performance of the system with the upgrades as compared to previous system performance. The system was challenged with Solution 1 from the NASA Exploration Life Support (ELS) distillation comparison testing performed in 2009. Solution 1 consisted of a mixed stream containing human-generated urine and humidity condensate. A secondary objective of this testing is to evaluate the performance of the CDS as compared to the state of the art Distillation Assembly (DA) used in the ISS Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). This was done by challenging the system with ISS analog waste streams. This paper details the results of the AES WRP CDS performance testing.
The Personal Body .Attached Liquid Liquidator (PBALL) is conceived as a passive, capillary driven contingency wastewater disposal device. In this contingency scenario, the airflow system on the NASA Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) is assumed to have failed, leaving only passive hardware and vacuum vent to dispose of the wastewater. To meet these needs, the PBALL was conceived to rely on capillary action and urine wetting design considerations. The PBALL is designed to accommodate a range of wetting conditions, from 0deg < (theta)adv approx. 90deg, be adaptable for both male and female use, collect and retain up to a liter of urine, minimize splash-back, and allow continuous drain of the wastewater to vacuum while minimizing cabin air loss. A sub-scale PBALL test article was demonstrated on NASA's reduced gravity aircraft in April, 2010.
The ability to recover and purify water through physiochemical processes is crucial for realizing long‐term human space missions, including both planetary habitation and space travel. Because of their robust nature, rotary distillation systems have been actively pursued by NASA as one of the technologies for water recovery from wastewater primarily comprised of human urine. A specific area of interest is the prevention of the formation of solids that could clog fluid lines and damage rotating equipment. To mitigate the formation of solids, operational constraints are in place that limits such that the concentration of key precipitating ions in the wastewater brine are below the theoretical threshold. This control in effected by limiting the amount of water recovered such that the risk of reaching the precipitation threshold is within acceptable limits. The water recovery limit is based on an empirically derived worst case wastewater composition. During the batch process, water recovery is estimated by monitoring the throughput of the system. NASA Johnson Space Center is working on means of enhancing the process controls to increase water recovery. Options include more precise prediction of the precipitation threshold. To this end, JSC is developing a means of more accurately measuring the constituent of the brine and/or wastewater. Another means would be to more accurately monitor the throughput of the system. In spring of 2015, testing will be performed to test strategies for optimizing water recovery without increasing the risk of solids formation in the brine.
Access to an adequate quantity of piped water and management of wastewater produced in homes and businesses is an expectation of city dwellers in wealthy countries, and an aspiration for many people living in rapidly developing cities in low- and middle-income countries. It is also crucial to public health and protection of the environment. For well over a century, municipal drinking water provision and wastewater management have been made possible by large investments in centralized systems in which fresh water passes through a small number of drinking water treatment plants before being distributed through a vast underground pipe network to buildings throughout the city (Sedlak 2014). After it is used, wastewater is collected in underground sewers that route it to treatment plants prior to its discharge to the environment. In some water-stressed cities, a fraction of the treated wastewater undergoes additional treatment prior to reuse. This recycled water often is returned to users through another dedicated water distribution system, which is designated in many places with purple pipes (non-potable water reuse). Alternatively, treated wastewater may be subjected to advanced treatment (e.g., reverse osmosis followed by advanced oxidation) prior to being returned to the drinking water supply (potable water reuse).