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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRS1985

Aquatic Plants Aid Sewage Filter

Method of wastewater treatment combines micro-organisms and aquatic plant roots in filter bed. Treatment occurs as liquid flows up through system. Micro-organisms, attached themselves to rocky base material of filter, act in several steps to decompose organic matter in wastewater. Vascular aquatic plants (typically, reeds, rushes, cattails, or water hyacinths) absorb nitrogen, phosphorus, other nutrients, and heavy metals from water through finely divided roots.

Wolverton, B. C.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Advanced Water Recovery Technologies for Long Duration Space Exploration Missions

Extended-duration space travel and habitation require recovering water from wastewater generated in spacecrafts and extraterrestrial outposts since the largest consumable for human life support is water. Many wastewater treatment technologies used for terrestrial applications are adoptable to extraterrestrial situations but challenges remain as constraints of space flights and habitation impose severe limitations of these technologies. Membrane-based technologies, particularly membrane filtration, have been widely studied by NASA and NASA-funded research groups for possible applications in space wastewater treatment. The advantages of membrane filtration are apparent: it is energy-efficient and compact, needs little consumable other than replacement membranes and cleaning agents, and doesn't involve multiphase flow, which is big plus for operations under microgravity environment. However, membrane lifespan and performance are affected by the phenomena of concentration polarization and membrane fouling. This article attempts to survey current status of membrane technologies related to wastewater treatment and desalination in the context of space exploration and quantify them in terms of readiness level for space exploration. This paper also makes specific recommendations and predictions on how scientist and engineers involving designing, testing, and developing space-certified membrane-based advanced water recovery technologies can improve the likelihood of successful development of an effective regenerative human life support system for long-duration space missions.

Liu, Scan X.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Update on Feasibility of UV LEDs in a Spacecraft Wastewater Application

As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) expands its scope and begins to venture into long-duration, manned space flights, the function and maintenance of spacecraft water systems becomes increasingly critical and difficult. New mission requirements limit opportunities for resupply and demand extended periods of uncrewed operations. Based on lessons learned from the International Space Station (ISS), one particular challenge of future spacecraft water systems will be maintaining adequate microbial control, especially in water subsystems and component-level elements, where effective long-duration biocontrol strategies do not currently exist. To ensure the reliability and redundancy in these systems, innovative technologies will be needed to ensure mission success. After proving feasibility of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) devices in flow-through applications in 2018, work focused on utilizing ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diodes (LEDs) in a wastewater tank application. This paper gives an update on the tank testing that has been performed to date. Using this technology may reduce the need for consumable resupply, such as filters or biocides, and minimize crew time to make the repairs on exhausted and/or compromised systems. The ultimate rationale behind developing a UV disinfection system is to increase the stability of water systems as requirements for sterility and microbial control become more stringent for deep space missions. The resulting data from this study will be used to narrow down possible technology demonstrations for selected ISS locations to assess the use of UV technology on future exploration-class spacecraft systems.

Susan N. Gilbert↗
NASA NTRS2012

Preliminary Feasibility Testing of the BRIC Brine Water Recovery Concept

The Brine Residual In-Containment (BRIC) concept is being developed as a new technology to recover water from spacecraft wastewater brines. Such capability is considered critical to closing the water loop and achieving a sustained human presence in space. The intention of the BRIC concept is to increase the robustness and efficiency of the dewatering process by performing drying inside the container used for the final disposal of the residual brine solid. Recent efforts in the development of BRIC have focused on preliminary feasibility testing using a laboratory- assembled pre-prototype unit. Observations of the drying behavior of actual brine solutions processed under BRIC-like conditions has been of particular interest. To date, experiments conducted with three types of analogue spacecraft wastewater brines have confirmed the basic premise behind the proposed application of in-place drying. Specifically, the dried residual mass from these solutions have tended to exhibit characteristics of adhesion and flow that are expected to continue to challenge process stream management designs typically used in spacecraft systems. Yet, these same characteristics may favor the development of capillary- and surface-tension-based approaches currently envisioned as part of an ultimate microgravity-compatible BRIC design. In addition, preliminary feasibility testing of the BRIC pre-prototype confirmed that high rates of water recovery, up to 98% of the available brine water, may be possible while still removing the majority of the brine contaminants from the influent brine stream. These and other early observations from testing are reported.

Callahan, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Preliminary Feasibility Testing of the BRIC Brine Water Recovery Concept

The Brine Residual In-Containment (BRIC) concept was developed as a new technology to recover water from spacecraft wastewater brines. Such capability is considered critical to closing the water loop and achieving a sustained human presence in space. The intention of the BRIC concept is to increase the robustness and efficiency of the dewatering process by performing drying inside the container used for the final disposal of the residual brine solid. Recent efforts in the development of BRIC have focused on preliminary feasibility testing using a laboratory- assembled pre-prototype unit. Observations of the drying behavior of actual brine solutions processed under BRIC-like conditions has been of particular interest. To date, experiments conducted with three types of analogue spacecraft wastewater brines have confirmed the basic premise behind the proposed application of in-place drying for these solutions. Specifically, the dried residual mass from these solutions have tended to exhibit characteristics of adhesion and flow that are expected to continue to challenge process stream management in spacecraft brine dewatering system designs. Yet, these same characteristics may favor the development of capillary- and surface-tension-based approaches envisioned as part of an ultimate microgravity-compatible BRIC design. In addition, preliminary feasibility testing of the BRIC pre-prototype confirmed that high rates of water recovery, up to 98% of the available brine water, may be possible while still removing the majority of the brine contaminants from the influent brine stream. These and other observations from testing are reported.

Callahan, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Synthetic and Biomass Alternate Fueling in Aviation

While transportation fueling can accommodate a broad range of alternate fuels, aviation fueling needs are specific, such as the fuel not freezing at altitude or become too viscous to flow properly or of low bulk energy density that shortens range. The fuel must also be compatible with legacy aircraft, some of which are more than 50 years old. Worldwide, the aviation industry alone uses some 85-95 billion gallons of hydrocarbon-based fossil fuel each year, which is about 10% of the transportation industry. US civil aviation alone consumes nearly 14 billion gallons. The enormity of the problem becomes overwhelming, and the aviation industry is taking alternate fueling issues very seriously. Biofuels (algae, cyanobacteria, halophytes, weeds that use wastelands, wastewater and seatwater), when properly sourced, have the capacity to be drop-in fuel replacements for petroleum fuels. As such, biojet from such sources solves the aviation CO2 emissions issue without the downsides of 'conventional' biofuels, such as competing with food and fresh water resources. Of the many current fundamental problems, the major biofuel problem is cost. Both research and development and creative engineering are required to reduce these biofuels costs. Research is also ongoing in several 'improvement' areas including refining/processing and biologics with greater disease resistance, greater bio-oil productivity, reduced water/nutrient requirements, etc. The authors' current research is aimed at aiding industry efforts in several areas. They are considering different modeling approaches, growth media and refining approaches, different biologic feedstocks, methods of sequestering carbon in the processes, fuel certification for aviation use and, overall, ensuring that biofuels are feasible from all aspects - operability, capacity, carbon cycle and financial. The authors are also providing common discussion grounds/opportunities for the various parties, disciplines and concerned organization to share both issues and potential ways for moving forward, and overall, trying to educate those concerned about the innate limitations of 'conventional' biofuels and the solutions provided by non-traditional feedstocks that used waste lands/water or saline/salt water have an immense capacity potential.

Hendricks, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Removing Pathogens Using Nano-Ceramic-Fiber Filters

A nano-aluminum-oxide fiber of only 2 nanometers in diameter was used to develop a ceramic-fiber filter. The fibers are electropositive and, when formulated into a filter material (NanoCeram(TradeMark)), would attract electro-negative particles such as bacteria and viruses. The ability to detect and then remove viruses as well as bacteria is of concern in space cabins since they may be carried onboard by space crews. Moreover, an improved filter was desired that would polish the effluent from condensed moisture and wastewater, producing potable drinking water. A laboratory- size filter was developed that was capable of removing greater than 99.9999 percent of bacteria and virus. Such a removal was achieved at flow rates hundreds of times greater than those through ultraporous membranes that remove particles by sieving. Because the pore size of the new filter was rather large as compared to ultraporous membranes, it was found to be more resistant to clogging. Additionally, a full-size cartridge is being developed that is capable of serving a full space crew. During this ongoing effort, research demonstrated that the filter media was a very efficient adsorbent for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), and endotoxins. Since the adsorption is based on the charge of the macromolecules, there is also a potential for separating proteins and other particulates on the basis of their charge differences. The separation of specific proteins is a major new thrust of biotechnology. The principal application of NanoCeram filters is based on their ability to remove viruses from water. The removal of more than 99.9999 percent of viruses was achieved by a NanoCeram polishing filter added to the effluent of an existing filtration device. NanoCeram is commercially available in laboratory-size filter discs and in the form of a syringe filter. The unique characteristic of the filter can be demonstrated by its ability to remove particulate dyes such as Metanyl yellow. Its particle size is only 2 nanometers, about the size of a DNA molecule, yet the NanoCeram syringe filter is capable of retaining the dyes as the fluid is passed through the syringe, without much back-pressure. Endotoxins, which are contaminants that are part of the residue of destroyed bacteria, can cause toxic shock and are therefore of major concern in pharmaceutical products. The NanoCeram syringe filter is capable of removing greater than 99.96 percent of the endotoxins.

Tepper, Frederick↗
NASA NTRS2015

Urine Pretreatment History and Perspective in NASA Human Spaceflight

Urine pretreatment is a technology that may seem to have small mass impacts in future spaceflight missions, but can have significant impacts on reliability, life, and performance of the rest of the wastewater management and recovery systems. NASA has experience with several different urine pretreatment systems, including those flow on the space shuttle, evaluated for NASA waste collection systems or used in Russian commodes on ISS, or developed by NASA or industry as alternatives. Each has had unique requirements for shelf life, operational life, and the life or conditions of the stored, treated urine. Each was evaluated under different test conditions depending on mission, and depending on testing experience developed over NASA's history. Those that were flown led to further lessons learned about hardware compatibility and control. As NASA looks forward to human spaceflight missions beyond low Earth orbit, these techniques need to be evaluated in new light. Based on published design reference missions, candidate requirements can be derived for future systems. Initial comparisons between these requirements and previous performance or test results can be performed. In many cases these comparisons reveal data gaps. Successful previous performance is not enough to address current needs.

Anderson, Molly↗