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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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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2002

In-Vessel Composting of Simulated Long-Term Missions Space-Related Solid Wastes

Reduction and stabilization of solid wastes generated during space missions is a major concern for the Advanced Life Support - Resource Recovery program at the NASA, Kennedy Space Center. Solid wastes provide substrates for pathogen proliferation, produce strong odor, and increase storage requirements during space missions. A five periods experiment was conducted to evaluate the Space Operation Bioconverter (SOB), an in vessel composting system, as a biological processing technology to reduce and stabilize simulated long-term missions space related solid-wastes (SRSW). For all periods, SRSW were sorted into components with fast (FBD) and slow (SBD) biodegradability. Uneaten food and plastic were used as a major FBD and SBD components, respectively. Compost temperature (C), CO2 production (%), mass reduction (%), and final pH were utilized as criteria to determine compost quality. In period 1, SOB was loaded with a 55% FBD: 45% SBD mixture and was allowed to compost for 7 days. An eleven day second composting period was conducted loading the SOB with 45% pre-composted SRSW and 55% FBD. Period 3 and 4 evaluated the use of styrofoam as a bulking agent and the substitution of regular by degradable plastic on the composting characteristics of SRSW, respectively. The use of ceramic as a bulking agent and the relationship between initial FBD mass and heat production was investigated in period 5. Composting SRSW resulted in an acidic fermentation with a minor increase in compost temperature, low CO2 production, and slightly mass reduction. Addition of styrofoam as a bulking agent and substitution of regular by biodegradable plastic improved the composting characteristics of SRSW, as evidenced by higher pH, CO2 production, compost temperature and mass reduction. Ceramic as a bulking agent and increase the initial FBD mass (4.4 kg) did not improve the composting process. In summary, the SOB is a potential biological technology for reduction and stabilization of mission space-related solid wastes. However, the success of the composting process may depend of the physical characteristics (particle size, porosity, structure, texture) of the SBD components which would require pre-processing of solid wastes before placing them in the SOB.

Rodriguez-Carias, Abner A.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Effect of Fresh Poultry Litter and Compost on Soil Physical and Chemical Properties

Application of poultry litter and compost as a substitute for fertilizer not only uses unwanted waste and decreases expenditures for commercial fertilizer, it adds nutrients to soil for plant uptake. The properties of soil affected by poultry litter were analyzed to determine the positive and negative aspects of using this substitute fertilizer. This study focused on changes associated with saturated hydraulic conductivity, bulk density, nitrate concentrations, and pH after application of varying concentrations of poultry litter and compost. Soil samples from Tennessee Valley Substation in Alabama were analyzed in a laboratory at Alabama A&M University. As a result of the application of fresh poultry litter and compost, we found that the saturated hydraulic conductivity increased and the bulk density decreased, while the pH was generally not affected. Using poultry litter and compost as an alternative commercial fertilizers could be adapted by the farming community to protect the sustainability of our environment. Unwanted waste is used productively and soil is enriched for farming.

Carr, Stacy↗
NASA NTRS1998

Composting in advanced life support systems

Space missions of extended duration are currently hampered by the prohibitive costs of external resupply. To reduce the need for resupply, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is currently testing methods to recycle solid wastes, water, and air. Composting can be an integral part of a biologically based waste treatment/recycling system. Results indicate that leachate from composted plant wastes is not inhibitory to seed germination and contains sufficient inorganic minerals to support plant growth. Other solid wastes, for example kitchen (food) wastes and human solid wastes, can be composted with inedible plant residues to safely reduce the volume of the wastes and levels of microorganisms potentially pathogenic to humans. Finished compost could serve as a medium for plant growth or mushroom production.

NASA Center KSC↗
NASA NTRS1999

Composting on Mars or the Moon: II. Temperature feedback control with top-wise introduction of waste material and air

Whereas Earth-based composting reactors that effectively control the process are batch operations with bottom-to-top airflow, in extraterrestrial application both the fresh waste and the air need to be introduced from above. Stabilized compost and used air would exit below. This materials flow pattern permits the addition of waste whenever generated, obviating the need for multiple reactors, and the incorporation of a commode in the lid. Top loading in turn dictates top-down aeration, so that the most actively decomposing material (greatest need for heat removal and O2 replenishment) is first encountered. This novel material and aeration pattern was tested in conjunction with temperature feedback process control. Reactor characteristics were: working, volume, 0.15 m3; charge, 2 kg dry biomass per day (comparable to a 3-4 person self-sufficient bioregenerative habitat); retention time, 7 days. Judging from temperature profile, O2 level, air usage, pressure head loss, moisture, and odor, the system was effectively controlled over a 35-day period. Dry matter disappearance averaged 25% (10-42%). The compost product was substantially, though not completely, stabilized. This demonstrates the compatibility of top-wise introduction of waste and air with temperature feedback process control.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗
NASA NTRS1999

Composting on Mars or the Moon: I. Comparative evaluation of process design alternatives

As a candidate technology for treating solid wastes and recovering resources in bioregenerative Advanced Life Support, composting potentially offers such advantages as compactness, low mass, near ambient reactor temperatures and pressures, reliability, flexibility, simplicity, and forgiveness of operational error or neglect. Importantly, the interactions among the physical, chemical, and biological factors that govern composting system behavior are well understood. This article comparatively evaluates five Generic Systems that describe the basic alternatives to composting facility design and control. These are: 1) passive aeration; 2) passive aeration abetted by mechanical agitation; 3) forced aeration--O2 feedback control; 4) forced aeration--temperature feedback control; 5) forced aeration--integrated O2 and temperature feedback control. Each of the five has a distinctive pattern of behavior and process performance characteristics. Only Systems 4 and 5 are judged to be viable candidates for ALS on alien worlds, though which is better suited in this application is yet to be determined.

Review↗
NASA NTRS2000

A Simulation Study Comparing Incineration and Composting in a Mars-Based Advanced Life Support System

The objective of this study is to compare incineration and composting in a Mars-based advanced life support (ALS) system. The variables explored include waste pre-processing requirements, reactor sizing and buffer capacities. The study incorporates detailed mathematical models of biomass production and waste processing into an existing dynamic ALS system model. The ALS system and incineration models (written in MATLAB/SIMULINK(c)) were developed at the NASA Ames Research Center. The composting process is modeled using first order kinetics, with different degradation rates for individual waste components (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, cellulose and lignin). The biomass waste streams are generated using modified "Eneray Cascade" crop models, which use light- and dark-cycle temperatures, irradiance, photoperiod, [CO2], planting density, and relative humidity as model inputs. The study also includes an evaluation of equivalent system mass (ESM).

Hogan, John↗
NASA NTRS1997

NASA tests composters for space

For long term missions, composters may be an integral part of a life support system that provides edible food crops, extracts nutrients from plant biomass and removes contaminants from the recycling stream.

Plants/growth & development↗
NASA NTRS2024

Rapid Composting of Crop Space Waste

This project processed multiple types of waste simulant feedstocks using commercial composting units and NASA Trash-to-Gas (TtG) technology processing units to see what solids, liquids, and gases could be recovered. The feedstock waste included inedible biomass, mission waste from the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA), Mars analog, and the long duration Orbital Syngas/Commodity Augmentation Reactor (OSCAR) Waste Simulant (OWS) and OSCAR Full Scale (FS) (also referred to as Mars 850-day mission waste simulant). The performance data was collected, and overall performance of the waste processing systems, as well as elemental analysis of the product yields for enabling Lunar and Martian regolith mixtures in a crop grow-out study, were performed. Germination took place in certain Lunar and Martian regolith studies, with promising preliminary results that TtG solid products can be used as plant nutrients to enable crop growth in off-world regolith simulants.

Anne Meier↗
NASA NTRS2004

Robot Behavior Acquisition Superposition and Composting of Behaviors Learned through Teleoperation

Superposition of a small set of behaviors, learned via teleoperation, can lead to robust completion of a simple articulated reach-and-grasp task. Results support the hypothesis that a set of learned behaviors can be combined to generate new behaviors of a similar type. This supports the hypothesis that a robot can learn to interact purposefully with its environment through a developmental acquisition of sensory-motor coordination. Teleoperation bootstraps the process by enabling the robot to observe its own sensory responses to actions that lead to specific outcomes. A reach-and-grasp task, learned by an articulated robot through a small number of teleoperated trials, can be performed autonomously with success in the face of significant variations in the environment and perturbations of the goal. Superpositioning was performed using the Verbs and Adverbs algorithm that was developed originally for the graphical animation of articulated characters. Work was performed on Robonaut at NASA-JSC.

Peters, Richard Alan, II↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Density Variations as a Function of Compostion in the Venusian Crust: Implications for Tesserae Formation

The Venusian surface plains are thought to be predominantly basaltic, while tesserae occupy ~ 7 % and are potentially the oldest units preserved [1]. They consist of layered, folded, and eroded rocks [2], potentially giving an insight into what tectonic regimes were present during Venus’ history. Studies of the tesserae have noted lower emissivity measurements compared to the surrounding plains [3]. Several explanations for these lower emissivity values have been proposed, including a more felsic composition for the tesserae [4], that the lower emissivity could be a result of a difference in mineralogy caused by chemical weathering facilitated between the rocks and atmosphere by the lower temperatures at the higher elevations of tesserae [5]. Alternatively, the morphology of some features on tesserae, such as the Ovda Fluctus, are more consistent with a basaltic composition [6]. The presence of significant amounts of felsic igneous compositions could either imply partial melting of hydrous material and hence a higher water content in early Venus [7], or differentiation of basaltic melts [8]. Further, tesserae composition influences the density of the crust with major implications for the stability of crustal roots. Here, we use thermodynamic modeling to compute phase diagrams and extract rock densities for two end-member compositions: a basalt and a granite. We discuss major phase and density changes for each composition and describe the effect of compositional variations along geothermal gradients with implications for the stability of crustal roots with the aim to provide constraints on the composition of tesserae.

A R Baker↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Compostional Variation of Venusian Melts as A Function of Thermal Gradient and Protolith

Average surface pressure and temperature conditions of 92 bars and 460 °C and thermal gradients in the range of 5-25 °C/km and up to 50 °C/km for specific cases on Venus suggest that the lower crust and upper mantle are exposed to conditions suitable for partial melting. Further, constraints from terrestrial crystallization experiments are indicative of magmatic diversity on Venus due to variations in melting depths and volatile content. Here, we use phase equilibria modeling to determine the melt compositions resulting from partial melting of a mantle protolith and two mafic crustal compositions for sever-al Venusian thermal gradients. The modeled melt compositions are then compared to experimental eclogite and peridotite melt compositions and analyses from the Venusian surface to further constrain melting processes.

J Semprich↗
NASA NTRS1998

Long Term Effects of Poultry Litter on Soil Physical and Chemical Properties in Cotton Plots

Poultry litter and compost can alter the moisture holding capacity of a soil. These organic materials can also increase the nutrient status of a soil during the decomposition process by microbial actions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of poultry litter and compost on the dielectric constant and moisture holding capacity of soil. The Delta-T theta-probe was used to measure volumetric soil water content and the apparent dielectric constant of the upper 6-cm of the soil profile. Soil texture, pH, and organic matter were also determined for each plot. Results of these analyses indicated that the pH of the soil ranged from 6.4 to 7.7 and the volumetric soil moisture content ranged from 0.06 to 0.18 cu m/cu m for the upper 6-cm of the soil profile. The effect of poultry litter and compost on soil properties resulted in an increase in the volumetric moisture content and dielectric constant of the soil due to the improvement of the soil structure.

Surrency, J.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Evaluating the feasibility of biological waste processing for long term space missions

Recycling waste products during orbital (e.g., International Space Station) and planetary missions (e.g., lunar base, Mars transit mission, Martian base) will reduce storage and resupply costs. Wastes streams on the space station will include human hygiene water, urine, faeces, and trash. Longer term missions will contain human waste and inedible plant material from plant growth systems used for atmospheric regeneration, food production, and water recycling. The feasibility of biological and physical-chemical waste recycling is being investigated as part of National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. In-vessel composting has lower manpower requirements, lower water and volume requirements, and greater potential for sanitization of human waste compared to alternative bioreactor designs such as continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTR). Residual solids from the process (i.e. compost) could be used a biological air filter, a plant nutrient source, and a carbon sink. Potential in-vessel composting designs for both near- and long-term space missions are presented and discussed with respect to the unique aspects of space-based systems.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗
NASA NTRS2024

Lunar Soil Enrichment for Plant Production: WILD (Waste Improved Lunar Dirt)

To identify a process to generate a fertile soil for plant growth using lunar regolith and waste compost, several qualitative and quantitative investigations were performed. The primary focus of this project was to demonstrate the feasibility of microbe bioleaching to extract inorganic plant nutrients (P and K) from lunar regolith simulant. This was achieved by developing a screening test method to identify microbial candidates that would effectively bioleach P and K from JSC-1A. Quantitative bioleaching test using the downselected microbes (Pantoea Agglomerans (P. agglo) and a plant-relevant consortium) were then performed. The second focus of the project was to validate the approach of waste compost utilization to improve water retention and fertility of lunar regolith for food production. This was achieved by measuring the water retention property of the mixture of compost and regolith at different ratio and conducting microgreen growth experiments with compost/regolith mixtures. The team also discovered from this study that some native microbes associated with JSC-1A can form biofilm containing JSC-1A particles (a type of soil crust), which showed potential as an ISRU geomicrobiological dust mitigation method for Lunar or Martian applications.

Ray Pitts↗
NASA NTRS2024

Isolation, Characterization and Genetic Manipulation of Cold-Tolerant, Manganese-Oxidizing Pseudomonas sp. Strains

Manganese-oxidizing bacteria (MnOB) produce Mn oxide minerals that can be used by humans for bioremediation but the purpose for the bacterium is less clear. This study describes the isolation and characterization of cold-tolerant MnOB strains isolated from a compost pile in Morris, Minnesota, USA: Pseudomonas sp. MS-1 and DSV-1. The strains were preliminarily identified as members of species Pseudomonas psychrophila by 16S rRNA analysis and a multi-locus phylogenetic study using a database of 88 genomes from the Pseudomonas genus. However, the average nucleotide identity (ANI) between these strains and the P. psychrophila sp. CF149 type strain was less than 93%. Thus, the two strains are members of a novel species that diverged from P. psychrophila . DSV-1 and MS-1 are cold tolerant; both grow at 4C but grow faster at 24C. Unlike the mesophilic MnOB P. putida GB-1, both strains are capable of robustly oxidizing Mn at low temperatures. Both DSV-1 and MS-1 genomes contain homologs of several Mn oxidation genes found in P. putida GB-1 ( mnxG, mcoA, mnxS1, mnxS2 and mnxR ). Random mutagenesis by transposon insertion was successfully performed in both strains and identified genes involved in Mn oxidation that were similar to those found in P. putida GB-1. Our results show that MnOB can be isolated from compost, supporting a role for Mn oxidation in plant waste degradation. The novel isolates Pseudomonas spp. DSV-1 and MS-1 both can oxidize Mn at low temperature and likely employ similar mechanisms and regulation as P. putida GB-1.

manganese oxidation↗
NASA NTRS2009

Anaerobic Digestion in a Flooded Densified Leachbed

A document discusses the adaptation of a patented biomass-digesting process, denoted sequential batch anaerobic composting (SEBAC), to recycling of wastes aboard a spacecraft. In SEBAC, high-solids-content biomass wastes are converted into methane, carbon dioxide, and compost.

Chynoweth, David P.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Recycling and Sustainable Acquisition Workshop

Recycling Program: Overview; C & D Solid Waste Diversion: Concrete; Composting Process; Composting Program; Program Performance; Recycling Program Initiatives; SSC Landfill Life Expectancy; Outreach: Earth Day 2018; Sustainable Acquisition.

Boone, Chelsea↗