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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

Results of the Alternative Water Processor Test, A Novel Technology for Exploration Wastewater Remediation

Biologically-based water recovery systems are a regenerative, low energy alternative to physiochemical processes to reclaim water from wastewater. This report summarizes the results of the Alternative Water Processor (AWP) Integrated Test, conducted from June 2013 until April 2014. The system was comprised of four (4) membrane aerated bioreactors (MABRs) to remove carbon and nitrogen from an exploration mission wastewater and a coupled forward and reverse osmosis system to remove large organic and inorganic salts from the biological system effluent. The system exceeded the overall objectives of the test by recovering 90% of the influent wastewater processed into a near potable state and a 64% reduction of consumables from the current state of the art water recovery system on the International Space Station (ISS). However, the biological system fell short of its test goals, failing to remove 75% and 90% of the influent ammonium and organic carbon, respectively. Despite not meeting its test goals, the BWP demonstrated the feasibility of an attached-growth biological system for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification, an innovative, volume- and consumable-saving design that does not require toxic pretreatment.

Meyer, Caitlin E.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Results of the Alternative Water Processor Test, A Novel Technology for Exploration Wastewater Remediation

Biologically-based water recovery systems are a regenerative, low energy alternative to physiochemical processes to reclaim water from wastewater. This paper summarizes the results of the Alternative Water Processor (AWP) test conducted over one year. The AWP recovered 90% of water from four crewmembers using (4) membrane aerated bioreactors (MABRs) to remove carbon and nitrogen from an exploration mission wastewater, including urine, hygiene, laundry and humidity condensate. Downstream, a coupled forward and reverse osmosis system removed large organics and inorganic salts from the biological system effluent. The system exceeded the overall objectives of the test by recovering 90% of the influent wastewater processed and a 29% reduction of consumables from the current state of the art water recovery system on the International Space Station (ISS). However the biological system fell short of its test goals, failing to remove 75% and 90% of the influent ammonium and organic carbon, respectively. Despite not meeting its test goals, the BWP demonstrated the feasibility of an attached-growth biological system for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification, an innovative, volume and consumable-saving design that doesn't require toxic pretreatment. This paper will explain the reasons for this and will discuss steps to optimize each subsystem to increase effluent quality from the MABRs and the FOST to advance the system.

Leticia Vega↗
DOE OSTI2023

Viability of Reclaiming Municipal Wastewater for Potential Microalgae-Based Biofuel Production in the U.S.

Reclaimed municipal wastewater is a crucial component in biofuel production, especially in regions experiencing increasing freshwater scarcity. However, accurately estimating the potential for fuel production is challenging because of the uneven distribution of biofuel feedstock regions and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This study assesses the viability of using reclaimed municipal water for algal biomass production in pond systems co-located with WWTPs under scenarios driven by biomass production and based on water transport logistics. We performed state- and county-level analysis of reclaimed water resources throughout the United States based on WWTP facility data. We overlaid these data onto estimated algae facility sites and examined the temporal resource availability to address seasonal variations in cultivation demand. Our findings reveal that 2694 billion liters per year of reclaimed water could potentially be used to produce 42.2 million metric tons (ash-free dry weight) of algal biomass, equivalent to 29.2 billion liters of renewable diesel equivalent (RDe). The use of reclaimed water would double current national water reuse and expand such reuse significantly in 455 counties across the United States. However, when we limit the construction of algae facilities to counties that can fully meet their water demand in order to minimize water transport burdens, the available supply decreases by 80%, to 512 billion liters, resulting in annual production of 12.2 billion liters of RDe, which still doubles current biodiesel production. Our analysis highlights the degree to which the location and flow of WWTPs and water transport affect the deployment of algae biofuel facilities and tradeoffs. These findings underscore the importance of improving the current WWTP infrastructure for reclaimed water reuse, especially in southern states.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS1979

Preprototype vapor compression distillation subsystem

A three-person capacity preprototype vapor compression distillation subsystem for recovering potable water from wastewater aboard spacecraft was designed, assembled, and tested. The major components of the subsystem are: (1) a distillation unit which includes a compressor, centrifuge, central shaft, and outer shell; (2) a purge pump; (3) a liquids pump; (4) a post-treat cartridge; (5) a recycle/filter tank; (6) an evaporator high liquid level sensor; and (7) the product water conductivity monitor. A computer based control monitor instrumentation carries out operating mode change sequences, monitors and displays subsystem parameters, maintains intramode controls, and stores and displays fault detection information. The mechanical hardware occupies 0.467 m3, requires 171 W of electrical power, and has a dry weight of 143 kg. The subsystem recovers potable water at a rate of 1.59 kg/hr, which is equivalent to a duty cycle of approximately 30% for a crew of three. The product water has no foul taste or odor. Continued development of the subsystem is recommended for reclaiming water for human consumption as well as for flash evaporator heat rejection, urinal flushing, washing, and other on-board water requirements.

Ellis, G. S.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Development of water quality standards criteria

Qualitative and semiquantitative analyses were made of volatile organic compounds in water supplies collected at various stages of processing in the space station prototype vacuum compression distillation unit to evaluate the process and the product water. Additional evaluation was made of specific ingredients required to adequately enhance the taste of the reclaimed water. A concept for the in-flight addition of these ingredients was developed. Revisions to previously recommended potable water criteria and specifications are included.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2016

Advanced Technologies to Improve Closure of Life Support Systems

As NASA looks beyond the International Space Station toward long-duration, deep space missions away from Earth, the current practice of supplying consumables and spares will not be practical nor affordable. New approaches are sought for life support and habitation systems that will reduce dependency on Earth and increase mission sustainability. To reduce launch mass, further closure of Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) beyond the current capability of the ISS will be required. Areas of particular interest include achieving higher degrees of recycling within Atmosphere Revitalization, Water Recovery and Waste Management Systems. NASA is currently investigating advanced carbon dioxide reduction processes that surpass the level of oxygen recovery available from the Sabatier Carbon Dioxide Reduction Assembly (CRA) on the ISS. Candidate technologies will potentially improve the recovery of oxygen from about 50% (for the CRA) to as much as 100% for technologies who's end product is solid carbon. Improving the efficiency of water recycling and recovery can be achieved by the addition of advanced technologies to recover water from brines and solid wastes. Bioregenerative technologies may be utilized for water reclaimation and also for the production of food. Use of higher plants will simultaneously benefit atmosphere revitalization and water recovery through photosynthesis and transpiration. The level at which bioregenerative technologies are utilized will depend on their comparative requirements for spacecraft resources including mass, power, volume, heat rejection, crew time and reliability. Planetary protection requirements will need to be considered for missions to other solar system bodies.

Barta, Daniel J.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Water system virus detection

A monitoring system developed to test the capability of a water recovery system to reject the passage of viruses into the recovered water is described. A nonpathogenic marker virus, bacteriophage F2, is fed into the process stream before the recovery unit and the reclaimed water is assayed for its presence. Detection of the marker virus consists of two major components, concentration and isolation of the marker virus, and detection of the marker virus. The concentration system involves adsorption of virus to cellulose acetate filters in the presence of trivalent cations and low pH with subsequent desorption of the virus using volumes of high pH buffer. The detection of the virus is performed by a passive immune agglutination test utilizing specially prepared polystyrene particles. An engineering preliminary design was performed as a parallel effort to the laboratory development of the marker virus test system. Engineering schematics and drawings of a fully functional laboratory prototype capable of zero-G operation are presented. The instrument consists of reagent pump/metering system, reagent storage containers, a filter concentrator, an incubation/detector system, and an electronic readout and control system.

Fraser, A. S.↗
NASA NTRS2024

Graphene-Based Filtration Media for Spacecraft Potable Water Systems: An Early Investigation

Graphene-based materials have allowed fundamental advances in fields such as energy storage, electronics development, material science, optics, medicine, and water processing due to its unique two-dimensional structure, mechanical robustness, large surface, and high conductivity. However, little to no effort has been devoted to exploiting and studying these materials to develop new water technologies suited for spacecraft applications. One such application is the potential use of graphene-based materials as filtration media for reclaimed water. Therefore, studying the adsorptive performance of these new materials becomes crucial in identifying the opportunity to replace/upgrade State-of-the-Art filtration media currently used in space vehicles with water-recovery capability; especially if consumable requirements can be lessened as a result of extended filtration capacity. This early life-support-systems investigation pioneers in graphene-research by testing a number of graphene-based materials in comparative adsorption and antimicrobial experiments where contaminant removal efficiency, maximum adsorption capacity, and log reduction are probed. This preliminary investigation informs on the practicability of using graphene-based materials as filtration media and provides a discussion on the scaling-up and optimization of this prospective filtration technology for spacecraft potable water systems.

graphene↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Graphene-Based Filtration Media for Spacecraft Potable Water Systems: An Early Investigation

Graphene-based materials have allowed fundamental advances in fields such as energy storage, electronics development, material science, optics, medicine, and water processing due to its unique two-dimensional structure, mechanical robustness, large surface, and high conductivity. However, little to no effort has been devoted to exploiting and studying these materials to develop new water technologies suited for spacecraft applications. One such application is the potential use of graphene-based materials as filtration media for reclaimed water. Therefore, studying the adsorptive performance of these new materials becomes crucial in identifying the opportunity to replace/upgrade State-of-the-Art filtration media currently used in space vehicles with water-recovery capability; especially if consumable requirements can be lessened as a result of extended filtration capacity. This early life-support-systems investigation pioneers in graphene-research by testing a number of graphene-based materials in comparative adsorption and antimicrobial experiments where contaminant removal efficiency, maximum adsorption capacity, and log reduction are probed. This preliminary investigation informs on the practicability of using graphene-based materials as filtration media and provides a discussion on the scaling-up and optimization of this prospective filtration technology for spacecraft potable water systems.

graphene↗
NASA NTRS2024

Graphene-Based Filtration Media for Spacecraft Potable Water Systems: An Early Investigation

Graphene-based materials have allowed fundamental advances in fields such as energy storage, electronics development, material science, optics, medicine, and water processing due to their unique two-dimensional structure, mechanical robustness, large surface, and high conductivity. However, little to no effort has been devoted to exploiting and studying these materials to develop new water technologies suited for spacecraft applications. One such application is the potential use of graphene-based materials as filtration media for reclaimed water. Therefore, studying the adsorptive performance of these new materials becomes crucial in identifying the opportunity to replace/upgrade state-of-the-art filtration media currently used in space vehicles with water recovery capability; especially if consumable requirements can be lessened as a result of extended filtration capacity. This early Life-Support-Systems investigation pioneers in graphene research by testing a number of graphene-based materials in comparative adsorption and antimicrobial experiments where contaminant removal efficiency, maximum adsorption capacity, and bacterial reduction are probed. This preliminary investigation informs on the practicality of using graphene-based materials as filtration media and provides a discussion on the scaling-up and optimization of this prospective filtration technology for spacecraft potable water systems.

graphene↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Graphene-Based Filtration Media for Spacecraft Potable Water Systems: An Early Investigation

Graphene-based materials have allowed fundamental advances in fields such as energy storage, electronics development, material science, optics, medicine, and water processing due to their unique two-dimensional structure, mechanical robustness, large surface, and high conductivity. However, little to no effort has been devoted to exploiting and studying these materials to develop new water technologies suited for spacecraft applications. One such application is the potential use of graphene-based materials as filtration media for reclaimed water. Therefore, studying the adsorptive performance of these new materials becomes crucial in identifying the opportunity to replace/upgrade state-of-the-art filtration media currently used in space vehicles with water recovery capability; especially if consumable requirements can be lessened as a result of extended filtration capacity. This early Life-Support-Systems investigation pioneers in graphene research by testing a number of graphene-based materials in comparative adsorption and antimicrobial experiments where contaminant removal efficiency, maximum adsorption capacity, and bacterial reduction are probed. This preliminary investigation informs on the practicality of using graphene-based materials as filtration media and provides a discussion on the scaling-up and optimization of this prospective filtration technology for spacecraft potable water systems.

graphene↗
NASA NTRS1987

Performance evaluation of SPE electrolyzer for Space Station life support

An static water-vapor feed electrolyzer has been developed as a candidate for Space Station life-support oxygen generation. The five-cell electrolysis module has eliminated the need for phase separation devices, pumps, and deionizers by transporting only water vapor to the solid polymer electrolyte cells. The introduction of an innovative electrochemical hydrogen pump allows the use of low-pressure reclaimed water to generate gas pressures of up to 230 psia. The electrolyzer has been tested in a computer-controlled test stand featuring continuous, cyclic, and standby operation (including automatic shutdown with fault detection).

Erickson, A. C.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Development of a preliminary design of a method to measure the effectiveness of virus exclusion during water process reclamation at zero-G

Organon Diagnostics has developed, under NASA sponsorship, a monitoring system to test the capability of a water recovery system to reject the passage of viruses into the recovered water. In this system, a non-pathogenic marker virus, bacteriophage F2, is fed into the process stream before the recovery unit and the reclaimed water is assayed for its presence. An engineering preliminary design has been performed as a parallel effort to the laboratory development of the marker virus test system. Engineering schematics and drawings present a preliminary instrument design of a fully functional laboratory prototype capable of zero-G operation.

Fraser, A. S.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Chemical Characterization and Identification of Organosilicon Contaminants in ISS Potable Water

2015 marked the 15th anniversary of continuous human presence on board the International Space Station. During the past year crew members from Expeditions 42-46, including two participating in a one-year mission, continued to rely on reclaimed water as their primary source of potable water. This paper presents and discusses results from chemical analyses performed on ISS water samples returned in 2015. Since the U.S. water processor assembly (WPA) became operational in 2008, there have been 5 instances of organic contaminants breaking through the treatment process. On each occasion, the breakthrough was signaled by an increase in the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration in the product water measured by the onboard TOC analyzer (TOCA). Although the most recent TOC rise in 2015 was not unexpected, it was the first time where dimethylsilanediol (DMSD) was not the primary compound responsible for the increase. Results from ground analysis of a product water sample collected in June of 2015 and returned on Soyuz 41 showed that DMSD only accounted for 10% of the measured TOC. After considerable laboratory investigation, the compound responsible for the majority of the TOC was identified as monomethysilanetriol (MMST). MMST is a low-toxicity compound that is structurally similar to DMSD.

Straub, John E., II↗
NASA NTRS2013

Characterization of Heat Melt Compactor (HMC) Product Water

The Heat Melt Compactor (HMC) is designed to sterilize and process wastes produced during space missions. Benefits of the HMC include reduction of biohazards to the crew, reduction in volume of wastes that would otherwise require storage, production of radiation shielding tiles, and recovery of water and other resources. Water reuse is critical onboard spacecrafts; it reduces the need for resupply missions and saves valuable storage space. The main sources of water in HMC batches are food, beverages, shampoo, disinfecting wipes, toothpaste, and diapers. Water reclaimed by the HMC was analyzed for concentrations of Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-­‐, NO2-­‐, Br-­‐, NO3-­‐, PO43-­‐, SO42-­‐, total organic carbon (TOC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), % total solids, and pH. The data are discussed in relation to the current water input characteristics established for the International Space Station Water Processor Assembly system. Batches with higher than average amounts of food produced HMC product water with higher sulfate content, and batches with higher proportions of disinfectant wipes and food yielded HMC product water with higher ammonium concentration. We also compared theoretical chemical composition of HMC product water based on food labels and literature values to experimental results.

Heat Melt Compactor↗
NASA NTRS1995

PCR Based Microbial Monitor for Analysis of Recycled Water Aboard the ISSA: Issues and Prospects

The monitoring of spacecraft life support systems for the presence of health threatening microorganisms is paramount for crew well being and successful completion of missions. Development of technology to monitor spacecraft recycled water based on detection and identification of the genetic material of contaminating microorganisms and viruses would be a substantial improvement over current NASA plans to monitor recycled water samples that call for the use of conventional microbiology techniques which are slow, insensitive, and labor intensive. The union of the molecular biology techniques of DNA probe hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) offers a powerful method for the detection, identification, and quantification of microorganisms and viruses. This technology is theoretically capable of assaying samples in as little as two hours with specificity and sensitivity unmatched by any other method. A major advance in probe-hybridization/PCR has come about in a technology called TaqMan(TM), which was invented by Perkin Elmer. Instrumentation using TaqMan concepts is evolving towards devices that could meet NASA's needs of size, low power use, and simplicity of operation. The chemistry and molecular biology needed to utilize these probe-hybridization/PCR instruments must evolve in parallel with the hardware. The following issues of chemistry and biology must be addressed in developing a monitor: Early in the development of a PCR-based microbial monitor it will be necessary to decide how many and which organisms does the system need the capacity to detect. We propose a set of 17 different tests that would detect groups of bacteria and fungus, as well as specific eukaryotic parasites and viruses; In order to use the great sensitivity of PCR it will be necessary to concentrate water samples using filtration. If a lower limit of detection of 1 microorganism per 100 ml is required then the microbes in a 100 ml sample must be concentrated into a volume that can be added to a PCR assay; There are not likely to be contaminants in ISSA recycled water that would inhibit PCR resulting in false-negative results; The TaqMan PCR product detection system is the most promising method for developing a rapid, highly automated gene-based microbial monitoring system. The method is inherently quantitative. NASA and other government agencies have invested in other technologies that, although potentially could lead to revolutionary advances, are not likely to mature in the next 5 years into working systems; PCR-based methods cannot distinguish between DNA or RNA of a viable microorganism and that of a non-viable organism. This may or may not be an important issue with reclaimed water on the ISSA. The recycling system probably damages the capacity of the genetic material of any bacteria or viruses killed during processing to serve as a template in a PCR desinged to amplify a large segment of DNA (less than 650 base pairs). If necessary, vital dye staining could be used in addition to PCR, to enumerate the viable cells in a water sample; The quality control methods have been developed to insure that PCR's are working properly, and that reactions are not contaminated with PCR carryover products which could lead to the generation of false-positive results; and The sequences of the small rRNA subunit gene for a large number of microorganisms are known, and they consititue the best database for rational development of the oligonucleotide reagents that give PCR its great specificity. From those gene sequences, sets of oligonucleotide primers for PCR and Taqman detection that could be used in a NASA microbial monitor were constructed using computer based methods. In addition to space utilization, a microbial monitior will have tremendous terrestrial applications. Analysis of patient samples for microbial pathogens, testing industrial effluent for biofouling bacteria, and detection biological warfare agents on the battlefield are but a few of the diverse potential uses for this technology. Once fully developed, gene-based microbial monitors will become the fundamental tool in every lab that tests for microbial contaminants, and serve as a powerful weapon in mankind's war with the germ world.

Cassell, Gail H.↗