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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 NTRS2019

Water-Saving Agriculture Can Deliver Deep Water Cuts for China

China is working hard to reconcile growing demands for freshwater with already oversubscribed renewable water resources. However, the knowledge essential for setting and achieving the intended water consumption cuts remains limited. Here we show that on-farm water management interventions such as improved irrigation and soil management practices for maize cultivation can lead to substantial water consumption reductions, by a simulated total of 28-46% (7-14 billion m3/year) nationally, with or without the impacts of climate change. The water consumption cut is equivalent to 16-31% of the ultimate capacity of the South-North Water Transfer Project. Much of the reduction is achievable at the populous and water-stressed North China Plain and Northeast China. Meanwhile, the interventions can increase maize production by an estimated 7-15%, meeting 22-28% of demand increase projected for 2050. The water management and food production improvements obtained are crucial for achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to water, land, and food in China and far beyond.

Guorui Huang↗
NASA NTRS1991

Portable Water-Saving Shower For Emergencies

Stowable compact unit sprays from many directions. Proposed portable emergency fogging shower rinses harmful chemicals from person. Includes double-walled transparent, approximately cylindrical curtain containing sets of interior nozzles on regularly spaced loops. Sealed at top and bottom. Victim of contamination enters through longitudinal zippered opening. Pressurized mixture of air and water flows through selected nozzles, creating foglike spray scrubbing contaminants from skin and clothing. Intended for use on Space Station, also used in laboratories and factories on Earth, or for routine shower bathing in areas with limited water supplies.

Grenier, Francis E.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Amine Swingbed Payload Testing on ISS

One of NASA/Johnson Space Center's test articles of the amine-based carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor sorbent system known as the CO2 And Moisture Removal Amine Swing-bed, or CAMRAS, was incorporated into a payload on the International Space Station (ISS). The intent of the payload is to demonstrate the spacecraft-environment viability of the core atmosphere revitalization technology baselined for the new Orion vehicle. In addition to the air blower, vacuum connection, and controls needed to run the CAMRAS itself, the payload incorporates a suite of sensors for scientific data gathering, a water save function, and an air save function. The water save function minimizes the atmospheric water vapor reaching the CAMRAS unit, thereby reducing ISS water losses that are otherwise acceptable, and even desirable, in the Orion environment. The air save function captures about half of the ullage air that would normally be vented overboard every time the cabin air-adsorbing and space vacuum-desorbing CAMRAS beds swap functions. The JSC team conducted 1000 hours of on-orbit Amine Swingbed Payload testing in 2013. This paper presents the basics of the payload's design and history, as well as a summary of the test results, including comparisons with prelaunch testing.

Button, Amy↗
NASA NTRS2014

Amine Swingbed Payload Testing on ISS

One of NASA Johnson Space Center's test articles of the amine-based carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor sorbent system known as the CO2 And Moisture Removal Amine Swing-bed, or CAMRAS, was incorporated into a payload on the International Space Station (ISS). The intent of the payload is to demonstrate the spacecraft-environment viability of the core atmosphere revitalization technology baselined for the new Orion vehicle. In addition to the air blower, vacuum connection, and controls needed to run the CAMRAS, the payload incorporates a suite of sensors for scientific data gathering, a water save function, and an air save function. The water save function minimizes the atmospheric water vapor reaching the CAMRAS unit, thereby reducing ISS water losses that are otherwise acceptable, and even desirable, in the Orion environment. The air save function captures about half of the ullage air that would normally be vented overboard every time the cabin air-adsorbing and space vacuum-desorbing CAMRAS beds swap functions. The JSC team conducted 1000 hours of on-orbit Amine Swingbed Payload testing in 2013 and early 2014. This paper presents the basics of the payload's design and history, as well as a summary of the test results, including comparisons with prelaunch testing.

Button, Amy B.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Financial feasibility of water conservation in agriculture

Global water use for food production needs to be reduced to remain within planetary boundaries, yet the financial feasibility of crucial measures to reduce water use is poorly quantified. Here, we introduce a novel method to compare the costs of water conservation measures with the added value that reallocation of water savings might generate if used for expansion of irrigation. Based on detailed water accounting through the use of a high-resolution hydrology-crop model, we modify the traditional cost curve approach with an improved estimation of demand, increasing marginal cost per water conservation measure combination and add a correction to control for impacts on downstream water availability. We apply the method to three major river basins in the Indo-Gangetic plain (Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra), a major global food producing region but increasingly water stressed. Our analysis shows that at basin level only about 10% (Brahmaputra) to just over 20% (Indus and Ganges) of potential water savings would be realised; the equilibrium price for water is too low to make the majority of water conservation measures cost effective. The associated expansion of irrigated area is moderate, about 7% in the Indus basin, 5% in the Ganges and negligible in the Brahmaputra, but farmers' gross profit increases more substantially, by 11%. Increasing the volumetric cost of irrigation water influences supply and demand in a similar way and has little influence on water reallocation. Controlling for the impact on return flows is important and more than halves the amount of water available for reallocation.

Geography / Land Utilization↗
NASA NTRS2014

Simulation Helps Improve Atmosphere Revitalization Systems for Manned Spacecraft

Life support systems for manned spacecraft must provide breathable air and drinkable water for the astronauts. Through the Atmosphere Revitalization Recovery and Environmental Monitoring (ARREM) project, engineers at NASA are developing atmosphere control devices for the safety of the onboard crew. The atmosphere in a manned spacecraft needs to be regularly revitalized in order to ensure the safety of the astronauts and the success of the space mission. For missions lasting a few months, this means air is continuously dehumidified, water collected for re-use, and carbon dioxide (CO2) ejected. One component of the onboard atmosphere control system is a water-saving device that Jim Knox, aerospace engineer at NASA, is optimizing through the Atmosphere Revitalization Recovery and Environmental Monitoring (ARREM) project. He is leading a team at the Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, Alabama) that is aiming to make the assembly more cost-effective and efficient by reducing its power usage and maximizing the water saved; their goal is to save 80-90% of the water in the air. They hope to offer flight system developers at NASA an integrated approach to atmosphere revitalization and water collection that will ultimately increase the time and distance space missions can travel.

Knox, James C.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Observed Changes in Hydroclimate Attributed to Human Forcing

Observational and modeling studies indicate significant changes in the global hydroclimate in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries due to anthropogenic climate change. In this review, we analyze the recent literature on the observed changes in hydroclimate attributable to anthropogenic forcing, the physical and biological mechanisms underlying those changes, and the advantages and limitations of current detection and attribution methods. Changes in the magnitude and spatial patterns of precipitation minus evaporation ( P–E ) are consistent with increased water vapor content driven by higher temperatures. While thermodynamics explains most of the observed changes, the contribution of dynamics is not yet well constrained, especially at regional and local scales, due to limitations in observations and climate models. Anthropogenic climate change has also increased the severity and likelihood of contemporaneous droughts in southwestern North America, southwestern South America, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean. An increased frequency of extreme precipitation events and shifts in phenology has also been attributed to anthropogenic climate change. While considerable uncertainties persist on the role of plant physiology in modulating hydroclimate and vice versa, emerging evidence indicates that increased canopy water demand and longer growing seasons negate the water-saving effects from increased water-use efficiency.

Drought↗
NASA NTRS1992

Technology for Water Treatment

There are approximately 500,000 water cooling towers in the United States, all of which must be kept clear of "scale" and corrosion and free of pollutants and bacteria. Electron Pure, Ltd. manufactures a hydro cooling tower conditioner as well as an automatic pool sanitizer. The pool sanitizer consists of two copper/silver electrodes placed in a chamber mounted in the pool's recirculation system. The tower conditioner combines the ionization system with a water conditioner, pump, centrifugal solids separator and timer. The system saves water, eliminates algae and operates maintenance and chemical free. The company has over 100 distributors in the U.S. as well as others in 20 foreign countries. The buildup of scale and corrosion is the most costly maintenance problem in cooling tower operation. Jet Propulsion Laboratory successfully developed a non-chemical system that not only curbed scale and corrosion, but also offered advantages in water conservation, cost savings and the elimination of toxic chemical discharge. In the system, ozone is produced by an on-site generator and introduced to the cooling tower water. Organic impurities are oxidized, and the dissolved ozone removes bacteria and scale. National Water Management, a NASA licensee, has installed its ozone advantage systems at some 200 cooling towers. Customers have saved money and eliminated chemical storage and discharge.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2024

Discounting Water for Optimal Carbon Gain as a Basis of Stomatal Closure

The exchange of carbon dioxide and water vapor between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere is regulated by stomata (small pores in the leaves of plants). Unsurprisingly, environmental factors controlling the opening and closure of stomata has been sought as early as 1800. One approach, popularized in the early 1970s, is a stomatal optimization framework. This framework is based on the hypothesis that plants optimize carbon gain subject to water loss or water availability constraints. This constraint optimization problem was solved in various forms assuming instantaneous adjustments of stomatal aperture to maximize a reward function with no future foresight or legacy effects. Holtzman et al. (2024, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023av001113) offers a novel approach that can diagnose the effective timescale over which the reward function maximization must be time-integrated. The developed method thus optimizes an integrated carbon gain function but adjusted by a discount factor subject to water availability in the root zone. The discount factor considers how the plant values carbon gain to save water and its timescale can be inferred from observations because the model is analytically tractable. The results suggest that the most important climate factor that determines this discount timescale is multi-annual mean of the longest dry period during the growing season. The findings highlight how local climate traits influence the spatial variation in ecosystem-level water use strategies. This sets the stage for expanding such a framework to cases where multiple constraints act in concert while operating at distinct time scales.

stomata↗
NASA NTRS2020

Agriculture's Historic Twin-Challenge Toward Sustainable Water Use and Food Supply for All

A sustainable and just future, envisioned by the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, puts agricultural systems under a heavy strain. The century-old quandary to provide ever-growing human populations with sufficient food takes on a new dimension with the recognition of environmental limits for agricultural resource use. To highlight challenges and opportunities toward sustainable food security in the twenty first century, this perspective paper provides a historical account of the escalating pressures on agriculture and freshwater resources alike, supported by new quantitative estimates of the ascent of excessive human water use. As the transformation of global farming into sustainable forms is unattainable without a revolution in agricultural water use, water saving and food production potentials are put into perspective with targets outlined by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The literature body and here-confirmed global estimates of untapped opportunities in farm water management indicate that these measures could sustainably intensify today's farming systems at scale. While rigorous implementation of sustainable water withdrawals (SDG 6.4) might impinge upon 5% of global food production, scaling-up water interventions in rainfed and irrigated systems could over-compensate such losses and further increase global production by 30% compared to the current situation (SDG 2.3). Without relying on future technological fixes, traditional on-farm water and soil management provides key strategies associated with important synergies that needs better integration into agro-ecological landscape approaches. Integrated strategies for sustainable intensification of agriculture within planetary boundaries are a potential way to attain several SDGs, but they are not yet receiving attention from high-level development policies.

sustainable development goals↗
NASA NTRS1979

Cooling tower water conditioning study

Successful elimination of cooling tower treatment chemicals was demonstrated. Three towers functioned for long periods of time with ozone as the only treatment for the water. The water in the systems was reused as much as 30 times (cycles of concentration) without deleterious effects to the heat exchangers. Actual system blow-down was eliminated and the only makeup water added was that required to replace the evaporation and mist entrainment losses. Minimum water savings alone are approximately 75.1 1/kg/year. Cost estimates indicate that a savings of 55 percent was obtained on the systems using ozone. A major problem experienced in the use of ozone for cooling tower applications was the difficulty of accurate concentration measurements. The ability to control the operational characteristics relies on easily and accurately determined concentration levels. Present methods of detection are subject to inaccuracies because of interfering materials and the rapid destruction of the ozone.

Humphrey, M. F.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Shortwave Radiation

Accurate shortwave radiation data is critical to evapotranspiration (ET) models used for developing irrigation schedules to optimize crop production while saving water, minimizing fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide applications, reducing soil erosion, and protecting surface and ground water quality. Low cost silicon cell pyranometers have proven to be sufficiently accurate and robust for widespread use in agricultural applications under unobstructed daylight conditions. More expensive thermopile pyranometers are required for use as calibration standards and measurements under light with unique spectral properties (electric lights, under vegetation, in greenhouses and growth chambers). Routine cleaning, leveling, and annual calibration checks will help to ensure the integrity of long-term data.

Klassen, Steve↗
NASA NTRS2011

Performance Evaluation of Engineered Structured Sorbents for Atmosphere Revitalization Systems On Board Crewed Space Vehicles and Habitats

Engineered structured (ES) sorbents are being developed to meet the technical challenges of future crewed space exploration missions. ES sorbents offer the inherent performance and safety attributes of zeolite and other physical adsorbents but with greater structural integrity and process control to improve durability and efficiency over packed beds. ES sorbent techniques that are explored include thermally linked and pressure-swing adsorption beds for water-save dehumidification and sorbent-coated metal meshes for residual drying, trace contaminant control, and carbon dioxide control. Results from sub-scale performance evaluations of a thermally linked pressure-swing adsorbent bed and an integrated sub-scale ES sorbent system are discussed.

Howard, David F.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Amine Swingbed Payload Technology Demonstration

The Amine Swingbed Payload is a technology demonstration of an amine-based carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O) removal system in the U.S. Lab onboard the International Space Station (ISS). The technology utilizes the Carbon dioxide And Moisture Removal Amine Swingbed, or CAMRAS, which is the baseline technology for controlling CO2 and water vapor in the habitable spacecraft for Orion's Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). For testing on the ISS, the payload also employs water-saving and air-saving subsystems to reduce resources normally vented to space vacuum. This presentation will describe the physical design of the payload, the operation and performance results of the payload during its on-orbit tests between May 2013 and February 2014, and future plans for the payload. Troubleshooting efforts and the resolution of specific anomalies encountered during the initial operation of the payload are also discussed.

Sweterlitsch, Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS2014

Space Evaporator Absorber Radiator (SEAR) for Thermal Storage on Manned Spacecraft

Future manned exploration spacecraft will need to operate in challenging thermal environments. State-of the- art technology for active thermal control relies on sublimating water ice and venting the vapor overboard in very hot environments. This approach can lead to large loss of water and a significant mass penalty for the spacecraft. This paper describes an innovative thermal control system that uses a Space Evaporator Absorber Radiator (SEAR) to control spacecraft temperatures in highly variable environments without venting water. SEAR uses heat pumping and energy storage by LiCl/water absorption to enable effective cooling during hot periods and regeneration during cool periods. The LiCl absorber technology has the potential to absorb over 800 kJ per kg of system mass, compared to phase change heat sink systems that typically achieve approx. 50 kJ/kg. The optimal system is based on a trade-off between the mass of water saved and extra power needed to regenerate the LiCl absorber. This paper describes analysis models and the predicted performance and optimize the size of the SEAR system, estimated size and mass of key components, and power requirements for regeneration. We also present a concept design for an ISS test package to demonstrate operation of a subscale system in zero gravity.

Izenson, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Clothes Cleaning Research for Space Exploration

As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars, there is an increased need to find effective and sustainable laundry solutions that are compatible with space travel and reduce the need for clothing resupply. Research and development to overcome resource constraints in space can lead to new products and practices on Earth. This paper describes a collaboration between NASA and Procter & Gamble (P&G) to advance their individual goals as well as provide additional benefits to humanity through more sustainable use of resources. In particular, the two organizations have been working together since August 2020 to advance state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly laundry solutions. Both traditional and novel approaches are being considered and held up against strict resource constraints that may exist in space missions or on Earth in the future. The results of this work are expected to contribute to NASA’s strategic goal of extending human presence deeper into space and to the Moon for sustainable long-term exploration and utilization. Likewise, the collaboration will advance one of P&G’s 2030 corporate sustainability goals by promoting water savings among its 5 billion consumers.

laundry↗
NASA NTRS1986

Air Evaporation closed cycle water recovery technology - Advanced energy saving designs

The Air Evaporation water recovery system is a visible candidate for Space Station application. A four-man Air Evaporation open cycle system has been successfully demonstrated for waste water recovery in manned chamber tests. The design improvements described in this paper greatly enhance the system operation and energy efficiency of the air evaporation process. A state-of-the-art wick feed design which results in reduced logistics requirements is presented. In addition, several design concepts that incorporate regenerative features to minimize the energy input to the system are discussed. These include a recuperative heat exchanger, a heat pump for energy transfer to the air heater, and solar collectors for evaporative heat. The addition of the energy recovery devices will result in an energy reduction of more than 80 percent over the systems used in earlier manned chamber tests.

Morasko, Gwyndolyn↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Can water mined on the moon save cost for life support?

The water needed for space life support has been so far provided by direct supply from Earth on most missions or by recycling on the International Space Station (ISS). With the recent reduction in launch cost, Earth resupply has become more attractive than recycling for lunar missions with smaller crews and briefer missions requiring less than 1,000 crew days. The third alternative supply method would use water mined from the lunar regolith. Continuing lunar research suggests that the moon may have more water, more widely distributed than previously expected. The cost of water mined on the moon will depend on its form and concentration, the machinery and operations required, and the overall demand for water. The use of oxygen and hydrogen for propulsion may greatly exceed the need for crew life support. The conditions under which water mined on the moon would be less expensive that water provided by resupply or recycling are described.

Harry W Jones↗