Development Status of the International Space Station Urine Processor Assembly

Holder, Donald W.; Hutchens, Cindy F.

doi:10.4271/2003-01-2690

Cited by 19 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The PN/A-MABR reactor could also be implemented in regenerative biological life support systems for long-duration human spaceflights where it can produce water and N 2 from urine. State-of-the-art urine treatment in space now consists of chemical stabilization with CrO 3 , which is one of the most toxic substances present at the international space station, followed by vacuum compression distillation (VCD) (Holder and Hutchens, 2003). The VCD has a nominal distillation efficiency of 85%, which is less than the 98% water recovery which NASA deemed necessary for long-term human space flight (Hurlbert et al, 2012).…”

Section: Implementation Perspective and Effluent Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource-efficient nitrogen removal from source separated urine with partial nitritation/anammox in a membrane aerated biofilm reactor

Timmer,

De Paepe,

Van Winckel

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Source separation and decentralized urine treatment can cut costs in centralized wastewater treatment by diverting 80% of the nitrogen load in sewage. One promising approach for nitrogen removal in this context is partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A), reducing the aeration demand by 67% and organics dosage by 100% compared to nitrification/denitrification. Whilst previous studies with suspended biomass have encountered stability issues during PN/A treatment of urine, a PN/A biofilm was hypothesized to be more resilient. Its use for urine treatment was pioneered here for maximum rates and efficiencies in the energy efficient membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR). Nitrogen removal rates of 1.0 g N L-1d-1and removal efficiencies of 80-95% were achieved during a 335-day stable operation at 28°C on stabilized (pH>11), diluted urine (10%). A balance between N2and NO3-formation was observed whilst optimizing the supply of O2and was rate limiting for the conversion towards N2. Short-term operation on less- and undiluted urine yielded N removal rates of 0.6-0.8 g N L-1d-1and removal efficiencies of 93% on 66% urine and 85% on undiluted urine. Metataxonomic analysis and fluorescencein-situhybridization confirmed the presence of biofilms consisting of nitrifiers (Nitrosomonas, Nitrospira) at the membrane side and anammox bacteria (“CandidatusBrocadia”) at the anoxic bulk side. The findings suggest that a biofilm approach to PN/A treatment of urine overcomes stability issues, and a PN/A-MABR has significant potential for resource efficient decentralized treatment. In human long-duration deep-space missions, this gravity-independent technology could produce N2to compensate artificial atmosphere losses whilst facilitating water recovery from urine.[GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT, COLOR]

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Section: Implementation Perspective and Effluent Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource-efficient nitrogen removal from source separated urine with partial nitritation/anammox in a membrane aerated biofilm reactor

Timmer,

De Paepe,

Van Winckel

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Water is recovered from the pretreated urine by the Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD) subsystem within the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). 10 The UPA was designed to recover 85% of the water content from the pretreated urine. However, recovery has dropped due to membrane durability and fouling issues.…”

Section: A Background To Water Recovery On Issmentioning

confidence: 99%

Next Generation Water Recovery for a Sustainable Closed Loop Living

et al. 2021

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In order to facilitate extended human space travel, solutions and innovations are required to enable habitation in microgravity spacecraft habitats such as International space station (ISS), with limited supply availability. At present, the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) within the ISS recovers and recycles 90% of the water from human waste. However, their efficiency decreases during their lifetime owing to unmanageable process contaminants, requiring ground support to supply complex hazardous chemicals to treat these system components such that they maintain their targeted performance[i] ,[ii],[iii]. As human missions travel further into the solar system, the availability of ground support will be diminished. Therefore, next-generation systems to recycle water are required to reduce waste and improve system efficiency. Within this context, Faraday Technology Inc. and the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) are developing a bio-electrochemical waste water treatment system. Within this system, a bioreactor will convert urea from the waste water to ammonia by hydrolysis:NH2(CO)NH2 + H2O → 2NH3 + CO2 (1)Next the effluent of the bioreactor will flow through the ammonia oxidation reactor:2NH3 → N2 + 3H2 (2)Thus, generating urea free waste water effluent for further filtration and enhancement. The developed technology has the potential to be compatible with existing ECLSS systems and be an integral part of the closed loop living systems required for long term life support on NASA’s manned space missions.Ongoing activity between Faraday Technology and UPR has demonstrated an 85% conversion of urea to ammonia in a bioreactor and a near complete conversion of ammonia in an electrochemical reactor in a laboratory set-up utilizing a synthetic urine electrolyte[iv] ,[v]. Based on the studies, Faraday has designed and built an alpha scale reactor to process 6 L volume of urine per day as per NASA specifications. The next step in reactor demonstration activities is to understand the effects of zero-gravity on the ammonia reactor. The electrochemical reactor and components are assembled in an electrochemical microgravity laboratory setup (Figure 1). Optimized conditions from ground-based performance data will be implemented during the zero-gravity flight test to evaluate the feasibility of ammonia oxidation in zero-gravity environment. The flight test is scheduled for May 2021.In this talk we will be discussing the ongoing developments at Faraday, where we have (1) leveraged existing knowledge to design and test the bio-electrochemical reactor under zero gravity conditions; (2) evaluated electrocatalyst for ammonia oxidation reactor; (3) optimized the electrocatalytic efficiency and waste water treatment rate with urine simulants; (4) designed and built a demonstration-scale bio-electrochemical reactor unit capable of meeting NASA required specifications; and (5) will be validating operation under zero gravity conditions during the May 2021 zero gravity test flight. Acknowledgements: The financial support o...

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“…4 Urine is stabilized through the addition of pretreatment chemicals (chromium trioxide and sulfuric acid) at the waste collection system. 5 Water is recovered from the pretreated urine by Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD). 5 A portion of the treated water is circulated through the cathode side of the electrolyzer, where it is converted to hydrogen (H 2 ) and oxygen (O 2 ).…”

Section: Environmental Control and Life Support System Aboard The Int...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5 Water is recovered from the pretreated urine by Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD). 5 A portion of the treated water is circulated through the cathode side of the electrolyzer, where it is converted to hydrogen (H 2 ) and oxygen (O 2 ). The circulating flow of water serves to remove hydrogen and cool the electrolyzer.…”

Section: Environmental Control and Life Support System Aboard The Int...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrochemistry for Space Life Support

Nelson

Vijapur

Hall

et al. 2020

Electrochem. Soc. Interface

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Electrochemical technology plays a key role in maintaining habitable environments for human space exploration. Historically, oxygen generation through electrolysis has been a key electrochemical technology for space life support. However, emerging electrochemical technologies are changing the way we process carbon dioxide and urine to supply oxygen and fresh water. Similarly, electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide can support in-situ resource utilization to produce disinfectants for sanitary needs. These technologies will support space exploration that relies upon closed loop living and is increasingly independent of ground support, opening opportunities for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

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Development Status of the International Space Station Urine Processor Assembly

Cited by 19 publications

References 2 publications

Resource-efficient nitrogen removal from source separated urine with partial nitritation/anammox in a membrane aerated biofilm reactor

Resource-efficient nitrogen removal from source separated urine with partial nitritation/anammox in a membrane aerated biofilm reactor

Next Generation Water Recovery for a Sustainable Closed Loop Living

Electrochemistry for Space Life Support

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