Wastes in Space

1
Wastes in Space

• David P. Chynoweth
• Agricultural and Biological Engineering
• University of Florida

2
Scope

• Categories of wastes
• Kinds of space missions
• Criteria for waste management
• Air revitalization
• Water reclamation
• Solid waste management
• Conclusions

3
Overview of System Integration, Modeling, and
Analysis Documents
4
ALS Subsystems and Interfaces

• Subsystems
• Air
• Biomass
• Food
• Thermal
• Waste
• Water

• Interfaces
• Crew
• Cooling
• Extravehicular Support
• Human Accommodations
• In-situ resource utilization
• Integrated control
• Power
• Radiation protection

5
Current ALS Reference Missions

• Orbiting Research Facility, e.g. International
  Space Station
• Independent Exploration Mission
• mars transit vehicle
• surface habitat lander
• mars decent/ascent lander
• Extended Mission, e.g. Evolved Mars Base

6
Function and Performance Criteria

• Waste Streams
• Functional Performance
• Mass Flow Schematic
• Gravity Dependance
• Technology Flexibility
• Operation and Maintenance
• Monitoring and Control
• System Integration
• Noise Level and Frequency
• Radiation Susceptibility

7
Orbital in Near-Earth Space

• Gravity microgravity
• Air air revitalization (HEPA, mol. sieve,
  activated carbon catalytic oxidizer) pressure
  and humity control oxygen generation by
  electrolysis of water hydrogen venting to space
• Food packaged and fresh food dehydrated drinks
• Human Wastes solids collected in canisters and
  returned to earth urine dewatered by vapor
  compression distillation
• Solid Wastes compacted, stored and returned to
  earth
• Liquid Wastes grey water collected and treated
  to potable water quality (multi-filtration,
  heating, catalytic oxidation, iodine
  disinfection checked for microbial quality and
  conductivity)

8
Concentrated Mars Exploration Mission

• Duration 180 days transit descent 600 days
  surface (or longer for evolved mission) ascent
  180 day ascent
• Vehicles two concurrent flights
• cargo flight lands on Mars with a Mars ascent
  vehicle, in situ resource utilization plant, and
  inflatable habitat
• second flight is an earth return vehicle that
  orbits Mars
• Gravity hypogravity (37.5 earth gravity)
• Heat Rejection not a problem
• Radiation unknown
• Resources water and CO2

9
Extended Mars Base

• Two aluminum shelled pressurized habitats of 90
  m3 each
• Voluminous inflatable structure providing for a
  bioregenerative system for food production, water
  recovery, and air revitalization
• Transfer opportunity between Earth and Mars every
  24 months
• Facility lifetime of 15 years
• Power Generation 250 kWe (nuclear)

10
Air Subsystem

• Total pressure in all systems 70.3 kPa
• Two systems
• Biomass production module has elevated CO2 (0.12
  kPa), reduced O2 (17.3 kPa), 70 humidity, and
  temp. to promote biomass growth
• Crew quarters have more comfortable temperature
  and humidity and normal CO2 and O2 concentrations
• Atmospheric gas loss is expected to be 0.18 (by
  mass) per day resupplied by pressurized or
  cryogenic gases
• A trace contaminant control subsystem controls
  air quality using catalytic oxidation and
  reusable filters

11
Biomass Subsystem

• Higher plants will be grown hydroponic to provide
  water regeneration (degrade organics),
  atmospheric revitalization (use CO2 and produce
  O2), and food
• Crops
• High Carbohydrate (white and sweet potato, wheat,
  rice)
• Protein and Fat (peanut and soybean)
• Salad Crops (cabbage, carrot, chard, fresh herbs,
  lettuce, onion, spinach, and tomato)
• Artificial Light (wavelength/photoperiod
  optimized)

12
Thermal Subsystem

• Collects heat loads and rejects heat to
  environment

13
Water Subsystem

• Plant chamber is primary water processor combined
  with support physicochemical systems to remove
  solids and inorganic impurities and for final
  polishing
• Transpired water is pure and collected
• Advanced microbial control technology is employed

14
Waste Subsystem

• Wastes inedible biomass, food-processing, urine
  and feces, sweat solids, filters, paper
• Dried before storage
• Treatment oxidation by incineration is current
  baseline process other options under
  consideration
• Regenerative catalytic beds treat effluent gases
• Carbon dioxide and nutrients returned to plant
  growth system
• Excess carbon dioxide is vented

15
Alternate Life Support Formats Under Consideration

• In-situ Resource Utilization
• rocket fuel from hydrogen and oxygen
• replacement of gases lost by leakage
• water (direct use or source of oxygen and
  hydrogen)
• minerals for plant growth
• Mars atmosphere has 95 CO2, 2.7 N2, and 0.02
  H20 vapor
• Bioregeneration
• capturing light for photosynthetic
• construction of large greenhouses using CO2,
  H20,and nutrients derived from Mars environment
• Solar Power
• requires large systems in outer space
• politically more acceptable than nuclear

16
Contingencies From a Life Support Perspective

• accidents
• environmental hazards
• equipment failure
• excessive consumption
• inadequate performance of life support and
  related systems
• leakage
• human error

17
Considerations for Alternative Space Missions

• Bases on Luna
• long nights
• availability of support commodities (hydrogen,
  nitrogen, and carbon)
• rejection of life support loads during the Lunar
  day
• wide environmental swings
• Near-earth space or asteroids
• weightlessness
• mission duration
• radiation protection

18
Equivalent Systems Mass Criteria

• Mass
• Volume
• Power
• Cooling
• Crew Time
• Scaling Factors
• R D Costs

19
Daily Solid Waste Stream for 6-person Crew
During a 600-day Exploratory Mission
(Adapted from Solid Waste Processing and Resource
Recovery Workshop Report. 2001)
Bioastronautics Workshop 2002, Galveston, TX
20
Space Mission Waste Composition
( Dry Basis)
Bioastronautics Workshop 2002, Galveston, TX
21
Wastewater Characteristics
22
Air Contaminants

• Carbon dioxide
• Hydrogen (from electrolysis of water to obtain
  oxygen)
• Trace organics, e.g. methane, ethanol (used for
  disinfection??)
• Trace inorganics (ozone, hydrogen sulfide, carbon
  monoxide, oxides of sulfur and nitrogen)

23
Solid Waste Handling and Pre-Processing

• Collection/Separation (including phase, metals)
• Storage
• Drying freeze, thermal, vacuum, air
• Compaction/Pelletization
• Size reduction wet, dry
• Transport fluid, gas, vacuum, mechanical
  conveyance
• Mixing

24
Physical-Chemical Technologies

• Lyophilization
• Supercritical wet oxidation
• Incineration
• Pyrolysis
• Wet carbonization
• Solubilization
• Transformation (activated carbon, paper)

25
Biological Technologies

• Slurry bioreactors (aerobic and anaerobic)
• Aerobic composting
• Anaerobic composting
• Enzymatic digestion
• Transformation into useful products (methane,
  ethanol, etc.)

26
Advantages and Limitations of Physical/Chemical
and Biological Waste Management Options
27
Space Toilet
28
Space Toilets
29
Post-Processing

• Treating useable product gases, liquids and
  solids
• Treating non-useable residues (toxic products,
  ash, refractory organics)

30
Proposed System Schematic
31
ESM Comparison of Different Waste Technologies
(without crew time)
(Adapted from Maxwell et.al 2001)
32
Schematic of HSLAD with other Subsystem
33
Integration Potential Analysis
34
Prototype Station Digester
35
(No Transcript)
36
Snowed In
37
Intelligent Compactor
38
Headin for the Hills
39
Hope the Chutes Dont Tangle
40
When is it Going to Rain?
41
Now we can breath again
42
Viking, the nonviolent type
43
Viking Sucks
44
Hello!
45
Mars Pathfinder Actual View
46
(No Transcript)
47
Mars Surveyer
48
(No Transcript)
49
(No Transcript)
50
(No Transcript)
51
(No Transcript)
52
CLLS Module, 70s-80s
53
Biosphere 2
54
International Space Station
55
BIOPLEX
56
Space Station Earth
57
Outline Of Problems (1)

• Atmosphere
• green house gases (climate change)
• acid rain
• ozone (uv light penetration)

58
Outline Of Problems (2)

• Ecosphere
• habitat loss
• freshwater supply
• bioinvasion
• alteration of fire cycles
• persistent organic pollutants
• nitrogen pollution
• overfishing

59
Outline Of Problems (3)

• Social Sphere
• population growth
• infectious disease
• economic exploitation
• natural resource exploitation
• human resource exploitation

60
What is Global Warming?
61
Diagram of Acid Rain
62
Development of Ozone Hole