Modeling a Biological Closed Loop Water Recycling System for Prolonged Manned Space Flight
2004-01-2511
07/19/2004
- Event
- Content
- For prolonged manned spaceflight, recycling of wastewater is critical to minimize payload costs. We have constructed a pilot-scale, closed-loop water recycling system (CLWRS). Due to slow process dynamics, evaluation of multiple experimental scenarios is very time-consuming. To accelerate evaluation, we have developed mathematical models of the individual reactors, as well as a process model of the pilot plant, which combines nitrification, denitrification, recycle, and degassing steps. The simulation accurately reproduces the 35% total nitrogen (TN) reduction observed experimentally at a 20/1 recycle ratio. Both experiments and simulations indicate that biological CLWRS have significant potential for long-duration manned space flight.
- Pages
- 8
- Citation
- Xia, S., Carey, A., Wiesner, T., Morse, A. et al., "Modeling a Biological Closed Loop Water Recycling System for Prolonged Manned Space Flight," SAE Technical Paper 2004-01-2511, 2004, https://doi.org/10.4271/2004-01-2511.