Water is a critical product of any life support system. An estimated 12,000 kg of expendables are required to sustain a single person in space for one year, of which water comprises 86%. It is therefore imperative that water be recycled in an efficient manner. Technology used on the International Space Station consisting of conventional physico-chemical processes has a water recovery efficiency of 80 to 90%. But the level of resupply and use of expendables remains too large for longduration remote space applications.
DynaFlow has developed a prototype water reclamation and disinfection unit for NASA’s Advanced Life Support Systems. The prototype loop design is based on DynaFlow’s cavitating jet technology using DynaJets®, which both oxidizes organic compounds and disinfects contaminated liquids. The cavitation generated hydrodynamically using the DynaJets cavitating jets activates reactions in water, resulting in the creation of highly effective oxidizing hydroxyl radicals, similar to sonochemistry in ultrasonic devices. The DynaJets cavitating jet system operates without moving parts, except for a pump operated at modest pressures, and requires little or no expendables. One of the cavitating jet systems, the DynaSwirl®, can simultaneously accomplish all three water reclamation functions: TOC (total organic carbon) reduction, disinfection, and oxygenation.
The DynaJets disinfected microorganisms such as E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, B. subtilis, and Pseudomonas. Destruction of chemical compounds such as alcohol and acetone was also confirmed, as well as reduction of TOC in raw hygiene wastewater stimulants and biological reactor effluent supplied by NASA. Oxygenation was enhanced with the use of the DynaSwirl, which generates a strong axial vortex (see photo).
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DynaFlow has developed a prototype water reclamation and disinfection unit for NASA’s Advanced Life Support Systems. The prototype loop design is based on DynaFlow’s cavitating jet technology using DynaJets®, which both oxidizes organic compounds and disinfects contaminated liquids. The cavitation generated hydrodynamically using the DynaJets cavitating jets activates reactions in water, resulting in the creation of highly effective oxidizing hydroxyl radicals, similar to sonochemistry in ultrasonic devices. The DynaJets cavitating jet system operates without moving parts, except for a pump operated at modest pressures, and requires little or no expendables. One of the cavitating jet systems, the DynaSwirl®, can simultaneously accomplish all three water reclamation functions: TOC (total organic carbon) reduction, disinfection, and oxygenation.