Low Temperature Ozone Oxidation of Solid Waste Streams

James A. Nabity, Erik W. Andersen & Jeffrey R. Engel TDA Research, Inc. John W. Fisher NASA Ames Research Center 40th International Conference on Environmental Systems Barcelona, Spain July 12, 2010

TDA Research

Overview
Advantages of oxidizing waste TDA approach to waste oxidation Pilot scale reactor design & experiments Experiments w/ simulated waste streams Summary and conclusions

Waste Control is Important!

Especially to Long Term Space Missions
A critical life support p pp problem facing long-term g g space missions is the control of solid waste Current waste generation models p g predict about 1.69 kg of waste per CMD Unprocessed waste poses a biological hazard to the crew Continual exposure to odors from untreated waste is a serious threat to crew health and morale

Summary of Current Methods Used for Waste Control

Strategy depends on mission duration
Short term missions can store, compact, or encapsulate waste and do not need to recover resources Long term missions must process the waste and recycle resources especially water and O2 Oxidation is an excellent choice, since ~0.67 g H2O can be produced per gram of mixed wastes However, current methods for oxidation still have disadvantages

There is a need for an effective oxidation p process that is rapid and safe p

TDA Approach
Use ozone to convert waste to CO2 and H2O at moderate temperature The process has several advantages over p g other methods
Ozone will rapidly oxidize a wide range of hydrocarbons h d b Eliminates many hazards
does not require high temperatures does not produce hi h concentrations of NOX d d high i f

It is safe and easy to use Theoretically, no net consumables are needed

Closing the Loop on Consumables

Example: Cellulose (waste) + 10% water
6 H2O Ozone Generation O2 Electrolysis 12 H2 12 H2O 4 O3 Ozone Oxidation 6 CO2 6 CH4 Pyrolysis 12 H2 Model Waste C6H10O5 + H2O

Sabatier

6C

Global System Equation: C6H10O5 + H2O + energy 6 C + 6 H2O

Ozone Oxidation
From This

To This

WWW.NASA.GOV

TDA Research Automated Waste Oxidation Apparatus

Wet Oxidation Process to Handle Solid Waste

Low temperature p p process ( (~100 to 135C) ) Stable
Temperature (C)
200 200 175 175 150 150

Water Boiling Pt

Scalable

Temperature (C)

125 125 100 100 75 75 50 50 25 25

Reactor Operating Pressure ~ 4.4 atm absolute (65 psia)

00
0

25 25

50 50

75 75

100 100

125 125

150 150

175 175

200 200

Pressure ( i ) P (psia)

Pressure (psia) (p )

Pilot Scale Reactor Design g

15.24 cm Diameter, 60.96 cm Length 11.1 Liter Volume 316 Stainless Steel Fabricated using 3A sanitary tubing, fittings and clamps 13.6 atm max pressure @ 121C

3 diffusers for enhanced mixing and O3/waste contact

Split PTFE bottom for ease of installation Holes tapped for easy diffuser installation O3/O2 inlet feed (one for each diffuser)

Fluoroelastomer gasket

Pilot Scale Wet Oxidation System y

Reactor Condenser

Condensable Trap

Recycle Flow Pump

Conditions for the Experiment

Reactor pressure: 4.4 atm ( p ) p (65 psia) Reactor temperature: 125C O2 flow to the ozone generator: 25 slpm O3 flow into the reactor: 1.6 to 4.3 mol/h Recycle flow: 20 slpm Waste: 100 g of fecal simulant in 5 L of distilled water

Fecal Simulant Breakdown

Peanut Oil (20%)

Active Dry Yeast* (30%)

*substituted for E Coli

Ground Psyllium Husk (20%)

Polyethylene Glycol (20%)

Ref: Wignarajah, Kanapathipillai, Eric Litwiller, John W. Fisher and John Hogan, Simulated Human Feces for Testing Human Waste Processing Technologies in Space Systems, ICES 2006-01-2180.

Effect of Ozone Flow on Oxidation of Fecal Simulant

25

Waste Con nsumption Ra g/h ate,

20

15

10

0 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5

Ozone Flow to the Reactor, mol/h O Fl t th R t l/h

Composition of Mixed Solid Wastes

Plastics Duct D ct Tape Cloth Paper Wipes Foods, Beverages Feces

Paper

Cloth Cl th

100 gm of Mixed Wastes

w/ and w/o processing
No Pre-processing Cut into Strips

Ozone Oxidation Results

Mixed Wastes vs Fecal Simulant
25

Waste Cons sumption Rat g/h te,

20

Fecal simulant F l i l t Unprocessed mixed solid wastes Pre-processed mixed solid wastes

100 gm sample not fully oxidized

15

Complete oxidation o 00 gm of 100 g

10

Pre-processing P i
0 0.5 05 1 1.5 15 2 2.5 25 3 3.5 35 4 4.5 45

Ozone Flow to the Reactor, mol/h

Power Budget g
Heat Tapes Recycle Pump Ozone Generator Water Transfer Pump Computer Gas Analyzers Total 62.3% 7.1% 19.0% 1.5% 1.2% 8.8% 100%

Summary of Experimental Results y

Ozone can rapidly oxidize wastes at temperatures p y p below 150C with very high selectivity to CO2 and H2O.
22 7 g/h for simulated fecal matter 22.7 8.5 g/h for cut up mixed wastes

NOx and CO emissions are < 2 and < 1000 ppm ppm, respectively. The recycle loop flow can be adjusted to effectively reuse the ozone and conserve oxygen. e y e ab e apparatus t a a te a ce Very reliable appa atus with minimal maintenance.

Projected Performance of an Optimized Pilot Scale Rig

Waste oxidation performance:
36 g/h @ 99.7% destruction removal efficiency 860 g/day

Resource production: 0 7 to 1 0 kg H2O/kg waste 0.7 1.0 from Wignarajah fecal simulant (8.4 wt% H) Physical parameters:
-scale for 6 crew members 0.1 m3 box size and 139 kg 600 W input power

Consumables: Only the wastes in a closed loop system

System Benefits y
Solid waste destruction: 99.7% based on gas analysis Water recovery and production: up to 1.1 kg per crewmember-day assuming mixed b d i i d wastes w/ 11% water & 6% H content Ozone inactivation of microbial organisms and viruses
Typically less than 10 minute contact times with between 0.01 10 mg O3 per Liter of water (<10 ppm O3) needed to lower infectious activity by at least 4 orders of magnitude TDA wet oxidation environment is 1.4% O3 for over 8 hours

Conceptual Waste Oxidation System y

TDA Low Temperature Ozone Oxidation System

Cooling System S t
CO Oxidation

Feed for start-up only

Reactor

Condenser + Separator NOx Scrubber S

Oxygen Recovery

Water R W t Recycle l Circuit

O3, CO2, CO, NOx Analyzers

O3
Ozone Generator

O3 Destruction

Ozone Recycle Circuit

CO2 Recovery

Water Treatment T t t

Summary and Conclusions y

Stable and reliable ozone oxidation of waste streams Pilot rig effectively consumes solid waste
Capable of 0.3 to 0.86 kg / day with high capacity ozone g p y generator

Generates and recovers water

1.1 kg p crewmember-day assuming mixed wastes g per y g w/ 11% water & 6% H content

Inactivates microbial organisms and viruses g

Acknowledgements g
Mr. John Fisher, COTR for NASA ARC Contract # NA06CA57C