Developing the technology of physicochemical processing of organic waste in closed life support systems for space applications

Abstract

Closed life support systems for space applications need a technology of processing organic waste produced in the system that would enable incorporating the recycled waste into the mass transfer of the system. Researchers of the Institute of Biophysics SB RAS have developed a method of waste processing that meets these requirements: a physicochemical method of organic waste oxidation in the hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution under application of an alternating current electric field – wet combustion. The mineralized solution produced by this method can be used as a mineral nutrient supplement for higher plants in the life support system. The present study describes technical implementation of the wet combustion method and reports results of developing this method in the last few years. The study addresses problems associated with the design and positions of individual components and different configurations of the wet combustion reactor, showing the way to automate operation of the reactor and reporting optimal parameters of the current applied to the electrodes, which reduce time and power consumption by waste processing.