A new generation apparatus for the astronauts' water provision during long-term space flights

The apparatus is intended for the regeneration of water from a manned spacecraft crew's liquid vital activity wastes.

The apparatus consists of a centrifugal distiller, a thermoelectric heat pump and prefiltering and reconstruction devices.

Parameters of the apparatus:

-           renovated water efficiency - up to 6 I /hour;

-           specific energy consumption - < 100 W-hour/l;

-           water purification rate (recovery) - 92-95%;

-         apparatus capacity- 0.1 m³;

-         weight - 30 kg.

As compared to the well-known analogues, it shows the specific energy consumption by 1.5 to 3 times lower, water purification rate from 10 to 20% higher whereas dimensions and weight are from 2 to 3 times smaller.

The apparatus was designed and developed on the base of scientific achievements of the national Technical University of Ukraine “Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” and the Institute of Thermoelectricity of the National academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Education and Sciences of Ukraine.

Table 1. Technical parameters of Distiller CD-5

Table 2. The main results of the chemical analysis of distiller received at work CD-5 on urine

Development is protected by patents of Ukraine (№ 35941А from 16.04/2001yr.), Russia (№ 2127627 from 21.07.1998yr.) and in two by U.S.A. patents (Patent No.: US 6,258,215 Bl. Date of Patent: Jul. 10.2001; US Patent 7610768 B2 – November 3, 2009).

In 2008-2009 years system CD-5 + THP was a long-term testing on the stand NASA in the U.S.A. During the tests, it was work up more than 1,500 liters of waste water (sanitary-hygienic water, urine, condensate evaporation).