Date of Graduation

12-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering (MSChE)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Chemical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Robert Beitle

Committee Member

Ranil Wickramasinghe

Second Committee Member

Larry Roe

Third Committee Member

Dean Muirhead

Keywords

biocide dosing system, long-term space mission, silver biocide, space exploration, spacecraft water management, water recovery system

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation is to explore the capabilities of a dialysis-membrane-based system for the in-line dosing of silver ions to treated water in spacecraft water recovery units. The spacecraft environmental control and life support system community (ECLSS) are interested in adopting silver ions as a biocide in future spacecraft water recovery processes since silver ions are effective biocide at concentrations that humans can safely consume. The system has been designed following the configuration of the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) aboard the International Space Station. In this configuration, silver ions have to be added at the last step in the WPA to inhibit the growth of microorganisms in the product water. The dialysis-membrane-based system has to supply silver ions into the potable water at concentrations ranging from 200 to 400 parts per billion during the entire water processing time. The silver ion delivery system has been prototyped by repurposing dialysis membranes used for the separation/purification of low molecular weight solutes. Consequently, the low molecular weight cutoff of the dialysis membrane controls the silver ion release from a concentrated silver ion reservoir and does not require any power. Both computational and experimental studies were conducted to examine the performance of the silver ion delivery and the feasibility of integrating this technology in future spacecraft water recovery units. The preliminary results from this investigation show that the dialysis-membrane-based passive biocide delivery system can supply sufficient silver ions to a stream of deionized water. Nevertheless, the outflow might require dilution, and the membrane may need to undergo preconditioning for optimal performance, especially for reuse.

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