Project Title:

A New Membrane Process for High Efficiency Water Recovery

Lynntech, Inc.
7610 Eastmark Drive, Suite 105
College Station, TX 77840

93-1  12.06   0017    AMOUNT REQUESTED        $70,000

A New Membrane Process for High Efficiency Water Recovery

Abstract:

Human presence in space for extended time periods will require
closed regenerative life support systems in which water for crew
use can be reclaimed from urine, hygiene waste waters and humidity
condensate. New technology is required to provide for removal of
impurities common to spacecraft waste waters. This proposal
describes a new membrane separation process based on a unique
principle that offers significant advantages over existing water
recovery processes. A distinct advantage of the new process is its
inherent ability to attain very high water recovery levels (i.e.,
99%) from multiple waste water streams (i.e., containing inorganic,
organic and biological contaminants) with minimum pretreatment.
This is in contrast to existing systems which require several steps
and often lead to the accumulation of substantial quantities of
brines/reject concentrates that represent a significant water loss
from the system. The specific goals of the research are to
demonstrate the technical feasibility of the membrane separation
process for high levels of water recovery from high load
contaminated waste water and to demonstrate that the system is
capable of efficiently recovering water from concentrates and
brines. The research will involve the use of innovative membrane
configurations that will render the process highly energy efficient
(energy costs are projected to be 10-15 Whr/lb of water treated).
Lynntech, Inc. will adopt a dual-use development approach because
the technology has specific NASA and commercial applications.

The membrane separation process described in this proposal will
have applications to many aspects of water treatment including the
preparation of high purity water, the treatment of hazardous waste
water and desalination. There are numerous applications for the
technology in the following industries: petrochemical, paper and
pulp, metal finishing, textile, food and beverage.

Waste Water Recovery, Electrochemistry, Membrane Processes,
Brine/Concentrate Minimization