Brine Processor Assembly: A Year of Successful Operation on the International Space Station

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dc.creatorBoyce, Stephanie
dc.creatorJoyce, Connor
dc.creatorPasadilla, Patrick
dc.creatorTewes, Phillip
dc.creatorWilson, Jonathan P.
dc.creatorWilliamson, Jill
dc.creatorToon, Katherine
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-20T15:25:55Z
dc.date.available2023-06-20T15:25:55Z
dc.date.issued2023-07-16
dc.descriptionStephanie Boyce, Paragon Space Development Corporation, USA
dc.descriptionConnor Joyce, Paragon Space Development Corporation, USA
dc.descriptionPatrick Pasadilla, Paragon Space Development Corporation, USA
dc.descriptionPhilipp Tewes, Paragon Space Development Corporation, USA
dc.descriptionJonathan P. Wilson, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, USA
dc.descriptionJill Williamson, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, USA
dc.descriptionKatherine Toon, NASA, Johnson Space Center, USA
dc.descriptionICES303: Physio-Chemical Life Support- Water Recovery & Management Systems- Technology and Process Development
dc.descriptionThe 52nd International Conference on Environmental Systems was held in Calgary, Canada, on 16 July 2023 through 20 July 2023.
dc.description.abstractParagon Space Development Corporation developed a Brine Processor Assembly (BPA) as a technical demonstration for the International Space Station (ISS), which has now been operating continuously for 18 months. BPA recovers water from urine brine produced by the ISS Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) via forced convection of cabin air coupled with a patented membrane distillation process. An ionomer-microporous membrane-based bladder retains the liquid brine while water vapor pervaporates into the cabin, for collection as humidity condensate. This paper will discuss progress to-date on BPA performance. As of May 2023, 22 full operational runs have been completed, recovering nearly 400 L of water from urine brine. This represents a cost savings of over $40 Million from the mass of water that has not needed to be launched to or discarded on ISS, minus the cost of consumables (bladders and odor filters). On orbit telemetry has been used to further refine the thermal model for more accurate predictions of water recovery. Water recovery operations continue to align closely with ground test results, and the added exhaust filter has performed well in eliminating nuisance odor. Several dewatered bladders have been returned to Earth to assess the inner membrane pore wetting, confirm dewatered weight, as well as to assess dewatered brine concentration and composition at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). By increasing overall water recovery on ISS, BPA demonstrates a critical capability needed to close the water processing technology gap identified in NASA�s Water Recovery Technology Roadmap. The continued on-orbit operations of BPA contribute significant knowledge and understanding to the most efficient methods to recover water and inform best practices for future implementation of Paragon�s water reclamation technologies. This technology achieves an essential capability to enable human exploration of deep space.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.otherICES-2023-292
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2346/94707
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher2023 International Conference on Environmental Systems
dc.subjectwater reclamation
dc.subjectwater recovery
dc.subjectbrine
dc.subjectbrine processor
dc.subjectInternational Space Station
dc.subjectmembrane distillation
dc.titleBrine Processor Assembly: A Year of Successful Operation on the International Space Station
dc.typePresentations

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