Shakedown Test of the Orbital Technologies PMWC for Performance in Treating Solid Wastes

Heat melt compaction of space mission trash is a technology that has been under development by NASA for a number of years. Goals for heat melt compaction include compaction and volume reduction, recovery of water, disinfection of the wastes, prevention of growth of microbes (drying) in the wastes, control of contaminants in the effluent gases, and preparation of tiles for radiation shielding. A prototype heat melt compactor, the Plastic Melt Waste Compactor (PMWC), was delivered as part of a Small Business Innovative Research project by Orbital Technologies Corporation (Orbitec) to NASA Ames Research Center in June of 2014. Goals specific to the Orbitec PMWC development focused on chamber size, nonstick surface treatments, water recovery, and volume reduction. Although not an area of emphasis for the Orbitec PMWC development effort, disinfection is important in order to prevent microbial growth on trash tiles that are stored or used for radiation shielding from becoming a health hazard to the crew. This paper presents results of shakedown tests of the PMWC with a focus on the disinfection performance of the delivered hardware.