Ionomer-membrane Water Processor (IWP) Engineering Development Unit (EDU) Brine Water Recovery Test Results

Closing the water loop on long duration spaceflight missions is a key aspect of reducing mission mass and logistics support for orbiting facilities and is a necessity for interplanetary spacecraft. Closing that water loop cannot be achieved without recovery of water from brine. As such, NASA has identified brine processing as an enabling technology for exploring other worlds. Paragon Space Development Corporation is developing the patent-pending Ionomer- membrane Water Processor (IWP) to enable water recovery from urine and brine. Through a NASA SBIR Phase 2 effort, Paragon developed and tested a large-scale IWP Engineering Development Unit (EDU). Testing with urine brine pretreated with the International Space Station (ISS) pretreatment formulation was conducted by both Paragon and NASA Ames Research Center. The IWP EDU successfully recovered over 85% of the water from brine, boosting total water recovery from urine up to 98%. Testing also demonstrated 99% removal of contaminants in brine in a configuration designed for microgravity application.