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Technical Paper

Contaminant Distribution and Accumulation in Water Recycle Systems

1992-07-01
921360
Water reuse is essential for long duration space missions. However, water recycle systems also provide a habitat for microorganisms and allow accumulation of chemical compounds which may be acutely or chronically toxic to mission crew members. Contaminant fate and accumulation in closed-loop water recycle systems is being investigated at the University of Colorado and Martin Marietta as part of the activities of the Center for Space Environmental Health (CSEH), a NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training (NSCORT). The water contaminant distribution research uses a scaled-down physical model of a water (shower, laundry, urine and/or condensate) recycle system to analyze for and model four “indicator” contaminants: viruses and bacteria, nitrogen species, and selected organic and inorganic compounds. The water recycle test bed is comprised of five or more individual water treatment processes linked in a closed loop, and spiked with chemical and biological contaminants.
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