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This paper deals with water reclamation from humidity condensate and urine schematics and processes realized on orbital space stations Salut and Mir. The results of research in updated processes and schematics for condensate separation, purification and distillation with heat energy recovery are described. It is shown that the processes and hardware make possible to reduce energy demand and the weight of the water recovery systems under operation on space stations.

Separation of a two-phase gas/liquid flow stream into the respective gas and liquid constituents with minimum or no carryover is a necessary and challenging requirement in space vehicle life support systems in a micro-gravity environment. This paper will describe testing of two types of Russian MIR water separators in a one-gravity environment at conditions typical of each separator's MIR operating envelope. Presently on MIR, two types of two-phase separator designs, a static separator design and a rotary separator design, are used in several applications. The static separator design is used in the potable water processor. In addition, static separators are used in a carbon dioxide reduction system which is under development for MIR. A rotary separator design is used in both the urine processor and the hygiene water processor systems.

The paper deals with possible performance enhancement of the system for water reclamation from urine based on a principle of atmospheric distillation. It is shown by way of example using the system operating on Mir that the introduction of heat energy recuperation, an increase in heat-and-mass transfer efficiency on evaporation and the optimization of the air flowrate in the distillation cycle allow a rise in the capacity of the distillation assembly and a reduction in specific energy. The system outfitted with a rotary evaporator/separator and a thermoelectric heat pump is reviewed. The design and experimental data verify the feasibility and benefits of the system updating.