Technical Paper
Lightweight Contingency Urine Recovery System Concept Development
2007-07-09
2007-01-3037
The Lightweight Contingency (LWC) Urine System is a contingency urine recovery system that produces a liquid food product. It does this on an individual (personal) basis thus removing the concerns associated with shared urine recycle. The system uses activated carbon treatment followed by forward osmosis (FO) to provide a hydration and electrolyte fluid (a sports drink) for crew consumption. The system hardware consists of an initial urine collection device containing an activated carbon matrix. This is followed by transfer of the treated urine into an FO membrane treatment cell. The FO treatment cell consists of a 2 L plastic bag. This FO bag is a robustly constructed intravenous (IV) surgical fluid drip bag equipped with input and output ports and an internally mounted cellulose triacetate membrane. All components are light weight disposable plastic, the system is potentially wearable, and it uses no electrical power.