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A shower test was conducted recently at NASA-JSC in which waste water was reclaimed and reused. Test subjects showered in a prototype whole body shower following a protocol similar to that anticipated for Space Station. The waste water was purified using reverse osmosis followed by filtration through activated carbon and ion exchange resin beds. The reclaimed waste water was maintained free of microorganisms by using both heat and iodine. This paper discusses the test results, including the limited effectiveness of using iodine as a disinfectant and the evaluation of a Space Station candidate soap for showering. In addition, results are presented on chemical and microbial impurity content of water samples obtained from various locations in the water recovery process.

An advanced water recovery system requires the development of a minimum-consumable post-processor system to produce potable water that meets NASA requirements. Residual organic impurities and ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate ions are the principal challenges to the system. Ion exchange resins and organic removal materials that elute minimum organics were investigated. UP604 (Rohm & Haas) and NRW36/36SC (Purolite) ion exchange resins were shown to have comparable removal capacities of 1.29-1.78 meq/mL of bed volume. The organic removal materials exhibited poor removal capacities of less than 0.5 mg/mL of bed volume. Two ultraviolet photo-oxidative processes were investigated to reduce the need for expendable organic removal materials. A photolytic and a photocatalytic process both demonstrated the ability to reduce organic impurities to less than 500 μg/L. A description of these tests and results are discussed and presented in detail in this paper.