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Centrifugal multiple effect distiller for water recovery for space applications

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Abstract

A long-distance manned flight, for example, to the Moon or Mars, requires an efficient and reliable system of water recovery from wastewater. The vapor compression distiller (VCD) designed for use in a near-Earth orbit and installed on the International Space Station (ISS) does not meet the requirements for deep space flights for several reasons: it has a low recovery rate (up to 85%) and low processing rate (1.5 kg/h); the compressor it uses to reduce the specific power consumption has a complex design, and peristaltic pumps used for pumping liquids have multiple flaws. These shortcomings cannot be eliminated unless the distiller is fundamentally redesigned, and thus such distiller cannot be used in long-term space missions. Therefore, alternative options must be considered. One candidate for the primary distillation for space applications is centrifugal multiple effect distiller (CMED) with a thermoelectric heat pump (THP) used as power source. This article describes the research process and the main characteristics of a three-stage and a five-stage CMED systems with THP, demonstrating their advantages. It is shown that it is possible to obtain up to 7 kg/h of distillate from urine. The effect of heat pump power on its efficiency (COP) and specific power consumption of the distiller is shown. The possibility of reducing the specific power consumption by 20–30% is shown.

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Abbreviations

AES:

Air evaporation subsystem

CD:

Cascade distiller

CDS:

Cascade distillation system

COP:

Coefficient of performance

CMED:

Centrifugal multiple effect distillation

ISS:

International Space Station

IWP:

Ionomer water processor

KPI:

Kyiv Polytechnic Institute

RO:

Reverse osmosis

SPC:

Specific power consumption, W h/kg

TIMES:

Thermoelectric integrated membrane evaporator system

TDS:

Total dissolved solids

THP:

Thermoelectric heat pump

VCD:

Vapor compression distiller

C :

Heat capacity of the solution, kJ/(kg K)

G d :

Productivity, kg/h

G h :

Mass flow rate in “hot” loop, kg/s

N T HP :

Power consumed by the thermoelectric heat pump, W

N D :

Power consumed by the drive, W

Q h :

Heat flux generated by the thermoelectric heat pump, W

k :

Overall heat transfer coefficient, W/m2K

n :

Rotational speed, rpm

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Funding

This project has received funding from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (project 0121U110195).

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  1. National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, Polytehnichna 6, Kyvi, 03056, Ukraine

    Volodymyr Rifert, Andrii Solomakha, Petr Barabash, Oleh Sniehovskyi & Valerii Petrenko

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  1. Volodymyr Rifert
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Correspondence to Andrii Solomakha.

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Rifert, V., Solomakha, A., Barabash, P. et al. Centrifugal multiple effect distiller for water recovery for space applications. CEAS Space J 15, 751–760 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-022-00480-x

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