An Economical Alternative for Sorting Polymers on the Small materials Recovery Facility (MRF) Level

Not Available Propellant technologies are of the most crucial to revolutionize aerospace propulsion in the next century. New propellants strive to make spacecraft safer, more operable and higher performing. Propellant technologies have the power to make space flight more affordable and deliver higher performance. Propellants for in space maneuvering need to be ignited to release its chemical energy. The ignition concepts used today deplete spacecraft auxiliary power. Mono and Bi propellants uses catalysts for ignition. The disadvantages of these propellants are their susceptibility to spontaneoud decomposition due to leakage and their toxicity. The innovation described here utilizes a piezoelectrical element for the ignition of propellants. The device uses the dynamic pressure of the propellant in the feed line to strain a piezo element and thus generate an electrical charge. The charge is used for ignition by means of a spark or other ignition concepts. The advantage is a low cost simple and reliable concept that does not deplete spacecraft power.