Steam-Reforming of Wastes for Life Support in Space Systems

Synthetica steam-reforming technology can be used to provide destruction of waste organics while at the same time cogenerating enough electrical power for its own requirement as well as surplus power for other space systems - thus meeting requirements for NASA's: Air, Water & Waste Management. Waste is fed into a oven where the steam-reforming produces light hydrocarbons that are then pulled into the higher temperature electrically heated reactor where superheated steam is added to destroy the waste nearly completely and produce syngas which can power a fuel cell. The system can reactivate granular activated carbon beds that are used to clean the air in the various space habitats. The Synthetica system will also provide recyclable water and carbon dioxide for plant growth. Larger-sized Synthetica steam-reformers are already available for the commercial market of medical and hazardous waste, and this $68,000 NASA project would make them smaller, lighter, more compact and easy to maintain. We feel it is an incredible match to NASA's requirements. Synthetica's present testbay systems are available to demonstrate destruction of NASA simulated or actual waste steams and enumerate and demonstrate the changes required to meet the special requirements of NASA's space applications.