Ultra-Efficient Ultrasonic Drying for Spacecraft Solid Waste

Ultrasonic Technology Solutions (UltraTech) aims to extend the application of a unique and ground-breaking drying technology to human waste management processes in the International Space Station (ISS). Human metabolic solid waste (feces) contains 75% water by mass which is currently not recovered on the ISS and is instead transported back to earth. Return transportation of this waste results in significant cost and unneeded payload utilization. Water recovery and stabilization of solid waste is a critical technology gap for long duration human planetary exploration and future missions to the moon and Mars.nbsp; In this Phase I SBIR program, our team will complete a feasibility study to remove water from feces with a direct contact ultrasonic drying method that utilizes no heat. Our proposed technology can recover more than 80% of the water from human solid waste. Removing water through the use of ultrasonic drying can potentially reduce the operational cost of space travel and improve crew hygiene and comfort. Excess water in feces adds up to approximately 680 kgs (1,496 lbs.) of unnecessary waste for a 1,000-day mission by a crew of four.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The direct contact ultrasonic drying technology was invented at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The ORNL team demonstrated five times higher drying energy efficiency for clothing (1/5th of the energy input) and two times faster drying rates compared to state-of-the-art residential clothes dryers. The technology also showed strong promise for removing water from liquids and semi-liquid materials, and therefore the application to NASA for feces drying is a strong potential application.nbsp; This feces drying application, however needs to be tested through a feasibility study.nbsp;In September 2018, the lead inventor, Dr. Ayyoub Momen, along with a team of seasoned professionals, launched UltraTech and exclusively licensed the direct contact ultrasonic drying technology from ORNL for commercial and industrial fields of use.