INCINERATION FOR RESOURCE RECOVERY IN A CLOSED ECOLOGICAL LIFE-SUPPORT-SYSTEM

A functional schematic, including mass and energy balance, of a solid waste processing system for a controlled ecological life support syste m (CELSS) was developed using Aspen Plus, a commercial computer simula tion program. The primary processor in this system is an incinerator f or oxidizing organic wastes. The major products derived from the incin erator are carbon dioxide and water, which can be recycled to a crop g rowth chamber (CGC) for food production. The majority of soluble inorg anics are extracted or leached from the inedible biomass before they r each the incinerator so that they can be returned directly to the CGC and reused as nutrients. The heat derived from combustion of organic c ompounds in the incinerator was used for phase-change water purificati on. The waste streams treated by the incinerator system conceptualized in this work are inedible biomass from a CGC, human urine (including urinal flush water) and feces, humidity condensate. shower water, and trash. It is estimated that the theoretical minimum surface area requi red for the radiator to reject the unusable heat output from this syst em would be 0.72 m2/person at 298 K.