Thermally Regenerable Ion Exchange Resins, Phase I

Future Exploration Initiative missions will require substantial reductions in ESM for water processing hardware. Significant reductions can be achieved using water treatment systems based upon thermally regenerable ion-exchange (TRIX) resins. Ion-exchange (IX) has been the preferred method for removal of aqueous ionic contaminants due to the efficiency of flow-through beds. Attributes of IX systems include ambient temperature and pressure operation, minimal energy use, rapid and efficient contaminant removal, and compared to other purification technologies, failure mechanisms are relatively benign. However, strong acid and alkali are required to regenerate these beds, making regeneration aboard spacecraft impractical. New hybrid TRIX resins developed at UMPQUA RESEARCH COMPANY offer the potential to remove ionic contaminants from water with an acceptable ESM, while retaining the intrinsic advantages of flow-through IX beds. Testing and further development of TRIX is proposed for removal of ionic contaminants from wastewater generated by future transit and early planetary base missions. The primary program objective will be the demonstration of efficient salt removal from different wastewater sources using TRIX resins. Phase I will demonstrate feasibility of water purification based upon TRIX. Phase II will result in development and testing of a fully functional system suitable for further independent testing by NASA.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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