Enhanced Brine Dewatering System, Phase I

The purpose of the Enhanced Brine Dewatering System (EBDS) is to provide an easily scalable means of completely recovering usable water from byproducts created by reverse osmosis water purification systems without the use of consumable wicks. Extended duration Lunar and Mars missions will require the conservation and recovery of water to allow for autonomous closed environments that in turn can dramatically reduce launch mass and reduce stowage volumes. The EBDS will build on previous developments in condensing heat exchangers to establish reliable, passive, and energy-efficient methods for recovering water by focusing on the phase separation methods employed at the brine evaporator. The EBDS uses evaporation surfaces treated with antifouling agents to eliminate biological growth and hydrophilic coatings to increase efficiency. These surface treatments are also employed at the condensing heat exchanger. In addition to limiting bio-fouling the brine evaporation system is designed to completely and autonomously recover usable water and isolate waste salts. Crew interaction is limited to periodically removing the bio-isolated waste byproducts from the system.

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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