Evaporative Heat Transfer Mechanisms within a Heat Melt Compactor (EHeM HMC) Experiment

Waste stowage and water reclamation is vital for long-duration space exploration missions. Current primary waste systems cannot reclaim water or effectively reduce the volume of trash generated by astronauts. It is imperative that we “close the loop” for human life support for these new missions. A Heat Melt Compactor (HMC) is a device that will recover residual water from astronaut’s trash (e.g. wet wipes, juice boxes) via evaporative heat transfer, and then compact the trash in a 10-to-1 ratio to provide volume reduction, or perhaps some usefulness as an ionizing radiation shield.

Papers:
Water Recovery with the Heat Melt Compactor in a Microgravity Environment (2015)
Analysis of Water Recovery Rate from the Heat Melt Compactor (2013)
Evaporative Heat Transfer Mechanisms within a Heat Melt Compactor (2013)
Micro Gravity Behavior of Water within the Brine Evaporation Bag (2013)

The technology to reduce the volume of astronauts' day-to-day trash by residual moisture extraction will benefit future NASA missions into space.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 6) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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