The proposed approach will make it technically feasible to process human fecal waste and related mixed waste streams, recover moisture, and produce additional water and other useful products in space which will benefit long term space travel, such as an extended Lunar stay or a mission to Mars and Asteroids/Phobos. It is beneficial to NASA in also allowing for solid waste sterilization and stabilization, planetary protection, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and/or production of chemical feedstocks and carbon materials. In particular, the solid carbon-rich residue has several potential applications in space. These include production of activated carbon, a nutrient-rich substrate for plant growth, as a filler for polymers and composites, radiation shielding, C-H-O storage, and fuel gas (CH4, CO, H2) production.
In the near term, the fecal waste processing component of the technology would also have applications to fecal waste resource recovery and/or sterilization/stabilization problems in remote areas such as underdeveloped countries, arctic regions, military operations, oil production platforms, rural areas, farms, submarines, ships, etc., analogous to the uses for NASA technology developed for water purification. In the long term, the technology could be modified and integrated with widespread terrestrial efforts to process fecal and related solid waste streams for resource recovery and biochar production. Biochar is currently being used for soil amendments, soil remediation, polymer fillers, composite materials, and carbon sequestration.
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