Well, a NASA team at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., is wrapping up testing on a system that will do just that for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Weight and storage limitations will make continued recycling of water necessary, and even then, water will be rationed. The water recycling system planned for Space Station has now completed a major series of tests at Marshall and researchers are giving it high marks. Eighty volunteers participated in the six-month study to evaluate the efficiency of the system. On Earth, water treatment plants use biological treatment to purify the water.
Microorganisms metabolize and destroy contaminants.
In contrast, the Space Station water recovery system uses physical and chemical processes to remove contaminants. The Space Station Urine Processor uses distillation to evaporate and remove more volatile components of urine, including the water. Less volatile and less desirable components remain as a liquid brine, which eventually has to be disposed of as waste. The Space Station Water Processor uses four technologies to purify the water. These technologies include particulate filtration, ion exchange, carbon adsorption, and catalytic oxidation.