Difference between revisions of "Team:Calgary/Products"
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<h2> Overview </h2> | <h2> Overview </h2> | ||
| − | <p>The main product from our process is | + | <p>The main product from our process is PHB, which can be used for 3D printing after the PHB extraction step. Water is also recovered from human feces and can undergo additional treatment after PHB extraction to become drinkable water or to be reused in the vacuum toilet. Lastly, char would be produced as a by-product of torrefaction to treat the solids separated during solid-liquid separation step. The produced by-products are shown in Figure 1.</p> |
<p><center><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/1/19/Calgary2017_ProcessOverview.png" alt="Process Overview" style="width:100%"></center></p> | <p><center><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/1/19/Calgary2017_ProcessOverview.png" alt="Process Overview" style="width:100%"></center></p> | ||
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<b>Physical properties (Manufacturing and properties of PHB)</b> | <b>Physical properties (Manufacturing and properties of PHB)</b> | ||
<ul> | <ul> | ||
| − | <li>Molecular weight = 2-3×10 | + | <li>Molecular weight = 2-3×10<sup>3</sup> kDa </li> |
<li>Melting point = 173°C at 1 atm </li> | <li>Melting point = 173°C at 1 atm </li> | ||
<li>Crystallinity = 55 % </li> | <li>Crystallinity = 55 % </li> | ||
</ul> | </ul> | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
<h2>By-Product: Water and VFA stream </h2> | <h2>By-Product: Water and VFA stream </h2> | ||
| − | <p> In our process, water is recovered from solid human waste | + | <p> In our process, water is recovered from solid human waste. This water + VFA stream can be treated in the water processing unit (WPU), which is currently implemented on the International Space Station to recycle and clean water. Such treatment allows to close the water loop in the feces treatment (recycle all the water).</p> |
<h2>By-Product: Char</h2> | <h2>By-Product: Char</h2> | ||
Revision as of 01:35, 31 October 2017
Products
Overview
The main product from our process is PHB, which can be used for 3D printing after the PHB extraction step. Water is also recovered from human feces and can undergo additional treatment after PHB extraction to become drinkable water or to be reused in the vacuum toilet. Lastly, char would be produced as a by-product of torrefaction to treat the solids separated during solid-liquid separation step. The produced by-products are shown in Figure 1.
Desired product: PHB
The major process product is PHB bioplastic. PHB can be used in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printing on Mars. The production of PHB from solid human waste is advantageous for the following reasons:
- Addresses the challenge with anticipating every little thing astronauts might need on Mars by providing a resource for production of urgently needed tools
- Addresses the issue with high transportation costs
- Uses solid human waste
- Recoveres water from solid human waste
- Produces by-products that can be used for applications that NASA is considering such as fertilizer or radiation shielding
- Produces plastic that can be biodegraded in a controlled environment to close the carbon-hydrogen cycle
PHB characteristics and properties:
Physical properties (Manufacturing and properties of PHB)- Molecular weight = 2-3×103 kDa
- Melting point = 173°C at 1 atm
- Crystallinity = 55 %
By-Product: Water and VFA stream
In our process, water is recovered from solid human waste. This water + VFA stream can be treated in the water processing unit (WPU), which is currently implemented on the International Space Station to recycle and clean water. Such treatment allows to close the water loop in the feces treatment (recycle all the water).
By-Product: Char
The sludge by-product is produced during solid-liquid separation and filtration stages. Sludge can either be fed into the general wastewater processing unit, where it would be combined with the other sludge for storage or treatment, or it can be treated using torrefaction (mild pyrolysis) technology. Torrefaction will produce char which can be a used as a building material, radiation shielding, and as a food substrate. In addition to char, torrefaction will recover more water and VFA from sludge. To summarize, torrefaction provides the following benefits:
- Produces biologically stable char (no biological activity)
- Recovers pyrolytic water
- Produces char that can be used as a building material, radiation shielding, food substrate and carbon/hydrogen storage
The torrefaction technology is just emerging and was not yet tested large scale. However, literature discusses the potential of the system as a promising solution for sludge management in space and on Mars (M. Serio et al., 2016), (M. Serio et al., 2014).
Works cited
A. Serio, M., E. Cosgrove, J., & A. Wojtowicz, M. (2016). Torrefaction Processing for Human Solid Waste Managment. In 46th International Conference on Environmental Systems (pp. 1-18). East Hartford: Advanced Fuel Research, Inc.
Manufacturing and properties of PHB. Retrieved October 27, 2017, from https://sundoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/diss-online/02/02H017/t2.pdf
