Mineralization of wastes of human vital activity and plants to be used in a Life Support System

Available methods for mineralizing wastes of human activity and inedible biomass of plants used in this country and abroad are divided into two types: dry mineralization at high temperatures up to 1270 K with subsequent partial dissolution of the ash and the other--wet oxidation by acids. In this case mineralization is performed at a temperature of 470-460 K and a pressure of 220-270 atmospheres in pure oxygen with the output of mineral solution and dissoluble sediments in the form of scale. The drawback of the first method is the formation of dioxins, CO, SO2, NO2 and other toxic compounds. The latter method is too sophisticated and is presently confined to bench testing. The here proposed method to mineralize the wastes is in mid-position between the thermal and physical chemical methods. At a temperature of 80-90 degrees C the mixture was exposed to a controlled electromagnetic field at normal atmospheric pressure. The method merits simplicity, reliability, produces no dissoluble sediment or emissions noxious for human and plants. The basic difference from the above said methods is to employ as an oxidizer atomic oxygen, its active forms including OH-radicals with hydrogen peroxide as the source. Hydrogen peroxide can be produced with electric power from water inside the Life Support System (LSS).     

Synthesis of biomass and utilization of plants wastes in a physical model of biological life-support system

The paper considers problems of biosynthesis of higher plants' biomass and "biological incineration" of plant wastes in a working physical model of biological LSS. The plant wastes are "biologically incinerated" in a special heterotrophic block involving Californian worms, mushrooms and straw. The block processes plant wastes (straw, haulms) to produce soil-like substrate (SLS) on which plants (wheat, radish) are grown. Gas exchange in such a system consists of respiratory gas exchange of SLS and photosynthesis and respiration of plants. Specifics of gas exchange dynamics of high plants--SLS complex has been considered. Relationship between such a gas exchange and PAR irradiance and age of plants has been established. Nitrogen and iron were found to the first to limit plants' growth on SLS when process conditions are deranged. The SLS microflora has been found to have different kinds of ammonifying and denitrifying bacteria which is indicative of intensive transformation of nitrogen-containing compounds. The number of physiological groups of microorganisms in SLS was, on the whole, steady. As a result, organic substances--products of exchange of plants and microorganisms were not accumulated in the medium, but mineralized and assimilated by the biocenosis. Experiments showed that the developed model of a man-made ecosystem realized complete utilization of plant wastes and involved them into the intrasystem turnover.     

Assessment of the possibility of establishing material cycling in an experimental model of the bio-technical life support system with plant and human wastes included in mass exchange

A pilot model of a bio-technical life support system (BTLSS) including human and plant wastes has been developed at the Institute of Biophysics SB RAS (Krasnoyarsk, Russia). This paper describes the structure of the photosynthesizing unit of the system, which includes wheat, chufa and vegetables. The study substantiates the simultaneous use of neutral and biological substrates for cultivating plants. A novel physicochemical method for the involvement of human wastes in the cycling has been employed, which enables the use of recycled products as nutrients for plants. Inedible plant biomass was subjected to biological combustion in the soil-like substrate (SLS) and was thus involved in the system mass exchange; NaCl contained in native urine was returned to the human through the consumption of Salicornia europaea, an edible salt-concentrating plant. Mass transfer processes in the studied BLSS have been examined for different chemical components.     

Deuterium-free water (1H2O) in complex life-support systems of long-term space missions

Heavy water containing deuterium displays toxic property. It is stated that any quantity of a heavy isotope of hydrogen--deuterium--is undesirable to animals and plants. It was earlier shown by us that physical-chemical life support systems on board the "MIR" station fractionate (change) isotopes of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon. Therefore, the problem of regenerative systems in habitable space objects should include removal, from water, of a heavy stable isotope of hydrogen--deuterium. In this article we consider one method of obtaining deuterium-free water--decomposition of distillate water in an electrolyser to hydrogen and oxygen with subsequent synthesis in a catalytic or high-temperature reactor. The influence of deuterium-free water on the growth and development of Arabidopsis thaliana and Japanese quail is investigated. It is shown that with the help of the electrolysis method it is possible to fabricate water containing 80% less deuterium in comparison with SMOW. Experimentally, it is proved on a culture of Arabidopsis thaliana and Japanese quail that water with reduced contents of deuterium (80%) displays positive biological activity.     

过氧化氢凝胶化技术研究

对过氧化氢凝胶剂进行筛选的基础上,制备了30wt%与90wt%的过氧化氢凝胶,利用Brookfield流变仪研究了其流变性能,并研究了添加剂对凝胶体系的影响。研究发现,气相二氧化硅与上海产的二氧化硅纳米粉可以将30wt%与90wt%过氧化氢溶液凝胶化,其它微纳米二氧化硅及表面亲酯性修饰的二氧化硅不具有凝胶行为,小分子量有机化合物胆固醇类衍生物也不能使过氧化氢水溶液凝胶化。结果表明凝胶剂表面特性及其粒度大小对其凝胶行为有较大影响,而氢氟酸与部分表面活性剂可以提高凝胶的热稳定性。     

过氧化氢推力室技术研究

简述了过氧化氢作为火箭推进剂的优点,重点介绍了近几年陕西动力机械设计研究所在过氧化氢单组元推力室和双组元发动机推力室研制中取得的进展。设计了几种过氧化氢单组元推力室并进行了试验;进行了过氧化氢／煤油双组元火药点火试验;进行了催化点火技术的研究,27次点火试验全部取得成功;设计并生产了几种双组元推力室,对过氧化氢／煤油自燃点火技术进行了研究,累计进行了500余次点火试验;采用37kN推力室分别进行了90％过氧化氢／煤油的火药点火试验和自燃点火试验,试验获得了成功。     

Nitrogen reduction under hydrothermal vent conditions: implications for the prebiotic synthesis of C-H-O-N compounds

Dinitrogen is reduced in dilute hydrogen sulfide (H2S) solutions to ammonium at 120 degrees C. Experiments with dissolved dinitrogen (partial pressure 50 bar) in a 12 x 10(-3) mol/L H2S(aq) solution yield approximately 10(-5) mol/L NH4+ within 2-7 days. These yields are consistent with the equilibrium NH4+ concentration for the N-S-H system under these conditions. The formation of ammonium is catalyzed by the presence of freshly precipitated iron monosulfide. These results indicate that dinitrogen can be reduced at moderate temperatures in hydrothermal vent systems. Abiotic nitrogen reduction could have taken place within primordial hydrothermal vents, supplying some ammonia for the synthesis of C-H-O-N compounds via abiotic processes. The yield of ammonia via dinitrogen reduction by hydrogen sulfide, however, is so low that it is doubtful this process could have produced enough ammonia to sustain prebiotic hydrothermal synthesis of C-H-O-N compounds in or around vent systems.     

Microbial utilisation of natural organic wastes

The waste management strategy for the future should meet the benefits of humanity safety, respect principals of planet ecology, and compatibility with other habitability systems. For these purpose the waste management technologies, relevant to application of the biodegradation properties of bacteria are of great value. The biological treatment method is based upon the biodegradation of organic substances by various microorganisms. The advantage of the biodegradation waste management in general: it allows to diminish the volume of organic wastes, the biological hazard of the wastes is controlled, and this system may be compatible with the other systems. The objectives of our study were: to evaluate effectiveness of microbial biodegradation of non-pretreated substrate, to construct phneumoautomatic digester for organic wastes biodegradation, and to study microbial characteristics of active sludge samples used as inoculi in biodegradation experiment. The technology of vegetable wastes treatment was elaborated in IBMP and BMSTU. For this purpose the special unit was created where the degradation process is activated by enforced reinvention of portions of elaborated biogas into digester. This technology allows to save energy normally used for electromechanical agitation and to create optimal environment for anaerobic bacteria growth. The investigations were performed on waste simulator, which imitates physical and chemical content of food wastes calculated basing on the data on food wastes of moderate Russian city. The volume of created experimental sample of digester is 40 l. The basic system elements of device are digesters, gas receiver, remover of drops and valve monitoring and thermal control system. In our testing we used natural food wastes to measure basic parameters and time of biodegradation process. The diminution rate of organic gained 76% from initial mass taking part within 9 days of fermentation. The biogas production achieved 46 l per 1 kg of substrate. The microbial studies of biodegradation process revealed following peculiarities: (i) gradual quantitative increasing of Lactobacillus sp. (from 10(3) to 10(5) colony forming units (CFU) per ml), (ii) activation of Clostridia sp. (from 10(2) to 10(4)CFU/ml), (iii) elimination of aerobic conventional pathogens (Enterobacteriaceae sp., Protea sp., staphylococci). The obtained results allow to evaluate effectiveness of proposed technology and to determine the leading role of lactobacilli and clostridia in process of natural wastes biodegradation. Our further investigations shall further be concentrated on creation of artificial inoculi for launching of food wastes biodegradation. These inoculi will include active and adapted strains of clostridia and lactobacilli.     

电位主动控制试验装置供给单元的研制

为满足货运飞船表面电位控制的要求,研制了一种适用于航天器表面电位主动控制试验装置的供给单元。该供给单元重量轻、体积小、结构紧凑,具有氩气储存和微流量输出的功能,实测漏率≤1×10-4 Pa·L·s-1。根据实测漏率数据和流量控制器的流量压力特性,建立供给单元输出氩气流量、气瓶压力随时间变化的数学模型,计算得出其有效在轨工作时间约为360 s。以上结果表明,该供给单元的在轨储存能力和微流量输出能力均可以满足任务需求。     

星载大功率固放组件中常用基板材料的 出气及其微波特性研究

随着星载大功率固放组件复杂度和输出功率的不断提高，因其内部材料出气而导致产品性能异常的情况时有发生。以大功率固放组件常用介质基板材料出气产生的水汽、氢气和氧气作为研究对象，研究了高功率微波信号作用下基板材料出气气体对大功率固放组件微波特性的影响；对出气的气体成分进行了定量测试试验验证，随后通过真空烘烤对基板进行除气处理；首次结合产品应用和环境试验进行了补充试验，通过增加长期和高温储存试验来模拟实际工况；试验结果表明除气措施可有效降低基板材料出气气体的含量，降幅超过79.1%；最后选取一组试验后的测试试验数据对基板除气的有效性进行了仿真验证，为星载大功率固放组件的进一步优化奠定了基础。     

Formation routes of interstellar glycine involving carboxylic acids: possible favoritism between gas and solid phase

Despite the extensive search for glycine (NH?CH?COOH) and other amino acids in molecular clouds associated with star-forming regions, only upper limits have been derived from radio observations. Nevertheless, two of glycine's precursors, formic acid and acetic acid, have been abundantly detected. Although both precursors may lead to glycine formation, the efficiency of reaction depends on their abundance and survival in the presence of a radiation field. These facts could promote some favoritism in the reaction pathways in the gas phase and solid phase (ice). Glycine and these two simplest carboxylic acids are found in many meteorites. Recently, glycine was also observed in cometary samples returned by the Stardust space probe. The goal of this work was to perform theoretical calculations for several interstellar reactions involving the simplest carboxylic acids as well as the carboxyl radical (COOH) in both gas and solid (ice) phase to understand which reactions could be the most favorable to produce glycine in interstellar regions fully illuminated by soft X-rays and UV, such as star-forming regions. The calculations were performed at four different levels for the gas phase (B3LYP/6-31G*, B3LYP/6-31++G**, MP2/6-31G*, and MP2/6-31++G**) and at MP2/6-31++G** level for the solid phase (ice). The current two-body reactions (thermochemical calculation) were combined with previous experimental data on the photodissociation of carboxylic acids to promote possible favoritism for glycine formation in the scenario involving formic and acetic acid in both gas and solid phase. Given that formic acid is destroyed more in the gas phase by soft X-rays than acetic acid is, we suggest that in the gas phase the most favorable reactions are acetic acid with NH or NH?OH. Another possible reaction involves NH?CH? and COOH, one of the most-produced radicals from the photodissociation of acetic acid. In the solid phase, we suggest that the reactions of formic acid with NH?CH or NH?CH?OH are the most favorable from the thermochemical point of view.     

补燃循环过氧化氢/煤油发动机性能敏感性分析

针对补燃循环过氧化氢/煤油发动机性能的敏感性,采用敏感性分析方法对影响发动机性能的内外因素进行分析和评估,得到了发动机推力和混合比对不同影响因素的敏感性.研究结果表明,预燃室汽蚀管和涡轮喷嘴有效流通面积、涡轮效率和过氧化氢泵效率对发动机推力影响最大,煤油汽蚀管和过氧化氢主汽蚀管有效流通面积、煤油泵扬程和过氧化氢泵扬程对混合比影响最大.对发动机性能影响较大的因素,在工程实践中应当给予重点关注.     

环槽式过氧化氢/煤油气液喷注器研究

对环槽式过氧化氢/煤油气液喷注器进行了理论分析和数值仿真计算。介绍了环槽式过氧化氢/煤油气液喷注器热试车情况,试验燃烧室压力1～2 MPa,混合比7～9,获得了燃烧效率、点火性能、燃烧稳定性、喷嘴特性及混合比等重要参数。     

Numerical solution of nonlinear heat problem with moving boundary

Two phase gas–liquid flow in pipes is widely spread in space applications: bubble flows appear in cryogenic components transport through fuel/oxidant supply lines. Another important application is based on the fact that in liquid flows with small bubbles a close contact between the two phases occurs resulting in high rates of transfer between them. The compactness of a system makes it ideally suited to serve as a space-based two-phase bio-reactor which forms an important unit in environmental control and life support system deployed onboard. A numerical method was developed for solving a nonlinear problem of thermal interaction between a spherical gas bubble and surrounding liquid. The system of equations for describing this interaction was formulated. It includes ordinary and nonlinear partial differential equations. The problem was solved using finite-difference technique by dividing the system into spherical layers inside the bubble and employing the new variable which “freezes” the moving boundary of the bubble. A numerical solution is obtained for the problem of radial bubble motion induced by a sudden pressure change in the liquid—a situation which corresponds to the behavior of bubbles beyond a shock wave front when the latter enters a bubble curtain.     

过氧化氢双组元发动机推力室研究

在过氧化氢发动机预先研究项目中,开展了过氧化氢／烃燃料（煤油）推进剂的自燃点火研究,包括自燃燃料开发、推力室设计及冷、热试考核。设计了25N、30N、50N和50kN推力量级的推力室。经热试车考核,点火平稳可靠,燃烧稳定,室压粗糙度小于±5％,燃烧效率高于92％,设计方案合理。     

进水方式对水冲压发动机性能的影响

在一次燃气参数及总水燃比相同的情况下,研究了进水方式对水冲压发动机性能的影响,所得结论得到了试验结果的部分验证。研究表明,要使发动机获得较高比冲,进水方式的设计至少应该遵循两个原则——一次进水流量和活性铝粉流量接近1∶1;后部进水位置尽量靠前,以使所有水雾都能完全蒸发。     

Production of oxidants by ion irradiation of water/carbon dioxide frozen mixtures

We present new experimental results on the formation of oxidants, such as hydrogen peroxide, ozone, and carbonic acid, under ion irradiation of icy mixtures of water/carbon dioxide at different ratios and temperatures (16 and 80 K). Pure water ice layers and mixtures with carbon dioxide were irradiated by 200 keV He+ ions. We found that the CO(2)/H(2)O ratio progressively decreased to a value of about 0.1, the H(2)O(2) production increased with increasing CO(2) abundance at both 16 and 80 K, and the CO and H(2)CO(3) production increased with increasing CO(2) abundance at 16 K. At 80 K, the synthesis of CO was less efficient because of the high volatility of the molecule that partially sublimed from the target. The production of carbonic acid was connected with the production of CO(3). O(3) was detected only after ion irradiation of CO(2)-rich mixtures. The experimental results are discussed with regard to the relevance they may have in the production of an energy source for a europan or a martian biosphere.     

过氧化氢发动机试验技术现状

综述了过氧化氢在火箭推进技术中的发展和应用,概括了国内外在这一领域的最新进展,提出了发展过氧化氢火箭发动机对航天推进与宇宙探索都具有现实意义。     

真空羽流气相沉积污染初步研究

从固体表面对气体分子的作用着手分析气相羽流沉积污染的内在机理,阐述了固体表面对气体分子的物理吸附、化学吸附特性,给出吸附速率方程、脱附速率方程以及沉积速率方程,并通过区分贴壁吸附层、物理吸附层,重点研究了物理吸附层的脱附速率。选取有代表性的CO₂、NH₃、H₂O以及N₂H₄等气体,确定其物理吸附层脱附模型的参数,得到了与经验脱附率曲线较为一致的理论脱附率曲线。分析了单组元肼催化分解姿控发动机对太阳能帆板的气相沉积污染。