NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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Experiment Overview


Brief Summary

The Amine Swingbed investigation determines if a vacuum-regenerated amine system can effectively remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the International Space Station (ISS) atmosphere using a smaller more efficient vacuum regeneration system.

Principal Investigator(s)

John Graf, Ph.D., Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States

Jeffrey Sweterlitsch, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States

Co-Investigator(s)/Collaborator(s)

Information Pending

Developer(s)

Johnson Space Center, Crew and Thermal Systems Division, Houston, TX, United States

Sponsoring Space Agency

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Sponsoring Organization

Technology Demonstration Office (TDO)

Research Benefits

Information Pending

ISS Expedition Duration:

March 2011 - September 2014

Expeditions Assigned

27/28,29/30,31/32,33/34,35/36,37/38,39/40

Previous ISS Missions

This is the first test of the Amine Swingbed payload. A similar technology (amine based pressure swing adsorption) was used on the shuttle extended duration orbiter, in the form of the Regenerative Carbon Dioxide Removal System (RCRS). The Amine Swingbed payload uses an amine with a significantly greater capacity for CO₂ than the RCRS.

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Experiment Description

Research Overview

• Vacuum Regenerated Amine Systems have traditionally been applied to relatively short duration human space flight missions. Water vapor is removed along with the CO₂ - this benefits short duration missions by simplifying process hardware, but long duration missions that seek to recover, purify and recycle water have not considered vacuum amine systems for CO₂ recovery.



• This payload integrates a desiccant wheel-based water recovery device with a vacuum amine system. This combined system uses less power (because space vacuum is used to regenerate the amine bed instead of heaters) and it is smaller in size (because it can cycle frequently).



• The primary research objective is to assess the prospect for sustainable operations in a flight environment using a water recovery/vacuum regeneration approach. Supporting research objectives are to measure the effectiveness of the CO₂ removal system across a wide range of operating conditions, and to measure the performance of two technologies necessary for long term capability: water recovery and ullage (unfilled space) air recovery.

Description

There are three classes of research objectives.

Primary Research Objective:

• To assess sustainable performance of a vacuum amine swingbed in a flight environment. Environmental Control and Life Support Systems frequently function well in the lab, but suffer degraded performance or subsystem failure in a flight environment. These systems are sometimes attributed to microgravity, but more frequently are caused by the multifaceted nature of the flight environment that is impossible to re-create in the lab. The primary objective of this payload is to ascertain whether or not the flight environment will affect system performance.

Supporting Research Objectives:

• Detailed Performance Metrics:
  
  • Determine the effect of flight vacuum systems on CO₂ removal performance.
  
  
  • Determine the effect of CO₂ concentration on system removal efficiency.
  
  
  • Determine the effect of process air speed on system removal efficiency.
  
  
  
• System Aspects of Payload Hardware:
  
  • Measure the performance of a desiccant wheel based water recovery system.
  
  
  • Measure the performance of a tank transfer air save system.
  
  
  • Measure the effectiveness of acoustic treatments of payload equipment.

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  Applications
  
  Space Applications
  

  All human space missions need CO₂ control. The technology and hardware provide for environmental control of the habitable volume for human-rated spacecraft by removing metabolically-produced carbon dioxide, and minimizing losses of ullage air and humidity. This payload is capable of removing six crew equivalent, so it is directly applicable to ISS applications. Because of air save and water save, it is applicable for longer duration human space flight missions.

  Earth Applications
  

  Although designed for human spaceflight missions where ample access to the vacuum of space is available, the technology can be used in earth applications if access to a clean purge gas supply is available.

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  Operations
  
  Operational Requirements
  

  Once the experimental hardware is configured, the crew is not needed to operate the system. Because the payload is a full scale system, capable of six crew equivalent CO₂ removal, the mass flow of CO₂ out the ISS vacuum vent is relatively large compared to other payloads. This payload needs dedicated access to the ExPRESS rack vacuum jumper. Because this is a CO₂ removal experiment, this payload needs exposure to ISS cabin air.

  Operational Protocols
  

  After the crew configures the hardware and connects the payload to the ISS vacuum system, the payload can operate from ground controls. Cabin air is drawn through the payload system: first the air is drawn through the desiccant wheel which removes humidity from the air, then the CO₂ laden (but dry) cabin air is exposed to the amine swingbed. CO₂ is adsorbed, and dry, CO₂ free air is drawn through the regeneration section of the desiccant wheel. The water is stripped from the desiccant wheel, and returned to the cabin (in the form of warm, humid air that is free from CO₂). To assess system sustainability, the payload requests 1000 hours of operation time. This time can be segmented. An ideal segment would be two days of continuous operation. Because of startup effects, test durations lasting less than four hours can test hardware reliability, but not CO₂ removal performance.

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  Results/More Information
  

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  Results Publications
  
  

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  Ground Based Results Publications
  
  

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  ISS Patents
  
  

  Dean, II WC.  Swing Bed Canister with Heat Transfer Features. United States Patent and Trademark Office.7,637,988. Mar 23 2007.
  

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  Related Publications
  
  

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  Related Websites
  

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  Imagery
  
  

  Amine Swingbed unit.

  
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  NASA Image: ISS030E010406 - View of valve motor position sensor on the Amine Swingbed Hardware during Assembly in the U.S. Laboratory. Photo was taken during Expedition 30.
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  NASA Image: ISS030e010420 - Dan Burbank,Expedition 30 Commander,during Amine Swingbed Hardware Assembly in the U.S. Laboratory.
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