Joint Service Initiative- CONsolidated and Deployable Omni- Recycling (CONDOR) System
Joint Services Environmental Management Conference May 21-24, 2007 Mike Henley and Robert Diltz, AFRL/MLQ Lixiong Li and Ted Marolla, ARA John Huston, CTC Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate Airbase Technologies Division Tyndall AFB, Florida Approved for Public Release- MLQ 07-038 Purpose of CONDOR
Manage Liquid and Solid Wastes to Maintain Sanitary Conditions at Deployed Facilities Recover Material/ Energy Resources Enhance Force Protection
2 JSEM Conference – May 2007 Rationale
Deployed airbases generate large quantities of liquid and solids wastes Current waste treatment and disposal methods - Require ground support personnel - Pose a threat to base security and sanitary conditions Water is essential and high volume non-weaponry supplies
3 JSEM Conference – May 2007 The Blast at Khobar Towers
Nineteen airmen died and scores wounded caused by a SEWAGE TANKER TRUCK loaded with explosives
Aftermath of an explosion with the force of > 20,000 lbs of TNT took place at approximately 9:50 PM on June 25, 1998 (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) Source: Air Force Magazine OnLine (June 1998, Vol. 81, No. 6)
4 JSEM Conference – May 2007 Technology Overview- Waste to Resource
Generation Sources Types/Rates The CONDOR System Concept AFRL/MLQ concept Food Wastes aimed at processing Kitchen (3,000 lbs/day) Bio-H2 Dark H2 Electrical Blackwater Fermentation Energy multiple waste streams (MLQL) Broth Toilet (70,000 lbs/day) FC Sugars, Microbial hydrogen Graywater Water Sludge Solids (58,000 lbs/day) Off- production by dark Tent City Saccharification Gas fermentation of liquid Paper/Cardboard & Sterilization Air ( 4,000 lbs/day) (MLQL) Hospital wastes Medical Wastes Water Solids Significantly reduces (150 lbs/day) Heat RO Admin. Wood/Plastics Solid Waste/ Support Off Gas volume of solid wastes (2,000 lbs/day) Liquid Fuel- Burner (MLQF) Products include: Weapon Waste Fuel/Oils Systems (300 lbs/day) – Clean water Air Ash Water – Electricity FC – Fuel Cell RO – Reverse Osmosis (via H2 Fuel cells) – Ash CONDOR Concept Schematic
5 JSEM Conference – May 2007 Anaerobic Digestion Process 17-L bio-reactor prototype demonstrated at AFRL/MLQL
Close-up view at the gas-liquid interface, showing gas bubbles
(55% H2 and 45% CO2).
6 JSEM Conference – May 2007 Hydrothermal Saccharification of Paper Products
Waste paper Reactor Residue
Liquid effluent from hydrothermal Saccharification: Hydrolysate (Left) and Hydrolysate + Kitchen Waste (Right)
7 JSEM Conference – May 2007 Reverse Osmosis Processing of Dark Fermentation Broth
Fermentation Broth AFRL/MLQ RO Prototype
Permeate Water
8 JSEM Conference – May 2007 CONDOR Prototype
Prototype Development - Developed by CTC under JSI Task No. 0429 - Conceptual and layout designs - Hardware fabrication Design Capabilities - solid and liquid wastes - 50 kg/day - proportions simulate deployed airbase wastes Collaborative effort -AFRL/MLQ -ARA - NDCEE - CTC
9 JSEM Conference – May 2007 CONDOR Prototype (cont.)
Initial integration of process subsystems Skid-mounted design for easy transport and system scale-up CONDOR Prototype Utilized Touch Screen Panel operator interface with integrated Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)
Hydrothermal Processor
10 JSEM Conference – May 2007 CONDOR Prototype (cont.)
Custom Bioreactor design enables AFRL/MLQ to test larger volume of waste materials AFRL/MLQ will utilize this prototype to evaluate interactions of the integrated subsystems and optimize system
operating parameters Dark Fermenter / Bioreactor
11 JSEM Conference – May 2007 Initial Bioreactor Prototype Experiment
100 Simulated Kitchen Waste H2 Concentration p H = 5.5 - 5.7 16 H2 Production Rate Temp = 37.5oC HRT = 10 hr Predicted 14 80 12 Typical H2 Conc = 50 - 62%
60 10 - day) R
8
40 Rate (L/L Rate 2 Typical H2 Rate = 2 - 5 L/LR-day 6 H Concentration in(%) Biogas 2
H 4 20
Feed 2 Start up Over night Feed 0 0
-1000 -500 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 Time (min)
12 JSEM Conference – May 2007 Summary
A skid-mounted CONDOR Prototype developed (FY06) Currently under process optimization at AFRL/MLQ labs (FY07) CONDOR performance targets: – 17% of harvestable energy in wastes – 50% Water recovery – 90% Volume reduction in solid wastes Field tests and demonstration (FY08+) Technology transfer
13 JSEM Conference – May 2007