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 16 Simulated Kitchen Waste H2 Concentration p H = 5.5 - 5.7 o H2 Production Rate Temp = 37.5 C 14 HRT = 10 hr 80 Predicted 12 Typical H2 Conc = 50 - 62% 10 60 - day) R 8 40 6 (L/L Rate 2 Typical H2 Rate = 2 - 5 L/LR-day H Concentration in(%) Biogas 2 4 H 20 2 Feed 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.