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UF/IFAS process can convert human-generated waste into fuel in space
http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/2014/11/ufifas-process-can-convert-human-generated-waste-into-fuel-in-space/[font face=Serif][font size=5]UF/IFAS process can convert human-generated waste into fuel in space[/font]
November 25, 2014
[font size=3]GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Human waste may have a new use: sending NASA spacecraft from the moon back to Earth.
Until now, the waste has been collected to burn up on re-entry. What’s more, like so many other things developed for the space program, the process could well turn up on Earth, said Pratap Pullammanappallil, a University of Florida associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.
“It could be used on campus or around town, or anywhere, to convert waste into fuel,” Pullammanappallil said.
…
“We were trying to find out how much methane can be produced from uneaten food, food packaging and human waste,” said Pullammanappallil, a UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences faculty member and Dhoble’s adviser. “The idea was to see whether we could make enough fuel to launch rockets and not carry all the fuel and its weight from Earth for the return journey. Methane can be used to fuel the rockets. Enough methane can be produced to come back from the moon.”
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2014.06.029
November 25, 2014
[font size=3]GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Human waste may have a new use: sending NASA spacecraft from the moon back to Earth.
Until now, the waste has been collected to burn up on re-entry. What’s more, like so many other things developed for the space program, the process could well turn up on Earth, said Pratap Pullammanappallil, a University of Florida associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.
“It could be used on campus or around town, or anywhere, to convert waste into fuel,” Pullammanappallil said.
…
“We were trying to find out how much methane can be produced from uneaten food, food packaging and human waste,” said Pullammanappallil, a UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences faculty member and Dhoble’s adviser. “The idea was to see whether we could make enough fuel to launch rockets and not carry all the fuel and its weight from Earth for the return journey. Methane can be used to fuel the rockets. Enough methane can be produced to come back from the moon.”
…[/font][/font]