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In bioregenerative life support systems, crop residues represent a source of biochemical energy for production of chemicals, pulp products and secondary foods. Hydrolysis of the structural carbohydrates in biomass produces edible glucose as well as various 5-carbon sugars usable by microorganisms. However, the biomass must be pretreated before hydrolysis to remove minerals useful as plant nutrients, break down lignin, and improve access of the enzymes to the carbohydrates. Some pre-treatments also hydrolyze part or all of the hemicellulose, leaving purified cellulose. For use in space, pretreatments must be safe, rapid and as complete as practicable. This paper will present a process comparison of three “space-compatible” pretreatment methods for lignocellu-losic crop residues from bioregenerative life support systems. Ozonation, alkaline hydrogen peroxide, and strong alkali treatment use only regenerable materials and mild processing conditions.

The impact on the water recovery and reclamation system resulting from laundry operations has been the primary obstacle to the implementation of a laundry capable for long duration space missions. Such an onboard system can provide improved housekeeping effectiveness and crew health maintenance aspects. Electrochemically generated ozone was used as a laundry (cleaning) agent under simulated washing conditions and compared with Tide® and dodecynlbenzoicsuccinic acid (DBSA). Three aspects were studied: (i) cleaning ability; (ii) disinfection potential; and, (iii) impact on the resulting laundry water. In most instances, ozone provided a detergent-like cleaning ability that was as good as, or better than, Tide® or DBSA. Ozone was a superior disinfectant and, more importantly, had a low impact on the laundry wash water in terms of its potential for recycling.