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(Note: This research is still under funding through the NASA SBIR Program and additional test results will be available at the time of printing but was not included in this report.) Incineration of biomass is an alternative being considered for use on future long-duration, manned space flights. Given the concerns regarding the enclosed environment of a spacecraft, removing undesirable compounds from incinerator off-gas is a major design criteria for any such system. Reaction Engineering International, in conjunction with the University of Utah and Tufts University, have studied the use of catalysts for the reduction of certain undesirable compounds from the exhaust of a space-based biomass combustion system. Currently, a copper-doped fluorite catalyst is being evaluated. The tests being performed are meant to simulate actual combustion products, therefore a typical flue gas from the fluidized bed biomass combustor has been simulated in the laboratory.

Over the last three years, the University of Utah (UofU), NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), and Reaction Engineering International (REI) have been developing an incineration system for the regeneration of components in waste materials for long-term life support systems. The system includes a fluidized bed combustor and a catalytic flue gas clean up system. An experimental version of the incinerator was built at the UofU. The incinerator was tested and modified at ARC and then operated during the Phase III human testing at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) during 1997. This paper presents the results of the work at the three locations: the design and testing at UofU, the testing and modification at ARC, and the integration and operation during the Phase III tests at JSC.