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The paper reviews the results obtained with a Sievers-820 total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer during ground tests of the Mir water recovery system (WRS). Calibration analysis results for water solution samples of individual compounds, typical of spacecraft atmospheric humidity condensate, and their mixtures are provided. Comparison of the test results to the calculated data and laboratory analyses performed by other methods are made. Analyzer readings are in good agreement with the chemical analyses of initial condensate and recovered water. The analyzer shows promise as an instrument for ground and future onboard spacecraft testing.

The paper presents the results of ground and flight (on OSS Mir) tests of an updated purification assembly of the WRS-C system outfitted with a filter-reactor. The tests have proved that the filter-reactor oxidizes effectively basic organic contaminants in humidity condensate including ethyleneglycol to ones that easily undergo sorption, enables the operation of the recovery system in the event of an off-design increase in organic contaminants in condensate and significantly improves the lifetime of the purification assembly. The data obtained confirm a wise selection of the purification assembly hardware for the system for water recovery from humidity condensate WRS-CM for the ISS service module.

This paper deals with water reclamation from humidity condensate and urine schematics and processes realized on orbital space stations Salut and Mir. The results of research in updated processes and schematics for condensate separation, purification and distillation with heat energy recovery are described. It is shown that the processes and hardware make possible to reduce energy demand and the weight of the water recovery systems under operation on space stations.