US Investment in Space pays dividends
One of the most pressing requirements for maintaining life in space environments is the purification of air and water. On the International Space Station, the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) keeps the air fit for human life. It generates oxygen, removes carbon dioxide and removes human by products like ammonia (from sweat) and methane (well, space farts). However, when scientist decided to grow veggies onboard the station the chemistry became more complex. In particular, it is now necessary to remove excess ethylene from the air. This chemical causes fruit to ripen and eventually to over-ripen and putrefy.
Researchers with the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics came to NASA’s rescue with a Photo-Catalytic Oxidization (PCO) scrubber. The PCO device excites an ultra-thin layer of titanium dioxide with ultra-violet light in the presence of oxygen. This drives a chemical process on the metal’s surface that breaks apart organic molecules in the air. Works great to remove the ethylene and keep those space veggies fresh – Matt Damon would have need a big one of these in his Mars habitat to keep all those potatoes from rotting.
It also turns out that the anti-organic function of PCO systems can destroy the cell walls of bacteria, take apart viruses and decompose mold spores and other allergens in the air. This effect has many implications for Earthbound applications beyond keeping your bananas from spoiling. That’s why PCO has become a standard feature in high-end commercial and domestic air filtering systems.
The primary limitation of PCO is that all the chemical activity happens on the surface of the titanium dioxide, within the air filter. If you can cycle all the air through the device fast enough things work pretty well. That’s easy for removing ethylene in a tight environment, but isn’t so useful for things like bacteria sitting on your room’s surfaces.
The solution is in getting the chemistry from the catalytic action out to where the offending microorganisms and particles are hiding. One leading filtering firm, Aerus, invested over $10 million in acquiring and developing space technologies to create practical Earth based systems that can do just that. Their Active Pure Technology (a variant of Radiant Catalytic Ionization) system utilizes ambient moisture in the air to release hydroxyls and hydrogen peroxide from the PCO process into the air. Research shows that in addition to taking down airborne organics, these molecules settle on room surfaces where they effectively neutralize germs.
Recognizing Aerus’ significant investment in the commercialization of this NASA technology, the Space Foundation recently inducted the firm and its founder into the Space Technology Hall of Fame, a great tool for highlighting the contribution space makes to our economy. It reminds us that Aerus and hundreds of other firms make their money using space tech and they provide a lot U.S. based manufacturing, sales and distribution jobs in the process. Aerus founder Joe Urso remarked, “We are very fortunate to live in a time when space-age technology and innovation have such remarkable implications for us here on Earth.” Indeed, we are!