Spacecraft and lunar bases generate a variety of wastes containing
water, including food wastes, feces, and brines.  Disposal of these
wastes, as well as recovery of water, is necessary.  However,
evaporation of water also evaporates compounds with foul odors, some of
which are much more volatile than water.  Even apart from a water
recovery system, foul odors sap crew morale, and must be eliminated. NanoScale&lt;!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
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 Corporation has developed a formulation of its proprietary sorbents,
termed OdorKlenz&lt;sup&gt;TM&lt;/sup&gt;
, that has been shown to effectively remove odorous compounds from air
by destructive adsorption.  NanoScale proposes development of a similar
formulation, built around nanocrystalline metal oxides manufactured by
NanoScale's proprietary procedures, such as NanoActive TiO2, NanoActive
MgO, and NanoActive ZnO, to remove foul odors in a system that can
recover water from wastes.  The odor control system will function during
waste storage, and also during water recovery . In Phase I, NanoScale
will demonstrate feasibility by developing a formulation of metal oxides
capable of removing odorous compounds from food and sanitary wastes, and
compatible with a water recovery system.  Specific test compounds
include skatole (3-methylindole, found in feces), putrescine
(1,4-diaminobutane, in rotten protein), ammonia (urine), ethanethiol,
hydrogen sulfide (rotten eggs, flatus), butyric acid (rancid butter),
and butyraldehyde.  Gas streams containing these compounds will be
passed through beds of the metal oxide formulation, with concentrations
measured by GC, before and after passing through the bed.  In Phase II,
the odor control system will be integrated into the specific details of
spacecraft and envisioned lunar stations.  Then, brassboard hardware
will be developed and evaluated. NanoScale, having pioneered the
synthesis and manufacture of nanocrystalline metal oxides for
destructive adsorption of hazardous compounds, is uniquely qualified to
perform the proposed work.