NASA SBIR 2004 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
TDA Research, Inc.
12345 West 52nd Ave
Wheat Ridge ,CO 80033 - 1916
(303) 422 - 7818

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
David T Wickham
wickham@tda.com
12345 W. 52nd Ave.
Wheat Ridge, CO  80033 -1916
(303) 940 - 2350

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
In February 2004 NASA released "The Vision for Space Exploration". The important goals include extending human presence in the solar system culminating in the exploration of Mars and other remote destinations. One of the most critical problems facing such space missions is identification of effective methods to control solid waste. With current waste models, 1300 kg of waste occupying a volume 20 m3 will be generated in a 180-day mission to Mars. Unprocessed waste poses a biological hazard to the crew and exposure to odors from untreated waste is a threat to crew health and morale. In Phase I TDA identified a low temperature process that effectively oxidized five model waste compounds to carbon dioxide and water at temperatures up to 220^oC. In addition the reaction rates we measured are much greater than biological oxidation process currently under development. In addition, we found that the quantity of NOX formed was very low. In the Phase II portion of the project, TDA will optimize the reactor configuration, identify the most effective oxidation conditions, and finally design and construct a fully automated pilot scale system for waste treatment that will be delivered to NASA Ames Research Center at the conclusion of the project.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The most immediate NASA application for a low-temperature oxidation process would be to control solid waste on a long-term space mission. In addition, the process would find use removing carbon deposits that accumulate in hard to reach places in diesel and turbine engines. Disassembling these parts for cleaning can be time consuming and costly. In addition, the parts typically cannot be heated to 500-600^oC where the carbon could be burned out with air. However the identification of a low temperature cleaning process could provide an inexpensive process to clean these components.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
In addition to the use our process would find in controlling waste, there are several commercial applications. The process can be applied to any situation where oxidation at low temperatures is necessary. For example the process can be used to clean hydrocarbons from semiconductors, magnetic disks, medical devices, flight hardware, etc. High temperature processes would damage these components, however at the moderate temperatures required with this process, these components would not be harmed.