Abstract: A compact, portable clothes washer and dryer system requires no direct water connection or drain line and includes a feed reservoir for holding hot or cold water; a basket for receiving clothes and said water from said feed reservoir; a filtration membrane unit that generates permeate for rinsing said clothes and retentate; a motor for operating said basket; a pump for circulating water from said feed reservoir through said membrane unit and to said basket; and a heating assembly for drying said clothes in said basket. The system reduces water usage and gray water generation for washing clothes. The system is particularly useful in dormitories, small apartments, or other remote dwellings where water is scarce or where there are no water feed lines or drains.

Abstract: A method and system for storing and delivering a noble gas for an ion propulsion system where an adsorbent bearing a noble gas is heated within a storage vessel to desorb the noble gas which is then flowed through a pressure reduction device to a thruster assembly. The pressure and flow is controlled using a flow restrictor and low wattage heater which heats an adsorbent bed containing the noble gas propellant at low pressures. Flow rates of 5-60 sccm can be controlled to within about 0.5% or less and the required input power is generally less than 50 W. This noble gas storage and delivery system and method can be used for earth orbit satellites, and lunar or planetary space missions.

Abstract: A compact, portable clothes washer and dryer system requires no direct water connection or drain line and includes a feed reservoir for holding hot or cold water; a basket for receiving clothes and said water from said feed reservoir; a filtration membrane unit that generates permeate for rinsing said clothes and retentate; a motor for operating said basket; a pump for circulating water from said feed reservoir through said membrane unit and to said basket; and a heating assembly for drying said clothes in said basket. The system reduces water usage and gray water generation for washing clothes. The system is particularly useful in dormitories, small apartments, or other remote dwellings where water is scarce or where there are no water feed lines or drains.

Abstract: A thermal control method and apparatus flows refrigerant of a vapor compression system through a plate of an avionics pod so as to provide a compact and efficient cooling technique for aircraft performing a variety of missions. The plate can serve as an evaporator in a heat pump loop or a heat exchanger in a pumped coolant loop. As a result, the same components can be used for convection cooling and compressor-assisted cooling. At lower temperatures, the pump is operational whereas under less favorable conditions the compressor is operable. A bypass can be provided to provide thermal control where ambient temperature is excessively low. A water boiler can also be utilized when, for short periods, the ambient temperature is higher than the desired temperature for the electronics package.

Abstract: An additive is introduced into a fluid system and dissolved in a carrier fluid which is immiscible or slightly miscible in the fluid system, wherein the carrier fluid is subsequently removed from the fluid system. This method can be used to detect leaks, wherein an on-off UV light source, such as xenon light, can be used to detect the leak visually.

Abstract: Metal powders or granules, comprised of at least 2 alloyed metals selected from the group consisting of alkaline metals, alkali metals, transition metals, metalloids, and rare earth metals are coated with an organic monomer, oligomer, polymer, or other organic compound. The metal powders or granules are in hydride, oxide, or reduced form. The coated metal powders or granules are used to decompose and/or immobilize organic compounds containing at least one hetero atom.

Abstract: A solid-solid hybrid gas generator composition includes a solid gas generator material and a solid, flame retardant material. The flame retardant material may include one or more bromine-, chlorine- and phosphorous-containing compounds. The gas generator material and flame retardant material may be in the same vessel.

Abstract: Method and compositions for reducing or removing ice formation from surfaces where the compositions consist essentially of (i) one or more polyhydric alcohols and (ii) one or more non-potassium, low carbon percentage organic compounds, and optionally one or more non-potassium, non-halide inorganic compounds and/or monohydric alcohols, whereby the freezing point of the composition is depressed.

Abstract: A performance enhancing additive is introduced into a vapor compression system used in cooling and the like. The additive is selected from a class of compounds, e.g. tetraglyme, and added in a predetermined concentration measured relative to the mass of the system's lubricant. The additive can be soluble or non-soluble in the lubricant used in the system's single-phase compressor. It can be added anywhere in the system to provide lower thermodynamic load on the system compressor.

Abstract: A method and system decomposes or immobilizes organic wastes using a metal alloy agent comprised of at least two metals selected from transition metals, alkaline metal and/or and rare earth metals. The method first uses hydrogen and oxygen, with and without mechanical agitation, to decrepitate and activate the metal alloy powders. The organic waste compounds are then introduced to the activated metal alloys. This method of decomposing organic materials effectively destroys organic compounds which contain halogens, sulfur, phosphorous, oxygen, and higher order bonds.

Abstract: A process and system recycles and reuses gray water generated by dishwashers, showers, carwashes, and clothes washers while maintaining the same cleaning performance as current systems. Hollow-fiber membrane ultrafiltration is used to reduce fresh water supply demands and gray water generation where voluminous quantities of the latter are generated. For a clothes washer, the gray water reuse or recycle system consists of a closed-loop water recycle which can be redirected to a storage tank for other applications, or directly used in situ with a clothes washer for subsequent rinse cycles. The process uses, at a minimum, 50% less water than conventional residential and commercial washers, and also decreases detergent requirements by 30% because a portion of the rinse water can be re-used for subsequent wash cycles.

Abstract: A system is adapted to be vehicle mounted and powered by a D.C. source coupled with an inverter to cool individuals or temperature sensitive hardware under uncomfortable ambient conditions. The system includes a pumped liquid circulation loop which can be connected by self-sealing lines with cooling garments, temperature sensitive hardware and the like. An evaporative heat exchanger is provided in the loop as well as a liquid reservoir which is sized to limit short cycling of a compressor in a refrigeration loop associated therewith via the evaporative heat exchanger. A hot gas bypass can be associated with the compressor to allow recirculation of the superheated refrigerant gas when cooling is not required.

Abstract: A performance enhancing additive is introduced into a vapor compression system used in cooling and the like. The additive is selected from a class of compounds, e.g. tetraglyme, and added in a predetermined concentration measured relative to the mass of the system's lubricant. The additive can be soluble or non-soluble in the lubricant used in the system's single-phase compressor. It can be added anywhere in the system to provide lower thermodynamic load on the system compressor.

Abstract: An alcohol, specifically ethanol, methanol and isopropanol, is used to remove acid from a refrigeration system, a heat pump or an air conditioner. The alcohol vaporizes acid, primarily inorganic acid, in the system and, in the filter/dryer, reacts with surfaces or is adsorbed. The alcohol, the quantity of which is determined from the capacity of the filter/dryer, is introduced into the compressor oil sump for thorough mixing with the oil during compressor lubrication.

Abstract: Phase-change materials are used to preserve temperature-sensitive items such as biological specimens without subjecting the latter to extreme heat or extreme cold. Such use provides active thermal control due to melting and solidification of the phase-change materials at constant temperature.

Abstract: A portable, electrically powered refrigerant recovery system and method uses a single manifold to reduce fabrication time and costs. A hot gas discharge port in combination with a check valve allows the recovery system to be utilized as a vacuum pump as well as a refrigerant recovery device. A rectangular aluminum oil separator has internal baffles and is located between the inlet and a compressor. A low-voltage control circuit uses a latching circuit to avoid short cycling of the compressor and thereby increase compressor life. The system provides an improved push-pull recovery method in which superheated refrigerant vapor from the compressor is diverted directly to the system being recovered so that the superheated vapor is returned to the unit being emptied to speed the recovery process.

Abstract: Metal-ligand complexes produced by coordination chemistry for use as a biocide and a method for detoxifying water or effluent are disclosed. Metallic biocides are bound with acceptable complexing agents as a type of coordination compound to shield the metal ions from other reactants in the water supply being treated while keeping the metal ions available for biocidal action. In particular, pre-mixed solutions of metal-ligand complexes are added as a disinfectant to water containing ions such as calcium, iron, carbonates, chlorides, nitrates, phosphates, and sulfates.

Abstract: In a refrigerant recovery/recycling apparatus, a primary vapor-type filter/dryer is arranged downstream of the system inlet which receives recovered vapor refrigerant. The filter/dryer is provided with isolation valves upstream and downstream thereof so as to allow replacement of the cores. An oil separator is located downstream of the primary filter/dryer. To prevent excessive inlet pressures to the compressor of the recovery apparatus, a crankcase pressure regulator is provided upstream of the compressor inlet, in addition to high-and low-pressure shut-off switches. Furthermore, an oil separator is provided at the compressor outlet to remove any compressor oil from the superheated vapor refrigerant emerging from the compressor and returning that oil to the compressor via a return line. Condensed liquid refrigerant is provided to the recycling apparatus of the system by first passing through a second or recirculation filter/dryer, again one of conventional construction with replaceable filter cores.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for treating and detoxifying salts-hydroxides scrubber wastes containing nitrite salts or sulfite salts so that the final product has low nitrite or sulfite content, a neutral pH and is usable either as a base blend or as a stand-alone liquid product for agricultural applications. One approach is to have a continuous flow oxidation of the waste solution by ozone followed by a neutralization step with MKP. Another approach is to perform oxidation and neutralization in one step by the addition of hydrogen peroxide and MKP.

Abstract: A portable, electrically powered refrigerant recovery system and method uses a single manifold to reduce fabrication time and costs. A hot gas discharge port in combination with a check valve allows the recovery system to be utilized as a vacuum pump as well as a refrigerant recovery device. A rectangular aluminum oil separator has internal baffles and is located between the inlet and a compressor. A low-voltage control circuit uses a latching circuit to avoid short cycling of the compressor and thereby increase compressor life. The system provides an improved push-pull recovery method in which superheated refrigerant vapor from the compressor is diverted directly to the system being recovered so that the superheated vapor is returned to the unit being emptied to speed the recovery process.