TARDEC Purifies Water From Vehicle Exhaust
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb 16, 2005 /The U.S. Army's Tank Automotive
Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) today announced that
it has developed a vehicle-based water purification, generation and recovery
technology to deliver a dependable source of potable water from emissions.
Developed in concert with Lexington Carbon Company, the Water Recovery Unit
from Exhaust (WRUE) technology condenses water from exhausted gas, and then
purifies it using a three-stage filtration process. Once enough water is
collected in an on-board storage tank, Soldiers can draw water from a tap
located on the vehicle.
"Our troops in the field require up to three gallons of water every day to
prevent dehydration," said Dr. Richard McClelland, director of TARDEC. "This
breakthrough technology not only reduces the logistic footprint of water
transportation, but it also makes a seemingly useless vehicle waste a
valuable commodity."
TARDEC leads the Army's water distribution and purification research
efforts. In addition, TARDEC is currently working with the Office of Naval
Research to develop an Expeditionary Unit Water Purifier (EUWP) as part of a
congressionally sponsored program designed to reduce the overall cost of
purifying water. Based on an ultra-filtration membrane process followed by a
reverse osmosis desalination process, the system is capable of purifying,
storing and dispensing potable water in any austere environment from
virtually any potential source of water. The EUWP is compatible with a
number of commercial and military line haul transporters, and can be brought
in by air using a single sortie of C-130 fixed-wing aircraft.
The 100,000 gallon per day EUWP was designed and fabricated within 15 months
of contract award and is currently undergoing a functional evaluation at the
Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center's Seawater Desalination Test
Facility in Pt. Hueneme, Calif. The final destination for this system is the
Bureau of Reclamation's Tularosa Basin National Desalination Research
Facility in Alamagordo, N.M., where it will be used to evaluate emerging
water purification technologies.
The success of the EUWP concept has generated the authorization to fabricate
a second system that will be used to evaluate alternative operational
concepts to include both military (humanitarian aid, nation building,
Sustainment and Support Operations) and civil support (disaster relief,
emergency response, homeland security) missions. Currently, TARDEC plans to
demonstrate the second unit at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, Africa, in support
of the Coalition Joint Task Force Horn of Africa.
"TARDEC is proud to provide technical support to ONR in developing this EUWP
as we assist our Joint Expeditionary efforts supporting the Global War on
Terrorism effort," McClelland added.
WRUE Technology
The WRUE technology is based on the primary combustion products of diesel
fuel -- water and carbon dioxide. Theoretically, one gallon of diesel fuel
produces approximately one gallon of water. In order to recover potable
water from engine emissions, the water must be condensed from the exhaust
gas and then purified. The condensate contains oxides of nitrogen and sulfur
and a number of other regulated contaminants removed during the three-stage
filtration process. Test results demonstrated a system that consistently
recovered 50 to 60 percent of the theoretically available water, all of
which is suitable for drinking.
Once the water is collected and purified, troops can draw water out of an
on-board storage tank from a tap located near the rear passenger side of the
vehicle.
TARDEC's WRUE technology addresses a considerable Future Force need to
supply troops by generating enough water required to sustain a brigade-size
element. An analysis performed by the Quartermaster Center and School
predicted that water will account for 30 to 40 percent of the Future Force
daily sustainment weight requirement. It is predicted that the Future Force
will require 100 tons (25,000 gallons) of water per day. In generating clean
water from vehicle exhaust, the WRUE can greatly reduce the logistic
footprint of the Future Force.
TARDEC, headquartered at the Detroit Arsenal, Warren, Mich., is the nation's
laboratory for advanced military automotive technology. TARDEC's mission is
to research, develop, engineer, leverage and integrate advanced technology
into ground systems and support equipment throughout the life cycle.
TARDEC's 1,100 associates develop and maintain vehicles for all U.S. Armed
Forces, many federal agencies and more than 60 foreign countries. TARDEC
pushes the state-of-the-art in programs including power and energy, advanced
collaborative environments, robotics, electric drive and embedded simulation
to provide the Army with the materiel solutions it demands. TARDEC leads
several Army Future Force science and technology efforts -- collaborating
with the Army's combat developers -- to ensure we field robust equipment
that meets aggressive cost, schedule and performance standards.
SOURCE TARDEC
Scott Sadlon, +1-703-253-0944, for TARDEC
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