Achintya Bezbaruah, assistant professor of environmental engineering, and a group of junior high students from West Fargo, took first place out of more than 300 teams in the nationwide Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge organized by NASA. The competition aimed to find a design that converts human urine and wastewater into drinkable water to reduce future lunar settlers’ dependence on the Earth. It costs about $22,000 to transport one liter of water from the Earth to the moon.
The team devoted more than 800 research hours to come up with the winning design concept. Bezbaruah was their adviser for the project. They worked like a research group with weekly research meetings and conducted their experiment following the engineering design process. The College of Architecture and Engineering sponsored the project.
The students tested activated carbon, zeolites, ion-exchange resin, baking soda, vinegar and how simple storage can remove ammonia from water. Each student ran different systems in their basements. They estimate the wastewater treated using their winning system will cost $2,000 per liter as compared to the present $20,000 per liter.
As the top design team in the country, the students and Bezbaruah will receive an all-expense paid trip to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida where they will meet with NASA experts, enjoy VIP tours and, if the timing works out, witness the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station.