Water Reclamation
water_reclamation_system
Recovers water from all waste streams including atmospheric condensate, hygiene wastewater, manufacturing effluent, and fuel cell exhaust for return to the purification system.
Purpose
Close the water loop by capturing every possible water molecule from all Ark processes, achieving the zero-loss target essential for long-term sustainability.
Context
The return leg of the closed water cycle, collecting dispersed water from humidity, waste, and process streams and consolidating it for re-purification and reuse.
Principles
- ▸Every water-containing waste stream must have a recovery pathway
- ▸Atmospheric humidity recovery captures transpired and evaporated water
- ▸Wastewater includes hygiene (gray) and sanitary (black) water
- ▸Manufacturing process water recovered from coolant and rinse systems
- ▸Fuel cell product water is high-purity and directly reusable
Typical implementations
- ▸Condensing heat exchangers for atmospheric humidity recovery
- ▸Vapor compression distillation for wastewater processing
- ▸Membrane bioreactors for organic waste water treatment
- ▸Activated carbon adsorption for VOC and contaminant removal
- ▸Centrifugal phase separators for low-gravity water-air separation
- ▸Brine processor to recover water from concentrated waste
Lunar considerations
- ▸Zero-gravity fluid separation requires centrifugal or membrane approaches
- ▸Brine residuals must be fully processed -- no disposal option on Moon
- ▸Atmospheric recovery must handle both habitat and greenhouse humidity
- ▸Manufacturing effluent may contain metal particles and cutting fluid residues
- ▸Recovery rate must approach 99.9% to meet zero-loss constraint
Specifications
Functional
| primary function | Recover water from all Ark waste streams and return it to the purification system for reuse |
| inputs | atmospheric_condensate, gray_water, black_water, manufacturing_effluent, fuel_cell_water |
| outputs | reclaimed_water_for_purification, solid_waste_residuals |
| recovery rate | >99.9% of input water mass |
| condensate collection | >95% of atmospheric humidity above setpoint |
| brine processing | 100% of brine water recovered |
| residual output | dry solid waste only |
Physical
| materials | stainless_steel_condensers, distillation_membranes, activated_carbon, centrifugal_separators, brine_evaporators |
| location | pressurized utility module |
| temperature | 20-90 C across process stages |
| biological containment | required for black water processing |
Operational
| thermal range c | -173, 127 |
| lifetime years | 100 |
Interfaces
Provides
- Recovered water for re-purification
- Dry solid waste from brine processing
Requires
- All used water streams from Ark consumers
- Humid air from habitat and greenhouse modules
- Power for distillation, pumps, and centrifuges
Decomposes into
Cite this entry
Lunar Ark Codex. "Water Reclamation" (L2-WTR-RECL). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://lunarark.com/entry/L2-WTR-RECL
Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. You may reuse and adapt this entry with attribution, under the same licence.