Firstly, we high school students brainstormed about recycling water in space. And we found solutions for this hypothesis.
The working logic of the washing machine is as follows: The laundry is put into the perforated drum and after the necessary program settings are made, the laundry is in the cleaning path. When we close the door of the washing machine, the energy passes through the closed contact of the water level switch and energizes the water inlet valve coils, allowing the water to enter the faucet. The water starts to fill the drum by taking the detergent from the detergent box. The water fills under the control of the water level switch. After sufficient water is reached, the closed contact of the water level switch opens, cutting the energy of the water inlet valves and the machine stops taking water.
The energy comes from the water level switch to the speed control unit and the washing motor through the program device. Washing motor runs. With the belt-pulley assembly, the motor rotates the drum. The laundry begins to be washed. On the other hand, the energy comes to the resistance and the water starts to heat up. When the water is heated to the desired temperature, the thermostat cuts the energy of the heater.
After the washing process is finished, it comes to the rinsing phase. The program device sends energy to the pump motor.
The water coming out of the machine is sent to the reservoir.
We separate the water accumulated in the chamber by distillation, which is one of the separation methods of homogeneous mixtures. The logic of the mechanism for the separation is as follows: We take the water vapor according to the boiling temperature with the logic that the heated gases rise to the separate chambers in the upper position from the main chamber. Common cleaning materials used are:
– Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate (ABS)
– Alpha Olefin Sulfonate (AOS)
– Straight Alcohol Sulfonate (AS)
– Secondary Alcohol Sulfonate (SAS)
The boiling point of these substances can be taken into account. The evaporated water vapor is allowed to pass into the liquid phase, this water should not be consumed for human health because: Some of the hydrogen bonds cannot dissolve. Therefore, we will return this water to the tank we used at the beginning and start the endless adventure of water. :)
by Sude and Furkan