panel and in each of the portable con- 

 taminant removal system cannisters. It 

 absorbed organic vapors, odors and am- 

 monia. 



— Purafil — This material is pelletized acti- 

 vated alumina impregnated with potas- 

 sium permanganate. Purafil removed 

 odors, organic vapors, organic acids, 

 phenols, sulfides, and nitrogen oxides. 



— Hopcalite — A catalyst with the primary 

 function of oxidizing carbon monoxide to 

 carbon dioxide (also handled aldehydes, 

 alcohols, etc.). 



— Acamite — Absorbed alkaline fumes (NHg) 

 and also acted as a drier. 



— Kalite — Absorbed acid fumes (HCl, HjS, 

 etc.). 



Waste Management System 



The waste management system chemically 

 treated and stored metabolic wastes onboard 

 the vessel. As the toilet flushed, germicide 

 was automatically metered into the exit 

 stream. The wastes then entered a macera- 

 tor where they were simultaneously pulver- 

 ized and thoroughly mixed with the germi- 

 cide. The treated wastes were held in the 

 macerator between toilet uses. It was during 

 this period that biological organisms were 

 inactivated. Wastes were then pumped from 

 the macerator into the waste storage tank 

 where they remained. 



Toilet odors were handled by a blower 

 which drew air through a cannister filled 

 with Purafil. Storage tank odors were han- 

 dled by a vent line that fed into the odor 

 removal cannister. Two waste tanks were 

 installed — a "mini waste" tank and a "waste 

 storage" tank. The mini waste tank collected 

 water from the three sinks and shower. This 

 tank stowed the water for use in flushing the 

 toilet. 



Contaminant Detection 



Trace contaminant detection was accom- 

 plished with Drager type gas detector tubes, 

 a method requiring no power. Forty different 

 tubes, many of which detect more than one 

 contaminant, were available. Measurements 

 were made by breaking the tops off of the 

 tubes and inserting the tubes into a hand 

 operated bellows pump. 



Atmosphere Exchange System 



The function of the atmosphere exchange 

 system was to purge the vehicle's atmos- 

 phere and replenish it with fresh air. The 

 system consisted of a portable blower at- 

 tached to approximately 30 feet of flexible 

 ducting. The system was to be used when: 

 — Smoke due to a fire or insulation break- 

 down filled the vehicle. 

 — The carbon dioxide level reached 3.0 per- 

 cent. 

 — The oxygen partial pressure reached a 



hazardous level. 

 — A trace contaminant level built up and 

 could not be removed by the contami- 

 nant removal system. 



Potable Water System 



The potable water supply consisted of both 

 hot and cold water (Fig. 9.21). The cold water 

 was stored in four saddle tanks each of which 

 held approximately 95 gallons and the hot 

 water was stored in four super insulated 

 tanks each of which held 50 gallons. The 

 tanks were initially filled with cold fresh 

 water from dockside. Two inline filters re- 

 moved gross particles and bacteria. A second 

 bacterial filtering was performed as water 

 was drawn from the cold water tanks by 

 another filter on the cold water discharge 

 line. Hot water was prepared by using the 

 electric immersion heaters in the insulated 

 tanks. 



Food 



The food supply on BEN FRANKLIN con- 

 sisted of commercially obtained freeze-dried 

 meals, the preparation of which entailed 

 mixing with water. Five different menus for 



I^ a 



COLO WATER RESERVE 



HOT WATER 



w 



W 



o- 



-a 



X 



6 



3 C 



0< 



# BACTERIAL FILTER 



5 



GALLE 



SHOWER 



Fig. 9.21 Water management system on BEN FRANKLIN. |From Ref. (16)] 



447 



