The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) – Advanced Power Technology Office (APTO), has chosen Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) to develop an Expeditionary Black Water Processing System (EBWPS) that will reduce environmental impacts of wastewater on host nations and enhance the security of deployed personnel. The competitively awarded contract is worth approximately $1.6 million.
“The EBWPS will complement and work holistically with the Expeditionary Wastewater Reuse System (EWRS) that CTC developed several years ago to recycle grey water at Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resource (BEAR) sites,” said Thomas J. Piro, Project Manager.
“The EWRS was designed to reclaim 90 percent of grey water from showers and laundry. That’s less water that Airmen have to truck in at BEAR sites, saving time while reducing the risk of transport through hostile territory.
“When deployed, the EWRS will create an unexpected good news, bad news scenario. Because the new grey water system will reclaim all but 10 percent of grey water at BEAR sites, the black water (sewage) at BEAR sites will no longer be liquid enough, making disposal problematic. Our Air Force client returned to CTC engineers to develop a black water system that will complement the grey water system,” Piro said.