Watkins A.E., Butler T., Dees D.
NASA - Stennis Space Center, US
Keywords: antimicrobial, disinfectant, o-phthaldehyde, water
O-phthaldehyde (OPA) is commonly used as a disinfectant that demonstrates microbicidal activity against a range of microorganisms. The Internal Active Thermal Control System (IATCS) is a water based system that helps facilitate heat transfer aboard International Space Station (ISS). An OPA water solution is required and used as a high level disinfectant to effectively inhibit growth and recovery of viable microorganisms in the IATCS coolant to prevent microbial negative impacts to coolant flow, heat transfer, corrosion. Accumulation of microorganisms on surfaces could result in material degradation, which could ultimately affect crew health and safety. Therefore, the concentration of the OPA in the coolant fluid is critical to maintaining functionality of IATCS. A process by which OPA was quantitated in water-based liquids using a high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method combined with post-column derivatization was developed. This developed and validated method to analyze OPA offers a new effective, low cost HPLC method that substantially reduces the future process waste stream and avoids potential health hazard effects from previously identified processes.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 2, Materials for Energy, Efficiency and Sustainability: TechConnect Briefs 2015
Published: June 14, 2015
Pages: 260 - 262
Industry sector: Energy & Sustainability
Topic: Water Technologies
ISBN: 978-1-4987-4728-8