A laboratory scale test was conducted in a combined membrane process （CMP） with a capacity of 2.91 m3/d for 240 d to treat the mixed wastewater of humidity condensate, hygiene wastewater and urine in submarine cabin during prolonged voyage. Removal performance of chemical oxygen demand （COD）, ammonia nitrogen （NH4^＋-N）, turbidity and anionic surfactants （LAS） was investigated under different conditions. It was observed that the effluent COD, NH4^＋-N, turbidity and LAS flocculated in ranges of 0.19-0.85 mg/L, 0.03-0.18 mg/L, 0.0-0.15 NTU and 0.0-0.05 mg/L, respectively in spite of considerable fluctuation in corresponding influent of 2120-5350 mg/L, 79.5-129.3 mg/L, 110-181.1NTU and 4.9-5.4 mg/L. The effluent quality of the CMP could meet the requirements of mechanical water and hygiene water according to the class I water quality standards in China （GB3838-2002）. The removal rates of COD, NH4^＋-N, turbidity and LAS removed in the MBR were more than 90%, which indicated that biodegradation is indispensable and plays a major role in the wastewater treatment and reuse. A model, built on the back propagation neural network （BPNN） theory, was developed for the simulation of CMP and produced high reliability. The average error of COD and NH4^＋-N was 5.14% and 6.20%, respectively, and the root mean squared error of turbidity and LAS was 2.76% and 1.41%, respectively. The results indicated that the model well fitted the laboratory data, and was able to simulate the removal of COD, NH4^＋-N, turbidity and LAS. It also suggested that the model proposed could reflect and manage the operation of CMP for the treatment of the mixed wastewaters in submarine.
To improve the working and living environment of submarine crews, an integrated system of CO2 removal and O2 regeneration was designed to work under experimental conditions for 50 people in a submarine cabin during prolonged voyages. The integrated system comprises a solid amine water desorption （SAWD） unit for CO2 collection and concentration, a Sabatier reactor for CO2 reduction and a solid polymer electrolyte （SPE） unit for O2 regeneration by electrolysis. The performances of the SAWD-Sabatier-SPE integrated system were investigated. The experimental results from the SAWD unit showed that the average CO2 concentration in the CO2 storage tank was more than 96% and the outlet CO2 concentration was nearly zero in the first 45 min, and less than 1/10 of inlet CO2 after 60 min when input CO2 was 0.5% （1000 L）. About 950 L of CO2 was recovered with a recovery rate of 92%-97%. The output CO2 concentration was less than 0.2%, which showed that the adsorption-desorption performance of this unit was excellent. In the CO2 reduction unit we investigated mainly the start-up and reaction performance of the Sabatier reactor. The start-up time of the Sabatier reactor was 6, 8 and 10 rain when the start-up temperature was 187.3, 179.5 and 168 ℃, respectively. The product water was colorless, transparent, and had a pH of 6.9-7.5, and an electrical conductivity of 80μs/cm. The sum of the concentration of metal ions （Ru^3＋, Al^3＋, Pb^2＋） was 0.028% and that of nonmetal ions （Cl^-, SO4^2-） was 0.05%. In the O2 regeneration unit, the O2 generation rate was 0.48 m^3/d and the quantity was 2400 L, sufficient to meet the submariners＇ basic oxygen demands. These results may be useful as a basis for establishing CO2-1evel limits and O2 regeneration systems in submarines or similar enclosed compartments during prolonged voyages.
