Any practical benefits for those of us here on earth?

Of immediate benefit to the U.S. industry is the following: researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, under contract to NASA Lewis Research Center for the performance of microgravity combustion science research, developed a new method for lowering pollutant emissions in natural-gas appliances such as residential heating furnaces and hot water heaters. Burners with the Ring Flame Stabilizer (RFS) reduce significantly the emissions of NoX (oxides of nitrogen) that are major contributors to smog and atmospheric contamination. For this, they were recently issued a U.S. patent.

Laboratory testing showed that the emission of NoX is less than 25 parts per million (ppm) from methane-air flames, a concentration that meets the ‘ultra low’ NoX standard being proposed in California. For flames that use fuel in higher concentration but still burn fuel-lean mixtures, the concentration is less than 50 ppm, meeting the ‘low’ NoX standard. Recently, the device was fitted into an off-the-shelf home heating furnace and was able to reduce NoX emissions to 4 ppm, ompared to 40 ppm using the original burner, and was able at the same time to improve energy efficiency by 2%.  

The key feature of burners with RFS is their ruggedness and reliability. It is readily sized to industrial scales. These attributes have generated interests from industries to consider its use in commercial and industrial products. The inventors are in negotiation with several manufacturers; at the request of the manufacturers, their names are proprietary, according to the inventors.

Southwest Sciences, Inc. developed a small optical system for the non-intrusive, non-perturbative measurement of methane, water vapor, and temperature in microgravity flames. They demonstrated the method successfully in the 2.2 sec drop tower at NASA Lewis. In 1995, they signed a contract with an electrical utility in Arizona to demonstrate they can measure ammonia concentrations in their smokestack, based on the technology developed for microgravity flames. Since this time they have licensed the technology.

The flame spread experiments have already proven their benefit by providing guidance to NASA’s fire safety policies and practices. Because of the microgravity combustion science research conducted to date, the fire signatures -- i.e. the heat release, smoke production, flame visibility and radiation – are now known to be quite different in space; this research has provided data to improve the effectiveness of fire prevention practices, smoke and fire detectors as well as fire extinguishment systems. Not only do the recommendations improve fire safety, but they provide a safe alternative to the use of fire extinguishers that would require the termination of a mission (obviously a very important cost avoidance).