Solution Description:

FREEPEE is an ergonomic, female-centric garment that processes urine in-flight by leveraging metal organic frameworks (MOFs) manufactured into a textile to catalyze electrolysis of water and sequester gasses. We will use MOFs to enable rapid electrolysis of water in urine and sequester gasses (e.g., ammonia). We will combine our work on textile MOFs, and MOF-based electrocatalysis, and validate the ability of the MOF textile system to catalyze electrolysis. We are one of the only US-based groups to show that conductive MOFs can catalyze electrolysis of water and to manufactured them as a component of a textile. To incorporate the electrocatalytic component into an ergonomic and comfortable garment design that addresses female-specific fit and use, we will work directly with our female aviator SMEs and female undergarment design partners at Dear Kate to apply human factors methodologies to design an optimized, multilayer garment. This garment will address user anatomical and biological needs, health and safety considerations, comfort and usability pain-points, and operational and environmental constraints. A moisture-wicking layer draws moisture from skin onto the MOF electrolysis system and a leak-proof barrier layer prevents outgassing. We will demonstrate FREEPEE and the manufacturing process and conduct a full human subject evaluation.