An aircraft environmental control system includes means for mixing and conditioning bleed air from a bleed air input and recirculation air from an aircraft interior to provide mixed, conditioned air to the aircraft interior. The system also includes a first contaminant removal device and a second contaminant removal device arranged in a path of at least part of the recirculation air, prior to the means for mixing and conditioning, and a valve (SV1) arranged to alternate flow of recirculation air through the first and second contaminant removal devices.

A system for processing recirculation air recovered from an aircraft cabin includes a mixing chamber and a carbon dioxide removal system. The carbon dioxide removal system has an inlet for recovered recirculation air from the aircraft cabin, an outlet to the mixing chamber; at least two assemblies of carbon dioxide sorbent that are thermally linked, a CO.sub.2 outlet valve; and a controller for managing desorption of carbon dioxide from the sorbent depending on aircraft status. The mixing chamber has an inlet from the carbon dioxide removal system, an inlet from an environmental control system, and an outlet connected to the aircraft cabin.

An aircraft contaminant removal system includes one or more membrane separators configured to absorb a contaminant from a cabin air stream into a liquid sorbent, desorb the contaminant from the liquid sorbent, discharge the contaminant in a contaminant stream, and return clean air back to the cabin. In some examples, the contaminant removal system includes a membrane scrubber-separator and a membrane stripper-separator, while in other examples, the contaminant removal system may include a single membrane separator configured to operate in a scrubbing mode and a stripping mode. The contaminant removal system may include a humidity management system configured to maintain a humidity of the clean air stream or water concentration of the liquid sorbent using one or more water sources of the aircraft or a thermal management system configured to maintain a temperature of the liquid sorbent using one or more heat exchangers fluidically coupled to an aircraft air stream.

An environmental control system includes an air conditioning subsystem and a contaminant removal subsystem downstream of the environment to be conditioned. The contaminant removal subsystem includes a first gas-liquid contactor-separator, a second gas-liquid contactor-separator, and a third gas-liquid contactor-separator. One of the first, the second, and the third gas-liquid contactor-separators is configured to receive used absorbent liquid having at least a first contaminant and discharge at least a first contaminant for recovery and reuse. Another of the first, the second and the third gas-liquid contactor-separators is configured to receive used absorbent liquid having at least a second contaminant and discharge at least the second contaminant for recovery and reuse.

A system for processing recirculation air recovered from an aircraft cabin includes a mixing chamber and a carbon dioxide removal system. The carbon dioxide removal system has an inlet for recovered recirculation air from the aircraft cabin, an outlet to the mixing chamber; at least two assemblies of carbon dioxide sorbent that are thermally linked, a CO.sub.2 outlet valve; and a controller for managing desorption of carbon dioxide from the sorbent depending on aircraft status. The mixing chamber has an inlet from the carbon dioxide removal system, an inlet from an environmental control system, and an outlet connected to the aircraft cabin.

An environment control system (ECS) for controlling an environment in a vehicle includes at least one energy consuming component, means for drawing external air into the environment and a controller, wherein said controller is configured to control the flow rate of the external air being drawn into the environment based on the energy consumption of said at least one energy consuming component. A method of controlling airflow into an environment within a vehicle includes providing an environmental control system that comprises a controller, means for drawing external air into said environment, and at least one energy consuming component and the method further comprising controlling, via the controller, the airflow rate of external air being drawn into the environment, the air flow rate being based on an energy consumption of the at least one energy consuming component.

An environmental control system (ECS) includes an air conditioning pack that receives outside air; a regenerative treatment subsystem, wherein the treatment subsystem includes a treatment bed configured to cycle between an adsorption phase and a desorption phase; and a fan that receives recirculated air from the environment and moves the recirculated air to a mixing manifold.

An inerting system for aircraft including a gas circuit with successively at least one air inlet, a compressor and an air separation module. The air separation module includes an outlet for oxygen-enriched gas and an outlet for inerting gas. The air separation module includes gas permeation membranes resistant to a temperature greater than or equal to 100 C. and preferably 140 C., and the inerting gas outlet is connected to a turbine for releasing pressure and cooling the inerting gas.

An onboard rebreathing loop system resident on an aircraft for providing oxygen to aircraft personnel includes a ceramic oxygen generating system (COGS) module configured to receive an inlet air and output a high purity oxygen (O.sub.2) gas into a breathing loop and a carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) scrubber module configured to receive exhaled air from the aircraft personnel and output a CO.sub.2-scrubbed air into the breathing loop. The high purity O.sub.2 gas and CO.sub.2-scrubbed air are mixed to form a mixed gas having a partial pressure of O.sub.2 suitable for breathing by the aircraft personnel. The onboard rebreathing loop system may further include an odor removal module, an air temperature and/or humidity control module to condition the mixed gas before breathing by the aircraft personnel, and a gas sensor module to confirm the partial pressure of O.sub.2 within the mixed gas before breathing by the aircraft personnel.

An environmental control system (ECS) includes an air conditioning pack that receives outside air; a regenerative treatment subsystem, wherein the treatment subsystem includes a treatment bed configured to cycle between an adsorption phase and a desorption phase; and a fan that receives recirculated air from the environment and moves the recirculated air to a mixing manifold.