The trick in a CELSS is to convert the human and food wastes into the nutrients for plant growth. The trouble with all hydro/aeroponic systems is that they require sterile nutrients, usually chemical, and that means there must be a way to procure them from inside the CELSS or from the immediate outside environment (through an airlock on Mars). Organic hydroponic systems made from human waste stink terribly. I tried it in Biostar-A in several configurations, presented a paper on it too, outlining everything I tried including an algae scrubber. It can be done but it takes a lot of power in the form of continuous wave motion (in the case of the algae scrubber) or air bubble pumps to help quickly oxidize the organics and maintain a fully aerobic environment for the hydro/aeoponics. Due to the power constraints and the frequent breakdown of pumps and things and the fact that there is no easy way to get replacements on Mars (or on Earth unless you are wealthy), I gave up on that course and moved to more traditional grow beds with a 1/1/1 mixture of small limestone gravel (pH balances urine), Perlight (heat puffed rock with a maximum amount of surface space for microbes to colonize), and unscented kitty litter clay (cation/nutrient storage). I made it 4.5 years before the soil started clogging up and it is super rich almost black in color now, waste water does not move fast enough through it any longer and tends to backup. This system gets nothing but gray water and urine. Garbage and poop are composted and used in gardens outside the ecoark.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 01:53:43 +0000
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