Message: 3
Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2001 09:09:47 -0400

Why tie yourself down to using composting?
Because it isn't a "tie down". It works very well and
does not produce the toxic gasses that anaerobic
decompostion produce. - TK
Orbital habitats will have plenty of electrical and
thermal energy
available. Because of this, it may be that the "wet
oxidation" and "dry
oxidation" processes could become very useful: heat

wet or dry waste
products at several hundred degrees under high
pressure in an oxygen rich
environment, and thus break down the goop into its
constituent basic
molecules. The wet oxidation process is energy
intensive but achieves its
results very quickly. Composting is not energy
intensive but takes a long
time.
The complexity of the wet oxidation process (equipment
wise) is a consideration. Forced air composting is a
form of wet oxidation requiring very little
complexity. This form of composting can easily be
accomplised in less than 4 days. - TK
I don't know which one will ultimately be
"better", and it may be
that one is better in one situation (e.g., composting
on the energy-poor
surface of Mars) and another in another situation
(e.g., wet oxidation in
an energy-rich orbital habitat).

I also have a request. Could you please say
"**CONTROLLED** Ecological
Life Support Systems instead of "Closed
Ecological...", and moderate the
"100% recycling and resource reclamation" goal?

It could be that providing 98% recycling requires
effort x, but that
providing 100% recycling requires and effort of 100x.

If, for example,
we have a habitat situated near a NEO, then it is
entirely possible that it
will be more efficient to not recycle everything, and
instead supplement
certain elements from the NEO.

Let's not erect barriers for ourselves, nor set
inappropriate goals. Keep
your engineering options open!
For experimental purposes, the Green CELSS Task Force
is going for complete closure. We need the data. If we
can get complete closure then anything less is
relatively easy. In the CELSS research & development
community, complete closure is a base line from which
everythig else is measured. - TK

=====
Terry Ryan Kok - scientist, ecotechnician, wizard
Elf Lore Family ELDER - Sanctuary Rock facilitator
Green CELSS Task Force focalizer
Starlight Technology: (812) 275-0694
biostar_a@...