Recycling CO2 (was Could life in solar system complicate space settlement?)

wouldnt it be more efficient to USE those gasses rather than vent them into space? They are, after all, both fuels in their own rights.

From: hitssquad
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2012 4:47 PM
To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [spacesettlers] Recycling CO2 (was Re: Could life in solar system complicate space settlement?)

--- In mailto:spacesettlers%40yahoogroups.com, Al Globus wrote:
> It is really quite easy to run out of O2 or get too much CO2 -- meaning too much for humans to survive. Space settlers will either be environmentalists or dead.

Or they'll use machines that recycle CO2 into oxygen:
http://chview.nova.org/station/life-sup.htm

"
Currently, carbon dioxide is removed from the air by a machine using a material called "zeolite" as a molecular sieve, while hydrogen that is generated from this process is vented into space. Eventually, however, a machine will be used to combines the hydrogen with excess carbon dioxide from the air in a chemical reaction to produce water and methane. The water produced would partially replace the water used to make oxygen, while the methane would be vented to space.
"