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Subject: state-of-the-art CELSS
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 22:25:34 -0000 (GMT)
From: Terry Kok |
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Quite so. My point was to represent an extreme.
Clearly we need to be at the
smaller end. I do believe we could get a functional
wastewater system into
less than 30 m2 that would handle less than 1,000
gallons per day. The devil
is in the details.
Hoop
Hoop and all,
I live in BIOSTAR-A. This is a CELSS tech test bed and
full scale solor/wind powered home (bioshelter). We've
been recycling our grey water (4 regular residents
plus guests) for 4 years now. I've learned the hard
way what works and what doesn't. My system (in design)
is very similar to a simple Living Machine. There is
approximately 175 square feet (16 m2) of grow bed
space in the system. The water comes out of the beds
clear and ready to be used at the tap. There are no
outside utility connections for water or waste water.
The waste from my toilet goes directly into an
outdoors composter. I originally tried to recycle the
toilet wastes as well but found that, while it works
for 1-2 people, my system was too small to handle the
toilet loads from 4-6 people.
I do not consider BIOSTAR-A to be "state of the art".
Why? Because it was too complex. As Hoop said, "the
devil is in the details". I had too many details; too
many parts, too many filters, and a hydroponic system
that failed within the first 6 months.
I know better now. The hydroponics system was
disconnected. Most of the filters were removed. Air
pumps were unplugged. That was three years ago. Except
for some pipes which could use a larger diameter (to
prevent clogging) we've been successfully recycling
through simple plant beds for 3 years. But, that still
doesn't make it "state of the art". Why? Because the
system is still too complex - not enough integration
between parts. I'm losing water vapor to the air. I
get occasional leaks. The plant beds, while capable of
growing food (and I have done so), are too hard to
reach (so I've been growing house plants instead). The
next version will be a FULLY FUNCTIONAL CELSS.
We have a team working on that called the Green CELSS
Task Force. The objectives are:
"The purpose of the GREEN CELSS TASK FORCE is
to cooperatively research, design, construct, inhabit,
and gather useful scientific data from a series of
terrestrial based CELSS (Closed Ecological Life
Support Systems)with the objective of producing, as an
end result, a fully functioning and reliable "modular
biosphere" style CELSS capable of providing 100%
recycling and resource reclamation of organic matter,
liquid wastes, and atmospheric gasses, while supplying
a constant source of fresh air, clean water, and
nutritious food for the inhabitants of remote and
hostile environments."
In other words, we are working on a state-of-the-art
TOTAL SYSTEM. The level of integration between "parts"
is amazing. In fact, we will be using only 2 units:
the composting unit and the grow beds. Waste air,
water, and organics enter the composter. Fresh air,
water, and food exit. The system will be sealed from
the outside atmosphere. We will be building this
system beginning in Spring 2001. It will be located on
the Lothlorien Nature Sanctuary in southern Indiana
(where BIOSTAR-A is located): http://www.elflore.org
...
Terry R. Kok - biostar_a@yahoo.com
GreenCELSSTaskFORCE-subscribe@egroups.com
_
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints!
http://photos.yahoo.com
- ---------------------------------------------
Mars Society Life Support Task Force
Email - life-support@chapters.marssociety.org
http://home.marssociety.org/tech/life-support/
Arctic Base - http://arctic.marssociety.org/ |
| |
Subject: state-of-the-art CELSS
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 18:36:48 -0000 (GMT)
From: John Ives-Halperin |
|
Way Cool!
Does it make sense for there to be a face-to-face meeting between the Green
CELSS Task Force and the Maryland Task Force?
Hoop
- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-life-support@chapters.marssociety.org
[mailto:owner-life-support@chapters.marssociety.org]On Behalf Of Terry
Kok
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 6:26 PM
To: life-support@chapters.marssociety.org
Subject: [life-support] state-of-the-art CELSS
[to Life Support Task Force, from Terry Kok ]
Quite so. My point was to represent an extreme.
Clearly we need to be at the
smaller end. I do believe we could get a functional
wastewater system into
less than 30 m2 that would handle less than 1,000
gallons per day. The devil
is in the details.
Hoop
Hoop and all,
I live in BIOSTAR-A. This is a CELSS tech test bed and
full scale solor/wind powered home (bioshelter). We've
been recycling our grey water (4 regular residents
plus guests) for 4 years now. I've learned the hard
way what works and what doesn't. My system (in design)
is very similar to a simple Living Machine. There is
approximately 175 square feet (16 m2) of grow bed
space in the system. The water comes out of the beds
clear and ready to be used at the tap. There are no
outside utility connections for water or waste water.
The waste from my toilet goes directly into an
outdoors composter. I originally tried to recycle the
toilet wastes as well but found that, while it works
for 1-2 people, my system was too small to handle the
toilet loads from 4-6 people.
I do not consider BIOSTAR-A to be "state of the art".
Why? Because it was too complex. As Hoop said, "the
devil is in the details". I had too many details; too
many parts, too many filters, and a hydroponic system
that failed within the first 6 months.
I know better now. The hydroponics system was
disconnected. Most of the filters were removed. Air
pumps were unplugged. That was three years ago. Except
for some pipes which could use a larger diameter (to
prevent clogging) we've been successfully recycling
through simple plant beds for 3 years. But, that still
doesn't make it "state of the art". Why? Because the
system is still too complex - not enough integration
between parts. I'm losing water vapor to the air. I
get occasional leaks. The plant beds, while capable of
growing food (and I have done so), are too hard to
reach (so I've been growing house plants instead). The
next version will be a FULLY FUNCTIONAL CELSS.
We have a team working on that called the Green CELSS
Task Force. The objectives are:
"The purpose of the GREEN CELSS TASK FORCE is
to cooperatively research, design, construct, inhabit,
and gather useful scientific data from a series of
terrestrial based CELSS (Closed Ecological Life
Support Systems)with the objective of producing, as an
end result, a fully functioning and reliable "modular
biosphere" style CELSS capable of providing 100%
recycling and resource reclamation of organic matter,
liquid wastes, and atmospheric gasses, while supplying
a constant source of fresh air, clean water, and
nutritious food for the inhabitants of remote and
hostile environments."
In other words, we are working on a state-of-the-art
TOTAL SYSTEM. The level of integration between "parts"
is amazing. In fact, we will be using only 2 units:
the composting unit and the grow beds. Waste air,
water, and organics enter the composter. Fresh air,
water, and food exit. The system will be sealed from
the outside atmosphere. We will be building this
system beginning in Spring 2001. It will be located on
the Lothlorien Nature Sanctuary in southern Indiana
(where BIOSTAR-A is located): http://www.elflore.org
...
Terry R. Kok - biostar_a@yahoo.com
GreenCELSSTaskFORCE-subscribe@egroups.com
_
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints!
http://photos.yahoo.com
- ---------------------------------------------
Mars Society Life Support Task Force
Email - life-support@chapters.marssociety.org
http://home.marssociety.org/tech/life-support/
Arctic Base - http://arctic.marssociety.org/
- ---------------------------------------------
Mars Society Life Support Task Force
Email - life-support@chapters.marssociety.org
http://home.marssociety.org/tech/life-support/
Arctic Base - http://arctic.marssociety.org/ |
| |
Subject: state-of-the-art CELSS
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 21:45:25 -0000 (GMT)
From: Dean Calahan |
|
From: John Ives-Halperin
To: Terry Kok ;
Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2000 8:36 AM
Subject: RE: [life-support] state-of-the-art CELSS
> Way Cool!
> Does it make sense for there to be a face-to-face meeting between the
Green
> CELSS Task Force and the Maryland Task Force?
> Hoop
>
I will be driving cross-country from Seattle to the Toronto conference, and
was planning to stop by Terry's ecohaven on the weekend before. Mabye the MD
folks can arrange a field trip, and we can have a life support workshop
there.
- ---------------------------------------------
Mars Society Life Support Task Force
Email - life-support@chapters.marssociety.org
http://home.marssociety.org/tech/life-support/
Arctic Base - http://arctic.marssociety.org/ |
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