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#1 2023-05-06 23:13:47

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", and a Soil Factory on Mars
Copyright 2023 - 2026 by Steve Stewart

INDEX

Proposal For a Base, Not Colony, on Mars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Martian base example
Figure 2.1 Cut away view of a base with one "Cell" functioning
Figure 2.2 Cut away view of a base with two functioning "Cells"
Sourcing water on Mars
WAVAR
Figure 2.3 Image of a WAVAR machine
Figure 2.4 Depiction of four WAVAR machines
Rodriguez Well (Rodwell)
Figure 2.5 Example of a Rodriguez Well
Figure 2.6 Elevation view of base with frost line shown
Definition of "dirty water" in the proposal

Storing Energy on Mars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Introduction to the Clear Edge5(c)
Figure 3.1 Image from a sales brochure of the Clear Edge 5(c)
Figure 3.2 Internal workings of a Clear Edge 5(c)
Introduction to the Bloom Energy Server(c)
Figure 3.3 Bloom Energy Server
Figure 3.4 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)
Figure 3.5 Bloom Energy Series 10
The meaning of "efficiency" in a Martian base
Figure 3.6 Lights that are 5% efficient provide both light and heat for plants
Figure 3.7 If lights could be 100% efficient they would create a need for a heater
Figure 3.8 Efficiency of a Sabatier Reactor
Figure 3.9 Image of Sabatier Reactor shown in Mars Direct proposal
Figure 3.10 Image of methane generator
The Methane-Oxygen Cycle
Figure 3.11 The Methane-Oxygen Cycle (basic model)
Opening the loop
Figure 3.12 Open loop version of the Methane-Oxygen Cycle
Figure 3.13 Hofmann Electrolysis Apparatus
Open loop Methane-Oxygen Cycle
Review

Introduction to a]"Cell". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
New definition: Cell
Figure 4,1 Cutaway view of a single Cell
Storing water in a Cell
Figure 4.2 Closeup view of dehumidifier and water tanks
Figure 4.3 Clean water tanks with syphoning hoses
Figure 4.4 Backside view of clean water tanks
Syphoning water between Cells
Figure 4.5 Syphoning between Cells with different air pressure
Figure 4.6 Image of Flood Guard
Purifying water and the Methane-Oxygen Cycle
Figure 4.7 Open loop version of the Methane-Oxygen Cycle
Dirty water and a new definition: "Essential Elements"
Food in space vs food on Mars
Solving Martian Problems: Refrigeration on Mars
Figure 4.8 Cell with a refrigerator and freezer
Figure 4.9 Floorplan of base with two refrigeration areas

The Air in a "Cell". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Figure 5.1 Example of how breathing apparatus might look
Reacting methane in a Cell
Figure 5.2 Each Cell has at least one composter
Oxygen in a Cell
Figure 5.3 Image from Dr. Chris McKay - Terraforming Mars
The carbon cycle problem
Figure 5.4 Image from video by Bryce Meyer
Details: How the Air Pressure Control System works
Removing Oxygen from the Air
Figure 5.5 Methane-Oxygen Cycle open loop oxygen and water
Different view of the same process
Figure 5.6 Different version of a Cells functional diagram
Burning methane in a Cell
1) Carbon monoxide (CO)
2) Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
3) Impurities in natural gas

Harvesting Carbon and Martian Agriculture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Harvesting carbon from the Martian atmosphere
Figure 6.1 Image from video by Gabe Brown
More quotes about the importance of carbon in soil
Capture and hold
Figure 6.2 Example of natures "capture and hold" system
Figure 6.3 Example of radish frown by Gabe Brown
Note: Cells produce soil
The plow vs no-till and regenerative agriculture
Principals of soil health
Types of plants: The 4F's
Harvest rotation and crop scheduling
Hydroponics vs soil

Martian Agriculture and Martian Dust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Solving Martian Problems: Martian Dust
Martian Dust: Soil property "particle size"
Figure 7.1 Size of sand compared to size of clay particle
Figure 7.2 Van der waal forces (Surface tension)
Figure 7.3 Example of capillary action
Martian Dust: Soil property "soil structure"
Figure 7.4 Example of soil structure
Grain crops on Mars
Figure 7.5 Clover planted with wheat
For more information about soil
Figure 7.6 List of recommended books
Justifying the cost of growing plants on Mars

How the Martian Atmosphere is Brought into a "Cell" . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
New definition: Cheat
Nitrogen
Figure 8.1 Example of a fractional distillation machine
Processing Martian air to make it breathable
Figure 8.2 Marspedia - atmosphere processing machine
Cells create air for additional Cells
Figure 8.3 Cut away view of a Martian base with one functioning Cell
Figure 8.4 Floorplan of Martian base with one Cell on-line
Figure 8.5 One Cell creating air for a 2nd Cell
Figure 8.6 Two Cells on-line creating air for a 3rd Cell
Figure 8.7 Four Cells creating air for a 5th Cell
Revisiting the carbon cycle problem
Figure 8.8 Image by Bryce Meyer
Doing the math: How much nitrogen comes in with Cheat?
The movie "The Martian"
Burning methane and the Sabatier reaction
New Definition: "Discretionary Space"
Figure 8.9 Example of Discretionary Space
Figure 8.10 Example of a living area in Discretionary Space
Discretionary Space creates a positive feedback loop

Cleaning the Air and Recycling "Essential Elements" . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Burning methane cleans the air in a Cell
Removing VOCs from the air
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA)
Other ways of cleaning the air
Figure 9.1 Advertisement for an HVAC ultra-violet light
Figure 9.2 Example of an ultra-violet light in HVAC systems
Cleaning the air with plants
Composting in a Cell
Figure 9.3 Composter example
Essential Elements: The Big Four and The Major Elements
Closing the soil loop

Dealing with Perchlorates and How to build a Dehumidifier . . . . . 10
Solving Martian Problems: Dealing with perchlorates
Figure 10.1 Forms of perchlorates
How to build a dehumidifier that doesn't have any moving parts
Figure 10.2 Functional diagram of a dehumidifier
Figure 10.3 Personal photos taken at Pioneer Village
Figure 10.4 Image of Icy-Ball refrigerator
Figure 10.5 List of RV refrigerators
Figure 10.6 List of absorption refrigerators for the home
Figure 10.7 Wikipedia image of the nitrogen cycle
Figure 10.8 Diagram of absorption refrigerator cooling cycle

The Air Pressure Control System in Detail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Figure 11.1 CO2 will turn into a liquid first before the other gases
Figure 11.2 Refrigerant tank with two valves.
Monitoring the level of liquid CO2
Figure 11.3 Example of refrigerant scales.
Normal operation of the Air Pressure Control System
Level of CO2 in a Cell
Gases that accumulate in the long run
New Definition: Nitrogen Load
Summary
Less common operation of the Air Pressure Control System
Martian resources out of thin air
Nitrogen
Uses for other gases
Figure 11.8 Example of a fractional distillation machine
Uses for CO2

How Much Oxygen Does a "Cell" Produce? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 12.1 Floor plan of a Cell
Figure 12.2 Floor plan of a Cell with dimensions (English units)
Figure 12.3 Floor plan of a Cell with dimensions (Metric units)
Figure 12.4 3D cutaway view of the Cell described
Figure 12.5 Amount of oxygen produced by a Cell
How much methane does a Cell require?
Figure 12.6 Cubic meter of methane and oxygen
Figure 12.7 One cubic meter of methane reacts with oxygen
If the methane were burned, how much heat would be produced?
Figure 12.8 Diagram of a burner in a Cell
Question: If all the methane were used in a CE5/BES, how much electricity/heat?
Figure 12.9 Diagram of a CE5/BES in a Cell
Note: The amount of oxygen stored is always equal to the amount produced by a Cell
Figure 12.10 A Cell with 13,000 liters of oxygen to be removed
Notes:

Doing the Math: Metrics in a "Cell" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Metric #1: Oxygen created per unit of volume
Metric #2: Ratio of area of plants to area of building
Figure 13.1 Cell with 12 trays of plants
Figure 13.2 Cell with 6 trays of plants
Metric #3: Percentage of soil per unit of volume
Figure 13.3 Cell with 6 trays of plants
Metric #4: Amount of food produced per unit of volume
Metric #5: ACH - Air Changes per Hour
Conclusion to metrics

"Cells" and The Times Four Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Cells produce water needed for the living area
Figure 14.1 Example of a living are in Discretionary Space
Figure 14.2 Closeup view of a living area in Discretionary Space
Cells produce air for the living area
Figure 14.3 Example of a "fresh air container"
Dealing with VOCs
New Definition: The Times Four Rule
The Times Four Rule stabilizes temperature
The Times Four Rule and oxygen level
The Times Four Rule provides balance
Biosphere 2
Figure 14.4 Biosphere 2 in Oracle Arizona
Mars One
Figure 14.5 Mars One "Living units" connected to each other
A different dog with the same fleas

New Definitions and Comparison with Early Settlers . . . . . . . . . . . 15
New Definition: The Cascading Effect
Figure 15.1 Cascade refrigeration example
New Definition: Abandon Capable
Not being Abandon Capable creates a heavier work load on the occupants
Abandon Capable enables "Planetary Outsourcing"
Requirements for making a base Abandon Capable
Comparing an early settlers homestead to a Martian base
Figure 15.2 - Example of an early settlement in North America.
Figure 15.2 - (Again)
Questions and answers
Conclusion

Appendix: NASA's Space Crop Gaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Solving Martian Problems: Space crop production gaps
Figure 16.1 List of "Space crop gaps" from Gioia Massa (NASA)
My comments on these space crop production gaps:
1) Water Recycling
2) Radiation (and micrometeorites)
3) Martian Dust
4) Partial gravity
5) Plant size
6) High CO2
7) Food safety
8) Sustainability
9) Abiotic stresses (and stress tolerance of plants)
10) Crew time
11) Waste
12) Environmental optimization
13) Crop scheduling

Link to this proposal:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=10501

tags
#spacesettlement #SpaceX #marsexploration #MarsSociety #Mars

Last edited by Steve Stewart (Today 00:51:50)

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#2 2023-05-06 23:16:38

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Proposal For a Base, Not Colony, on Mars

The following is a proposal for a Martian "base" or "outpost" that has a small crew, probably less than 10 people. Many proposals are about how to get to Mars without discussion as to what to do once we get there. This proposal is about what to do once we are on Mars, after a mission such as Mars Direct for example. This proposal is about how a self-sustaining Martian base can be built and function.

Certain strategies and rules must be followed in order for a base to be self-sustaining. In this proposal, I am referring to a small base whose objective is to grow and become self-sustaining, while using as many In-Situ resources as possible. I AM NOT proposing a settlement with a large population of the general public. First we crawl, then we walk, then we run. These steps cannot be skipped.

Many Mars proposals are about a stand alone concept, such as a propulsion system, a Martian spacesuit, a Martian power source, a vehicle for transportation on Mars, etc. Here I am proposing a number of different topics, such as sourcing and then purifying water on Mars (Post #2 and Post #4), growing plants on Mars (Post #6 and Post #7), how to mitigate perchlorates in regolith or water (Post #10), how to deal with Martian dust (Post #7), how to store and retrieve energy efficiently (Post #3), and so on. But all of the topics I am introducing are not stand alone proposals. Instead they all work together as a single system. Each topic I'll be introducing is designed to work in conjunction with all the other topics that I'll be covering. All the topics I am introducing, work together as a single system, and form a self-sustaining Martian base.

Martian base example

Below is an example of an early Martian base. Bases that are a different size and have a different floorpan can be built using the same principals described in this proposal. The systems and techniques shown in this proposal are not tied to any one architecture. However, I had to present one architecture in order to demonstrate principals of how a self-sustaining Martian base functions.

Figure 2.1 below illustrates one particular architecture, which I will be using throughout this proposal. I DO NOT mean to imply this should be the only design considered for a Martian base. Many other Martian base proposals will work using the same ideas and techniques illustrated in this proposal.

The first base will need to contain a living area and life support systems for a small crew to stay temporarily on Mars. Once a base similar to the one shown is built. More bases can be built. The first base will be able to provide many of the resources needed to build additional bases, following the principals outlined in this proposal. As more bases are built, more In-Situ resources are available. The base I am proposing contains mostly plants in the beginning. The buildings can be made from inflatables, or from a solid material sent from Earth, or 3D printed, or it could be underground. The type of building and building materials, and how the buildings are built, are irrelevant for the sake of this proposal.

Figure 2.1 below shows a proposed base with a "hallway" running across one end of five buildings. Entrance to each of these five buildings is accessed through airlock doors that connect to the hallway. The hallway also has an airlock doorway shown on the right end which leads to a "car port" area, where vehicles can be parked. All of this complex is covered in regolith, which provides insulation and protection from radiation and micrometeorites. The "car port" is open on the end and leads outside of the complex. The "car port" includes overhead lighting and allows loading and unloading of vehicles while providing protection from radiation and micrometeorites. It also acts like a staging area for setting up equipment.

The building on the far left in Figure 2.1 is what I call a "Cell" which is a growing area for plants. I'll introduce a Cell in Post #4 and then cover details about how a Cell functions in the following posts. In Figure 2.1 only the first Cell is pressurized with the right ratio of nitrogen, oxygen, and CO2. The other buildings (Cells) and hallway are not pressured at this time.

Figure 2.1 Cut away view of a base with one "Cell" functioning. The green shelfs represent plants growing in soil. All of this complex will be covered in regolith.

The air in a Cell is good enough for plants but not good enough for humans to breathe. Astronauts must wear breathing apparatus when working in a Cell. Each Cell has its own independent life support systems, such as a watering system, lighting system, heating system, air pressure control system, and so on. This is needed for redundancy. If one Cell is obliterated from a meteor strike or a rocket crash, the other surviving Cells will continue to function. Even if four out of five Cells are destroyed, the remaining Cell will continue to function with its own independent control systems intact.

At first a Cell could use a hydroponic type system to grow plants, (this includes aeroponics and aquaponics), but in the long run, soil will need to be used. In Post #6 and Post #7 I'll touch on Martian agriculture and will explain the importance of using soil and the limitations of hydroponic type systems. I'm currently writing a book "How to Make Soil on Mars", which is a lengthy topic in of itself, so I only have time and space to touch on the basics of Martian agriculture and soil production. If I included the details of soil production, this proposal would be more than twice as long.

Once one Cell is up and running with plants growing and the control systems functioning, the Cell is able to provide some of the In-Situ resources needed to build additional Cells. Therefore, building the second Cell will require fewer supplies sent from Earth, than what was required to build the first Cell.

Figure 2.2 below shows the base with two Cells brought on-line. Only Cells #1 and #2 are pressurized at this time. Plants for the second Cell can be planted using seeds grown in the first Cell. Compost made from organic matter grown in the first Cell is blended into the soil and used in the second Cell. The first Cell is also able to process air directly from the Martian atmosphere, and provide nitrogen and oxygen from Mars, to pressurize the second Cell.

Once the two Cells are up and running (growing plants), the Cells will be able to provide more In-Situ resources needed to build a third Cell, and so on. As more Cells are built, more In-Situ resources can be used and fewer shipments from Earth are required to build each additional Cell. As the base keeps expanding, it becomes more and more self-sustaining.

Figure 2.2 Cut away view of a base with two functioning "Cells". The complex will be covered in regolith.

Sourcing water on Mars

It is assumed that the Martian base will have at least one source of water, preferably more than one. In this proposal, the Martian base uses both WAVAR units and Rodriguez Wells (Rodwells) as a source of water. (Explained below). Another source of water can come from left over rocket fuel. Hydrogen and/or methane brought from Earth can be reacted with oxygen to make water. Cells in this proposal have plants which are constantly producing oxygen, and are constantly consuming CO2 and water in the process. The oxygen from plants can be used to react with hydrogen and/or methane (or other hydrocarbons) brought from Earth to produce water.

I think it's well known that most of the weight of water is in the oxygen. A small amount of hydrogen or methane brought from Earth can produce a large amount of water, by reacting it with oxygen that comes from Mars.

Cells also have the ability to separate and remove pure oxygen (produced by plants) from the air in a Cell, while using a minimal amount of equipment and energy. As the base develops, more and more water can be sourced from Mars. This eliminates the need to bring water (or hydrogen) from Earth, making the base more self-sustaining.

WAVAR

WAVAR is essentially an outdoor dehumidifier which can extract water from the Martian atmosphere. As stated below, although the Martian atmosphere is very thin it is also very wet. WAVAR works by moving air across a zeolite absorption bed. (Zeolites are known to exist on Mars). As manufacturing and mining capabilities develop on Mars. Some or all of a WAVAR unit could be built on Mars using In-Situ resources. The following is an excerpt from the National Geographic series "Mars."

"WAVAR is an incredibly simple machine with only a couple of moving parts. It's a box with a fan. It sucks in the Martian atmosphere which at almost all times is 100% humid. So even though the atmosphere is thin, it's always wet. And you can actually get a lot of water out the Mars atmosphere with the WAVAR machine."
-Stephen Petranek
Author "How We'll Live on Mars"

Figure 2.3 Excerpt and Images from the National Geographic series "Mars"

Figure 2.4 The four big boxes in this image depict WAVAR machines
(Image from National Geographic series "Mars")

Rodriguez Well (Rodwell)

There are places on Mars that are believed to have a sizable amount of frost just beneath the surface. If the base that was shown in Figure 2.2 were built on top of an icy terrain (think of it as frozen wet sand), the frozen ground directly beneath the heated complex would begin to thaw and water could be extracted from the ground by drilling a Rodriguez Well (Rodwell) inside of each Cell.

Figure 2.5 Example of a Rodriguez Well

Figure 2.6 below is an elevation view of the proposed base covered with regolith. A hypothetical frost line is shown in red beneath the base, and one Rodwell shown in blue beneath each of the Cells. If the ground beneath the base is similar to frozen sand, then the Rodwells would be able to extract a sizable, but limited, amount of water.

If there is a frozen pool of pure ice beneath the base, like that shown in Figure 2.5 above, the Rodwells will be able to extract enough water to far exceed the bases needs. (This doesn't include using water to produce rocket fuel). Water collected from WAVAR units and Rodwells can be stored in Cells, as will be shown later in Post #4.

Figure 2.6 Proposed base covered in regolith with a hypothetical frost line and Rodwells shown.

Definition of "dirty water" in this proposal

Whether water is extract from the atmosphere with a dehumidifier, or from the ground beneath Cells, or from some other source, in any case the water will need to be purified before it can be used. In this proposal I refer to water retrieved from any of these sources as "dirty water."

It's perfectly acceptable for this "dirty water" to contain impurities, such as calcium and magnesium, commonly found in tap water on Earth. But the "dirty water" cannot contain anything toxic, such as perchlorates (covered in Post #10), or toxic elements like mercury, arsenic, lead, etc, or anything radioactive. One of the features of a Cell is that it purifies "dirty water" with a minimal amount of hardware and energy.

Everything I'm about to describe I have designed to be as simple as possible. The idea is for much of this to be built on Mars using In-Situ resources. The more the base grows, the more resources it has. The more resources it has, the more the base can grow, creating a positive feedback loop. As the base grows, the base becomes more and more self-sustaining.

As I stated earlier, I am referring to a small Martian base whose objective is to grow using In-Situ resources as much as possible, and to become self-sustaining. It is designed for astronauts (not members of the general public) to stay on a temporary (not permanent) mission and return to Earth. And to reiterate, I AM NOT talking about a Martian colony. First we crawl, then we walk, then we run. These steps cannot be skipped.

Link to this section:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 80#p209480

Link to this proposal:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=10501

Last edited by Steve Stewart (Today 00:52:39)

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#3 2023-05-06 23:17:40

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Storing Energy on Mars

There have been a number of proposals about using solar energy on Mars which in turn have identified the need for storing power. If Mars were using solar energy, excess electricity would need to be stored during the day so it could be available at night. It turns out that solar power is not the only source of electricity that would benefit from the ability to store electrical energy.

I'm making the argument that any time a source of electricity, whether it be from solar, nuclear (such as Kilopower), or any other source of energy, all sources of electricity can benefit from a method of storing and retrieving electrical energy, because storing energy reduces waste.

For example, suppose a source of power is generating 30 kW of electricity and only 20 kW is being used. In that case 10 kW is being wasted. If a source of electricity is generating 25 kW and 20 kW is being used, then 5 kW is being wasted. If 10 kW is being generated and 6 kW is being used, then 4 kW is being wasted, and so on.

Figuring out ways to store energy will reduce this form of waste. Even if the storage method isn't all that efficient, it will be effective because it is recovering energy from what would have been total waste. For example, if someone came up with a way of storing electricity that is only 10% efficient and 20 kW were being wasted, a system that was 10% efficient would still recover 2 kW of power from what was once considered total waste.

Another benefit of storing extra electricity is that it will increase the peak power load that a Martian base can handle. Suppose a base had a circuit that is powered by one 30 kW energy source. At no time would this circuit be able to consume any more than 30 kW at one time, not even for an instant (called inrush current). But if the base had the ability to store energy, and that energy source could supply 5 kW of electricity, then that circuit would have a peak power load of 35kW. If the method of storing extra electricity were able to provide up to 40 kW at one time, then that circuit would have a peak load of up to 70 kW (inrush current of 70kW).

The takeaway is that the amount of electricity being wasted can be reduced, and the peak load for a Martian base can be increased, by figuring out ways of storing excess electricity. Even if the method of storing energy isn't all that efficient, it will still be effective. This is true regardless of how electricity is being generated.

Introduction to the ClearEdge5(c)

Some Mars proposals have mentioned storing energy as methane and oxygen. If energy were stored using this method, a device similar to a ClearEdge5(c) could be used to convert methane and oxygen directly into electricity without having to burn methane. Instead, the device reacts methane with oxygen, by using a hydrogen extractor and a fuel cell, producing electricity and heat in the process.

As shown in a sales brochure below, the ClearEdge5(c), or simply CE5 as it was known, could produce 5 kW of electricity while at the same time produce 5 kW of heat. The excess heat generated in the process of making electricity is used to heat a home or building. The device makes highly efficient use of natural gas (methane) in applications where both heat and electricity are needed.

Figure 3.1 Image from a sales brochure of the ClearEdge5(c)

The CE5 was manufactured by a company called ClearEdge Power(c). From what I've read the device worked rather well. But it was expensive ($56,000 US dollars), which is probably why the CE5 is no longer made and the company is out of business. Even though the CE5 is no longer produced, its principles of operation can be used on Mars.

In the CE5, a hydrogen extractor is used to remove hydrogen from methane. Hydrogen and oxygen are then used in a fuel cell. According to Wikipedia, fuel cell efficiency varies from 40% to 60%, meaning that between 40% and 60% of the stored chemical energy (hydrogen and oxygen) is converted back into electricity, while the remaining energy (60% to 40% respectively) is "lost" as heat. But the CE5 uses some of this "lost heat" to extract hydrogen, and the remaining heat is used to heat a home or building. Therefore the heat energy is not lost, rather all of it is used, making highly efficient use of methane.

Figure 3.2 Internal workings of a ClearEdge5(c)

On the right side of Figure 3.2 above is the hydrogen extractor, labeled "Fuel Processor." It extracts hydrogen from methane. The hydrogen is then used in the fuel cell along with oxygen from the air. The DC to AC inverter shown in the diagram is not needed in a Martian base.

The CE5 uses some of the wasted heat and water from the fuel cell to make steam, making efficient use of this "wasted" heat. Steam is needed for the hydrogen extractor. The hydrogen extractor does use some electricity in addition to heat and steam, but the amount of electricity consumed is far less than the amount of electricity being produced by the fuel cell. The end result is, as was shown in the sales brochure above, is that up to 5 kW of electricity can be produced at a time, resulting in 5 kW of heat being produced. Therefore the CE5 is approximately 50% efficient.

The amount of electricity being produced by a CE5 at any one time is equal to the load. The higher of the load of electricity, the more heat is produced. Note that if the CE5 were used with solar panels on Mars, it would only make electricity at night when solar energy is not available. In that case the CE5 would be generating electricity at a time when heat is needed most. Below are YouTube videos about the ClearEdge5(c).

ClearEdge Hydrogen Fuel Cell
What Is A Fuel Cell: ClearEdge Power
Buy Fuel Cells for your Home
ClearEdge Hydrogen Fuel Cell
(Tour of plant)

News report from a TV station in San Diego, California
ClearEdge Wants To Put A Refrigerator-Sized Fuel Cell In Your House
August 24, 2011
ClearEdge Power to make fuel cell for data centers
August 23, 2011

Introduction to the Bloom Energy Server(c)

The Bloom Energy Server(c) is a device similar to the ClearEdge5(c). It is able to use an input of methane and oxygen and produce electricity and heat without burning methane. The Bloom Energy Server(c) uses a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) that is able to convert methane and oxygen directly into electricity, without the need of a hydrogen extractor (Figure 3.4).

Figure 3.3 Bloom Energy Server.

One of the advantages of using SOFCs is that they can run in reverse mode. That is, they can be used to turn CO2 and water into methane and oxygen. A number of Mars proposals have included the use of SOFCs in both forward and reverse modes. SOFCs can also be used to make syngas, which can be used to produce ammonia, methanol, or fuel.

Figure 3.4 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell.

There are a variety of Bloom Energy Servers, including the Series 10 which can deliver 10 Megawatts of electricity at a cost of 10 cents per kilowatt.

Figure 3.5 Bloom Energy Series 10.

By storing energy as methane and oxygen, and retrieving the energy by using a device similar to a ClearEdge5(c), or the Bloom Energy Server(c), removes the need of using electrolysis to store energy as highly volatile hydrogen and oxygen. Trying to store energy in the form of hydrogen and oxygen poses a lot of problems.

Storing hydrogen as a liquid requires much higher pressure and a much colder temperature than methane. Hydrogen has smaller molecules and is therefore more more apt to leak, and even small leaks can create explosive hazards, as hydrogen is much more explosive than methane. Hydrogen needs very little energy to ignite, while methanes ignition energy is more than ten times that of hydrogen. Hydrogen will explode in a wide range of air mixtures varying from 4% to 75%, methane has a tighter explosive range of 5% to 15%.

Hydrogen burns about seven times faster than methane, and much hotter than methane, creating the potential for more burst damage if an accident were to happen in a confined space, such as a Martian base.

Hydrogen causes material degradation in pipes and storage tanks as well, through a process called hydrogen embrittlement. Steel pipes and storage containers exposed to hydrogen results in decreased resistance to fracture and an exacerbation of the existing flaws in steel, and steel made on Mars is bound to have more flaws than steel made on Earth. Hydrogen diffuses into metal causing cracks, and lattice dilation.

Due to hydrogen's low density compared to methane, pipelines have to maintain a higher pressure and a higher gas flow rate. Materials in compressors used to compress methane are not compatible with hydrogen. The parts in a hydrogen compressors are made from a different material than those of methane compressors.

Because of all the problems with hydrogen, I do not recommend storing energy by using electrolysis, and storing hydrogen and oxygen, and running the stored hydrogen and oxygen through a fuel cell at a later time. Instead I'm using the much more stable methane in this proposal, then using a device (such as a ClearEdge5(c) or Bloom Energy Server(c), SOFC) to recover the energy stored as methane and oxygen. This eliminates a host of problems caused by trying to store energy as hydrogen and oxygen.

On Mars, a device similar to the ClearEdge5(c) or the Bloom Energy Server(c) could be used. In this proposal I will refer to such a device as a "CE5/BES". When the text "CE5/BES" is shown in a drawing, it means that a device similar to a ClearEdge5(c) (CE5) or a Bloom Energy Server(c) (BES) is being used. The device is able to convert methane and oxygen into electricity without burning it. The device on Mars would be located inside of a Cell (growing area for plants) and sized appropriately for that Cell.

The device does not need a DC to AC converter because all the electricity used in a Cell (growing area for plants) can be made to run on DC only. LED lights use DC power. Any electric motors in a Cell can run on DC. Electric heaters can run on DC, and so on. AC is not needed within a Martian base. AC is only needed when electricity needs to be transferred over long distances, possibly to another Martian base. Even then DC can be used over long distances efficiently, as long as the voltage is high enough.

The meaning of "efficiency" in a Martian base

When we talk about efficiency, we are usually referring to what percentage of energy is lost as heat. For example, if a car battery is said to be 90% efficient, it means that 90% of the energy used to charge the battery is recovered and 10% is lost as heat. If a gasoline engine is said to be 30% efficient, it means that 30% of the chemical energy in the fuel is converted into motion (kinetic energy), and 70% is lost as heat energy.

The percentages will always add up to 100% because all of the energy going into a system is always equal to the amount of energy going out of that system. This is a basic law of thermodynamics. (Law of conservation of energy). It has to do with the fact that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it can only change forms.

If a device similar to a ClearEdge5(c) or Bloom Energy Server(c) were used to make electricity and the wasted heat were used to warm a Martian base, then the so-called "wasted heat" would not be wasted at all. The process would be considered 100% efficient because all of the chemical energy, stored as methane and oxygen, would be recovered. Some of it as electrical energy and the rest as heat energy.

As an example, suppose (hypothetically) lights were used in a growing area for plants and they were only 5% efficient. And suppose (hypothetically) the growing area for plants, which I call a "Cell", requires 10,000 Watts of electricity for lights and heat. If all of the electricity were used by the lights, then 5% of the 10,000 Watts would be converted to light energy and the rest would be converted into heat energy. This results in 500 Watts of light (5% of 10,000) and 9,500 Watts of heat (95% of 10,000) as shown below in Figure 3.6.

Figure 3.6 Lights that are only 5% efficient provide both light and heat for plants.

If the Cell needed 500 Watts of light and 9,500 Watts of heat then this system would be "balanced." That is, the growing area for plants would have just the right amount of light and just the right amount of heat.

Now suppose (again hypothetically) someone invented a light that was 100% efficient. The questions is:
"Would using lights that are 100% efficient be of any benefit to the Cell?"

Figure 3.7 below shows a Cell with 500 Watts of light. Because the lights are 100% efficient, all of the 500 Watts of electricity is converted into light energy.

But the Cell also needs 9,500 Watts of heat and the lights are not providing any heat. Therefore heaters need to be added to provide an adequate amount of heat. In Figure 3.7 below, 9,500 Watts of heaters are added to the Cell. The result is the Cell has 500 Watts of light and 9,500 Watts of heat. Same as before.

Notice that using 100% efficient lights in this case are of no benefit. This is because all of the so-called "wasted heat" from the inefficiency of lighting is needed to keep the Cell warm.

Figure 3.7 Using a light that is 100% efficient would create a need for a heater.

In both cases (Figure 3.6 and Figure 3.7) the same amount of light energy (500 Watts) and heat energy (9,500 Watts) is being produced from the 10,000 Watts of power being supplied. Therefore both processes can be considered 100% efficient, because all of the light energy and heat energy are being used.

Notice that replacing a process (lighting in this case) that is inefficient with a process that is far more efficient (more efficient lighting) does not serve any useful purpose. This is true as long as all of the "wasted heat" from a process is needed to help keep an area warm.

Consider another example. According to one estimate, a Sabatier reactor is about 35% efficient. This includes the efficiency of electrolysis, which is needed to separate hydrogen from water.

Figure 3.8 Efficiency of a Sabatier Reactor. Image is from an article on Science Direct

Suppose a Sabatier reactor were place inside of a Cell (growing area for plants) and the reactor used 1,000 Watts of electricity. An efficiency of 35% means that for every kilowatt of electricity used, 350 Watts of methane is produced (meaning 350 Watts of chemical energy is created - methane and oxygen) and 650 Watts of "wasted heat" is produced. If this 650 Watts of heat is needed to help keep the Cell warm, then all of the energy (one kilowatt) is being used, making the process 100% efficient.

Below is a screen capture from Dr. Zubrins Mars Direct presentation. The image shows the simplicity of a Sabatier reactor. Once a Martian base is developed enough to have some manufacturing capabilities, more Sabatier reactors like the one shown can be built on Mars using mostly In-Situ resources. It doesn't mater if this Sabatier reactor isn't efficient as long as all the "wasted heat" is being used.

Figure 3.9 Image of Sabatier Reactor shown in Mars Direct proposal.

Below is another example of the simplicity of a Sabatier reactor. The image is from a presentation by Dr. Bruce Mackenzie at a annual Mars Society convention. Dr. Mackenzie shows an image of a "methane generator" that was made by junior high or senior high students (with some help from parents). This methane generator was shown at the Dallas Mars convention.

Figure 3.10 Methane generator shown in a presentation by Dr. Bruce Mackenzie

At 3 minutes and 40 seconds in the video Dr Mackenzie states:

So you can make fuel on Mars and you don't need to be a rocket scientist. High school kids can do it.
- Dr. Bruce Mackenzie

Sabatier reactors, made out of mostly (In-Situ) resources can be made on Mars. Or a SOFCs (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) could be used in reverse mode to produce methane and oxygen from CO2 and water. It is acceptable if the reactors are not all that efficient. It's also acceptable if the Sabatier reactors produce impurities. Impurities can be burned off in a Cell, as will be explained later. If pure methane is desired, the output from Sabatier reactors can be ran through a fractional distillation machine to purify the methane, and left over impurities can be burned off in a Cell, as will be explained later.

The "Methane-Oxygen Cycle"

As was just stated, if a Sabatier reactor, or a SOFC in reverse mode, were located in a Cell (growing area for plants), and all the chemical energy and heat energy were used, then the process of producing methane and oxygen would be 100% efficient.

If a device similar to a CE5/BES were located in the same Cell, and was used to make electricity to power the Cell, then any wasted heat would help warm the Cell, making the process of consuming methane and oxygen 100% efficient. Therefore both the production of methane/oxygen and the consumption of methane/oxygen in a Cell is a process that can be used to store and retrieve energy at an efficiency of 100%.

The diagram below illustrates a process I call the "Methane-Oxygen Cycle". The bottom of the figure shows water and CO2. I've labeled water and CO2 as being a "low energy state". Using the Sabatier reactor shown on the left, water and CO2 are converted into methane (CH4) and oxygen (O2). The Sabatier reactor consumes energy in the form of electricity. Some of the electrical energy is "lost" as heat, but it's not really lost because it helps warm the Cell. The rest of the electrical energy (about 35%) is stored as chemical energy in the form of methane and oxygen. For that reason, I've labeled methane and oxygen as a "high energy state" at the top of the diagram.

Figure 3.11 The Methane-Oxygen Cycle (basic model).

The stored chemical energy, in the form of methane and oxygen, can be released in several ways as shown on the right side of the diagram. Whenever methane and oxygen react with each other they form two things, water and CO2 (see below). The stored chemical energy is released in the process.

One way to release energy stored as methane and oxygen is to simply burn the methane in the presence of oxygen. This could be done with a small natural gas furnace located in a Cell (growing area for plants).

Suppose the furnace is ran at night to keep the Cell warm. In this case, all of the stored chemical energy is released as heat. As long as all the heat is needed, then this method of storing and retrieving energy would be considered 100% efficient. Because 100% of the energy stored as methane and oxygen would be recovered at night as heat.

Another way to release the stored chemical energy would be to use an engine that runs on methane. There are many types of engines that could be used, such as piston engines, turbine engines, rotary engines (Wankel), Stirling engines, steam engines, and so on. Regardless of the type of engine used, an engine running on methane is used to convert the stored chemical energy into mechanical energy and heat energy.

An engine could be used to power various manufacturing processes, or various types of equipment on Mars. In this scenario, the stored chemical energy would be converted into mechanical energy and heat energy. This process would be considered 100% efficient as long as all of the mechanical energy and heat energy were used.

Mechanical energy could be used to run a generator to produce electricity. In that case, some of the mechanical energy would be converted into electrical energy. This scenario would also be considered 100% efficient, as long as all of the mechanical energy, electrical energy, and heat energy were used.

A third way to release the energy stored as methane and oxygen is to use a device that produces electricity without burning methane, such as a ClearEdge5(c) or a Bloom Energy Server(c). This results in some of the stored energy being released as electricity and the rest as heat. And once again, if all the energy is used (electricity and heat in this case), the process can be considered 100% efficient.

Opening the loop

The Methane-Oxygen Cycle that was shown in Figure 3.11 is a closed loop system. In theory, this closed loop system could be repeated over and over again indefinitely, as long as none of the elements in the loop are lost (hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon). However the cycle would be more productive if it were open loop.

For example, in Figure 3.11 above, water is created when methane and oxygen react and release energy. This clean water is then recycled back through the Sabatier reactor.

Instead of recycling the clean water back through the Sabatier reactor, the clean water could be used elsewhere in the Martian base, and "dirty water" (defined in Post #2)) originating from Mars using either a WAVAR and/or a Rodwell, could be brought into the loop and used in the Sabatier reactor. There are advantages for not using pure (clean) water in the Sabatier reactor.

The Sabatier reactor uses electrolysis to provide hydrogen for the Sabatier reaction. The more conductive the water, the faster hydrogen (and oxygen) comes out of the water. Pure water is a poor conductor of electricity because it does not contain any ions. When water contains impurities it also contains ions. Impurities make dirty water a good conductor of electricity.

Article: Does Water Really Conduct Electricity?

As was mentioned earlier, if water were to be extracted from a Rodwell, it will likely contain many impurities, as water is known as the universal solvent. These impurities cause water to be a better conductor of electricity. Dirty water can be used for electrolysis in the Sabatier reactor, as shown below in Figure 3.12 (bottom left).

Figure 3.12 Open loop version of the Methane-Oxygen Cycle.

Many of us have seen electrolysis demonstrated in school, often using the Hofmann Electrolysis Apparatus. Usually acid is added to the water to make it a better conductor of electricity (to create ions). Adding acid also makes the water corrosive and it tends to eat away at most any metal. This is why the Hofmann Electrolysis Apparatus uses platinum foil for the electrodes, as platinum is highly resistant to corrosion, because platinum is a "noble metal" (highly nonreactive).

Figure 3.13 Hofmann Electrolysis Apparatus.

In addition to being a better conductor of electricity, using dirty water with electrolysis provides the benefit of purifying water. Electrolysis purifies water by removing pure hydrogen and pure oxygen from dirty water, leaving the impurities behind. Therefore a byproduct of the Sabatier reactor, and electrolysis in general, is that the process purifies water.

Open loop Methane-Oxygen Cycle

Once methane reacts with oxygen to release the stored chemical energy, it creates clean water and CO2. The clean water exits the loop and is available for use somewhere else in the Martian base. (Bottom right of Figure 3.12). On the bottom left of the Figure 3.12, "dirty water" (water gathered from a WAVAR and/or a Rodwell) enters the loop replenishing the clean water that was removed.

Therefore the storing of excess electrical energy as methane and oxygen and releasing it when needed has an additional benefit -- it purifies water. The cycling of dirty water into the loop and clean water out of the loop provides a way of purifying water without consuming any additional energy. That is to say, making the Methane-Oxygen Cycle open loop does not consume any more energy then when the cycle is closed loop. In fact, it will likely consume less energy since dirty water is a better conductor of electricity. As has been shown, making the Methane-Oxygen Cycle open loop makes the cycle more productive.

Review

Time to review what has been covered so far. Electrical energy can be stored as chemical energy using the Methane-Oxygen Cycle. When doing so, the stored chemical energy can be retrieved as mechanical and/or electrical energy, along with heat. As long as the excess heat is needed, these processes of storing and releasing energy are 100% efficient.

Storing energy helps to reduce waste while at the same time increases the peak power output of a Martian base. Using the Methane-Oxygen Cycle not only provides a way of storing energy efficiently, it also purifies water without consuming any additional energy.

Link to this section:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 81#p209481

Link to this proposal:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=10501

Last edited by Steve Stewart (Today 00:53:55)

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#4 2023-05-06 23:18:59

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Introduction to a "Cell"

New definition: Cell

A Cell is a growing area for plants. It is designed so that most of the components in a Cell can be made on Mars using local resources while requiring a minimal amount of labor. If an early Martian base has a low demand for labor, then it can progress and expand with a minimal number of people.

As will be explained later in Post #8, Cells create "Discretionary Space", which as the name implies, is empty space that astronauts can use at their discretion. The available space can be used for manufacturing processes, such as making fiberglass, rubber, fabrics, polymers, or whatever needs to be made. Being able to create "Discretionary Space" is an important characteristic of a self-sustaining Martian base. It allows the base to have more and more manufacturing capabilities, so that as the base can expand with fewer shipments from Earth.

As I stated in Post #2, this proposal is for a Martian base that can keep expanding with a minimal number of shipments from Earth, while at the same time, making the base more self-sustaining. The workings of a Cell is compatible with most any architecture. A Cell can be located above or below ground. It can be used with inflatables or 3D printed habitats, or with numerous other designs for a Martian base. Regardless of a Cells architecture, its function remains the same.

As I stated in Post #2, in order to illustrate the workings of a Cell, I need to walk through one particular design. For that reason the Cell I'm about to describe is the same design that was shown in Post #2. And to reiterate, I'm showing one particular design in order to illustrate Cell function. Many other designs and ideas will work using the same methods shown throughout this proposal.

Eventually more Cells can be built by using resources provide by the first Cell. Then, more Martian bases can be built with resources provide by Cells in the first base, and so on. Once there are several Martian bases, each containing several Cells, all components of additional Cells can be built on Mars using only In-Situ resources. It is at this point that the Martian base (or bases) reaches the point of self-replication.

A more detailed view of a Cell is shown below. Figure 4.1 shows several shelves with the tops colored green. The green shelves represent plants growing in soil. The water tank (1) is holding dirty water. The so-called "dirty water" is water that originates from a WAVAR and/or a Rodwell as was explained in Post #2.

The "dirty water" tank (1) can also contain "gray water", which is untreated waste water from showers and sinks but not toilets. Dirty water (mixed with gray water if desired) is used to water plants using a gravity fed watering system. Water pumps are not needed.

Figure 4.1 Cutaway view of a single Cell

A flat dehumidifier (2) that does not have any moving parts is mounted horizontally over the aisle. The dehumidifier works by cooling air, causing moisture in the air to condensate. The dehumidifier is mounted at a slope so that the condensed water drips from one end of the dehumidifier and into a water tank (3).

The water in the tanks (3) are referred to as "clean water", which in this proposal, is defined as water collected by a dehumidifier. "Clean water" can be used for showering and washing, but needs more processing before it can be used for drinking. Clean water is shown in light blue (3), and dirty water is shown in a darker blue (1).

Air circulates through the dehumidifier by convection of air. The cool air sinks downward into the aisle below, pulling in warm air in its place. The dehumidifier causes air to circulate in the Cell via convection of air. Bit of a history trivia: Convection was used on Model T's to circulate water to cool the engine. Model T's did not have a water pump. Water circulated through the engine and radiator by convection only.

The dehumidifier runs by burning methane and does not have any moving parts or use any electricity. In theory, the dehumidifier could run for over 100 years, possibly centuries, without ever wearing out. Later in Post #10 I'll explain how such a dehumidifier works. As with everything else in a Cell, the dehumidifier is designed so it can be built on Mars. An optional fan with a mineral wool filter could be added to filter air as it passes through the dehumidifier. Mineral wool can be made on Mars as a byproduct of smelting iron.

Storing water in a Cell

Figure 4.2 below is a closeup view of two "clean water" tanks. The dehumidifier only needs one water tank to operate, but more tanks can be added as more water storage is needed.

Whenever an additional tank is added a rubber U-shaped syphoning hose is placed between the tanks. Rubber can be made on Mars from In-Situ resources. Syphoning eliminates the need for water pumps to move water from one tank to another. Water pumps consume electricity and will eventually wear out.

Figure 4.2 Closeup view of dehumidifier and water tanks

As water fills the first tank, the water level rises and then syphons into the next tank(s), keeping the water level the same in all tanks. The syphoning hose allows the two tanks to function as a single tank with twice the capacity. When clean water is needed it can be removed from any one of the tanks, which causes the water level to drop slightly in all tanks.

If more water storage is needed, more tanks and syphoning hoses can be added as shown below in Figure 4.3. Additional water tanks can also be added to the "dirty water" tank by using the same method.

Figure 4.3 Closeup view of clean water tanks with syphoning hoses

Figure 4.4 below shows a different view of the same water tanks shown above. Notice the tanks are "T" shaped so they can rest on a horizontal support. Tanks used for "clean water" and "dirty water" are all the same. They are made from fiberglass and come from the same mold. Fiberglass, as the name implies, is made up mostly of glass fibers, which can come from Mars. Other ingredients in fiberglass can be made on Mars, once manufacturing capabilities in the Martian base have become more advanced.

Figure 4.4 Backside view of the clean water tanks

Notice the flexibility that a Cell provides. If more water than expected comes in from a WAVAR and/or Rodwell, and the Cell cannot clean the water as fast as it comes in, more tanks and syphoning hoses can be added to store the incoming "dirty water".

On the other hand, suppose a Cell is able to purify water faster than the "dirty water" is coming into the Cell, and faster than the "clean water" is being used. In that case more clean water tanks can be added to store the additional water. Cells have plenty of room to store water. Water tanks can be added until the aisle in the Cell is filled with tanks, from one end of the Cell to the other.

Syphoning water between Cells

Water is not only syphoned between tanks within a single Cell, it can also be syphoned from one Cell to another. Cells are able to provide optimum growing conditions for the type of plants being grown in each Cell. Therefore different Cells can have different conditions (called "context", explained later in Post #6), such as different temperature, different humidity, different lighting, etc. The amount of air pressure in Cells can also vary. Water can be syphoned between Cells that have a difference in air pressure. The difference in air pressure does not prevent syphoning, it only causes the water level in one Cell to be different than other Cells, as shown below in Figure 4.5.

Figure 4.5 Syphoning still works between Cells with different air pressure.

If the "clean water" and "dirty water" tanks were each connected between Cells using syphoning hoses, dirty water from a WAVAR or a Rodwell could be added to any one dirty water tank in any one Cell, and the water would flow to all the Cells, even if some Cells have a different air pressure than others.

If each Cell had one Rodwell that added water directly to each "dirty water" tank, it wouldn't mater if some Rodwells produced more water than others, because the dirty water would syphon to whichever Cells had the lowest water level, keeping the water level the same in all Cells.

Cells can have a different watering schedules, resulting in Cells consuming dirty water at a different times and rates than others, or some Cells consuming more or less dirty water than others. None of this matters, because water will automatically syphon to where it is being used, causing dirty water in all Cells to remain at the same level.

In the same way, if a syphoning hose for "clean water" were added between all the Cells, and clean water were removed from any one tank in any one Cell, clean water would syphon throughout all the Cells, refilling the tank where clean water is being used.

One problem with connecting a syphoning hose between Cells is that one Cell could suddenly lose air pressure due to a catastrophic event, such as a meteor strike or a rocket crashing onto a Cell. If that were to occur, the air pressure in that Cell would suddenly be lost and water would rush out of the other Cells that still had air pressure, causing most of the water in all Cells to be lost.

To prevent this from happening, a small plug can be placed on each end of the syphoning hose that is connected between Cells. When water moves slowly over the plug, the plug stays in place. If one Cell suddenly lost air pressure, it would cause water to rush through the syphoning hose rapidly, closing the plug and shutting off the syphoning. This simple system works similarly to a "flood guard" found in basement drains of some homes (see below).

Figure 4.6 Image of Flood Guard taken from this video

A flood guard uses a plug that floats in water. It is used in basement drains to keep water from backing up into the basement. When water in the drain starts to rise up, it pushes the floating plug upward, stopping water from flowing upward through the drain and into the basement. A similar technique can be used to stop the flow of water from Cells in the event that one Cell were to suddenly lose air pressure. The plug used in Cells does not float, but it does close when water flows across it rapidly due to a loss of pressure in another Cell.

Video of a "Flood Guard"

Purifying water and the Methane-Oxygen Cycle

Plants help to purify water. They take in dirty water at their roots, consuming any Essential Elements they need, and release pure water from their leaves in the form of humidity where it gets picked up by the dehumidifier. About 90% of the water that plants pick up through their roots is released into the air as pure water through the process of transpiration. The rate of transpiration greatly increases at a lower air pressure.

As previously mentioned, burning methane creates two things, CO2 and water. Therefore burning methane and growing plants in a Cell greatly increases the humidity. The dehumidifier removes humidity from the air and drips water into the clean water tank (3) as was shown in Figure 4.1.

The water that ends up in the storage tank (3) of Figure 4.1 is the clean water that was shown earlier in the open loop Methane-Oxygen Cycle, and is shown again below on the bottom right of Figure 4.7. The dirty water that enters a Cell from a WAVAR and/or Rodwell (and gray water if desired) is the dirty water shown on the bottom left below.

Figure 4.7 Open loop version of the Methane-Oxygen Cycle.

Clean water can be removed from the storage tank (3) that was shown in Figure 4.1 and be used somewhere else in the Martian base. Notice that dirty water enters a Cell and clean water leaves the Cell, as shown on the bottom of Figure 4.7 above. Cells not only grow plants, and not only provide a way of storing energy, Cells also purify water.

Dirty water is used in the Sabatier reactor to produce methane and oxygen. The methane is stored. Most/all of the oxygen from the Sabatier reactor can be stored, or some of the oxygen can be safely released back into the Cell if needed. As mentioned in Post #2, it is assumed the Martian base has a number of storage tanks available for the storage of various gases.

Methane from storage is piped into a Cell much like natural gas is piped into a home or building. Plants are able to produce the oxygen needed to react with methane. (I'll provide oxygen production numbers later in Post #12). If additional oxygen is needed, some, or all, of the pure oxygen from the Sabatier reactor can be safely released back into the Cell. (More about that later in Post #12). Otherwise the pure oxygen is stored in oxygen tanks.

Dirty water and a new definition: "Essential Elements"

If the dirty water doesn't contain anything toxic (such as perchlorates), it can be used to water plants and used to keep compost moist. Water from a Rodwell that doesn't contain anything toxic does not need to be filtered or processed in any way. Rather it can be dumped directly into a "dirty water" tank and then used to water plants. The impurities in dirty water will likely contain Essential Elements that plants and soil life need.

Essential Elements are elements that plants, soil life, as well as humans, need to survive. Some gardening and agriculture magazines/publications mention "16 minimal elements for life" and often divide these elements into "macro elements" and "micro elements". This means that there are a minimum of 16 elements that must be present for life to survive (I'm emphasizing the word minimum here). But more than 16 elements are needed to grow healthy plants and keep humans healthy.

Other publications and universities may divide the elements into categories, such as "essential plant nutrients" and other "nutrient categories." Some publications divide them into two groups, "non-mineral elements" (elements from air and water) and "mineral elements" (elements from soil). When looking for life off of Earth, NASA often talks about "CHONPS." The acronym CHONPS stands for the elements Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur.

Different sources define elements needed for life in different ways, none of which are wrong. Unfortunately, there isn't any one standard definition for all the elements needed for various forms of life.

In this proposal, and in my book "How to Make Soil on Mars", I've divided elements that are needed for life into three groups. The three groups are "The Big Four", "The Major Elements", and "Trace Elements". The Big Four elements are hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. These four elements are the most predominant elements in the human body, and all four are available from air and water, both on Earth and on Mars. For that reason I've put these elements into their own category.

Next are The Major Elements, which contain seven elements, which are: sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, potassium, and calcium. The third and final group are the Trace Elements, of which there are 16 elements. Even though various forms of life only need a trace amount of these elements, it doesn't mean they are not important. In order for soil to be healthy, it is critical that the soil contains ALL 27 of the Essential Elements I just listed. All of these elements are not needed by all forms of life, but all of the elements I have listed are needed by some form of life.

As stated, the Big Four are available from air and water, therefore everything else MUST come from the soil. Most all of the Essential Elements have a water soluble form. So water from a Rodwell will likely contain some Essential Elements. Using "dirty water" that contains Essential Elements to water plants, (as long as it doesn't contain anything toxic), will help enrich the soil.

It is possible that the water will contain perchlorates. How to deal with perchlorates is a separate issue and will be covered later in Post #10 section "Solving Martian Problems: Dealing with perchlorates." Adding Essential Elements to soil enriches the soil, which in turn feeds the plants, which in turn feeds the humans.

For example, suppose (hypothetically) water from a Rodwell were to contain calcium and magnesium, as is often the case with tap water on Earth. Calcium and magnesium are both Essential Elements that plants get from soil. Calcium is needed in plants for cell division, and helps nutrient uptake from the soil, and a number of other functions. Calcium is needed in humans to maintain healthy bones and teeth, and is good for the heart and helps to regulate blood pressure. Humans get calcium from plants, and plants get calcium from soil.

Magnesium is needed in soil to assist plants with a number of stress tolerances. Such as stress from over watering or drought, nutrient deficiency stress, too much or too little light, temperature extremes, pathogen stress, chemical stress, and so on. Magnesium also helps plants with structural stability. Magnesium is needed in plants for photosynthesis, enzyme activation, carbohydrate processing, and a number of other functions. Magnesium is needed in humans in over 300 biochemical reactions.

The elements calcium and magnesium must come from the diet and the elements must be in the right form. Calcium and magnesium are in the soil on Earth, and have been detected on Mars. But calcium and magnesium are not in the right form on Mars, and are only in the right form on Earth if they are stored as organic matter.

On Earth, plants working with microbes in a symbiotic relationship routinely put these and other Essential Elements into the right form, so they can be used by plants, and then used by the human body once humans eat the plants. For soil to be healthy it must contain calcium and magnesium, which on Mars, could possibly come from a Rodwell. On Mars, water from a Rodwell may, or may not, contain calcium and/or magnesium, but it will likely contain some Essential Elements, since most Essential Elements are water soluble.

Therefore if a Rodwell were to contain Essential Elements, dumping dirty water onto the soil would enrich the soil. Plants working with soil biology will put these elements into a plant available form, which in turn provides nutrients to plants, which in turn provides nutrients to humans.

If dirty water from a WAVAR or a Rodwell does contain something toxic, then it cannot be used to water plants without first being processed. But dirty water can be used in the Sabatier reactor. As mentioned, the Sabatier reactor uses electrolysis to extract hydrogen from water. Electrolysis separates pure hydrogen and pure oxygen from the toxic water, leaving the toxins behind. Any left over toxic residue will either need to be treated or discarded. The pure hydrogen and pure oxygen is then ran through a fuel cell, producing pure water free of toxins.

Food in space vs food on Mars

Providing food for a crew that is in transit to and from Mars is a much different scenario than providing food for a crew that is on the surface of Mars or the Moon. Once on Mars, a Martian base will have partial gravity rather than micro-gravity, which should help the health of astronauts and of plants. And a base will have more power and space available to grow food.

Providing food for the first crewed missions to and from Mars is a complex problem that has yet to be solved. One of the problems is that refrigerators and freezers will probably not be used during transit because they are too massive and use too much power. The Space Shuttle and ISS didn't/don't have refrigerators or freezers, or even a microwave oven, because they put too much of a load on the electrical system, and a microwave oven requires extra shielding so that it won't interfere with electrical equipment. The shielding adds mass that must be launched into orbit. The ISS does have heated water, which was added in more recent years. The heated water is only enough to make 1 beverage.

Assuming there won't be any refrigerated or frozen food available during a trip to/from Mars, then a supply of "shelf stable" food will need to be used. "Shelf stable" is food that is stable when stored at room temperature. The problem with shelf stable food is that nutrients in the food tend to degrade over time, most notably Vitamin C, and to a lesser extent Vitamin K and thiamine (Vitamin B1).

During the sailing era, more sailors died from scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) than all other causes combined, and many of the voyages were only 3 months long. Trying to remedy the problem by sending vitamin supplements will not work, because during a trip to/from Mars, the Vitamin C in the supplements will degrade as well.

NASA has stated that the first few missions to Mars will be about 3 years long and will be a crew of 4 to 6 people. Sending a freezer with a 3 year supply of food for a crew of 4 to 6 people would require a payload the size of a semi trailer. Growing a few plants to supplement their diet during a trip to/from Mars can help provide astronauts with Vitamin C, but doing so requires a sizable amount of mass and room to grow plants, and it requirers a considerable amount of energy.

Faster rocket technology will not change the three year mission duration much, due to the way the launch window from Earth to Mars aligns with the launch window from Mars back to Earth. A slower rocket might cause the mission to be a little longer than 3 years. A faster rocket might cause the mission to be a bit shorter than 3 years. Either way, the first few crewed missions to Mars will be around 3 years.

Food for a Mars mission will need to be packaged in advance, and might be sent to Mars one launch window in advance (26 months in advance). Because of this NASA is doing research for food that is shelf stable for 5 years. NASA has found a few foods that are shelf stable for that length of time, but only having a few foods available over a period of three years creates the problem of menu fatigue.

As can be seen, space food is complicated. NASA is well aware of the problem and has made a lot of progress. But there is still plenty of work that needs to be done.

Once on the surface of Mars, a Martian base can grow fresh nutrient dense food. This food can be used to supply the trip from Mars back to Earth. This would provide fresher food for the trip home and would reduce the amount of mass needed to be sent from Earth to Mars.

Solving Martian problems: Refrigeration on Mars

As stated, a spacecraft traveling to and from Mars will likely not have any refrigeration available. However, Cells on Mars can contain an area for both refrigeration and freezers by simply not supplying heat. An example is shown below in Figure 4.8.

One end of a Cell is blocked off by putting a wall between the refrigerator at the back of a Cell. The wall could be made out of styrofoam, which can be made on Mars. In the back of the refrigerator is another blocked off area with a styrofoam wall. This area is the freezer. This design provides a way of having a walk-in refrigerator and a walk-in freezer in a Martian base.

Figure 4.8 Cell with a refrigerator and freezer

The only way the refrigerator gains heat is through the wall that separates it from the warm Cell, or when the refrigerator door is opened. The walk-in refrigerator could be kept cool by simply not applying heat, as heat is lost out of the refrigerator through the ceiling, floor, and through the walls, keeping the refrigerated area cool. However, the refrigerator will likely get too cold. Ideally, the temperature of a refrigerator should be kept just barely above freezing, about 33F to 34F (0.5C to 1.0C).

To keep the refrigerator at the right temperature, it could use a small heater and fan. The heater comes on when needed to prevent the refrigerator from getting too cold. Another option to help keep the refrigerator/freezer cool would be to use the method of an absorption refrigerator which runs on methane and does not have any moving parts. (Explained later in Post #10).

As will be explained later in Post #11, a byproduct of the Air Pressure Control System is the accumulation CO2. The Air Pressure Control System removes CO2 from the air and stores it for later use. CO2 has many uses on Mars as will be explained later in Post #11. CO2 from storage can be allowed to slowly seep into the freezer and through the refrigerator, and vent out to the Cell. (Bottom right of Figure 4.8). This provides a way of pushing oxygen out of the refrigerator/freezer area. Removing oxygen from the refrigerator/freezer preserves food, as the presence of oxygen is what causes food to spoil. Slowly releasing liquid CO2 from storage and into the freezer also provides some additional cooling.

As air is slowly pushed out of the refrigerated area and into the Cell, the air which is mostly CO2, becomes part of the Cells ecosystem, as plants need a never ending supply of CO2. Control systems in the Cell will keep the air pressure and CO2 level at a preset value, as will be explained later. So slowly releasing CO2 into the freezer and having it drift into the Cell will not cause the air pressure, or CO2 level in the Cell to be out of spec.

Figure 4.9 Floorplan of base with two refrigeration areas. R=Refrigerator F=Freezer

Figure 4.9 above shows the floor plan for a Martian base with two refrigeration areas and a hypothetical frost line. The Cells on each end contain the refrigeration areas.

One way to reduce heat loss, or heat gained, into or out of any system, is to use a geometric shape that has the maximum volume for a given amount of surface area. In two dimensions, a square has more area inside of it than a rectangle with the same circumference. The shape that has the most area and smallest circumference is a circle. In three dimensions, the shape with the most volume and least amount of surface area is a sphere.

Having the refrigerator and freezer in the two Cells on the end, as shown in Figure 4.9, causes the frost line to be more circular, which maximizes the volume of the heated area in the Cells, while keeping the surface area around the Cells to a minimum. This reduces the amount of heat needed to keep the Cells warm. (The more surface area the Cells have, the more heat is lost from the Cells).

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#5 2023-05-06 23:19:59

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

The Air in a Cell

The percentage of CO2, oxygen, nitrogen, and other gases in the air of the Cell shown in Figure 4.1 (Post #4) are allowed to change or "drift". Because the percentage of oxygen and other gases varies, astronauts must wear breathing apparatus while working in a Cell. The breathing apparatus would probably look similar to the one shown below in Figure 5.1.

Cells are warm and pressurized, making them a comfortable area for both plants and humans alike. The breathing apparatus only needs to cover their face so they are breathing air with the right ratio of oxygen and nitrogen (or some filler gas). Astronauts could wear shorts and a T-shirt while working in a Cell, as long as they are wearing breathing apparatus.

Figure 5.1 Example of how breathing apparatus might look.
Image is from PeRSo-DW project, University of Southampton. Southampton, England

Reacting methane in a Cell

A Cell contains a small gas furnace that burns methane and is used to keep the Cell warm. The dehumidifier also burns methane to operate. A Cell can contain a CE5/BES type of device, and can contain an engine that runs on methane (used for mechanical power if needed). If any of these devices are running in a Cell, the heat from these devices will help keep the Cell warm, as was explained earlier in Post #3. There are pro's and con's to using each of these devices as I will explain later.

Each of these three devices were shown on the right side of Figure 3.12 (Post #3) in the Methane-Oxygen Cycle. Having three different types of devices in a Cell that can react methane with oxygen gives the astronauts flexibility. Any combination of these devices can be used at a time. One at a time, two at a time, all three at the same time, or none at all. Having all these combinations as to which pro's and con's to select, makes the Methane-Oxygen Cycle adaptive.

If 100% of the stored energy is needed for heat in a Cell, than the gas furnace could be used. If some energy is needed for mechanical power, than an engine that runs on methane could be used. If more electricity and less heat is needed, a CE5/BES could be used. As the demand for heat, mechanical power, and electricity changes, using different methods of releasing the stored chemical energy, stored as methane and oxygen, can be used to match the demand.

Because all of these devices (burner, engine, or CE5/BES) are located in a Cell, heat from these devices is not wasted. As was explained in Post #3 any so-called "wasted heat" from these devices will not be wasted as long as the heat is needed to keep the Cell warm. Therefore 100% of the energy stored as methane and oxygen is recovered, making this method of storing and retrieving energy 100% efficient.

Each Cell contains at least one composter similar to the one shown below in Figure 5.2. Cells can also contain one or several Sabatier reactors, like the one that was shown in Figure 3.9 and 3.10 (Post #3).

Figure 5.2 Composter example. Each Cell has at least one composter.

Oxygen in a Cell

The air in a Cell must contain an adequate amount of oxygen. Not only is oxygen needed for methane to react with oxygen, but plants need oxygen as well as CO2. Plants cannot survive in air that is pure CO2. They must have oxygen or they die.

Both plants and humans must have oxygen in order to get energy from carbohydrates. Humans/mammals eat carbohydrates and breathe in the oxygen they need. Plants on the other hand, make their own carbohydrates through photosynthesis and respire (breathe) the oxygen they need, mostly at the roots. This causes the air in soil to have a higher concentration of CO2 than the air just above ground.

Soil Science for Gardeners
Working with Nature to Build Soil Health
By Robert Pavlis
Section: Air and Water
(Page 19 in my book)
What you may not realize is that plants also respire, absorbing O2 and giving off CO2. This happens not only at night but also during the day and for the same reason animals do it. The process allows plants to convert sugars into energy, which they need for growth. This takes place in all their parts, but a lot of it happens in the roots; they need to be able to absorb oxygen from the soil, or they die.
This explains why many plants can't grow in areas that are constantly wet. This kind of soil does not provide enough oxygen for roots. It also explains why plants die if you water too much and why some plants just don't grow well in clay soil that does not hold enough air.

When methane reacts with oxygen as was previously described (burner, engine, or CE5/BES), it causes the percentage of oxygen in the Cell to decrease and the percentage of CO2 to increase. (It will also cause a decrease in air pressure).

The percentage of CO2 that can be in the air of a Cell is dependent on the plants. According to Dr. Chris McKay, there is no clear upper limit on the amount of CO2 that plants can handle, and that the upper limit of oxygen is set by flammability. The level of CO2 on the International Space Station is quite high. A paper by NASA states:

"ISS CO2 levels predominantly fluctuate in the 3,000 to 5,000 ppm range."

Figure 5.3 Image is from YouTube video with Dr Chris McKay at 3m 0s.
Dr. Chris McKay - Terraforming Mars - 2021 Mars Society Virtual Convention

The percentage of oxygen and CO2 in the air of a Cell is kept in check by reacting more, or less, methane with oxygen. The level of CO2 is kept high enough for plants, but not too high. There was a case on the ISS that a type of lettuce did not grow well in the VEGGIE system because the level of CO2 on the ISS was too high for that particular type of lettuce. (As stated, the CO2 level on the ISS fluctuates from 3,000 to 5,000 ppm, or 0.3% to 0.5%).

The remaining gases in a Cell are filler gases, mostly nitrogen and argon. As the percentage of nitrogen in a Cell increases, argon can be removed so that the majority of the filler gas is nitrogen. Eventually the air in a Cell can be similar to that of Earth. (About a 21%/79% mix of oxygen and nitrogen).

The carbon cycle problem

As Bryce Meyer explains in the image below, humans do not exhale enough CO2 to feed themselves. One way to think of this, is to imagine one person sealed in a greenhouse with enough plants to feed that person. In that case, the individual will not breathe out enough CO2 to feed the plants.

Or, to think of it another way, if the greenhouse had just enough plants that the plants could live off of the CO2 coming from the human, the plants would not produce enough food for that human. Bryce Meyer calls this the "Carbon Cycle Problem."

A source of CO2 is needed in order for humans to grow enough plants to feed themselves. Even more CO2 is needed if astronauts are growing more than just food, such as plants from all of the 4F's (Food, Fiber, Forrest, Fuel) and medicine. Carbon is needed for plants, soil life, and in the production of soil.

Figure 5.4 Image from the following YouTube video by Bryce Meyer at 16m 50s.
NSS Space Forum -Bryce Meyer - Farming in Space for Future Space Settlement

Plants are constantly consuming CO2. Therefore Cells require a constant supply of CO2. The primary source of carbon on Mars is from CO2 in the Martian atmosphere. Later, in Post #8 I will explain how air from the Martian surface is brought into a Cell. CO2 from the Martian surface can be brought into a Cell at the same rate it is being consumed, so that the percentage of CO2 remains constant.

Details: How the Air Pressure Control System works

In order to provide redundancy, each Cell has its own independent Air Pressure Control System that can add air, or remove CO2 from the air to adjust pressure. As a general rule, air from the Martian surface is brought into a Cell which will cause an increase in air pressure. Plants consume some of the CO2, and CO2 is removed from a Cell as needed to lower air pressure. The Oxygen Control System adjusts the rate at which oxygen is reacted with methane so as to hold the level of CO2 constant at a preset value. It is assumed that the Martian base has a set of storage tanks to hold different gases.

The end result is that as air is brought in from the Martian atmosphere, nitrogen and argon will begin to accumulate in the Cell and will crowd out oxygen as the level of CO2 remains constant. How outside air is brought into a Cell will be explained later in Post #8. How the Air Pressure Control System works will be explained in detail in Post #11.

Removing oxygen from the air

Plants in a Cell produce oxygen while consuming CO2 and water. The oxygen produced by plants is needed for many things on Mars, such as oxygen for astronauts to breathe, aerobic composting, some manufacturing processes will consume oxygen, and so on. A method is needed to remove the oxygen from a Cell so that the level of oxygen does not get too high, and so that the oxygen can be stored and used later somewhere else. Oxygen concentrators could be used for this purpose, but these devices consume energy (electricity) and have moving parts that will eventually wear out. There is a better way:

Article: How a oxygen concentrators work

Below is a diagram of the Methane-Oxygen Cycle that was shown earlier. This version is an open loop system that separates pure oxygen from the air in a Cell. The Sabatier reactor uses electrolysis to separate pure hydrogen and pure oxygen from water. The pure oxygen exits the loop and is stored (Figure 5.5 top left). Stored methane (created from the Sabatier reactor, or from a SOFC running in reverse mode) is piped into the Cell where it can be used.

When any of the devices listed on the right side of the diagram (burner, engine, or CE5/BES) are running in a Cell, they will consume oxygen and therefore separate oxygen from the surrounding air. Notice that none of these devices require an input of pure oxygen. Therefore all three devices provide a method of removing (separating) pure oxygen from air without using any additional energy, filters, or mechanical devices such as oxygen concentrators.

Figure 5.5 Methane-Oxygen Cycle open loop oxygen and open loop water.

CO2 and other gases are brought into a Cell directly from the Martian atmosphere.(How this is done will be explained later in Post #8). Plants consume some of the incoming CO2 and plants produce oxygen. The oxygen from plants is removed from the Cell by reacting methane with oxygen, which produces water and CO2. The dehumidifier picks up the water from the humidity in the air. The "clean water" from the dehumidifier exits the loop (Figure 5.5 bottom right).

Some of the CO2 created by reacting methane with oxygen and CO2 from the Martian atmosphere ends up being used in the Sabatier reactor (or a SOFC), along with dirty water that comes from WAVAR units and/or Rodwells (Bottom left Figure 5.5). Dirty water used in the Sabatier reactor replenishes the clean water from the dehumidifier that exited the loop (Bottom right Figure 5.5). As was explained in Post #4, dirty water syphons into a Cell, and clean water syphons out. One of the features of a Cell is that it purifies water, and does so using a minimal amount of energy and moving parts.

Pure oxygen from the Sabatier reactor exits the loop and methane is piped back into the Cell (Top left Figure 5.5).

Methane from the Sabatier reactor enters the Cell and reacts with oxygen produced by plants. The oxygen produced by plants replenishes the pure oxygen that left the loop (Top left Figure 5.5). The cycle keeps repeating.

Different view of the same process

Figure 5.6 below provides a different perspective of the process just described. CO2 comes into the Cell from the outside (7). (Explained later in Post #8). Plants consume some of the incoming CO2 and dirty water and produce oxygen (3). Oxygen produced by plants replenishes the pure oxygen that left the loop (4).

Oxygen from plants reacts with methane (2), creating CO2 and water. The water (1) is picked up by the dehumidifier and exits the loop (6). Dirty water used in the Sabatier reactor (5) replenishes the clean water that left the loop (6).

Figure 5.6 Different version of a Cells functional diagram.

Some of the water picked up by the dehumidifier comes from reacting methane with oxygen (2) and some comes from the leaves of plants (1) from transpiration.

There are several processes in a Cell that can cause an increase or decrease in air pressure. The Air Pressure Control System will adjust the rate at which CO2 (and at times argon) is removed to maintain a constant pressure. The Oxygen Control System will then hold the level of CO2 at a preset value by reacting more, or less, methane with oxygen. This will be explained later in Post #11.

The Air Pressure Control System produces pure CO2 as a byproduct, which is stored, as CO2 has many uses on Mars, as will be explained later in Post #11. The stored CO2 is available for use in the Sabatier reactor.

On the right side of Figure 5.6 CO2 enters the Cell (7), and pure oxygen exits the Cell (4). The carbon that is left behind from CO2 coming in and O2 going out is consumed by plants and microbes enriching the carbon content of soil. Plants and microbes are made up of hydrocarbons. The carbon in these hydrocarbons comes from CO2 and the hydrogen comes from water. Carbon is an important element for soil function as will be explained later in Post #6.

On the right side of Figure 5.6 it can be seen that dirty water enters the Cell (5) and clean water exits the Cell (6), leaving the impurities behind. If the impurities in dirty water are not toxic and contain Essential Elements, the impurities (Essential Elements) will enrich the soil. This is a way of providing plants/microbes with some of the Essential Elements they need. (Essential Elements were explained in Post #4) Most Essential Elements are water soluble. Water from a Rodwell will most likely contain some Essential Elements.

Notice on the right side of Figure 5.6 dirty water goes into a Cell (5) and clean water exits the Cell (6). This shows that one of the features of a Cell is that it purifies water. Also notice that raw air from the Martian atmosphere enters the Cell (7) and pure oxygen exits the Cell (4). This shows that a Cell is capable of processing air directly from the Martin atmosphere (Explained later in Post #8) and produces pure oxygen in the process. As can be seen, a Cell has many more functions than just growing plants.

Burning methane in a Cell

Methane is being reacted with oxygen inside of a Cell. Sometimes it is burned, sometimes it is ran through a device (CE5/BES) that reacts methane with oxygen without burning it. In both cases, the resulting gases are vented back into the Cell. There is not any ventilation back out to the Martian atmosphere.

The burner is enclosed inside of a fireproof container so that it is safe to have a flame inside of a Cell. The "absorption dehumidifier" that I'll explain later in Post #10, has methane burning inside of it. A burner (gas furnace) or "absorption dehumidifier" safely burns methane in a Cell, consuming oxygen from plants in the process.

Regardless of whether methane is being burned, or if it is reacted with oxygen in a CE5/BES, in any case, when methane reacts with oxygen, it only creates two things: CO2 and water, as shown in the equation below.

Both the CO2 and water are vented back into the Cell, and therefore stays in the Cell. None of the CO2, water, or heat are lost by doing it this way. Any impurities that are in the air of a Cell also end up passing through a burning flame. When impurities pass through a burning flame in the presence of oxygen, they are burned off and reduced to something else, usually CO2 and water. The burning of methane in a Cell purifies the air in the Cell, as will be explained later in Post #8.

Keep in mind that a Cell is a growing area for plants, not a living area for humans. As long as the air quality of a Cell is good enough for plants to survive, then the Cell will work as described. Still, we do need to consider what's coming out of a burner, as the exhaust is vented back into the Cell. There are three things to consider when burning methane without ventilation in a growing area for plants. I'll discuss each of these three topics separately.

1) carbon monoxide (CO)
2) nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
3) impurities in natural gas

1) Carbon monoxide (CO)

Carbon monoxide is the result of incomplete combustion. As long as the combustion of burning methane is complete, there will not be any carbon monoxide created.

WikiDoc article Carbon monoxide states:
Carbon monoxide is produced from the partial combustion of carbon-containing compounds, notably in internal-combustion engines. Carbon monoxide forms in preference to the more usual carbon dioxide when there is a reduced availability of oxygen present during the combustion process.

Methane has incomplete combustion when there is not enough oxygen available to react with the methane. As mentioned, the oxygen level in a Cell is adjustable. Therefore the level of oxygen in a Cell can be kept at a higher than normal level so as to ensure complete combustion of methane, preventing the creation of carbon monoxide. This coupled with having high quality burners should eliminate any problem with incomplete combustion, which in turn eliminates any problem with carbon monoxide.

Burning methane in a Cell cleans the air in the Cell. If some carbon monoxide were to be present in a Cell, it would float around the Cell until it passed through burning methane. When it passes through burning methane in the presence of oxygen, it will pick up an extra oxygen atom and be converted into carbon dioxide.

It doesn't take that high of a temperature to get carbon monoxide to react with oxygen and form carbon dioxide. Carbon monoxide oxidation can occur at temperatures as low as 104F (40C), but usually occurs at temperatures above 930F (500C). Methane burns at a temperature of 3,542 F (1,950 C). This is plenty hot enough to get carbon monoxide to react with oxygen and form carbon dioxide.

If need be, a catalyst could be added to the exhaust of a burner to ensure all carbon monoxide is converted into carbon dioxide. The hot exhaust coming from the burner would pass through the catalyst before entering the Cell. The problem with this approach is that it adds complexity and more hardware to the system. More supplies (catalyst) would need to be sent from Earth. I don't think a catalyst will be needed, but it is an option should the need arise.

With good quality burners being used, and the oxygen level being adjustable, and burners constantly cleaning the air, carbon monoxide in a Cell is a not an issue.

2) Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

Another potential problem with the burning of methane in a Cell and venting it back into the Cell is the presence of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). As already stated, reacting methane with oxygen only produces two things, CO2 and water and plants need both. However, with a Cell containing both nitrogen and oxygen, NO2 will form when these two elements pass through a flame of burning methane.

Although breathing nitrogen dioxide (NO2) over long periods time can cause respiratory problems in children, it turns out that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the air can be of benefit to plants. As mentioned, a Cell is a growing area for plants, not a living area for humans. Humans must wear breathing apparatus when working in a Cell (Figure 5.1).

Article: Nitrogen dioxide is a positive regulator of plant growth
Exposing plants that are well supplied with soil nitrogen to gaseous NO2 increases the uptake of nutrients, photosynthesis, and nutrient metabolism so that shoot biomass, total leaf area, and the contents per shoot of C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S (or Fe), free amino acids and crude proteins approximately double over those of control plants, with some exceptions (Table 1). Fruit yield is also increased 1.4-fold compared with control plants (Table 1). An increase in photosynthetic rate under the influence of NO2 has also been reported by Xu et al.

As long as the plants and soil are both healthy, not only will nitrogen dioxide (NO2) not harm plants, it will actually help them to grow, increasing the productivity of plants in a Cell. Therefore, having small amounts of nitrogen dioxide in a Cell is not an issue.

How much nitrogen dioxide is in the air at any given time is dependent on how fast it is created verses how fast it is consumed. How fast it is consumed is dependent on a lot of things, including the number of plants in a Cell compared to the volume of the Cell, the percentage of nitrogen in the air, the amount of soil that is in the Cell, temperature, light intensity, soil structure, moisture, amount of organic matter in the soil, carbon demand placed on the plants by soil microbes, amount of mycorrhizal fungi (helpful fungi) in the soil, to name a few. Basically it's dependent on the overall health of the soil and on conditions in the Cell (ie. "context" of the Cell, most of which are adjustable).

I'll introduced several metrics in Post #13 later. Some of these metrics will effect, or be effected by, the amount of nitrogen dioxide in the air.

Both carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) can be reduced by using high quality burners, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) can be helpful to plants. Therefore I do not see carbon monoxide (CO) or nitrogen dioxide (NO2) being an issue in a Cell. However, we do need to consider impurities in natural gas.

3) Impurities in natural gas

The third issue to consider when burning methane in a Cell are the impurities in the methane itself. On Earth, natural gas is mostly methane, but it isn't 100% pure methane (CH4). According to the link below, the methane content of natural gas on Earth can be as little as 65%. On Earth, natural gas contains many impurities. Many of the problems associated with burning natural gas in homes has to do with impurities found in natural gas on Earth.

From PennState College: Natural Gas Composition and Specifications
Raw natural gas also contains water vapor, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbon dioxide, nitrogen, helium, and other impurities, such as mercury. Table 12.3 gives some examples of the composition of natural gas produced in three different locations, to give an example that methane content of natural gas can be as low as 65%.

On Mars, methane made from the Sabatier process, or a SOFC running in reverse, does not contain hydrogen sulfide (H2S), mercury, benzene, and other harmful impurities found in natural gas on Earth. Therefore burning methane created on Mars does not create the toxins that are created when burning natural gas on Earth.

Although not mentioned in the quote above, natural gas on Earth also contains benzene, which is a problem. (Benzene is not created by a Sabatier reactor or a SOFC).

Wikipedia article Benzene states:
Benzene is a natural constituent of petroleum and is one of the elementary petrochemicals. Due to the cyclic continuous pi bonds between the carbon atoms, benzene is classed as an aromatic hydrocarbon. Benzene is a colorless and highly flammable liquid with a sweet smell, and is partially responsible for the aroma of gasoline.

Article: Gas Stoves Leak Dangerous Benzene, Study Says, But You Can Reduce Your Exposure
New research has found that natural gas stoves leak harmful chemicals, even when turned off. The study, published yesterday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, confirmed previous findings that the fuel used to power gas ovens, stoves, ranges, and water heaters contains dangerous contaminants that have adverse health effects for adults and kids.

Article: Gas stoves pollute homes with benzene, which is linked to cancer

What can you do about gas stove pollution?
Gas utilities have long researched how gas stoves pollute indoor air and even developed new styles of burners that use less gas and emit less nitrogen dioxide. But manufacturers don't use them, saying they are more expensive, harder to clean and consumers aren't demanding them.

High quality burners will be used on Mars, and methane produced on Mars will not have the impurities found in natural gas on Earth. Therefore problems with impurities found in natural gas on Earth are not a problem with methane produced on Mars.

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#6 2023-05-06 23:21:01

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Harvesting Carbon and Martian Agriculture

Harvesting carbon from the Martian atmosphere

Carbon is sometimes referred to as the "currency of the soil" because it is the driver of many processes that take place in soil. Plants produce carbon compounds from CO2 and water through the process of photosynthesis. Some of these carbon compounds leak out of the roots (called exudates) and feed biology in the soil. The microbes in the soil eat the exudates and poop acids, dissolving Essential Elements in the soil. Roots absorb the Essential Elements which feed the plant. The plant feeds the microbes and the microbes feed the plant. This is a symbiotic relationship in which both sides benefit. As Dr. David R Montgomery puts it:

"This steps up an exchange through which both sides benefit from the commerce of the original underground economy."

Figure 6.1 Image from video by Gabe Brown at 46m 47s

More quotes about the importance of carbon in soil

Dirt to Soil
One Family's Journey into Regenerative Agriculture
by Gabe Brown
Chapter 3 Regenerative Revelations
Section: The critical role of carbon
(Page 44 in my book)
In my ongoing reading and research about soil and plants, One thing that kept coming up was the importance of carbon in the system. When I came across the website amazingcarbon.com I was fascinated. Dr. Christine Jones, a soil ecologist in Australia, developed the site to help others understand the critical role carbon plays in ecosystem function, particularly underground. Dr. Jones clearly explains how soil carbon is the key driver for much of soil health. Soil carbon is also critical to water-holding capacity. Thus, she concludes, soil carbon is the key driver for farm profit.
...
A myriad of life forms use liquid carbon as a food source. The plants, in return, benefit from the nutrients released from the soil and transferred to their roots. Consider that 95 percent of life on land resides in the soil, and you'll realize just how important this relationship is. Add to this fact that, as Dr. Jones explained on her website, "microbial activity also drives the process of soil aggregation, enhancing soil structural stability, aeration, infiltration, and water-holding capacity. All living things, above and below ground, benefit when the plant-microbe bridge is functioning effectively."

YouTube videos with Dr. Christine Jones:
Christine Jones -- Soil Carbon: From microbes to mitigation
Dr. Christine Jones - Building New Topsoil Through The Liquid Carbon Pathway
Healthy Soil's Impact on Carbon Pathways & Microbial Diversity by Dr. Christine Jones

A Soil Owner's Manual
How to Restore and Maintain Soil Health
by Jon Stika
Chapter 3 How Is Healthy Soil Supposed to Function?
Section: Nutrient Cycling
(Page 22 in my book)
Once we recognize soil organisms as the drivers of soil health, we understand that the most important element in soil nutrient cycling is not nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium, but carbon. Carbon is the currency of the soil. It feeds the organisms that comprise the soil food web so they can fix, decompose, acquire, and cycle essential plant nutrients. Carbon enters the soil economy through plants or other photosynthesizing organisms possess chlorophyll. This is why it is important to have living plants occupy the soil as much of the time as possible; to keep the underground "herd" of soil organisms fed.

The Soul of Soil
by Grace Gershuny, Joe Smillie
Chapter 2 Understanding the Soil Ecosystem
Section: Soil Anions and Their Cycles
(Page 28 in my book)
Carbon, the major constituent of plant (and animal) tissue, is more truly the "food" consumed by plants than any mineral.

Capture and hold

Over time, as plants live and die while feeding biology in the soil, the soil turns black as it becomes rich in soil life. The deep rich, fertile black color is from the concentration of carbon in the soil, stored as organic matter, both dead and alive. This process is called natures "capture and hold" system for storing carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrients in the soil.

When annual plants grow on Earth, they grow for one season during an Earth-year. In winter when they die, they leave their roots behind in the soil. The next Earth-year when new annuals grow, they use nutrients (including carbon), from dead roots stored in the soil from previous years. The dead roots serve as storage containers for carbon, nitrogen, and many other nutrients. This "capture and hold" system is how nature turns degraded barren soil into productive rich dark soil, loaded with organic matter.

Figure 6.2 Example of natures "capture and hold" system.
Nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, etc) that were gathered and broken
down by previous plants are stored in the soil as organic
matter where they can be used later by new plants.

Regenerative farmers plant cover crops in the late summer after harvesting the main crop. The purpose of a "cover crop" is to "cover" the ground in late summer and into Fall with living plants so that biology in the soil continues to get fed with exudates. The crop that was harvested is no longer living and is no longer producing carbon compounds (exudates) that feed the underground herd. The living cover crop continues to pull CO2 from the atmosphere and pump exudates into the ground feeding life in the soil, keeping the soil well populated with life, which is critical for growing healthy plants.

Figure 6.3. Example of a radish grown by Gabe Brown (Image is from this video.)

The cover crop, such as a radish for example, is not harvested, but rather is left in the ground to rot. When the radish is alive it gathers nutrients and stores them in the soil in the form of organic matter (the radish). Regenerative farmer and best selling author Gabe Brown calls a radish a "storage container for carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrients." As the radish decomposes it feeds underground biology (such as bacteria and fungi), which converts Essential Elements into a form that plants, microbes, and humans can use. Every cubic inch (cubic centimeter) that the radish occupies underground, is converted into a cubic inch (cubic centimeter) of healthy soil.

Note: Cells produce soil

There is a lot to know about making soil and I don't have room in this proposal to cover everything. As I stated in the introduction, if I were to cover the subject of soil production, this proposal would be more than twice as long, so I only have room to introduce some of the basics. I'm currently working on a book "How to Make Soil on Mars." I'll explain the process of making soil on Mars in my book at a later time. For now, the point I'm making is that one feature of a Cell is that it produces soil. Even though a Cell is compatible with hydroponic type systems, I recommend using soil rather than hydroponics in a Cell.

On this forum in the post below, Louis proposed a "soil factory" on Mars. I'm not sure, but I believe it was Louis that mentioned a "soil factory" consisting of rock crushers, grinders, and so on, being used in an industrialized factory setting.

Index --> Life support systems --> Mars Soil Factory
Louis wrote:
What is the best way of providing soil for soil based agriculture on Mars?
I am of the view that a dedicated soil factory probably makes sense.

It turns out that the real "soil factory" is in the soil itself, not in a factory setting. Soil is produced by life (biology) in the soil.

On Earth, humans have changed their surroundings to better suit their needs. Other forms of life, including life in the soil, do the exact same thing. Underground life will change their surroundings (soil), to better suit their needs. All of the many, many, forms of life living in soil, as well as life above ground (including humans), together form something that is referred to as the "Soil Food Web" (SFW). All of the life in the Soil Food Web, working in harmony as a single system, is what makes soil fertile.

Soil production is dependent on the physical properties of the soil, such as soil structure, soil texture, surface area, pore space, and so on. I'll explain some of these soil properties later in Post #7. A "soil factory" consisting of rock crushers, grinders, and so on, all in a factory setting, will not produce any soil. Biology is needed for that. But it will enhance nature to do its thing, which will result in the production of fertile soil.

The plow vs no-till and regenerative agriculture

The plow has sometimes been touted as one of the greatest inventions of mankind. In more recent history however, experts have come to realize the damage caused by the plow. The problem with plowing fields is that it destroys the habitat for soil biology, killing life in the soil. This is why many farmers have switched to no-till farming. A no-till planter places seeds in the soil with minimum soil disturbance, so as not to disrupt biology in the soil. No-till planters, as well a number of other techniques used in regenerative agriculture, will need to be used on Mars.

A Soil Owner's Manual
How to Restore and Maintain Soil Health
by Jon Stika
Chapter 1 What is Soil Health and Why Should I Care?
Section: The Suitability of Feeding the Soil
(Page 8 in my book)
The soil factory exist in and between soil aggregates, which is often referred to as 'pore space'. Soil aggregates are the crumbs and clods of soil held together by the sticky substances and filaments of the microscopic life in the soil. The workers in the soil not only run the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles, they build and maintain the factory itself. Tillage crushes soil aggregates, damaging the soil factory. Therefore, it would seem that the first order of business is to limit this damage as much as possible. Tillage cannot create stable soil aggregates, only break them. There is no tillage operation that directly benefits soil structure and function (Brady & Weil 2002).
Crop production without tillage benefits the soil by not disturbing it any more than necessary to accomplish the placement of seed in the soil to germinate and grow. The only soil disturbance necessary should be a function of the size of the seed that needs to the placed in the soil and the spacing of the rows to achieve a suitable stand of crop.

Principles of soil health

Regenerative farmer and best selling author Gabe Brown appears in many videos on YouTube. In his best selling book "Dirt to Soil", and in the video below, Gabe Brown describes his 5 key points in building healthy soil. On Mars, we will need to follow these principles of soil health:

Video: Gabe Brown: Keys To Building a Healthy Soil

1) Limited soil disturbance. On Earth many farmers have switched to no-till planters. A no-till planter plants seeds with minimal soil disturbance. Plowing fields disrupts soil life and kills biology in the soil. On Mars, seeds need to be planted in soil using no-till planters.

2) Keep armor on the soil. On Earth, fields need to be covered with foliage for as long as possible. Bare soil causes sunlight to be wasted, because the sunlight isn't driving photosynthesis which is feeding soil biology. On Mars, soil in Cells will need to be covered with plants at all times, so that light is not wasted and the soil biology is constantly being fed. Everyday is growing season in a Martian greenhouse, so this shouldn't be an issue.

3) Diversity. On Earth, farmers have learned to plant a variety of plants (multiculture) and to rotate crops. Monocultures, such as fields full of wheat (one plant), or a field full of beans (one plant), do not occur naturally in nature. Monocultures are not natural, they are man made. Plants produce a wide variety of carbon compounds and some of these carbon compounds are released into the ground (exudates) and feed soil biology. A variety of plants provides a variety of exudates for life in the soil. Growing a variety of food on Mars is not only healthy for astronauts, and prevents menu fatigue, it's also healthy for the soil.

4) Keep living roots in the soil for as long as possible. In a Cell it's always growing season. Therefore crops can be grown year round. When plants are alive and and growing they are consuming CO2 and water, producing carbon compounds in the process, some of which are released into the soil as exudates. These carbon compounds feed life in the soil, and the soil life feeds the plants. Without living roots in the soil, biology in the soil does not get fed. That is why it is important to keep living roots in the soil as much as possible.

5) Integrate animals. Although I don't foresee having livestock on Mars anytime soon, let's not forget that humans qualify as animals. Humans on Mars can fulfill the role of incorporating animals. Humans eat food (plants) and process the food in their own digestive system. The human waste is then returned to the soil using thermophilic composting. Thermophilic composting will be covered later in Post #9.

+6) Grow plants in context. In the video above, Gabe Brown describes his five principles of soil health. Since making the video, Gabe teamed up with Ray Archuleta and came up with a sixth principal, which is to grow plants in context. This means warm season plants should not be grown in cold season climates. For example, pineapples should not be grown in Canada, and cold season crops should not be grown on the equator.

On Mars, different Cells can provide a different context for the plants. One Cell can be kept cool to accommodate cold season plants while another Cell is kept warm/hot for warm season plants. The Automated Watering System and the dehumidifier in a Cell can be adjusted for plants that normally grow in places of frequent rain, or for plants that normally grow in dry climates.

The light in a Cell can also be adjusted. Plants primarily use two frequencies of light, red and blue. Plants near the equator receive more blue light than red. Areas closer to the poles receive more red light than blue. Light in a Cell can be adjusted to accommodate a plants natural habitat. In the video below, NASA's Dr. Raymond Wheeler explains the effects of red and blue light on plants. The best book I've found on lights and plants is "Gardening Under Lights" by Leslie F. Halleck, which explains all this.

PBS: Growing Plants in Space

The Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) on the space station has adjustable LED lights, which can be used to adjust the frequency, intensity, and duration, of lights, to provide plants with the same growing conditions as their natural habitat on Earth. The same thing can be done on Mars.

A Martian base can have a number of different types of Cells, in order to grow different types of plants. Conditions in each Cell can match ideal growing conditions for any plant grown on Earth. The only variable that cannot be changed is partial gravity, which is the one big unknown.

Plants have been grown in microgravity and plants have been grown in 1G, but plants have never been grown in partial gravity. Plants grown in microgravity have only been grown with a hydroponic system. Plants have never been grown in soil off of Earth. Once a base is established on the Moon or Mars, there is a whole lot of research that needs to be done on how plants grow in partial gravity.

Types of plants: The 4F's

On Earth, types of plants are sometimes categorized into one of the 4F's, Food, Fiber, Forrest, and Fuel. On Mars, the "Food" category could be defined as any plant that the astronauts can eat. The "Fiber" category could be defined as any type of plant that can be grown for the production of fabrics, such as cotton, hemp, and flax. Flax could be classified as "Fiber" (linen), or it could be classified as "Food" (flaxseed), or both.

Harvest rotation and crop scheduling

Unlike Earth which has four seasons (all of which are not growing seasons), plants in a Cell on Mars can be grown year round. Therefore in a Cell everyday is growing season. On Mars, plants need to be staggered as to when they are planted and when they are harvested (crop scheduling), so that plants are harvested and replanted every week throughout the year. This provides astronauts with a continuous flow of fresh produce.

As an example, suppose wheat is harvested and replanted every 120 days, as is often the case on Earth. On Mars, rather than harvesting all the wheat once every 120 days, one sixth of the wheat could be harvested every 20 days. Or one twelfth could be harvested ever 10 days, and so on.

Plants will produce the least amount of oxygen when they are planted and the most amount of oxygen right before harvest. Having some crops in midterm while others are being harvested/replanted helps to normalize the oxygen output of a Cell. Cells are designed to tolerate variations in oxygen output and CO2/water consumption, etc. Cells can tolerate all the plants being harvested at once. However crop scheduling combined with a Cells fault tolerance will keep Cells well within operating limits, providing stability, and it will provide astronauts with a continuous supply of fresh food.

Hydroponics vs soil

Let me make it clear I am not against hydroponic type systems (hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics). One way to produce soil is to simply compost organic matter grown with hydroponics and use the compost for soil. The compost would contain bacteria and fungi, which is (barely) adequate enough to get the carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle up and running. But other forms of soil life, such as protists, nematodes, micro-arthropods, viruses, archaea, etc, will need to be brought from Earth and added to the soil, before the soil can be considered "functional soil." Therefore I view hydroponic type systems as stepping stones leading up to the production of soil. I feel certain hydroponic type systems will have a place in an early Martian base. Research that has been done to perfect these systems is time well spent.

Both soil and/or hydroponic type systems will work in the Cell I am proposing. But hydroponic systems have many limitations. For one thing, hydroponic systems need a continuous supply of nutrients sent from Earth. Many of these nutrients are produced by soil biology on Earth. So why would we produce nutrients using soil biology on Earth and then send it to Mars? Instead these nutrients can be produced on Mars. That is, as long as Mars has functioning soil.

Hydroponic type systems require a lot more energy and mechanical systems than soil. They have many pumps and other mechanical devices that will eventually wear out, requiring replacements sent from Earth. Hydroponic systems require more energy and maintenance (labor). Plants grown with hydroponic type systems are far more susceptible to disease, parasites, and various stresses.

In functioning soil, plants and microbes work together to defend against disease, pathogens, parasites, and other types of stress. With soil, all the astronauts need to do is plant crops and walk away until it's time to harvest. The gravity fed watering systems, lighting systems, and other control systems are all automated. Once planted, the plants and microbes take care of themselves. The control systems in each Cell will keep conditions ideal for the type of plants being grown in the Cell. This saves energy and astronauts time.

Another reason to use soil, 95% of all life that lives on land lives in the soil. If Mars is going to provide redundancy for life on Earth and we don't have any soil on Mars, then we'd be leaving 95% of land life behind. Higher forms of life (such as humans), are dependent on these smaller forms of life that live in the soil.

A Martian base without soil will never be self-sustaining. Having a self-sustaining base on Mars can only be achieved if the base has soil. No soil, no self-sustaining base, period. Not on Mars, not on the Moon. or anywhere else (including Earth).

Soil has three major systems at play. A chemical system, a biological system, and a physical system (soil structure, soil texture, etc). All three of these systems must be working and working well in order to produce healthy nutrient dense plants. Healthy plants are a prerequisite to producing healthy food. Healthy food is a prerequisite for a healthy crew. When all three of these systems (biological system, physical system, chemical system) are functioning well, soil is referred to as "functional soil."

One of the problems with hydroponics is that it's pretty much a chemical system only. In order to produce healthy, nutrient dense food on Mars, plants MUST be grown in functional soil.

For the Love of Soil
Strategies to regenerate our food production systems
By Nicole Masters
Chapter 5 First There Was Light
(Page 65 in my book)
As you can see, plants do not exist in isolation. Ponder this for a moment, many plant vital functions are external to their body; they outsource essential functions to microbes that are responsible for immunity, nutrient and water availability. Their gut, kidneys and thermostat are outside of their bodies. If you consider the primary goal of soil management, is to support an optimal digestive system, it is the fungi that supply powerful gut acids, vitamins, enzymes and minerals to fuel energy and health. Can you grow plants without soil and biology? Yes. Will they be healthy, have full genomic expression and be nutrient dense? No.

Dirt:
The Erosion of Civilizations
By Dr. David R Montgomery
Chapter 10 Life Span of Civilizations
(Page 240 In my book)
Growing food hydroponically -- by pumping water and nutrients through dirt in a laboratory -- can produce far more per unit area than growing food in natural soil, but the process requires using large external inputs of nutrients and energy. This might work on small-scale, labor-intensive farms, but it cannot feed the world from large operations without huge continuous inputs of fossil fuels and nutrients mined from somewhere else.

Link to this section:
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 84#p209484

Link to this proposal:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=10501

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#7 2023-05-06 23:22:03

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Martian Agriculture and Martian Dust

Solving Martian Problems: Martian Dust

One of the major concerns with Mars is how to deal with Martian dust. All 12 astronauts that have ever walked on the moon got sick from the effects of Moon dust. There are a number of hazards caused by Moon dust, as outlined in this NASA article:

NASA Article: What Hazards are caused by Lunar Regolith?

Martian dust does not have the sharp edges as does Lunar dust and therefore does not pose the same hazards as Lunar dust. Still, Martian dust does pose a number of problems/concerns. Cells create a "Cascading Effect" that provides a buffer zone between the living area and the harsh environment of Mars, which includes Martian dust. (The "Cascading Effect" will be explained later in Post #15).

Problems with Martian dust occur when people and/or equipment are moving in and out of a Martian base. The best way to alleviate that problem is to minimize the number of times astronauts need to work outside. One way to do that is for astronauts to use remote control equipment for outside work, so that the astronaut don't need to step outside as often.

Still, there will be times when astronauts must work outside of a Martian base. When going outside, they must first pass through a Cell, or group of Cells. This will cause the dust to accumulate in Cells and into the soil of Cells, while the living area remains free of dust. To understand what effect Martian dust has on soil, first I need to explain some basic soil properties, starting with particle size, soil structure and pore space.

Martian Dust: Soil property "particle size"

Figure 7.1 below shows a size comparison between a grain of sand, a particle of clay, and Martian dust. All vary in size, but on average, the diameter of a grain of sand is roughly 100 to 1,000 times that of a particle of clay. Martian dust varies greatly in size, from the size of a grain of sand (2.00 mm to 0.05 mm) to a size comparable with clay. Smaller particles of Martian dust are comparable in size to particles of clay, with the smallest particles of Martian dust being larger than the smallest particles of clay. A number of sources quote Martian dust size as being 0.005 mm and less. (Clay is less than 0.002 mm).

The smaller the particle size of soil particles the greater the surface area of the soil. For example, a sugar cube has less surface area than the same amount of granulated sugar. This is why granulated sugar dissolves faster in hot coffee than a sugar cube. It's because more surface area is exposed, making the granulated sugar more reactive. Crushed ice will cool a beverage at a faster rate than a single block of ice, because crushed ice has more surface area exposed.

One property of soil is the surface area of the soil. Clay has much more surface area than sand, because clay is much smaller than sand. To put this in perspective, a teaspoon of sand has a surface area equivalent to a table top. A teaspoon of clay has a surface area equivalent to a football field.

Figure 7.1 Size of sand compared to size of a clay particle and the smallest Martian dust

When soil is wet, water fills in the pore space (empty spaces between soil particles). Water and nutrients coats in and around each of the soil particles and tend to stick to the surface of particles. Because clay has more surface area, it holds much more water and nutrients. A larger surface area means there are more nutrients available to plants, which is why clay soils are known to be rich in nutrients.

Particle size effects how tightly water hangs on to the particle. Surface tension is a force among all molecules in a liquid. This force is called "Van der waal forces".

Van der waal forces are between every molecule in a liquid. But at the surface of a liquid, there are no Van der waal forces above it because there aren't any liquid molecules there. (See Figure 7.2 below). This creates a slightly more concentrated film of molecules at the surface, which behave much like a membrane. That's why you can toss a leaf onto the water and it doesn't sink, instead it floats on the water (floats on the "membrane").

Figure 7.2 Van der waal forces (Surface tension)

If you fill a container slowly you will see a concave curve on the surface of the water, near the sides of the container (Figure 7.3 below). The curve you are seeing is capillary action. Because of this effect, water is held tightest near the surface of a soil particle, and less tightly farther away from the particles surface.

Figure 7.3 Example of capillary action

A layer of water covering a single sand particle is much thicker than a layer of water covering a single clay particle, because a sand particle is much larger. This causes water to be held more tightly by a particle of clay than by a grain of sand. Soils that contain a lot of clay will hold water longer than soils that contain a lot of sand.

This is why sandy soils dry out faster than clay soils. Sandy soils have more pore space and therefore are more permeable. This is the reason why sandy soils have less runoff than clay soils during a heavy rain. On the other hand, clay soils have more runoff than sandy soils, but once clay soils are wet, they remain wet for longer periods of time, whereas sandy soils dry out quickly. This is because clay particles hang on to water much more tightly.

Martian dust is often described as a "very fine dust" and a texture that is "much like talcum powder", because of its extremely small particle size. Although some Martian dust particles are extremely small, the diameter of the smallest Martian dust particles are larger than the smallest clay particles.

If Martian dust finds its way into soil used to grow plants in a Cell, the finer Martian dust will likely act like clay particles in the soil. That is, they will provide more surface area than a sandy soil, and it will hang on to water and nutrients much more tightly than sand, much like clay. Martian dust being in the soil of a Cell isn't a problem as long as the Martian dust doesn't contain anything toxic, such as perchlorates, or toxic elements like mercury, lead, arsenic, etc, or anything radioactive. (How to deal with perchlorates will be discussed later in Post #10).

Martian dust particles that only contain Essential Elements (defined in Post #4) will dissolve away completely, as the elements in the dust particle will be converted into organic matter (roots, stems, leaves, or into the bodies of microbes).

Non-toxic Martian dust that does not contain any Essential Elements will effect the texture of the soil. It will probably have the same effect as adding clay or sand to soil. The smallest Martian dust will give the soil more surface area, causing the soil to hang onto water more tightly than sand-sized particles. The larger particles of Martian dust are about the same size as sand. Adding these larger dust particles to soil will likely have the same effect as adding sand to soil. For soil to be healthy it must have a mix of both large and small particles. Which brings up the next topic: soil structure.

Martian Dust: Soil property "soil structure"

Figure 7.4 below is an example of good and bad soil structure. Healthy soil contains a mix of both large and small particles, and it contains many different types of soil life (protists, nematodes, micro-arthropods, viruses, archaea, etc). As this life moves through soil, they leave a trail of tunnels behind, aerating the soil. (Think of worms moving through soil leaving a tunnel behind). These empty voids in soil are called pore space, which is an important property of soil.

Both large and small particles will remain in place as long as there is enough glomalin in the soil. Glomalin acts like a glue that holds soil particles together, keeping the soil aerated with a lot of pore space. Glomalin is produced by a special type of mycorrhizal fungi, called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, or simply AMF for short.

Figure 7.4 Example of soil structure

When it rains, water fills up the pore space and pushes air out. When the soil dries, air from above ground fills in the pore space. This is how soil breathes. Water moving in and out of soil creates three different categories of water. The categories of water are: gravitational water, capillary water, and hydroscopic water.

Water moves through soil by the pull of gravity, or by the pull of water molecules on each other (capillary action and Van der waal forces as explained earlier). Water moving through soil by the pull of gravity is referred to as "gravitational water."

Smaller soil particles hold onto water after the gravitational water has drained away, this is due to capillary action (Van der waal forces). The water that remains covering soil particles after gravitational water has drained away is referred to as "capillary water."

Capillary water is available to plant roots after gravitational water has drained away. Capillary water is the water that coats relatively larger soil particles, such as grains of sand. Sand holds water tight enough so that is does not drain off with gravitational water, but is held loose enough that roots can pull the water away from sand sized particles when needed. Capillary water is the primary source of water for plants.

Smaller soil particles, such as clay and fine Martian dust, hold onto an even smaller layer of water. Because this layer of water is so thin, it is extremely hard to pull it away from the tiny soil particles, as was previously explained. This water is referred to as "hydroscopic water." Plant roots cannot absorb hydroscopic water, because small soil particles hold this water far too tight for plants to overcome. About the only way hydroscopic water can be removed from soil is to heat the soil and boil off the water.

Although hydroscopic water is extremely thin, it's plenty thick enough for many microbes to live in and travel. Even when soil conditions are dry, tiny soil particles (such as clay and fine Martian dust) hold onto hydroscopic water, providing soil conditions good enough for microbes to live and thrive.

Therefore Martian dust in soil can be of benefit to soil life, by providing microbes a place to live when soil conditions are dry. Martian dust is not a problem for soil in a Cell because for soil to be healthy, it must have a variety of particle sizes, and those particles need to be held together with glomalin, meaning the soil must contain AMF (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi). As long as a Martian base is using soil to grow plants, and that soil is full of soil life, Martian dust is not a problem. I consider the problem of Martian dust as being solved. Notice that soil provides a solution for dealing with Martian dust, hydroponic type systems do not.

Grain crops on Mars

There are a number of proposals that recommend growing wheat on Mars because it produces a large number of calories per unit of volume. The argument is that less growing space is needed to meet daily calorie requirements of a crew by growing mostly (or entirely) wheat.

I would argue that we need to think in terms of nutrition in addition to calories. In order for astronauts to have a balanced diet, they must eat a variety of food coming from a variety of plants. There isn't any one plant that will provide astronauts with all their nutritional and calorie needs. Growing a variety of food on Mars is not only healthy for astronauts but it is also healthy for the soil. (multiculture vs monoculture, principal #3 of soil health Post #6). Growing a variety of plants also helps to eliminate menu fatigue.

Wheat and other grain crops will be an important part of the diet on Mars, along with other plants. In Gabe Browns video "Gabe Brown: Keys To Building a Healthy Soil" (mentioned in Post #6), Gabe Brown shows a picture of oats underseeded with three types of clover: Berseem clover, Crimson clover, and Persian clover. Clover is a legume that adds nitrogen to the soil. Once soil is functioning, growing clover with oats provides the oats with all the nitrogen they need. No nitrogen fertilizer is needed. This reduces inputs, which conserves resources such as energy, machinery, and labor.

Figure 7.5 Screen capture at 16 minutes 5 seconds into Gabe Browns video

This technique shown by Gabe Brown will work on any grain crop grown on Mars. The technique eliminates the need for synthetic fertilizer. Using synthetic fertilizer on Mars is something to avoid. It takes energy, labor, and mechanical/chemical devices (which will wear out) to produce synthetic fertilizer, and the fertilizer kills soil biology, which is needed to produce healthy plants and nutrient dense food. Contrary to popular belief, using chemicals such as synthetic fertilizer, is highly inefficient. The chemicals can increase yield in the short run, but in the long run chemicals kill soil biology, reducing productivity, not increasing it, and causes the soil to become degraded. The degraded soil becomes dependent on synthetic fertilizer. This is much like a drug addiction, once farms become dependent on synthetic fertilizer they must continue to use it and other chemicals, otherwise yields suffer.

For more information about soil

For anyone interested in learning more about agriculture, plants, and soil, there are several books and videos I would recommend. One book I recommend is Soil Science Simplified by Helmut Kohnke and D. P. Franzmeier. I bought the 4th edition years ago. The 5th edition is now available.

Another author I recommend is Gabe Brown who I mentioned earlier. His best selling book Dirt to Soil is shown in Figure 7.6 below.

Another author I recommend is David R. Montgomery. Books I recommend are:

Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization
The Hidden Half of Nature
Growing a Revolution
What Your Food Ate

There are also several YouTube videos with David R. Montgomery. This one is about 45 minutes long:

"A soil health revolution - keys to human civilization & health" David Montgomery - Nobel Conference 54

In the video Dr. Montgomery said:

"Agriculture is not a question of organic versus conventional. Agriculture is how to apply an understanding of soil ecology to build soil health and sustain high crop yields using far less inputs."

Figure 7.6 List of recommended books
Top Left to right: Soil Science Simplified, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization, The Hidden Half of Nature
Bottom left to right: Growing a Revolution, Dirt to Soil

Another person I recommend is Ray Archuleta. Gabe Brown mentioned Ray several times in his book "Dirt to Soil". Ray has a long list of videos on YouTube. Here is a short list I got from a quick search on YouTube.

GFE 2016 - Ray Archuletta "It Starts With the Soil"
Soil Health Principles - Ray Archuleta
Gabe Brown & Ray Archuleta share their journey into regenerative agriculture @ the MN SH Coalition!
GFE 2017 - Ray Archuleta 'Regenerating the Land'
Ray Archuleta - Regenerative Agriculture: The Butterfly Effect that will Change the World
Gabe Brown, Rick Haney, Buz Kloot, Ray Archuletta, and Dave Brandt - all in one place April 5, 2017.

Gabe Brown and Ray Archuleta are in the Netflix documentary "Kiss the Ground", narrated by Woody Harreison. The trailer for the documentary is at the link below. I bought the documentary and highly recommend it. There is now a sequel to "Kiss the ground" called "Common Ground". Last time I checked it was available for free viewing on Amazon Prime.

Kiss the Ground - Official Movie Trailer (2020)
Common Ground (2023)
Carbon Cowboys (2014)

Prior to the documentaries "Kiss the Ground" and "Common Ground" there was a documentary "Carbon Cowboys" that came out in 2014. All three of these documentaries talk about the importance of carbon in the soil, and how increasing the carbon content of soil increases soil productivity. Carbon increases yields without using any chemicals (fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides). The carbon added to the soil comes from CO2 in the atmosphere, which on Earth helps to reverse climate change.

I'll explain all this in more detail in my book "How to Make Soil on Mars" at a later time. For now, it's time to get back to my proposal of a Cell, which has a soil factory, in addition to ways of storing energy on Mars.

Justifying the cost of growing plants on Mars

Having a Martian base on the surface of Mars that is growing food using regenerative farming is cost effective enough by itself, to justify the cost of going to Mars and setting up Cells to grow plants. We already know how to grow plants on Earth efficiently. We already know how to turn degraded soil into rich fertile soil. The problem is that the majority of farmers are not practicing these regenerative methods.

Growing plants on Mars is good publicity for teaching the world about regenerative agriculture, which in turn will save enormous amounts of money on Earth, easily offsetting the cost of growing plants on Mars.

Only about 25% of farmers in the USA are using "regenerative agriculture", the other 75% are either using "conventional agriculture", or are using a mix of conventional agriculture while dappling with some regenerative techniques.

Conventional agriculture plows fields. Plowing fields kills biology in the soil that feeds the plant. Then fertilizer is applied to feed the plants since there isn't enough soil biology to provide food for the plants. Fertilizer kills even more soil biology. Then weeds grow because weeds love fertilizer. Living plants and foliage, such as cover crops, crowd out weeds. but plowing fields and not planting cover crops creates bare ground, ideal for growing weeds. So herbicides are used to kill weeds, which kills even more soil biology and stuns the desired crops, reducing yields.

Then pests become a problem because crops are grown in a monoculture without crop rotation. Monoculture feeds the same pests and fungi year after year after year, causing pests and fungi to flourish. And plants have lost their defenses that are provided by soil biology. So pesticides and fungicides are used, which stuns the crops even more. Dr Jonathan Lundgren has said that for every insect that is a pest, there are 1,700 that are beneficial. Pesticides kill ALL insects, not just the pests, including pollinators! Conventional agriculture is good for chemical companies and equipment manufacturers, but bad for everyone else.

Soil biology helps build soil structure. As was shown in Figure 7.4, good soil structure is needed for water and nutrient cycling. Without proper soil structure water and nutrients are lost.

Unlike conventional agriculture, regenerative agriculture eliminates the need for chemicals, saving farmers billions of dollars of inputs every year. Because of poor soil structure, synthetic fertilizers and other chemicals do not stay in the ground, rather they wash downstream and do billions of dollars damage to the environment. Showing the world how to grow crops on Mars would save billions in inputs (chemicals and machinery) and billions more from environmental damage.

Regenerative agriculture creates nutrient dense food, conventional agriculture does not. Conventional agricultures method of applying copious amounts of chemicals to make up for degraded soil does not result in nutrient dense food, and it's making all of us ill. Getting more farmers to switch to regenerative agriculture would save billions of dollars each year in health care cost in the USA alone.

Regenerative agriculture also sequesters carbon into the ground, turning degraded soil black and making the soil far more productive. This sequestering of carbon helps reverse climate change, saving the USA even more billions of dollars every year caused by climate change. Many billions more in other countries.

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#8 2023-05-06 23:23:08

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

How the Martian Atmosphere is Brought into a Cell

New definition: Cheat

In Post #2 and Post #5 I mentioned air from the Martian atmosphere can be pumped directly into a Cell. But there is a problem, the Martian atmosphere contains carbon monoxide (CO) which is poisonous to both plants and humans. Pumping air from the Martian atmosphere directly into a Cell would cause a buildup of CO and possibly other impurities. To solve this problem, air from the Martian atmosphere is pumped directly into the flame of a burner as it enters a Cell. When carbon monoxide passes through burning methane in the presence of oxygen, it will pick up an extra oxygen atom and be converted into carbon dioxide (CO2).
The reaction is as follows:

2CO + O2 ---> 2CO2

Carbon monoxide oxidation is an exothermic reaction and is the reason why catalytic converters on automobiles get so hot. Converting carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide will give a Cell a negligible boost in heat. As mentioned in Post #5, carbon monoxide oxidation can occur at temperatures as low as 104F (40C), but usually occurs at temperatures above 930F (500C). Methane burns at a temperature of 3,542 F (1,950 C). This is plenty hot enough to get carbon monoxide to oxidize without the need of a catalyst.

I refer to outside air being brought into a Cell through a burner as "Cheat". Cheat is mostly CO2, but there are other gases that come into a Cell with Cheat. The Martian atmosphere also contains 0.17% oxygen and 1.9% nitrogen. These gases are desirable to bring into a Cell from the Martian surface. There is also a small amount of water in the form of humidity that comes in with Cheat.

Editors Note: The exact percentages of gases vary, as air pressure on Mars varies because of the freezing and thawing of CO2 at the poles. An article by NASA and JPL states:

The overall increase in pressure between Sol 31 and Sol 93 is the signature of the entire Martian atmosphere growing in mass as we move into springtime in the southern hemisphere. This happens because the south pole receives more and more sunlight, and carbon dioxide vaporizes off of the winter south polar cap. Each year the atmosphere grows and shrinks by about 30 percent due to this effect.

Air comes into a Cell at a slow rate. About the same rate as letting air out of a tire by pushing down on the valve stem. When the two gases, oxygen and nitrogen, come into a Cell with Cheat, the percentage of nitrogen in the Cell will slowly increase, and the Cell will get a tiny boost in oxygen and humidity. If 1% of the oxygen in a Cell can come from the atmosphere of Mars, rather than from plants alone, then 1% more pure oxygen will be produced by the Cell, resulting in 1% more methane being burned/reacted, resulting in 1% more heat.

So to answer the question that was posted on this forum "How can nitrogen from the Martian atmosphere be brought into a base?" The answer is to simply pump outside air in from the Martian atmosphere into a burning flame. Over time this will cause the percentage of nitrogen in the Cell to accumulate. No additional pumps, refrigeration devices, fractional distillation, or any other mechanical devices that consume energy are needed.

Nitrogen

The atmosphere on Earth is nearly 80% nitrogen. The triple bond of nitrogen makes nitrogen pretty much inert at room temperature, therefore nitrogen is considered a "filler gas." Other gases, such as noble gases (inert gases), can be used as a filler gas in a Cell. The Martian atmosphere contains about the same amount of argon as it does nitrogen, and argon is a noble gas which can be used as a filler gas. The Martian atmosphere also contains trace amounts of neon, krypton, and xenon, all of which are noble gases, and therefore they could also be used as filler gases. When desired, these filler gases can be separated from the air in a Cell by using a fractional distillation machine similar to the one shown below in Figure 8.1.

Figure 8.1 Example of a fractional distillation machine

Processing Martian air to make it breathable

Figure 8.2 below shows an atmospheric processing system describe on Marspedia. This plan like many others, propose processing ALL air from the Martian atmosphere before any of it can be used. In this proposal, I'm presenting a plan that requires less than 2% of the raw air from the Martian atmosphere to be processed. By processing 2% of the air rather than 100%, the equipment like that shown below, should use about one fiftieth as much energy, and last about 50 times longer.

Figure 8.2 Image from Marspedia of atmosphere processing

Later in Post #12 I'll go through the math and show that one Cell of a given size will produce about 13 cubic meters (13,000 liters) of pure oxygen every 24 hours. This equates to 542 liters of oxygen produced per hour (measured at STP). If a Cell were to consume 542 liters of CO2 from the Martian atmosphere every hour for one Earth-week (168 hours), the amount of nitrogen and other gases brought in from the Martian atmosphere in one Earth-week would add up to the following:

1,729 liters of nitrogen
1,729 liters of argon
155 liters of oxygen
The trace gases neon, krypton, and xenon would start to accumulate.

Notice that about 98% of the gas brought into a Cell through Cheat is consumed without any processing of any kind. The CO2 that is brought into a Cell as Cheat is consumed by plants without being processed. Some of the nitrogen brought into a Cell through Cheat is also consumed by plants (via legumes working with nitrogen fixing bacteria in the soil) without the need of being processed/separated. Any carbon monoxide that comes in with Cheat is converted into CO2 as it passes through a burner in the presence of oxygen and is consumed by plants. Oxygen that comes in with Cheat becomes part of the Cells ecosystem. The rest of the incoming air, roughly 2%, is used as a filler gas.

The processing of air from the Martian surface is done AFTER air is brought into a Cell, not BEFORE. By doing it this way, less than 2% of the air from the Martian surface needs to be ran through fractional distillation equipment, rather than 100%. This saves energy, time, and wear and tear on fractional distillation equipment that has to be sent from Earth.

Cells create air for additional Cells

As was just mentioned, air from the Martian atmosphere comes into a Cell through Cheat without being processed. Plants in the Cell consume CO2, leaving the other gases, (nitrogen, argon, and the trace gases) behind. Therefore Cells are able to harvest nitrogen from the Martian atmosphere in a highly efficient way by using Cheat.

Eventually the Cell will have too much filler gases, which can be removed using fractional distillation. Extra gases are stored in storage tanks after they are removed, so they can be used later. (It is assumed that the Martian base has several storage tanks on hand for gases to be stored). Later in Post #11 I'll show how these stored gases have many uses on Mars.

Once a Cell is brought on-line, nitrogen, argon, and the filler gases slowly accumulate in the Cell. As they accumulate, argon and the trace gases are removed, while the level of oxygen and CO2 remain at a preset level. This causes the percentage of nitrogen to go up while the percentage of argon and other filler gases goes down.

Once most/all of the argon and trace gases have been removed, Cells will start to accumulate with too much nitrogen. It is at that point that nitrogen is removed from the Cell and stored. Over time, there will be enough stored nitrogen and oxygen to pressurize additional Cells.

In the introduction in Post #2 an example of a Martian base with one functioning Cell was shown, and is shown again below in Figure 8.3.

Figure 8.3 Cut away view of a Martian base with one functioning "Cell"

Figure 8.4 below shows the floorplan of the same Martian base shown above, with only the first Cell being on-line (pressurized and growing plants). When the first Cell is brought on-line, it will need enough nitrogen and oxygen to create an atmosphere suitable for plants (shown in green). Nitrogen for the first Cell will likely be brought from Earth. Oxygen for the first Cell can be sourced on Mars using MOXIE.

Once the first Cell is on-line growing plants, it is able to source nitrogen for the second Cell through Cheat. Ideally the air in each Cell will have air ratio's that are optimum for plants. The definition of what is optimum is dependent on the "context" of the plants in the Cell (per soil health principle #6 Post #6). This means the air in a Cell will likely be similar to that of Earth, but they don't have to be exact. (Roughly a 78% to 21% mix of nitrogen and oxygen with a little CO2). These percentages of gases, humidity, air pressure, and light are all adjustable and can vary from one Cell to another.

Figure 8.4 Floorplan of Martian base with one Cell on-line

Air for the second Cell is made from the nitrogen, oxygen, and CO2 that was accumulated by the first Cell and stored. Gases for the second Cell originated from the Martian atmosphere. (Stored argon and the traces gases can also be used as a filler gases along with nitrogen). As shown in Figure 8.5 below, Cell#2 is pressurized and heated so as to provide a comfortable working area while trays and hardware are being installed. The air in Cell#2 does not yet need to be good enough for plants, it only needs to be good enough for astronauts to work. (Astronauts must wear breathing apparatus while working in a Cell).

All of the Cells have plumbing and wiring running between them. The air in Cell#2 is slowly circulated with the air in Cell#1, in a carefully controlled manner. If the air in Cell#2 is not yet good enough for plants, the air will develop over time and will eventually be good enough for plants.

Figure 8.5 Martian base with one Cell on-line creating air for a 2nd Cell. Cells 3-5 are not yet pressurized.

Figure 8.5 shows Cell#1 on-line while slowly circulating air with Cell#2, as indicated by the arrows. While air from Cell#1 is being exchanged with Cell#2, the quality of air in Cell#2 will slowly increase.

The quality of air in Cell#1 could degrade some, however Cell#1 is gaining nitrogen from Cheat and the plants are producing oxygen. The control systems in Cell#1 will keep the ratio's of the different gases at a preset level, as will be explained later in Post #11. Therefore the air quality in Cell#1 will only degrade slightly if at all, and will always be good enough to grow plants. Meanwhile the air in Cell#2 will slowly gain oxygen and nitrogen as needed until it reaches a level equal to that of Cell#1. At that moment the Cells will reach a point of equilibrium, in which the nitrogen, oxygen, and CO2 levels are all at the preset levels of Cell#1. The independent control systems in Cell#2 are then turned on, and Cell#2 is no longer dependent on the control systems in Cell#1.

Plants in Cell#2 are started as soon as the air in Cell#2 is good enough for plants to grow. Once both Cells are on-line (growing plants) they are able to bring in nitrogen through Cheat at twice the rate, because there are now two Cells bringing in Cheat rather than just one.

Once both Cells have the desired ratio of gases (nitrogen, oxygen, CO2), storage tanks that were depleted when pressurizing Cell#2, are now being refilled in preparation of pressurizing the next Cell (Cell#3). Once enough nitrogen and oxygen have been collected and stored, Cell#3 is pressurized and heated, allowing hardware to be installed, and the process keeps repeating.

Figure 8.6 Base with two Cells on-line creating air for a 3rd Cell

After Cell#3 is pressurized and heated, the air in Cell#3 is slowly circulated with the air in Cell#1 and #2 as shown above. The time it takes for the air in Cell#3 to develop is half as long as it took for Cell#2, because Cell#3 has two Cells producing nitrogen and oxygen, rather than just one.

Figure 8.7 Base with four Cells on-line creating air for a 5th Cell

This process keeps repeating until all the Cells are brought on-line. Notice that as more Cells are brought on-line, the rate at which air can be processed gets faster and faster. Building more Cells creates a positive feedback loop that not only allows the base to expand, but to expand exponentially.

This is not only a self-sustaining process, it is also a self-replicating process. It order for a process to be self-replicating, it must also be self-sustaining. But a self-sustaining process is not necessarily self-replicating.

The more the base expands, the more Cells the base has to provide resources. Air is just one of those resources. Water from WAVAR and a Rodriguez Well (Post #2) will need to be purified, and Cells play a role in purifing water (Post #4). A larger base with more Cells is able to extract and purify more water in less time.

Cells also produce soil, and provide a way of storing and retrieving energy. The more Cells a base has, the more soil it is producing at a time and the more energy it can store and retrieve. Cells can grow plants from each of the 4 F's, providing the base with more resources (Food, Fabric, Forrest, and Fuel) and medicine. As stated in the introduction (Post #2), the objective of this proposal is for the base to be self-sustaining, and to expand (self-replicating).

Revisiting the carbon cycle problem

As was explained in Post #6 and Post #7, CO2 is constantly being consumed by plants in the production of organic matter (roots, stems, leaves, microbes), as well as carbon compounds (exudates) that feed life in the soil. In turn this produces fertile soil that is rich in carbon, turning the soil black. The deep dark color of fertile soil is from carbon that originated from the Martian atmosphere.

As was mentioned in Post #5 (the carbon cycle problem), humans do not exhale anywhere near enough CO2 to feed all the plants and soil in all the Cells of a Martian base. Growing plants and producing soil consumes CO2, and a whole lot of it.

For every acre of soil, a 1% increase in organic matter will result in 10 tons of carbon being sequestered from the air. This means that if one Cell were to contain 1 acre of soil, increasing the soil organic matter content from 0% to 8% will require 80 Earth-tons of carbon, which equates to 293 Earth-tons of CO2 (293 tons of CO2 contains 80 tons of carbon).

This means that 293 Earth-tons of CO2 to must come into the Cell as Cheat, in order to bring in enough carbon to enrich an acre of soil from 0% to 8% organic matter. Note that none of the 293 Earth-tons of CO2 needs to be processed by fractional distillation. And a sizable amount of nitrogen will come into the Cell along with the 293 Earth-tons of CO2, and none of this nitrogen will require any processing. Legumes can pull nitrogen from the air and add it to soil through natures "capture and hold" method that was explained earlier (Post #6 Figure 6.2).

Growing plants consumes a lot of carbon and nitrogen, as does producing soil. Fortunately, there is plenty of carbon (in the form of CO2) and nitrogen in the Martian atmosphere. Cheat provides a method of harvesting CO2 and nitrogen from the Martian atmosphere and therefore provides plants/soil with all the carbon and nitrogen they need.

Figure 8.8 Image from the following YouTube video by Bryce Meyer at 16m 50s.
NSS Space Forum -Bryce Meyer - Farming in Space for Future Space Settlement

Even though the Martian atmosphere is extremely thin and only contains a small percentage of nitrogen, there is still a sizable amount of nitrogen in the Martian atmosphere. Every acre of Mars has about 7.7 tons of nitrogen sitting on it. On Earth, that amount of nitrogen would weigh about 20 tons. Considering there are 640 acres in one square mile and over 55 million square miles of surface area on Mars, and you begin to realize there is an enormous amount of nitrogen in the Martian atmosphere. Cheat provides a way of harvesting some of this nitrogen.

Earth has far more air pressure and a much higher percentage of nitrogen in its atmosphere than Mars, which means Earth has way more nitrogen that can be harvested from the air. Regenerative farmers like Gabe Brown are well aware of this fact.

Dirt to Soil
One Family's Journey into Regenerative Agriculture
by Gabe Brown
Chapter 8 Growing Biological Primers
(Page 137 in my book)

I added field peas, a legume, to my rotation in order to take advantage of all of that "free" nitrogen in the atmosphere. Remember above every acre there is approximately 32,000 tons of atmospheric nitrogen. Why would any farmer purchase synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, rather than "harvest" there're own? I noticed an immediate improvement in soil health and subsequent crops after adding peas to my crop rotation.

CO2 can be brought into a Cell at the same rate it is being consumed. Or, CO2 can be brought in at a faster rate, which will cause nitrogen and the other gases in the Martian atmosphere to accumulate in a Cell at a faster rate. The Air Pressure Control System will remove excess CO2 that is brought into a Cell, and store it in tanks where it can be used for other meaningful purposes, as will be explained later in Post #11.

Doing the math:
How much nitrogen comes in with Cheat?

A question that comes up is "How much nitrogen comes in with Cheat?"

In order to calculate the amount of nitrogen that comes in as Cheat, assume that plants are in a Cell of a certain size, such that the plants consume 96 liters of CO2 every hour (96 liters measured at STP). And for the sake of simplicity, assume the 96 liters of CO2 are consumed every hour of every day, and assume that the percentage of CO2 in the Martian atmosphere is exactly 96.000%. And assume exactly 100.000 liters (all measured at STP) of air from the Martian atmosphere is pumped into a Cell as Cheat every hour of every day, in order to bring in 96.000 liters of CO2.

In this scenario, 96.000 liters of CO2 are brought into a Cell every hour and all of it is consumed by plants each hour, therefore the amount of CO2 in the Cell remains constant. However, the percentage of other gases that are in the other 4.000 liters coming in will change. The other gases that come in with the 100.000 liters of Cheat are:

1.90 liters of nitrogen
1.90 liters of argon
0.17 liters of oxygen
Trace amounts of neon, krypton, and xenon.

Therefore, if the plants in a Cell consumed an average of 96.000 liters of CO2 per hour over the course of one Earth-week (168 hours), the amount of gases brought into a Cell as Cheat during that week would be:

319.2 liters of nitrogen
319.2 liters of argon
28.6 liters of oxygen
The trace gases neon, krypton, and xenon would start to accumulate.

The movie "The Martian"

In the movie "The Martian", there is a scene in which the Martian base becomes depressurized. Below is a YouTube video of that scene:

Malfunction Scene : The Martian 2015
(1 min 42 sec)

Apparently, the Martian base had an extra supply of nitrogen and oxygen on hand to re-pressurize the living area with breathable air. The extra air, along with a tank to hold the air, would had to have been brought from Earth. And once that spare supply of nitrogen and oxygen was gone, the nitrogen could not be resupplied.

If that Martian base would have had at least one Cell, an extra supply of nitrogen from Cheat and oxygen from plants could have been collected and stored. The stored nitrogen and oxygen could have been released into the living area. With the emergency supply of breathable air now depleted, both the supply of nitrogen and supply of oxygen could have been replenished by the Cell. The only thing that would be needed from Earth is storage tanks to hold the air.

Burning methane and the Sabatier reaction

The Sabatier reaction has often been mentioned as a way of producing rocket fuel on Mars. Because of incomplete conversion, the Sabatier reaction could also produce carbon monoxide (CO), CO2, and hydrogen, which might end up leaking out into a Cell.

As mentioned, if carbon monoxide is present in a Cell, it will be converted into CO2 when it passes through a burner in the presence of oxygen. If the Sabatier reactor were to release CO2 in a Cell, the CO2 would become part of the Cells ecosystem. If hydrogen is produced, the hydrogen can be cycled back through the Sabatier reactor. If hydrogen were to leak out of the reactor and into the Cell, it would burn off and be converted into water when it reacts with oxygen.

If things aren't working right in a Sabatier reactor, it could produce ethylene and ethane. If these gases are not needed, they can be burned off by running them through a burner along with methane, and they will be converted into CO2 and water, which is part of the Cells ecosystem.

Otherwise if ethylene and ethane are needed for other resources, they can be separated from methane using fractional distillation and stored in tanks. On Earth, ethane is primarily used as a feedstock for producing ethylene. Ethylene is used for making plastics, antifreeze, polyesters, and packaging films.

Methane can also be purified using fractional distillation for applications that require pure methane, such as rocket fuel, the left over impurities from purifying methane can be separated and stored, or they can be ran through a burner in a Cell along with methane, where they produce CO2 and water and re-enter the Methane-Oxygen Cycle (Post #3).

New Definition: "Discretionary Space"

Below in Figure 8.9 are two Cells filled with plants and an empty Cell in the middle. If the middle Cell were to remain empty, it would stay warm because it has heated Cells on each side, and air circulating through all three Cells.

The two outer Cells have plants that generate oxygen to react with methane. The more oxygen produced by a Cell, the more methane is reacted with the oxygen and the warmer the Cell becomes. Therefore adding more plants in a Cell causes the Cell to become warmer. The middle Cell can remain empty and stay warm with little or no heat. A few plants could be added to the middle Cell. This would create a little more oxygen, and would cause the middle Cell and surrounding Cells to be a bit warmer.

I refer to the empty Cell in the middle as "Discretionary Space". As the name implies, what can be put into the middle Cell is at the discretion of the occupants, and is dependent on the bases needs.

Figure 8.9 Example of an empty Cell that is "Discretionary Space"

For example, one thing that could be placed in the middle Cell is a small fiberglass factory. Fiberglass is mostly made up of silicon dioxide, and there is plenty of silicon dioxide in Martian regolith, spread out all over Mars. So regardless of where the Martian base is located, most of the mass (strands of glass) used in making fiberglass could come from Mars.

If much of the hardware in a Cell is made from fiberglass, then most of the mass in a Cell could come from Mars. Trays that hold plants could be made out of fiberglass, as well as the posts that hold up the trays. As mentioned (Post #4), the water tanks could be made out of fiberglass. Being able to build trays, water tanks, and most of the mass that make up a Cell from material that originates from Mars allows the base to expand and grow with minimal shipments from Earth.

YouTube Video: Fiberglass:How It's Made and Its Many Uses

Cells that have most of their components built on Mars from In-Situ resources makes the Martian base more and more self-sustaining. Because if most of the components are built on Mars, then those components can either be repaired or replaced on Mars, without depending on shipments from Earth.

Another use for Discretionary Space is to build a living area. Figure 8.10 below shows an example of a living area (camper with an airlock door) placed in the middle Cell. The middle Cell has a couple of raised garden beds. And plants growing in trays with clean and dirty water tanks mounted above the trays, and syphoning hoses connecting the water tanks to other Cells. (Explained in Post #4).

Figure 8.10 Example of a living area located in Discretionary Space

When occupants in the living area look out of the window they can see an area filled with plants. NASA has learned from growing plants on the ISS, that plants have a positive psychological effect on astronauts.

Having a living area in the middle Cell is similar to parking a camper in this Discretionary Space. However the "camper" would need a set of double doors because the air in the Cell is not breathable air. Astronauts need to wear breathing apparatus when outside of the living area (explained in Post #5).

Discretionary Space creates a positive feedback loop

As more Cells are built and the base expands, more "Discretionary Space" becomes available, and more manufacturing and living areas become available. This creates a positive feedback loop. The more the base grows, the more Cells the base has. The more Cells the base has, the more Discretionary Space becomes available, and more room for manufacturing (such as a fiberglass factory) becomes available, which allows the building of more Cells without requiring as many shipments from Earth.

More manufacturing allows the base to expand even more, and build more bases. More bases means more resources (food, fabric, forest, fuel, as well as air and water) and more Discretionary Space for living areas or manufacturing areas. More living areas means room for more people, along with enough air, food, and water. Having a larger crew means more labor becomes available.

As more manufacturing, resources, and labor become available, more capacity is available to build more bases. This is a positive feedback loop, which is caused by Cells creating Discretionary Space, and using that Discretionary Space to expand the base.

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Last edited by Steve Stewart (Today 00:58:21)

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#9 2023-05-06 23:24:10

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Cleaning the Air and Recycling "Essential Elements"

Burning methane cleans the air in a Cell

The burning of methane in a Cell cleans the air. The temperature of a methane flame is 3,542 F (1,950 C). The assumption is that if something passes through a methane flame in the presence of oxygen it will burn off and be reduced into something else, and if it does not react, then it must be fairly inert. There are other gases that could come in with Cheat. For example Mars is known to "burp up" trace amount of methane from time to time. If some methane, or any other impurities were to come in with Cheat, they will burn off as they passed through burning methane.

In Post #6 I recommended using soil rather than hydroponic type system in a Cell. A potential problem with making soil on Mars is that soil will likely release gases when it first comes into contact with air and/or water. Such was of concern with Apollo 11 and lunar dust, as Buzz Aldrin described.

Mission to Mars
by Buzz Aldrin
Chapter 4 Dream's of My Moon
(Page 84 in my book)
Lunar dust soiled our suits and equipment, and it had a definite oder. Like burnt charcoal, or the ashes that are in a fireplace. Especially if you sprinkled a little water on them.
Before we left Earth, some alarmists considered the lunar dust as very dangerous. In fact, pyrophoric, capable of igniting spontaneously in air. The theory was that lunar dust had been so void of contact with oxygen, as soon as we re-pressurized our lunar module cabin, it might heat up, smolder, and perhaps burst into flames. At least, that was the worry of a few. A late July fireworks display on the moon was not something anyone wanted!

It's possible that a fresh tray of soil in a Cell could vent some gases. Some of these gases might be desirable and some may not.

The Case for Mars
The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must
by Robert Zubrin
Chapter 7 Building the Base on Mars
Section: Green Thumbs for the red Planet
(Page 214 in my book)
The oxidant that Viking may have detected in Martian soil will be no problem, as it decomposes into reduced material and free oxygen on contact with water. The warm greenhouses will be moist environments, and as the moisture circulates it will quickly cause the greenhouse soils to give off their oxygen.

Martian regolith also contains frozen CO2. It's likely that soil made on Mars will vent CO2, oxygen, and some wanted and unwanted gases. If fresh soil were to release gases in a Cell, these gases would end up passing through burning methane in the presence of oxygen. The assumption is that the gases will either burn off, or if something doesn't react, then it must be fairly inert. Thus the burning of methane in a Cell cleans the air, enabling various processes to take place in a Cell.

As an example, suppose a manufacturing process requires the use of an epoxy and the epoxy releases fumes as it cures. As long as the process is done in a Cell (or in Discretionary Space), the fumes from the epoxy will eventually pass through burning methane in the presence of oxygen. The assumption is that the fumes will then be broken down into something harmless. The Cell could also use air filters made from mineral wool to help clean the air. Mineral wool can be made on Mars as a byproduct of smelting iron.

Removing VOCs from the air

One of the challenges with spacecraft is having to deal with VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Some VOCs originate from manufacturing processes, such as the epoxy just mentioned. 3D printing on the ISS is known to emit VOCs, such as benzene, formaldehyde, styrene, caprolactam, and toluene. Formaldehyde is a toxic carcinogen when exposure is in high concentrations.

The human body produces and releases VOCs as well, such as methane, acetone, formate, and formaldehyde. Simply having humans present in a closed loop Martian habitat will result in the buildup of VOCs. Humans primary produce methane in the digestive system. It's a byproduct of anaerobic fermentation. Humans produce acetone as a byproduct of fat metabolism, and excrete acetone through breath, urine, and sweat. The human body produces formaldehyde when building cells and it is used to create amino acids and DNA. It's usually broken down and exits the body as formate (in urine) and CO2 (exhaled).

Regardless of the source of VOCs, they need to be removed from the air. Spacecraft (such as the ISS) usually remove VOCs by filtering the air. Cells deal with most VOCs by breaking them down when they pass through burning methane.

In all of the VOCs mentioned above, only two things are produced when they are burned in the presence of oxygen, and that is CO2 and water as shown below. The only exception is caprolactam (produced from 3D printing), which in addition to CO2 and water (H2O), caprolactam also produces nitrogen oxides. Which nitrogen oxides are produced, such as NO2 or NO2O5, is dependent on temperature and the amount of oxygen available. Both the temperature and the oxygen level in a Cell are adjustable. As was shown in Post #5, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is beneficial to plants.

Formaldehyde: CH2O + O2 --> CO2 + H2O

Acetone: C3H6O + 4O2 --> 3CO2 + 3H2O

Benzene: 2C6H6 + 15O2 --> 12CO2 + 6H2O

Styrene: C8H8 + 10O2 --> 8CO2 + 4H2O

Caprolactam: 4C6H11NO + 33O2 --> 24CO2 + 22H2O + 2N2O5

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA)

A Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) is used on the ISS to remove CO2 from the air. The CDRA uses zeolite crystals that trap moisture and CO2 from the air. When heated, the CDRA releases the trapped water vapor and carbon dioxide, allowing it to be recycled over and over again. On the ISS, the water vapor and CO2 are typically vented out into space.

On Mars, CDRA's can be used to remove CO2 from the living area of a Martian base. When recycled by heating, the water vapor and CO2 can be released into a Cell, where the water and CO2 become part of the Cells ecosystem. This prevents any water or CO2 from being lost (heat is also recovered). Below are some links about the CDRA:

Video with astronaut Drew Feustel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ziFgao91hI&t=1s

Risk of Nominal Acute and Chronic Ambient Carbon Dioxide Exposure in
Crewed Vehicles Leading to In-Mission Health Effects or Performance Decrements (CO2 Risk)
NASA.gov
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/esdmd … oxide-risk

Astronaut Steve Swanson Performs CDRA Maintenance
NASA.gov
url=https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/astronaut-steve-swanson-performs-cdra-maintenance

Overview of ISS carbon dioxide removal assembly on-orbit operations and performance
NASA.gov
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20130000838

Other ways of cleaning the air

In addition to burning methane, a Cell can contain other ways to clean the air. For example, air passing through a burner (gas furnace) could include an ultra-violet light. UV lights are used in HVAC systems to help purify the air. Figures 9.1 and 9.2 below show examples of UV lights used in HVAC systems.

Figure 9.1 Advertisement for an HVAC ultra-violet light

Figure 9.2 Example of an ultra-violet light in HVAC systems

Cleaning the air with plants

The Cell, as well as a living area for humans, could contain plants that help clean the air. Below is a list of nine plants that clean the air according to the PBS TV show "This Old House". In addition to cleaning the air, these plants will also consume CO2, purify water, produce oxygen, and release carbon compounds (exudates) into the soil that help drive the soil factory.

This Old House - 9 Clean-Air Plants for Your Home
English Ivy
Its dense foliage excels at absorbing formaldehyde—the most prevalent indoor pollutant, says Wolverton—which shows up in wood floorboard resins and synthetic carpet dyes.
Peace Lily
This year-round bloomer rids the air of the VOC benzene, a carcinogen found in paints, furniture wax, and polishes. It also sucks up acetone, which is emitted by electronics, adhesives, and certain cleaners.
Lady Palm
Easy on the eyes, this plant targets ammonia, an enemy of the respiratory system and a major ingredient in cleaners, textiles, and dyes.
Boston Fern
This fern works especially well in removing formaldehyde, which is found in some glues, as well as pressed wood products, including cabinetry, plywood paneling, and furniture. (Some studies also show it can remove toxic metals, such as mercury and arsenic, from soil.)
Snake Plant (mother-in-law's tongue)
In addition to helping lower carbon dioxide, the snake plant rids air of formaldehyde and benzene.
Golden Pothos
Like many other vines, it tackles formaldehyde, but golden pothos also targets carbon monoxide and benzene. Consider placing one in your mudroom or entryway, where car exhaust fumes heavy in formaldehyde are most likely to sneak indoors from the garage.
Wax Begonia
The wax plant is a heavy hitter in filtering out benzene and chemicals produced by toluene, a liquid found in some waxes and adhesives, according to a University of Georgia study conducted last year.
Red-Edged Dracaena
This plant will take care of gases released by xylene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde, which can be introduced by lacquers, varnishes, and sealers.
Spider Plant
Put a spider plant on a pedestal or in a hanging basket close to a sunlit window and you'll benefit from fewer airborne formaldehyde and benzene molecules.

Here are more lists of plants that clean the air:

Burning methane, using a mineral wool filter from In-Situ resources, an ultra-violet light, and plants, provide several ways of cleaning the air in a Cell. Cleaning the air serves as an enabler to allow manufacturing processes to take place in a Cell (or Discretionary Space).

Composting in a Cell

As mentioned in Post #5, all Cells have at least one composter which are used to recycling organic matter back into soil (This eliminates the need for bioreactors). When composting, it's possible for aerobic composting (composting with oxygen) to have a small area of compost that does not receive enough oxygen. If this occurs, small anaerobic (composting without oxygen) pockets could form. This is why a compost pile needs to be turned periodically (aerated), so as to prevent anaerobic conditions.

Anaerobic composting produces methane gas. It's possible that a small amount of methane could seep from a composter into the Cell due to tiny portions of the compost being anaerobic. There needs to be a system in place that removes this compost-methane from a Cell, otherwise it will accumulate over time, and eventually could create a fire hazard, or even cause an explosion.

Figure 9.3 Composter example. Each Cell has at least one composter.

Any methane resulting from composting will be burned off in a Cell. How fast it burns off is dependent on the air changes per hour (ACH) of the Cell (explained later in Post #13 metric #5). The CO2 and water produced from the burning off of compost-methane will become part of the Cells ecosystem, where humidity is picked up by the dehumidifier and CO2 is consumed by plants.

Anaerobic composting also produces hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Hydrogen sulfide is the stuff that smells like rotten eggs and is sometimes referred to as "sewer gas". Hydrogen sulfide, like methane, is flammable and will burn off in a Cell.

Essential Elements: The Big Four and The Major Elements

In Post #4 I mentioned Essential Elements, which are elements that make up the human body and organic matter. The first group, which I call "The Big Four", are the elements carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen, which can be sourced from air and water. Hydrogen and oxygen can be sourced from water. Carbon and nitrogen can be sourced from Cheat. (Oxygen is also supplied from the CO2 in Cheat).

Water can be extracted from Mars using a WAVAR and a Rodwell. A small amount of water also comes into a Cell via Cheat in the form of humidity. Therefore all of The Big Four elements can all be sourced on Mars.

In addition to The Big Four elements, ALL of the remaining elements MUST come from the soil. Of those remaining elements (23 in all), there are seven elements that I refer to as "The Major Elements". The seven Major Elements are Sodium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Sulfur, Chlorine, Potassium, and Calcium. All seven of The Major Elements are known to exist on Mars.

This means that eleven of the most predominant elements that make up organic matter can come from Mars. Food grown on Mars is made up mostly of atoms that come from Mars. If fabrics are produced on Mars, most of the mass that makes up those fabrics can come from Mars. Bamboo has often been proposed as a wood that could be grown on Mars because it can be replenished quickly. If bamboo were to be grown on Mars, most/all of the atoms that make up the bamboo can originate from Mars.

Closing the soil loop

If soil isn't kept in a closed loop cycle, than any Essential Elements lost from the soil will need to be replenished. This is why human waste must be recycled back into the soil.

Recycling human waste on Mars is much different than recycling wastewater on Earth. On Earth, wastewater not only contains human waste, but also contains waste from other sources, such as microplastics that come from polyester fibers in clothing. Older houses with cast iron and lead plumbing often often contain heavy metals, and so does other types of metal plumbing (galvanized pipe) that is corroded, which ends up in wastewater.

Household drain cleaners, cleaning chemicals, and some cosmetics, also contain heavy metals. Many of these sources also contain toxic chemicals. Wastewater on Earth contains PFAS (forever chemicals) which originate from cookware, stain-resistant clothing, and other sources. Some synthetic drugs also don't break down in wastewater. Things like used motor oil and antifreeze seem to find their way (illegally) into wastewater, and wastewater treatment plants must deal with these chemicals. On Mars, human waste does not contain these contaminates.

On Mars, if human waste is not recycled back into soil, whatever Essential Elements that are contained in the waste, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, etc, will be lost and will need to be replenished. Unlike the four most predominant Essential Elements, (hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen) which are available from air and water, the other Essential Elements MUST come from the soil. Therefore ALL organic waste must be recycled back into the soil so that the elements are not lost.

The Ancient Maya's recycled their waste back into their soil for 10,000 years. Apparently the Maya's realized a long time ago that what comes from the soil must be returned to the soil. Otherwise the soil becomes degraded. The Maya's recycled their waste back into the soil by using it on plants that were not in the "food" category. (Waste was recycled back into fiber, forrest, or fuel).

The Netflix documentary "Kiss the Ground" (mentioned in Post #7) shows the recycling of human waste with organic matter (straw), and then composting it back into soil. This same method (thermophilic composting) can be used on Mars. Composting kills pathogens, making it safe to use as fertilizer, as English botanist Sir Albert Howard (1873 - 1947) figured out a long time ago.

The Hidden Half of Nature
The microbial roots of life and health
by David R Montgomery and Anne Bikle
Chapter 5 War on the Soil
Section: Microbial Wizardry
(Page 78 in my book)
While his foes sowed doubt and fear, Howard continued to conduct field trials. He reported on an experiment in which three acres of fungus-decimated tomatoes were removed and composted. Later the compost was applied back to the same field, which produced an excellent crop, free of fungal wilt. Similar trials conducted for other crops with other diseases proved that pathogens didn't survive composting. In his view the pervasive fears about composting were unfounded, plain and simple.

On Mars, human waste can be thermophilically composted with organic matter and then used as fertilizer on plants that are not in the food category. Recycling human waste worked for the Maya's for ten millenniums and it will work on Mars.

Facebook video (2 min 45 sec)
The Poop Has to Stay in the Loop! (Kiss the Ground Movie)

YouTube video (1 min 30 sec)
Standing Rock- Patricia Arquette & Compost Toilets

Should the poop stay in the loop?

Patricia Arquette of givelove.org

This video was on "The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation" (3 min 41 sec)
Regenerative Agriculture | The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation

Wikipedia Article Titled Thermophilic composting states:
The key advantage of thermophilic composting is that the high temperatures kill diseases. Human feces composted by worms is not safe to use on food-plants, but several months of thermophilic composting will render it quite harmless. All the organisms that cause human diseases are adapted to live around human body temperature. Higher temperatures kill them. Compost that stays at 50°C (122°F) for 24 hours will be safe to use to grow food. A temperature of 46°C (115°F) will kill pathogens within a week. 62°C (143.6°F) will kill pathogens in one hour.

The Hidden Half of Nature
The microbial roots of life and health
by David R Montgomery and Anne Bikle
Chapter 5 War on the Soil
Section: Microbial Wizardry
(Page 96 in my book)
Scientist have now empirically and experimentally confirmed Hiltner's conclusions. In a classic experiment, replicated many times over, researchers grow plants in two types of soil. They sterilize one soil to kill all the microbes and they leave the other soil unsterilized. Then they introduced a known pathogen to each type of soil. Plants growing in the sterilized soil succumb to the pathogen while the plants growing in unsterilized soil do fine. That disease suppression results from microbial action is further demonstrated in another way. Sterilizing soil destroys its disease suppression, and on the flip side, mixing sterile soil with a tenth to as little as a thousandth of its volume with microbial-rich soil confers disease suppression.
As Hiltner intuited, the mechanisms responsible for disease suppressive soils are linked to communities of microbes. Modern science is confirming that microbe-plant relationships are not one sided affairs in which pests and pathogens call the shots. It turns out that when beneficial microbes are present in the soil near roots they send messages to plants that lead to an immune-like response called induced systematic resistance.

Even though composting kills pathogens and the composted waste is not used on plants grown for food, there still needs to be a system in place that defends against pathogens in the soil. Think of this as a "belt and suspenders" approach.

Although plants cannot growl, bite, scratch, or run away and hide, they are far from being defenseless. Their defenses are strongest when they are grown in functional soil, which is soil that is full of life. Plants have a symbiotic relationship with microbes in the soil, in which both sides benefit. This relationship not only helps plants and microbes feed each other, but it also provides a defense mechanism against pathogens and other stresses. Because hydroponic type systems grow plants in the absence of soil biology, plants in hydroponic systems are far more venerable to pathogens, disease, parasites, and stress.

The Hidden Half of Nature
The microbial roots of life and health
by David R Montgomery and Anne Bikle
Chapter 5 War on the Soil
Section: The Power of Food
(Page 100 in my book)
Plants are far from defenseless and vulnerable victims waiting around for pathogens to do them in. If, that is, the rhizosphere remains well populated with life that either benefits the plant or does no harm. In this case, pathogens have little chance of crossing the moat-like rhizosphere and breaching the botanical castle wall.

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#10 2023-05-06 23:25:15

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Dealing with Perchlorates and How to Build a Dehumidifier

Solving Martian Problems:
Dealing with perchlorates

Perchlorates are the most oxidized state of chlorine and can be present in either a solid or liquid form. How to deal with perchlorates is dependent on which state they are in.

Figure 10.1 Chemical formula of various perchlorates (Image from video with Chris McKay at 1h 13m)

If perchlorates are present in a solid form, they can be broken down by baking. Perchlorates release their oxygen when heated to about 660 F (350 C). Baking can be done in a Cell. The released oxygen enters the Methane-Oxygen Cycle (Post #3) and becomes part of the Cells ecosystem.

If perchlorates are present in a liquid form (dissolved in water), the water can be treated with microbes that break down perchlorates. Many living things need oxygen to extract energy from carbohydrates. Humans eat carbohydrates and breathe in the oxygen they need. Plants make their own carbohydrates through photosynthesis, and then take in oxygen (respire Post #5), to get energy from the carbohydrates that they produce.

Some microbes are able get the oxygen they need from perchlorates. Therefore there are many microbes that can "eat" (break down) perchlorates.

When using microbes to break down perchlorates in water, it's important to not let the concentration of perchlorates in the water get too high. This can be accomplished by using two water tanks. One tank has perchlorates dissolved in water, such as water that came from a Rodwell that contains perchlorates, or water that was used to wash perchlorates out of soil.

A second tank has a lower concentration of perchlorates dissolved in water, along with microbes that break down perchlorates. As microbes break down perchlorates in the second tank, the concentration level goes down. When the concentration of perchlorates in the second tank gets below a preset value, water from the first tank is added to the second tank, increasing the concentration of perchlorates in the second tank. Using two tanks provides a way of keeping the concentration of perchlorates in the second tank at a constant level.

When the second tank needs to be emptied, microbes are allowed to continue breaking down perchlorates, causing the concentration of perchlorates to drop to some predetermined level. Some (but not all) of the second tank is then dumped into a dedicated tray of plants growing in soil.

Perchlorates contain Essential Elements (defined in Post #4), which are elements that plants, microbes, and humans need to survive. Dumping a mixture of microbes and broken down perchlorates into a dedicated tray provides a way of enriching the soil with Essential Elements that soil needs. Dumping some of the water from the second tank also inoculates the soil with microbes that break down perchlorates, enabling soil biology to break down any perchlorates that show up in the future.

Perchlorates (such as ClO4) contain the Essential Elements chlorine and oxygen, which are needed for both plants and humans. Chlorine is an Essential Element for plant growth. It plays a key role in photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, and stomatal regulation. A deficiency in chlorine causes welted leaves, which become bronze, then chlorotic, then die.

Chlorine is needed in humans for nerve and muscle function, digestion, and maintaining the body's acid-base balance. It's also important in regulating blood pressure. And of course plants, some microbes, and humans all need oxygen. Therefore plants, some microbes, and humans all need chlorine and oxygen, the two primary elements of perchlorates.

Perchlorates on Mars have been found in different forms, such as sodium perchlorate NaClO4, magnesium perchlorate Mg(ClO4)2, and calcium perchlorate Ca(ClO4)2. In addition to chlorine and oxygen, these various forms of perchlorates contain the elements sodium, magnesium, and calcium, all of which are Essential Elements.

As stated in Post #4, magnesium is needed in soil to assist plants with a number of stress tolerances. Such as stress from temperature extremes, pathogen stress, chemical stress, and so on. In a Cell the temperature, watering schedule, and lights are all controlled. Therefore plants growing in a Cell should not experience stresses from too much or too little water, light, etc. However plants could experience stress from harmful microbes (pathogens, parasites), and possibly chemical stress (from perchlorates that are not yet broken down). Magnesium helps plants in dealing with these stresses.

Plants need magnesium because it's a vital component of chlorophyll, the pigment that enables them to perform photosynthesis. Magnesium also plays a role in activating enzymes involved in carbohydrate production, and protein synthesis. Magnesium plays a role in maintaining the structural integrity of plant cells, particularly cell membranes, ribosomes, chloroplasts, and a number of other functions.

A deficiency in magnesium causes a reduction in growth, marginal chlorosis, interveinal chlorosis (yellow between the veins of a leaf) in some species, reduction in seed production, and cupped leaves. Magnesium is commonly deficient in foliage plants because it is bleached and not replaced. Magnesium is needed in humans to help bones remain strong and is needed in over 300 biochemical reactions.

As stated in Post #4, calcium is needed in plants for cell division and strengthens plant cell walls, making them more resilient to stress. Calcium deficiency inhibits bud growth, death of root tips, blossom end rot of many fruits and pits on root vegetables.

Calcium is vital for healthy soil, primarily improving soil structure and plant nutrient uptake. It helps loosen compacted soils, enhances water penetration, and reduces runoff and erosion. Calcium helps regulate soil pH, which is crucial for nutrient availability to plants. Calcium is needed in humans to maintain healthy bones and teeth, and is good for the heart and helps to regulate blood pressure. Calcium is essential for muscle contraction, nerve signal transmission, blood clotting, and maintaining a regular heartbeat.

Sodium isn't usually considered an essential nutrient for most plants, except for maybe C4 plants, where it helps to provide osmotic balance, activating enzymes, and supporting photosynthesis. In humans, sodium is needed for regulating blood pressure, and for maintaining proper nerve and muscle function. Sodium is crucial for nerve impulse transmission and muscle contractions (cramps). (Sodium is an electrolyte -- ie. it carries an electrical charge).

So while perchlorates on Mars may seem like a major problem, once they are broken down, perchlorates can serve as a source for some Essential Elements, such as chlorine, oxygen, magnesium, calcium, and sodium. Neither plants, microbes, nor humans, can make elements, they must come from the diet.

If the area around a Martian base were to contain more perchlorates than expected, it may pose a bit of a problem at first. But in the long run, once the perchlorates have been broken down and converted into organic matter, the Martian base will have a larger supply of these Essential Elements than planned.

When the second water tank that was just described is dumped onto a dedicated tray of plants, it provides a way of enriching the soil with chlorine, oxygen, manganese, calcium, and sodium. A tray of plants can be dedicated to the treatment of perchlorates, in which case the tray would contain whatever plants are the most resilient to perchlorates.

Notice that plants in the dedicated tray are not being used for any of the 4 F's (Food, Fabric, Forrest, Fuel), or medicine. Rather they are used solely for the purpose of treating perchlorates. When the plants are being used for perchlorate treatment, they can be mowed or harvested, and the resulting clippings/harvest can be composted and used as fertilizer elsewhere in the Martian base. This provides a way of transferring the Essential Elements gathered from perchlorates, to other trays in other Cells where they are needed. This also prevents the dedicated tray from becoming too rich in chlorine, manganese, calcium, or sodium.

Plants that are rich in chlorine (such as beets, celery, asparagus, tomatoes, lettuce, etc), can be grown to extract chlorine out of the soil and concentrate them into the plants. The plants are not grown to eat, rather they are grown to extract chlorine out of the soil and composted. The resulting compost will contain chlorine in an organic form and can be used as fertilizer in trays in other Cells. (Compost makes excellent fertilizer as was explained in Post #9 section "Closing the soil loop"). This serves as a method of transferring the element chlorine to other growing areas in a Martian base.

In the same way, plants rich in manganese (such as oats, brown rice, pumpkin, wheat germ, etc), can be grown to extract manganese out of the soil, composted, and then used in other Cells as fertilizer. And plants rich in sodium, or sodium chloride, (such as beets, celery, spinach, carrots, etc) can be used to extract sodium (and chlorine) out the soil, composted, and then used in other Cells. This provides a way of safely breaking down perchlorates into organic matter, and moving these Essential Elements that are now in a non-toxic form, to other trays where they are needed.

Another method, would be to have several trays that could be treated with perchlorates and perchlorate eating microbes a few times, and then never again. This would inoculate the soil with perchlorate eating microbes. The non-dedicated trays would never again be used for perchlorate treatment. If sometime in the future perchlorates were to show up in the inoculated soil, the soil would have the microbes it needs to provide a defense against perchlorates.

There are other proposed ways of removing perchlorates from water, such as using a reverse osmosis water filter, often found in under-sink systems that force water through a tiny semi-permeable membrane. These systems typically remove 99% of impurities, such as salts (from water softeners), as well as metals, chemicals, etc. Removing 99% of perchlorates on Mars isn't good enough. The concentration of perchlorates in Martian regolith is thousands of times that of which is deemed safe on Earth. And the filters have to be replaced, requiring shipments from Earth. Meaning a Martian base will never be self-sustaining if this method were used. As stated in Post #2, this proposal is for a self-sustaining Martian base.

Here I am proposing breaking down perchlorates, rather than removing and discarding them. As explained above, perchlorates on Mars are composed of much needed Essential Elements. Rather than filtering out perchlorates and discarding them, I'm proposing breaking them down and converting them into organic matter. Once composted they can be converted into important resources (Food, Fabric, Forrest, Fuel, and medicine). I consider the problem of dealing with perchlorates in a self-sustaining way as being solved.

How to build a dehumidifier that doesn't have any moving parts

Earlier in Post #4 I mentioned a Cell has a dehumidifier that doesn't have any moving parts. The following is a description on how such a dehumidifier works and how it can be built on Mars.

A dehumidifier works by having two sets of coils, one that gets hot (condenser) and one that gets cold (evaporator), just like an air conditioner or a refrigerator. As air passes through the dehumidifier, water condenses on the cold coil (evaporator) as shown in Figure 10.2 below.

Figure 10.2 Functional diagram of a dehumidifier

A dehumidifier can be made based on the principles of an absorption refrigerator, which does not have any moving parts. Absorption refrigeration was originally invented by Michael Faraday in 1821. Different variations of absorption refrigeration were invented over the years. Later in 1926, Albert Einstein and his former student proposed an alternate design called the "Einstein refrigerator". Wikipedia article titled Einstein refrigerator states:

"The Einstein–Szilard or Einstein refrigerator is an absorption refrigerator which has no moving parts, operates at constant pressure, and requires only a heat source to operate. It was jointly invented in 1926 by Albert Einstein and his former student Leó Szilárd, who patented it in the U.S. on November 11, 1930 (U.S. Patent 1,781,541)."

Below are some pictures I took while visiting Pioneer Village, located in Minden Nebraska (USA). This is an Icy-Ball refrigerator, which is an absorption refrigerator. Heat is applied to the copper ball on the right, after it gets hot the ball on the left gets cold.

Figure 10.3 Personal photos taken at Pioneer Village

Figure 10.4 Image from Internet of Icy-Ball refrigerator

Absorption refrigerators are still in use today. Campers use absorption refrigerators, called "RV refrigerators". Refrigerators in Campers/RV's can run on propane alone. They do not need any electricity, except for the refrigerator light.

Figure 10.5 List of RV refrigerators

The figure above is a list of RV refrigerators. The figure below lists absorption refrigerators for the home that run on natural gas (methane). All of the refrigerators shown are still in production.

Figure 10.6 Absorption refrigerators for the home.

The dehumidifier that was shown in Figure 4.1 in Post #4 uses the absorption refrigeration method to create a hot and cold coil. Burning methane provides the heat needed to power the dehumidifier. Once manufacturing capabilities on Mars become advance enough for the smelting of iron, most, or all, of the parts in the dehumidifier can be made on Mars. The Icy-Ball refrigerator on display at Pioneer Village was built in 1925. This implies that manufacturing capabilities on Mars would only have to be equal to that of 1925 in order to build an "absorption dehumidifier" on Mars.

The absorption dehumidifier will need a refrigerant. There are several types of refrigerants that can be used with absorption refrigeration. The most common type is ammonia and water. Wikipedia article titled "Absorption refrigerator" states:

"The system uses two coolants, the first of which performs evaporative cooling and is then absorbed into the second coolant; heat is needed to reset the two coolants to their initial states. The principle can also be used to air-condition buildings using the waste heat from a gas turbine or water heater. Using waste heat from a gas turbine makes the turbine very efficient because it first produces electricity, then hot water, and finally, air-conditioning—trigeneration.

Extra water is available from the "clean water" tank that was described in Post #4. On Mars, there are several sources of ammonia. Ammonia (NH3) is produced naturally from decaying organic matter, and ammonia can be extracted from human waste, particularly urine, as ammonia is part of the nitrogen cycle.

Figure 10.7 Image from Wikipedia article "nitrogen cycle".
I added the red arrow on left to show where ammonia (NH3) is located in the nitrogen cycle.

A less desirable way to acquire ammonia would be to manufacture it on Mars. This would require an input of nitrogen. Nitrogen from Cheat is available from the air in a Cell. With extra water available and several sources of ammonia, a Martian base has the resources it needs to make the refrigerant. Below is a functional diagram of the absorption refrigerator with ammonia and water as refrigerant.

Figure 10.8 Diagram of absorption refrigerator cooling cycle with ammonia and water as the refrigerant

Although I have never heard of a problem with refrigerant from an RV refrigerator leaking, or from an absorption refrigerator in a home, we must be prepared for the unexpected. A potential problem with using ammonia as a refrigerant, is that the ammonia refrigerant could seep out into a Cell. This can cause serious problems as ammonia is caustic. When ammonia burns in the presence of oxygen, it produces two things, nitrogen and water, as shown in the following equation.

4NH3 + 3O2 --> 2N2 + 6H2O

If the refrigerant were to seep out into a Cell, it would circulate around the Cell until it passed through burning methane, at which time It would be converted into nitrogen and water and become part of the Cells ecosystem. Once the leak is repaired, the dehumidifier can be recharged with refrigerant made on Mars. The burning off of the leaked refrigerant is another example of how burning methane cleans the air in a Cell.

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#11 2023-05-06 23:26:18

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

The Air Pressure Control System in Detail

Each Cell has its own Air Pressure Control System which can raise or lower the air pressure, keeping it at a preset value. In order to lower the air pressure, each Cell has its own air compressor that compresses air from inside the Cell and into a tank. All water is removed from the air before it enters the tank. When the air in the tank reaches a high enough pressure, gases in the tank will begin to liquify. CO2 will liquefy first before the other gases. (Before oxygen, nitrogen, argon and the trace gases).

Figure 11.1 CO2 will turn into a liquid first before the other gases.

Pressure in the tank is kept at a high enough pressure to turn CO2 into a liquid, but not high enough to turn any of the other gases into a liquid. At some point the gases in the tank need to be released. The gases can be released into the input of a fractional distillation machine, to further separate the gases and put them in storage, or the gases can be released back into the Cell.

The tank in Figure 11.1 contains liquid CO2 along with the other gases, and has two lines and two valves. The blue valve is connected to the line at the top of the tank. When the blue valve is opened it releases gases back into the Cell, or into the input of a fractional distillation machine. The gases will be mostly nitrogen and oxygen, along with argon and some trace gases.

The red valve is connected to the line that goes to the bottom of the tank. Pure CO2 is removed by opening this valve. The CO2 is then stored somewhere outside of the Cell in storage tanks. A byproduct of the Air Pressure Control System is that it produces pure CO2. The stored CO2 has many uses on Mars, as will be shown later in the section "Martian resources out of thin air."

Having two valves on a tank to release a gas or a liquid is not a new idea. It is a practice that has been used on refrigerant tanks and other applications for decades. Figure 11.2 below is a refrigerant tank in my garage which has two valves. The blue valve releases refrigerant gas and the red valve releases liquid refrigerant.

Figure 11.2 Refrigerant tank with two valves. Blue (gas) and red (liquid).

Monitoring the level of liquid CO2

The level of liquid CO2 in the tank is constantly being monitored by the Air Pressure Control System. This can be done a couple of ways. One way is to have a float inside of the tank, much like a float in a car's gasoline tank that provides a reading for the gas gauge. Another way is to simply weigh the tank. On Earth, scales are commonly used by A/C professionals to measure the amount of refrigerant being added or removed from an A/C system. A couple examples of refrigerant scales are shown below in Figure 11.3.

Figure 11.3 Example of refrigerant scales.

Normal operation of the Air Pressure Control System

When Cheat is brought into a Cell, it causes the air pressure in the Cell to rise. Some of the incoming CO2 is consumed by plants and some ends up being removed by the Air Pressure Control System. The Air Pressure Control System holds the air pressure at a preset value by removing CO2 from the air as needed (and at times, argon), while at the same time, air from the Martian atmosphere is being brought in as Cheat.

The Martian atmosphere is mostly CO2, and about 1.9% nitrogen and 1.9% argon (exact percentages vary). Over time, as CO2 is brought into a Cell with Cheat, nitrogen and argon will begin to accumulate in the Cell, along with some of the trace gases. As nitrogen and argon accumulate, argon is removed from the Cell, allowing the percentage of nitrogen to increase.

Earlier it was stated that CO2 can be brought into a Cell at the same rate it is being consumed, which is true. But it's also acceptable for CO2 to be brought in at a faster rate than it is being consumed. When CO2 is brought into a Cell at a faster rate, the extra CO2 is removed from a Cell and is stored. Bringing in more Cheat than necessary allows a Cell to acquire more nitrogen, oxygen, and water (in the form of humidity), from the Martian atmosphere, all of which are valuable resources.

It's also acceptable for CO2 to come into the Cell at a slower rate than it is being consumed. To prevent the CO2 level from dropping, more methane is reacted with oxygen, keeping the level of CO2 constant. This causes a slight drop in the level of oxygen.

Level of CO2 in a Cell

As stated in Post #4, astronauts must wear breathing apparatus while working in a Cell. The limit of concentration of CO2 in the air of a Cell is determined by how much the plants can handle and not how much humans can handle. This in turn is dependent on the type of plants being grown in the Cell, as well as soil conditions and a number of other factors.

Prior to the industrial revolution of the 1700s, the CO2 level on Earth was about 240 parts per million (0.024%). In the early 1950's, the level of CO2 in Earths atmosphere was closer to 300 parts per million (0.030%). At this writing, the level of CO2 in Earths atmosphere is 406 parts per million (0.041%). Plants can handle a level of CO2 considerably higher than this. As was mentioned in Post #5, the CO2 level on the International Space Station varies from 3,000 parts per million to 5,000 parts per million (0.300% to 0.500%).

If Cheat is brought in at a faster rate than what is needed, the extra CO2 is removed from the air and stored, as was just described. Usually the rate at which Cheat is coming in is dependent solely on how much methane is being burned at that time. Burning methane provides an opportunity to bring in Cheat from the Martian atmosphere, which is an opportunity to acquire more resources (nitrogen, oxygen, water) as was just described. The idea is to bring in as much Cheat as possible whenever the opportunity presents itself, even if the plants are not needing more CO2. It's beneficial to bring Cheat into a Cell anytime methane is being burned, regardless of the plants needs and regardless of the air pressure in the Cell.

The Air Pressure Control System is able to keep the air pressure of a Cell at a preset level by removing more, or less CO2 from the air (and at times argon). As air pressure in a Cell goes up, the compressor pumps more air into the tank (Figure 11.1), causing CO2 to be removed at a faster rate. As air pressure goes down, the compressor runs less or not at all, resulting in CO2 being removed at a slower rate.

Plants are consuming CO2 while producing oxygen, this causes the oxygen level to go up while the CO2 level goes down. The Oxygen Control System will react more or less methane with oxygen to hold the level of CO2 at a preset value. Cells have "burners" (small gas furnaces) with adjustable flames. The Oxygen Control System will adjust the flame size in the burners to react more or less methane with oxygen, in order to keep the level of CO2 constant.

Note that there are usually a number of devices in a Cell that are reacting methane with oxygen at the same time. A CE5/BES type of device can be running, and the amount of methane that it is reacting with oxygen is dependent solely on the electrical load. As the demand for electricity varies, the amount of methane being reacted in the CE5/BES will vary.

At the same time, an absorption dehumidifier could be running, which is also reacting methane with oxygen. The adjustable flame in the small gas furnace will compensate so that the level of CO2 in the Cell remains at the preset level, regardless of how many other devices are running and how much methane and oxygen they are reacting.

In the short run, the percentage of gases in a Cell will remain pretty much constant (ie. the percentage of CO2, nitrogen, argon, and oxygen, etc, will remain fairly constant). In the long run though, the percentages of gases that come in with Cheat will increase. Most notably, the percentage of nitrogen and argon will increase. Trace gases (neon, krypton, xenon) will also increase over longer periods of time.

As the percentage of nitrogen (and argon) increase in a Cell, they begin to crowd out oxygen, while CO2 remains at a preset level. This is because the Air Pressure Control System is removing some of the CO2 (and some argon) from the air whenever air pressure is increasing. The air pressure is increasing because the Cheat that is coming into the Cell, contains gases other than CO2. The other gases are causing the air pressure to rise as CO2 is being consumed or removed. As the air pressure rises, the Air Pressure Control System removes CO2 from the air to compensate. This would normally cause the level of CO2 to go down, while the percentage of nitrogen and argon goes up.

However the Oxygen Control System, which works independently of the Air Pressure Control System, will notice the level of CO2 starting to drop and will react more methane with oxygen (via adjustable burners) to create more CO2. This will cause the level of oxygen to go down slightly while the level of CO2 is pushed back up to its preset value. The end result is that as the level of nitrogen (and argon) increase, the level of oxygen will go down, while the level of CO2 remains at its preset value. Notice that the filler gases (mostly nitrogen and argon) are essentially "crowding out" oxygen. The takeaway is that as filler gases come in with Cheat, they will cause the level of oxygen to go down, while the level of CO2 remains constant.

Gases that accumulate in the long run

As these processes continue over time, the percentage of nitrogen in a Cell will increases and the percentage of argon will approach zero (as argon is being removed). Eventually the Cell will contain the preset value of CO2, with the rest of the gases being mostly a mix of nitrogen and oxygen, much like Earth. When the percentage of nitrogen reaches its desired level, the percentage of nitrogen will continue to rise as more nitrogen comes in with Cheat. The excess nitrogen can be removed by fractional distillation and stored, which will keep the level of nitrogen in the Cell constant. The stored nitrogen is then available for use later, such as when it's needed to pressurize a new Cell, as was shown in Post #8 Figures 8.4 through 8.7.

There are numerous processes in a Cell that effect air pressure. For example, when methane from storage outside of the Cell is brought into the Cell and reacted with oxygen, one cubic meter of methane will react with two cubic meters of oxygen, and produce one cubic meter of CO2 along with some water. Methane reacting with two cubic meters of oxygen and forming one cubic meter of CO2 causes the air pressure in the Cell to go down. But on the other hand, when heat is generated from reacting methane with oxygen, it causes air to expand, causing an increase in air pressure.

Plants consuming nitrogen in the air also effects air pressure. Legumes growing in a Cell will consume nitrogen from the air while adding nitrogen to the soil using natures "capture and hold" method as was shown in Figure 6.1 Post #6. Notice that nitrogen is being convert from a gas (from the air in a Cell) into a solid (organic matter in soil). This conversion from air to a solid causes the air pressure of a Cell to go down.

To make a long story short, the Air Pressure Control System will keep the air pressure in a Cell at a preset value, as a number of processes in a Cell, all running at the same time, are effecting air pressure.

New Definition: Nitrogen Load

When soil in a Cell contains little organic matter, legumes will pull more nitrogen from the air because very little nitrogen is available from soil, in the form of organic matter. I call this heavier demand of nitrogen from the air "Nitrogen Load."

How fast the percentage of nitrogen builds up in the air of a Cell is dependent on the Nitrogen Load of the Cell at that time. If a Cell contains fresh soil that is low in nitrogen (low in organic matter), then the Nitrogen Load will be greater, and it will take longer for the Cell to increase its percentage of nitrogen in the air (from Cheat). This is due to plants not having access to nitrogen in soil (from organic matter), legumes will pull nitrogen from the air and store it in the soil (with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria) using natures "Capture and Hold" technique explained in Post #6 Figure 6.1.

Once soil has a higher concentration of organic matter, the soil will contain more nitrogen which is then recycled. The nitrogen in the soil will start to recirculate through the Cells own nitrogen cycle, and the "Nitrogen Load" will decrease. As the "Nitrogen Load" decreases, nitrogen coming in with Cheat will start to accumulate at a faster rate, because less nitrogen is being pulled from the air and converted into a solid (organic matter).

Summary

As a general rule, the percentage of oxygen and percentage of CO2 in a Cell is controlled by reacting more, or less, methane with oxygen. This is done by adjusting the size of the methane flame in a burner (gas furnace). The percentage of nitrogen and filler gases will increase over time as Cheat is brought into a Cell. The trace gases are removed as needed by fractional distillation. It is assumed that the Martian base will have a set of storage tanks to hold the different gases.

The gases can then be used at a later time to bring new Cells online, as more Cells are built (Post #8 Figure 8.4 through 8.7). The Cell and all of its control systems are designed to be as simple as possible, so that more Cells can be built on Mars using mostly In-Situ resources. The more Cells the base has, the more resources the base has to build more Cells, with fewer shipments from Earth. More Cells means more resources, more resources means more Cells. This is a positive feedback loop that allows the Martian base to not just expand, but to expand exponentially.

The Air Pressure Control System can increase or decrease the air pressure in a Cell by adding air or removing CO2 and other gases, while at the same time CO2 is being brought in from the Martian atmosphere from Cheat. The Air Pressure Control System is able maintain a constant air pressure in a Cell while various process are causing an increase and decrease in air pressure.

The Oxygen Control System is able to keep the level of CO2 constant, while allowing the percentage of oxygen to go up or down. Filler gases coming into a Cell as Cheat "crowd out" oxygen. The oxygen level goes down when filler gases come in as Cheat, and goes up whenever the filler gases are removed from the Cell. The level of oxygen in a Cell is controlled by removing, or not removing, filler gases as they accumulate in a Cell.

Each Cell has its own Air Pressure Control System and its own Oxygen Control System. If a Martian base has five Cells, then there will be five Air Pressure Control Systems and five Oxygen Control Systems. The control systems in each Cell operate independently from one another. This is needed for redundancy. If one Cell, or several Cells, are obliterated (due to a rocket crashing onto the Martian base for example), the remaining Cells will continue to function as normal, as if nothing happened. The surviving Cell, or Cells, can provide many of the resources needed for rebuilding the destroyed Cell(s).

Less common operation of the Air Pressure Control System

What was just describe is how the Air Pressure Control System works most of the time. However there are exceptions. There could be times when removing CO2 at a faster or slower rate is not enough to keep up with a rapid change in air pressure.

If the air pressure is dropping too fast, such that stopping the removal of air from the Cell isn't enough to keep up with the drop in air pressure. Then the air from the tank that was shown in Figure 11.1 can be released back into the Cell. If a Cells air pressure is still too low after the tank has been depleted, nitrogen and/or argon, along with oxygen, that have been removed and stored can be released back into the Cell.

If pressure in a Cell is rising too fast, incoming Cheat can be slowed down or stopped completely. Cells have plumbing and wiring connecting Cells to each other. If stopping incoming Cheat is not enough to stop the rise in air pressure (from an incident, such as an air tank leak), air pipes that connect several Cells together, can be opened to allow air from the higher pressured Cell to flow into the other Cells. Dumping air into the other Cells, rather then releasing it back out into the Martian atmosphere, prevents highly sought after gases, such as nitrogen and oxygen, from being lost. It also prevents water in the form of humidity, and heat, from being lost.

Martian Resources Out of Thin Air

As was just mentioned, when Cheat is brought into a Cell, the incoming CO2 is either consumed by plants or removed by the Air Pressure Control System and stored. This causes the percentage of other gases that come in with Cheat to increase. Other than CO2, the most predominant gases being brought in from the Martian atmosphere are nitrogen and argon, and to a lesser extent oxygen.

Oxygen ends up being used in the Methane-Oxygen Cycle. Each liter of oxygen brought into a Cell as Cheat will result in one more liter of pure oxygen being produced by the Cell. Nitrogen brought into a Cell is consumed by plants and is a much needed resource on Mars.

Nitrogen

As was just described, nitrogen is brought into a Cell through Cheat, and nitrogen can be harvested from the air by growing legumes. Legumes are plants such as soybeans, peas, clover, peanuts, etc, that establish a relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert nitrogen in the air (N2) into a form that plants can use. Plants can only use two forms of nitrogen: ammonia (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-). Both of these forms are unstable (reactive) and do not last long in the soil.

After plants consume the nitrogen they need by using "capture and hold" system (explained in Post #6) to store nitrogen in the form of organic matter. This inadvertently stores nitrogen in a stable (less reactive) form.

When old plants die and their seeds sprout new roots, nitrogen in a stable form remains stored in the soil as organic matter. Not only as dead roots, but also as amino acids, proteins, DNA, plant cells, living and dead microbes, and so on. (The mass of some bacterial cells can contain up to 60% nitrogen). The stored organic matter, composed entirely of Essential Elements, is completely useless to plants. The problem is that all of this organic matter is not in a form that plants can use.

That is where microbes come in. Once new plants establish a relationship with microbes in the soil by feeding them exudates, the microbes eat the exudates and poop acids that break down organic matter into a form that plants can use. The microbes convert nitrogen from a stable form (organic matter) into a form that plants can use (ammonium and nitrate). Nitrogen is quickly consumed in this highly reactive state. Very little nitrogen is lost, as the nitrogen cycle is extremely efficient and not lossy. Nitrogen and other Essential Elements in the soil are recycled over and over again in this way, in a never ending loop.

In order for the process to work the soil must contain the right microbes. Soil on Mars will be sterile, so all forms of soil life, including nitrogen-fixing bacteria, must be brought from Earth. Legume seeds can be bought with a coating that contains nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The end result is nitrogen from Cheat is stored as organic matter enriching the soil and the rest of the nitrogen is needed to improve air quality in a Cell. (The goal is for air in a Cell to have a high concentration of nitrogen -- much like Earth).

Uses for other gases

The most predominant gas left over after nitrogen and oxygen are used is argon, followed by several trace gases. Over a period of time, argon and the trace gases will begin to accumulate in a Cell. This is a way of enriching these gases, making it easier to extract them from the air. Trace gases from the surface of Mars include neon, krypton, and xenon. These gases can be removed from a Cell using fractional distillation.

Figure 11.8 Example of a fractional distillation machine

There are many uses for argon on Mars. Argon is used in arc welding and cutting of metals, where it is used as an inert gas shield. It is also used as a protective atmosphere for growing silicon and germanium crystals, and in the production of solar panels. Argon-39 has been used for ground water dating. Argon is a poorer conductor of heat than ordinary air, and has been used between panes of glass to provide better insulation.

The trace gas neon could be used in the production of neon lights. Neon can also be used to make high voltage indicators. Liquid neon is used as a cryogenic refrigerant. Neon gas has other applications. Neon could be combined with helium to make helium-neon lasers. Helium-neon lasers are used in barcode scanners, tool alignment, non-contact measuring and monitoring systems, blood analysis, particle counting and food sorting.

Krypton gas is used in some types of photographic flashes used in high speed photography. Xenon is also used in photographic flashes. Xenon is used in high pressure arc lamps for motion picture projection, and in high pressure arc lamps to produce ultraviolet light. Xenon is used in instruments for radiation detection, such as neutron and X-ray counters and bubble chambers. It is used in medicine as a general anesthetic, and in medical imaging. Ion thrusters use inert gases, especially xenon, for propellant.

Uses for CO2

The Air Pressure Control System removes CO2 from the air in a Cell as was explained in Post #11. Once CO2 has been liquefied, it is kept in storage tanks because pure CO2 has many useful applications on Mars. For example, pure CO2 can be used to pressurize a new Cell, as developed Cells are used to bring new Cells on-line. CO2 can be used to re-pressurize a Cell that has lost pressure, due to a malfunction, so that work can be done in the Cell without astronauts having to wear pressure suits.

CO2 can be used in fire extinguishers, as fire is of major concern in space flight, and will be of major concern in a Martian base. CO2 can be bubbled in water to stimulate the growth of algae. On Mars, algae can play an important role in the converting of non-organic material into organic matter, as well as a source of oxygen.

On Earth, CO2 is used by dry cleaners. On Mars, CO2 could be used to clean clothes in order to conserve water. CO2 can be used as a refrigerant. On Earth, CO2 refrigerant is known as R-744 and has been used as an environmentally friendly refrigerant in cars. CO2 could be used as a blowing agent. A blowing agent is a substance that has a low boiling point. Blowing agents are needed to make substances like styrofoam, which is an excellent insulator.

On Earth, CFC’s and HCFC’s were used for blowing agents. On Mars, liquid CO2 could be used. Metal Carbonates and Bicarbonates are prepared using CO2. CO2 can be used to prevent oxidation. CO2 can be used to make dry ice which can be used to keep things cool, or to cool things quickly. On Earth, CO2 is often used in carbonated beverages. Imagine being on Mars drinking a carbonated strawberry soda. Unlike Earth, it does not contain any aspartame, Sucralose, or a flame retardant, because it is made entirely from natural ingredients. These are just a few of the applications of CO2 on Mars.

Link to this section:
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 89#p209489

Link to this proposal:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=10501

Last edited by Steve Stewart (Today 01:00:33)

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#12 2023-05-06 23:27:22

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Doing the Math:

How Much Oxygen Does a Cell Produce?

For these calculations I'm going to use the oxygen output of grass as a baseline. I'm using grass because data on grass is readily available. The following calculations are made under the conditions that everything is at standard temperature and pressure (STP). I'll also use an Earth-day as a baseline. This is because the oxygen output of grass, and other references I'm using, are all given in Earth-days and at STP. The web-site BOS SOD Farms, Inc states:

(Last sentence under section "Cleans our Air")
A turf area 50' x 50' produces enough oxygen to meet the everyday needs of a family of four and each acre of grass produces enough oxygen for 64 people a day.

If 1 acre of grass provides enough oxygen for 64 people, and knowing that there are 43,560 square feet in one acre, I conclude that 680.625 square feet of grass will produce enough oxygen for 1 person.

(43,560 sq ft/acre) / (O2 for 64 people/acre)
= (680.625 sq ft / O2 for one person)

The next question is:

"How much oxygen does the average person use in one day?"

The web-site Shareware.com states:

"So, as far as how much air is actually used, human beings take in about 550 liters of pure oxygen per day."

This YouTube video also states that one person consumes 550 liters of oxygen a day.

BrainStuff - HowStuffWorks: How Much Oxygen Does a Person Consume in a Day?

Assuming that the average person uses 550 liters of pure oxygen per Earth-day, and that 680.625 square feet of grass produces enough oxygen for one person per Earth-day. I conclude that 680.625 square feet of grass produces 550 liters of pure oxygen per Earth-day. I also conclude that one square foot of grass will produce 0.808081 liters of pure O2 per Earth-day.

(550 Liters) / (680.625 square feet)
= (0.808081 Liters) / (1 square foot)

In order to calculate how much oxygen a Cell produces, I need to define dimensions for that Cell. Cells can of be various shapes and sizes. For the sake of calculations, I'll use the following dimensions for a Cell. (The dimensions given are arbitrary).

Figure 12.1 Floor plan of a Cell

(Dimensions shown are inside dimensions. Thickness of walls are not relevant for these calculations).
The floor plan shown is for a Cell that is 35' wide and 100' long (10.7 meters x 30.5 meters).
The Cell has a stack of 6 trays on each side of an aisle, spaced 2' apart vertically (0.61 meters).
The trays are 90' long and 15' wide (27.4 meters x 4.6 meters).
The Cell contains trays of grass growing in soil.
The aisle down the middle is 5' wide (1.5 meter).
The ceiling is flat and is 12' high (3.7 meters high).
Below are floor plans for the Cell with English and Metric dimensions.

Figure 12.2 Floor plan of a Cell with dimensions (English units)

Figure 12.3 Floor plan of a Cell with dimensions (Metric units)

The empty space on the end is a staging area.
It is 10' x 35', providing 350 square feet of open space.
(3 meters x 10.7 meters, providing 32.5 square meters of space).

The square footage of the Cell is 3,500 square feet (325 square meters).
The volume of the Cell is 42,000 cubic feet (1,189 cubic meters).
3,500 square feet x 12 feet (ceiling height) = 42,000 cubic feet
325 square meters x 3.658 meters (ceiling height) = 1,189 cubic meters

Below is a 3D render of the Cell described above. The ceiling and two walls are not shown. The dehumidifier, water tank, burner/engine, CE5/BES, etc, are not shown. The computer desk and chair were added for size comparison. (I'm using home design software to create this image).

Figure 12.4 3D cutaway view of the Cell described above

Trays are 15' x 90' which provides 1,350 square feet of plants per tray. (125.4 Square meters).
This Cell has a total of 12 trays (6 on each side of the aisle) providing a total of 16,200 square feet of plants (1,505 square meters).
If this Cell were growing grass and each square foot of grass produced 0.808081 liters of oxygen, then the Cell would produce 13,091 liters of pure oxygen per Earth-day.

(16,200 square feet of grass) x (0.808081 Liters of 02 / square feet of grass)
= 13,091 Liters of O2

13,091 liters equates to 462.3 cubic feet, 17.1 cubic yards, and 13.1 cubic meters of pure oxygen per Earth-day.
(Reminder: Numbers given are at STP).
This is almost as much oxygen as what 24 people would use in one Earth-day.

(24 people) x (550 Liters / person)
= 13,200 Liters of O2 required per Earth-day

A Cell provides a more favorable environment than what plants have growing in a field on Earth. The plants in a Cell will always receive the optimum amount of water. (No droughts or floods), and they can receive as much light as they can handle. Plants can usually receive a maximum of 12 to 18 hours of light per Earth-day, depending on the plant.

A Martian day is a bit longer than an Earth-day (24.617 hours as opposed to 23.933 hours). Therefore the amount of grass shown growing under ideal conditions should produce a considerably more than 13,091 liters of oxygen in a Martian day (Sol), everyday of the year. And because a Martian day is longer, and because astronauts will be physically active on Mars (working and exercising), they will likely use more than 550 liters of oxygen in a day (Sol). For the sake of these calculations, I'll assume these two factors cancel each other out.

Most of the oxygen produced by a Cell is produced by plants. Some of the oxygen produced by a Cell is "stolen" from the Martian atmosphere in the form of Cheat (explained in Post #8). Some of this oxygen is used for aerobic composting, which produces soil. Fertile soil is mostly oxygen (see below).

Soil Science Simplified
by Helmut Kohnke and D.P. Franzmeier
Chap 4 Chemical Properties of Soils
Section: Chemical Composition of Soils
(Page 27 in my book)
Five elements account for 95% of the weight of soil. Oxygen alone represents half of its weight, and because of its large size and relatively small weight, oxygen also makes up more than 95% of the entire volume of soil. The other elements take up so little space that they fit between the oxygen atoms.

Some oxygen is used by processes that take place in a Cell, as a Cell is an enabler that makes many processes possible. Cells make processes possible by creating an environment suitable for processes to take place (Discretionary Space), as well as create resources needed for those processes.

For example, a Cell can provide a comfortable environment (Discretionary Space) for the manufacturing of textiles, while at the same time it is able to grow the raw materials needed for textiles, such as cotton, hemp, and flax. The oxygen that these plants produce can be used in a CE5/BES to produce electricity to run textile machines, while at the same time generate heat for both the workspace and the growing area. If the manufacturing of textiles requires mechanical energy, the Cell can provide the oxygen needed to run an engine that runs on methane, as was mentioned earlier. Assuming left overs from textile manufacturing are organic matter, the waste can be recycled into compost, using the composter located in a Cell. Compost is a highly desirable type of fertilizer.

Weeds
Guardians of the soil
By Joseph A. Coannouer
Chapter 9 Weeds in the Compost
(Page 80 in my book)
In the small town garden, compost can really prove its worth. For all types of small gardens compost is beyond question the most economical as well as the most desirable fertilizer. This is because the Howard-type Compost makes it possible for the gardener to get an amazingly high production of quality vegetables from a small plot.

Sir Albert Howard

The work of Sir Albert Howard

The amount of oxygen produced by the Cell each day, must to be equal to the amount of oxygen removed. Otherwise the percentage of oxygen in the Cell will either get too high or too low. The total amount of oxygen produced by a Cell is equal the amount of oxygen created by plants, plus the amount of oxygen brought in from the Martian atmosphere in the form of Cheat (Post #8), minus the amount of oxygen used by composting and other activities taking place in a Cell. The equation is as follows:

(O2 from Plants + O2 from the Martian atmosphere)
- (O2 used in composting and other activities)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
= Amount of oxygen produced by a Cell.

Figure 12.5 Amount of oxygen produced by a Cell.

As was previously shown, the Cell described above creates an estimated 13,091 liters of oxygen from plants everyday. Let's assume (hypothetically) that 109 liters of oxygen a day is brought in the Cell from Cheat. (109 liters is 0.8% of the 13,091 liters that a Cell produces). Per the equation above, the total amount of oxygen produced by the Cell would be 13,200 liters per day.

13,091 Liters + 109 Liters = 13,200 Liters

And let's assume, once again hypothetically, that aerobic composting consumes 200 liters of oxygen per day. (This equates to 1.5% of the total oxygen produced by a Cell). Per the equation above, the Cell would have a net gain of 13,000 liters of oxygen a day. This means that there are 13,000 liters of oxygen in a Cell that needs to be removed each and every day.

How much methane does a Cell require?

As was explained in Post #5, oxygen is removed from a Cell by reacting oxygen with methane. If a Cell produces 13,000 liters of oxygen a day, enough methane must be produced each day to remove 13,000 liters of oxygen. The next question is:

"How much methane is needed to remove 13,000 liters of oxygen from a Cell?"

Per Avogadro's law, one mole of methane will occupy the same amount of space as one mole of oxygen, or any other gas. The concept is illustrated in the image below.

Figure 12.6 Cubic meter of methane (left) and a cubic meter of oxygen (right)

In Figure 12.6 above, the reddish colored cube on the left represents one cubic meter of methane. The yellow cube on the right represents one cubic meter of oxygen. Per Avogadro's law, the number of methane molecules (CH4) that are in the cubic meter on the left, has the exact same number of molecules as the cubic meter of oxygen (O2) on the right.

This is always true, regardless of the temperature and pressure of the two gases. As long as both cubes are at the same temperature and pressure, and both cubes are the same size, they will always contain the exact same number of molecules.

As shown in the equation below, when methane reacts with oxygen, each molecule of methane reacts with two molecules of oxygen.

CH4 + 2O2 --> CO2 + 2H2O

Another way to look at it, one cubic meter of methane requires two cubic meters of oxygen to react with the methane. The ratio of their volumes is always 2 to 1 as long as both the methane and oxygen are at the same temperature and pressure.

This means in order to remove 13,000 liters of oxygen from the air, half that amount of methane (6,500 liters) are required to react with the oxygen. (6.5 cubic meters of methane are required to remove 13 cubic meters of pure oxygen from the Cell everyday).

Figure 12.7 One cubic meter of methane (left) reacts with two cubic meters of oxygen (right)
The reaction will create water and one cubic meter of CO2.

A minimum of 6,500 liters of methane are required to react with oxygen in order to remove 13,000 liters of oxygen from the air. It's perfectly acceptable for more than 6,500 liters of methane to be used. Some of the pure oxygen removed from a Cell can be safely released back into the Cell in order to hold the percentage of oxygen constant. As long as at least 6,500 liters of methane is reacted with oxygen, it will remove 13,000 liters of oxygen each day, keeping the percentage of oxygen constant.

All the gases in a Cell are always at a level that is adequate for plants, but not necessarily suitable for humans. This is why humans must wear breathing apparatus when working in a Cell (Post #5). The conditions of the air in a Cell, pressure, temperature, humidity, and percentages of gases in the air, are all adjustable and the settings are determined by what is best for the plants.

Question:
If the methane were burned, how much heat would be produced?

In this scenario, 6,500 liters of methane are being burned each day to remove 13,000 liters of oxygen from the air. The question is how much heat (in terms of BTU's) will be produced if 6,500 liters of methane is burned with 13,000 liters of oxygen.

There are 36,303 BTU's in one cubic meter of methane at STP.
Therefore burning 6,500 liters (6.5 cubic meters) of methane will result in nearly 236,000 BTU's of heat.

(6.5 cubic meters) x (36,303 BTU's / cubic meter)
= 235,970 BTU's

Figure 12.8 Diagram of a burner in a Cell.
If methane is burned to remove 13,000 liters of oxygen from a Cell per day,
it will create nearly 236,000 BTU's of heat per day.

Question:
If all the methane were used in a device similar to a CE5/BES, how much electricity and heat would be produced?

In this scenario, 6,500 liters of methane are being reacted in a CE5/BES type of device, to remove 13,000 liters of oxygen from the air. The question is how much heat is generated and how much electricity is generated if 6,500 liters is ran through a CE5/BES type of device.

As was shown above, 6,500 liters of methane creates 235,970 BTU's of heat. If we assume a CE5/BES is 50% efficient, then the amount of heat produced would be cut in half. Which comes out to about 118,000 BTU's of heat.

235,970 BTU's / 2 = 117,985 BTU's

An equal amount of electricity would be produced. There are 0.293071 Watt-Hours in one BTU. This much energy is the equivalent of about 34.6 kW of electricity.

(117,985 BTU's) x (0.293071 Watt-Hours / one BTU)
= 34,578 Watt-Hours of electricity
= 34.578 kW of electricity

Therefore if 6.5 cubic meters of methane and 13 cubic meters of oxygen were to be ran through a CE5/BES, it would create an estimated 34.6 kW of electricity and nearly 118,000 BTU's of heat.

Figure 12.9 Diagram of a CE5/BES in a Cell.
If a CE5/BES were used to remove 13,000 liters of oxygen from a Cell,
it would generate an estimated 34.6 kW of electricity,
and produce nearly 118,000 BTU's of heat per day.

As a reminder, the burner (gas furnace) and CE5/BES are not making energy. They are simply recovering chemical energy that was stored as methane and oxygen, which originated from electrical energy. The stored chemical energy comes from the Sabatier reactor, which consumes energy. At least 69.2 kW of electricity is used, plus any losses due to inefficiencies in the system. (69.2 kW is the amount of energy in 6,500 liters of methane).

For example, if the Sabatier reactor is 35% efficient (Post #3), it would consume 197.7 kW of electricity to produce 6,500 liters of methane. (69.2 kW is 35% of 197.7 kW ).

Whether or not the "wasted" heat from the Sabatier reactor is used is dependent on where the reactor is located. If the reactor can be located somewhere that this "wasted" heat can be used, such as inside of a Cell, or in Discretionary Space, then the excess heat is not wasted at all. In this case the Sabatier reactor can be considered 100% efficient. (This was explained in the Post #3 section titled "The meaning of efficiency in a Martian base.")

Both methane and oxygen are stored in storage tanks. Storage allows the methane to be consumed at a faster or slower rate than it is being produced at any one time. A certain amount of electricity needs to be dedicated to the Sabatier reactor in addition to extra electricity available whenever all the energy from a power source is not being used (explained in Post #3). Whenever extra electricity is available, it is used by the Sabatier reactor (or a SOFC in reverse mode) to store the extra energy, so it is not lost. As the available amount of extra electrical energy changes, the amount of methane being produced at any one time changes.

The amount of oxygen produced by plants at any one time also changes. Plants produce more oxygen during the day when light is available, then they do at night without light. Therefore methane storage is needed because the rate methane is being produced at any given time rarely matches the rate oxygen is being produced at that instant.

As mentioned earlier, it is assumed the Martian base has storage tanks available to store various gases. Oxygen is added to the tanks everyday, while at the same time it is being removed from storage and is being used somewhere else on the Martian base. (Such as oxygen for astronauts to breath). The amount of oxygen added to oxygen storage tanks each day is always equal to the amount of oxygen produced by the Cell that day. (Per equation in Figure 12.5).

Note: The amount of oxygen added to storage is always equal to the amount produced by a Cell

As stated, it's acceptable to react more methane in a Cell than there is oxygen produced by that Cell. Stored pure oxygen can be safely released back into the Cell if more oxygen is needed. The ratio of oxygen reacting with methane is always 2 to 1, as was explained earlier (Figure 12.7). If more than 6,500 liters of methane is used to remove 13,000 liters of oxygen, then stored oxygen will be safely released back into the Cell to react with the extra methane. For example, reacting 7,000 liters of methane in a Cell when only 6,500 liters are needed will result in 1,000 liters of pure oxygen being safely released back into the Cell.

When the Sabatier reactor produces more methane than is needed, it also produces more oxygen to go with it. When the Sabatier reactor produces 6,500 liters of methane, it also produces 13,000 liters of oxygen. When the reactor produces 7,000 liters of methane, it produces 14,000 liters of oxygen.

Therefore if 6,500 liters of methane is needed and an extra 500 liters of methane is produced, an extra 1,000 liters of oxygen is also produced. This extra 1,000 liters of pure oxygen will end up being safely released back into the Cell, so that the percentage of oxygen in the Cell remains constant. (The Cell will have the right amount of oxygen necessary to react with 7,000 liters of methane -- 14,000 liters. 13,000 liters produced by the Cell and 1,000 liters from storage). The end result is illustrated below in Figure 12.10.

Figure 12.10 A Cell with 13,000 liters of oxygen to be removed.
From the Cells prospective:
7,000 liters of methane reacts with 14,000 liters of oxygen.
13,000 liters of oxygen is produced by the Cell and 1,000 liters from storage.

From the Sabatier reactors perspective:
7,000 liters of methane is produced
14,000 liters of oxygen is produced

The Cell shown in Figure 12.10 has 13,000 liters of oxygen that needs to be removed. 7,000 liters of methane are reacted with oxygen in the the Cell. The Cell will react 14,000 liters of oxygen with 7,000 liters of methane. Of the 14,000 liters of oxygen reacted, 13,000 liters was produced by the Cell and 1,000 liters was released into the Cell by the Oxygen Control System, keeping the percent of oxygen in the Cell constant.

When the Sabatier reactor produces 7,000 liters of methane, it also produces 14,000 liters of oxygen. Of the 14,000 liters generated by the reactor, 1,000 of those liters are released back into the Cell, leaving the remaining 13,000 liters added to oxygen storage.

If the Cell produces 13,000 liters of oxygen, and there is a process in the Cell that consumes 2,000 liters of oxygen, then the Cell will have a net gain of 11,000 liters of oxygen. This will result in 11,000 liters of oxygen being added to storage. Notice that in all cases:

The amount of oxygen being added to storage is always equal to the amount of oxygen being produced by the Cell.

Notes:

Because the majority of oxygen comes from plants, methane alone can be stored for backup power without the need of storing a matching amount of oxygen. This is true as long as the plants are kept alive and have an adequate supply of CO2, water, and light.

When the Sabatier reactor creates 7,000 liters of methane it will consume a minimum of 74.5 kW of electricity. (74.5 kW is the amount of energy in 7,000 liters of methane). If the Sabatier reactor is 35% efficient (Post #3), it will consume 213 kW of electricity. (35% of 213 kW is 74.5 kW). If the Sabatier reactor is located in a Cell, the remaining 138.5 kW of energy (65% of 213 kW) will be converted into heat and will help warm the Cell. Meaning this process of storing energy is 100% efficient. (All of the 213kW is used).

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#13 2023-05-06 23:28:26

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Doing the Math: Metrics in a Cell

Every bit of space in a growing area for plants (Cell) will come at a high price. I haven't done the math, but a growing area for plants will probably cost a few million US dollars for every cubic meter of space. A living area for humans will cost even more. It is imperative that we get the most productivity out of every bit of space. In order to get the most productivity from a Cell, there are a number of metrics to consider. Below is a short list of metrics that should be considered when designing a Martian base.

Metric #1:
Oxygen created per unit of volume

One metric to consider, is the amount of oxygen produced per unit of volume. The question is:

"On average, how much oxygen is produced per cubic meter of space in a Cell?"

The Cell that was just shown in Post #12 creates an estimated 13,000 liters of oxygen per Earth-day. The volume of the Cell is 42,000 cubic feet (1,189 cubic meters). If this Cell contained 12 trays of grass as was used in the calculations, the Cell would produce 0.31 liters of oxygen per cubic foot of space and 10.93 liters of oxygen per cubic meter of space per day.

(13,000 Liters O2 produced) / (42,000 cubic feet)
= 0.3095238 Liters O2 produced) / cubic foot

(13,000 Liters O2 produced) / (1,189 cubic meters)
= 10.9335576 Liters O2 produced / cubic meter

Metric #2:
Ratio of area of plants to area of building

The Cell that was described in the previous section has 3,500 square feet of space (325 square meters). The Cell had 12 trays of plants, providing a total area of 16,200 square feet of plants. (1,505 square meters).

Trays are 90' long and 15' wide:
90' x 15' = 1,350 square feet per tray
(12 trays) x (1,350 square feet / one tray)
= 16,200 square feet (1,505 square meters)

The ratio of plant area (16,200 square feet) to building area (3,500 square feet) is 4.63.

(16,200 square feet of plants) / (3,500 square feet of building)
= 4.63

Ratio's stay the same regardless of units.

(1,505 square meters of plants) / (325 square meters of building)
= 4.63

Figure 13.1 Cell with 12 trays of plants spaced 2' apart vertically
This configuration provides an area for plants that is 4.63 times larger than the area of the building.

Figure 13.2 below is a Cell that has half as many trays so as to allow for taller plants. The ratio of growing area for plants to the area of the building is cut in half. The Cell has an area for plants that is 2.314 times the area of the building.

Figure 13.2 Cell with 6 trays of plants spaced 4' apart vertically reduces the ratio by one half.

Metric #3:
Percentage of soil per unit of volume

The Cell that was shown in Figure 13.1 has a total of 16,200 square feet of plants. If the trays were 1' deep, the Cell would contain 16,200 cubic feet of soil (459 cubic meters). The volume of the Cell is 42,000 cubic feet (1,189 cubic meters).

Therefore the ratio of the volume of soil to the volume of the Cell would be 0.386. (38.6% of the volume of a Cell is soil). This means that there is 0.386 cubic feet of soil per cubic foot of space in the Cell. This equates to 667 cubic inches of soil for every cubic foot of space in the Cell.

(16,200 cubic feet of soil) / (42,000 cubic feet of space)
= 0.386 cubic feet of soil / cubic foot of space

= (0.386 cubic feet of soil) x (1,728 cubic inches / cubic foot)
= 667 cubic inches of soil / cubic foot of space

Ratio's stay the same regardless of units. There is 0.386 of a cubic meter of soil for every cubic meter of space in the Cell.

(459 cubic meters of soil) / (1,189 cubic meters of space)
= 0.386

If the trays in the Cell were 4" deep instead of 12" deep (1 foot deep), then the amount of soil in the Cell would be one third as much. The ratio of soil to volume of the Cell comes out to 0.129 cubic feet of soil per cubic foot of space in a Cell. Which equates to 222.2 cubic inches of soil per cubic foot of space in a Cell.

(16,200 cubic feet of soil) / 3 = 5,400 cubic feet of soil

(5,400 cubic feet of soil) / (42,000 cubic feet of space)
= 0.129 cubic feet of soil / cubic foot of space

= (0.129 cubic feet of soil) x (1,728 cubic inches / cubic foot)
= 222.2 cubic inches of soil / cubic foot of space

In this scenario, 12.9% of the space in the Cell is soil. The ratio is the same for metric units. (0.129 of a cubic meter of soil per cubic meter of space in a Cell).

If the trays in the Cell were 8" deep, the amount of soil would be twice as much as it would be with 4" deep trays. The ratio of soil to volume of the Cell comes out to 0.257 cubic feet of soil per cubic foot of space in a Cell. Which equates to 444.3 cubic inches of soil per cubic foot of space in a Cell. In this scenario, 25.7% of the space in the Cell is soil. The ratio is the same for metric units.

(5,400 cubic feet of soil) x 2 = 10,800 cubic feet of soil

(10,800 cubic feet of soil) / (42,000 cubic feet of space)
= 0.257 cubic feet of soil / cubic foot of space

= (0.257 cubic feet of soil) x (1,728 cubic inches / cubic foot)
= 444.3 cubic inches of soil / cubic foot of space

If the Cell had half as many trays that were spaced 4' apart vertically, to make room for taller plants, the amount of soil in the Cell would be cut in half as shown below in Figure 13.3.

Figure 13.3 Cell with 6 trays of plants spaced 4' apart vertically.

For a Cell with 6 trays:
For trays that are 4" deep, the ratio is 0.0645 (6.45% of the space in a Cell is soil)
For trays that are 8" deep, the ratio is 0.1290 (12.9% of the space in a Cell is soil)
For trays that are 12" deep, the ratio is 0.1930 (19.3% of the space in a Cell is soil)

A few things worth noting: A configuration with fewer trays spaced farther apart makes room for taller plants. (As shown in Figure 13.2 above). This configuration with half as many trays also has half the area for plants, and half as much soil. As was mentioned in Post #6, the soil factory exist in the soil itself, not in an industrialized factory setting. The more soil that is in a Cell, the larger the soil factory, and the more soil the Cell is producing.

The more soil that is in a Cell, the less room there is for plants. So there is a tradeoff between how much soil the Cell is producing (the size of the soil factory), and how much room is available for plants.

Metric #4:
Amount of food produced per unit of volume

This is a tricky one, because on Earth we often think of food production in terms of bushels per acre. For Mars, we often think in terms of the number of acres (or hectares) required to feed a small crew. The problem with this way of thinking is that an acre (or hectare) is a two dimensional number. When talking about a growing area on Mars, we need to be thinking in three dimensions. We need to be thinking in terms of volume not surface area.

So the question is not "How long can a person on Mars live on an acre of wheat, or an acre of beans, etc?" Rather the question should be "How many cubic meters of wheat, or beans, etc, does it take to feed one person?"

In the Cell that was shown in Figure 13.1, trays were stacked vertically 2' apart, resulting in the Cell having 12 trays. This would probably provide just enough space to grow soybeans. However, this is not enough space to grow wheat. In order to grow wheat, the space between the trays would need to be doubled. Trays would need to be stack 4' apart vertically.

If the vertical spacing between trays were doubled, then the Cell would have half as many trays, as was shown in Figure 13.3. The total growing area for plants would be cut in half, as was mentioned in Metric #2. The growing area would be reduced from 16,200 square feet to 8,100 square feet. (Reduced from 1,505 square meters to 753 square meters)

So if we are talking about how much food a Cell on Mars can produce, perhaps the question should be:

"How much food can be produced with 16,200 square feet (1,505 square meters) of soybeans and how does that compare to 8,100 square feet (753 square meters) of wheat?"

If corn were grown in the Cell shown, it probably would not have any trays at all. The corn would extend from the floor to the ceiling. If corn were planted everywhere except the staging area (no aisle provided in this case), it would have a growing area that is 3,150 square feet (293 square meters). The question would then be:

"How long could one person live on 3,150 square feet (293 square meters) of corn, and how does that compare with 8,100 square feet (753 square meters) of wheat, or 16,200 square feet (1,505 square meters) of soybeans?"

I think the answer is that corn does not have very good metrics.

Metric #5:
ACH - Air Changes per Hour

The metric "Air changes per hour" is a term that is commonly used in building codes when referring to the size of a bathroom exhaust fan needed for a bathroom. This is the ratio of the volume of the bathroom to the CFM (cubic feet per minute) of the exhaust fan.

Wikipedia article: Air changes per hour

In a Cell on Mars, ACH could refer to the CFM of air going through a burner or engine, compared to the volume of the Cell. In Post #9 I mentioned that burning methane in a Cell cleans the air. I mentioned an example of using epoxy, and that fumes from the epoxy would be burned off by burning methane in a Cell. The question is:

"How fast would the epoxy fumes, or any impurities in the air, burn off in a Cell?".

The answer is dependent on the air changes per hour (ACH) of the Cell. Suppose the air moved through a burner (gas furnace) at a rate of 50 CFM (typical rating for a small residential bathroom exhaust fan). The volume of the Cell is 42,000 cubic feet. In this case, it would take 14 hours for all the air in a Cell to pass through the burner one time.

42,000 cubic feet / (50 cubic feet / minute)
= 840 minutes

840 minutes / (60 minutes / 1 hour)
= 14 hours

(Time is the same for metric units)

If the air moved through a burner (gas furnace) at a rate of 100 CFM (typical rating for a large residential bathroom exhaust fan). It would take half as much time (7 hours) for all the air in the Cell to pass through the burner one time.

However not all of the volume of a Cell is air. As was shown in metric #3, some of the volume of a Cell is occupied by soil. In the case of 12 trays, and the trays being 8" deep, it was shown that 25.7% of the space in the Cell is soil. This leaves 74.3% of the space (31,206 cubic feet) to be occupied by air.

42,000 cubic feet x (100% - 25.7% of space is soil)
= 42,000 cubic feet x (74.3% of space remains for air)
= 31,206 cubic feet of air

In this case, it would take 10.4 hours for all the air in a Cell to pass through the burner one time with a CFM of 50. And half that time (5.2 hours) with a CFM of 100.

31,206 cubic feet of air / (50 cubic feet / minute)
= 624 minutes

624 minutes / (60 minutes / 1 hour)
= 10.4 hours

Plants in a Cell also displace air. So do the trays themselves, and any equipment located in a a Cell. Such as a dehumidifier, composter, CE5/BES, water tanks, etc.

As water tanks change from empty to full, the water in the tank will displace air in a Cell, causing the volume of air in a Cell to decrease. A decrease in the volume of air shortens the ACH time.

If the Cell had trays with 4" of soil instead of 8", there would be more air and less soil, therefore the ACH would be longer and the soil factory would be smaller. If the Cell had trays with 12" (1 foot) of soil instead of 8", there would be less air and more soil, resulting in an ACH that is shorter and a larger soil factory.

The ACH metric is also dependent on how much of the methane is ran through a burner/engine, and how much of it is ran through a CE5/BES. A CE5/BES does not burn methane, and therefore does not burn off impurities in the air. The ACH for a CE5/BES to burn off impurities is zero. (However the CE5/BES does have an ACH for removing oxygen from the air).

When more methane is ran through a CE5/BES, less methane is available to be ran through a burner/dehumidifier. This causes the Cells ACH for removing impurities from the air to be longer.

Conclusion to metrics

There are many other metrics that need to be considered. One metric that could be used is the number of calories produced per unit of volume (calories per cubic meter). However not only do we need to make sure the astronauts get enough calories, we also need to make sure they get enough nutrients, and the right type of nutrients. Therefore another metric could be the amount of nutrition produce per unit of volume. (Nutrition produced per cubic meter of growing space).

Another concern is the amount of energy used for growing plants, and the amount of energy used to keep the growing area warm. Therefore another metric that could be used is the amount of light (energy) required per volume (Watts per cubic meter). If a Cell has twice as many trays (12 trays instead of 6), it will require twice and much light, and therefore will use twice as much energy per volume (Watts per cubic meter).

These metrics could be combined with calories/nutrition to create a metric of calories produce per amount of energy used (Watts per 1,000 calories). Or nutrition produced per amount of energy used, for a given volume.

There also needs to be a metric to keep track of the amount of water used to grow plants. One of the prices paid for growing plants and making soil is that plants and soil consume water. Both plants and soil contain hydrocarbons. The hydrogen in these hydrocarbons comes from water.

Therefore one metric could be the amount of water used per cubic meter of growing space (Liters per cubic meter, or liters used per cubic meter per unit of time). Or the amount of water used per number of calories produced (calories per Liter, per unit of time), or water used per amount of nutrition produce. There are many things to consider. This list is just a brief introduction to a few metrics. No doubt there are many more metrics that need to be considered on Mars.

One of the problems with using lava tubes or caves found on Mars, is that because of their geometry they will not have very good metrics. (Their geometric shape does not provide efficient use of space). Still, they would be helpful because they eliminate the need of having to move enormous amounts of rocks and regolith to build underground Cells. However inflatables could be used inside of the lava tubes and/or caves and organized in such a way that they result in good metrics.

Link to this section:
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#14 2023-05-06 23:29:32

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Cells and The Times Four Rule

Cells produce water needed for the living area

Cells are able to provide resources needed for the living area. For example, Figure 4.1 (Post #4) shows water tanks that hold "clean water" and "dirty water." The "clean water" can be used for washing and showering in the living area. The "clean water" needs to be treated before it can be used for drinking water.

Figure 14.1 Example of a living area (camper) located in Discretionary Space

Just like a camper has a fresh water tank, a gray water tank, and a black water tank, the living area will need an input of "clean water", an input of drinking water, and it needs a place to dispose of "dirty water" (gray water). The living area can get clean water from the clean water tanks located in the middle Cell, and drinking water from processed clean water. The living area can pump its used gray water out into the dirty water tank that is located in the Cell, where it syphons out to other Cells and gets recycled. The living area does not have black water. Composting toilets are located outside the living area and use thermophilic composting to recycle waste back into soil (explained in Post #9).

Figure 14.2 Closeup of living area (camper) located in Discretionary Space which includes two raised garden beds and grass growing on the floor.

Editors note: The camper depicted in the figures above is based on a 16' Scamp camper. Per the owners manual the camper can sleep up to five people. Pictures of the camper can be seen on Scamp Trailers website by selecting 16'. The pictures include a 360 degree view of the interior. The living area in a Cell would need to include an airlock door (not shown) and a thermophilic composting toilet located outside of the living area (hidden between camper and shelves of plants).

Both clean water and dirty water tanks are connected to other Cells via syphoning hoses (explained in Post #4). The syphoning hoses syphon water in and out of the middle Cell to where it is being used without the need of using any pumps or electricity. Clean water gets syphoned into the middle Cell as it is being consumed and dirty water gets syphoned out where it is recycled.

When someone washes their hands, showers, brushes their teeth, cleans dishes, etc, organic matter (food particles, skin cells, sweat, saliva, etc) washes off and goes down the drain and into the gray water tank. Organic matter is made entirely of Essential Elements (Explained in Post #4 and Post #9), such as calcium, magnesium, carbon, phosphorus, etc. The gray water, containing Essential Elements, is pumped into the dirty water tank, where it syphons out and into other Cells and is used to water plants.

Notice that all of the Essential Elements in the dirty water are returned to the soil from which they came. Recycling of Essential Elements back into the soil prevents the soil from becoming degraded. Essential Elements are recycled over and over again in a never ending loop.

Cells produce air needed for the living area

Cells create breathable air for the living area too. Figure 14.3 below shows a "fresh air container" that creates fresh breathable air for the living area. The "fresh air container" is designed to be as simple as possible and is about half the size of a small window air conditioner. Each living area has several "fresh air containers" that produce air. Several containers are used for redundancy. If one container should stop working, the remaining containers are able to produce enough air for the living area.

Figure 14.3 Example of a "fresh air container"

The air pressure in the container is kept at a slightly higher pressure than the living area. And the air pressure in the living area is kept at a slightly higher pressure than the surrounding Cell. (Positive air pressure). Air from each container slowly drifts into the living area, and the living area has small vents that allow air to slowly drift out and into the surrounding Cell. I picture the air vents going into and out of the living area as being similar to those used on commercial aircraft, directly above each passenger providing a fresh breeze of air.

The "fresh air containers" could use nitrogen from storage tanks, along with pure oxygen in storage, to make air for the living area. However, this would require more energy (electricity) and put more of a load on equipment. An alternate method is to use a dedicated Cell that produces fresh air for the living area. Settings for the dedicated Cell would have an oxygen level slightly lower than the target value for the living area, and a CO2 level that is slightly lower than that used for the living area. The dedicated Cell does not have to be the Cell in which the living area resides. The dedicated Cell has a pipeline going from it to the containers that make air for the living area. One dedicated Cell could make air for several living areas.

The preset value for the oxygen level in the dedicated Cell is a bit lower than the target value for the living area. For example, if the target value for oxygen in the living area is 20.95%, the dedicated Cell could have an oxygen level set at 20.40%. The preset value for CO2 in the dedicated Cell is also set lower than the CO2 target level in the living area.

The idea is for control systems of Cells to be simple enough that they can be made on Mars, so that the base can be self-sustaining, once the base develops enough for manufacturing capabilities to become available. Because control systems for Cells are designed to be made on Mars, they are not as accurate as control systems sent from Earth.

Control systems for Cells do not need to be as accurate as those for the living area. Control systems for Cells only need to be accurate enough so that conditions in Cells are good enough for plants. Conditions in Cells do not need to be good enough for humans. Control systems for the living area must be much more precise and therefore will likely be sent from Earth.

Because control systems in Cells aren't as precise, when the oxygen preset value is set to 20.40% for example, it might be off by a half percent or so. As an example, assume the oxygen level of a Cell is only accurate to +/-0.5%, then a setting of 20.40% would cause the level of oxygen in the Cell to be somewhere between 19.90% and 20.90% (within 0.5% of 20.40%). This wide tolerance is plenty good enough for plants, but it is not accurate enough for humans.

To ensure the oxygen level in the dedicated Cell is lower than the target level of the living area, the oxygen level of the Cell is set to 20.40% in this example. This is within tolerances that ensure the oxygen level of the dedicated Cell is lower than the target level (20.95%) of the living area.

As was shown in Figure 14.3, the "fresh air container" adds oxygen as needed to the incoming air, so the amount of oxygen added would bring the percentage up from somewhere around 20.40%, up to 20.95%, the target level of the living area. Oxygen sensors in the "fresh air container" and the living area are more accurate than the ones in a Cell. Note that the majority of oxygen coming into the living area is provided by the dedicated Cell. A small "shot" of oxygen is added to the incoming air, so that the level of oxygen is at a precise level. The oxygen being added is from storage.

The air in Earth's atmosphere is 78.08% nitrogen and 20.95% oxygen with the remaining 0.97% being other gases (argon, CO2, neon, etc). The container would likely have a slightly higher percentage of oxygen than the living area, and would have very little CO2 and the other trace gases. As air slowly moves out of the container and through the living area, humans consume some of the oxygen and release CO2, lowering the percentage of oxygen and raising the level of CO2 in the living area. Plants in the living area help to consume some of the CO2 and produce oxygen. The end result is that the air in the living area can be very similar to that of Earth.

The containers have sensors in the living area that are used to help determine the percentage of gases being mixed by the containers. If the level of oxygen in the living area goes down a little bit, the target level of oxygen in the container can be increased to bring up the level of oxygen in the living area. A higher percentage of oxygen flowing out of the containers and into the living area will cause the level of oxygen in the living area to rise back up to its target value. Likewise the percent of oxygen in the containers can be lowered if the percentage of oxygen in the living area is above its target value. The end result is that "fresh air" from the containers is constantly flowing into the living area, holding the level of gases in the living area constant, as older stale air in the living area is slowly drifting out and into the surrounding Cell.

Dealing with VOCs

As was mentioned in Post #9, having humans present in an airtight vessel will cause VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) to build up over time. Spacecraft usually deal with this problem by using disposable filters. If the Martian base were to use disposable products sent from Earth, it would prevent the Martian base from ever being self-sustaining.

This proposal eliminates the problem with VOCs by venting them out into the surrounding Cell, where impurities, such as VOCs, are burned off. (Post #9 section "Removing VOCs from the air"). Therefore a never ending supply of disposable filters sent from Earth is not required, which makes the Martian base less dependent on Earth.

The "fresh air container" provides a method of having a small breeze of fresh air constantly flowing through the living area, keeping the air fresh, preventing the buildup of VOCs and other impurities. In addition to a constant flow of fresh air, the living area could have some indoor plants to keep the air fresh. (Post #9 section "Cleaning the air with plants").

Plants and the constant flow of incoming air prevents the living area from smelling "synthetic", like metal and electrical equipment, or like dirty socks in a dirty locker room, as is often the case with most/all spacecraft. Air on the ISS smells pretty bad, as many astronauts have commented.

The living area could also use CDRA's to remove CO2 from the air. CDRA's can be reused by heating them and releasing the trapped water and CO2 into the surrounding Cell, where it becomes part of the Cells ecosystem. (Post #9 section "Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly - CDRA"). This eliminates the need of having to send replacement CO2 filters from Earth.

New Definition: "The Times Four Rule"

As has been shown, the living area gets resources from Cells, such as air, food, water, and many other resources, such as fabric, forest, and fuel. Cells also provide other benefits, such as storing energy efficiently, removing oxygen produced by plants in a highly efficient way, processing "dirty water" and dealing with perchlorates, producing soil and recycling Essential Elements back into soil, processing raw air directly from the Martian atmosphere in an efficient way, and so on. And Cells create Discretionary Space, which sets up a positive feedback loop that allows more manufacturing and more living areas (more available labor) to be built, enabling the base to expand with minimal shipments from Earth.

Cells are essentially "pushing" or "driving" the manufacturing and living areas. Cells are the force that not only allow living areas and Martian manufacturing to function, they also allow them to expand. But in order to "thrive and not just survive" something I call "The Times Four Rule" must be followed.

The Times Four Rule means that the volume of the Cells must be several times bigger than the living area, or a manufacturing area. The rule implies that Cells must be at least four times larger. However, The Times Four Rule is not be taken literally, just like the Pareto principle, commonly called the 80/20 rule, is not be taken literally.

As an example, one 80/20 rule states that 20% of cars produce 80% of automotive pollution, which isn't exactly correct. In reality, it might be that 20% of the cars are responsible for 92% of the pollution, not 80%. Or maybe 13%, not 20%, of the cars are responsible for 80% of the pollution. The 80/20 rule is not intended to be taken literally. It simply means that a small percentage of the causes are responsible for the majority of the effects.

In the same way, The Times Four Rule simply means that a living area will require Cells that are several times bigger, in order to supply it with the resources it needs, such as air, food, and water. And it means a manufacturing area, will require Cells with their total space being several times bigger, to supply it with the resources it needs. How much larger the Cells need to be is partially dependent on how far the Cells have developed, along with the desired stability of the system as a whole. The larger the ratio of Cells to the living area (and manufacturing area), the more stable the system.

"The Times Four Rule" stabilizes temperature

Cells help to stabilize the temperature of a living/manufacturing area. As an example, suppose a gas furnace that runs on methane (natural gas) is used to warm up a Cell. And suppose a living area also has its own gas furnace to keep its area warm. The gas furnace for the living area is located outside of the living area in the surrounding Cell, and has a heat exchanger that heats up air to/from the living area, while using air in the Cell for burning methane. When either one of the gas furnaces are used, they consume oxygen from the Cell.

Assume (hypothetically) that Cells have a finite amount of oxygen to be used for burning methane. And assume (hypothetically) the more oxygen that is used to heat the living area, the less oxygen is available to heat the Cell, and vice versa. This means that when a gas furnace is turned up to warm up the living area, the temperature in the Cell goes down. This is because more oxygen is being used to heat the living area, leaving less oxygen available to heat the Cell.

If the Cell were four times bigger than the living area, then the temperature of the living area would have to increase by 4 degrees in order for the temperature of the Cell to drop by 1 degree. If the Cell(s) were 10 times larger, then the temperature of the living area would have to increase by 10 degrees, in order for the temperature of the Cell(s) to drop by 1 degree.

The larger the ratio of the Cell size to the size of the living area, the less impact changes in the living area have on the Cell, and the overall system becomes more stable. This is the basic principle of The Times Four Rule.

"The Times Four Rule" and oxygen level

Consider another example of The Times Four Rule. Suppose more oxygen is needed in a living area. As was explained, the "fresh air containers" get most of their oxygen from a dedicated Cell to produce fresh air for the living area. If the demand for oxygen in a living area were to go up, say from occupants exercising more, more oxygen would be removed from the dedicated Cell.

Once again, and I stress hypothetically, assume that using more oxygen in the living area leaves less oxygen available in a Cell, and the volume of the Cell is 10 times bigger than the volume of the living area. The percentage of oxygen in the living area would have to increase by 1% in order for the oxygen level in the Cell to decrease by 0.1%.

The point being is that large swings of resources (oxygen in this case), has a small impact on the Cell, as long as the Cell is several times larger than the living area. The larger the ratio of the size of a Cell to the size of the living area, the less impact the living area has on the Cell, making the overall system more stable. This is true whenever the living area consumes resources, any type of resources, such as heat, oxygen, food, water, etc.

Consider the case of removing clean water from a Cell and using it in the living area. Removing 5 gallons of clean water from 5 Cells to be used in the living area, results in 1 gallon of clean water being removed from each of the Cells. Or dumping 5 gallons of dirty water from the living area into the dirty water tank, results in 1 gallon of dirty water being syphoned out to each of the Cells.

Or removing 5 baskets of food needed for the living area, results in 1 basket of food being removed from each Cell. Or creating 5 buckets of compost from uneaten food (parts of plants that are not eatable), will result in adding 1 bucket of compost to each of the Cells. Large changes in the living area results in small changes in the Cells, so long as the The Times Four Rule is being followed.

"The Times Four Rule" provides balance

On the demand side, composting and other activities could consume more, or less, water and oxygen than expected. And manufacturing activities could consume more, or less, water and oxygen than expected, or release more, or less, CO2 than expected. Humans could easily end up consuming more, or less, oxygen, food, or water, than expected.

On the supply side, Cells could easily end up producing more, or less, food and oxygen than expected, or they could produce more, or less, CO2 and nitrogen than expected. WAVAR and Rodwells could gather more or less water than expected, and Cells could purify that water at a faster or slower rate than expected. Because of a Cells flexibility, Cells can tolerate these variations. A Cells control system will keep the level of CO2, humidity, and air pressure constant at their respective preset values.

As long as the plants have an adequate supply of CO2 and water, they will continue to produce oxygen, and the Cells will remove this oxygen from the air in a very efficient way so it can be used elsewhere, as was explained in Post #5.

Biosphere 2

One of the problems with Biosphere 2, was that the plants needed to make an exact amount of oxygen (supply) and consume an exact amount of CO2 (demand). No more and no less. The demand had to be exactly equal the supply at all times with no room to deviate. If there is a bit too much or too little oxygen produced or consumed, then the percentage of oxygen throughout the entire complex is either too high or too low. And the percentage of CO2 can end up being too high or too low.

In Biosphere 2 the supply, which is a variable, had to be equal to the demand, which is also a variable. The difference between the two is twice as pronounced. This is a flawed design. Due to its lack of flexibility, Biosphere 2 did have a problem with too little oxygen and too much CO2, causing occupants to breathe in too little oxygen and too much CO2.

Figure 14.4 Biosphere 2 in Oracle Arizona

Cells eliminate this problem. The air in a Cell is different than that of a living area. The percentages of gases in a Cell can be much different than the air in a living area, and the temperature in a Cell can be several degrees different than the living area. The environment of a Cell only needs to be good enough for plants to survive, and therefore oxygen and CO2 levels, as well as temperatures, are allowed to vary in a Cell.

If a Cell ends up with a higher, or lower, concentration of oxygen or CO2 in the air, this will not effect the oxygen and CO2 levels in the living area. As long as the Cells are several times larger than the living area, the fluctuations in gases, humidity, temperature, etc, are kept to a minimum.

As long as The Times Four Rule is being followed, the environment in the living area can be kept within a much tighter tolerance than the conditions in a Cell, without having much impact on the Cells. Biosphere 2 did not have this kind of flexibility. In order to "fix" Biosphere 2, the growing area for plants needs to be sealed off from the living area, and occupants need to wear breathing apparatus while working in the growing areas.

The living area needs to have its own control systems, separate from the growing area for plants, to control temperature and percentages of gases in the air, etc. The living area needs to get its resources (oxygen and water) from the growing areas as needed. If too much CO2 is produced, the growing area may have more CO2 than intended, while the CO2 level in the living area remains unchanged, preventing occupants from breathing too much CO2 (or too little oxygen). It would also help if Biosphere 2 had storage tanks for oxygen, CO2, and water. The tanks would provide a cushion for too much, or too little, CO2, oxygen, or water being produced/consumed.

I do not see any way a Martian base can be successful without this kind of flexibility. There will always be some variations in the amount of oxygen and CO2 being consumed and the amount being produced, as well as variations in the amount of water, amount of food, and so on. A successful design for a Martian base MUST take all these variations into account.

Mars One

The now defunct Mars One plan was an attempt to land the first humans on Mars by sending them on a one-way trip to Mars, and having them live on Mars indefinitely. The plan was to send some "living units", and "life support units", to start a colony. Later more "living units" would be sent, and connected together, as shown below.

Figure 14.5 Mars One "Living units" connected to each other.

The idea was that the colony would keep expanding as more living units were sent to Mars and connected together. The plan called for extracting water out of Martian regolith, then use electrolysis to extract oxygen from the water to provide occupants with oxygen to breathe.

A much more efficient way to get oxygen on Mars wold be to use MOXIE, and eventually use plants for oxygen and have MOXIE available as a backup. Extracting water from Martian regolith consumes an enormous amount of energy. A much more efficient way to source water is to use a WAVAR and/or Rodwells.

The plan was for astronauts to live on prepackaged food until they set up hydroponics and started growing food. This would not have worked because packaged foods degrade. (As explained in Post #4). Mars One did not have large areas for growing plants, which is a blatant violation of The Times Four Rule. Not having the "living units" placed inside of the growing area for plants does not create a Cascading Effect (explained in the next section) and therefore does not provide adequate protection from the harsh Martian environment, such as Martian dust.

The number of design flaws with Mars One are too numerous to mention. For one thing, the growing area for plants needs to be set up before astronauts arrive, not after. And once food is grown on Mars, the food needs to be sent back to Earth to determine if it is safe to eat. The first lettuce grown on the ISS was sent back to Earth to determine if it was safe to eat. It turned out the lettuce contained a blight and was not safe to eat. Today astronauts on the ISS use a sanitary wipe to sterilize the leaf of lettuce first, before eating a sample. Humans should not depart Earth for a trip to Mars until after food is growing on Mars, and it has been deemed safe.

Mars One did not have any plan for producing soil, which means there wasn't any way to recycle waste (Essential Elements) back into soil, so that the soil (Essential Elements) can be used again and again to grow food and other resources. The hydroponics that was planned requires a never ending shipment from Earth of nutrients needed for hydroponics, which means the Mars One plan would never be self-sustaining. And hydroponics is much more susceptible to disease and blight than soil, and hydroponics requires more energy and uses more mechanical devices with moving parts, which increases the number of opportunities for failure.

Many critics have said that Mars One was a scam. I don't believe Mars One was a scam, because that would imply Mars One intended to fail all along. I don't think Mars One planned to fail, they simply failed to plan.

The Mars One plan could have been improved by first building a number of Cells on Mars, growing food in those Cells then sending the food back to Earth to determine if it was safe to eat. A number of experiments on Mars need to take place before any humans can be sent, including testing all life support systems and verifying that all of them are working before sending a crew. And the mission needs to include a trip back to Earth, not a permanent stay, until we first learn how to "live of the land."

If the "living units" were placed inside of a lava tube, or some type of large Cell that is full of living plants, and the air in the Cell(s) was kept separate from the "living units", then the Mars One plan would be compliant with The Times Four Rule and would be able to take advantage of the Cascading Effect (explained later). That would solve some of the Mars One short comings.

A different dog with the same fleas

There are other ecosphere attempts that have the same problem, such as MELiSSA (Micro Life Support System Alternative) and the Soviet BIOS projects. The problem with these, and other CELSS projects, is that they are far too rigid. That is, they are similar to building a car without a suspension. A Martian habitat must be able to flex and bend with changing conditions and outcomes, much like a cars suspension will flex and bend with changes in the road.

Applying The Times Four Rule allows Cells, along with their gas storage tanks, to adjust to changes in conditions and outcomes. Cells are able to maintain an environment that is good enough for plants, enabling the plants to provide resources for humans, while creating a mild environment and a buffer zone for a living area.

Link to this section:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 92#p209492

Link to this proposal:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=10501

Last edited by Steve Stewart (Today 01:02:40)

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#15 2023-05-06 23:30:35

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

New Definitions and Comparison with Early Settlers

New Definition: The Cascading Effect

As was just explained, Cells produce water and fresh air for the living area, while eliminating VOCs and other contaminants in the air. Cells also produce food, and other resources from the 4 Fs' (Food, Fabric, Forest, Fuel) as well as medicine. Notice how Cells are able to produce resources from the Martian environment, and the living area gets its resources from the Cells environment.

It is the Cell, not the living area, that resides in the harsh Martian environment. The living area resides in a much more moderate, Earth-like environment within the Cell. A Cell being located in the extremely harsh environment of Mars, and a living area being located inside the more moderate environment of a Cell, creates a "Cascading Effect".

This is much like placing a walk-in refrigerator in a desert on a hot summer day, and the refrigerator is struggling to reach refrigeration temperatures and has no chance of reaching freezing temperatures. This analogy is much like the difficulty of designing a Martian base that will create a healthy, comfortable, living conditions for occupants, while residing in the harsh environment of Mars.

If a freezer were placed inside of the walk-in refrigerator that was just described, the freezer would be able to reach temperatures well below freezing. Some refrigeration equipment do use this "Cascading Effect" in order to reach extremely low (cryogenic) temperatures. A cascade refrigeration example is shown below.

Figure 15.1 Cascade refrigeration example

Using this "Cascading Effect" when building Cells on Mars, and placing a living area inside of a Cell, provides a method of having a healthy, safe habitat for astronauts on Mars. Cells not only provide resources, they also serve as a buffer zone between the living area and the extreme harsh conditions of Mars, by utilizing the Cascading Effect.

New Definition: Abandon Capable

If a Martian base is anything like the ISS, it will need to have people present at all times. The ISS has been occupied for two and a half decades (ever since November 2000). If a Martian base has to be continuously occupied, then an incoming crew will need to come in and land before the outgoing crew can leave. This doesn't work out well for the two launch windows. (Earth-to-Mars and Mars-to-Earth).

One of the greatest catastrophes that could happen is for the incoming crew to crash onto the Martian base and kill everyone. It's bad enough for everyone inbound and outbound to be lost, but in addition to that, the Martian base would be lost as well. This would put Earth at a crossroads. Do we start over from scratch and build another Martian base? Or do we forget about Mars altogether and never return?

But suppose the Martian base was automated enough so that the base could survive without any people present. Plants and microbes can survive just fine without humans, as long as the growing area for plants (Cells) are able to maintain an adequate environment for the plants. If the Cells were automated and full of plants growing in soil, then the outgoing crew could leave before the incoming crew landed. This works out better for the two launch windows. (Earth-to-Mars and Mars-to-Earth).

If an accident were to occur anytime during a crews mission, and all of the crew were lost, the Martian base would continue to operate without any humans present, as long as the Cells were automated. That is, as long as at least one of the Cells survived the accident. Plants would continue to grow and self-replicate, as would microbes in the soil.

When a Martian base is designed, built, and running atomically in such a way, that a human presence is not required to keep the base alive, then the base is what I call "Abandon Capable."

It's possible for some of the Cells to be Abandon Capable while other Cells are not. Yet the Martian base as a whole is still considered Abandon Capable, because the base has enough redundancy to function without some of the Cells. If some Cells were lost because they weren't Abandon Capable, the Abandon Capable Cells that survived can be used to bring the "dead" Cell(s) back on-line (growing plants again).

Assuming all the Cells contained soil, the soil in the "dead" Cells would still be valuable, even if all the soil life had died. (This is called humus). This is because the humus has a high concentration of carbon, nitrogen, and other Essential Elements in an organic form, even though the soil no longer contains any living biology.

The Cells that survived would still contain living plants, soil biology, and seeds needed to get plants growing again in the "dead" Cell(s). Seeds and plants can be added to the soil (humus), along with fresh compost to bring the "dead" Cell back to life. The living Cells can also provide air and water (Post #8), and the ability to manufacture most of the hardware that is needed in a Cell, by using the Discretionary Space created by the surviving Cells.

In addition to the risk of an accident, a base could become unoccupied due to budget cuts on Earth. Even without a human presence at the Martian base, the Cells would continue to be productive as long as the base was Abandon Capable. The WAVAR units located outside of the Martian base would continue to collect water, and store the "dirty water" in the "dirty water tanks" as was described in Post #4. Rodwells inside of each Cell could also continue to collect and store water.

The base would continue to garner water until all the water tanks were full. At that point the WAVAR and Rodwells could be shut down and water would continue to circulate in a closed loop within the Cells own water cycle. Plants would continue to produce oxygen until all the oxygen storage tanks are full, then any addition oxygen produced could be released into the Martian atmosphere.

Plants would automatically reproduce, as would soil life. Trays in Cells would become full of foliage, and the soil would continue to develop until it was saturated with carbon, nitrogen, and soil biology. Nitrogen and the trace gases would continue to accumulate from Cheat (Post #8), and be stored. Once all the storage tanks are full, those gases could be released back into the Martian atmosphere, while the Cells continue to function.

Not being Abandon Capable creates a heavier work load on the occupants

Suppose the Martian base keeps expanding with a minimal crew, and more Cells are built, resulting in more resources and more Discretionary Space (Post #8) becomes available. More Discretionary Space not only provides more manufacturing, but the opportunity for more advanced manufacturing, and the ability to use more In-Situ resources. The continued expansion provides resources to build more Cells, creating a positive feedback loop as was explained earlier in Post #8, and the base keeps expanding even more.

But all this success is a double edge sword. As with most things, there are often unintended consequences. Cells are similar to a farm. As a farm keeps growing and expanding, there is more and more work to do in keeping up the existing farm. As a Martian base expands, a higher percentage of labor hours are required to maintain the existing base, leaving fewer hours available to keep expanding. And so as the base expands, progress slows. Eventually all available labor is used to maintain the base, and no hours are left to expand the base.

It would seem one way to solve this problem is to simply provide more labor by sending more people to Mars. But a larger crew requires more resources, such air, food, water, and an additional living area. Adding a living area requires several more Cells to support the new living area, per The Times Four Rule (Post #14). A larger crew would come at a higher cost. More people and supplies would need to be sent to Mars.

Another way to alleviate the problem is through automation. If most/all processes in a Cell were automated, then less labor is needed to maintain the Cells once they are built and have developed. In other words, a better solution is to make the Cells and consequently the base, "Abandon Capable."

Abandon Capable enables "Planetary Outsourcing"

Monitoring the health of plants, changing the watering schedule, programing when lighting should be off and on, setting the oxygen and CO2 levels, and so on, are all long term functions, and do not need to be done in real-time. Most/all of these systems can either be automated, and the parameters (water schedule, lighting schedule, etc) can be adjusted remotely from Earth. The time delay of signals between Mars and Earth are not an issue for long term functions.

One picture taken of the plants each day is adequate to know the current health of the plants. Based on that and other data, the watering schedule, lighting schedule, humidity settings, etc, of each Cell can be "outsourced" to Earth. This type of outsourcing allows humans on Earth to provide some of the labor required to maintain the Martian base. But the labor provided by Earth does not consume Martian resources, such as air, food, and water. When labor on another orbiting body is "outsourced" to Earth, I call this "Planetary Outsourcing."

An hour of labor on Earth is far cheaper than an hour of labor on Mars. Therefore "Planetary Outsourcing" is one way of cutting costs and making the base more resilient. It's also an important part of making a base Abandon Capable. By using "Planetary Outsourcing" and automation in Cells, the Martian base can become Abandon Capable. A base that is Abandon Capable allows a base to keep expanding without putting a heavier and heavier work load on the crew to support and maintain the existing base.

Requirements for making a base Abandon Capable

The Cells I've shown so far are all Abandon Capable. However there are some things that would prevent the base, or at least a Cell, from being Abandon Capable.

Suppose animals, such as chickens, were added to a Martian base. Chickens can provide eggs, and eggs provide a rich source of protein and other nutrients. And chicken dung is a powerful organic fertilizer, as anyone who has had chickens can tell you. Therefore adding chickens to a Martian base would provide additional resources. As long as the base had enough Cells, there would be plenty of food for the chickens.

But the problem is that animals often require onsite care. Adding any animals that require onsite care from humans will prevent the base from becoming Abandon Capable. Or at the very least, if the base were abandoned by humans, the animals would die, while plants and microbes in Abandon Capable Cells would continue to thrive. Therefore when adding life to a Martian base, thought must be given as to what effect the new life will have on the base. Will the proposed "upgrades" to the base prevent the base from being Abandon Capable? Some types of life, those that require a human presence, can prevent the base from being "Abandon Capable."

Comparing an early setters homestead to a Martian base

In the Martian base I have described throughout this proposal, different sections of the base have a different cost per square foot of space. For example, the Cells which I have described have a lower cost per square foot of space than the living area. It turns out the same thing can be said of early settlements on Earth. And there are many other parallels that can be drawn between the two.

Figure 15.2 below is an example of a settlement in North America. The settlement is located inside of the fenced in area. Notice that different areas of the settlement have a different cost per square foot of space. For example, (A) points to a couple of buildings that provide settlers with a "living area." The "living area" includes furniture used for relaxing, eating, and sleeping, utensils (tools) for eating and indoor work, and the buildings include a fireplace used for cooking and keeping the shelter warm. Of all the areas inside of the fenced in area, the "living areas" have the highest cost per square foot of space. In the same way, the "living area" of a Martian base, also has the highest cost per square foot of space.

Figure 15.2 - Example of an early settlement in North America. Image is from PBS series "America The Story of Us"

(B) points to sheds that are used to store equipment, such as a wagon, a plow, shovels, etc. This could include buildings like a barn to house animals, and hay (food) for the animals during the winter. The buildings do not contain any furniture, or any heat. The cost per square foot of a barn or shed is less than the cost of the living areas.

In Post #4 I introduced an area in a Cell that could be used as a refrigerator or a freezer. The cost per square foot of the refrigerator/freezer is less than the living area, similar to comparing the cost of a shed or barn (B) to the living areas (A). It makes sense to store a supply of food in these less expensive areas, rather than to use a more expensive space for storage, such as the living area.

(C) is the garden area, which is a "growing area for plants", much like a Cell. (C) indicates an area that has a little extra structure that is required for some plants, such as support needed for vine plants (such as tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, etc). (C) might also contain some type of pipes or troughs, used to assist in watering plants. The cost per square foot of this space is less than the cost per square foot of a shed or barn (B), and much less than the living areas (A).

(D) is in any area that is inside of the fenced in area that is left over space. It is space that is not used for a living area, or a shed or barn, etc. It includes walkways (paths) between buildings, which is similar to an aisle between plants in a Martian base. Parts of the space (D) can be used for gardening. Unlike area (C), this area does not have any additional hardware to support plants, and does not contain pipes or troughs to help water plants. It receives sunlight and water from nature alone. Therefore the cost per square foot of area (D) is slightly less than that of (C), and considerably less than the barn/shed (B), and the living areas (A).

Both areas (C) and (D) are somewhat similar to the Discretionary Space that was described in Post #8. The Discretionary Space described in this proposal is a space that exists between two Cells, and Cells have a lower cost per square foot that the living area. When Discretionary Space is empty, it has a lower cost per square foot of space than a Cell.

Very little, or no heat is required for Discretionary Space, because it is between two heated Cells (Post #8). And the two adjacent Cells can be used to help clean the air in the Discretionary Space. Therefore if space is needed to set up manufacturing somewhere in a Martian base, Discretionary Space can provide an area for manufacturing at a low cost per square foot. In the same way, area (D) can be used to build another shed or garden, or set up any production that is needed.

The settlement areas (A) through (D) are all located inside of the fenced in area. (E) is the area outside of the settlement, and has the lowest cost per square foot of space, much like an area outside of a Martian base has the lowest cost per square foot of space.

(E) has grassy areas, forest areas, a creek, and animals roaming around. This area provides a number of resources needed for the settlement, such as lumber from the forest (logs for a log cabin), grass (hay/food) for animals in the settlement, water from the creek, and animals for food and fur. There might even be wild berries or fruit trees growing in this area. Yet (E) does not require any maintenance or labor hours provided by the settlers. It is maintained by nature alone, meaning that area (E) is "Abandon Capable."

An area just outside of a Martian base is also "maintained" by the "nature of Mars" alone, and there are a number of resources available on Mars. Earlier I listed a number of resources that are available from the Martian atmosphere alone. (Post #11, section "Martian resources out of thin air").

Once a Cell is built and is Abandon Capable, it is similar to the area (E). If all the functions in the Cell can be done by labor on Earth (Planetary Outsourcing), then the Cell will not need any labor at all from the astronauts. Just like area (E) in Figure 15.2, the occupants can go into an Abandon Capable area and retrieve any resources they need. And in the case of an Abandon Capable Cell on Mars, the astronauts are on hand to fix/upgrade anything in the Cell, should the need arise. Otherwise, no labor or attention from the crew is required.

Unlike area (E), there is a cost associated with building a Cell. However once a Cell is built and up and running and is Abandon Capable, it is analogous to area (E) because going forward, no labor on the part of the occupants is required. Which means the Martian base can keep expanding without it causing additional labor on the part of the occupants as it expands.

Most everything in the settlement shown is made from In-Situ resources. A Cell can also be made out of mostly In-Situ resources. As the Martian base develops, more and more resources can be sourced on Mars, reducing the number of shipments required from Earth. The various systems in a Cell, such as the air pressure control system (Post #11), the oxygen control system (Post #11), the automatic watering systems (Post #4), etc, are all designed to be as simple as possible, so they can be built on Mars using as many In-Situ resources as possible. This keeps the number of shipments from Earth to a minimum, which in turn keeps the cost per square foot of a Cell, and Martian base, to a minimum.

Figure 15.2 - (Again)

The Cell in this proposal would not provide a comfortable place for anyone to stay. Just like the garden area (C) and (D) shown above, would not be a comfortable place for someone to eat and sleep. (They'd be sleeping on the ground outside). But a Cell does provide conditions that are good enough for plants, at a lower cost per square foot of space. Just like areas (C) and (D) provide an area that is good enough for plants, at a lower cost per square foot of space.

Notice that the "cost" of an early settlement on Earth, or a Martian base, from the occupants perspective, is not measured in currency. Rather "cost" is measured in the labor, energy, and resources available on Mars. Figuring out ways to limit the number of shipments from Earth, and figuring out ways of reducing the amount of labor required on Mars, reduces the "cost" of building and expanding a Martian base.

Question:
What if the settlers had to make buildings for growing plants, rather than growing plants outside? Because the conditions in the growing area for plants had to have the same conditions as the living area. (What if the garden had the same cost per square foot as the living area?)

Answer:
If the cost, measured in terms of resources, energy, and labor, for the garden area (C) and (D) were as high as the living area (A), many settlers probably would not have survived. Many settlers died the way it was. The Mayflower carried 102 settlers to the new world, along with 30 crew members. In the first winter alone, about half of the settlers and half of the crew members died.

The settlers had a hard enough time growing plants the way it was, and many settlers died from starvation. If the settlers had to build heated buildings for plants, and plants in those buildings were their only source of food, perhaps none of the settlers would have survived.

In the same way, if a Martian base has a growing area for plants, that has the same cost (measured in terms of resources, energy, and labor) as the living area, this will put an unnecessary burden on the astronauts struggle to survive, increasing the odds of the astronauts not surviving.

The Cells shown in this proposal provide an area that is good enough for growing plants. But they are not so fancy and high tech that they require more shipments from Earth, or are difficult to maintain and repair.

Providing a "better" (more expensive) area for plants comes at a higher price. A higher price in terms of resources, energy, and labor. This causes the cost of growing plants per unit of area to be a higher price. This "higher price" is something the occupants cannot afford.

Question:
What is the size (square footage) of the living area (A) compared to the size (square footage) of the garden (C) or (D), plus plants and animals growing in area (E)?

Answer:
The answer is the combined areas of (C), (D), and (E), must be several times larger than the living area (A), in order to provide the living areas with enough food and resources to last through the year. This is an example of The Times Four Rule.

On Mars, the growing area for plants must be several times larger than the living area, in order to provide the living area with enough resources. Food is just one of those resources, water is another, oxygen is another, and so on. The Cells would need to be even larger if they are to provide occupants with resources other than food, such as plants needed for fabrics (cotton, hemp, flax), forest, fuel, and medicine. Cells also have the ability to store energy, and the ability to process raw air directly from the Martian atmosphere, and so on.

Question:
What is the cost per square foot of the area labeled (E) in Figure 15.2?

Answer:
The cost per square foot of area (E) is zero. Area (E) has resources such as trees (lumber) and grass lands, and a creek or river (for water). (E) provides a number of resources for the settlement, without requiring any labor at all on the part of the settlers. Area (E) is "Abandon Capable."

In the same way, the area just outside of a Martian base has many resources. As mentioned, gases in the Martian atmosphere alone provide many resources, which have many uses on Mars. (Post #11, section "Martian resources out of thin air").

The atmosphere also contains the much needed CO2. As was explained in Post #8, if a single Cell contained 1 acre of soil, increasing organic matter in that soil from 0% to 8% would require 80 Earth-tons of carbon. And 293 Earth-tons of CO2 is required to provide 80 Earth-tons of carbon. Growing plants and making soil consumes a whole lot of carbon. Fortunately the Martian atmosphere contains plenty of carbon in spite of it being extremely sparse.

Another resource in the Martian atmosphere is water. As was stated in Post #2, the Martian atmosphere is very thin, but it is also very wet, with almost 100% humidity at all times. WAVAR units can extract water from the vast supply of water stored in the Martian atmosphere (Post #2). More than enough water to meet the needs of a Martian base.

As also stated in Post #2, Rodwells can extract water from beneath the Martian surface. This gives a Martian base two independent sources of water, with either source being able to provide the base with enough water to meet the bases needs. (Not including rocket fuel).

Question:
Suppose you want to build an addition onto your house. Assume a contractor has given you three options to expand, and each option is the same price. One option is to add 300 square feet of space to your kitchen. Another option is to add 1,000 square feet to your living room. The third option is to add 3,000 square feet to your garage.

Knowing that each of these three options cost the same, which option would you choose?

Answer:
The answer depends on the reason your house is in need of expansion. The object of the game is to take the option that gives you the most space per unit of cost, while at the same time the space is just good enough to meet the needs for the expansion. A bad choice would be to choose an option that is "too good" for your needs. For example, if storage space is needed, expanding the kitchen, which has the most cost per unit of area, would be a bad choice if all that is needed is storage space. Expanding the garage provides the most space for the cost. As long as the space in the garage is adequate for storage, then the expanding the garage is the best option.

Suppose your house was on Mars and you needed more space to grow plants, and plants are able to grow in any of the spaces mentioned. Which option would you chose? If the garage (Cell) can provide a space that is just good enough for plants, at a much lower cost than expanding the living area, then expanding the Cell would be the best option. Since all the options provide space that is adequate for growing plants, you'd want the option that provides the most space per unit of cost. (Most space per unit of resources, energy, and labor).

In other words, the option that had the lowest cost per square foot of space but is good enough (in some cases barely good enough), would be the best option. Having a "nicer" space, that is, a space that has a higher cost per square foot, serves no useful purpose.

Conclusion

In turns out the principals I've introduced in this proposal, such as having areas that have a lower cost per square foot, The Times Four Rule, Abandon Capable, building spaces that are just good enough (barely, but adequate) for its intended purpose, and so on, have been with us all along. It's just that we have never thought of it that way. In order to build a self-sustaining presence in a new world, whether that "new world" is on Earth, or the Moon, or on Mars, or anywhere else, these principals MUST be followed. And the new location MUST have functioning soil that is growing plants without synthetic fertilizer (Post #6). Otherwise the new human presence, such as a Martian base, will never be self-sustaining. Instead it will always be dependent on supplies sent from Earth.

There are some who seem to think having a greater population on Mars will somehow result in the base(s) becoming self-sustaining. Nothing is farther from the truth. If a Martian base has a crew of ten and the base is not self-sustaining, then increasing the population by a factor of ten to one hundred, will not bring the base any closer to being self-sustaining. Instead it will only increase the number of shipments required from Earth by a factor of ten. Until the processes in the Martian base are changed to be self-sustaining, ten times more people means ten times more shipments from Earth.

What needs to change are the processes, not the crew size. The processes need to include things like The Times Four Rule, the Cascading Effect, Abandon Capable, etc. A base that has been designed to be Abandon Capable, and a way of creating Discretionary Space, which creates a positive feedback loop (Post #8) that can expand while using more and more In-Situ resources. This allows the Martian base to double in size without requiring twice as many shipments from Earth.

Putting "a million people on Mars" will not make a human presence on Mars any more self-sustaining. It will only provide more labor hours at the cost of requiring more resources (food, air, water). This is a price the base cannot afford, because the base does not have self-sustaining processes in place. Rather than trying to expand the number of humans on Mars and hope something good comes from it, what is needed is that someone needs to sit down and map out a number of self-sustaining processes that work together as a single system. One that will provide a path to a self-sustaining Martian base. Which is exactly what this proposal is all about.

Link to this section:
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 93#p209493

Link to this proposal:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=10501

Last edited by Steve Stewart (Today 01:03:26)

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#16 2023-05-06 23:31:41

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Appendix: Space Crop Gaps

Solving Martian Problems: Space crop production gaps

NASA scientist Dr. Gioia Massa is in charge of growing plants on the ISS. In the following video Dr. Massa lists several gaps (problems) in space crop production. I have a number of comments I'd like to share on these "unsolved" crop production gaps.

Figure 16.1 List of "Space Crop Gaps" from a video with Dr. Gioia Massa at 18m 0s

My comments on these space crop production gaps:

1) Water Recycling

In this proposal, water comes into the Martian base through a Rodwell and a WAVAR. Water from a Rodwell will probably contain some Essential Elements. (Defined in Post #4). Tap water on Earth often contains calcium and magnesium, both of which are Essential Elements. Most Essential Elements have a water soluble form, therefore water from a Rodwell on Mars will likely contain some Essential Elements as water is known as water is known as the universal solvent.

Once water enters a Martian base, it can be used to water plants as long as it doesn't contain anything toxic (Post #2). If the water from a Rodwell contains perchlorates, the perchlorates can be broken down and converted into organic matter, as was described in Post #10 section "Solving Martian Problems: Dealing with perchlorates."

"Dirty water" (defined in Post #2), whether it be from a Rodwell, or gray water from the living area, is used to water the plants. When "dirty water" is used to water plants, it returns Essential Elements back to the soil, preventing the soil from becoming degraded. The Essential Elements are recycled over and over again, in a never ending loop.

Plants are used to purify water. About 90% of the water plants take up from their roots is released as pure water from their leaves (transpiration). The water is collected by the dehumidifier and drips into the "clean water" tank where it is ready to be used again. The "clean water" is returned to the living area via syphoning hoses (no pumps/energy required), where it can be used for cleaning/showering (Post #4), or can be ran through a water purifier to produce drinking water. Once water has entered the Martian base it is recycled over and over again, in a never ending loop.

2) Radiation (and micrometeorites)

The proposed Martian base that was shown in Post #2 and is used as an example throughout this proposal is covered with a thick layer of regolith, which protects the base from both radiation and micro meteorites and to some extent a rocket crash.

As stated in Post #2, the concepts in this proposal are not tied to any one architecture, but I had to present one architecture in order to demonstrate the basic principals of a self-sustaining Martian base. Other designs will work using the concepts I've presented in this proposal, as long as certain rules are followed.

For example, a self-sustaining Martian base will need to have soil, not just hydroponics, aeroponics, or aquaponics. Without functioning soil a Martian base will never be self-sustaining (Post #6). The base will need to have separate growing areas for plants (which I call Cells - Post #4), each Cell with its own control systems. And the Cells need to be Abandon Capable (Post #14).

The living area can get many resources from these growing areas, and the combined size of all the growing areas must be several times larger than the living area, per "The Times Four Rule" (Post #14).

The Martian base I have proposed is covered with enough regolith to protect occupants from solar particle events, such as the solar flare that occurred during the Apollo program (called the August 1972 solar storm). Luckily no astronauts were in space at the time, otherwise they might have been killed. In order to design a base that will last for centuries, the design must take into account any events that may occur during those centuries.

Protection from rocket crashes can be provided by building several bases, and having the bases far enough apart, that if a meteorite (big or small), or rocket crashed directly onto one of the bases, the other bases are far enough away that they would survive the accident. As was stated in Post #14, as long as the base contains several Cells, and some of these Cells are Abandon Capable (Post #15), then the "dead" Cells can be brought back to life from the surviving Cells. (Post #8 section "Cells create air for additional Cells).

3) Martian Dust

As was explained in Post #7 section "Solving Martian Problems: Martian dust", Martian dust is not a problem in this proposal. As long as a design for a Martian base has plants growing in functional soil, and the base follows "The Times Four Rule" (Post #14) and uses "The Cascading Effect" (Post #15), any Martian dust that enters the base will end up in soil.

Once Martian dust is in the soil, it will effect soil texture in the same way clay effects soil texture on Earth. Although Martian dust is very small and is often described as "talcum powder", it is comparable in size to clay particles, with the smallest Martian dust particles being two to three times larger than the smallest clay particles on Earth. (Post #7 section "Solving Martian Problems: Martian dust").

4) Partial gravity

Partial gravity is the one big unknown. Plants have been grown in microgravity using hydroponic systems, and plants have been grown on Earth using both soil and hydroponic type systems. But plants have never been grown in soil anywhere off of Earth.

As stated in Post #6, Cells can create ideal growing conditions for plants. (In Post #6, soil principal #6, this is referred to as "context"). Different Cells can create a different "context" for different plants. The temperature, CO2 and oxygen level, humidity, air pressure, etc, are all adjustable and can be optimized for the types of plants being grown in each Cell. All of these conditions except one, can be adjusted. The one thing that cannot be changed is partial gravity.

There are a whole lot of things we don't know about growing plants with soil in partial gravity. We don't know how soil microbes will behave in partial gravity, and we don't know how soil structure will form.

We don't know what gene expression will arise, in both plants and microbes. And we don't know what changes will occur to plants (and microbes) over multiple generations. Some predictions can be made by using interpolation between what has been learned from growing plants on the ISS (0G), and what we know from growing plants on Earth (1G).

For example, we know that hot air does not rise in microgravity and that hot air does rise in 1G. Then it would seem logical that hot air would rise in a Cell on Mars, just not as fast as it does in a greenhouse on Earth. The ISS requires a lot of fans to keep air moving, otherwise if an astronaut were to stay in one place too long without moving air, a bubble of CO2 would form around their head. Based on these results it might mean that a Martian habitat will need fans to move air around. Maybe not as many fans that are on the ISS, but more fans than what are needed in a greenhouse on Earth. Fans might also be needed in Cells to provide pollination for some types of plants, such as grass, which is self-pollinated by the wind.

Another thing learned in microgravity is the behavior of water. Water tends to ball up and float around in microgravity. So how will water behave in partial gravity? And how will water behave in soil? In Post #7 Section "Martian Dust: Soil property soil structure" I explained three different categories of water in soil: gravitational water, capillary water, and hydroscopic water. The question is, what effect will partial gravity have on these different categories of water?

On the ISS it has been found that microbes flourish in microgravity. Part of the reason might be due to the high humidity and high concentration of CO2 on the ISS. Does this mean that microbes in soil on Mars will flourish too? What effect will this have on soil, and the plants that are growing in soil? Will partial gravity effect different types of soil life, such as protists, nematodes, archaea, etc, differently? Or will it effect all soil life the same? What effect will partial gravity have on the symbiotic relationship between plants and microbes? And what effect does all of this have on soil structure, soil texture and pore space? (Explained in Post #6).

I don't have answers to any of these questions. I don't think anyone does. These are some of the things that can be studied on the Moon in preparation for going to Mars.

5) Plant size

Using smaller plants allows for more plants to be grown in each cubic meter of space, which increases the amount of food produced per volume of space (Metric #4 Post #13). More plants provides more resources per unit of volume. But having more plants requires more light, which consumes more energy and more water per unit of volume of space.

There have been some proposals that recommend using miniature wheat, so as to increase the amount of wheat produced per unit of volume. As was shown in Post #7 (Figure 7.5), clover can be planted with wheat in soil. Clover is a legume, and can feed wheat with all the nitrogen it needs, eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizer. Having clover growing with wheat also provides a multiculture rather than a monoculture. (Soil principle #3, Post #6).

When the wheat is short, the clover gets sunlight, and pumps nitrogen into the soil. As the wheat gets taller and matures, the wheat gets more of the sunlight and the clover gets less. When the wheat is harvested, the clover gets all the sunlight and creates exudates that feed biology in the soil (Post #6 section "Principals of soil health"), while adding nitrogen to the soil. This technique will not work with mini wheat. So it might be better to not use mini wheat on Mars.

6) High CO2

The amount of CO2 that a plant can handle varies from plant to plant, and is dependent on a few other factors, such as light intensity, temperature, and the overall health of the soil. To a limited extent, a higher concentration of CO2 will make the plant more productive, but too much CO2 will have a negative impact (Post #5 Figure 5.3).

The amount of CO2 that is in the air of each Cell is adjustable. Each Cell can have an optimum amount of CO2 for the plants that are in that Cell. This goes back to "context" of plants, principal #6 in Post #6 section "Principals of soil health."

7) Food safety

As was stated in Post #4, providing food for a crew in transit is a much different scenario than providing food for a crew that is on the surface of Mars or the Moon. (Post #4 section "Food in space vs food on Mars"). A spacecraft traveling between Earth and Mars will likely not have any refrigeration or freezer (Post #4 section "Solving Martian Problems: Refrigeration on Mars"). However once on Mars, a base can have both a refrigeration and freezer, such as the one I proposed in Post #4 (Figure 4.8 and 4.9).

Astronauts on the ISS were not allowed to eat the first lettuce grown on the ISS until is was sent to Earth and determined to be safe. As it turned out, the lettuce contained a blight and was not safe to eat. Today, astronauts are able to eat food grown on the ISS, only after the food has been sanitized.

I would think that the first food grown on Mars would need to be sent to Earth first before it can be deemed safe to eat. And I would think there would need to be a supply of food stored on Mars, before the first astronauts land on Mars. Having to send food grown on Mars to Earth would provide a way of testing an accent vehicle that would later be used to launch astronauts from the surface of Mars to a low Martian orbit.

Before sending humans to Mars, I would suggest setting up Cells and growing plants. Hydroponics can be used at this development stage of a Martian base. Once some plants have matured, they would need to be harvested remotely from Earth. Some of the harvest will need to be sent back to Earth to determine if it is safe. Once the food has been determined to be safe, more food on Mars can be grown and stored, in preparation of the first humans landing on Mats. (All of this is will have to be done remotely).

Food grown on Mars can be used to supply the trip back from Mars to Earth, which reduces the payload needed to be sent from Earth to Mars. As stated in Post #4, nutrients in shelf stable food tend to degrade. Most notably Vitamin C and to a lesser extent Vitamin K and thiamine (Vitamin B1). Food can be grown on Mars, which will provide astronauts with fresh nutrient dense fruits and vegetables during their stay on Mars. Providing astronauts with all the nutrients they need, reducing the chance of astronauts suffering from malnutrition.

8) Sustainability

As was stated in the introduction in Post #2, this proposal is for a self-sustaining Martian base. Much of the hardware in buildings shown in this proposal, such as the dehumidifier that does not have any moving parts, the gravity fed watering system, LED lights, and so on, can last for decades/centuries if built correctly. And the base can even continue to survive even if all the crew were lost. (Post #15 Abandon Capable).

9) Abiotic stresses (and stress tolerance of plants)

Plants are sessile, they are incapable of a "fight-or-flight" response, but that doesn't mean they are defenseless. A plants defenses are strongest when plants are grown in "functional soil" (explained in Post #6). Functional soil is soil that is loaded with soil life (such as bacteria, fungi, protists, nematodes, micro-arthropods, viruses, archaea, etc), and contains all of the Essential Elements (Post #4).

The Hidden Half of Nature
The microbial roots of life and health
by David R Montgomery and Anne Bikle
Chapter 6 Underground Allies
Section: The Power of Food
(Page 100 in my book)
Seducing microbes with sugars and other substances might sound pointless, but it's the heart of the botanical world's defense strategy. Plants can't run or hide, but they have other defensive strategies, such as botanical swords (thorns) and shields (waxy leaf cuticles). Microbial recruits do the job below the ground, taking on the role of palace guards to protect their botanical ally. Imagine a plants root system as a castle in an underground landscape harboring microbial bandits and invaders. With a leafy hand, plants turn on a faucet and exudates start dripping down the castle walls and out into the rhizosphere. In this way plants use carbohydrates (and other compounds) that only they can make to attract and build a community of microbial bodyguards that displace, deter, or take out microbial enemies.
Plants are far from defenseless and vulnerable victims waiting around for pathogens to do them in. If, that is, the rhizosphere remains well populated with life that either benefits the plant or does no harm. In this case, pathogens have little chance of crossing the moat-like rhizosphere and breaching the botanical castle wall.

The environment (Context - Principals of soil health #6 - Post #6) of a Cell can be optimized for the plants. Plants growing in Cells will never experience drought, or extreme temperatures, or too much or too little light, etc. That is, as long as the control systems are all working properly. The control systems are designed so they can be made on Mars. If they can be made on Mars, it means that replacement parts needed to fix the control systems can be made on Mars, or in a worst case scenario, a complete replacement control system can be built on Mars.

As stated in Post #4, magnesium is needed to assist plants with a number of stress tolerances. One requirement for plants to have their strongest defense, is for the soil to contain the Essential Element magnesium. As stated in Post #4, it's possible that a Rodwell might contain magnesium. (Tap water on Earth often contains magnesium). Almost all of the Essential Elements are water soluble, so it's possible that Rodwells could end up providing some of the Essential Elements needed in soil.

Plants grown in soil are far more resilient to various stresses (disease, pathogens, etc) than plants grown with hydroponics (or aeroponics, or aquaponics). Hydroponic type systems are also more vulnerable to power outages, because hydroponic systems are dependent on pumps, motors, filters, etc, having to run continuously. If a Cell growing plants in soil loses power and the lights go out, the plants can survive in the dark for a much longer time than they can in a hydroponic system.

It's possible to control which plants will be sent to Mars, and which insects are sent. (Although some may show up by accident). But it's impossible to control which microbes will end up on Mars. "Good" microbes, such as nitrogen fixing bacteria, can be purposely sent on legume seeds that have been inoculated with the bacterium. Other "good" microbes can be sent as well. But it's impossible to guarantee that a Martian base will be completely free from all "bad" microbes. Sooner or later the "bad" microbes, pathogens, etc, will show up, and when they do, a strong defense had better be in place.

I think the best defense against any "bad" microbes is to provide plants with their strongest defense - by growing them in functioning soil. I think this is a far better solution than trying to keep the Martian base sterile, and hope that none of the "bad" microbes show up. It's inevitable that they will show up eventually. And when they do show up, they could wipe out an entire crop, or cause one particular type of plant to become extinct on Mars. This is one of the reasons a Martian base MUST have soil in order to be sustainable.

10) Crew time

In this proposal, enough of the systems in a Cell are automated so that growing plants do not take up much time. Cells that are Abandon Capable and use planetary outsourcing (Post #15) will save even more time.

Henry Ford grew up on a farm in the 1800's. He was all too familiar with farm work and what it takes to run a successful farm. He had said that with today's automation, all a crop farmer needs to do is plant crops in the Spring and walk away until harvest time in the Fall. Nature does the rest.

In this proposal the same thing can be said. All astronauts need to do is plant crops in soil in a Cell and walk away until it's time to harvest. The Cells automated systems, which create Earth like conditions, does the rest. Cells are automated enough that very little labor is required on the part of the astronauts to keep themselves fed.

Today and Tomorrow
By Henry Ford - 1926
Chapter 19 Farm Problems Are Farm Problems
(Page 197 in my book)
With machinery, the work of plowing, planting, and harvesting will not extend over more than ten or fifteen days during the year. At the extreme outside, his outdoor work on crops, exclusive of garden crops, cannot extend beyond a month.
...
The single-crop farmer is through for the year with a month or half a month's work. During the remainder of the time he watches nature work for him.

Notice that this only works if plants are growing in soil and the soil is full of life (functioning soil). Hydroponic type systems are all far more labor intensive and consume much more energy. They also have more mechanical parts that require maintenance and will wear out. (More single points of failure, and more labor hours are required if they break). Hydroponic systems require nutrients sent from Earth (with many of those nutrients being made by soil biology on Earth).

11) Waste

Growing plants in soil and having composters in every Cell allows the recycling of all waste (organic matter), including human waste. "Essential Elements" can come into a Martian base through a Rodwell, as most Essential Elements are water soluble.

As was explained in Post #10, perchlorates contain some of the Essential Elements, such as oxygen, chlorine, manganese, calcium, and sodium. Breaking down perchlorates and turning them into organic matter, instead of filtering them out and throwing them away, provides a way for Essential Elements to enter a Martian base and enrich the soil. Once Essential Elements have been converted into organic matter, they are continuously recycled over and over again, in a never ending loop.

Human waste can and MUST be recycled back into soil so that none of the Essential Elements are lost. Human waste can be recycled back into soil by using Thermophilic composting. Thermophilic composting is composting at a high enough temperature that it kills pathogens. As stated in Post #9 section "Closing the soil loop", all the organisms that cause human diseases are adapted to live around human body temperature. Higher temperatures kill them. Compost that stays at 50°C (122°F) for 24 hours will be safe to use to grow food. A temperature of 62°C (143.6°F) will kill pathogens in one hour.

There are a number of studies that try to find plants, such as a tomato plant, that produces mostly tomato mass, while producing very little stems and leaves. The idea is for most of the plant to produce food, while the "left over" part of the plant is kept to a minimum. This is irrelevant in this proposal, because the "left over" parts of the plant are needed, and is then composted and recycled into soil.

It is true that producing the "left over" parts of a plant consume space and energy, which may seem like waste, but the plants are doing far more than just producing food. The plants are also producing carbon compounds (exudates) which are feeding soil biology (Post #6 and Post #7). The plants are purifying water by releasing pure water from their "wasted parts" leaves (Post #4). Plants are consuming CO2, while at the same time producing organic matter. Plants are also producing soil and oxygen. Plants play an important role in the Methane-Oxygen Cycle, which provides a way storing and retrieving energy in a highly efficient way (Post #3). And plants enable Cheat, which provides a way of processing raw air directly from the Martian atmosphere (Post #8).

12) Environmental optimization

As was stated in Post #6, soil principal #6 "Grow plants in context", any plant from Earth can be grown in a Cell which simulates its natural environment. One Cell can be kept cooler for cold season plants, another Cell can be kept warmer and humid for plants that normally grow in a warmer humid environment, and so on.

Plants primarily use two frequencies of light, red and blue. Plants near the equator receive more blue light than red. Areas closer to the poles receive more red light than blue. Light in a Cell can be adjusted, along with the Automated Watering System, the level of CO2, level of oxygen, the humidity level, etc, as stated in Post #6, so that the conditions matches the plants natural habitat.

The environment of each Cell can be adjusted to provide ideal growing conditions for any plant grown on Mars. The only variable that cannot be changed is partial gravity, which to reiterate, is the one big unknown.

13) Crop scheduling

As was stated in Post #6, crops on Mars can be grown year round. In a Cell everyday is growing season. Plants should be staggered as to when they are planted and when they are harvested (crop scheduling), so that plants are harvested and replanted continuously throughout the year. This provides a constant flow of fresh produce for the astronauts. This type of crop scheduling also helps to normalize the oxygen output of a Cell, as was described in Post #6 section "Harvest rotation and crop scheduling."

Mars also needs to be growing a variety of plants. No one plant can provide all the necessary nutrients, and in the right ratios, along with the right amount of calories. Growing a variety of plants is not only healthy for the astronauts, by providing all nutrients and helping to prevent menu fatigue, but it's also healthy for the soil. As stated in Post #6, plants release exudates (carbon compounds) into the soil that feed soil biology. Growing a variety of plants provides a variety of exudates (food) for the underground herd. This is one of the reasons plants do better in a multicultural rather than a monoculture. (Post #6 section "Principals of soil health" principal #3).

Link to this section:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 94#p209494

Link to this proposal:
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=10501

Last edited by Steve Stewart (Today 01:04:15)

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#17 2023-05-07 06:43:49

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 26,189

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

For Steve Steward re new topic and posts!

Thank you ** very ** much for choosing NewMars forum of the Mars Society to publish your important work!

I will ask SpaceNut to contact Mars Society to request a system backup at the earliest opportunity.

Your entire publication can be distributed via a single URL to the top post of the topic.

Any NewMars member who would like to help with publicity may forward the URL to Steve's topic to news papers in the area, if any still exist, and to such other media as may be available.

The URL for distribution of this work is: http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=10501

(th)

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#18 2023-05-07 11:31:54

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Tahanson,
Thanks for your kind comments. Is there any way I could get this published in the Mars Society Papers section? Maybe someone could ask Mr. Burk on my behalf. The proposal has 16 "posts". I made one (.rtf) file for each post. I then did a "copy and paste" from each file for each post. If Mars Society is willing to add this proposal to their papers section, I'd be glad convert the 16 files it into one (big) PDF file.

The only problem is that the proposal is rather long. I'm guessing it would be around 90 to 95 pages in PDF format. I think the papers in the Mars Society papers section are usually 20 pages or less. I'd be deeply honored if the Mars Society could make an exception for my proposal. I can't really make it any shorter. As mentioned in the proposal, I'm presenting several different ideas (proposals) that are all dependent on each other. If I split it out into separate proposals, each wouldn't make much sense without the others.

Another thing I could do is split the proposal into different parts (PDF files) that are about 20 pages each. I'm guessing it would be about 4 or 5 PDF files, each being about 20 pages. File 1 could be "Part 1 of 5", file 2 would be "Part 2 of 5", and so on. I'd be happy to provide several (smaller) PDF files if the Mars Society is willing to post them in their papers section. Let me know if there is anything I can do to get it posted in the papers sections.

The Mars Society Papers are at this link:
http://marspapers.org/#/papers

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#19 2023-05-07 20:41:23

kbd512: Administrator; Registered: 2015-01-02; Posts: 8,533

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Steve Stewart,

Do you have per-person mass estimates for the equipment required for this sort of all-in-one life support / power storage / power production / food production system?

The volume, power input / output, and performance metrics are great, but as you know, total system mass drives everything else.

Can some of the major parts, or at least the wear components or whatever parts tend to fail most often, be sourced from local materials or at least fabricated locally if something breaks?

Ideally, we want a resilient solution that can tolerate some failures.

Is this system something that can be maintained by someone with appropriate technical training?

A lot of complex systems are maintained and repaired by people who may not have substantial general science education, but they do have a significant amount of tightly focused technical knowledge and training intended to make them specialists when it comes to the handful of systems they work on. We would need operator / technician training courses intended to teach basic operation theory, all the equipment-specifics related to the types of equipment required, practical hands-on training, followed by a demonstration of skills in a mock operational environment.

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#20 2023-05-08 11:10:15

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

SpaceNut #19,
Thanks for your comments. I do remember the thread "Mars Water regolith soils 1 foot depth only" now that you mentioned it. Yes, much of what I mentioned has been discussed somewhere on this forum. Take your time reading it. I tried to post as much information and links as possible. I know I'm asking a lot to have people read all this. Some of the videos I listed are pretty long too. I'm honored for anyone willing to spend the time going through all this. Hopefully there is something here that will help on the many other topics on this forum. Feel free to ask any question you have on this thread. Even if it's a long time from now.

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#21 2023-05-08 11:23:44

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Kbd512 #20,
Thanks for your comments, I'll need to answer each of your questions one at a time. Your questions are in bold below.

Do you have per-person mass estimates for the equipment required for this sort of all-in-one life support / power storage / power production / food production system?

What I have spelled out in this proposal is essentially an introduction to what I call a "Cell". I then showed how the Cell can be used to store energy efficiently, which reduces waste, and I pointed out that the Cell also has a soil factory.

My proposal is that we build one Cell, and then use that Cell to provide some of the resources needed to build a second Cell. Once we have several Cells at one location, (which could be called a "Martian base" as Dr Johnson described and I quoted in post#2), that group of Cells can then be used to build more Cells that are a small distance away from the first "Martian base". We then build another group of Cells at that location, and continue to build and spread out on Mars.

More Cells have more resources and therefore have the ability to build more Cells with less shipments from Earth. My philosophy is to build one Cell on Mars with a minimal number of people first, then figure out how to minimize the demand for mass sent from Earth, power production and storage, food production and so on. Figuring out these things on a small "base" of a few people will reduce the amount of mass that has to be sent to Mars in the long run. Later, as the base expands to hold more people, we'll be a lot smarter and won't have to send as much mass to Mars. I can't speak for Dr GW Johnson, but I think that is the point he was trying to make in post#2 above.

Now, to answer your question about "per-person mass estimates" and equipment that would need to be sent to Mars. That is dependent on the type of building in which a Cell resides. So the answer to your question is no, I have not done any per person mass estimates because those are dependent on too many other factors.

The Cell I've described is purposely designed to be ambiguous, so that it is compatible with most any other proposal. In order to come up with estimates on the mass required to be sent to Mars, it would have to be tied to one type of building or habitat. Or tied to one proposal of a Martian base. I don't want to tie my proposal of a Cell to any one design/proposal. I'd rather leave the definition of a Cell ambiguous, so that it is compatible with other ideas/proposals. For anyone who has an idea of a building or Martian habitat, I'd encourage them to use my proposal of a Cell in their design, and then they can come up with their own estimates for mass sent to Mars, life support, power usage and storage, food production, and so on.

The volume, power input / output, and performance metrics are great, but as you know, total system mass drives everything else.

When you're talking about "total system mass" I assume you referring to the amount of mass that is sent to Mars. If so, it brings us to the next question:

Can some of the major parts, or at least the wear components or whatever parts tend to fail most often, be sourced from local materials or at least fabricated locally if something breaks?

Yes, that is correct. The object of the game is to produce as much as we can from resources that can be found on Mars (In situ resources). I think the way to do that is to make the systems in a Cell as simple as possible, so that they can be made on Mars. Even if many of those items cannot be made by the first Martian base, which has several Cells, we should be able to produce those items later. As the base expands, the capabilities of the Martian base will expand with it if we plan things right.

For example, in post#6 I introduced a gravity fed watering system, along with a dehumidifier that does not have any moving parts. In post#11 I showed how such a dehumidifier works and my suggestion is for the dehumidifier to be built on Mars. I showed pictures of a refrigerator at Pioneer Village that was made in 1925. An "absorption dehumidifier" could be made that works on the same principle. This implies that manufacturing capability on Mars would only have to be equal to that of 1925 in order to build such a dehumidifier.

Note that manufacturing capabilities on Mars do not need to be near as good as Earth in order to produce the things we need on Mars. On Mars, manufacturing capability will get better and better as a Martian base expands. Being able to build things on Mars, (In situ resources), reduces the amount of supplies that need to be sent to Mars.

Ideally, we want a resilient solution that can tolerate some failures.

Absolutely, that is a "must" that we always need to keep in mind. You have told me that you've done SQL programming, so you have probably often heard the term "fault tolerant." What we need is "fault tolerance" on Mars.

In Post#12 I explained the Air Pressure Control System, and I had mentioned that each Cell had its own separate Air Pressure Control System. I also described a scenario in which a Martian base had three Cells, each with their own separate Air Pressure Control System. At first glance this may seem to be a bad design.

Why have three separate Air Pressure Control Systems? Why not have one big Air Pressure Control System, rather than three smaller ones? Wouldn't it be cheaper because of "economy of scale"? Wouldn't one Air Pressure Control System be lighter than three, and therefore would be less mass to send to Mars?

The reason I have proposed three different Air Pressure Control Systems is because of redundancy. Having one large Air Pressure Control System, rather than several small ones, might seem like a better solution because of economy of scale, but the truth is we need this type of fault tolerant as you just described. I think we're going to run into this type of situation often.

Is this system something that can be maintained by someone with appropriate technical training?

What I'm attempting to do, is to bring to the table, a proposal of a Martian base that can be maintained by a minimal number of people. As I mentioned in post#2, I'm referring to a "base" of about 4 people, and at some point the base will grow to 10 people, and sometime in the future 20 people, and so on. We'll learn how to me more efficient as the base expands. If we do things right, we'll also have more resources as the base expands.

As far as picking the right people, I think that NASA, SpaceX, the European Space Agency, the Jet Propulsion Lab, and a whole lot of other space agencies have done an incredible job of picking the right person for the task at hand. I have nothing to offer or advice to give them in picking the right people. They are a lot better at that than I could ever be.

I think another way of looking at what you're asking, is that we ask ourselves if we have a base for 4 people, do 4 people provide enough labor to maintain the base? Or if we had a base of 10 people, is the labor of 10 people enough to maintain a base that is large enough to support 10 people? The more people we have, the more labor we have available. But the problem is that the more people that we have, the bigger the base needs to be, which requires more labor to maintain. So if the base is twice as big and it requires twice the labor to maintain it, then we are not gaining anything by making the base bigger. It's an interesting problem if you stop and think about it.

That is true, and you know that's exactly what Henry Ford did. Henry Ford did not hire the highest skilled and therefore highest priced worker. Henry Ford developed a system that was so simple and so robust (fault tolerant) that a lesser skilled person was capable of completing the task. Henry Ford always said that many people need structure, and he provided that structure in his system of building motorcars.

We would need operator / technician training courses intended to teach basic operation theory, all the equipment-specifics related to the types of equipment required, practical hands-on training, followed by a demonstration of skills in a mock operational environment.

Agreed. I think the best way to do this, is first have a plan on what exactly we are going to do once we set foot on Mars. Then we need to have, in extreme detail, what is the next step that we are going to do on Mars, and the third step, and many steps thereafter. If we have a plan like this all mapped out, then we can do exactly what you just said. We can set up simulations to do the "hands-on training" and the "mock operational environment" you mentioned.

The problem as I see it, and this is just my opinion, hopefully anyone reading this won't get too upset with me for saying this. But I haven't seen any detailed plan on what exactly we're going to do once we get to Mars, and how it will expand with a minimal amount of labor, and a minimal amount of supplies sent from Earth. Again, I cannot speak for Dr. Johnson, but if I interpret what he said and I quoted above in post#2, we need to establish a "base" or "outpost" and "try out the techniques and hardware (brought from home) that might possibly enable you to live off the land". If I'm understanding Dr. Johnson correctly, I believe he and I are thinking along the same lines.

I find this problem to be both depressing and exciting. The reason I say this is exciting, is because if no one has come up with a practical design for the first Martian base, then that is an opportunity for those of us on this forum to work together and come up with a list of ideas and try to put together something that will work. This requires that a lot of us come together with different backgrounds and different ideas, and that we all listen to each other, and not bully each other every time someone presents an idea that is different from our own, or get bent out of shape every time someone tells us something we don't want to hear. We can't afford to be so thin skinned. All of us will need a high level of emotional intelligence to take on such a task.

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#22 2023-05-08 17:16:51

kbd512: Administrator; Registered: 2015-01-02; Posts: 8,533

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

If you're looking for a detailed explanation of "what to do" after landing, that depends upon what your mission is. In broad general terms, in the military and for piloting aircraft, you execute checklists. Tasks to complete stem from those checklists.

Right after you land, there are three primary tasks:

1. Assess whether or not there are any immediate dangers to the lander, crew, or equipment.
2. Ensure your people are physically and psychologically fit for the arduous tasks ahead.
3. Ensure your equipment is physically sound (not damaged during transit or malfunctioning) and completely inventoried.

If you've done all that and no serious deficiencies are noted, then you're off to a good start. If not, then damage control begins. We will do our utmost to assure completion of mission regardless of personnel or system casualties. I don't think it's practical to expect 4 people to function as their own miniature society for 2 or more years. A few people can operate that way, but most cannot, regardless of education and training. 12 people is a realistic minimum. Humans banded together into tribes for a reason. There is capability in numbers. A task that might be very taxing or unrealistic for 4 people to perform might only be a routine work day for 12 people. The ability to work in shifts needs to be considered. Mere survival is a 24/7/365 task. You need at least a pair of crew members available at all times. I've worked plenty of 12 hour to 16 hour days in the military, so I can tell you that most motivated people can do that for awhile, but asking them to do it for years at a time is demanding more than most people can tolerate, long-term.

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#23 2023-05-12 20:39:40

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

SpaceNut,
Woah! Stop! Hold your horses partner! What you are posting has nothing to do with my proposal. What I am proposing is being completely misunderstood. What I am proposing is completely different than anything you have ever seen. This is a totally new, completely different, "think outside the box", type of proposal.

SpaceNut wrote:
Reminder 4 cargo starships, 2 cycles before a crew can be able to return home is only starting place of 500 tons.

No, not 4 cargo starships, not 2 cycles, not 500 tons required as a "starting place". None of that is in my proposal. You're referring to a different proposal. None of that is any part of this proposal. To repeat, this is a completely new, totally different, far outside the box thinking of anything you have seen. What I am showing is a "Martian Base" located on Mars. It is designed to become self-sustaining base much sooner, and with far less payload, than other proposals. Let me repeat what I said, and what Dr. Johnson said, in post#2.

Dr Johnson wrote:
I think this discussion suffers from relatively-undefined terms, as well as an unclear overall goal.

Dr Johnson is correct. Whenever we're talking about a proposal, we need to define the terms and scope of what we are proposing. What I'm proposing is completely different than anything you've seen. I did define the terms and scope of this proposal. Let me repeat what I said in post#2:

Steve Stewart wrote:
I view the first Martian base as having a minimal crew of less than 10 people.
...
In this proposal I am referring to a small base whose objective is to grow. I am not proposing a settlement with a large population of the general public.
...
Everything I'm about to describe I have designed it to be as simple as possible. The idea is for much of this to be built on Mars, or at the very least replacement parts can be built on Mars.

The stuff you have posted refers to a "settlement", not a "Martian Base", which is what I am proposing, and is the purpose of this thread.

Dr Johnson wrote:
Using those definitions, "settlement" is NOT what you do in the initial landing or landings on Mars (or the moon, or anywhere else). WRONG GOAL!!! You are very far from being ready to do that! You do NOT yet really know "for sure" how to "live off the land". That appropriate-goal lesson is centuries old, even here on Earth. Read your history.

Lets talk about energy, and why storing energy is important (Title of post#2). I gave a couple of examples of sources of energy in post#2.

Steve Stewart wrote:
I'm making the argument that any time a source of electricity, whether it be from solar, nuclear (such as Kilopower), or any other type, all sources of electricity can benefit from a method of storing energy, because storing and retrieving energy reduces waste.

I went on to explain that ANY type of energy source that is producing 30kW (as an example) and it has a 20kW load, 10kW is being wasted.
Let me say that a different way:

ANY source of electricity, that is not running at full power, is wasting electricity.
If ANY source of electricity has a load that is 90% of it's output, then 10% is being wasted.
If ANY source of electricity has a load that is 80% of it's output, then 20% is being wasted.

The type of source of energy, and its total rated load capacity, are irrelevant for what I'm saying. Listing different energy sources and their power output isn't relevant to what I am proposing, they factor out of the equation. What I am doing is showing ways of reducing waste.
Let's talk about waste:

Forms of waste

I'm a degreed engineer with a few decades of experience. I've spent part of my career working in manufacturing. In the World of manufacturing, it's important to identify, and then remove forms of waste. Many experts have said that one of the reasons of Henry Ford's success was his keen ability to find and eliminate waste. Henry Ford's 1926 book "Today and Tomorrow" lists several forms of waste. Chapter 8 of that book is titled "Learning from waste". In the 1980's, author Jeffrey Liker wrote a book called "The Toyota Way". To this day, the book "The Toyota Way" is studied by many manufacturing companies, to find ways of improving manufacturing. Chapter 2 of the book "The Toyota Way" states:

The Toyota Way
By Jeffrey Liker
Chapter 2
Toyota Motor Corporation struggled through the 1930s, primary making simple trucks. In the early years, the company produced poor quality vehicles with primitive technology (e.g., hammering body panels over logs) and had little success. In the 1930s, Toyota's leaders visited Ford and GM to study their assembly lines and carefully read Henry Ford's book Today and Tomorrow (1926).

Toyota came up with the catch-phrase DOTWIMP (pronounced dot-wimp) to identify their "7 forms of waste". Each of the letters in DOTWIMP represent a form of waste as shown in the image below. D - is for Defects, O - is for overproduction, T- is for transportation, W - is for waiting, I - is for (excess) inventory, M - is for (excess) motion, P - is for over processing. Together they spell "DOT-WIMP".

If we are going to build a Martian Base, we must work out the tiny details. Then study those details and look for forms of waste. It's how things are done, and that's what I am doing in talking about energy, and energy storage. What I am proposing is a way of removing one form of waste, when referring to energy storage. On Mars, there will be many forms of waste.

Let me again quote what Dr. Johnson said:

Dr Johnson wrote:
Using those definitions, "settlement" is NOT what you do in the initial landing or landings on Mars (or the moon, or anywhere else). WRONG GOAL!!! You are very far from being ready to do that! You do NOT yet really know "for sure" how to "live off the land". That appropriate-goal lesson is centuries old, even here on Earth. Read your history.

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#24 2023-05-12 20:41:55

Steve Stewart: Member; From: Kansas City (USA); Registered: 2019-09-21; Posts: 161; Website

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

Lets take a look at the image that was posted in post#24. Below is a copy of the bottom right of that image. On the far right are two boxes colored green. One says "Biomass Production System (BPS)" and the other says "Growth Lighting System (GLS)".

I assume the "Growth Lighting System (GLS)" is a fancy name for LEDs used to grow plants, or for Martian sunlight, or some combination of the two. I assume the "Biomass Production System (BPS)" is a fancy name for plants. The "Biomass Production System (BPS)" points to the oval labeled "Biomass", which points to the box labeled "Food Processor".

The "Cell" that I introduced in post#6 contains all of these functions. Plants are grown in a Cell, which has the "Growth Lighting System (GLS)", and the "Biomass Production System (BPS)", and the "Biomass" all in one.

I assume the "Food Processor" is the processing of food, I assume that's the equivalent of peeling a potato, and the potato peelings are part of the "dry waste". I assume "Biomass Production System (BPS)" and "Biomass" shown must only be growing plants for food. The 4F's, which I mentioned in post#16 are not shown anywhere in this diagram.

In my proposal, someone processing food, such as peeling a potato, is the "Food Processor" in the diagram above. Any organic matter, left over from "Food Processing" is put into the compost bin, as I showed in post#6 and mentioned again in post#16. As I mentioned, composting can produce methane and hydrogen sulfide. This only occurs if part of the compost becomes anaerobe, as I explained in post#16 under the title "Composting on Mars".

In the diagram posted in post#24, I don't see anywhere that food waste is being recycled. If it is recycled, I don't see anyway of dealing with methane and hydrogen sulfide. If food waste isn't recycled, but is just thrown away, this is a major form a waste. I also don't see where human waste is being recycled, this is another major form a waste. This lack of detail, and not dealing with this type of major waste, is why a "500 tons is required as a starting place".

In my proposal (post#16) I show the recycling of both food waste and human waste. I also explained how vented gases from composting are processed (such as methane and hydrogen sulfide).

I suggest going back over and reading all of my proposal with a clear mind, one sentence at a time. Do not think of this as being something you have seen before, it isn't. Think about every sentence, and how the science works for everything I'm proposing. By no means are you required to do that SpaceNut. I do appreciate the effort. I just threw this proposal out there for anyone who would like to read through it and see a different way of thinking. Thanks to anyone who is willing to take the time to do that.

Last edited by Steve Stewart (2024-09-04 00:16:36)

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#25 2023-05-13 08:30:34

tahanson43206: Moderator; Registered: 2018-04-27; Posts: 26,189

Re: Proposal: Storing Energy, Introducing a "Cell", a Soil Factory on Mars

For SpaceNut ... This is Steve's topic.

You are Senior Administrator.

You have the power to move your posts to another topic where they would be a better fit.

Steve may have a vision for how he want's his topic to develop.

You could ask him if that is the case.

I am hoping that more topics in this forum will flow in such a way that a reader would benefit by following the progression from the top.

In the past, (and especially in the archive) I can see a lot of ego related shoving and elbowing going on. We don't need that in the present forum.

We have only a few active members, and there should be little uncertainly about the views each member holds.

Please consider moving your posts and then interacting with Steve to see how he would like to see the topic develop.

(th)

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