Bacteria in the biosynthesis of animal nutrition components for crews of autonomous transport systems

Center for Industrial Implementation of Applied Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences BIOCENTER – SAS, Microdistrict B, house 34/83, Pushchino, Moscow Region, 142290, Russia

^* Corresponding author: furex@yandex.ru

Abstract

The International Space Station (ISS) is currently using a water electrolysis process to produce oxygen. The hydrogen produced as a by-product is removed overboard. Carbon dioxide from crew breathing, dissolved in the atmosphere of the station, are extracted and also removed outside the station, but NASA expects to use it and convert it by the physicochemical reaction Sabatier in methane and water. Water will be used for crew needs and electrolysis, and methane is also planned to be removed overboard. When these interrelated processes work, very important substances are lost: methane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen. This situation can be remedied by including in the life support system (LSS) of the ATS closed biotechnological regeneration cycles operating in a waste-free mode and synergistically solving the problems of complex provision of the crew with oxygen, water, and, most importantly, food. The process of biological oxidation of methane by methanotrophs bacteria is observed in nature in the first link of the food chain of the world's ocean and has long been used in terrestrial conditions for the industrial production of animal biomass for food and feed purposes. The same can be said about the use of hydrogen bacteria, which use carbon dioxide as a carbon source, with hydrogen as their energy source. Tolerance of these cultures to common nutrient media and the same technological parameters of biosynthesis allows their joint cultivation to obtain animal ingredients for crew food. The proposed work is devoted to the study of alternative processes, integrated use of carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen in LSS ATS.