@sudnadja @isaackuo @cerebrate @nyrath @maxthefox @michael_w_busch Unfortunately carbon dioxide isn't easily electrolyzed like water. But there ought to be some way to do CO2 + electricity = O2 + C without something the size of an industrial chemical plant.
@60sRefugee @sudnadja @cerebrate @nyrath @maxthefox @michael_w_busch You can use electrolysis to convert CO2 into carbon monoxide and oxygen, but the point is probably moot.
The most straightforward way to generate food, long term, is with photosynthetic growth (algae, plants, cyanobacteria). The amount of growth required to feed a human is the same as the amount of growth required to produce the oxygen consumed by the human.
@isaackuo @60sRefugee @sudnadja@vivaldi.net @nyrath @maxthefox @michael_w_busch
That said, it's nice to have a backup. Not practical for smaller habitats, but when we're talking cities in space, it would be awfully nice to have life support systems that are not only redundant, but where the redundant elements work on different principles, such that issues that affect one can't affect the others.
@cerebrate @isaackuo @sudnadja @nyrath @maxthefox @michael_w_busch And the ultimate example of this would be the "small is beautiful" technology to recycle air at the individual level, as I mentioned.