Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Jan 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997adspr..20.1801l&link_type=abstract
Advances in Space Research, Volume 20, Issue 10, p. 1801-1804.
Mathematics
Logic
1
Scientific paper
Model experiments in phytotrons have shown that urea is able to cover 70% of the demand in nitrogen of the conveyer cultivated wheat. At the same time wheat plants can directly utilize human liquid wastes. In this article by human liquid wastes the authors mean human urine only. In a long-term experiment on ``man-higher plants'' system with two crewmen, plants covered 63 m^2, with wheat planted to - 39.6 m^2. For 103 days, complete human urine (total amount - 210.7 l) was supplied into the nutrient solution for wheat. In a month and a half NaCl supply into the nutrient solution stabilized at 0.9-1.65 g/l. This salination had no marked effect on wheat production. The experiment revealed the realistic feasibility to directly involve liquid wastes into the biological turnover of the life support system. The closure of the system, in terms of water, increased by 15.7% and the supply of nutrients for wheat plants into the system was decreased. Closedness of biological turnover of matter in a man-made ``man - higher plants'' ecological system might involve, among other processes, direct utilization of human liquid wastes by plants. The amount of urine comprises 15-20% of the total amount of water cycling within the system including water as part of food, household, hygiene and potable water necessary for man. What is more, it they contains most nitrogen-bearing compounds emitted by man, almost all of the NaCl and some other substances involved in the biological turnover. Human liquid wastes can be utilized either by preliminary physical-chemical treatment (evaporating or freezing out the water, finally oxidizing the organic matter, isolating the mineral components required for plants, etc.) and further involvement of the obtained products or by direct application into the nutrient solution for plants. The challenge of direct utilization is that plants have no need of Na^+ and Cl^-, and also the organic forms of nitrogen emitted by man cannot fully meet the demand of plants for this element. Besides, hygienic and/or psychological reasons make it desirable to avoid direct use of liquid wastes in the nutrient solutions that would have direct contact with edible part of plants (tubers, roots, bulbs). Feasibility of direct utilization of liquid wastes by plants in a closed ``man - higher plants'' ecosystem has been experimentally studied on wheat - grain culture as a model plant with the edible part in the form of seeds spatially dissociated with the nutrient medium. The wheat covered 60-65% of the area under higher plants. The studies have been carried out in ``Bios-3'' experimental facility described in detail elsewhere.
Gitelson J. I.
Gribovskaya I. V.
Lisovsky G. M.
Shilenko M. P.
Trubachev I. N.
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