What is BIORAT?

BIORAT is a life support experiment aimed at providing a reliable and complete life support sub system including gas regeneration, water recycling, food production and waste management.

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The objectives of BIORAT:

• Demonstration of a closed CO2/O2 cycle.
• Validation of the predictive control approach and the associated modelling.
• Characterisation of specific parameters and control variables like gas transfer and light energy.

The BIORAT System Concept Diagram

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What happens in the BIORAT Photo Bioreactor?

• Growth of Spirulina platensis, Fixation of CO2.
• Generation of edible biomass, Regeneration of O2 for respiration.
• Exchange of nutrients and metabolic gasses between the cell surface and the medium.

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The BIORAT Consumer Compartment:

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BIORAT Accomodation Study:

BIORAT, MELiSSA Demonstration Breadboard:

• BIORAT Final Presentation 2001 - Part 1 (English, PDF)
• BIORAT Final Presentation 2001 - Part 2 (English, PDF)
• BIORAT Final Presentation 2001 - Part 3 (English, PDF)

Future BIORAT Developments and Conclusions:

• Different Types of Consumer
• PBR size (depending on O2 needs)
• Consumer Compartment
• Harvesting
• pH control or QpQr control
• MELiSSA: Study of light transfer in PBR (growth, activity of algae
• BIORAT: Demonstration of this knowledge by a photo bioreactor, a consumer compartment and related control technology and software.
• Accuracy of the control
• Promising possibilities of losed loop gas exchange systems