Author Topic: Food Synthesizer - Idea  (Read 5985 times)

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Marco2001

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Food Synthesizer - Idea
« on: September 10, 2010, 06:11:09 PM »

Food Synthesizer
( A device that makes various meals from simple proteins )



Quote
The wacky "food replicator" in Star Trek was pure make-believe. It stored 3D scans of the molecular structure of drinks and meals, then miraculously assembled individual molecules into these foods in seconds. That technology is way beyond our horizons, but a NASA-funded study is about to look into a simpler option - a compact cooking machine that will create a larderful of familiar foods from a limited range of space-friendly ingredients.

Quote from: Eric Bonabeau
Providing astronauts with healthy, appetizing and diverse meals from materials that can be easily stored and transported into space, is a critical ongoing problem in space travel and exploration. Here, we propose a radical new approach to creating meals in space. Our ultimate aim is to design a portable food preparation and production machine, capable of creating food items that emulate the taste, texture, smell and appearance of any desired meal, using a finite and pre-defined combination of ingredients and cooking techniques. Rather than attempting to transport and store a large variety of foods from earth, appetizing, high-quality and varied meals will be created
from a small, standardized set of known ingredients. While such technology may seem to be an impossible dream, reminiscent of the food replicators seen on Star Trek, recent innovative work has shown that developing familiar seeming foods from novel and unconventional ingredients may in fact be a realistic possibility (Bernstein 2005).
Icosystem Corporation, Cambridge - http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/studies/abstracts/1072Bonabeau.pdf


Quote
[...]In this short paper we describe a simple machine that can be used to make most any food for which it has a suitable "receipe". This machine makes very nutritious food, that further satisfies the visceral needs of good taste, and enjoyment. Further, it is really quite a simple machine that most likely could be built with quite simple nanotechnology. [...]

[...]The food synthesizer is composed of an array of small food pixel generators. Each pixel generator is a small vertical tube that can produce a microscopically small component of a meal. Each tube is a square base with a central hole about one micron in diameter. These tubes are joined together into a large circular array about the diameter of a dinner plate.

Above the tubes are approximately twenty layers of horizontal supply tubes. Each supply tube has a t-joint and valve, that allows a computer control system to inject the contents of the supply tube into the vertical pixel generator tube. These twenty layers of supply tube are feed under pressure from a central cynlinder, containing twenty or so different food components.

The top supply tube contains a supply of small indigestable fiber packets, each a cube a little over a micron on each side. These fiber packets are pushed under pressure down the vertical tubes, and emerge out the end, landing on the plate. As it progresses down the vertical tube, the various horizontal supply tubes inject a variety of chemicals into it. [...]
You can read more here: A Nanotech Based Food Synthesizer  - http://laura-web.tripod.com/laura-web/id6.html

Can you imagine the advantages of this device in Mars colonization?
Why is NASA/ESA interested in it? It's cheaper to make high quality food on-site than send it there.
Morover: it's healthy, it's tasty, it's fresh, it's Extremely Efficient, you can chose what you want to eat...and more!

As a source for the protein....it's most likely algae. Easy to grow, they use little space and they have high nutrient-rate.




"The amazing food replicator" - New Scientist - http://people.icoserver.com/users/eric/New_Scientist_food_replicator.pdf
"Customizable, Reprogrammable, Food Preparation, Production and Invention System - Final Report" - http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/studies/final_report/1072Bonabeau.pdf
Power Point Presentation - http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/library/meetings/fellows/mar06/1072Bonabeau.pdf
... http://www.coopernundrums.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/star-trek-food-synthesizer.jpg
(Hehe...)


Poland here. My time: GMT + 1h
Writing a book about Mars. Any ideas? Type to me.
I'am an Astrobiology/Biology student.

thedubman

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Re: Food Synthesizer - Idea
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2010, 06:22:07 PM »
Brilliant idea, very nice-

But.. wouldnt that take the need for Hypers amazing plant growing/farming simulation away from the game??

Hyper

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Re: Food Synthesizer - Idea
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2010, 07:32:16 PM »
I like it too but if man goes to Mars I guarantee there will be plants, worms, fish, algae etc... still have to process that stuff.

Marco2001

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Re: Food Synthesizer - Idea
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2010, 07:34:00 PM »
But.. wouldnt that take the need for Hypers amazing plant growing/farming simulation away from the game??

Good question. I'am not sure if I know the answer reely.
I was thinking.....let the player decide what he wishes to do with farm space.
Instal hydroponics trough and grow plants...Instal bowls and grow shrubs/trees...Instal fish tank/mashroom bind/worm bins/ or...Instal Algae tanks and grow algae.

Each has its advantages and disadvantages:
Plants take little space but you need a LOT of them so that you can harvest them regulary, when you need to. They need a lot of water and fertiliser. You can store the plants you don't need at the fridge. They need to be mixed with other food (meat, plant) in order to fill your Hunger bar up-to 75% (alone-25%). Older plants leave seeds that can be used to grow other plants, but you shouldn't harvest them up until then. You eat only a part of the plant (thats why it doesn't fill you up completely) - They remains of the plant can be thrown into composter and changed into fertiliser.

Fruits from Shrubs/Trees - Every fruit from them has lot's of nutrients and alone fills your hunger bar to 50%. Before a tree/shrub gives fruit it needs to grow for a very long time. All fruits apear on them all at once in a regular intervals. When it does, there are a lot of them - but up until then you have nothing. They use a lot of free space. They use less water than regular plants.

Fish tank/mashroom bind/worm bins/ - they use almost all of the farm space. They don't use any water (al least not in MCO  ;D). You can harvest them when you need to but they grow slowly (yet - faster than trees & shrubs). Using them you won't get any fertiliser - yet they don't need any. Fishes/Frogs needs food (I don't know from where to get any in MCO, so i'll just leave it at that  ;D). They all need high temperatures to grow fast, and that meens using lots of energy. You can only breed monocolonies in them. You can store  additional food from them in the fridge, and start a new colony to harvest food regulary. Meat food is very satisfying and one of them fills you hunger bar with +75%.

Algae tanks - Algae grow rapidly - in few days.  They need some water but not in as much quantities as plants. They don't need anything beside that at all (they don't need food and can even grow at low temperatures). They take little space to grow but you need a LOT of them to make a food that will satisfy your hunger (each Algae = +10% to hunger bar). You can't store them in the fridge, but you should usually have enough to eat in the tanks (when you need to, just go and pick some more). You take the Algae to Food Synthesizer instead to Fridge/Seasoning table/Microwave. Becouse of that - you CAN'T mix them with anything else but themselves. As was said - After a few days you would have a full tank of them (and in great quantity aswell) but ther's a drowback - Algae grow constantly (they die and reproduce all the time). They will consume the water even if the tank is 100% full, and if they use all of it - they die instantly.

As a bonus - the Algae can be used to produce by the way, Oil's and Alcohols to fuel some equipement or to charge specific batteries. They can also produce the oxygen for the base. I've read about advanced LSS on martian bases, and it look's like 90% of that LSS are organic from algae (mainly) and plant (poorly...), and only 10% are physical processes like air-CO2 crubber or O2 from electrolysis.
« Last Edit: September 10, 2010, 07:53:24 PM by Marco2001 »

Poland here. My time: GMT + 1h
Writing a book about Mars. Any ideas? Type to me.
I'am an Astrobiology/Biology student.

thedubman

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Re: Food Synthesizer - Idea
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2010, 08:10:54 PM »
Been fun to have hydroponics, could use LED ultra voilet blues and reds, and algae tanks. Crabs? Lobsters? shrimp,rice..etc etc

Mecanico

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Re: Food Synthesizer - Idea
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2010, 11:14:41 AM »
There is one BIG mistake with algae. They need organic matter to grow, they will not build their mass from nothing. Same as any other organisms.
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE
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Marco2001

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Re: Food Synthesizer - Idea
« Reply #6 on: September 12, 2010, 12:16:33 PM »
I must disagree. Spirulina and Chlorella are extremely resiliant cyjanobacteria microorganism that man can't destroy (they colonize entire lakes and turns them into swamps).
They consume air CO2 to produce compaunds of they'r body. Any other microelements that they need is already disolved inside the water, asuming of-course that water isn't destilated. They are used sometimes in bioreactors to clean sewage water out of F and N compounds. Any kind of water will do: be it salty or fresh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZM_IPLykGE

There is one BIG mistake with algae. They need organic matter to grow, they will not build their mass from nothing. Same as any other organisms.
Nonsence! Plants MAKE organic mater from non-organic compounds :-)
« Last Edit: September 12, 2010, 12:18:09 PM by Marco2001 »

Poland here. My time: GMT + 1h
Writing a book about Mars. Any ideas? Type to me.
I'am an Astrobiology/Biology student.

profit004

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Re: Food Synthesizer - Idea
« Reply #7 on: September 12, 2010, 02:41:19 PM »
yeah, a tree does not suck up tons and tons of minerals from the ground, in the end a tree weighing tons dry only uses a couple pounds of minerals from the soil the rest is carbon from the air and hydrogen from water along with a tiny bit of oxygen.   When processed by the tree they produce cellulose (C6H10O5) which is entirely drawn from CO2 and H2O

thedubman

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Re: Food Synthesizer - Idea
« Reply #8 on: September 12, 2010, 03:00:14 PM »
A food proccesor using waste food/materials, waste plants etc could be used as a emergency meal maker- a sort of tasteless protien bar..

profit004

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Re: Food Synthesizer - Idea
« Reply #9 on: September 12, 2010, 03:14:07 PM »
Also the energy usage of something like this would be enormous for every gram of food produced.   I am thinking it would probably require about 5kw a meal.