Air Scrubbers In Space!
So, outerspace and hydroponics just go together. Our nutes have even been used by astronauts in space! I read this article about scrubbers on the space station, and thought I would share.
Posted: July 27th, 2009 under Uncategorized.
Comments
Comment from Ragnar
Time July 28, 2009 at 3:34 am
I like the NASAs LED stuff, even the old one from 2001, knowing of the problems they face. Cooling is a (if not the) major concern in space, so are hazardous chemicals in vapor lamps, space limitations, spectral composition, mechanical stability and last, but not least longevity. In space those are real problems, even more on longer space travels to come, so they go the way they simply have to: LEDs.
Down here we have options. For the adventurous, who want to boldly go where no one has gone before (and is prepared to fail, and try again till it works) one way is LEDs. If any of NASAs concerns/limitations apply to you, too, try LEDs.
The rest will be perfectly fine with the stuff available since decades.
About the way off being used in production I may quote from the mentioned article (Maximum Yield 4/09):
“At present, LEDs have earned a place in indoor cultivation for propagation, vegetative growth and even for producing flowers and fruits, given the right LED lighting configuration and management.”
Comment from Red Icculus
Time July 28, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Hey Ragnar- I love your comments here.
That said, for space, I understand their environmental concerns, but for earth, it is completely impractical. The yield per watt isn’t even equal to compact fluorescents meaning more energy is wasted using them.
Comment from Ragnar
Time July 29, 2009 at 3:53 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_efficacy
LED: 10-150 lm/W
CFL: 46–72 lm/W
That just shows that you can get unsuitable LEDs and have to be more careful to select (to get 100lm/W is quite easy), with CFL you have a lesser chance of picking a really bad one. Still, they age quickly for horticultural use and a good brand is costly, yet filled with poisonous vapors. My hydro store even stopped those bigger CFLs. They follow my LED experiments sceptically, but open minded 
Comment from Red Icculus
Time July 27, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I found a good one about LED’s for growing plants:
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/light_farming_010926.html
Too bad the last Max Yield supported my claim that LED’s are way off from being used in production systems. Give me my good old HPS and CMH any day!