In-situ resource transformation and food structure generation system for extreme physical environment

Abstract

The invention discloses an in-situ resource conversion and food structure generation system for an extreme physical environment, belongs to the technical field of intersection of extreme environmental engineering and food engineering, and aims to solve the problems that food supply depends on external transportation for a long time and the anti-risk capability of a traditional agricultural system is insufficient in the extreme physical environment. The system comprises a resource acquisition module, a resource conversion module, a food structure generation module and a system operation control module. The system generates food base components by obtaining environmental in-situ resources, using biotransformation links, non-biotransformation links, or a combination thereof, and using physical conditions in an extreme environment as processing boundary conditions to perform structured, conformal, or ingestible treatment on the food base components or biological products, such that the food base components or biological products are obtained. And a structured food for human ingestion is generated. The system operation control module dynamically adjusts operation parameters according to a resource state, an energy state or a module operation state, triggers a degradation operation strategy under an abnormal or limited working condition, and preferentially maintains continuous supply of basic food. According to the invention, long-term operation can be realized without external continuous material supply, and the system is suitable for non-earth or non-earth-like extreme physical environments.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the interdisciplinary field of extreme environment engineering and food engineering, specifically to an industrialized food production system capable of operating under extreme physical environmental conditions, either non-terrestrial or near-non-terrestrial. Background Technology

[0002] In non-terrestrial environments or other extreme physical environments (such as deep space exploration, polar expeditions, and closed ecosystems), long-term reliance on external transportation for food supply will result in enormous burdens on quality, energy, and cost. Traditional agricultural planting methods are constrained by conditions such as gravity, radiation, air pressure, water resources, and ecosystem deficiencies, making it difficult to achieve stable industrial-scale output. Existing single-process synthesis technologies (such as artificial starch synthesis or single-cell protein fermentation) are mostly based on a single process and usually rely on standard terrestrial industrial environments, lacking the ability to integrate and operate at the system level in extreme environments. Currently, there is a lack of a system-level solution that can integrate "resource acquisition - material transformation - food formation" and achieve long-term, continuous, and degraded operation through self-regulation in extreme environments. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Purpose of the Invention: The purpose of this invention is to provide an in-situ resource conversion and food structure generation system for extreme physical environments, in order to solve the problem that existing technologies are unable to achieve long-term self-consistent operation under extreme conditions. Technical solution

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, this invention provides an in-situ resource conversion and food structure generation system for extreme physical environments, comprising a resource acquisition module, a resource conversion module, a food structure generation module, and a system operation control module. The resource acquisition module is configured to capture and pre-process in-situ substances (such as atmospheric components, solid ice, weathered soil, etc.) usable for food generation from the surrounding environment. The resource conversion module, fluidly connected to the resource acquisition module, is used to convert the in-situ substances into basic food components through biological conversion pathways (such as microbial proliferation) or non-biological conversion pathways (such as enzymatic / chemical synthesis). The food structure generation module receives the basic food components and uses environmental physical working fluids (such as vacuum pressure difference, temperature gradient) or controlled mechanical force fields to construct edible food structures with specific pore or fiber orientations. The system operation control module, communicatively connected to the above modules, is used to adjust the food output form according to the resource supply status and system health status. Specifically, when the system operation control module detects that environmental resources are below a threshold or a certain conversion pathway malfunctions, it can control the system to cut off unnecessary loads and enter a degraded operation state to maintain a minimum basic food supply.

[0005] Beneficial effect 1: In-situ closed loop: It gets rid of dependence on specific raw materials and realizes the direct conversion from environmental substances to food.

[0006] Beneficial Effect 2: Environmental Working Medium Integration: This system innovatively transforms physical conditions in extreme environments (such as vacuum and temperature difference) into processing working media. The food structure generation module is not limited to a specific molding device; its core lies in utilizing the physical conditions existing in extreme environments as processing boundary conditions to reduce the system's dependence on additional mechanical structural complexity and chemical energy consumption.

[0007] Benefit 3: High reliability: By using degraded operation logic, the system can still "survive with defects" when some modules fail, ensuring the basic survival of personnel. Attached Figure Description

[0008] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the system described in this invention. Wherein: 1 - Resource Acquisition Module 2 - Resource Conversion Module 3 - Food Structure Generation Module 4—System Operation Control Module 5 – Material channels (indicating the flow of resources and food components) 6 – Information Channel (representing the transmission of monitoring signals and control commands) Figure 2 : A schematic cross-sectional view of the vacuum flash nozzle used in the food structure generation module of this invention. Wherein: 3 - Food Structure Generation Module (The dashed box indicates a low-pressure / vacuum processing environment) 7—Nozzle body wall 8——Raw Material Inlet 9 – Dilatation jet section 10——Food Export Flow Detailed Implementation

[0009] In one specific embodiment, the in-situ resource conversion and food structure generation system for extreme physical environments described in this invention is constructed in a modular form. Each functional module is interconnected through material and information channels and operates collaboratively under the coordination of the system operation control module. The resource acquisition module is used to acquire raw resources usable for food generation from the system's environment. These raw resources include one or more of gaseous, liquid, or solid resources. The resource conversion module is used to convert the raw resources provided by the resource acquisition module to generate basic food components. This conversion can be achieved through biological conversion, non-biological conversion, or a combination of both. The food structure generation module is connected to the resource conversion module and is used to receive the basic food components and to perform structuring, conformation, or ingestibility treatment on the basic food components or biological products to generate structured food suitable for human consumption. It should be noted that this invention does not exclusively limit the specific mechanical form of the structuring treatment; any device that utilizes pressure differences, temperature gradients, or fluid phase change characteristics inside and outside the system to achieve food morphology construction is within the scope of protection of this invention. The system operation control module establishes information connections with each module to monitor and adjust the system's resource status, operating status, and output status. When the system operation control module detects insufficient resource supply, limited energy, or abnormal operation of any functional module, the control system enters a degraded operation state, prioritizing the maintenance of the basic food structure output.

[0010] Example 1: System Construction and Operation Example Based on Non-Earth Environment (such as Mars) To further illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the following is combined with... Figure 1 and Figure 2 A specific application example is provided. This embodiment is intended to demonstrate how the system utilizes environmental conditions, rather than to limit the technical path of the present invention.

[0011] Resource Acquisition: In this embodiment, the resource acquisition module is configured to adapt to the Martian atmospheric environment, and for example, a compressor is used to collect carbon dioxide and prepare precursors.

[0012] Resource Conversion: In this embodiment, the resource conversion module adopts a dual-path conversion structure.

[0013] Pathway A (Example of biotransformation): Using an exemplary biotransformation method (such as using a carried dormant yeast strain), the precursor is converted into a food base component (such as a protein matrix) that can serve as a precursor to a by-product structure.

[0014] Pathway B (Example of non-biological transformation): Using an exemplary non-biological transformation method (such as enzymatic catalysis), the precursor is converted into a food base component (such as a gel-like starch matrix) that can serve as a staple food structure precursor.

[0015] Structure generation: The food structure generation module operates using environmental pressure differences. For example... Figure 2 The nozzle shown is merely one possible carrier. The core logic of this embodiment lies in utilizing the naturally low atmospheric pressure (approximately 0.6 kPa) on the Martian surface as the working fluid. Without any external driving force, the mixed high-temperature food matrix, relying solely on the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the nozzle, causes the internal moisture to instantly flash vaporize, physically forming a porous, fluffy structure or a fibrous structure. This process demonstrates that the system utilizes environmental boundary conditions to replace the complex vacuum pump sets and chemical foaming agents used in Earth's industrial processes.

[0016] Example 2: Degradation Operation Logic Example This example demonstrates the degradation operation strategy as an exemplary adjustment logic that the system operation control module can adopt in any extreme environment (including but not limited to Mars, the Moon, deep space probes, etc.). When encountering drastic changes in the external environment (such as a strong radiation storm) that impair the activity of the biotransformation unit (path A) or cause a significant decrease in system energy supply, the system can trigger a degradation operation state: Isolate damaged units: physically sever the biotransformation pathway.

[0017] Locked-in base output: The more robust non-biological conversion unit (path B) operates at full power, outputting only high-calorie energy blocks.

[0018] Simplify structure generation: Suspend complex textural adjustments and maintain only the most basic molding functions to ensure personnel's calorie intake with minimal energy consumption.

Claims

1. Claim 1: An in-situ resource conversion and food structure generation system for extreme physical environments, characterized in that, include: The resource acquisition module is used to acquire environmental resources that can be used for food production from the system's environment. A resource conversion module, fluidly connected to the resource acquisition module, is used to convert the environmental resources into at least one basic food component; a food structure generation module, connected to the resource conversion module, is used to perform structuring processing on the basic food component to generate structured food that can be ingested by humans. The system operation control module establishes an information connection with the resource acquisition module, resource conversion module, and food structure generation module to monitor the system operation status and adjust the operation parameters of each module. The system operation control module is configured to dynamically adjust the food output form according to the environmental resource status, system energy status, or module operation status, and to control the system to enter a degraded operation state when resource constraints or abnormalities in some modules are detected, so as to maintain the continuity of basic food supply.

2. Claim 2: The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The resource conversion module includes at least one bioconversion pathway, a non-bioconversion pathway, or a combination thereof, for generating food basic components with different metabolic or energy release characteristics.

3. Claim 3: The system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The resource conversion module is preferably configured as a dual-modal redundant conversion assembly, including a biological conversion link and a non-biological conversion link set in parallel, and the system operation control module is configured to adjust the operation ratio of the two links and make them backups for each other to improve system robustness.

4. Claim 4: The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system operation control module is configured to switch food output modes under different operating conditions, and in degraded operating conditions, prioritize the supply of resources or energy to conversion links with higher robustness or higher energy efficiency to maintain the supply of basic food structural units with high energy density.

5. Claim 5: The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The food structure generation module is configured to use at least one physical condition in the extreme physical environment in which the system is located as the processing boundary condition for food structure construction, so as to replace or assist artificially generated processing environment.

6. Claim 6: The system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The specific implementation of the food structure generation module includes a negative pressure driving device, which causes the basic components of water-containing food to undergo a physical phase change under the action of environmental pressure difference, thereby constructing a porous or fibrous structure.

7. Claim 7: The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system is configured to operate continuously and output food, relying solely on environmental resource capture and energy input, without any external continuous supply of materials.

8. Claim 8: A method for operating the system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, include: Monitor environmental resources and system energy status; In normal operating mode, it synergistically generates multiple basic food components and constructs structured foods; When an anomaly is detected, resources are limited, or it is predicted that a continuous food supply cannot be maintained under the current operating mode, a degraded operating strategy is triggered to maintain a minimum food output.

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