Water purification system by using the biofilter for long-term experiment equipment with aquatic animals for the...

We have developed a water purification system that enables long-term experiment with aquatic animals for 90 days or more on the space station. We designed the system that combined a biofilter for ammonia removal (nitrification) with another for nitrate removal (denitrification). The experiment with goldfish was for 90 days with an aquatic animals' examination device. The equipment consists of a fish tank, a filter module, pumps, and an artificial lung for gas exchange. The goldfish were kept in the tank without any water replacement throughout the experiment. When a filter module consists of adsorbents without bacteria, the concentration of the nitrite and ammonia begin to increase so that the goldfish die. On the contrary, neither ammonia nor nitrite accumulated throughout the experiment, and the concentration of T-N also maintained 30 ppm or less when the combined biofilter was used. Moreover, no fish died throughout the period. The water purification system with biofilter enabled us to examine the long-term life support testing. We also report a new denitrification (correction of dentrification) method for the life support system.