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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2017

High-Efficiency Food Production in a Renewable Energy Based Micro-Grid

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) systems can be used to produce high-quality, desirable food year round, and the fresh produce can positively contribute to the health and well being of residents in communities with difficult supply logistics. While CEA has many positive outcomes for a remote community, the associated high electric demands have prohibited widespread implementation in what is typically already a fully subscribed power generation and distribution system. Recent advances in CEA technologies as well as renewable power generation, storage, and micro-grid management are increasing system efficiency and expanding the possibilities for enhancing community supporting infrastructure without increasing demands for outside supplied fuels. We will present examples of how new lighting, nutrient delivery, and energy management and control systems can enable significant increases in food production efficiency while maintaining high yields in CEA.Examples from Alaskan communities where initial incorporation of renewable power generation, energy storage and grid management techniques have already reduced diesel fuel consumption for electric generation by more than 40 and expanded grid capacity will be presented. We will discuss how renewable power generation, efficient grid management to extract maximum community service per kW, and novel energy storage approaches can expand the food production, water supply, waste treatment, sanitation and other community support services without traditional increases of consumable fuels supplied from outside the community. These capabilities offer communities with a range of choices to enhance their communities. The examples represent a synergy of technology advancement efforts to develop sustainable community support systems for future space-based human habitats and practical implementation of infrastructure components to increase efficiency and enhance health and well-being in remote communities today and tomorrow.

Renewable Energy↗
NASA NTRS2021

Grain export restrictions during COVID-19 risk food insecurity in many low and middle income countries

Global food security is threatened by the effects of COVID-19 on international agricultural supply chains and locusts destroying crops and livelihoods in the Horn of Africa and South Asia. We quantify the possible impacts on global supplies and prices of wheat, rice and maize. We show that local production declines have moderate impacts on global prices and supply – but trade restrictions and precautionary purchases by a few key actors could create global food price spikes and severe local food shortages.

Grain export restrictions↗
NASA NTRS1994

Conditions and constraints of food processing in space

Requirements and constraints of food processing in space include a balanced diet, food variety, stability for storage, hardware weight and volume, plant performance, build-up of microorganisms, and waste processing. Lunar, Martian, and space station environmental conditions include variations in atmosphere, day length, temperature, gravity, magnetic field, and radiation environment. Weightlessness affects fluid behavior, heat transfer, and mass transfer. Concerns about microbial behavior include survival on Martian and lunar surfaces and in enclosed environments. Many present technologies can be adapted to meet space conditions.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗
DOE OSTI2025

Food web dynamics drive variation in Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu mercury contamination in protected Southern Appalachian streams

Mercury is a global pollutant that threatens otherwise protected aquatic ecosystems. Mercury food web dynamics are not well understood in streams with no point sources of contamination but have the potential to concentrate this dangerous pollutant in upper trophic level consumers. A 2016 study revealed that mercury concentrations of Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu varied between three streams in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), Tennessee, USA. We tested the hypothesis that food web interactions drive spatial variation in mercury concentrations of the apex predator of protected stream ecosystems. We measured carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios, and mercury concentrations of eight food web components of GSMNP streams including basal resources, intermediate consumers, and Smallmouth Bass, the apex predator. Mean THg concentrations of basal resources did not differ between streams, but the spatial pattern of concentrations of intermediate consumers mirrored Smallmouth Bass. Relationships between organismal contaminant concentrations and trophic level were positive in all three streams, indicating biomagnification is occurring in the protected streams of GSMNP. Furthermore, our findings indicate that mercury dynamics in intermediate trophic levels, rather than differences in basal resource concentrations, may drive differences in mercury contamination of apex predators of the protected stream ecosystems of GSMNP.

Bioaccumulation↗
DOE OSTI2024

Long-term effects of cycle time and volume exchange ratio on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) production from food waste digestate by Haloferax mediterranei cultivated in sequencing batch reactors for 450 days

Food waste digestate was fed into a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) for Haloferax mediterranei (HM) to produce poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV). This SBR was operated uninterruptedly for 450 days to test its stability, during which the cycle time and volume exchange ratio were varied to understand their impacts on the PHBV fermentation performance under ranged organic loading rates (OLR). Results showed that 1) PHBV productivity was proportional to OLR of food waste digestate; 2) substrate and product inhibitions were two limiting factors constraining substrate utilization and PHBV yields; 3) PHBV titer was dependent on the hydraulic retention time of the SBR while a volume exchange ratio lower than 0.5 is unfavorable due to the product inhibitor accumulation. Furthermore, this study for the first time demonstrated that the long-term stability of food waste-fed PHBV production by HM and revealed that inhibition effects could be barriers in SBR limiting the full-scale application of the technology.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Biotechnological advances in algae-based foods: applications in nutrition and microbiome health

Algae are a sustainable, nutrient-rich resource with growing potential in food biotechnology. Their ability to thrive in diverse environments makes them a promising alternative to conventional crops. Rich in proteins, essential fatty acids, and bioactive compounds, algae support the development of functional foods, including plant-based meat and seafood alternatives. Advances in synthetic biology and fermentation have enhanced algal nutrient profiles and enabled novel applications. Algae-derived polysaccharides, such as alginate, fucoidan, laminarin, and porphyran, exhibit prebiotic effects by modulating the gut microbiota and promoting SCFA production. Enzymatic hydrolysis efficiently produces bioactive oligosaccharides, while engineered microbial systems support scalable production. Algae also enable synbiotic food development by serving as both prebiotic substrates and probiotic carriers.

Yu, Sora↗
DOE OSTI2025

Coupling Waste Feedstocks to Microbial Protein Production in a Circular Food System

Global food production is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and land use. As an alternative to conventional agriculture, the production of waste-derived microbial protein (MP) holds promise for reducing environmental impacts. MP can be mass-produced in volumetrically scalable fermentation processes on short time scales, enabling facile scale-up with lower greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water impacts than animal and, in some cases, plant protein. MP can also be produced from waste feedstocks, diverting waste from landfills or the natural environment. This Perspective explores the availability and suitability of waste feedstocks for MP production, suggesting that MP generated from waste feedstocks in the United States could fulfill twice the current national protein demand. Here, we also discuss the biotechnological and separations processes required to produce food-grade MP for human consumption from waste. Key challenges include MP consistency, consumer and regulatory acceptance, and the process utilities (electricity, heat, and nutrients) that account for up to 85% of MP costs and most environmental impacts, all of which present opportunities for innovation in the microbiology and process design spaces. Overall, this work highlights the potential of MP to contribute to a more circular, resilient, and sustainable food system.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integrating viruses into soil food web biogeochemistry

The soil microbiome is recognized as an essential component of healthy soils. Viruses are also diverse and abundant in soils, but their roles in soil systems remain unclear. Here we argue for the consideration of viruses in soil microbial food webs and describe the impact of viruses on soil biogeochemistry. The soil food web is an intricate series of trophic levels that span from autotrophic microorganisms to plants and animals. Each soil system encompasses contrasting and dynamic physicochemical conditions, with labyrinthine habitats composed of particles. Conditions are prone to shifts in space and time, and this variability can obstruct or facilitate interactions of microorganisms and viruses. Because viruses can infect all domains of life, they must be considered as key regulators of soil food web dynamics and biogeochemical cycling. Finally, we highlight future research avenues that will enable a more robust understanding of the roles of viruses in soil function and health.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030

Due to complex interactions, changes in any one area of food systems are likely to impact—and possibly depend on—changes in other areas. Here we present the first annual monitoring update of the indicator framework proposed by the Food Systems Countdown Initiative, with new qualitative analysis elucidating interactions across indicators. Since 2000, we find that 20 of 42 indicators with time series have been trending in a desirable direction, indicating modest positive change. Qualitative expert elicitation assessed governance and resilience indicators to be most connected to other indicators across themes, highlighting entry points for action—particularly governance action. Literature review and country case studies add context to the assessed interactions across diets, environment, livelihoods, governance and resilience indicators, helping different actors understand and navigate food systems towards desirable change.

Schneider, Kate R. [Johns Hopkins Univ., Washingto↗
DOE OSTI2024

City Climate Action Plans Through the Lens of The Food-Energy-Water Nexus

Interdependent resource management concepts originated in the mid-20th century, and the recent use of the term “nexus” highlights interconnected relationships among resources like food, energy, and water. United States and European science foundations have shown a growing interest in the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus, leading to increased research on their joint management. However, one major criticism of the FEW nexus is the limited translation of the research into practical policies and implementation, such as climate action plans. To assess the incorporation of FEW nexus principles into climate planning, we systematically evaluate 100 climate action plans from large U.S. cities. Our findings show that the most discussed FEW links involve energy, particularly the water-for-energy and food-for-energy connections, found in over half of the documents (56%). Our analysis promotes the integration of the FEW nexus into climate action plans while addressing the barriers to its effective implementation.

Mounir, Adil [Air Force Institute of Technology]↗
DOE OSTI2024

Optimal Design of Food Packaging Considering Waste Management Technologies to Achieve Circular Economy

Plastic packaging plays a fundamental role in the food industry, avoiding food waste and facilitating food access. The increasing plastic production and the lack of appropriate plastic waste management technologies represent a threat to the environmental and human welfare. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify sustainable packaging solutions. Circular economy (CE) promotes reducing waste and increasing recycling practices to achieve sustainability. In this work, we propose a CE framework based on multi-objective optimization, considering both economic and environmental impacts, to identify optimal packaging designs and waste management technologies. Using mixed-integer linear programming (MILP), techno-economic analysis (TEA), and life cycle assessment (LCA), this work aims to build the first steps in packaging design, informing about the best packaging alternatives and the optimal technology or technologies to process packaging waste. For the economic analysis, we consider the minimum increase in price (MIP) when adding recycling to the cost of each packaging solution, while for the environmental analysis, the greenhouse gas emissions impact was considered. A case study on ground coffee packaging is used to illustrate the proposed framework. The results demonstrate that the multilayer bag option is the most convenient when considering both the chosen economic and environmental impacts.

Life Cycle Analysis↗
NASA NTRS1968

Food products for space applications

Specially-prepared foodstuffs supply an astronaut with a diet containing his basic nutritional requirements in a form that is useful in his enironment. Several edible coatings preserve foods and give loose foods form and firmness. These coatings aid in packaging and give the food slip for easy removal from the package.

Cope, P. S.↗
NASA NTRS1971

The deterioration of intermediate moisture foods

Deteriorative reactions are low and food quality high if intermediate moisture content of a food is held at a water activity of 0.6 to 0.75. Information is of interest to food processing and packaging industry.

Labruza, T. P.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Space shuttle/food system. Volume 2, Appendix C: Food cooling techniques analysis. Appendix D: Package and stowage: Alternate concepts analysis

The relative penalties associated with various techniques for providing an onboard cold environment for storage of perishable food items, and for the development of packaging and vehicle stowage parameters were investigated in terms of the overall food system design analysis of space shuttle. The degrees of capability for maintaining both a 40 F to 45 F refrigerated temperature and a 0 F and 20 F frozen environment were assessed for the following cooling techniques: (1) phase change (heat sink) concept; (2) thermoelectric concept; (3) vapor cycle concept; and (4) expendable ammonia concept. The parameters considered in the analysis were weight, volume, and spacecraft power restrictions. Data were also produced for packaging and vehicle stowage parameters which are compatible with vehicle weight and volume specifications. Certain assumptions were made for food packaging sizes based on previously generated space shuttle menus. The results of the study are shown, along with the range of meal choices considered.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1975

Food safety

Illness induced by unsafe food is a problem of great public health significance. This study relates exclusively to the occurrence of chemical agents which will result in food unsafe for human consumption since the matter of food safety is of paramount importance in the mission and operation of the manned spacecraft program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Pier, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Food and water supply

Supplying astronauts with adequate food and water on short and long-term space flights is discussed based on experiences gained in space flight. Food consumption, energy requirements, and suitability of the foodstuffs for space flight are among the factors considered. Physicochemical and biological methods of food production and regeneration of water from astronaut metabolic wastes, as well as wastes produced in a closed ecological system, or as a result of technical processes taking place in various spacecraft systems are suggested for long-term space flights.

Popov, I. G.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Food depot: Apollo-Soyuz test project

The Food Depot operations required to produce the ASTP Food System, the food system and some analysis and recommendations related to future operations are described.

Bourland, C. T.↗