Urine nitrification with a synthetic microbial community

During long-term extra-terrestrial missions, food is limited and waste is generated. By recycling valuable nutrients from this waste via regenerative life support systems, food can be produced in space. Astronauts’ urine can, for instance, be nitrified by micro-organisms into a liquid nitrate fertilizer for plant growth in space. Due to stringent conditions in space, microbial communities need to be be defined (gnotobiotic); therefore, synthetic rather than mixed microbial communities are preferred. For urine nitrification, synthetic communities face challenges, such as from salinity, ureolysis, and organics.In this study, a synthetic microbial community containing an AOB (Nitrosomonas europaea), NOB (Nitrobacter winogradskyi), and three ureolytic heterotrophs (Pseudomonas fluorescens, Acidovorax delafieldii, and Delftia acidovorans) was compiled and evaluated for these challenges. In reactor 1, salt adaptation of the ammonium-fed AOB and NOB co-culture was possible up to 45 mS cm⁻¹, which resembled undiluted nitrified urine, while maintaining a 44 ± 10 mg NH₄⁺–N L⁻¹ d⁻¹ removal rate. In reactor 2, the nitrifiers and ureolytic heterotrophs were fed with urine and achieved a 15 ± 6 mg NO₃⁻–N L⁻¹ d⁻¹ production rate for 1% and 10% synthetic and fresh real urine, respectively. Batch activity tests with this community using fresh real urine even reached 29 ± 3 mg N L⁻¹ d⁻¹. Organics removal in the reactor (69 ± 15%) should be optimized to generate a nitrate fertilizer for future space applications.