Food-Energy Interactive Tradeoff Analysis of Sustainable Urban Plant Factory Production Systems

Huang, Li-Chun; Chen, Yuhui; Chen, Yahui; Wang, Chi-Fang; Hu, Ming-Che

doi:10.3390/su10020446

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Plant production in plant factories under different combinations of BR light under a higher light regime has been well studied, and extensive research reports have already been published [15,21]. However, achieving a sustainable food-energy nexus through the reduction of lighting energy expenses by using low levels of light irradiation while maintaining effective production is of great interest for urban plant factory systems [22]. Previously, very low levels of LED light irradiation were applied to successfully grow leaf lettuce [19]; however, the B and R light ratios need to be optimized in order to determine the lowest effective intensity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Artificial LED provides a means by which to control the light intensity according to precise spectrum with lower energy demand. The required electricity demand per kg vegetable production is approximately 10-17.5 kW•h/kg in plant factories [22,25]. This electricity consumption could be reduced by decreasing the lighting quantity per unit area and shortening the photoperiod in a plant factory [26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Evaluation of Growth Performance, Photosynthetic Capacity, and Primary and Secondary Metabolite Content of Leaf Lettuce Grown under Limited Irradiation of Blue and Red LED Light in an Urban Plant Factory

et al. 2020

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Plant production in urban areas is receiving much attention due to its potential role in feeding the rapidly growing population of city dwellers. However, higher energy demands in urban plant factories are among the key challenges that need to be addressed. Artificial lighting is responsible for the most significant levels of energy consumption in plant factories; therefore, lighting systems must be modulated in consideration of the sustainable food–energy nexus. In this context, low light irradiation using blue (B) and red (R) LED was applied in a plant factory for the growth of red leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var Lollo rosso) to evaluate the growth performance and functional quality. The tested B (450 nm) and R (660 nm) light ratios were B/R = 5:1; 3:1; 1:1; 1:3, and 1:5, with a photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) of 90 ± 3 µmol m−2 s−1. In the plant factory, the photoperiod, temperature, RH, and CO2 conditions were 16 h d−1, 20 ± 0.5 °C, 65% ± 5%, and 360 ± 10 μL L−1, respectively. The lettuce was harvested 10 and 20 days after the commencement of LED light treatment (DAT). In this study, normal photosynthetic activity and good visual quality of the lettuce were observed. The results show that a higher fraction of R (B/R = 1:5) significantly increased plant growth parameters such as plant height, leaf area, specific leaf area, plant fresh and dry weight, and carbohydrate content. By contrast, a higher fraction of B (B/R = 5:1) significantly increased the photosynthetic parameters and contents of pigment and phenolic compounds. The rate of photosynthetic performance, carbohydrates (except starch), and content of phenolic compounds were highest after 10 DAT, whereas the pigment contents did not significantly differ at the different growth stages. It is concluded that high R fractions favor plant growth and carbohydrate content, while high B fractions favor photosynthetic performance and the accumulation of pigments and phenolic compounds in red leaf lettuce under limited lighting conditions. This study will help in designing artificial lighting conditions for plant factory production to reduce energy demands.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evaluation of Growth Performance, Photosynthetic Capacity, and Primary and Secondary Metabolite Content of Leaf Lettuce Grown under Limited Irradiation of Blue and Red LED Light in an Urban Plant Factory

et al. 2020

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“…A vertical farm is defined as a multi-layer plant factory [7]. The plant factory cultivation mode, as an agricultural facility that artificially controls the cultivation environment, can control various factors such as indoor lighting [8,9], temperature and humidity [10,11], and carbon dioxide concentration [12], and is capable of providing safe, high-quality, and pollution-free food [13,14]. Multi-layer stereoscopic cultivation is commonly used in plant factories, and its yield per unit area is significantly higher than that of traditional agriculture [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Experiment of Automatic Transport System for Planting Plate in Plant Factory

Jia,

Guo,

Wang

et al. 2024

Agriculture

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In the plant factories using stereoscopic cultivation systems, the cultivation plate transport equipment is an essential component of production. However, there are problems, such as high labor intensity, low levels of automation, and poor versatility of existing solutions, that can affect the efficiency of cultivation plate transport processes. To address these issues, this study designed a cultivation plate transport system that can automatically input and output cultivation plates, and can flexibly adjust its structure to accommodate different cultivation frame heights. We elucidated the working principles of the transport system and carried out structural design and parameter calculation for the lift cart, input actuator, and output actuator. In the input process, we used dynamic simulation technology to obtain an optimum propulsion speed of 0.3 m·s−1. In the output process, we used finite element numerical simulation technology to verify that the deformation of the cultivation plate and the maximum stress suffered by it could meet the operational requirements. Finally, operation and performance experiments showed that, under the condition of satisfying the allowable amount of positioning error in the horizontal and vertical directions, the horizontal operation speed was 0.2 m·s−1, the maximum positioning error was 2.87 mm, the vertical operation speed was 0.3 m·s−1, and the maximum positioning error was 1.34 mm. Accordingly, the success rate of the transport system was 92.5–96.0%, and the operational efficiency was 176–317 plates/h. These results proved that the transport system could meet the operational requirements and provide feasible solutions for the automation of plant factory transport equipment.

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“…With the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 in recent years, sustainable development of agriculture, especially plant factories, has attracted increasing attention [1][2][3][4]. Plant factories can improve agricultural production efficiency by regulating environmental factors, enabling agricultural production to break free of the shackles of natural conditions and the effects of the outside world [5,6]. Lettuce is the most common crop in plant factories because the cultivation period is short, with less energy being required to produce the final product.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Development Optimization of a Plant Factory for Reducing Tip Burn Disease

Zhang

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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It is generally believed that stable airflow can effectively reduce tip burn, a common lettuce plant disease in closed plant factories that severely restricts the sustainable development of these factories. This study aims to achieve stable airflow in the cultivator by zoning the seedling and growth stage crops and installing differential fans, while ensuring comprehensive quality. In this study, a three-dimensional simulation plant factory model was created to simulate the airflow inside the cultivator, taking crop shading and heat dissipation from LED light sources into account. Experiments on photosynthetic physiology and airflow were used to determine environmental thresholds for crop growth, which were then used as CFD boundary conditions. After adopting the optimized cultivation model, the comprehensive quality of lettuce increased by 22.28% during the seedling stage, and the tip burn rate decreased to 26.9%; during the growth stage, the comprehensive quality increased by 25.72%, and the tip burn rate decreased to 23.2%. The zoning optimization cultivation method and differential fan arrangement used in this study to improve the airflow field of plant factories provide new ideas and reliable theoretical support for plant factories to combat lettuce tip burn disease.

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Food-Energy Interactive Tradeoff Analysis of Sustainable Urban Plant Factory Production Systems

Cited by 8 publications

References 23 publications

The Evaluation of Growth Performance, Photosynthetic Capacity, and Primary and Secondary Metabolite Content of Leaf Lettuce Grown under Limited Irradiation of Blue and Red LED Light in an Urban Plant Factory

The Evaluation of Growth Performance, Photosynthetic Capacity, and Primary and Secondary Metabolite Content of Leaf Lettuce Grown under Limited Irradiation of Blue and Red LED Light in an Urban Plant Factory

Design and Experiment of Automatic Transport System for Planting Plate in Plant Factory

Sustainable Development Optimization of a Plant Factory for Reducing Tip Burn Disease

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