Air Distribution in a Fully-Closed Higher Plant Growth Chamber Impacts Crop Performance of Hydroponically-Grown Lettuce
The MELiSSA Pilot Plant (MPP) is testing in terrestrial conditions regenerative life support technologies for human exploration in Space. One of its components is a controlled Higher Plant Chamber (HPC) accommodating hydroponic plant cultures. It consists of a 9 m3 single closed growth chamber provi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2020.00537/full |
| _version_ | 1818299504806330368 |
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| author | Enrique Peiro Enrique Peiro Antonio Pannico Sebastian George Colleoni Lorenzo Bucchieri Youssef Rouphael Stefania De Pascale Roberta Paradiso Francesc Gòdia Francesc Gòdia |
| author_facet | Enrique Peiro Enrique Peiro Antonio Pannico Sebastian George Colleoni Lorenzo Bucchieri Youssef Rouphael Stefania De Pascale Roberta Paradiso Francesc Gòdia Francesc Gòdia |
| author_sort | Enrique Peiro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The MELiSSA Pilot Plant (MPP) is testing in terrestrial conditions regenerative life support technologies for human exploration in Space. One of its components is a controlled Higher Plant Chamber (HPC) accommodating hydroponic plant cultures. It consists of a 9 m3 single closed growth chamber providing adequate environmental conditions for growing plants, enabling the production of food, water and oxygen for the crew. A critical aspect for a reliable HPC performance is to achieve homogeneous air distribution. The initial experiment carried out in the MPP with lettuce as salad crop, showed uneven plant growth throughout the HPC, which was attributed to inadequate air distribution due to non-homogeneous air velocity profile along the inlet-vents. After a detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning subsystem of the HPC was upgraded and a new experiment was carried out in optimized air flow conditions. Nine-day seedlings of lettuce cultivar “Grand Rapids” were transplanted into the HPC and harvested at the end of the growing cycle, where shoot fresh weight, dry biomass, and shoot mineral composition were analyzed. During the experiment, the environmental control system performed remarkably well based on the biometric measurements as well as the mineral composition leading to a vast homogeneous growth. Overall, the results demonstrated the beneficial effect of an adequate air distribution system in HPCs and the effectiveness of CFD-analysis to design properly the gas distribution. The obtained results are of high relevance for life support systems in space involving plants growth. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T04:52:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-36e57c14318f4325b4846d466de78d4c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T04:52:17Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-36e57c14318f4325b4846d466de78d4c2022-12-21T23:58:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2020-05-011110.3389/fpls.2020.00537526476Air Distribution in a Fully-Closed Higher Plant Growth Chamber Impacts Crop Performance of Hydroponically-Grown LettuceEnrique Peiro0Enrique Peiro1Antonio Pannico2Sebastian George Colleoni3Lorenzo Bucchieri4Youssef Rouphael5Stefania De Pascale6Roberta Paradiso7Francesc Gòdia8Francesc Gòdia9MELiSSA Pilot Plant – Claude Chipaux Laboratory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, SpainCentre d’Estudis I Recerca Espacials, Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, SpainDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, ItalyEnginSoft S.p.A., Bergamo, ItalyEnginSoft S.p.A., Bergamo, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, ItalyMELiSSA Pilot Plant – Claude Chipaux Laboratory, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, SpainCentre d’Estudis I Recerca Espacials, Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, SpainThe MELiSSA Pilot Plant (MPP) is testing in terrestrial conditions regenerative life support technologies for human exploration in Space. One of its components is a controlled Higher Plant Chamber (HPC) accommodating hydroponic plant cultures. It consists of a 9 m3 single closed growth chamber providing adequate environmental conditions for growing plants, enabling the production of food, water and oxygen for the crew. A critical aspect for a reliable HPC performance is to achieve homogeneous air distribution. The initial experiment carried out in the MPP with lettuce as salad crop, showed uneven plant growth throughout the HPC, which was attributed to inadequate air distribution due to non-homogeneous air velocity profile along the inlet-vents. After a detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning subsystem of the HPC was upgraded and a new experiment was carried out in optimized air flow conditions. Nine-day seedlings of lettuce cultivar “Grand Rapids” were transplanted into the HPC and harvested at the end of the growing cycle, where shoot fresh weight, dry biomass, and shoot mineral composition were analyzed. During the experiment, the environmental control system performed remarkably well based on the biometric measurements as well as the mineral composition leading to a vast homogeneous growth. Overall, the results demonstrated the beneficial effect of an adequate air distribution system in HPCs and the effectiveness of CFD-analysis to design properly the gas distribution. The obtained results are of high relevance for life support systems in space involving plants growth.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2020.00537/fullclosed loop life support systemcomputational fluid dynamicshigher plant characterizationhydroponicsLactuca sativa L.mineral composition |
| spellingShingle | Enrique Peiro Enrique Peiro Antonio Pannico Sebastian George Colleoni Lorenzo Bucchieri Youssef Rouphael Stefania De Pascale Roberta Paradiso Francesc Gòdia Francesc Gòdia Air Distribution in a Fully-Closed Higher Plant Growth Chamber Impacts Crop Performance of Hydroponically-Grown Lettuce Frontiers in Plant Science closed loop life support system computational fluid dynamics higher plant characterization hydroponics Lactuca sativa L. mineral composition |
| title | Air Distribution in a Fully-Closed Higher Plant Growth Chamber Impacts Crop Performance of Hydroponically-Grown Lettuce |
| title_full | Air Distribution in a Fully-Closed Higher Plant Growth Chamber Impacts Crop Performance of Hydroponically-Grown Lettuce |
| title_fullStr | Air Distribution in a Fully-Closed Higher Plant Growth Chamber Impacts Crop Performance of Hydroponically-Grown Lettuce |
| title_full_unstemmed | Air Distribution in a Fully-Closed Higher Plant Growth Chamber Impacts Crop Performance of Hydroponically-Grown Lettuce |
| title_short | Air Distribution in a Fully-Closed Higher Plant Growth Chamber Impacts Crop Performance of Hydroponically-Grown Lettuce |
| title_sort | air distribution in a fully closed higher plant growth chamber impacts crop performance of hydroponically grown lettuce |
| topic | closed loop life support system computational fluid dynamics higher plant characterization hydroponics Lactuca sativa L. mineral composition |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2020.00537/full |
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