Aeroponic systems design: considerations and challenges
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) holds promise as a way to intensify current agricultural production systems while limiting pressures on land, water, and energy resources. However, its use has not yet been widely adopted, in part because the engineering design considerations and associated...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PAGEPress Publications
2022-09-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Agricultural Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.agroengineering.org/index.php/jae/article/view/1387 |
| _version_ | 1811261806798176256 |
|---|---|
| author | Albert Min Nam Nguyen Liam Howatt Marlowe Tavares Jaho Seo |
| author_facet | Albert Min Nam Nguyen Liam Howatt Marlowe Tavares Jaho Seo |
| author_sort | Albert Min |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) holds promise as a way to intensify current agricultural production systems while limiting pressures on land, water, and energy resources. However, its use has not yet been widely adopted, in part because the engineering design considerations and associated challenges are not well known. This is even more apparent for aeroponics, where the additional cost and complexities in controlling atomization have yet to establish an advantage in scale over simpler hydroponic systems To shed light on these considerations and challenges, an instrumented aeroponic system was prototyped with the goal of creating a quantitative model of growth for various species of leafy greens. As the first consideration, pressure swirl atomizers were paired with a diaphragm-type pressure tank to supply the necessary pressures needed for effective atomization. Secondly, nutrient solution was mixed on-demand from Reverse Osmosis (RO) water and concentrated nutrient stock then pumped into the pressure tank using a positive displacement pump. A bamboo-based substrate that allowed both germination and extended vegetative growth was supported on a stainless steel mesh and PVC frame acting as a grow tray. Finally, a camera microservice platform was developed to quantify plant growth using a computer vision pixel-based segmentation method.
|
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:12:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-67011b0d8d434fbdb79db8fdc5e3a4b3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1974-7071 2239-6268 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:12:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | PAGEPress Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Agricultural Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-67011b0d8d434fbdb79db8fdc5e3a4b32022-12-22T03:19:51ZengPAGEPress PublicationsJournal of Agricultural Engineering1974-70712239-62682022-09-0110.4081/jae.2022.1387Aeroponic systems design: considerations and challengesAlbert Min0Nam Nguyen1Liam Howatt2Marlowe Tavares3Jaho Seo4Department of Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON, Canada; PowerPlant Agriculture Inc., Calgary, ABDepartment of Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON, Canada; PowerPlant Agriculture Inc., Calgary, ABDepartment of Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON, Canada; PowerPlant Agriculture Inc., Calgary, ABDepartment of Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON, Canada; PowerPlant Agriculture Inc., Calgary, ABDepartment of Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) holds promise as a way to intensify current agricultural production systems while limiting pressures on land, water, and energy resources. However, its use has not yet been widely adopted, in part because the engineering design considerations and associated challenges are not well known. This is even more apparent for aeroponics, where the additional cost and complexities in controlling atomization have yet to establish an advantage in scale over simpler hydroponic systems To shed light on these considerations and challenges, an instrumented aeroponic system was prototyped with the goal of creating a quantitative model of growth for various species of leafy greens. As the first consideration, pressure swirl atomizers were paired with a diaphragm-type pressure tank to supply the necessary pressures needed for effective atomization. Secondly, nutrient solution was mixed on-demand from Reverse Osmosis (RO) water and concentrated nutrient stock then pumped into the pressure tank using a positive displacement pump. A bamboo-based substrate that allowed both germination and extended vegetative growth was supported on a stainless steel mesh and PVC frame acting as a grow tray. Finally, a camera microservice platform was developed to quantify plant growth using a computer vision pixel-based segmentation method. https://www.agroengineering.org/index.php/jae/article/view/1387Controlled environment agricultureaeroponicsvertical farmingatomizing nozzlesfertigationcomputer vision. |
| spellingShingle | Albert Min Nam Nguyen Liam Howatt Marlowe Tavares Jaho Seo Aeroponic systems design: considerations and challenges Journal of Agricultural Engineering Controlled environment agriculture aeroponics vertical farming atomizing nozzles fertigation computer vision. |
| title | Aeroponic systems design: considerations and challenges |
| title_full | Aeroponic systems design: considerations and challenges |
| title_fullStr | Aeroponic systems design: considerations and challenges |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aeroponic systems design: considerations and challenges |
| title_short | Aeroponic systems design: considerations and challenges |
| title_sort | aeroponic systems design considerations and challenges |
| topic | Controlled environment agriculture aeroponics vertical farming atomizing nozzles fertigation computer vision. |
| url | https://www.agroengineering.org/index.php/jae/article/view/1387 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT albertmin aeroponicsystemsdesignconsiderationsandchallenges AT namnguyen aeroponicsystemsdesignconsiderationsandchallenges AT liamhowatt aeroponicsystemsdesignconsiderationsandchallenges AT marlowetavares aeroponicsystemsdesignconsiderationsandchallenges AT jahoseo aeroponicsystemsdesignconsiderationsandchallenges |