TY - JOUR

T1 - Development of a grow-cell test facility for research into sustainable controlled-environment agriculture

AU - Tsitsimpelis, Ioannis

AU - Wolfenden, Ian

AU - Taylor, Charles James

N1 - This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Biosystems Engineering. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Biosystems Engineering, 150, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2016.07.008

PY - 2016/10

Y1 - 2016/10

N2 - The grow-cell belongs to a relatively new category of plant factory in the horticultural industry, for which the motivation is the maximization of production and the minimization of energy consumption. This article takes a systems design approach to identify the engineering requirements of a new grow-cell facility, with the prototype based on a 12 m X 2.4 m X 2.5 m shipping container. Research contributions are made in respect to: (i) the design of a novel conveyor-irrigation system for mechanical movement of plants; (ii) tuning of the artificial light source for plant growth; and (iii) investigations into the environmental conditions inside the grow-cell, including the temperature and humidity. In particular, the conveyor-irrigation and lighting systems are optimised in this article to make the proposed grow-cell more effective and sustainable. With regard to micro-climate, data are collected from a distributed sensor array to provide improved understanding of the heterogeneous conditions arising within the grow-cell, with a view to future optimisation. Preliminary growth trials demonstrate that Begonia semperflorens can be harvested to the satisfaction of a commercial grower. In future research, the prototype unit thus developed can be used to investigate production rates, plant quality and whole system operating costs.

AB - The grow-cell belongs to a relatively new category of plant factory in the horticultural industry, for which the motivation is the maximization of production and the minimization of energy consumption. This article takes a systems design approach to identify the engineering requirements of a new grow-cell facility, with the prototype based on a 12 m X 2.4 m X 2.5 m shipping container. Research contributions are made in respect to: (i) the design of a novel conveyor-irrigation system for mechanical movement of plants; (ii) tuning of the artificial light source for plant growth; and (iii) investigations into the environmental conditions inside the grow-cell, including the temperature and humidity. In particular, the conveyor-irrigation and lighting systems are optimised in this article to make the proposed grow-cell more effective and sustainable. With regard to micro-climate, data are collected from a distributed sensor array to provide improved understanding of the heterogeneous conditions arising within the grow-cell, with a view to future optimisation. Preliminary growth trials demonstrate that Begonia semperflorens can be harvested to the satisfaction of a commercial grower. In future research, the prototype unit thus developed can be used to investigate production rates, plant quality and whole system operating costs.

KW - Agricultural engineering

KW - Sustainable development

KW - Energy efficiency

KW - Automation

U2 - 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2016.07.008

DO - 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2016.07.008

M3 - Journal article

VL - 150

SP - 40

EP - 53

JO - Biosystems Engineering

JF - Biosystems Engineering

SN - 1537-5110

ER -