Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production

Rachel Elizabeth Sparks; Robert Merton Stwalley III

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11

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Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production

Rachel Elizabeth Sparks, Robert Merton Stwalley III

Published in International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 4)

Received: 7 August 2018 Accepted: 20 August 2018 Published: 10 October 2018

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Abstract

In urban centers today, Controlled Environment Agriculture is being proposed as a potential alternative to conventional agriculture using hydroponic methods in controlled spaces as a means to increase local food production and improve urban food security by growing crops. One newly proposed technique, growing crops inside refurbished shipping containers, offers a flexible, mobile, and scalable means of year-round food production in a variety of climates. Despite the benefits of producing food locally, some concerns associated with shipping container systems include high-energy consumption from climate control and electric lightning systems, as well as expensive capital investments. This study investigated the viability and effectiveness of shipping container farms as alternative food production systems through an analysis of system energy requirements and resulting crop yields. A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container system was designed and a Nutrient Film Technique hydroponics system was tested by growing lettuce plants and monitoring energy use throughout the growth period. Theoretical energy use at full scale was quantified for one year of production by modeling energy consumption of major system components through modeling or extension from results on the bench scale. Baseline crop production and overall energy consumption were assessed using a crop production efficiency metric created to evaluate the ratio of system outputs to inputs. Examination of alternative energy scenarios showed potential energy consumption reductions of up to 53 percent and an improvement of the total system crop production efficiency of up to 55 percent from the baseline. Implementation of suggested energy use reduction strategies could allow for the creation of viable and sustainable alternative food systems using shipping containers capable of providing local, accessible foods year-round for a variety of urban communities.

Published in	International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11
Page(s)	93-102
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Controlled Environment Agriculture, Crop Production, Energy Consumption, Hydroponics, Shipping Container, Vertical Farming, Urban Agriculture

References

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APA Style

Rachel Elizabeth Sparks, Robert Merton Stwalley III. (2018). Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production. International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences, 4(4), 93-102. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11

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ACS Style

Rachel Elizabeth Sparks; Robert Merton Stwalley III. Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production. Int. J. Appl. Agric. Sci. 2018, 4(4), 93-102. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11

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AMA Style

Rachel Elizabeth Sparks, Robert Merton Stwalley III. Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production. Int J Appl Agric Sci. 2018;4(4):93-102. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11,
  author = {Rachel Elizabeth Sparks and Robert Merton Stwalley III},
  title = {Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences},
  volume = {4},
  number = {4},
  pages = {93-102},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijaas.20180404.11},
  abstract = {In urban centers today, Controlled Environment Agriculture is being proposed as a potential alternative to conventional agriculture using hydroponic methods in controlled spaces as a means to increase local food production and improve urban food security by growing crops. One newly proposed technique, growing crops inside refurbished shipping containers, offers a flexible, mobile, and scalable means of year-round food production in a variety of climates. Despite the benefits of producing food locally, some concerns associated with shipping container systems include high-energy consumption from climate control and electric lightning systems, as well as expensive capital investments. This study investigated the viability and effectiveness of shipping container farms as alternative food production systems through an analysis of system energy requirements and resulting crop yields. A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container system was designed and a Nutrient Film Technique hydroponics system was tested by growing lettuce plants and monitoring energy use throughout the growth period. Theoretical energy use at full scale was quantified for one year of production by modeling energy consumption of major system components through modeling or extension from results on the bench scale. Baseline crop production and overall energy consumption were assessed using a crop production efficiency metric created to evaluate the ratio of system outputs to inputs. Examination of alternative energy scenarios showed potential energy consumption reductions of up to 53 percent and an improvement of the total system crop production efficiency of up to 55 percent from the baseline. Implementation of suggested energy use reduction strategies could allow for the creation of viable and sustainable alternative food systems using shipping containers capable of providing local, accessible foods year-round for a variety of urban communities.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production
AU  - Rachel Elizabeth Sparks
AU  - Robert Merton Stwalley III
Y1  - 2018/10/10
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11
T2  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
SP  - 93
EP  - 102
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2469-7885
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11
AB  - In urban centers today, Controlled Environment Agriculture is being proposed as a potential alternative to conventional agriculture using hydroponic methods in controlled spaces as a means to increase local food production and improve urban food security by growing crops. One newly proposed technique, growing crops inside refurbished shipping containers, offers a flexible, mobile, and scalable means of year-round food production in a variety of climates. Despite the benefits of producing food locally, some concerns associated with shipping container systems include high-energy consumption from climate control and electric lightning systems, as well as expensive capital investments. This study investigated the viability and effectiveness of shipping container farms as alternative food production systems through an analysis of system energy requirements and resulting crop yields. A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container system was designed and a Nutrient Film Technique hydroponics system was tested by growing lettuce plants and monitoring energy use throughout the growth period. Theoretical energy use at full scale was quantified for one year of production by modeling energy consumption of major system components through modeling or extension from results on the bench scale. Baseline crop production and overall energy consumption were assessed using a crop production efficiency metric created to evaluate the ratio of system outputs to inputs. Examination of alternative energy scenarios showed potential energy consumption reductions of up to 53 percent and an improvement of the total system crop production efficiency of up to 55 percent from the baseline. Implementation of suggested energy use reduction strategies could allow for the creation of viable and sustainable alternative food systems using shipping containers capable of providing local, accessible foods year-round for a variety of urban communities.
VL  - 4
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Rachel Elizabeth Sparks

Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA
Robert Merton Stwalley III

Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Rachel Elizabeth Sparks, Robert Merton Stwalley III. (2018). Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production. International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences, 4(4), 93-102. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11

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ACS Style

Rachel Elizabeth Sparks; Robert Merton Stwalley III. Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production. Int. J. Appl. Agric. Sci. 2018, 4(4), 93-102. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11

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AMA Style

Rachel Elizabeth Sparks, Robert Merton Stwalley III. Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production. Int J Appl Agric Sci. 2018;4(4):93-102. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11,
  author = {Rachel Elizabeth Sparks and Robert Merton Stwalley III},
  title = {Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences},
  volume = {4},
  number = {4},
  pages = {93-102},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijaas.20180404.11},
  abstract = {In urban centers today, Controlled Environment Agriculture is being proposed as a potential alternative to conventional agriculture using hydroponic methods in controlled spaces as a means to increase local food production and improve urban food security by growing crops. One newly proposed technique, growing crops inside refurbished shipping containers, offers a flexible, mobile, and scalable means of year-round food production in a variety of climates. Despite the benefits of producing food locally, some concerns associated with shipping container systems include high-energy consumption from climate control and electric lightning systems, as well as expensive capital investments. This study investigated the viability and effectiveness of shipping container farms as alternative food production systems through an analysis of system energy requirements and resulting crop yields. A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container system was designed and a Nutrient Film Technique hydroponics system was tested by growing lettuce plants and monitoring energy use throughout the growth period. Theoretical energy use at full scale was quantified for one year of production by modeling energy consumption of major system components through modeling or extension from results on the bench scale. Baseline crop production and overall energy consumption were assessed using a crop production efficiency metric created to evaluate the ratio of system outputs to inputs. Examination of alternative energy scenarios showed potential energy consumption reductions of up to 53 percent and an improvement of the total system crop production efficiency of up to 55 percent from the baseline. Implementation of suggested energy use reduction strategies could allow for the creation of viable and sustainable alternative food systems using shipping containers capable of providing local, accessible foods year-round for a variety of urban communities.},
 year = {2018}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Design and Testing of a Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container System for Urban Food Production
AU  - Rachel Elizabeth Sparks
AU  - Robert Merton Stwalley III
Y1  - 2018/10/10
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11
T2  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
SP  - 93
EP  - 102
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2469-7885
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20180404.11
AB  - In urban centers today, Controlled Environment Agriculture is being proposed as a potential alternative to conventional agriculture using hydroponic methods in controlled spaces as a means to increase local food production and improve urban food security by growing crops. One newly proposed technique, growing crops inside refurbished shipping containers, offers a flexible, mobile, and scalable means of year-round food production in a variety of climates. Despite the benefits of producing food locally, some concerns associated with shipping container systems include high-energy consumption from climate control and electric lightning systems, as well as expensive capital investments. This study investigated the viability and effectiveness of shipping container farms as alternative food production systems through an analysis of system energy requirements and resulting crop yields. A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container system was designed and a Nutrient Film Technique hydroponics system was tested by growing lettuce plants and monitoring energy use throughout the growth period. Theoretical energy use at full scale was quantified for one year of production by modeling energy consumption of major system components through modeling or extension from results on the bench scale. Baseline crop production and overall energy consumption were assessed using a crop production efficiency metric created to evaluate the ratio of system outputs to inputs. Examination of alternative energy scenarios showed potential energy consumption reductions of up to 53 percent and an improvement of the total system crop production efficiency of up to 55 percent from the baseline. Implementation of suggested energy use reduction strategies could allow for the creation of viable and sustainable alternative food systems using shipping containers capable of providing local, accessible foods year-round for a variety of urban communities.
VL  - 4
IS  - 4
ER  -

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