ISS Research Proposal
Project
Title:
Development
of a single-layer Aeroponics system for space-restricted areas
Class: S2-04
Names: Gabriel Teng(22), Ethan Khor(12), Koh Guofeng(13
Introduction
A. Problem Statement
The
world’s population is increasing very rapidly and the supply for food is not
going to be able to meet demand soon. (Collins, 2013) An answer to this is to
increase the rate of agriculture. However, this poses another set of problems.
Lots of land will be required and the space will not be maximized to full
potential. An answer to this is ways of farming. This project aims to make use
of technology to make space efficient agriculture techniques.
B. Engineering Goals
To
build a single-layer and sustainable aeroponics farm that can operate in space
restricted urban areas.
B2 Specific Requirements
- Low-energy consumption
- Must
be space saving
- Cost
effective
- Time
saving
- Easily
manageable
B3. Alternatives
1. Aeroponics
Aeroponics is the
process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil.
Aeroponics is a relatively new way of growing plants that is getting
increasingly popular with many people because of the speed, cost and novelty. (Garderner,
2008)
Unlike hydroponics,
which uses a liquid nutrient solution as a growing medium and essential
minerals to sustain plant growth; or aquaponics which using water and fish
waste, aeroponics is conducted without a growing medium. (Garderner, 2008)
Plants grown using
aeroponics spend 99.98% of their time in air and 0.02% in direct contact with
hydro-atomized nutrient solution. (Garderner, 2008) The time spent without
water allows the roots to capture oxygen more efficiently. (Clark, 2008)
Aeroponics allows
more control of the environment around the root zone, as, unlike other plant
growth systems, the plant roots are not constantly surrounded by some medium.
(Clark, 2008)
A
typical aeroponics system is made up of high pressure pumps, sprinklers and
timers. If any of these break down, your plants can be damaged or killed
easily. (Garderner, 2008)
Most
aeroponic systems are not exactly cheap. Aeroponic systems may cost many
hundreds of dollars each and they use lots of energy to operate.
2. Hydroponics
Hydroponics is a
subset of hydroculture and is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient
solutions, in water, without soil. (Wikipedia, 2013) Terrestrial plants may be
grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert
medium, such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, expanded clay pebbles or coconut
husk. (Wikipedia, 2013)
No soil is needed for
hydroponics. The plants are grown in other mediums. The water stays in the
system and can be reused. Thus, there is a lower water requirement. It is also
possible to control the nutrition levels in their entirety, which results in
lower nutrition requirements. (Patterson, 2013) No nutrition pollution is
released into the environment because of the controlled system. (Patterson,
2013) There are stable and high yields and pests and diseases are easier to get
rid of than in soil because of the container's mobility. (Patterson, 2013) The
plants grow healthier because there is no pesticide damage. It is also easier
to harvest, and better for consumption.
Without soil as a
buffer, any failure to the hydroponic system leads to rapid plant death. Other
disadvantages include pathogen attacks such as damp-off due to verticillium
wilt caused by the high moisture levels associated with hydroponics and over
watering of soil based plants. (Wikipedia, 2013) Also, many hydroponic plants
require different fertilizers and containment systems.
3. Dynaponics
Dynaponics
is an improvement from aeroponics to make it more energy and water efficient
while maintaining the air environment for the plants to grow in. (Kevin, 2013)
This is done by having air pumped through a reservoir under the roots of plants
that are suspended in mid-air, shooting water drops at the plant roots
providing the plants with the nutrients and water that they need. (Kevin, 2013)
The
use of Dynaponics will reduce the amount of water used and the area needing
while increasing the rate at which the plants will grow dynaponics systems are
also much more energy-efficient than aeroponics systems. (Kevin, 2013)
Like
Aeroponics, the roots are suspended in mid-air and the roots are oxygenated,
resulting in healthier crops and better produce. (Kevin, 2013)
Dynaponics,
while they are energy and water efficient, and able to grow plants much quicker
and space saving, were not designed for commercial farming. (Kevin, 2013) These
systems might not be able to deliver the water fast enough due to the air jets
being of low pressure, and the crops may wilt and die. (Kevin, 2013)
B4. Final Solution and why
Our
final solution is Aeroponics.
Why did we choose it over other
solutions?
Aeroponics
allows plants to have an easier intake of oxygen due to exposed roots. It is
also easier to manipulate the environment of the plants due to the lack of need
for a medium for the roots.
While Aeroponics may be generally known to use a lot of energy and be expensive, we can overcome these problems by using a low-cost solar panel to provide energy to the set-up. We are also using cheap but effective materials such as foam boards, PVC pipes, and relatively low pressure pumps.
The
disadvantage of other solutions outweigh their advantages, as Dynaponics is not
practical for large-scale use, and is mostly used in small-scale experiments or
as demonstrations, as it is a relatively new concept.
As
for Hydroponics, the plants will be less healthy than those grown in an
Aeroponics set-up, due to the roots not being able to take in much oxygen.
The Final Design
We
chose this project because our country is facing restricted land space and
almost all of our food is imported. We hope to be self-sustaining in terms of
food.
C. Methods
Equipment
Equipment List:
QNTY
-
175 gph
pump
x1
-
Water
tank x1
-
Aeroponic
Spray Nozzles x2
-
PVC piping
(Diameter: 16mm) length:1.5m
x1
-
PVC pipe
elbows
x2
-
PVC pipe T-junction
x1
-
Pots
(Dimensions: 45cm by 45cm) x1
-
Soil (Enough
for the pot, roughly 14175cm^3)
-
Germinated
spinach plants x12
-
LED lights
(red and blue)(3 each)
-
Aeroponic
nutrients
-
EPS foam board
(Dimensions: 90cm, 44.2cm) x1
-
Soft tube
(length: 4cm) x1
-
Voltmeter x1
2.2 Diagrams
Here
are some of the designs we have come up with:
This design uses a rain-bar
on top of the plants to simulate rain while the roots will remain suspended in
mid air. The water will travel from the
rain-bar to the sponges that keep the plant in place within the foam board. The
sponges will retain water for the roots to absorb.
This system uses more of a dynaponics setup except that instead of a pool of water, air is sprayed into pipes of water and will deliver water droplets out to the plant roots and plants will ultimately absorb it.
Procedures
1.
Set up a glass tank with a submersible pump at the bottom.
2.
Connect the pump to a network of pipes, which lead to spray nozzles, which will
water the plants.
3.
Cut out a part of an EPS foam board that is 2.5cm thick to fit the top of the
tank.
4.
Cut small holes in the foam board and plant the plants inside.
5.
Turn the pump on. The water should travel up the pipe and through the spray
nozzles.
6.
Suspend an LED light above the tank such that the plants receive its light.
7. To eliminate any unfair variables, all plants will
experience the same amount of light and be frequently watered.
8.
Record the heights of all the plants throughout one week in order to test that
the set up is working.
9.
Find the average height of the plants in each environment.
10.
Record the results in a table.
Risk assessment
and Management
-
Our experiment
includes the use of PVC plumbing and the use of saws and other sharp tools may
be required. All sharp objects must be kept track of at all times.
- Water is used in the experiment and students should make
sure their hands are not wet when touching power outlets
- Hot water is used to fit the pipes and the students should
handle the water properly to prevent it from spilling and potentially scalding
students.
- Students must handle the glass tank with caution and not
carry it too high up to prevent it from breaking, which may result in serious
injuries.
Data Analysis
Here is the set-up of our experiment:
We will have a set up built according to the procedures,
containing 8 plants. This will be
used to test if the set up will work and if the plants will grow.
We will test the aeroponics’ effectiveness by measuring the
height of plants daily throughout one week. We will also use a sponge in the
place of a plant and record it’s conductivity after 30 minutes to test if our
watering system is effective.
During
and at the end of the experiment, we will check the height of the plant to see
if there is any growth.
We
will also be using a voltmeter to measure the electrical resistance of the
sponge. As the water has mineral salts and other conductive nutrients in it,
the wetter the sponge, the more conductive it is. As the sponge gains moisture,
we should see the resistance of the sponge decreasing.
D Bibliography
Clark, J. (2008, December 22). How aeroponics works.
Retrieved from http://home.howstuffworks.com/lawn-garden/professional-landscaping/alternative-methods/aeroponics.htm
Gardener, D. (2008, May 17). Aeroponics - benefits and
disadvantages. Retrieved from www.gardeningsite.com/aeroponics/aeroponics-benefits-and-disadvantages
Kevin B, R.
(2013, July 18)
Patterson, S. (2013, July 18). Aeroponics vs. hydroponics.
Retrieved from http://www.doityourself.com/stry/aeroponics-vs-hydroponics
Wikipedia. (2013, July 11). Hydroponics
Advantages. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics#Advantages
Collins, P. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
No comments:
Post a Comment