IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i14p6105-d1437125.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Research on Thermal Environment of Container Farms: Key Factor Identification and Priority Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Zihao Nie

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China)

  • Dong Liu

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
    Institute for Carbon Neutrality, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
    Internet-Based Collaborative Research Center on Protected Agriculture, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
    National Engineering Technology Research Center for Prefabrication Construction in Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China)

  • Chuang Meng

    (College of Architecture and Energy Engineering, Wenzhou University of Technology, Wenzhou 325027, China)

  • Ruizhi Song

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China)

Abstract

Container farms (CFs), a controlled environment agricultural technology designed to solve food insecurity, are receiving increasing attention from researchers. However, the complex geometric structures and artificial lighting used in CFs present challenges in effectively controlling the thermal environment. This study aims to identify the primary factors that impact the thermal environment of CFs while conducting factor ranking and significance analysis, providing a theoretical basis for future thermal environment optimization. The research method of theoretical analysis, CFD simulation, and an orthogonal experimental design were adopted to achieve the above objectives. Theoretical analysis revealed that factors influencing the thermal environment are the HVAC system’s supply air temperature, humidity, flow rate, and the light source used. Four evaluation indices, including the mean value and range between layers of temperature and moisture content, were used. The results revealed that supply air temperature and light source are significant for mean temperature, while supply air temperature and humidity are significant for mean moisture content. In the case of range between layers, supply air flow rate and light source display a significant correlation. These findings suggest that future optimization should prioritize the regulation of the HVAC system’s supply air and light source.

Suggested Citation

  • Zihao Nie & Dong Liu & Chuang Meng & Ruizhi Song, 2024. "Research on Thermal Environment of Container Farms: Key Factor Identification and Priority Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-21, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:14:p:6105-:d:1437125
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/14/6105/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/14/6105/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Graamans, Luuk & van den Dobbelsteen, Andy & Meinen, Esther & Stanghellini, Cecilia, 2017. "Plant factories; crop transpiration and energy balance," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 138-147.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Barkat Rabbi & Zhong-Hua Chen & Subbu Sethuvenkatraman, 2019. "Protected Cropping in Warm Climates: A Review of Humidity Control and Cooling Methods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-24, July.
    2. Graamans, Luuk & Baeza, Esteban & van den Dobbelsteen, Andy & Tsafaras, Ilias & Stanghellini, Cecilia, 2018. "Plant factories versus greenhouses: Comparison of resource use efficiency," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 31-43.
    3. Dafni Despoina Avgoustaki & George Xydis, 2020. "Plant factories in the water-food-energy Nexus era: a systematic bibliographical review," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(2), pages 253-268, April.
    4. Talbot, Marie-Hélène & Monfet, Danielle, 2024. "Analysing the influence of growing conditions on both energy load and crop yield of a controlled environment agriculture space," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 368(C).
    5. Kaya, Asli & Erturk, Hakan & Yalcin, Refet Ali, 2024. "Energy efficiency of solar illuminated vertical farms with different illumination strategies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    6. Marco Hernandez Velasco, 2021. "Enabling Year-round Cultivation in the Nordics-Agrivoltaics and Adaptive LED Lighting Control of Daily Light Integral," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-31, December.
    7. Yu, Zhitong & Bu, Kunlang & Liu, Yongzi & Wang, Aojiang & Yuan, Wei & Xue, Jiao & Zhang, Jingjin & Bao, Hua & Lai, Dayi, 2024. "Energy examination and optimization workflow for container farms: A case study in Shanghai, China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 374(C).
    8. Yu Haibo & Zhang Lei & Yu Haiye & Liu Yucheng & Liu Chunhui & Sui Yuanyuan, 2023. "Sustainable Development Optimization of a Plant Factory for Reducing Tip Burn Disease," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, March.
    9. Graamans, Luuk & Tenpierik, Martin & van den Dobbelsteen, Andy & Stanghellini, Cecilia, 2020. "Plant factories: Reducing energy demand at high internal heat loads through façade design," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    10. Nick ten Caat & Luuk Graamans & Martin Tenpierik & Andy van den Dobbelsteen, 2021. "Towards Fossil Free Cities—A Supermarket, Greenhouse & Dwelling Integrated Energy System as an Alternative to District Heating: Amsterdam Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-33, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:14:p:6105-:d:1437125. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.