scholarly journals Landfill Gas to Energy: A Demonstration Controlled Environment Agriculture System

HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Janes ◽  
James Cavazzoni ◽  
Guna Alagappan ◽  
David Specca ◽  
Joseph Willis
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Landfill Gas ◽  
Algal Culture ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Fish Feed ◽  
Methanol Production ◽  
Controlled Environment Agriculture ◽  
Turbine Exhaust

A qualitative systems approach to controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is presented by means of several multi-institutional projects integrated into a demonstration greenhouse at the Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex (BCRRC), N.J. The greenhouse has about 0.4 ha of production space, and is located about 800 m from the about 40-ha BCRRC landfill site. A portion of the landfill gas produced from the BCRRC site is used for microturbine electricity generation and for heating the greenhouse. The waste heat from the turbines, which are roughly 15 m from the greenhouse, is used as the main heat source for the greenhouse in the winter months, and to desalinate water when heating is not required. Recovery of this waste heat increases the energy efficiency of the four 30-kW turbines from about 25% to 75%. Within the greenhouse, aquaculture and hydroponic crop production are coupled by recycling the aquaculture effluent as a nutrient source for the plants. Both the sludge resulting from the filtered effluent and the inedible biomass from harvested plants are vermicomposted (i.e., rather than being sent to the landfill), resulting in marketable products such as soil amendments and liquid plant fertilizer. If suitably cleaned of contaminants, the CO2 from the landfill gas may be used to enrich the plant growing area within the greenhouse to increase the yield of the edible products. Landfill gas from the BCRRC site has successfully been processed to recover liquid commercial grade CO2 and contaminant-free methane-CO2, with the potential for this gas mixture to be applied as a feedstock for fuel cells or for methanol production. Carbon dioxide from the turbine exhaust may also be recovered for greenhouse enrichment. Alternatively, algal culture may be used to assimilate CO2 from the turbine exhaust into biomass, which may then be used as a biofuel, or possibly as fish feed, thus making the system more self-contained. By recycling energy and materials, the system described would displace fossil fuel use, mitigating negative environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions, and generate less waste in need of disposal. Successful implementation of the coupled landfill (gas-to-energy · aquaponic · desalination) system would particularly benefit developing regions, such as those of the Greater Caribbean Basin.

scholarly journals A Conceptual Framework for Incorporation of Composting in Closed-Loop Urban Controlled Environment Agriculture

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2471
Author(s):  
Ajwal Dsouza ◽  
Gordon W. Price ◽  
Mike Dixon ◽  
Thomas Graham
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Controlled Environment Agriculture

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA), specifically advanced greenhouses, plant factories, and vertical farms, has a significant role to play in the urban agri-food landscape through provision of fresh and nutritious food for urban populations. With the push towards improving sustainability of these systems, a circular or closed-loop approach for managing resources is desirable. These crop production systems generate biowaste in the form of crop and growing substrate residues, the disposal of which not only impacts the immediate environment, but also represents a loss of valuable resources. Closing the resource loop through composting of crop residues and urban biowaste is presented. Composting allows for the recovery of carbon dioxide and plant nutrients that can be reused as inputs for crop production, while also providing a mechanism for managing and valorizing biowastes. A conceptual framework for integrating carbon dioxide and nutrient recovery through composting in a CEA system is described along with potential environmental benefits over conventional inputs. Challenges involved in the recovery and reuse of each component, as well as possible solutions, are discussed. Supplementary technologies such as biofiltration, bioponics, ozonation, and electrochemical oxidation are presented as means to overcome some operational challenges. Gaps in research are identified and future research directions are proposed.

scholarly journals Opportunities and limits of controlled-environment plant phenotyping for climate response traits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Langstroff ◽  
Marc C. Heuermann ◽  
Andreas Stahl ◽  
Astrid Junker
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Plant Phenotyping ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Climate Response ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Controlled Environments ◽  
Response Traits

AbstractRising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns will affect agricultural production substantially, exposing crops to extended and more intense periods of stress. Therefore, breeding of varieties adapted to the constantly changing conditions is pivotal to enable a quantitatively and qualitatively adequate crop production despite the negative effects of climate change. As it is not yet possible to select for adaptation to future climate scenarios in the field, simulations of future conditions in controlled-environment (CE) phenotyping facilities contribute to the understanding of the plant response to special stress conditions and help breeders to select ideal genotypes which cope with future conditions. CE phenotyping facilities enable the collection of traits that are not easy to measure under field conditions and the assessment of a plant‘s phenotype under repeatable, clearly defined environmental conditions using automated, non-invasive, high-throughput methods. However, extrapolation and translation of results obtained under controlled environments to field environments is ambiguous. This review outlines the opportunities and challenges of phenotyping approaches under controlled environments complementary to conventional field trials. It gives an overview on general principles and introduces existing phenotyping facilities that take up the challenge of obtaining reliable and robust phenotypic data on climate response traits to support breeding of climate-adapted crops.

scholarly journals General Design Considerations for Gas Turbine Waste Heat Steam Generators

1968 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. V. Hambleton
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Heat Recovery ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Steam Generation ◽  
Steam Generators ◽  
Design Considerations ◽  
Exhaust Heat ◽  
Gas Turbine Exhaust ◽  
Exhaust Heat Recovery ◽  
Turbine Exhaust

This paper represents a study of the overall problems encountered in large gas turbine exhaust heat recovery systems. A number of specific installations are described, including systems recovering heat in other than the conventional form of steam generation.

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