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Energy and Economic Analysis of Vertical Farms Considering Solar Energy Utilization and CO2 Enrichment

Keyvan, Pegah | 2022

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 54872 (46)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Energy Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Roshandel, Ramin
  7. Abstract:
  8. Given the growth of the world's population along with the increase in the percentage of urban population by 2050, the way of responding to food consumption will change in the future. Controlled Environment Agriculture will largely account for future food supply. Vertical Farming is one of these systems. But despite the efficiency of these systems in terms of land and water and also not being affected by weather conditions, the main challenge in these systems is the consumption of energy use per unit of crop production. The cost of energy is about 25 to 40 percent of the total costs. The purpose of this study is to develop an integrated dynamic model for the determination of vertical farm energy demand along with providing a cost model for cost-benefit analysis in different conditions. In the first step of this research, was tried to analyze and estimate the energy demand of vertical farms and in the second step, a cost model was developed to calculate the cost per product and finally examine different scenarios by using cost-benefit analysis. To develop an integrated dynamic model, the plant dynamics growth model and the plant evapotranspiration model were developed for investigating the dynamics role of plants in the system and the RTS model to investigate the energy exchange between inside and outside the system through the walls. The developed integrated model is obtained from the integration of the mentioned sub-models in the mass and energy balance. Then, with the development of the cost model, different scenarios are analyzed from the cost-benefit perspective. According to the validations performed for each model, the validity of the integrated model developed in this research can be ensured. In the basic scenario, there is a vertical farm container in Tehran where the lettuce energy intensity production and the cost per production are 8.93 (kWh/kg) and 2.57 ($/kg), respectively. In the basic scenario, energy accounts for 31% of the overall cost of lettuce. The findings of the research of carbon dioxide injection with varying concentrations in the two modes of free carbon dioxide and the purchase of capsules are in the range of 1.46 ($ / kg) to 2.13 ($ / kg), and are in the range of 2.26 ($ / kg) to 3.23 ($ / kg), respectively. In addition, by examining the container in the cities of Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz, and Bandar Abbas to study the use of solar energy, 9.9 and 7.6 percent of the total energy consumption of the container are provided by installing a photovoltaic system on the roof and south wall of the container, respectively. According to the results, each square meter of vertical farm container area in Tehran requires an area equal to 7.09 square meters of solar panel to supply the vertical farm container's total electricity demand
  9. Keywords:
  10. Carbon Dioxide Injection ; Utilization ; Mass and Energy Balance ; Cost Model ; Solar System Utilization ; Integrated Energy Demand Model ; Vertical Farm System

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