New techniques for growing food would produce fresh vegetables in dense urban areas while leaving a lighter carbon footprint and using less water, energy, and land than traditional farming methods, according to researchers from Clemson University and South Korea's Gyeongsang National University.
The project brings together researchers from the two universities and is funded with $1.5 million from a National Science Foundation program called Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE).
The system researchers are developing would use an anaerobic membrane bioreactor to filter harmful contaminants out of wastewater while leaving behind nutrients that fertilize plants. The treated water would be used on crops, such as lettuce, that are growing in an indoor, soil-free hydroponic system that is engineered to efficiently use the water and its nutrients.
Treating wastewater would produce methane that could be converted to carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide would enhance plant growth by enriching the air inside a greenhouse or modular container that has been reconfigured for growing crops.
The idea is to grow vegetables where they are most needed without having to ship them from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Researchers aim to design a system that would benefit any urban or suburban community, and they see particularly high promise for application in impoverished cities and disaster zones.
The system is similar to one proposed by NASA in the 1990s as a way of growing crops to support planet colonization, researchers said.
The project could have a widespread impact, said a collaborator, Raghupathy Karthikeyan, the Charles Carter Newman Endowed Chair of Natural Resources Engineering in Clemson's Department of Agricultural Sciences.
"We see food deserts, and urban farming is coming up quite a bit as a solution, not only in the U.S. but in developing countries where they have water issues," Karthikeyan said. "As a result of this research, we could tap into water that is treated using an anaerobic membrane to grow food and help those most in need to become more self-sufficient. This system would be a way to get sustainable food production in urban clusters."
Also among the collaborators is Gary Amy, a Dean's Distinguished Professor of environmental engineering and Earth sciences.
"In an era of increasing resource scarcity which includes food, water, arable land, and fertilizers, we are in need of a new paradigm for sustainable agriculture: the integration of non-traditional waters for irrigation, high-intensity crop cultivation, and new sources of fertilizers, all of which are addressed in our project," Amy said. "Of particular importance is the convergence of Korean expertise in controlled environment agriculture and U.S. expertise on wastewater reclamation by anaerobic membrane bioreactor technology."
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Article Attrition: HortiDaily