Saline/Sea Water Greenhouse

Project/Experiment Duration: 2019-2021

Objectives:

To develop a low-cost proof-of-concept greenhouse which can produce food by using 100% saline/sea water in an innovative and environmentally sustainable way by:

1. Cooling the greenhouse using an innovative pozzolan-based evaporative system (made of salt-resistant pozzolan bricks).
2. Irrigating the soil with fresh water produced from saline/sea water using solar heat and a specially designed hydroponic system which uses the natural psychrometric processes of humid air.
3. Conducting a detailed financial analysis on the return on investment to demonstrate value for money.

Experimental Design: One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), where the greenhouse type (saline water vs standard) will be the factor.

Crops: cucumber and tomato.

This project aims to develop a low-cost proof-of-concept greenhouse cooled with 100% saline/sea water for growing crops in an innovative and environmentally sustainable way. The cooling process uses innovative pozzolan-based evaporative cooling technology (made of salt-resistant pozzolan bricks). The soil is irrigated with fresh water produced from saline/sea water using solar heat and a specially designed hydroponic system which utilizes the natural psychrometric processes of humid air.