Master thesis in Sustainable Development 2021/43 Examensarbete i Hållbar utveckling One Square Meter Yield: A Hydroponic System Design Hithaishi Dayananda DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES I INSTITUTIONEN FÖR GEOVETENSKAPER Master thesis in Sustainable Development 2021/43 Examensarbete i Hållbar utveckling One Square Meter Yield: A Hydroponic System Design Hithaishi Dayananda Supervisor: Ms. Madeleine Granvik Subject Reviewer: Dr. Swaminathan Ramanathan II Copyright © Hithaishi Dayananda and the Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University. Published at Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University (www.geo.uu.se), Uppsala, 2021. III Contents Contents .................................................................................................................................... IV 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 11 1.1. Background ................................................................................................................... 11 1.1.1. Supermarkets .......................................................................................................... 12 1.2. Problem Formulation ..................................................................................................... 12 1.3. Aim and Research Questions .......................................................................................... 13 1.4. Limitations .................................................................................................................... 13 1.4.1. Research Limitations............................................................................................... 13 1.4.2. Design Limitations .................................................................................................. 13 2. Theory and Concepts ............................................................................................................ 14 2.1. Urban Farming ............................................................................................................... 14 2.1.1. Hydroponics ........................................................................................................... 14 2.2. Urban Food Resilience ................................................................................................... 16 2.3. Sustainability ................................................................................................................. 16 2.4. Business Model .............................................................................................................. 17 3. Methods ................................................................................................................................ 18 3.1. Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 18 3.2. Data Collection Methods ................................................................................................ 18 3.2.1. Case ....................................................................................................................... 18 3.2.2. Questionnaire ......................................................................................................... 18 3.3. Computer Aided Design (CAD) ...................................................................................... 18 3.3.1. AutoCAD ............................................................................................................... 19 3.3.2. SolidWorks ............................................................................................................. 19 3.3.3. Ansys ..................................................................................................................... 19 4. Data Collection .................................................................................................................... 20 4.1. Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 20 4.2. Case .............................................................................................................................. 20 IV 4.3. Questionnaire................................................................................................................. 22 5. Design .................................................................................................................................. 24 5.1. Vision and strategy ........................................................................................................ 24 5.2. Product Business Model ................................................................................................. 24 5.3. Concept Ideation ............................................................................................................ 25 5.4. Product Components ...................................................................................................... 26 5.4.1. Crop Selection ........................................................................................................ 26 5.4.2. Lighting .................................................................................................................. 26 5.4.3. Water Pump ............................................................................................................ 27 5.4.4. Nutrient Solution in Hydroponics ............................................................................ 27 5.4.5. Sensors ................................................................................................................... 28 5.5. Crop Production Process ................................................................................................ 29 5.6. Design Calculations ...................................................................................................... 30 5.6.1. Crop ....................................................................................................................... 30 5.6.2. External Structure ................................................................................................... 30 5.6.3. Hydroponic Grow Tray ........................................................................................... 32 5.6.4. Water Tank Design ................................................................................................. 33 5.6.5. Germination, Storage and Nursery ........................................................................... 34 5.7. Specifications ................................................................................................................ 35 5.8. Structural Analysis ......................................................................................................... 36 5.8.1. Finite Element Analysis .......................................................................................... 36 5.9. Sustainability ................................................................................................................. 39 6. Results ................................................................................................................................. 40 6.1. Questionnaire................................................................................................................. 40 6.2. Design Results ............................................................................................................... 40 6.2.1. Hydroponic System Yield Calculation ..................................................................... 40 6.2.2. Water Consumption ................................................................................................ 40 6.2.3. Structural Analysis .................................................................................................. 41 V 7. Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 42 8. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 45 9. Future Research .................................................................................................................... 45 10. Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 45 Reference .................................................................................................................................... 46 Appendices ................................................................................................................................. 51 Appendix I - Questionnaire result pie charts ............................................................................. 51 Appendix II – Types of grow media ........................................................................................... 53 Appendix III – AutoCAD 2D model ........................................................................................... 54 VI List of Figures Figure No. Title Pg. no. Figure 1 Illustration of how the Business Model Canvas 17 Figure 2 Farming as A Service inside ICA 21 Figure 3 Hydroponic grow unit 21 Figure 4 Produce in rockwool medium 22 Figure 5 Germination trays with grow media 22 Figure 6 Grow pot with coco peat as a grow media 22 Figure 7 Top View – External Structure 31 Figure 8 Front View – External Structure 31 Figure 9 Grow tray detailed drawing 32 Figure 10 3D model