biogreenThis is a project that develops the necessary technology to establish a new safe greenhouse vegetable production system for arid and semi-arid climates..

The Cajamar Caja Rural Experimental Station “Las Palmerillas” in Almería, The first phase of study of the BIOGREEN project has ended.

The general objective of the BIOGREEN project is to develop the necessary technology to establish a new and innovative greenhouse vegetable production system for a safe arid and semi-arid climate., reliable and highly efficient in the use of natural resources (with energy obtained from renewable sources, floor, Water, CO2, etc.).

That is capable of operating in open regime (with maximum efficiency in natural ventilation), and adaptable for operation in a semi-closed regime (managing the greenhouse microclimate through thermal supply, of heat and cold, preferably from renewable sources) to improve productive potential and continuously maintain high CO2 concentrations (2 investment levels).

Working in semi-closed greenhouse conditions reduces the entry of pests and maintains high CO2 levels through carbon enrichment.. However, Given the lower air renewal, equipment is required to maintain air temperature and humidity levels in adequate conditions for crops., for which heat exchangers can be used.

In closed greenhouses, from the point of view of refrigeration demands, Energy requirements are so high that productive activity in the warm months is not affordable..

This circumstance, as in the case of heating demands, can be avoided or minimized through the semi-closed greenhouse concept that is proposed in this project based on the load reduction and control capabilities that are incorporated into it..

Although there is experience in the use of cooling methods in greenhouses such as ventilation, both natural and mechanical, the use of mobile shading screens, evaporative cooling, It is clear that their heat extraction capacity is not comparable to that offered by conventional refrigerant fluid cycles through energy exchangers..

Within the BIOGREEN project, At the Cajamar Experimental Station, a cooling system for a semi-closed greenhouse from the company CIATESA is being studied, the objective of which is to develop low-cost air-water heat exchangers., with good efficiency of energy exchange by convection/condensation in the working temperature range in the greenhouse, and low energy consumption.

The evaluation of these greenhouse cooling systems will be carried out in two periods: one with high humidity and medium temperature, and another with high temperature and low humidity.

Last march, The second evaluation phase has begun, whose scenario had a high temperature and low humidity environment.. Under these conditions, equipment can improve its performance by being more efficient in energy consumption..

In the period evaluated in the first phase and in semi-closed greenhouse conditions (no window openings), The cooling equipment kept the air temperature in the greenhouse at levels suitable for the crop, substantially reducing the level of absolute humidity of the air through condensation of the refrigeration equipment.

According to data from the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO,2010), The increase in food demand in developing countries is expected to be 60% for the year 2030, and 120% for 2050.

It is intended that this increase in demand can be covered by the increase in yields and the intensity of crops, mainly, and to a lesser extent by expansion of cultivated land.

In this context, food production in protected systems, like greenhouses, It is configured as a strategic tool throughout the world to achieve the challenge of food security, understood in a broad sense, based on food availability, the stability of your production, its accessibility and safety of use.

But the extension of the use of the greenhouse to successfully meet the challenge of an effective and efficient contribution to the growing demand for food, must be approached keeping in mind energy and environmental sustainability criteria.

The BIOGREEN project is an initiative co-financed by the Idea Agency, European Funds (FEDER) and the Technological Corporation of Andalusia, in which three companies from the agri-food sector Prima-Ram also participate, CIATESA and GOGARSA and research groups from IFAPA and the University of Almería.