LCA study on environmental impact of hydroponic tomato production
Greenhouse cultivation in the Mediterranean region has undoubtedly enhanced economic growth and has generated social benefits by making efficient use of resources. However, these production systems caused undesirable environmental impacts. In order to move towards cleaner production in greenhouse areas, an LCA study has assessed the potential environmental benefits and trade-offs of the integration of an on-farm reverse osmosis system powered by photovoltaic solar energy to recycle the drainage effluents from greenhouses.
The study compared the environmental footprint of a greenhouse tomato crop using this technology in a hydroponic system, versus the conventional sanded soil ‘enarenado’ with free-drainage to soil. Additionally, for comparison, three independent irrigation sources (desalinated seawater with low electrical conductivity and two different mixes of underground and desalinated water, with moderate and high electrical conductivity, respectively) were evaluated. The use of desalinated seawater can help reduce the overexploitation of aquifers, although if the desalination process is not done with clean energy, it also comes with a negative impact on the carbon footprint.
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