Modular Fogponics System High-Pressure Nutrient Atomization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fogponics agriculture has been resistant to cost-effective commercialization due to high maintenance and operational costs associated with traditional aeroponics systems, which require excessive nozzles and are challenging to design and maintain at a commercial scale, leading to inefficient nutrient delivery and clogging issues.
Innovation Solution
A modular and scalable fogponics crop growth system comprising an upper growth chamber for leafy plant portions, a lower growth chamber for root portions, a nutrient tank, and an environmental system with a booster pump and high-pressure pump to generate 800-1500 PSI, atomizing nutrient fog between 6-15 microns for efficient delivery, and a control system for optimal air mixture, temperature, and humidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional aeroponics uses low pressure nutrient delivery, then the system is easier to operate, but nozzles clog frequently and nutrient distribution is uneven
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the pressure parameter from low pressure to high pressure (800-1500 PSI) to resolve the contradiction. High pressure enables the system to deliver nutrients effectively without clogging, as the increased pressure overcomes the resistance caused by small nozzle openings and maintains reliable nutrient delivery throughout the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the pressure delivery system into two stages: a booster pump that provides initial pressure and a high-pressure pump that generates the final 800-1500 PSI. This segmentation allows each pump to operate optimally within its pressure range, preventing clogging while maintaining ease of operation through automated pressure management.
2Reliability
If traditional aeroponics uses high pressure nutrient delivery, then nutrient distribution is improved, but maintenance costs and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the high-pressure generation function into a dedicated high-pressure pump module, separating it from the general irrigation system. This modular extraction allows the high-pressure subsystem to be optimized independently, improving nutrient delivery efficiency while containing the complexity within a specific, maintainable component rather than throughout the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The high-pressure pump system is designed to serve multiple functions: nutrient delivery, fog generation, and pressure-regulated distribution to multiple nozzles simultaneously. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity by consolidating what could be multiple separate low-pressure systems into a single high-pressure platform.
3Reliability
If traditional aeroponics uses excessive nozzles per plant, then nutrient distribution is more even, but system cost and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses high-pressure hydraulics to atomize nutrients into a fine fog that naturally distributes evenly across the root zone. This pneumatic-hydraulic approach eliminates the need for multiple nozzles per plant, as the pressurized fog disperses uniformly through the growth chamber, reducing nozzle count while maintaining distribution uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the nozzle output parameter from liquid stream to atomized fog through high-pressure operation. This parameter change allows a single nozzle to cover a larger area more effectively, reducing the total number of nozzles required per plant while maintaining even nutrient distribution through the fine droplet dispersion characteristics of the fog.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves efficient and cost-effective large-scale agriculture with reduced maintenance, minimizing waste and maximizing nutrient use, while requiring fewer skilled laborers and utilizing renewable energy sources, ensuring optimal growth conditions for plants.
Implementation Method 1
The high pressure pump is operatively coupled to a nozzle configured to dispense the atomized nutrient fog, substantially between 6 microns and 15 microns, into the lower growth chamber
Implementation Method 2
The nutrient dispenser includes a booster pump and a high pressure pump, with the booster pump providing back pressure for the high pressure pump generating approximately 800 PSI to 1500 PSI
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated modular and scalable fogponics crop growth system for cultivating a crop includes an upper growth chamber housing a leafy portion of a crop, a lower growth chamber housing a root portion of the crop, a nutrient tank and dispenser, and an environmental system. The nutrient dispenser is coupled to the nutrient tank holding a nutrient mixture for sustaining the crop. The dispenser atomizes the nutrient mixture into a nutrient fog using a booster pump and a high pressure pump capable of generating approximately 800 PSI to 1500 PSI. The high pressure pump is operatively coupled to a nozzle configured to dispense the atomized nutrient fog, substantially between 6 microns and 15 microns droplet size, into the lower growth chamber. Temperature and humidity are separately controlled in the leaf area.