Hydroponics Lab Experiment: An Introduction Into Sustainable Agriculture for Chemical Engineers

Authors

  • Jacob Lakomy United States
  • John Kopas United States
  • Jon Friedman United States
  • Ajay Patel United States
  • Alex J. Bertuccio University of Kansas, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1827-630X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18260/2-1-370.660-134695

Abstract

A hydroponics experiment growing microgreens was piloted by seniors where trials were conducted over 9-day growth periods and designed to test 12 different growth conditions in triplicate, including varying nutrient supply, nutrient flow rate, and seed density.  Plant growth was assessed through changes in daily mass, height, and final dry weight. This experiment exposes students to plant biology, horticulture, and sustainable environmental systems and demonstrated viability as an experiment for a senior unit operations course.  

Author Biographies

Jacob Lakomy, United States

Jacob Lakomy received his BS and MS in Chemical Engineering at Rutgers University – New Brunswick.  Jacob works at Sika USA as a Process Engineer. He continues his interest in sustainable systems and hydroponics by having an at-home hydroponics system.

John Kopas, United States

John (Jack) Kopas received his BS in Chemical Engineering at Rutgers University – New Brunswick.  John works at Captive Aire Systems as a Technical Sales Engineer.  

Jon Friedman, United States

Jon Friedman received his BS in Chemical Engineering at Rutgers University – New Brunswick.  Jon works at Captive Aire Systems as a Technical Sales Engineer. 

Ajay Patel, United States

Ajay Patel received his BS in Chemical Engineering at Rutgers University – New Brunswick and plans on continuing his education to pursue medicine. Ajay is focused on using his engineering and research knowledge to excel during his post-graduate studies in medical school.

Alex J. Bertuccio, University of Kansas, United States

Alex J. Bertuccio, PhD, is an Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Kansas in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. He taught Process Engineering Lab and currently teaches Material and Energy Balances and Introduction to the Chemical Engineering Profession.   His educational focus is developing hands-on projects and experiments to complement undergraduate chemical engineering core courses. He received his BS and MS from Manhattan College and his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University.  

Corresponding author: abertuccio@ku.edu

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Published

2024-09-16

Issue

Vol. 58 No. 4 (2024): Fall 2024

Section

Manuscripts