We've talked a lot about urban farming initiatives (Credit crunch causing a green-slip in the sustainability agenda? , Cuba: Not Just Cigars ), but never about vertical farms using seawater.
Dubai, the land of architectural inventiveness, is pushing the envelope yet again. A new building that uses seawater to cool and humidify greenhouses is on the drawing boards.
Here's how it will work:
- Air is cooled and humidified by trickling seawater over an evaporator
- Air passes through second evaporator and mixes with the warm dry air of the ceiling interspace making the air hotter and more humid
- Warm air rises, passing through a central chimney where it condenses when it comes in contact with tubes containing cool seawater
- Condensed fresh water is collected to be used to water the crops
Having been in the Arabian Sea before, I can tell you it's as warm as bathwater (and Dubai is already pretty darn hot and humid, especially in the summer)...but, if this works (and gets built), it's a really cool idea...and an interesting addition to Dubai's already fascinating skyline (see pix of Burj Dubai being struck by lightening here).
Read the article: Vertical Farming with Seawater
Image Source: Gizmag
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