LIFE-CYCLE RESOURCE CONSUMPTION OF HYDROPONIC GREEN ROOF SYSTEMS

The research focuses on assessing the circularity, in terms of life-cycle resources embodied, of a hydroponic system installed on a building roof in Southern Italy, used for producing food in soilless conditions. The analysis of the entire system is performed by applying the Life Cycle Assessment methodology and adopting a “from cradle to gate” approach, which includes all the life-cycle steps from the raw materials supply to the system assembly. The selected categories to quantify the impact on circularity are: land use, water use, use of minerals and metals resources, use of non-renewable energy sources, and use of renewable energy sources. The results reveal the materials and components of examined system that are mainly responsible for these impacts. In particular, for almost all the impacts water tank and platform are the main hot-spots influencing the results and should be further investigated to improve the circularity of the hydroponic system.