Enriching the air of greenhouse or indoor farm operations with CO2 has been used since the 1960s when the floriculture industry began using it to increase the number and size of cut flowers. Today it is commonly used to boost yields on vegetables and berries and, when used with higher light and temperature, decrease the time of production, potentially saving energy and improving the unit economics. Lesser known is the exciting research of the last decade that has shown CO2 can also be used as a “trade” for heat or light, allowing for normal yields grown with less energy. As showcased in RII’s ‘Best Practices for Controls & Automation of CEA Operations,’ this suggests CO2 can be used dynamically in CEA operations in response to energy prices and market conditions. The challenges of enrichment include the climbing cost of CO2 and sustainable ways to generate it. In this webinar, three industry experts will explore the best practices of CO2 enrichment across the spectrum of technologies to produce and deliver this beneficial input, be it compressed gas, bulk liquid, cogeneration of heat and power (CHP), and emerging carbon capture technology.
Rob has over 30 years of experience in plant growth facility management, plant research and commercial production. At Purdue University, he brought online and managed a computer- controlled 40,000 ft 2 research facility, made up of 25 greenhouses and over 60 growth chambers and grow rooms. He was responsible for hundreds of CEA studies involving flowering, food and medicinal species. He served on design teams for greenhouse projects and one of the first automated machine-vision phenotyping centers in the country. In his consulting role, he supported major hydroponic produce growers AeroFarms and Bright Farms; Big Ag companies Dow AgroSciences, Novozymes and Indigo Ag; and several cannabis operations including Clade9. He wrote cultivation plans for cannabis licenses awarded in Missouri and West Virginia.
Rob’s protocols for optimizing greenhouse production have been downloaded over 70,000 times in 104 countries. He participated in the publication, A Practical Guide to Containment: Plant Biosafety in Research Greenhouses, recognized throughout the world as a primary resource for safe production of genetically modified crops. In 2016, he was a member of the International Committee for Controlled Environment Guidelines that published Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environmental Parameters for Experiments in Greenhouse Facilities, the seminal document of quality assurance protocols for plant science research.
In his free time, Rob enjoys gardening, growing microgreens under LEDs, baking and winning croquet matches against his three grown children.
