Life Cycle Assessment of Carbon Capture by an Intelligent Vertical Plant Factory within an Industrial Park

Abstract

Bio-based carbon capture and utilization emerges as a critical pathway to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial activities. Within this context, plant factories become an innovative solution for biological carbon capture within industrial parks, fed with the substantial carbon emissions inherent in industrial exhaust gases to maximize their carbon sequestration capabilities. Among the various plant species suitable for such plant factories, Pennisetum giganteum becomes a candidate with the best potential, characterized by its high photosynthetic efficiency (rapid growth rate), perennial feature, and significant industrial value. This paper studies the feasibility of cultivating Pennisetum giganteum within an intelligent plant factory situated in an industrial park. An automated and intelligent plant factory was designed and established, in which multiple rounds of Pennisetum giganteum cultivations were performed, and life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to quantitatively evaluate its carbon capture capacity. The results show that the primary carbon emission in the plant factory arises from the lighting phase, constituting 67% of carbon emissions, followed by other processes (15%) and the infrastructure (10%). The absorption of CO2 during Pennisetum giganteum growth in the plant factory effectively mitigates carbon emissions from industrial exhaust gases. The production of 1 kg of dry Pennisetum giganteum leads to a net reduction in emissions by 0.35 kg CO2 equivalent. A plant factory with dimensions of 3 m × 6 m × 2.8 m can annually reduce carbon emissions by 174 kg, with the annual carbon sequestration per unit area increased by 56% compared to open-field cultivation. Furthermore, large-scale plant factories exhibit the potential to offset the carbon emissions of entire industrial parks. These findings confirm the viability of bio-based carbon capture using intelligent plant factories, highlighting its potential for carbon capture within industrial parks.