Articles
SOLAR IRRADIATION AND PLASTICS: DEGRADATION OR SYNERGY? HOW TO MANAGE SOLAR ENERGY TO GET VALUE OUT OF IT?
Article number
1015_26
Pages
235 – 250
Language
English
Abstract
It is commonly known that plants need light, water and carbon dioxide for the photosynthesis or in other words they need the proper amount of energy to grow and produce fruits.
In cold climates light and heat must be maximized in order to allow the plants to grow earlier and healthier.
On the other hand, in high irradiation countries, plants might suffer from solar stress due to elevated temperatures combined with strong UV and IR radiations.
In the recent years the theme of Solar Energy Management (SEM) is becoming more and more important especially in the agricultural industry.
Whenever sunlight is irradiating objects, heat build-up occurs.
Interaction between Near Infrared Radiation (NIR) and objects is the main reason for the warming effect.
Some chemicals due to their chemical or physical structure can reflect, absorb or be almost completely transparent to NIR. The class of the so-called functional pigments has the feature of somehow manage the NIR, which at the end of the day leads to heat management.
In the present study the use of these pigments will be shown and discussed in a variety of agricultural applications, like mulch films, drip irrigation pipes and nets.
In fact, it is possible to have for example a black pipe which does not warm up the water during sunlight exposure, in this way polymer degradation is slowed down and the conveyed micronutrients are preserved from decomposition.
On the other hand an opaque mulch film can avoid the growth of weeds while it enables sufficient soil and root plants warming necessary for the growth of the young plants.
In cold climates light and heat must be maximized in order to allow the plants to grow earlier and healthier.
On the other hand, in high irradiation countries, plants might suffer from solar stress due to elevated temperatures combined with strong UV and IR radiations.
In the recent years the theme of Solar Energy Management (SEM) is becoming more and more important especially in the agricultural industry.
Whenever sunlight is irradiating objects, heat build-up occurs.
Interaction between Near Infrared Radiation (NIR) and objects is the main reason for the warming effect.
Some chemicals due to their chemical or physical structure can reflect, absorb or be almost completely transparent to NIR. The class of the so-called functional pigments has the feature of somehow manage the NIR, which at the end of the day leads to heat management.
In the present study the use of these pigments will be shown and discussed in a variety of agricultural applications, like mulch films, drip irrigation pipes and nets.
In fact, it is possible to have for example a black pipe which does not warm up the water during sunlight exposure, in this way polymer degradation is slowed down and the conveyed micronutrients are preserved from decomposition.
On the other hand an opaque mulch film can avoid the growth of weeds while it enables sufficient soil and root plants warming necessary for the growth of the young plants.
Authors
D. Alvisi , E. Galfrè , A. Boni
Keywords
NIR, radiation, absorption, reflection, mulch, pipe, pigment
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