{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/130093"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/130093","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"A novel floating cultivation platform to boost crop yield and improve water quality","abstract":"Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-08-01","abstract_html":"Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-08-01","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fan, Youheng"],"institution":"University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Agricultural & Biological Engr","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Tian, Lei","Bhattarai, Rabin","Maghirang, Ronaldo","Sepulveda, Andres Prada"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-07-18","date_published":"2025-07-18","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:06Z","subjects":["Floating Hydroponic Platform","Nutrient Uptake","Biomass Enhancement","Water Flow Influence","Solar-powered Agriculture","Environmental Remediation","Lettuce Cultivation","Precision Agriculture"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2025 Youheng Fan"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130093","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Tian, Lei","Bhattarai, Rabin","Maghirang, Ronaldo","Sepulveda, Andres Prada"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fan, Youheng"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-07-18","2025-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Agricultural & Biological Engr"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Floating Hydroponic Platform","Nutrient Uptake","Biomass Enhancement","Water Flow Influence","Solar-powered Agriculture","Environmental Remediation","Lettuce Cultivation","Precision Agriculture"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2025 Youheng Fan"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130093"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-08-01","The student, Youheng Fan, accepted the attached license on 2025-07-10 at 10:45.","The student, Youheng Fan, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-07-10 at 10:45.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-07-18 at 06:19.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22482 on 2025-10-25 at 15:30:57","The objective of this study was to develop a novel floating bed system, utilizing nutrition in polluted pools and lakes to grow valuable crops and vegetables. The system is powered by solar energy and can be applied to cultivate numerous cash crops using a floating platform on a water body like a pond or lake. The research questions that this study attempted to answer are: 1) Is the nutrition in polluted ponds receiving agricultural runoff enough to support plant growth? 2) Can proper water flow increase the nutrient uptake by the plant root, which can enhance plant biomass? 3) Can the solar energy absorbed by solar panels be used to generate water flow, promoting nutrient uptake by the plant roots? 4) Can we cultivate crops on water bodies like ponds with high nutrient levels without the need for additional fertilizers? To answer those questions, an indoor validation experiment was conducted based on a hydroponic system, with different flow rates set in the pipelines to observe the final biomass of the vegetables. A fluid model was used to calculate to ensure that the solar-powered propeller generates sufficient flow speed near the plant roots. And outdoor field experiments were conducted in a pond that received agricultural runoff to cultivate crops. The results from this study indicate that (1) plant biomass can be increased by more than 10% based on proper water flow, and (2) an on-water planting system with a solar-driven propeller can generate enough water flow around the plant root area to increase the plant biomass significantly. Thus, the novel floating bed system can be implemented for application in the treatment of agricultural pollution in water bodies."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A novel floating cultivation platform to boost crop yield and improve water quality"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Tian, Lei","Bhattarai, Rabin","Maghirang, Ronaldo","Sepulveda, Andres Prada"],"dc:creator":["Fan, Youheng"],"dc:date":["2025-07-18","2025-08"],"dc:description":["Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-08-01","The student, Youheng Fan, accepted the attached license on 2025-07-10 at 10:45.","The student, Youheng Fan, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-07-10 at 10:45.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-07-18 at 06:19.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22482 on 2025-10-25 at 15:30:57","The objective of this study was to develop a novel floating bed system, utilizing nutrition in polluted pools and lakes to grow valuable crops and vegetables. The system is powered by solar energy and can be applied to cultivate numerous cash crops using a floating platform on a water body like a pond or lake. The research questions that this study attempted to answer are: 1) Is the nutrition in polluted ponds receiving agricultural runoff enough to support plant growth? 2) Can proper water flow increase the nutrient uptake by the plant root, which can enhance plant biomass? 3) Can the solar energy absorbed by solar panels be used to generate water flow, promoting nutrient uptake by the plant roots? 4) Can we cultivate crops on water bodies like ponds with high nutrient levels without the need for additional fertilizers? To answer those questions, an indoor validation experiment was conducted based on a hydroponic system, with different flow rates set in the pipelines to observe the final biomass of the vegetables. A fluid model was used to calculate to ensure that the solar-powered propeller generates sufficient flow speed near the plant roots. And outdoor field experiments were conducted in a pond that received agricultural runoff to cultivate crops. The results from this study indicate that (1) plant biomass can be increased by more than 10% based on proper water flow, and (2) an on-water planting system with a solar-driven propeller can generate enough water flow around the plant root area to increase the plant biomass significantly. Thus, the novel floating bed system can be implemented for application in the treatment of agricultural pollution in water bodies."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130093"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2025 Youheng Fan"],"dc:subject":["Floating Hydroponic Platform","Nutrient Uptake","Biomass Enhancement","Water Flow Influence","Solar-powered Agriculture","Environmental Remediation","Lettuce Cultivation","Precision Agriculture"],"dc:title":["A novel floating cultivation platform to boost crop yield and improve water quality"],"dc:type":["text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Agricultural & Biological Engr"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:06Z"}