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LIFE-CYCLE RESOURCE CONSUMPTION OF HYDROPONIC GREEN ROOF SYSTEMS

  • Sonia Longo - Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Italy
  • Marina Mistretta - Department of Information Engineering, Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy, University Mediterranean of Reggio Calabria, Italy
  • Francesco Nocera - Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Italy
  • Maurizio Cellura - Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Italy
  • Martina Derito - Center of Sustainability and Ecological Transition, University of Palermo, Italy
  • Francesco Guarino - Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Italy

DOI 10.31025/2611-4135/2026.20622

Released under All rights reserved

Copyright: © 2026 CISA Publisher

Abstract

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.

Keywords

Editorial History

  • Received: 24 Jun 2026
  • Revised: 12 Sep 2026
  • Accepted: 22 Sep 2026
  • Available online: 30 Sep 2026

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