The rapidly growing population and increasing urbanization have created the need to produce more food and transport it safely to urban areas where the majority of global consumers live. Open-field agriculture and food distribution systems have a lot of food waste, and, in parallel, the largest percentage of available arable land is already occupied. In most cases, food produced by compatible agricultural methods needs to be frozen and travel several miles until it reaches the consumer, with high amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by this process, making it an unsustainable method with huge amounts of CO₂ emissions related with fresh food products. This research contains an extensive literature review based on 165 international publications (from 2006–2022) describing and analyzing the efficiency and impact of controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) methods, and more precisely, greenhouses (GHs) and vertical farms (VFs), in the environmental footprint of food production and consumption. Based on various publications, we could draw the conclusion that VFs could highly influence a greener transition to the sustainability of urban consumption with reduced CO₂ emissions sourcing from food transportation and limited post-harvest processes. However, there is a significant demand for further energy efficiency, specifically when it comes to artificial lighting operations inside VFs. A large-scale implementation of VFs that operate with renewable energy sources (RES) could lead to significant urban decarbonization by providing the opportunity for integrated energy–food nexus systems. Under this direction, VFs could optimize the way that cities interact with meeting the food and energy demand in densely urbanized areas.

Resource management in agriculture is considered a pivotal issue because greenhouse farming and agriculture-related activities generate about 10–29% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The problem of high greenhouse gas emissions is still unresolved due to the rapid expansion of arable land to meet global food demand. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to generate new perspectives and insights regarding the development of resource management and optimized environments in greenhouses, thereby lowering energy requirements and CO₂ emissions. This review sought to answer what technologies and inventions could be used to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions through efficient energy-saving mechanisms while considering their technical and economic viability. The synthesis of the findings led to several themes which included energy-saving techniques for greenhouses, systems that reduced unfavorable external conditions and renewable energy systems. Other themes identified regarded energy storage systems, systems for managing conditions in greenhouses, carbon capture and storage, and factors influencing the performance of different technologies to enhance resource management and ensure zero carbon emissions. The findings also revealed various technologies used in the design of energy-saving techniques in greenhouses including proportional–integral–derivatives (PID), fuzzy, artificial neural networks, and other intelligent algorithms. Additionally, technologies that were a combination of these algorithms were also examined. The systems that reduced unfavorable external conditions included the use of insulation panels and intelligent shading systems. Greenhouse covers were also optimized by smart glass systems, sensors, Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. Renewable energy systems included PV (solar) panels, wind turbines, and geothermal electricity. Some of the thermal energy storage systems widely studied in recent research included underground thermal energy storage (UTES) (for seasonal storage), phase-change materials (PCMs), and water tanks, which are used to address short-term shortages and peak loads. The adoption of the various technologies to achieve the above purposes was constrained by the fact that there was no isolated technology that could enable agricultural producers to achieve zero energy, zero emissions, and optimal resource utilization in the short term. Future research studies should establish whether it is economical for large agricultural companies to install smart glass systems and infrastructure for slow fertilizer release and carbon capture in greenhouse structures to offset the carbon footprint.

This review presents the state-of-the-art research on IoT systems for optimized greenhouse environments. The data were analyzed using descriptive and statistical methods to infer relationships between the Internet of Things (IoT), emerging technologies, precision agriculture, agriculture 4.0, and improvements in commercial farming. The discussion is situated in the broader context of IoT in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change and global warming in agriculture through the optimization of critical parameters such as temperature and humidity, intelligent data acquisition, rule-based control, and resolving the barriers to the commercial adoption of IoT systems in agriculture. The recent unexpected and severe weather events have contributed to low agricultural yields and losses; this is a challenge that can be resolved through technology-mediated precision agriculture. Advances in technology have over time contributed to the development of sensors for frost prevention, remote crop monitoring, fire hazard prevention, precise control of nutrients in soilless greenhouse cultivation, power autonomy through the use of solar energy, and intelligent feeding, shading, and lighting control to improve yields and reduce operational costs. However, particular challenges abound, including the limited uptake of smart technologies in commercial agriculture, price, and accuracy of the sensors. The barriers and challenges should help guide future Research & Development projects and commercial applications.

The article reviewed the four major Bioinspired intelligent algorithms for agricultural applications, namely ecological, swarm-intelligence-based, ecology-based, and multi-objective algorithms. The key emphasis was placed on the variants of the swarm intelligence algorithms, namely the artificial bee colony (ABC), genetic algorithm, flower pollination algorithm (FPA), particle swarm, the ant colony, firefly algorithm, artificial fish swarm, and Krill herd algorithm because they had been widely employed in the agricultural sector. There was a broad consensus among scholars that certain BIAs' variants were more effective than others. For example, the Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm and genetic algorithm were best suited for farm machinery path optimization and pest detection, among other applications. On the contrary, the particle swarm algorithm was useful in determining the plant evapotranspiration rates, which predicted the water requirements and optimization of the irrigation process. Despite the promising applications, the adoption of hyper-heuristic algorithms in agriculture remained low. No universal algorithm could perform multiple functions in farms; different algorithms were designed to perform specific functions. Secondary concerns relate to data integrity and cyber security, considering the history of cyber-attacks on smart farms. Despite the concerns, the benefits associated with the BIAs outweighed the risks. On average, farmers can save 647–1866 L on fuel which is equivalent to US$734-851, with the use of GPS-guided systems. The accuracy of the BIAs mitigated the risk of errors in applying pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation, and crop monitoring for better yields.

Polymeric materials degrade as they react with environmental conditions such as temperature, light, and humidity. Electromagnetic radiation from the Sun’s ultraviolet rays weakens the mechanical properties of polymers, causing them to degrade. This study examined the phenomenon of polymer aging due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The study examined three specific objectives, including the key theories explaining ultraviolet (UV) radiation’s impact on polymer decomposition, the underlying testing procedures for determining the aging properties of polymeric materials, and appraising the current technical methods for enhancing the UV resistance of polymers. The study utilized a literature review methodology to understand the aging effect of electromagnetic radiation on polymers. Thus, the study concluded that using additives and UV absorbers on polymers and polymer composites can elongate the lifespan of polymers by shielding them from the aging effects of UV radiation. The findings from the study suggest that thermal conditions contribute to polymer degradation by breaking down their physical and chemical bonds. Thermal oxidative environments accelerate aging due to the presence of UV radiation and temperatures that foster a quicker degradation of plastics.

Advances in technology have led to the production of sustainable antioxidants and natural monomers for food packaging and targeted drug delivery applications. Of particular importance is the synthesis of lignin polymers, and graft polymers, dopamine, and polydopamine, inulin, quercetin, limonene, and vitamins, due to their free radical scavenging ability, chemical potency, ideal functional groups for polymerization, abundance in the natural environment, ease of production, and activation of biological mechanisms such as the inhibition of the cellular activation of various signaling pathways, including NF-κB and MAPK. The radical oxygen species are responsible for oxidative damage and increased susceptibility to cancer, cardiovascular, degenerative musculoskeletal, and neurodegenerative conditions and diabetes; such biological mechanisms are inhibited by both synthetic and naturally occurring antioxidants. The orientation of macromolecules in the presence of the plasticizing agent increases the suitability of quercetin in food packaging, while the commercial viability of terpenes in the replacement of existing non-renewable polymers is reinforced by the recyclability of the precursors (thyme, cannabis, and lemon, orange, mandarin) and marginal ecological effect and antioxidant properties. Emerging antioxidant nanoparticle polymers have a broad range of applications in tumor-targeted drug delivery, food fortification, biodegradation of synthetic polymers, and antimicrobial treatment and corrosion inhibition. The aim of the review is to present state-of-the-art polymers with intrinsic antioxidant properties, including synthesis scavenging activity, potential applications, and future directions. This review is distinct from other works given that it integrates different advances in antioxidant polymer synthesis and applications such as inulin, quercetin polymers, their conjugates, antioxidant-graft-polysaccharides, and polymerization vitamins and essential oils. One of the most comprehensive reviews of antioxidant polymers was published by Cirillo and Iemma in 2012. Since then, significant progress has been made in improving the synthesis, techniques, properties, and applications. The review builds upon existing research by presenting new findings that were excluded from previous reviews.