Duration:
31 July 2020 / 28 February 2021

VIDA Challenges:
Sustainable agriculture and efficient greenhouse management

Summary:
Oxygen is fundamental for the healthy growth of plants: oxygen dissolved in water guarantees optimal uptake of nutrients and leads to healthier roots, thus improving the plant resistance to pathogens. Given this, it is essential to guarantee an appropriate dissolved oxygen content in irrigation water (e.g. in greenhouses and fields). Aquamar has developed a new innovative technique to dissolve gasses in liquids in the form of nanobubbles. Nanobubbles, thanks to their small size, do not rise to the liquid surface and therefore can ensure that gasses, such as oxygen, remain trapped in water, guaranteeing that plants can access it in adequate quantities. With this validation voucher Aquamar aims to: 1) test the functional specifications of the new technology (i.e. optimal operating parameters such as flow rate capacity for different generator sizes, pressure withstand, etc.), and 2) validate the quantitative performance of the nanobubble generator, (i.e. production rate and bubble size). The development of this technology will positively improve the operation of commercial greenhouses producing food crops. Currently, the health of the crops in commercial greenhouses is maintained by adding high amounts of disinfectants to the irrigation water. Adding directly oxygen to the irrigation water, by means of the Aquamar technology, will reduce the consumption of chemicals for disinfection and the amounts fertilizer used in the process. In this way the plants will be exposed to less chemicals during their cultivation, making the growing process cheaper. At the same time, it is expected that the quality of the products will increase, so that eventually consumers will have access to a better product at a lower price.

Partners:
Aquamar Disinfection
Products B.V.

Learn more: www.vidaproject.eu I Follow us: @h2020vida
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme, under Grant Agreement nº 777795.
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