Cold plasma and water aerosol: A new eco-friendly tool for agriculture – PLASMASOL

In a world constantly seeking to reduce chemicals consumption and pollution all the while researching for new tools to improve food production and combat the spread of infections, the importance of new breakthrough technologies has become crucial. Imagine a technology able to convert efficientlytap water into a rich fertilizer or a powerful antimicrobial. Dream that this technology is also eco-friendly, cost effective and applicable anywhere in the world since it requires only electricity, air and water to operate. This powerful technology is not a fantasy and is the result of the combination of cold plasma (ionized gas) and water aerosol. Plasmas in contact with water can generate species such as nitrates and nitrites or hydrogen oxides and atomic oxygen. Thus plasma-aerosol technology constitute a nitrogen fixation technique or an advanced oxidation technique (depending on the control parameters) that is expected to be free of solvent and long-term residuals and therefore is eco-friendly and sustainable. Nowadays, the lack of knowledge on the mechanisms governing plasma-aerosols systems hinders their optimization and severely limits the full development of their agricultural applications. The objective of PLASMASOL is to bring new insight on plasma-aerosols so to finally unleash the full potential of this technology. The final aim is to pave the way to a new technology that has the potential to become a breakthrough solution in agriculture for the in-situ and on demand production of fertilizers and antimicrobials. No more need of coal or natural gas, no need of complex supply chains or infrastructures. Plasma-aerosol technology could minimize or even eliminate the environmental impact nowadays associated to the production, distribution and storage of agrochemicals.