Low-temperature plasma nitrogen fixation for agricultural applications

Using man-made low-temperature plasmas we can directly fix atmospheric nitrogen as a fertiliser alternative through mimicking lightning processes, a natural means of nitrogen fixation. This has been to date unexplored, however, plasma sources offer many attractive attributes including cheap, portable operation from renewable energy using ambient feed-stocks. Key advantages are thus sustainability, independence of chemical plant infrastructure and production supply chains along with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

This project will involve the application of experimental and simulation techniques to explore the production of relevant chemically reactive species in air plasmas, how they can trigger downstream chemical and biological processes, and associated enhanced plant growth. State-of-the-art recently developed diagnostic analytical techniques will be applied and further developed to quantify reactive species within the plasma phase, and their transport into water and soil.