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Biodegradable Sensor Project Benefits Soil
Researchers in Scotland have developed pH sensors that, at the end of the season, biodegrade into the soil and eventually feed new plant growth. The sensors are the work of engineers from the James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow. They collaborated with researchers from universities and research cente
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Biodegradable Sensor Project Benefits Soil
Researchers in Scotland have developed pH sensors that, at the end of the season, biodegrade into the soil and eventually feed new plant growth. The sensors are the work of engineers from the James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow. They collaborated with researchers from universities and research centers in Canada, Finland, Poland and Switzerland. The effort to create electronic materials that degrade into plant nutrients is part of a larger project called the Transient Electronics for Sustainable ICT in Digital Agriculture.
The sensor project included powering the sensors with solar cells and supercapacitors made from sustainable materials. The goal is to enable an environmentally friendly solution for precision agricultural monitoring.
While the front-end sensing modules would biodegrade, they would be paired with reusable electronic systems. The combination is seen as reducing the environmental impact of digital agriculture’s use of networked sensors.
Currently, networked sensors are non-recyclable. As digital agriculture and networked sensors grow, they’ll add to electronic waste.
To make the degradable sensors, the research team printed circuits using graphene-carbon ink on a biodegradable polymer substrate. A sensing layer of molybdenum disulfide was then printed on top. All the materials naturally break down into nutrients.
The sensors consistently monitored soil pH levels in solutions from pH 3 to pH 8 over a two-week period. They also detected traces of ethephon, a common plant growth regulator. It can be toxic to humans and wildlife if it contaminates groundwater.
Soil pH is only the first application of the technology.
“We’re keen to continue expanding our biodegradable sensor’s ability to detect other key indicators of plant growth and soil health,” says Jeff Kettle, who led the research team. “That could include adding sensitivity to forever chemicals like PFAs, which have significant environmental impact.”
Another application the international research team is considering is a solar-powered patch that can be applied to the surface of crop leaves. It’ll measure key indicators of growth and transmit the information collected to a central computer.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Transient Electronics for Sustainable ICT in Digital Agriculture (jeff.kettle@glasgow.ac.uk; www.teslaresearchproject.eu).
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