Nitrogen fertilization effects of Plasma Generated Dinitrogen Pentoxide

Currently, nitrogen fertilizer, which is indispensable for crop production, is mainly synthesized by the Harbor-Bosch process consuming natural gas and a large amount of energy. Alternatives are awaited in terms of global sustainable development goals. Recently, selective synthesis of dinitrogen pentoxide, anhydride of nitric acid, has been established using air discharge plasmas exclusively from inexhaustible air. This plasma nitrogen fixation converting nitrogen in air into nitric acid precursor can play a role in fixing nitrogen even in farming field, while symbiotic rhizobia in legumes, directly converting nitrogen in air into ammonia, performs nitrogen fixation in nature. In this study, the growth of a model legume, Lotus japonicus, with the plasma nitrogen fixation (supply of dinitrogen pentoxide) was compared to the growth with rhizobia inoculation as a measure of the plasma nitrogen fixation efficacy. As a result, dinitrogen pentoxide became an indispensable nitrogen source for Lotus japonicus growth, when it was dissolved in water supply and directly blown onto plants as a gas. The balance between the damage caused by direct blowing to plants and the effects of nitrogen fertilization will also be presented in the poster.