Tag Archive for: sustainable agriculture

Strawberry Research with Gaia UFB Technology in Saline Water

As mentioned in a previous post, freshwater environments across the globe continue to be threatened by the intrusion of brackish and salt-water for a variety of reasons. Resulting in naturally occurring groundwater and other freshwater reservoirs at risk particularly for agriculture.  Brackish/salinated water results in plant stress for producers.  The instability created by this ecosystem change is a major concern in global food security.   

Gaia, a global leader in the ultrafine/nanobubble technology arena has jointly been collaborating within the BioResource & Agricultural Engineering (BRAE) Department at California Polytechnic University (CalPoly), since 2017 to create a solution to this rising problem.

Department Head Dr. Peter Livingston, P.E., and Sara Kuwahara, Ph.D., of Cal Poly’s BRAE Department have been researching the effects of ultrafine/nanobubble oxygenated water and the effects on strawberries in varying saline concentrations and growth media. 

Results from the ongoing two-year study were presented recently on October 23, 2020 to the Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) during the virtual meeting.  (ARI comprises of colleges of agriculture and allied disciplines on four California State Universities for the intent of research for sustainable agriculture for the State of California.) To view more media about this study click here.

 

Dr. Livingston’s Zoom presentation can be viewed below or by clicking here. 

For more information on ARI, visit Cal State.

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Gaia and University of Arizona apply Ozonated Ultra-fine Nanobubbles to produce wash water

Gaia, a global leader in Ultra-fine Nanobubble technology, has collaborated with the Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering at The University of Arizona (UA).

 

University of Arizona’s Isaac Hung demonstrated the potential benefits of injecting ozone gas, with Gaia’s ultra-fine nanobubble technology, to disinfect and reclaim wash water utilized in agricultural harvesting processes.

 

Conventional methods of washing freshly harvested produce use chemicals such as chlorine and large volumes of valuable water that are delivered from natural sources. Because of this processing approach, the wash water is normally discharged into wash basins or sewer systems after one use incurring extraordinary costs due to the processor’s disposal fees and their inability to recycle reclaim water for reuse. This wastewater contains disinfectant residuals, such as chloramines, chlorine, and chlorine dioxide. Such disinfectants preclude the wastewater from being recycled for other agricultural applications.

 

Ozonated water is approved by the USDA as an alternative to chlorine-based disinfection, most notably with Organic Certified Produce. The application of ozone in harvest processing is a disinfection solution without any residual chemicals, granting processors the opportunity to reuse the reclaimed water in processing and other agricultural activities. The nature of the ozonated water produced with Gaia ultra-fine nanobubble technology (0.1 microns or 100 nanometers in size) possesses an electrical charge on the outer shell. This electrical charge results in deeper cleaning and superior disinfection. With the added benefit of zero residual ozone due to the it’s short half-life, the ability to reclaim and recycle wash water results in lower costs, lower energy use and overall lower water usage.

View more media in our Gallery.
To read more regarding University of Arizona (UA) Issac Hung’s findings click here.

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