Low Cost Calibration Free pH Sensors for Water Quality Monitoring in the Aquaculture and Hydroponic Industries

该项目的总体目标是开发、生产和演示一个原型pH传感器，利用一种新的自校准系统，用于水产养殖和水培工业。对可持续粮食来源的需求是显而易见的，不断增长的人口，不断增加的温室气体排放意味着需要找到传统农业和农业生产的替代品。这一需求是水产养殖（到2023年达到430亿美元）和水培产业（到2025年达到160亿美元）显著增长的关键原因。与传统农业技术相比，这些产业允许作物集约化生产，对环境的影响很小。为了高效和可持续地生产高产量，需要定期监测水质和水中的营养水平。pH值是理解水化学的关键化学参数。非常高（\>9.5）或非常低（< 4.5）的pH值不适合大多数水生生物。水培作物的理想营养液pH值通常在5.5-6.0左右。英国微型中小企业ANB Sensors Ltd （ANB）已经确定并申请了一项颠覆性技术的专利，该技术可以测量饮用水和海水等要求苛刻的水介质（低盐和低缓冲容量）的pH值。该技术可提供精确测量（+/- 0.01 pH单位），无需重新校准传感器，使其与最先进的传感器区别开来。ANB’pH传感器体积小，无需校准操作，这意味着该传感器可用于水产养殖和水培行业。

The overall objective of this project is to develop and produce and demonstrate a prototype pH sensor, utilising a novel self-calibration system, for the aquaculture and hydroponic industry.The need for sustainable food sources is evident, rising populations, increasing emissions of green house gases mean alternatives to the traditional farming and agricultural productions need to be found. This need is the key reason why there has been a significant growth in the aquaculture ($43 billion by 2023) and hydroponic industries ($16 billion by 2025). These industries allows crop production in intensive yields with little environmental impacts compared to the conventional farming techniques. To produce high yields efficiently and sustainably the quality of the water and the levels of nutrients within the water need to be routinely monitored. pH is the key chemicals parameters in understanding water chemistry. Very high (\>9.5) or very low (< 4.5) pH values are unsuitable for most aquatic organisms. The ideal pH of the nutrient solution for hydroponic crops is usually around 5.5-6.0\.ANB Sensors Ltd (ANB), a UK micro-SME, have identified and filed patents for a disruptive enabling technology which allows the measurement of pH in demanding (low-salt and low-buffer capacity) aqueous media, such as drinking and seawater. The technology provides accurate measurements (+/- 0.01 pH units), without the need to re-calibrate the sensor, differentiating it from the state-of-the-art. The calibration free operation of ANB' pH sensor its small size mean that the sensor can be used within the aquaculture and hydroponics industry.