Radical and Environmentally-friendly Agricultural Sprayer Technology using Ultra-Fine Bubbles

时不时会有一种技术出现，可能带来重大变革和颠覆性的经济效益，cd和智能手机就是很好的例子。更温和，但同样重要的是基于超细气泡（UFBs）的新兴技术，也被称为纳米气泡。这些ufb的直径小于百万分之一厘米左右（比人类头发的宽度小1000倍），在它们稳定的形式下表现出一系列显著的特性，特别是它们的寿命（它们作为气泡保持的时间），重要的是它们在水介质中携带各种气体和气泡表面附着物的能力。因此，它们已经在许多相关行业实现了突破性的应用，包括清洁灭菌、石油、天然气和矿物提取工艺、制药、食品调味和化妆品行业，并进入了医药和癌症治疗领域；每一个都有或有潜力达到数百万英镑的市场价值。UFB特性的多功能性，加上UFB研究的进展，表明有目的地将具有适当特征的气泡纳入农业含水介质中，用于喷洒和灌溉目的，并以期更有效地减少投入（水、化学品等），更有效地覆盖、用水、提供作物养分、虫害防治剂和植物病害防治剂。该项目的目的是确定将UFB和经过验证的磁辅助技术集成在一个通用平台上的可行性，该平台可用于指定广泛的模式和应用，并为新的、经济上可行的和环境友好的产品和服务奠定基础。一个成功的结果也意味着迈向新的英国企业和新的就业机会的重要一步。管理得当的结果可以将25万英镑的投资变成企业的滚动议程，可以想象，能够在五年内实现100倍的投资回报。提高农业生产力以应对粮食安全挑战的必要性是毫无疑问的，在环境保护和气候变化方面也是如此。UFB技术作为一个技术平台，有潜力为满足这些需求做出重大贡献。但好处还不止于此，有效的土地利用和土地复垦是应对挑战的重要考虑因素，其他地球边界也同样如此，包括排放和气候变化影响、土地和水的利用、生物-地球化学流动和生物多样性。这项投资的风险不大，但英国获得实质性回报的潜力是巨大的。

From time-to-time a technology comes along that offers potential for significant change and disruptive economic benefit, CDs and smart-phones being cases in point. More modest, but never-the-less significant is the emergent technology based on ultra-fine bubbles (UFBs), also known as nanobubbles. These UFBs are less than a millionth or so of a centimetre in diameter (1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair), which in their stabilised form exhibit a range of remarkable properties, notably their longevity (the period of time they remain as bubbles), and importantly their capability for carrying, in aqueous media, gases of various kinds and bubble surface adherents. As a consequence, they are already realising ground-breaking applications in many aligned industries, including, cleansing-sterilisation, oil, gas, and mineral extraction processes, pharmaceutical, food-flavouring and cosmetic industry, with in-roads into medicine and cancer treatment; each with, or the potential for, £multi-million market values. That versatility in UFB properties, together with advances in UFB research are pointing to significant potential for purposely incorporating appropriately characterised bubbles into agricultural aqueous media, for spraying and irrigation purposes, and with a view to achieving more effective reductions in inputs (water, chemicals, etc.) more effective coverage, water usage, delivery of crop nutrients, pest-control agents and agents for control of plant diseases. The aim of this project is to establish the feasibility of integrating UFB and proven magnetic-assist technology in a generic platform that can be used to specify a wide-ranging modalities and applications, and the basis for new, economically viable and environmentally-friendly products and services. A successful outcome can also mean a significant step towards new UK enterprise and new employment opportunities. Appropriately managed the outcome can turn the £0.25million investment into a rolling agenda for enterprise, conceivably capable of achieving a 100-fold return-on-the investment within five years. The need for greater productivity in agriculture to meet food security challenge is without question, as is the need to do so with regard to environmental protection and climate change. UFB technology has the potential as a technological platform to contribute significantly to meeting these demands. But the benefits do not end there, effective land use and land reclamation are significant considerations in meeting the challenge, as are other planetary boundaries, including, emissions and climate change impact, land and water usage, bio-geo chemical flows and biodiversity.The risk in the investment is modest, the potential for substantive returns for the UK is enormous.