Short Communication
Air plasma electrolysis method for synthesis of liquid nitrate fertilizer with K₂HPO₄ and K₂SO₄ electrolytes

Harianingsih, Syarfina Farisah, Eva Karamah, Nelson Saksono^*

^* The author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitas Indonesia, Kampus Baru UI. Depok 16242, Indonesia

Abstract

Nitrogen is a nutrient needed in a great amount to help plants grow and develop. Nitrogen is abundant in the atmosphere, typically around 78%; however, it is inert and cannot be directly absorbed by plants. Thus, fertilization is important to increase the nutrients available for plants. Air plasma electrolysis is an environmentally friendly technology that can initiate various reactions, including nitrogen fixation from the air into liquid nitrate fertilizer, with the production of reactive species, such as ?OH and ?H radicals. The main raw material is air, a freely available input. This research aimed to determine the production of liquid nitrate fertilizer through the air plasma electrolysis method by assessing the effect of electrolyte solution compositions and the air injection rate. This method was carried out in a batch reactor using a combination of K₂HPO₄ and K₂SO₄ as the electrolytes with concentration variations of 0.01 M and 0.02 M, airflow rate variations of 0.1 - 0.9 L min^-1, and a constant power of 700 W. The results showed that the greater the electrolyte concentration, the higher the conductivity of the solution, which facilitates electron generation as well as reactive species formed by electrolysis plasma to flow in the solution. The greater acidity value of the electrolyte solution (used at pH from 4 to 3.74) increased the number of electrons generated during electrolysis. The research demonstrated that a significantly increased nitrate production of 2213.5 mg L^-1 (53.54 mmol) can be achieved at 0.8 L min^-1 of air injection rate using a combination of 0.01 M K₂HPO₄ and 0.01 M K₂SO₄ electrolyte solutions.

Keywords - Air injection, fertilizer, nitrate, plasma electrolysis.

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