Scientists at Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU) are creating a system for analyzing soil gases, having already defended their development with two patents – for a "Device for analyzing gases released by soils" (utility models) and "STM32 microcontroller program for processing data from gas analyzer sensors" (certificates for computer programs). The project is being implemented by the team of the Bioengineering Youth Integration Laboratory, established with the support of the Government of the Novosibirsk Region. The laboratory consists of biologists, microbiologists, chemists, physicists, engineers and IT specialists. The development will make it possible to study the composition of the soil and understand the need to apply a certain type of fertilizer, as well as assess the impact of bacterial and organic preparations on the soil.
Due to the growing demand for biofertilizers from farmers, a request has been made for convenient test systems to assess changes in the soil in response to the applied preparations. The system being developed at NSTU-NETI will make it possible to study the composition of the soil and determine how effective the biofertilizers applied to the soil are. The laboratory team's work on the creation of a domestic gas analyzer is led by Alexander Bannov, Professor of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technology at NSTU-NETI, Doctor of Chemical Sciences.
"Sensitive sensors make it possible to identify gases involved in the processes occurring in soils after the introduction of biofertilizers, and the range of their concentrations. The fact is that microorganisms introduced into the soil produce various gases in a certain amount. We estimate the concentration of gases such as methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and ammonia. Thus, an increased concentration of nitric oxide may indicate suboptimal conditions in the soil, leading to nitrogen losses and a decrease in fertilizer efficiency," said Alexander Bannov.
At the moment, a prototype gas analyzer has been created. It consists of several blocks, one of them is a gas intake chamber. The cylindrical chamber is immersed in the soil, gases are pumped into the analysis unit, where several sensors are located. The signal from these sensors is sent via the bus to the computer, where the software processes it. Scientists have created a test bench for sensors in order to verify how they behave under certain conditions (temperature, soil moisture).
"Colleagues from the Faculty of Automation and Computer Engineering have developed a simulation model of the soil to understand the processes occurring in the soil during fertilization," added Alexander Bannov.
As the scientist notes, the task of analyzing gases released by the soil is relevant not only for agriculture. The gas analyzer can be used in the field of environmental protection to assess the condition of the soil, the degree of its contamination in a particular area, and to monitor the effectiveness of its purification processes from pollutants.