MANUFACTURING OF A PORTABLE SYSTEM FOR NITRITE MONITORING IN SOIL BASED ON AN INNOVATIVE SENSOR
(NITRISENS)

Planul National de Cercetare, Dezvoltare, Inovare pentru perioada 2021-2023

ABOUT PROJECT

Project Title

MANUFACTURING OF A PORTABLE SYSTEM FOR NITRITE MONITORING IN SOIL BASED ON AN INNOVATIVE SENSOR (NITRISENS)

Contract Number

216/2020

Project Duration

25 Months

Project Type

PNIII-ERA NET – MANUNET

Contracting Authority

Executive Unit for Financing Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation (UEFISCDI)

Coordinator

National Research Institute for Research & Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry (ICECHIM)

Project Manager

Mihaela (Badea) Doni - mihaela.doni@icechim.ro

Partners

SC ECONIRV SRL, established in Drumul Sarmas No. 80A, district 1, 013593-Bucharest, Romania

Responsible ECONIRV SRL: Cristina Mitrea – cmitrea7@gmail.com

SC EPI SISTEM SRL, established in Sacele, str. Livezii nr 17A, Brasov, Romania

Responsible EPI SISTEM: Petru Epure - petru.epure@epi.ro

METROHM DROPSENS S.L, established in Ed. CEEI, Parque Tecnológico de Asturias, 33428-Llanera, Asturias, SPAIN

Responsible METROHM DROPSENS SL: Pablo Fanjul Bolado - pablo.fanjul@metrohm.com

Romanian budget

250.000,00 Euro - Budget funds

25.700,00 Euro - Private co-funding

PROJECT SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES

NITRISENS aims to develop a method for manufacturing of a portable system for nitrite monitoring in soil based on an innovative electrochemical sensor inserted in a 3D printed soil solution extractor (lysimeter).

Needs Addressed

The project addresses to the need of portable and costeffective systems for onfield monitoring of pollution induced by the nitrification process occurred in soil. The nitrification consists in biological oxidation of the relatively immobile ammonium (NH4+) to highly mobile nitrate, via nitrite. In agricultural systems which are based on chemical fertilizers, rapid and unregulated nitrification results in an inefficient N use by crops, increasing in this way the nitrogen (N) leakage and environmental pollution. The nitrite contamination of ground and surface waters represents the major concern associated with the nitrification process.

Specific Objectives

To manufacture of a new cost- effective and robust SPE sensor integrated in a 3D printed soil solution extraction system for nitrite determination in soil;
To design and manufacture of a wireless portable detector for nitrite sensor determination in soil using the new nitrite sensors;
To demonstrate the functionality of the nitrite monitoring system for the fast and precise monitoring of nitrite in soil, as well as the soil nitrification process.

An integrated platform for in-field measuring of nitrite directly in soil will be developed through NITRISENS project responding in this way to the urgent need of a tool for soil nitrification monitoring and controlling in real time.

Outcomes

Innovative sensor for nitrite determination in soil solution;
Manufacture technology of the nitrite sensor integrated in a soil solution extractor;
Prototype of the portable wireless detector to be connected with novel sensing system;
Optimized method for nitrite monitoring directly in soil using the developed system based on the nitrite sensor integrated in a soil solution extractor.

Benefits and Market Impact

Real-time monitoring of soil pollution;
Reducing of amount of Nfertilizers;
Introducing on the market of cost effective tools for precision agriculture strategies;
Widening the range of products of the SMEs involved in project;
Increasing of the international collaboration.

This innovative system for real-time nitrite sensing in soil will be used by the R&D companies involved in development of nitrification inhibitors, and by the end-users from agriculture systems for monitoring the activity of the applied inhibitors. Also, this system is a valuable tool especially in greenhouses where is necessary to reduce the amount of N based fertilizers and in this way of the nitrite uptake from soil and the vegetables contamination with nitrite.

The proposed method for manufacturing of sensors integrated in soil solution extractors can be used for a range of other important compounds in soil inducing, in this way, a breakthrough in environmental pollution control and also in adopting the optimum agricultural strategies with the final aim of improving the quality of life.

Project Consortium

NITRISENS is a transnational project consisting of four partners from two countries, Romania and Spain. The project will be coordinated by ICECHIM, the biggest R&D institute in chemistry field from Romania. Partners are a large company METROHM DROPSENS, which is based on DROPSENS company, a very successful SME from Asturias, Spain and two ambitious SMEs from Romania EPI-SISTEM and ECONIRV.

In consequence, through the NITRISENS project the first integrated platform for infield measuring of nitrite directly in soil will be manufactured.

Versatility of Reverse Micelles: From Biomimetic Models to Nano (Bio)Sensor Design – M.-L. Arsene, I. Răut, M. Călin, M.-L. Jecu, M. Doni*, A.-M. Gurban*, Processes 2021, 9(2), 345, https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9020345

Fungal Based Biopolymer Composites for Construction Materials – I. Raut, M. Calin, Z. Vuluga, F. Oancea, J. Paceagiu, N. Radu, M. Doni, E. Alexandrescu, V. Purcar, A.-M. Gurban, I. Petre, J. Luiza, Materials 2021, 14(11), 2906, https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14112906

Cladosporium sp. Isolate as Fungal Plant Growth Promoting Agent – I. Răut, M. Călin, L. Capră, A.-M. Gurban*, M. Doni, N. Radu and L. Jecu*, Agronomy 2021, 11(2), 392, https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11020392

The Scavenging Effect of Myoglobin from Meat Extracts toward Peroxynitrite Studied with a Flow Injection System Based on Electrochemical Reduction over a Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode Modified with Cobalt Phthalocyanine: Quantification and Kinetics – I. S. Hosu*, D. Constantinescu-Aruxandei, F. Oancea, M. Doni*, Biosensors 2021, 11(7), 220, https://doi.org/10.3390/bios11070220

Priochem XVII international symposium Poster - Nanocomposite based electrosensitive platforms for nitrite and biogenic amines determination - Ana-Maria GURBAN, Petru EPURE, Iuliana RAUT, Mariana CALIN, Nicoleta Radu, Bogdan TRICĂ, Luiza JECU, Elvira ALEXANDRESCU, Mihaela DONI (currently being published)

Nanomaterials – Preparation for submission of manuscript: “Recent advances in nanomaterials-based sensors for nitrogen-based compounds detection" - Ana-Maria Gurban, Lucian-Gabriel Zamfir, Ioana Silvia Hosu, Petru Epure, Cristina Mitrea and Mihaela DONI (submitted )

DISSEMINATION

A webpage was created (in English, Spanish and Romanian) for NITRISENS containing specific information regarding the project (objectives, partnership, results).

Other general information regarding related data, news or debates regarding the soil nitrification/denitrification will be included.

The project results will be presented at prestigious international scientific meetings (congresses, conferences and workshops) in fields of soil chemistry, analytical chemistry, sensors such as: Annual Congress on Soil, Plant and Water Sciences, International Conference in Analytical Chemistry; IEEE Sensors; Sensors Nets, SENSORSDEVICES, etc.