AEROPONICS:
THE NEXT GENERATION
THE NEXT GENERATION
Aeroponics outperforms all other forms of hydroponic and substrate-based irrigation systems in total yield, harvests per year, and product quality. Precise irrigation control available in aeroponics increases total root surface area; maximizing oxygen availability to the roots, and increasing water and nutrient uptake. As a result, aeroponic cultivation can boost total salable biomass yields 10-60% over 10-30% shorter lifecycles with 50-300% times less water and fertilizer compared to hydroponics. Furthermore, crops grown in aeroponics are higher in antioxidants, vitamins and other value drivers thereby increasing downstream marketability.
Nutrient solution is dispersed as aerosol in the root zone for a short period, often under 30 seconds. Tiny droplets are captured by root hair. The next dispersal period will be in a few minutes.
The captured nutrient solution droplets quickly form a thin, liquid film on the root surface. The higher the root surface, the more nutrients & water can be served to the roots for absorption.
The water and the nutrients are being taken up by the plant. Because the next dispersal period is minutes away, root surface is gradually exposed to air and begin rapid oxygenation.
Plant roots efficiently take up oxygen from the air. Correctly timed intervals will maximize oxygenation and boost plant metabolism, increase root surface area and root hair density. Rapid oxygenation ends when dispersal begins again.
The aeroponic technique utilizes plant roots’ ability to effectively oxygenate from the air (21% O2); for reference, oxygen solubility in water (hydroponics) is at 20 ppm (0.002%) in the best scenarios.
This abundance of oxygen in aeroponics drives plant metabolism, which increases biomass development and root surface area, which in turn increases the effective oxygen and nutrient absorption area. Correct droplet sizes and spray intervals will increase plant mineral nutrition effectiveness.
Aerosol based irrigation provides optimal water, fertilizer usage with every single mist/atomization spray, providing absorbable and optimal dosage without any loss. Overall water & fertilizer usage is 2-3x compared to hydroponics cultivation.
Each droplet is absorbed quickly contains all essentials nutrients. Hance, in aerosol-based cultivation mineral nutrition cost per plant is significantly lower compared to any other growing method. Aeroponic growers can enrich pants with costly premium products achieving excellent quality without additional costs.
Increased oxygenation and nutrient uptake in aeroponically produced crops almost always produce higher quality products. That is one of the key reasons why some growers still choose to deal with the operational difficulties, including constant clogging, filter & nozzle cleaning and replacement, as well as the complicated plumbing.
By utilizing aeroponics researchers have full intact plant with all its biological potential at disposal. Up till this day plant roots were underutilized due to traditional growing methods. Aeroponically grown plants are the source of new valuable compounds.
Usually refers to complicated setups where fixed-orifice metal nozzles are used to produce aerosol by pumping nutrient solution at +100 PSI.
HPA setups are excellent in producing required droplet diameters (20-50µm), but require constant upkeep to avoid clogging.
HPA is rarely used commercially due to operational complexity - high yields & increased harvests per year boost revenue, but OPEX eliminates the benefits.
Similar to High Pressure Aeroponics, LPA uses lower pressure by pumping the nutrient solution through fixed orifice nozzles at between 20 and 100 PSI.
LPA setups produce droplets that are too large (+50µm) resulting in suboptimal nutrition and reduced oxygenation.
LPA is often used commercially in cannabis cultivation - yields and harvests are somewhat increased, clogging is less prevalent, and water consumption is reduced.
Unlike pressure systems, this approach generates fog/mist by using vibration generated by piezoceramic foggers submerged in the nutrient solution.
Fogponic setups are not practical for larger crops due to the small droplet size (<5µm) but can work well for small baby greens.
Fogponics are inefficient because the entire volume of nutrient solution is vibrated. Ultrasonic termal effect can change the nutrient solution pH.
Combining acoustic technology, precision-machined titanium and artificial intelligence, Baltic Freya develops smart, uncloggable and highly tunable aeroponic e-Nozzles and systems for controlled environment cultivation.
Baltic Freya e-Nozzles do not require any pressure pumping systems - simple drip lines are fine, because the nutrient liquid is atomized by targeted vibrations delivered by a highly durable titanium body.
Clogging is also an issue of the past - the liquid channels are from 2mm to 6mm in width, which eliminates any obstruction and enables organic aeroponics, aquaponic mist and many new, sustainable business models.
Droplet diameters, which range from 10µm to over 100µm, are adjusted via software - no manual e-Nozzle reconfiguration is required.
Traditional, pressure-based aeroponics systems have never been truly scalable. Permanent infrastructure, such as pumps, lines and expansions tanks differ system-to-system, whereas temporary parts – filters and nozzles – require maintenance and replacement. The constant flux of parts impacts system performance, especially where scalability or reproducibility of results is required.
Baltic Freya’s e-Nozzles and systems enable Solid-State Aeroponics, which is a systems-thinking methodology designed to eliminate consumables, remove manual adjustments, and reduce mechanical inputs. By replacing an extensive list of parts (nozzles, lines, solenoids, pressure gauges, expansion tanks, pressure pumps, filters) with a single e-Nozzle, scalability and reproducibility of results is now easily achievable.
What is more, advanced functionality such as droplet diameter adjustment, interval programming, and complex irrigation automation enables the Scientific community to engage in unique research that was previously not reproducible outside the lab.
Small scale aeroponics research can now deliver repeatable results at any scale.
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PRESSURE-BASED AEROPONICS |
FOGGERS-BASED FOGPONICS |
HYDROPONICS AND DERIVATIVES |
|
Maintenance & Issues |
Lowest |
Highest – clogging, filter replacements, extensive piping & parts management |
High – cleaning, replacing ruptured membranes, heating & pH instability, inefficient |
Medium/Low – massive infrastructure, highest volume of water |
Water & Fertilizer Use |
Low |
Low |
Low |
High |
Droplet diameter control |
Adjustable via Software 10µm – >100µm Optimal |
Low pressure systems (+60µm) are suboptimal High pressure systems (30µm – 50µm) can be optimal |
Unadjustable Suboptimal for most crops Dry fog (<5µm) |
N/A |
Periphery |
Drip line |
High pressure pumps Filters Expansion tanks Extensive plumbing |
Cooling |
Oxygenation equipment Cooling |
Energy use |
Lowest |
High |
High |
Medium |
Setup & Control |
Easy Control each nozzle (droplet sizes, intervals) remotely |
Difficult Stressful |
Easy |
Easy |
Smart features |
Remote control Predictive maintenance Contingency protocols Massive experimentation potential |
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- |
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