Comparative effects of ultrasonic transducers on medium chemical content in a nutrient mist plant bioreactor

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficiency of ultrasonic transducers in a nutrient mist bioreactor by analyzing the chemical constituents (carbohydrates and inorganic elements) of the mists produced by ultrasonic transducers from a liquid sucrose-supplemented Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. The ultrasonic transducer oscillation frequency with an input power of 2.8 MHz and at 17.5 W was the optimum condition since the contents of glucose, sucrose, total soluble carbohydrate, macro-elements (NH4+-N, NO3−-N, P, K, Mg, Ca and S), micro-elements (Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, B, I, Mo and Co), and pH value were similar to those in the MS medium after autoclaving. Further, when MS medium was replaced by Gamborg et al. medium (B-5) or woody plant medium (WPM) in this bioreactor at the same transducer settings, the NH4+-N and NO3−-N contents in nutrient mist generated were also similar to those in B5 or WPM after autoclaving, respectively. The results of this research represent a significant contribution towards development of a functional nutrient mist bioreactor.