Plasma-Activated Water Beyond Irrigation: Five Applications in On-Site Nitrogen Fixation, Food Washing, and PFAS Treatment

2026/08/21

Besides irrigation and crop cultivation, what other fields can plasma-activated water be used in?

In August 2026, the University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences published an article introducing a liquid-phase plasma discharge technology jointly developed by the University’s Southern Research and Outreach Center and Plasma Blue. The research team is exploring applications in plasma-activated water, on-site nitrogen fixation, food washing, medical instrument disinfection, PFAS treatment, and low-carbon biodiesel production.

This development suggests that plasma-activated water is no longer limited to agricultural irrigation. It may become a cross-sector process technology connecting agriculture, food processing, healthcare, environmental treatment, and energy production.

Reference: University of Minnesota and Plasma Blue Revolutionize Chemical Processing

What Is Plasma-Activated Water?

Plasma-activated water (PAW) is produced by allowing plasma to interact with water or a gas-liquid interface, generating reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species in the water.

Depending on the equipment, process gas, water quality, and operating conditions, PAW may contain:

Nitrate (NO3-)
Nitrite (NO2-)
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)
Hydroxyl radicals (OH radicals)
Other short-lived reactive species

These components may provide antimicrobial, oxidative, and surface-cleaning functions or serve as plant-available nitrogen sources. However, the composition and concentration of reactive species vary with equipment parameters, source-water quality, storage time, and application method. Operating conditions must therefore be established separately for each application.

It is important to distinguish between plasma-activated water and liquid-phase plasma processing. PAW generally refers to water containing reactive species generated through plasma treatment. Liquid-phase plasma processing uses plasma directly within a liquid or flowing stream to initiate chemical reactions, with potential applications extending to pollutant degradation and fuel production.

Application 1: Producing Reactive Nitrogen On-Site at Farms

Conventional nitrogen fertilizers are generally manufactured at centralized industrial plants before being packaged, stored, transported, and delivered to farms. Liquid-phase plasma technology can instead use air, water, and electricity to convert atmospheric nitrogen into nitrogen-containing species dissolved in irrigation water.

The potential benefits of this distributed nitrogen-fixation model include:

Producing reactive nitrogen on-site according to crop demand
Reducing the use of some conventional nitrogen fertilizers
Decreasing fertilizer packaging, storage, and long-distance transportation
Operating with solar power or other renewable energy sources
Improving agricultural input resilience in remote farming areas

At present, plasma-activated water is more appropriately regarded as a partial nitrogen source or nutrient-management tool rather than a replacement for all fertilizers. Phosphorus, potassium, and other micronutrients must still be supplied according to crop requirements. The actual fertilizer substitution rate must be confirmed through chemical analysis and field trials.

Application 2: Washing Fresh Produce and Food-Contact Surfaces

According to the University of Minnesota article, the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in PAW may help suppress bacteria, viruses, and fungi, giving the technology potential for washing fresh produce and treating food-processing environments.

Compared with conventional chemical cleaning methods, the potential benefits of PAW include:

On-site production using water, air, and electricity
Reduced dependence on some chlorine-based cleaning agents
Reactive species that naturally decay over time
Integration with washing, spraying, or recirculating-water systems
Adjustable equipment capacity and flow rate based on processing demand

Before the technology is introduced into food-processing operations, manufacturers must verify microbial reduction, treatment time, changes in water quality, effects on food quality, and applicable regulatory requirements. The presence of reactive species alone is not sufficient evidence of cleaning effectiveness.

Application 3: Disinfecting Medical Instruments and Healthcare Environments

PAW is also being evaluated for cleaning and disinfecting medical instruments and healthcare environments. Its reactive species can interact with microbial cell membranes, proteins, and other biological structures, providing an alternative to high-temperature treatment or conventional chemical agents.

This technology is of particular interest because some medical materials cannot tolerate high temperatures, high pressures, or strongly corrosive chemicals. If effective treatment can be achieved at lower temperatures, the range of compatible materials and instruments may be expanded.

Medical applications require rigorous validation, including:

Reduction of specific pathogens
Uniform treatment coverage across instrument surfaces
Material compatibility and corrosion risks
Reactive-species concentration and effective contact time
Regulatory requirements for cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization

PAW therefore has potential for medical cleaning and disinfection, but sterilization claims should not be made without complete validation.

Application 4: Degrading PFAS in Water

PFAS are a large group of synthetic chemicals characterized by highly stable carbon-fluorine bonds. They have been widely used in water-resistant materials, stain-resistant textiles, non-stick cookware, and firefighting foams. Because they do not readily degrade in the natural environment, they are often called “forever chemicals.”

The University of Minnesota and Plasma Blue are testing liquid-phase plasma equipment connected directly to PFAS-contaminated water streams. According to the research team, high-energy electrons and reactive species generated by plasma can interact with stable carbon-fluorine bonds, allowing the pollutants to be broken down under conditions close to ambient temperature and pressure.

Rather than transferring contaminants to another medium, liquid-phase plasma aims to directly destroy the molecular structure of PFAS. Modular equipment could potentially be installed at landfills, leachate-treatment facilities, or wastewater-treatment plants, reducing the need to transport contaminated water over long distances.

However, PFAS include many different compounds, and practical treatment must evaluate:

Removal and degradation efficiency for different PFAS compounds
Whether short-chain PFAS or other by-products are generated
Electricity consumption per unit of water treated
Initial concentration and required treatment time
Mass balance of fluoride ions and total organic fluorine
Treatment cost after scaling to a continuous-flow system

Application 5: Reducing Carbon Emissions from Biodiesel Production

Another potential application of liquid-phase plasma is accelerating the transesterification reaction used in biodiesel production. Conventional processes generally require large heating tanks, natural gas, and chemical catalysts to convert vegetable oils with methanol or ethanol into biodiesel.

According to the University of Minnesota article, Plasma Blue uses plasma to initiate reactions directly within a liquid stream, allowing certain reactions to occur within a very short period. Replacing part of the natural-gas heating demand with electricity, particularly low-carbon or renewable electricity, may help reduce the carbon intensity of the process.

The team reports that the technology could lower a biodiesel plant’s carbon-intensity score by up to 2.5 points. However, this figure must be interpreted according to plant scale, energy source, feedstock, downstream purification, and the boundaries of the complete life-cycle assessment.

Moving from Centralized Production to Modular On-Site Processing

All five applications share a common direction: converting chemical processes traditionally concentrated in large industrial plants into modular systems that can operate at the point of use.

Potential benefits include:

On-site production and use
Reduced storage and transportation of some chemicals
Equipment operation adjusted to actual demand
Lower electricity-related emissions when paired with renewable energy
Process parameters tailored to different water qualities and applications

However, on-site production does not automatically mean zero carbon emissions or zero risk. A complete assessment must include equipment electricity consumption, the power grid’s emission factor, treatment efficiency, consumables, maintenance requirements, reaction by-products, and the proportion of conventional processes that can be replaced.

Quantifiable Validation Is Essential for Industrializing PAW

The value of PAW should not be based solely on the concept that it is produced from air and water. Data must be used to answer the following questions:

Which reactive species are generated in the water?
What are their concentrations and effective lifetimes?
How much electricity is required per metric ton of water or per gram of effective component?
What effects does the treatment have on target microorganisms, pollutants, or crops?
Does the process generate by-products that require management?
Compared with existing processes, how much cost and carbon reduction can actually be achieved?

Only by combining compositional analysis, energy monitoring, application trials, and life-cycle assessment can plasma technology progress from laboratory research to stable and repeatable industrial applications.

Creating Nano’s Direction for Plasma-Activated Water Applications

Creating Nano continues to develop atmospheric-pressure plasma and plasma-activated water technologies. Based on source-water quality, treatment flow rate, target components, and application environment, suitable equipment configurations and operating conditions can be established.

Application assessments may cover agricultural nitrogen fixation, irrigation, fresh-produce washing, environmental treatment, and other liquid-phase plasma requirements. Actual performance should be confirmed through water-quality analysis, target-compound testing, energy records, and field validation to establish quantifiable solutions with practical industrial value.

Reference:

University of Minnesota, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, “Northern Lights in a Bottle: University of Minnesota and Plasma Blue Revolutionize Chemical Processing,” August 18, 2026.

This article is based on publicly available information. The reaction mechanisms, reactive species, energy consumption, and treatment capacity of different liquid-phase plasma and PAW systems may vary. Agricultural, food, medical, and environmental applications should be evaluated according to the actual equipment, test results, and applicable regulations.

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