Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40425589›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

A self-sufficient system for fog-to-water conversion and nitrogen fertilizer production to enhance crop growth.

Zhenwen Zhang, Tong Li, Yongjiu Yuan, Zhi Zhang, Chen Ling, Xiaoxue Yao, Hongbo Wang, Wai Kin Lo, Qili Xu, Jun Liu and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Zhenwen Zhang *Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Tong Li *Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1045-4538
Yongjiu Yuan *Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Zhi Zhang *Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Chen LingDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Xiaoxue YaoDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Hongbo WangDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7848-2829
Wai Kin LoDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7676-3977
Qili XuDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Jun LiuDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5815-2483
Yun Hau NgSchool of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Long TengDepartment of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. tl322@cam.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4401-102X
Steven WangDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. steven.wang@cityu.edu.hk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9192-349X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Crops require water and fertilizers to grow. However, the shortage of freshwater limits the regions where plants, especially crops, can be grown, and the misuse of chemical fertilizers imposes a burden on the environment and human health. This study develops a self-sufficient system that can passively capture water and produce plant nutrients from the air through the integration of a fog-to-water converter and a spark-type droplet-based electric generator. The proof-of-concept system, based on large-scale 3D wedged spines, achieves a fog-to-water conversion efficiency of 35% and yields nitrogen fertilizer at a rate of 2.38 mg per hour per liter of water droplets. Scaling this system could boost global wheat production by approximately 1 megaton annually, even if operated for a short period each day. This approach offers a self-reliant and potentially eco-friendly solution for agriculture.

Identifiers

PMID40425589
PMCPMC12117043

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.