Research has begun on use of carbon dioxide (CO2) derived at a facility supplying hydrogen to fuel cell vehicles for cultivation of tomatoes. Higher concentrations of CO2 increase the speed of plant photosynthesis. In cultivation applying this characteristic, the research anticipates a rise of about 25 per cent in annual tomato production.
The research is being undertaken by Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. and Chiba University. The aforementioned hydrogen supply facility is operated by Tokyo Gas and located near the Tokyo International Airport at Haneda. It produces hydrogen by separating CO2 out from city gas, which is composed mainly of methane and other hydrocarbons. It recovers and liquefies about 10 kilograms of CO2 per hour. For the project, the CO2 is being put into cylinders and transported by automobile to the plant-growing factory on the grounds of Chiba University. There, the CO2 is vaporized in order to raise the CO2 concentration in the air, which normally is about 400 ppm, to 1,000 ppm.
With this approach, the annual production of tomatoes, which is currently on the order of 40 kilograms per square meter, is projected to increase to about 50 kilograms. The higher CO2 concentration will reportedly also result in the growth of tomatoes with higher levels of sweetness and quality.
