Berkeley Lab Develops An Artificial Photosynthetic System
April 29, 2015http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2015/04/16/major-advance-in-artificial-photosynthesis/
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A breakthrough system which captures carbon dioxide and converts it into valuable chemical products, including liquid fuels using solar energy, has been developed.
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California Berkeley have developed a hybrid system of nanowires and bacteria that mimics photosynthesis. However, this new system synthesizes acetate, the most common building block today for biosynthesis.
"Our system has the potential to fundamentally change the chemical and oil industry in that we can produce chemicals and fuels in a totally renewable way, rather than extracting them from deep below the ground." says Peidong Yang, a chemist with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and one of the leaders of this study.
In the system, nanowires harvest solar energy and give electrons to bacteria, where carbon dioxide is reduced and combined with water for the synthesis of a variety of targeted, value-added chemical products.
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