WILMINGTON – Scientists have discovered an artificial way of photosynthesis or artificial agar plants can breed and produce without depending on sunlight conditions. This artificial photosynthesis can increase the efficiency of sunlight conversion by food production up to 18 times more efficient.
This technology uses a two-step electrocatalytic process to convert carbon dioxide, electricity and water into acetate. The food-producing organisms then consume the acetate in the dark to grow.
“With our approach, we are trying to identify new ways to produce food that can break the boundaries normally defined by biological photosynthesis,” said Robert Jinkerson, assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering at UC Riverside. 2022).
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The study, published in Nature Food, used a two-step electrocatalytic process to convert carbon dioxide, electricity and water into acetate, the main component form of vinegar. The food-producing organisms then consume the acetate in the dark to grow.
Combined with solar panels to generate electricity to power electrocatalysis, this hybrid organic-inorganic system can increase the efficiency of converting sunlight into food, up to 18 times more efficiently for some foods.
Experiments have shown that a variety of food-producing organisms can grow in the dark directly with an acetate-rich electrolyzer, including green algae, yeast, and mycelium that produces mold. Producing algae with this technology is approximately four times more energy efficient than growing it photosynthetically.
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Yeast production is about 18 times more energy efficient than the conventional method of cultivation using sugar extracted from corn. The potential use of this technology to grow food crops was also investigated.
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