Scientist succeeded in making the process of artificial photosynthesis. Is this a new hope to support the human vision of living in lout of space?
Photosynthesis or the process of converting water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight into oxygen and energy helps plants grow naturally. Scientists are trying to exploit this process to produce food, energy, and similar materials.
In a recent study, scientists highlighted an artificial photosynthesis technique that applies a two-step electrocatalytic process to convert carbon dioxide, water and electricity produced by solar panels into acetate (a major component of vinegar). This acetate can then be utilized by plants to grow.
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The system the researchers designed not only mimics photosynthesis that occurs in nature, but also seeks to increase its yield.
In plants, typically only about 1 percent of sunlight energy is actually converted into plant biomass, whereas the process of artificial photosynthesis increases efficiency by up to four times.
“With our approach, we are trying to identify a new way of producing food that can break the boundaries normally defined by biological photosynthesis,” said Robert Jinkerson, a chemical and environmental engineer at the University of California, Riverside. Science Alert.
Jinkerson says producing more energy from the sun that is consumed can reduce the amount of land needed to produce food.
“Our main goal is to change the way we think about how to produce crops and agriculture,” he said.
“If we can be more efficient with the area needed to produce the food that humanity needs, then we can turn agricultural land back into natural land.” Wired.
Furthermore, the electrical conversion device or electrolyzer developed by the researchers must be specifically optimized as a growth promoter of food-producing organisms. That is, some optimization will be required to increase the amount of acetate and decrease the amount of salt produced.
Further experiments carried out by the scientists showed the output of an acetate-rich electrolyzer could support a variety of organisms, including green algae, yeast, and mycelium, which produce fungi.
In comparison, algae production is about four times more energy efficient using this method compared to natural photosynthesis.
Scientists say cowpea, tomatoes, tobacco, rice, canola and green bean plants can all harness the carbon in acetate and grow without sunlight. So this process can be used to replace normal photosynthesis, or increase its yield.
“We found that a variety of plants can take the acetate we provide and make it a key molecular building block that organisms need to grow and thrive,” said Marcus Harland-Dunaway, botanical and plant scientist at UC Riverside.
“With some of the breeding and engineering that we’re working on, we might be able to grow crops with acetate as an extra energy source to increase crop yields,” he added.
The process outlined here is so impressive that it was one of the winners at the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge, an exhibition of new technologies that could one day help grow food in space.
(lom/lth)
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