Author: DR. ALFREDO CARPINETI
Compiler: Lily
Image source: anut21ng Stock/Shutterstock.com
Photosynthesis is one of the most important chemical reactions on earth, directly and indirectly responsible for the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat. . It's powered by sunlight, and about 1% of the sun's energy ends up in the plant. Now, researchers have greatly improved efficiency.
As Nature Food reports, the team used a two-step process. First, they used an electrocatalytic process to generate acetate - the main component of vinegar - from carbon dioxide, water and electricity. The acetate can then be consumed by food organisms to grow in complete darkness.
"We are able to grow food products without any contribution from biological photosynthesis. Typically, these organisms are refined from sugar or crude oil in plants - the biological photosynthesis that occurred millions of years ago product," Elizabeth Hann, a doctoral student at UC Riverside and co-lead author of the study, said in a statement.
"This technology is a more efficient way to convert solar energy into food than food production that relies on biological photosynthesis."
When using solar panels to generate electricity, the team discovered that yeast converts sunlight into food The efficiency is 18 times that of yeast. Making the growth of algae about four times more energy efficient. The team also tested it on the mycelium of the fungus that produces the mushrooms.
"With our approach, we sought to identify a new way to produce food that transcends the limitations typically imposed by biological photosynthesis," said corresponding author , assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the University of California, Riverside. Jinkerson said.
The team also tested the method on known crops to see if they could be grown with acetate without sunlight. Black-eyed peas, tomatoes, tobacco, rice, canola and green peas are all able to utilize the carbon in acetates when grown in the dark.
"We found that a variety of crops can take the acetate we provide and build it into the major molecular building blocks that organisms need to grow and thrive. Through some of the breeding and engineering we are currently doing, we may be able to Growing crops using acetate as an additional source of energy to increase crop yields," said Marcus Harland-Dunaway, a doctoral student in Jinkerson's lab and co-lead author of the study.
This approach could be used to increase the use of cultivars using carbon capture, and to grow food on Earth without sunlight or even in space.
About the author: Alfredo Carpineti
Dr. Alfredo Carpineti. He is a senior professional writer, space reporter, and a staff writer at IFLScience, covering astronomy, physics, and technology. Astrophysics and MSc, and received a PhD from Imperial College.
original link:
https://www.iflscience.com/artificial-photosynthesis-can-now-happen-without-light-64363
