Nocera’s device garnered a lot of attention for opening up
the possibility of using sunlight to create hydrogen fuel—once
considered a possible alternative to gasoline.
But hydrogen has not taken off as a fuel source, even as other alternative energy sources survive and grow amid historically low oil prices.
Hydrogen is expensive to transport, and the costs of adopting and
distributing hydrogen are high. A gas station owner could more easily
switch a pump from gasoline to biofuel, for example.
Now, Nocera and a team of Harvard researchers
figured out how to use the bionic leaf to make a burnable biofuel,
according to a study published Monday in the journal PNAS.
The biologists on the team genetically modified a strain of bacteria
that consumes hydrogen and produces isopropanol—the active ingredient in
rubbing alcohol. In doing so, they successfully mimicked the natural
process of photosynthesis—the way plants use energy from the sun to
survive and grow.
This makes two things possible that have always
been serious challenges for alternative energy space—solar energy can be
converted into a storable form of energy, and the hydrogen can generate
a more easily used fuel.
To be sure, the bionic leaf developments are
highly unlikely to replace fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas any
time soon—especially as the prices of both are currently so low. But it
could be a good supplemental source.
“One idea Dan [Nocera] and I share, which might seem a little
wacky, is personalized energy” that doesn’t rely on the power grid,
biochemist Pamela Silver, who participated in the study, told CNBC in a telephone interview.
Typically, people’s energy needs are met by
central energy production facilities—they get their electricity from the
power grid, which is fed by coal- or gas-burning power plants, or solar
farms, for example. Silver said locally produced energy could be
feasible in developing countries that lack stable energy infrastructure,
or could even appeal to people who choose to live off the grid.
“Instead of having to buy and store fuel, you can have your bucket of bacteria in your backyard,” Silver said.
Besides, the experiment was an attempt at proof-of-concept—the
scientists wanted to demonstrate what could be done, Silver said. Now
that they have mastered this process, further possibilities can be
explored.
“No insult to chemists, but biology is the best chemist there is,
so we don’t even know what we can make,” said Silver. “We can make
drugs, materials—we are just at the tip of the iceberg.”
The team hopes to develop many different kinds of
bacteria that can produce all sorts of substances. That would mean,
potentially at least, setting up the bionic leaf device and then
plugging in whatever kind of bacteria might be needed at the moment.
Source Article from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AscensionEarth2012/~3/IlvRV4ewFyA/a-bionic-leaf-that-turns-sunlight-into.html
A 'bionic leaf' that turns sunlight into fuel
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