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Breakthrough In Artificial Photosynthesis Captures CO2 In Acetate

Posted by Soulskill on from the use-it-to-3D-print-your-own-clones dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Researchers from Berkeley Lab and the U.S. Dept. of Energy have created an artificial photosynthetic process that capture carbon dioxide in acetate, "the most common building block today for biosynthesis." The research has been published in the journal Nano Letters (abstract). "Atmospheric carbon dioxide is now at its highest level in at least three million years, primarily as a result of the burning of fossil fuels. Yet fossil fuels, especially coal, will remain a significant source of energy to meet human needs for the foreseeable future. Technologies for sequestering carbon before it escapes into the atmosphere are being pursued but all require the captured carbon to be stored, a requirement that comes with its own environmental challenges. ... By combining biocompatible light-capturing nanowire arrays with select bacterial populations, the new artificial photosynthesis system offers a win/win situation for the environment: solar-powered green chemistry using sequestered carbon dioxide."

4 of 128 comments (clear)

  1. They're called trees. by jdharm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "...solar-powered green chemistry using sequestered carbon dioxide." Trees. Quit cutting them down. Plant more. Problem solved.

    1. Re: They're called trees. by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I do recall, however, someone pointing out to me that industrial hemp is more efficient at removing co2 than even some trees.

      Hemp is harder on the soil than its proponents would have you believe. Bamboo is even more efficient than hemp, you can harvest it and build stuff out of it every five years or so, sequestering carbon. And you can do it all with hand tools. You do need water, but it can be pretty crappy water.

      The proper solution will be varied.

      We already have a way to fix CO2 on your roof, it's called a green roof.

      Not cutting down the trees is a useful step, because mature growth fixes more CO2 than new growth.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:They're called trees. by Penguinisto · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Trees. Quit cutting them down. Plant more. Problem solved.

      Strangely enough, at least in North America, we've planted more trees than we've cut down, and have done so for around what, 100 years now? ( By way of example, here in Oregon, loggers are required by law to plant anywhere from 3-5new trees** for each one they cut down, and they have to survive for at least a year after planting.)

      Mind you, this doesn't speak for the third world (where firewood for heat and cooking is an actual thing, farming is a growth industry, not to mention the exotic hardwood cutting), and definitely doesn't speak for Europe and Asia (where the former has few forests left, and the latter is largely ignored and therefore unregulated for the most part).

      ** the number depends on soil quality, slope, and other factors, but it's at least 3.

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
  2. Re:Amazes me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    We can very easily attribute what degree of co2 increase is due to fossil fuels because co2 from fossil fuels has a isotopic signature:

    http://www.skepticalscience.com/print.php?r=384

    In the 70s and 80s ozone was the big concern, and we changed some of the chemicals we use in our products because of it.

    Now as we have learned more and as the world has changed there is a new concern.