LONDON: In their latest path breaking research work, a researcher trio from UC Berkeley, Arizona State University and University of Toronto, have made it possible to convert sunlight into liquid fuel, which is a sustainable form of green energy. It is now being said that this liquid fuel can be used as the natural gas that heats our homes or gasoline that powers our cars. Peidong Yang, co-director of the Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, led the team of researchers that created an artificial photosynthesis system by combining their knowledge in biology with nanoscience. Similar to natural photosynthesis, where plants turn water, CO2 and sunlight into sugar, the organic fuel, the researchers dreamt of tweaking that natural process to create gasoline to power future cars. And made it possible in their latest research work.
The artificial plants consist of two systems – 1. Use Nanowires to convert sunlight into electrons that are used by bacteria to turn CO2 and water into complex chemicals. 2. Nanowires create electricity that splits water (H2O) into hydrogen and oxygen. Bacteria then combine the hydrogen with CO2 to form methane which can be used to generate natural gas.
Since the global power consumption is totally dependent on rapidly depleting carbon-based fossil fuels, the new technology to create liquid fuels from sunlight is the best way forward as the next big renewable energy source. Even though converting sunlight to fuels will always have a greater energy cost than making electricity, liquid fuels win because they meet seasonal gaps between the supply and demand of renewables. Moreover, synthetic photosynthesis is a sustainable carbon-neutral solution because it creates one CO2 molecule during combustion process, for every CO2 molecule it takes out of the atmosphere.
