A sheet is created capable of producing liquid fuel
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Bionic leaf - a new discovery of Harvard specialists. Features of this sheet are that it is capable of producing alcohol.
In the work on the creation of a new sheet, specialists from the Harvard Medical School, the Institute of Biotechnological Engineering, and others worked.
Bionic leaf is a unified system based on one of the researches of Dr. Daniel Noser who invented the world's first artificial sheet capable of producing oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide and water, and a solar device that produces hydrogen when immersed in water.
At present, hydrogen is produced mainly from natural gas, so a more stable method of obtaining this chemical element can be considered an important source that will probably be used in the near future.
Specialists from Harvard have developed, based on previous studies, a system in which bacteria are used to convert solar energy into liquid fuel. This work is closely related to the work of Daniel Noser, which is based on the use of a catalyst. Scientists used sunlight as a catalyst to split water, resulting in the formation of oxygen, hydrogen, and also took a special bacterium that converted carbon dioxide and hydrogen into isopropyl alcohol.
The basis of the work was photosynthesis, which uses plants to convert carbon dioxide, water, etc. Into energy, but experts have made some chemical features in this process.
According to Dr. Noser, the catalysts created by him combine well with growth conditions, which is important for bacteria. The energy of the sun acts as a catalyst and helps to split water into oxygen and hydrogen, then bacteria enter into the process, which combine carbon dioxide with hydrogen and form isopropyl alcohol, which can be used as conventional fuel, but is often used in detergents and disinfectants on alcohol basis.
Specialist of the Harvard Medical School Pamela Silver noted that this work can be regarded as evidence that the solar energy can be converted into a substance.
The plans of the research group to increase the energy efficiency of the system to 5%.
Isopropyl alcohol is produced in the process of oil refining, at the base of which propene is a by-product obtained during the production of gasoline, another source of propene production can be coal.
Isopropyl alcohol is not used in modern conditions, but together with hydrogen produced with the help of solar energy, it will be able to replace in the future petroleum products and other fossil fuels.
Researchers especially emphasize the fact that fuel based on isopropyl alcohol is environmentally friendly. But according to some experts, this kind of fuel burns strongly during combustion, which does not allow it to be used in portable burners with open fire.
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