{"id":4515,"date":"2015-02-18T16:55:07","date_gmt":"2015-02-18T06:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=4515"},"modified":"2017-10-25T09:39:36","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T23:09:36","slug":"researchers-use-photosynthesis-directly-create-liquid-fuel-solar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/researchers-use-photosynthesis-directly-create-liquid-fuel-solar\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers use photosynthesis to directly create liquid fuel from solar"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_4520\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/leaf-pv.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4520\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4520\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/leaf-pv.jpg\" alt=\"leaf and solar panel\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4520\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Harvard scientists are mimicking photosynthesis by converting solar electricity directly into a liquid fuel.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Solar power using photosynthesis is the most ancient \u2014 and successful \u2014 form of energy production. Plants have used this method for over a billion years, harvesting sunlight, combining it with water and turning this abundant solar energy into food. Now <a href=\"http:\/\/hms.harvard.edu\/news\/bionic-leaf\" target=\"_blank\">researchers at Harvard University <\/a>are looking to use\u00a0the process\u00a0in a really novel way.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Scientists have for many years tried to mimic the photosynthesis process to store solar energy. However without a great deal of success. Though able to create conditions where electricity from solar cells is \u201cphotosynthesised\u201d into hydrogen that may used for fuel, the problem was the practicality of using hydrogen in a world hard-wired to using liquid fuels.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s where a team of researchers at Harvard University got creative: by developing an artificial leaf to produce a more preferred liquid energy. This new approach to artificial photosynthesis uses the leaf as a catalyst to make sunlight split water into hydrogen and oxygen, with a bacterium introduced into the catalyst to convert carbon dioxide plus hydrogen into the liquid fuel isopropanol.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c&#8230;this system converts sunlight shining on a solar panel to electricity,\u201d said Brendan Cruz Col\u00f3n in a fascinating <a href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\/a-bionic-leaf-turns-solar-energy-into-chemicals-and-fuels-37502\" target=\"_blank\">13 February article written for The Conversation<\/a>. A Ph.D candidate at Harvard and a co-author of the research paper, he describes the process in detail and introduces us to the bacterium Ralstonia, an essential component of the artificial photosynthesis process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElectricity travels to a glass vial containing liquid where both Ralstonia and the water-splitting catalyst are immersed. The electricity drives the catalyst to generate O2 and H2, which Ralstonia consumes along with bubbled carbon dioxide to grow. In the lab, we piped in carbon dioxide from a tank; in a commercial situation, we could use carbon dioxide emissions from a polluter, such as a power plant,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There have been 2.6 billion years of evolution, and Pam [the Harvard Medical School\u2019s Pam Silver] and I working together a year and a half have already achieved the efficiency of photosynthesis,\u201d said Daniel Nocera, the Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy at Harvard University and one of the lead researchers on the team.<\/p>\n<p>The team took a new look at photosynthesis when they came up with the electronic leaf. While challenges remain before the method can become viable, the team remain confident that the potential of the bionic leaf is almost limitless. Along with a range of other uses, a key component of their research is using the artificial leaf as a mobile energy producing source in areas that lack a large liquid fuel infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the secret behind the bionic leaf \u2014 and solar power using photosynthesis in general \u2014 is the simplicity of the idea and ease of use. It may be these two qualities that make the bionic leaf an important part of our renewable energy future. Photosynthesis in the mix for future energy needs? Maybe we can learn from the plants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Solar power using photosynthesis is the most ancient \u2014 and successful \u2014 form of energy production. Plants have used this method for over a billion years, harvesting sunlight, combining it with water and turning this abundant solar energy into food. Now researchers at Harvard University are looking to use\u00a0the process\u00a0in a really novel way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[509],"tags":[150,63,151],"class_list":["post-4515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-solar-innovations","tag-solar-cars","tag-solar-panel-technology","tag-usa","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Researchers use photosynthesis to directly create liquid fuel from solar - 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Yet more benefits from eating your greens","author":"Staff Writer","date":"October 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"We cover quite a bit in this column in our quest to bring you (the reader) up to speed on the latest in solar policy, news and development. From solar cars, to government policy (or lack of) to the latest solar technology to hit our shores. But we\u2019ve yet to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Panels&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/popeye-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11118,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/air-pollution-solar-hydrogen-mb0027\/","url_meta":{"origin":4515,"position":3},"title":"Turning Air Pollution Into An Energy Source With Solar","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"May 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Researchers are developing a solar powered device that cleans up polluted air and in the process, creates a renewable fuel - hydrogen. University of Antwerp and KU Leuven scientists say the underlying processes used are similar to those found in conventional solar panels. The device uses a photoelectrochemical cell (PEC),\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Power from pollution with solar energy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/pollution-power-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/pollution-power-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/pollution-power-solar.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12244,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-carbon-dioxide-fuel-mb0070\/","url_meta":{"origin":4515,"position":4},"title":"Solar Powers Carbon Dioxide To Fuel Conversion","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"June 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In another example of how solar power could help address the mess created by fossil fuel use, researchers have unveiled a new process for the solar-driven electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide into fuel components. Scientists at Ecole polytechnique f\u00e9d\u00e9rale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have constructed the first \"earth-abundant\" and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar power and carbon dioxide splitting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/solar-carbon-dioxide-fuel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/solar-carbon-dioxide-fuel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/solar-carbon-dioxide-fuel.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/solar-carbon-dioxide-fuel.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17723,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-fuels-rig-mb0373\/","url_meta":{"origin":4515,"position":5},"title":"From Oil Rigs To Solar Fuel Rigs","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"December 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Engineers at Columbia University have developed what they say is practical floating solar powered hydrogen-generating device that doesn't require pumps or membranes. 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