Posted on 07/06/2022 8:26:43 AM PDT by Red Badger
The process of turning water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight into oxygen and energy helps plants to grow naturally – and it's a process that scientists are looking to harness and adapt in order to produce food, fuel, and more besides.
In a new study, scientists outline an experimental artificial photosynthesis technique, which deploys a two-step electrocatalytic process to turn carbon dioxide, water, and electricity generated by solar panels into acetate (the main component of vinegar). This acetate can then be harnessed by plants in order to grow.
In fact, the system that the researchers have designed here is intended not just to mimic the photosynthesis that happens in nature, but to actually improve on it – in plants, only around 1 percent of the sunlight's energy is actually turned into plant biomass, whereas here the efficiency can be multiplied by about fourfold.
An outline of the researchers' technique. (Hann et al, Nature Food 2022)
"With our approach we sought to identify a new way of producing food that could break through the limits normally imposed by biological photosynthesis," says chemical and environmental engineer Robert Jinkerson from the University of California, Riverside.
The electricity conversion device or electrolyzer developed by the researchers had to be specially optimized in order to act as a growth driver for food-producing organisms, which in part meant boosting the amount of acetate and lowering the amount of salt produced.
Further experiments by the team demonstrated that acetate-rich electrolyzer output could support a variety of organisms, including green algae, yeast, and mycelium, which produces mushrooms. To give you a comparison, algae production is about four times as energy efficient using this method compared with natural photosynthesis.
Cowpea, tomato, tobacco, rice, canola, and green pea crops were all able to make use of the carbon in the acetate and grow without sunlight, the scientists showed. The process could be used in addition to normal photosynthesis, as well as instead of it.
Plants growing in complete darkness in an acetate medium. (Marcus Harland-Dunaway/UCR)
"We found that a wide range of crops could take the acetate we provided and build it into the major molecular building blocks an organism needs to grow and thrive," says Marcus Harland-Dunaway, a botany and plant scientist from UC Riverside.
"With some breeding and engineering that we are currently working on we might be able to grow crops with acetate as an extra energy source to boost crop yields."
The process outlined here is so impressive that it's one of the winners of the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge, a showcase of emerging tech that could one day help in growing food in space: imagine being able to grow crops inside underground bunkers on Mars, for instance.
It's not just in space where artificial photosynthesis could mark a drastic change in food production. The climate crisis means that extreme temperatures, drought, floods, and other threats to standard agricultural practices are becoming more common.
While processes like this aren't an excuse not to tackle climate change, they could help make food production more resilient, and mean crops could be grown in more places – in more urban areas, perhaps.
"Using artificial photosynthesis approaches to produce food could be a paradigm shift for how we feed people," says Jinkerson. "By increasing the efficiency of food production, less land is needed, lessening the impact agriculture has on the environment."
"And for agriculture in non-traditional environments, like outer space, the increased energy efficiency could help feed more crew members with less inputs."
The research has been published in Nature Food.
Ping!.......................
“Plants growing in complete darkness in an acetate medium.”
Sounds delicious! NOT! ;)
I’ll keep playing in the dirt, thanks, but this would probably be helpful for countries that can’t produce food in the current manner.
Wonder if it can be used as a form of energy. I have wondered if this is a possibility.
But with most processes in nature, they are inadequate for our use. But humans can expand on and learn from nature.
“The process of turning water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight into oxygen and energy helps plants to grow naturally”
Pranksters have gotten college students to sign petitions to eliminate the ‘greenhouse gas’ carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Plants may be in for a hard time in the future.
Fake meat made of plants.
Fake plants made of plastic.
Since NASA is always experimenting with life-sustaining ways of living in space
(long space flights, living on Mars and the Moon), this could be a real game changer.
“They’ve known for a while that crops can grow in Martian soil,” Andy Weir, who wrote The Martian, tells Engadget. But this research suggests that beyond the soil, even in Mars’ harsh growing conditions, the tubers can not only survive but thrive. “If the crops can tolerate the extreme conditions that we are exposing them to in our CubeSat, they have a good chance to grow on Mars,” one researcher says. And not just there, but perhaps at home, too. “This [research] could have a direct technological benefit on Earth and a direct biological benefit on Earth,” says Chris McKay of NASA ARC. The thinking? If these root vegetables can grow on Mars, they can grow in the harshest conditions on Earth, even where ravaged by a changing climate.
https://www.newser.com/story/239499/matt-damon-was-right-potatoes-can-grow-on-mars.html
Scientists Coax First Flower to Bloom in Outer Space
https://www.newser.com/story/219122/scientists-coax-first-flower-to-bloom-in-outer-space.html
What’s wrong with real photosynthesis?
Too old fashioned......................
Thanks for the update, I hadn’t seen that. I think on a long flight to Mars, this technique might work fine.
“The Martian” is a great movie.
Loved the book and the movie didn’t suck, so that’s always a bonus. ;)
If you haven’t seen the movie, ‘Moon’ with Sam Rockwell, give it a try. (Producing clean energy on the Moon.) Very mind-bendy. Thoroughly enjoyable. :)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/
I have seen it. I did not see that twist at the end coming! Pretty good movie!
Very different. I like Sam Rockwell.
I’m gonna have to re-watch it!
Seems like a very inefficient way to get a lot less return than just letting nature do it the old fashioned way.
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