In California, photosynthesis provides energy for the vast majority of life on Earth. But chlorophyll, the green pigment that plants use to harvest sunlight, is relatively inefficient. To enable humans to capture more of the sun’s energy than natural photosynthesis can, scientists have taught bacteria to cover themselves in tiny, highly efficient solar panels to produce useful compounds. Researchers the University of California, Berkeley are focusing on harnessing inorganic semiconductors that can capture sunlight to organisms such as bacteria that can then use the energy to produce useful chemicals from carbon dioxide and water. They work with a naturally occurring, nonphotosynthetic bacterium, Moorella thermoacetica, which, as part of its normal respiration, produces acetic acid from carbon dioxide (CO2). Acetic acid is a versatile chemical that can be readily upgraded to a number of fuels, polymers, pharmaceuticals and commodity chemicals through complementary, genetically engineered bacteria. Tags: California, UC Berkeley Category: Research
Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, have used inorganic semiconductors to help non-photosynthetic bacteria synthesise chemicals from carbon dioxide. The team has found that a single molecule of carbon dioxide can be converted into two molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen. Researchers have now taught naturally-occurring bacterium Moorella thermoacetica to work with the semiconductors to more efficiently produce acetic acid. The acetic acid can then be upgraded for use in polymers, pharmaceuticals and some fuels, through genetically-engineered bacteria.