Researchers have developed a way to totally eliminate the requirement for biological plant photosynthesis and generate food without any necessity for sunlight by using artificial photosynthesis, according to ANI.
Researchers used a two-step electrocatalytic process to convert carbon dioxide, energy, and water into acetate, the principal component in vinegar, for the study, which was published in the journal Nature Food. The acetate may be used by creatures that produce food to enable them to flourish in the dark.
More efficient food production
For certain crops, the researchers estimate that this artificial photosynthesis, aided by solar-panel-powered electrocatalysis, might improve the efficiency of sunlight’s conversion to food by as much as 18-times.
As a means of connecting the various components of the system, the electrolyzer’s output was tuned to aid the development of the food-producing organisms by converting otherwise useless molecules and products, including carbon dioxide, into basic elements. By raising the quantity of acetate generated while lowering the amount of salt needed, the greatest acetate levels to date were obtained, ANI said.
Green algae, yeast, and mushroom-producing fungal mycelium were found to be able to thrive in the dark on the electrolyzer’s acetate-rich output, according to experiments. About four times more effective than natural photosynthesis, algae may be grown using this approach. Sugar produced from maize and artificial photosynthesis render yeast manufacturing 18 times more energy-efficient than traditional methods.
To produce food in the increasingly demanding circumstances imposed on by human climatic changes, artificial photosynthesis frees agriculture from its complete dependence on the light. There would be fewer threats to global food stability if crops for people and animals were grown in more resource-efficient, controlled circumstances. Crops might also be grown in places that aren’t presently suitable for agriculture, like as cities and other remote locations, supplying food for future space travelers.
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