Now, researchers at the University of Georgia have found a way to transform the carbon dioxide trapped in the atmosphere into useful industrial products.
Excess carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere created by the widespread burning of fossil fuels is the major driving force of global climate change, and researchers the world over are looking for new ways to generate power that leaves a smaller carbon footprint.
Now, researchers at the University of Georgia have found a way to transform the carbon dioxide trapped in the atmosphere into useful industrial products. Their discovery may soon lead to the creation of biofuels made directly from the carbon dioxide in the air that is responsible for trapping the sun’s rays and raising global temperatures.
“Basically, what we have done is create a microorganism that does with carbon dioxide exactly what plants do-absorb it and generate something useful,” said Michael Adams, member of UGA’s Bioenergy Systems Research Institute, Georgia Power professor of biotechnology and Distinguished Research Professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
During the process of photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to transform water and carbon dioxide into sugars that the plants use for energy, much like humans burn calories from food.
These sugars can be fermented into fuels like ethanol, but it has proven extraordinarily difficult to efficiently extract the sugars, which are locked away inside the plant’s complex cell walls.
“What this discovery means is that we can remove plants as the middleman,” said Adams, who is co-author of the study detailing their results published March 25 in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences. “We can take carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and turn it into useful products like fuels and chemicals without having to go through the inefficient process of growing plants and extracting sugars from biomass.”
The process is made possible by a unique microorganism called Pyrococcus furiosus, or “rushing fireball,” which thrives by feeding on carbohydrates in the super-heated ocean waters near geothermal vents. By manipulating the organism’s genetic material, Adams and his colleagues created a kind of P. furiosus that is capable of feeding at much lower temperatures on carbon dioxide.
The research team then used hydrogen gas to create a chemical reaction in the microorganism that incorporates carbon dioxide into 3-hydroxypropionic acid, a common industrial chemical used to make acrylics and many other products.
With other genetic manipulations of this new strain of P. furiosus, Adams and his colleagues could create a version that generates a host of other useful industrial products, including fuel, from carbon dioxide.
When the fuel created through the P. furiosus process is burned, it releases the same amount of carbon dioxide used to create it, effectively making it carbon neutral, and a much cleaner alternative to gasoline, coal and oil.
“This is an important first step that has great promise as an efficient and cost-effective method of producing fuels,” Adams said. “In the future we will refine the process and begin testing it on larger scales.”
The Latest Bing News on:
CO2 to fuel
- Fossil fuel industry, some Pa. lawmakers coming after your ‘pore space.’ Be wary. | Letteron May 12, 2024 at 7:16 am
Pore space refers to the spaces between the rock and sediment deep below the surface where the industry is planning to store CO2 captured in a process called Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). It has ...
- World’s 1st transatlantic flight on sustainable fuel cuts 95 tonnes of CO2on May 11, 2024 at 8:47 am
Virgin Atlantic’s Flight100, which flew 100% on sustainable aviation fuel, saved 95 tonnes of carbon dioxide, results show. The company also clarified that sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is safe to ...
- 4 Sustainable Aviation Fuel Stocks to Watch as SAF Takes Offon May 10, 2024 at 12:36 pm
It's early days, but sustainable aviation fuel stocks are catching tailwinds from SAF tax incentives and industry buzz.
- Slog AM: Biden Comes to Town, Northern Lights Might Be Visible in Seattle, and Atmospheric CO2 Breaks Recordson May 10, 2024 at 8:37 am
Babe, butchered: Patty and Betty, two pet pigs in Port Orchard, were killed recently when a mobile butcher service went to the wrong address. The butchers didn't even knock on the door before they ...
- Technological leap turns carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol fuelon May 9, 2024 at 5:47 pm
Researchers have discovered a way to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol, offering a pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ...
- Renewable diesel, not electric, key to cutting trucking emissions: Reporton May 8, 2024 at 5:00 pm
He also experimented with biodiesel in the past -- an alternative fuel that’s chemically different from petroleum ... the RD truck has 29.9% lower life-cycle CO2 emissions than the 250-mile BEV, and ...
- Towards Carbon Neutrality: New Catalyst Converts Carbon Dioxide to Renewable Fuelon May 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Resolving this roadblock could pave the way for using catalysts like cobalt phthalocyanine to efficiently convert CO2 waste into methanol fuel on a large scale. Reference: Yao L, Rivera-Cruz KE, ...
- 2024 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup to switch to synthetic fuelon May 1, 2024 at 5:00 pm
also known as e-fuel. While carbon dioxide is emitted when the fuel is burned, the generation of the fuel absorbs CO2 from the air, making the process carbon-neutral. The fuel is sourced from the ...
- Why scientists are making jet fuel from landfill gason April 30, 2024 at 2:54 pm
He says he's developed a method that takes greenhouse gases - like CO2 and methane - and converts them into fuel through a chemical process using plasma. "In one sense, we have this idea that we're ...
- Say no to CO2 pipeline projects in Illinois until safety is assuredon April 29, 2024 at 4:00 am
We need legislative guardrails to ensure that projects involving carbon capture and sequestration legitimately serve the economic and environmental interests of all Illinois citizens.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
CO2 to fuel
[google_news title=”” keyword=”CO2 to fuel” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”] [/vc_column_text]The Latest Bing News on:
Carbon dioxide to fuel
- Biomass, plastic waste and carbon dioxide feedstocks key to cutting chemical industry’s emissionson May 13, 2024 at 2:30 am
Royal Society report warns that without intervention defossilisation of the chemicals sector will take many decades ...
- At State’s Energy Summit, Wyoming Promises to ‘Make Sure Our Fossil Fuels Have a Future’on May 10, 2024 at 2:05 am
Oil, gas and coal industry representatives vowed to fight new federal regulations, predicting that capturing carbon, renewable intermittency and rising energy demand will keep their products viable.
- Technological leap turns carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol fuelon May 9, 2024 at 5:47 pm
Researchers have discovered a way to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol, offering a pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ...
- Towards Carbon Neutrality: New Catalyst Converts Carbon Dioxide to Renewable Fuelon May 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a catalyst material known as cobalt phthalocyanine that converts carbon dioxide—a significant driver of climate change—into renewable fuels ...
- The CO2 Coalition, a source of climate change misinformation in Pa., wants us to love carbon dioxideon May 7, 2024 at 2:00 am
Carbon dioxide is a “miracle molecule” that fuels all life on Earth. That’s the message a group downplaying the threat of climate change has been spreading to Pennsylvania conservatives. “I love CO2,“ ...
- Nanoparticle catalysts convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide to make useful compoundson May 6, 2024 at 9:16 am
As a greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) contributes to climate change as it accumulates in the atmosphere. One way to reduce the amount of unwanted CO2 in the atmosphere is to convert the gas into a ...
- A leap toward carbon neutrality: New catalyst converts carbon dioxide to methanolon May 6, 2024 at 8:59 am
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a catalyst material known as cobalt phthalocyanine that converts carbon dioxide—a significant driver of climate change—into renewable fuels ...
- Nanoparticle catalysts convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide to make useful compoundson May 6, 2024 at 7:24 am
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas ... which is an essential feedstock to produce a range of products, such as synthetic fuels and vitamin A,” said Hong Yang, Alkire chair professor in the ...
- Sugar-based catalyst upcycles carbon dioxideon May 2, 2024 at 3:21 pm
New catalyst is made from an inexpensive, abundant metal and table sugar. Catalyst converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide, a building block for producing a variety of useful chemicals ...
- Why LanzaJet thinks sustainable jet fuel is ready to take off in Chicagoon May 2, 2024 at 10:34 am
The U.S. has set a goal to produce 3 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) annually by 2030. Thus far this year 14 million gallons have been produced. LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samartzis thinks ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Carbon dioxide to fuel
[google_news title=”” keyword=”carbon dioxide to fuel” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]