Light-powered nano-organisms consume carbon dioxide, create eco-friendly plastics and fuels

Science Daily  June 11, 2019
Researchers at the University of Colorado (Boulder) found that, by diffusing the specially tailored quantum dots into the cells of common microbial species found in soil, they were able to trigger photosynthesis enzymes within microbial cells to convert airborne CO2 and nitrogen. These “living factories” eat harmful CO2 and convert it into useful products such as biodegradable plastic, gasoline, ammonia and biodiesel. They have shown that the cells could exceed their natural yield by close to 200 percent. Different combinations of dots and light produce different products: Green wavelengths cause the bacteria to consume nitrogen and produce ammonia while redder wavelengths produce plastic. The process is scalable, and the cells can regenerate and thus limit the need for rotation…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE 

Carbon dioxide molecular models (stock image). Credit: © vector_master / Adobe Stock

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