Phys.org December 19, 2024 Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) covers an array of technologies for valorizing carbon dioxide (CO2). To date, most mature CCU technology conducted with capture agents operates against the CO2 gradient to desorb CO2 from capture agents, exhibiting high energy penalties and thermal degradation due to the requirement for thermal swings. Researchers in Denmark developed a concept of Bio-Integrated Carbon Capture and Utilization (BICCU), which utilized methanogens for integrated release and conversion of CO2 captured with capture agents. BICCU substituted the energy-intensive desorption with microbial conversion of captured CO2 by the methanogenic CO2-reduction pathway, utilizing green hydrogen […]
Tag Archives: Bacteria
Bacteria ‘nanowires’ could help develop green electronics
Nanowerk April 30, 2024 Electronically conductive protein-based materials can enable the creation of bioelectronic components and devices from sustainable and nontoxic materials, while also being well-suited to interface with biological systems for biosensor applications. However, as proteins are generally electrical insulators, the ability to render protein assemblies electroactive in a tailorable manner can usher in a plethora of useful materials. An international team of researchers (Australia, USA – UC Berkeley) developed a process to fabricate electronically conductive protein nanowires by aligning heme molecules in proximity along protein filaments, with the nanowires also possessing charge transfer abilities that enabled energy harvesting […]
Deep Earth electrical grid mystery solved
Science Daily March 20, 2024 Extracellular electron transfer (EET) via microbial nanowires drives important environmental processes and biotechnological applications for bioenergy, bioremediation, and bioelectronics. However, the process is not clear. An international team of researchers (USA – Yale University, Portugal) showed that Geobacter sulfurreducens periplasmic cytochromes PpcABCDE inject electrons directly into OmcS nanowires by binding transiently with differing efficiencies, with the least-abundant cytochrome (PpcC) showing the highest efficiency. This defined nanowire-charging pathway was evolutionarily conserved in phylogenetically diverse bacteria capable of EET. OmcS heme reduction potentials were within 200 mV of each other, with a midpoint 82 mV-higher than reported previously. […]
Superworms capable of munching through plastic
Science Daily June 9, 2022 Polystyrene is among the most common forms of plastic, but recycling it is not easy and the vast majority ends up in landfills or ocean. Researchers in Australia discovered that superworms can survive on a sole polystyrene diet, and even gain a small amount of weight—compared to a starvation control group. They analyzed the microbial gut community and found which gene-encoded enzymes were involved in degrading the plastic. One way to put the findings to use would be to provide super worms with food waste or agricultural bioproducts to consume alongside polystyrene. But while breeding […]