Artificial photosynthesis. Prospects and challenges

Green energy is on the web and all kinds of headlines. “Green” has long been understood as “environmentally friendly,” but two important caveats begged here:





  1. Not all green energy methods are so environmentally friendly. For example, cells of solar panels and wind turbine blades must be disposed of after a couple of decades of operation.





  2. Truly green energy could be provided by green plants, which are the primary accumulators of solar energy.





Oddly enough, we still do not know how to reproduce photosynthesis on an industrial scale. Photosynthesis is one of the main processes in the life of green plants. During photosynthesis, carbon dioxide and water are split in the leaves, or rather, in chloroplasts - cell organelles containing the green pigment chlorophyll. In structure, chlorophyll is close to heme - the non-protein part of hemoglobin.





Chlorophyll solves two problems that are especially important for modern ecology: 1) breaks down carbon dioxide, thus helping to stop global warming and 2) allows you to get hydrogen, which is one of the most environmentally friendly types of fuel.





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The possibilities outlined are largely hypothetical, but quite realizable, since they are based on a model honed in green plants for more than a billion years. I find them much more interesting than the essentially Luddist and practically impossible calls to "reduce the amount of greenhouse emissions", "to abandon air travel" or "build up coastal areas with wind farms." An excess of carbon dioxide should turn from a problem into a resource, and the transition to hydrogen energy should become as painless as possible. Perhaps the key to all of these solutions lies in mastering and refining artificial photosynthesis.








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