WATCH: Scientists develop artificial leaf to make liquid fuel

Several scientists are finding ways to use photosynthesis for the betterment of mankind.

According to an article in MIT Technology Review, the scientists have created an artificial “leaf” which has yielded a one-tenth conversion rate of solar energy into liquid fuel when combined with pure CO2 and water. Compared with the 1% yield of natural photosynthesis in plants to produce carbohydrates, this certainly is a big accomplishment by the scientists.

The artificial leaf makes use of a bio-engineered bacteria that converts CO2 and hydrogen atoms from water into usable liquid fuel. The system can use pure CO2, or CO2 captured from the atmosphere. However, captured CO2 may only yield an efficiency of around 3 to 4 percent.

While the technology will likely take years to commercialize, knowing that more ways of getting fuel from the sun are being studied gives some reassurance that someday fossil fuels would be a thing of the past. Alfred Bayle