Artificial Intelligence? More like Artificial Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis. The process in which plants turn sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen and chemical energy is one of the most well-known scientific terms. Everyone knows that this method that plants take to create energy is extremely innovative, but no one has ever thought about applying this process elsewhere to conserve energy. Well, that is until the process of artificial photosynthesis was discovered.
With technology rapidly becoming more advanced, it was only a matter of time before artificial photosynthesis started to become implemented by scientists. At the Technical University of Munich, researchers have developed a synthetic manufacturing method of nutritional protein. The basis for this artificial photosynthesis is producing amino acid L-alanine, which is a crucial building block for proteins, from CO2. This helps remove the harmful gas from the atmosphere. CO2 is first turned into methanol using green electricity and hydrogen. Then, the new artificial method is used to convert the methanol intermediate into the L-alanine using synthetic enzymes. This new method has been extremely effective because it generates very high yields. L-alanine is arguably the most important component of proteins, and is essential to nutrition of humans and animals.
Processes such as these are major contributors to the conservation of energy. As the problems of scarcity continue to press society, it is innovative thinking like the researchers at Munich did that will be the answer to these issues. So if there is one thing to take from the work of these researchers, it is that the answers to these problems are right in front of us, we just need to be open to using them more. CO2 emissions are one of the leading problems that lead to the environmental problems we have today. Using artificial photosynthesis not only reduces these emissions but also is much more efficient than its alternatives. Overall, the great work done by the Munich researchers is just a start but shows that innovative thinking is the answer to the world’s environmental problems.
