UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, GEORGIA, USA. The industrial chemical 3-hydroxypropionic acid is created by a chemical reaction that turned carbon dioxide into biofuel. This development can transform harmful carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere into a very useful source of energy. It can also be an effective solution to fight global warming.
Michael Adams and team from the University of Georgia’s Bioenergy Systems Research Institute discovered a way that can effectively capture and turn carbon dioxide into useful industrial products. The technology they used was inspired by the process of photosynthesis in plants. Sugars are created when plants process carbon dioxide. These sugars can be fermented into usable fuels.
The team eliminated the use of plants in processing biofuels. Their process relies on a microorganism known as Pyrococcus furiosus that lives and propagates on the carbon dioxide emitted in areas of our planet’s oceans that are heated to high temperatures by geothermal vents. So what the team did was to manipulate the Pyrococcus furiosus to feed and process carbon dioxide at a lower temperature. This made the microorganism more easy to control and functional.
The team added hydrogen to the process that created a chemical reaction turning carbon dioxide into 3-hydroxypropionic acid. The fuel created by the bacteria emits the same amount of carbon dioxide that was used to create it. So, technically, it is a carbon neutral fuel. Further enhancement and development of this process will certainly transform harmful carbon dioxide into useful and renewable source of energy.
| Invention | 3-hydroxypropionic Acid |
|---|---|
| Organization | University of Georgia, Georgia, USA |
| Researcher | Michael Adams & Team |
| Field(s) | Green Energy, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Energy, Biofuel, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, 3-hydroxypropionic Acid |
| Further Information | Phys Org |
