Moving Artificial Leaves Out of the Lab

[Drashner1]

A new proposed design for artificial photosynthesis.

Todd

[Noclevername]

Bump

It's a cool advancement, for sure. (Although we do have a means of photosynthesis already available; it's cheap, uses readily available materials, biodegradable, and it's already been field tested for a couple of billion years. Best of all it's self-manufacturing.)

[JohnnyYesterday]

The point isn't to replace plants for carbon-capture, but to create a cheaper, more efficient way to collect and store solar energy.

Using the Fischer-Tropsch process, carbon monoxide (from these "leaves") can be combined with hydrogen (from split water) to create, for example, gasoline. Gasoline is a fantastic fuel, the only real problem with it now is we make it from non-renewable oil.

[Rynn]

Using the Fischer-Tropsch process, carbon monoxide (from these "leaves") can be combined with hydrogen (from split water) to create, for example, gasoline. Gasoline is a fantastic fuel, the only real problem with it now is we make it from non-renewable oil.

An advantage of this would be that it would plug into our existing, global, multi trillion dollar energy infrastructure.

[Noclevername]

This also has implications for space travel/habitat life support.

I wonder, using the present energy infrastructure, how much carbon release actually goes into manufacturing an artificial leaf? And how long it can remain in use before wearing out.

[iancampbell]

The point isn't to replace plants for carbon-capture, but to create a cheaper, more efficient way to collect and store solar energy.

Using the Fischer-Tropsch process, carbon monoxide (from these "leaves") can be combined with hydrogen (from split water) to create, for example, gasoline. Gasoline is a fantastic fuel, the only real problem with it now is we make it from non-renewable oil.

There are other liquid fuels far easier to make than gasoline, and some have superior properties for most purposes also. Methanol can be made by fairly simple means from anything containing carbon. One advantage is that, being water-miscible, dispersing spills is extremely easy. Ethanol is even easier to make, from anything that contains any form of carbohydrate - including many things useless as foods.

[Noclevername]

Gasoline notoriously doesn't do well with spills, especially near water tables. There have been incidents. And as our existing, global, multi trillion dollar energy infrastructure continues to crumble from neglect, we'll probably need to keep spills and leaks high in our minds.

[Noclevername]

The hydrocarbons could also be used to make plastics. Even road tar, if that's not totally obsolete by the time this process goes mainstream.

[Noclevername]

The hydrocarbons could also be used to make plastics. 

organic photocells

Here's a scenario: 

Use the arti-leaves' output as a source of polymers for organic solar cells: Cheap, not great efficiency but recyclable. The leaves pay their own way, we get power generation AND carbon sequestration.