Plants have nothing on soil microorganisms, which can fix carbon at a rate 20 times quicker.
An enzyme that 'juggles' reaction components is the key.
Scientists want to improve this technique for manufacturing CO2 fuels, medicines, and other goods.
Soil microbial on artificial photosynthesis
ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images
Plants rely on a process known as carbon fixation to survive, which involves converting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into carbon-rich proteins.
That is the entire purpose of photosynthesis, and it is a key component of the massively interconnected system that cycles carbon via plants, animals, microorganisms, and the atmosphere to maintain life on Earth.
The carbon-fixing champions, however, are soil bacteria rather than plants, as per ScienceDaily.
Some bacterial enzymes perform a critical stage in carbon fixation 20 times quicker than plant enzymes, and understanding how they do so might aid scientists in developing artificial photosynthesis methods to convert greenhouse gases into fuels, fertilizers, medicines, and other items.
A group of scientists from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Germany's Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, the DOE's Joint Genome Institute (JGI), and the Chile's University of Concepción has discovered how a microbial enzyme molecular device that helps facilitate chemical reactions revs up to complete the above feat.
Instead of catching carbon dioxide molecules and connecting them to proteins one at a time, they discovered that this enzyme is made up of pairs of molecules that work together to get the job done faster, much like the hands of a juggler who simultaneously throws and catches balls.
Each enzyme pair has one member open wide to capture a set of reaction materials, while the other closes over its acquired ingredients and performs the carbon-fixing reaction; they then exchange positions in a continuous cycle.
The scientists revealed that a single area of molecular "glue" keeps each pair of enzyme hands together so that they may alternate opening and shutting in a coordinated manner.
Could artificial photosynthesis be the holy grail of renewables?
A process called photosynthesis is through which plants transform carbon dioxide and water into glucose using the energy of the sun, as per GreenBiz.
For years, scientists have been attempting to mimic the process, with the final product being electricity rather than glucose, and they have had some remarkable triumphs, although all in the lab.
Earlier this year, the United States The Department of Energy pledged to fund for artificial photosynthesis research of up to $100 million over five years.
Photosynthesis, a tarp, and tanks of catalysts may sound far-fetched, but experts and the Department of Energy appear to believe it might become another weapon in our armory against climate change. That, and the ongoing improvement of solar cells.
A group of experts from around the world has claimed a breakthrough in thin solar cells.
Their thin-film cell was 25% as efficient as a regular solar cell.
This would make the new cell ideal for roof installations and other solar systems for buildings, but it also represents a trend: developing solar cells as thin as possible in order to maximize their adaptability.
If artificial photosynthesis were to take off, it will undoubtedly profit from the current trend in solar cells.
It would also benefit from developing energy storage technologies, such as hydrogen storage. It is a challenging undertaking to coordinate so many fields of research, but the shared aim might make it all work in the end.
Within our lifetime, we may witness a society controlled by renewable energy, harnessing the power of the sun in all of its forms emission-free, of course.
