University of Illinois at Chicago have developed a way to mimic a plants’ ability to convert Carbon Dioxide into fuel. This development could lead to a decrease in the amounts of harmful gas in the air. In turn it would produce clean energy.
According the assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at UIC, Amin Salehi-Khojin says this artificial leaf basically recycles the carbon dioxide and is powered by the sun so the process is similar to that of photosynthesis.
The artificial leaf can be converted into any hydrocarbon, like gasoline. It uses the energy of the sun which rearranges the chemical bonds of the CO2. This means that the sun’s energy is being stored in the form of chemical bonds thus letting it be able to be burned as fuel.
This artificial leaf could be the next groundbreaking move in the world of science because the talk of running out of fossil fuels is something that comes up a lot. While there are plenty of fossil fuel left in the world it’s supply will eventually run out. With this artificial leaf producing clear energy it would leave less of an environmental footprint. The world is facing a lot of danger due to the excessive burning of fuels. This leaf could do wonders for the environment.
According to Salehi-Khojin the prototype could be ready in about five years. The process of creating it will require a lot of people and intelligence but it is not impossible. The possibilities of this leaf could really change the way we live and use fossil fuels regularly. I’m excited to see what the future holds for this artificial plant.
It is about time we begin thinking of new ways to fuel our world. For many years we have relied on foreign countries for oil but with the unstable conditions in the middle and east and the dangers of drilling in our country, i.e. The Dakota Access Pipeline it is great to see new ways being thought up. The fact that these researchers are able to turn a greenhouse gas into a new way to fuel should help to preserve our Ozone layer and in turn, the rest of the planet. Also, the fact that the leaf uses solar energy means that it could be a long term solution, as the sun is not going to run out of energy any time soon. If the researchers can get this program to gain some traction and get more hard evidence behind it, perhaps in 5 years we could finally begin to shift our cars to a renewable, clean resource.