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Carbon Dioxide Livestock Feed

Posted on June 14, 2023 by dishanth

Researchers may have discovered a protein substitute for livestock feed that is significantly less environmentally damaging than corn and soybean production. The researchers have explored the concept of synthetic nutrition, which means essential nutrients can be produced artificially, efficiently and with a small footprint. They have turned greenhouse gas emissions into an ingredient that could be used for carbon dioxide livestock feed.

The researchers captured carbon dioxide and combined it with renewable hydrogen to make methanol powered by wind and solar energy. With the material created, they applied a series of enzymes into an eight-step process which, after several combinations, created an amino acid called L-alanine. This amino acid makes protein and is an energy source for muscles and the central nervous system. It also strengthens the immune system and helps the body use sugars.

This isn’t the first time researchers have been able to transform carbon dioxide into food products. Researchers have found a way to convert carbon dioxide into starch that typically comes from corn which requires a lot of land, water and fertilizer to grow. The process they used was 8.5 times more efficient than photosynthesis, which the corn plant uses to convert CO2 and sunlight into carbs. Moreover, their process took only four hours compared to the 120 days required for corn to grow and generate starch.

These new processes of using carbon dioxide to minimize the use of corn and starch will bypass the problem of repurposing a climate-damaging waste stream. Although there are other ways to synthesize L-alanine protein, they require emission-intensive processes that require petroleum products. Using existing carbon dioxide will reduce the need for emissions and harmful products. It also decouples production from the land because less land will be needed to produce the same amount of L-alanine. It will also use significantly less energy as the energy required will be taken from renewable sources.

The demand for animal protein continues, so the need for carbon dioxide livestock feed will also rise. Researchers are developing solutions that utilize harmful and excess emissions that can be transformed into food for these animals. These new solutions will allow us to move away from excess land and water use and monocultures and help us create more biologically diverse environments.

Source Happy Eco News

Artificial Photosynthesis can produce food in absence of sunlight: Study

Posted on September 15, 2022September 15, 2022 by dishanth

Experiments revealed that a diverse range of food-producing organisms, including green algae, yeast, and fungal mycelium that produces mushrooms, can be grown in the dark directly on the acetate-rich electrolyzer output. This technology is approximately four times more energy efficient than growing algae photosynthetically.

According to a study conducted by the University of California, scientists have discovered a way to create food that is not dependent on sunlight by using artificial photosynthesis. A two-step electrocatalytic process converts carbon dioxide, electricity, and water into acetate.

In order to grow, food-producing organisms consume acetate in the dark. The hybrid organic-inorganic system has the potential to increase the efficiency of sunlight conversion into food by up to 18 times for some foods.

For millions of years, plants have evolved photosynthesis to convert water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight energy into plant biomass and the foods we eat. However, this process is inefficient, with only about 1% of the energy found in sunlight reaching the plant. Scientists at UC Riverside and the University of Delaware have discovered a way to create food without the need for biological photosynthesis by using artificial photosynthesis.

The study, which was published in the journal Nature Food, employs a two-step electrocatalytic process to convert carbon dioxide, electricity, and water into acetate, the main component of vinegar. In order to grow, food-producing organisms consume acetate in the dark. This hybrid organic-inorganic system, when combined with solar panels to generate the electricity to power the electrocatalysis, could increase the conversion efficiency of sunlight into food by up to 18 times for some foods.

“We sought to identify a new way of producing food that could break through the limits normally imposed by biological photosynthesis,” said corresponding author Robert Jinkerson, an assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering at UC Riverside.

The output of the electrolyzer was optimized to support the growth of food-producing organisms in order to integrate all of the system’s components. Electrolyzers are electrical devices that convert raw materials such as carbon dioxide into useful molecules and products. The amount of acetate produced was increased while the amount of salt used was decreased, resulting in the most acetate ever produced in an electrolyzer to date.

“We were able to achieve a high selectivity towards acetate that cannot be accessed through conventional CO2 electrolysis routes using a state-of-the-art two-step tandem CO2 electrolysis setup developed in our laboratory,” said corresponding author Feng Jiao of the University of Delaware.

“We were able to grow food-producing organisms in the absence of biological photosynthesis. These organisms are typically grown on sugars derived from plants or inputs derived from petroleum – a product of biological photosynthesis that occurred millions of years ago. This technology is a more efficient way of converting solar energy into food than biological photosynthesis,” said Elizabeth Hann, a doctoral candidate in the Jinkerson Lab and co-lead author of the study.

Source Krishi Jagran