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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday September 05 2018, @12:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the artificial-chlorophyl dept.

St John's College:

Photosynthesis is the process plants use to convert sunlight into energy. Oxygen is produced as by-product of photosynthesis when the water absorbed by plants is 'split'. It is one of the most important reactions on the planet because it is the source of nearly all of the world's oxygen. Hydrogen which is produced when the water is split could potentially be a green and unlimited source of renewable energy.

A new study, led by academics at St John's College, University of Cambridge, used semi-artificial photosynthesis to explore new ways to produce and store solar energy. They used natural sunlight to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen using a mixture of biological components and humanmade technologies.

The research could now be used to revolutionise the systems used for renewable energy production. A new paper, published in Nature Energy, outlines how academics at the Reisner Laboratory in Cambridge developed their platform to achieve unassisted solar-driven water-splitting.

Their method also managed to absorb more solar light than natural photosynthesis.


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  • (Score: 2) by slap on Wednesday September 05 2018, @05:44PM (1 child)

    by slap (5764) on Wednesday September 05 2018, @05:44PM (#730842)

    CO2 is around 0.04% of the atmosphere, compared to 21% for oxygen. If we get a similar increase in oxygen as we have CO2 over the last few hundred years, we would increase the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere by around 1%.

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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday September 05 2018, @08:08PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday September 05 2018, @08:08PM (#730930)

    O2 is already increased by measurable amounts in regions like the taiga where there are mostly trees and few animals.

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