The invention paves the way for the development of alternative fuel sources to petroleum-based fuels used today without the need for technology to do the sunlight-to-energy conversion, researchers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have systematically designed and created a series of modified cyanobacteria that gradually produced increasing quantities of butanol in direct processes,\u201d Pia Lindberg, senior lecturer in Uppsala\u2019s Department of Chemistry \u00c5ngstr\u00f6m Laboratory, said in a press statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team\u2019s research was conducted as a part of the larger\u00a0EU Photofuel\u00a0project overseen by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen, which\u2014like many automotive companies–is seeking alternative fuels for its vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Production-Level Volumes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers already previously had modified cyanobacteria to produce chemicals, including biofuels, from carbon dioxide and solar energy. What is significant about what the Uppsala team achieved is the possibility to significantly boost production, creating enough biofuel to use in a manufacturing environment, researchers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, researchers systematically and modularly engineered the cyanobacterium\u00a0Synechocystis\u00a0PCC 6803 at the gene and enzyme levels to enable efficient biosynthesis of butanol, which is largely seen as an alternative to more environmentally harmful chemicals and fuels, they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur multi-level modular strategy for high-level production of chemicals and advanced biofuels represents a blueprint for future systematic engineering in photosynthetic microorganisms,\u201d researchers wrote in an abstract for a\u00a0paper\u00a0published on their work in the journal\u00a0Energy & Environmental Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, if produced in a high-volume way, butanol could be used in the automotive industry not just as an environmentally friendly vehicle fuel, but also as a component of rubber to produce tires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In both cases, the advancement could replace fossil fuel-based materials using a carbon-neutral product created from solar energy, carbon dioxide, and water, said Peter Lindblad, Lindberg\u2019s colleague in the Department of Chemistry \u00c5ngstr\u00f6m Laboratory at Uppsala University and leader of the research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe results show that a direct production of carbon-neutral chemicals and fuels from solar energy will be a possibility in the future,\u201d he said in a press statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From: https:\/\/www.designnews.com\/electronics-test\/microorganisms-provide-solar-energy-independent-using-solar-cells\/208296589061450<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The concept of solar energy usually inspires images of long rows of solar panels lined up in a vast field. However, generating energy from the sun in the future could partially eliminate the need for this technology thanks to researchers in Europe. Scientists from Uppsala University in Sweden have\u00a0developed microorganisms\u00a0that can efficiently produce the biofuel…
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