Nikkei: Panasonic developing artificial photosynthetic technology almost as efficient as plants; production of ethanol from CO2
29 July 2012
The Nikkei reports that Panasonic Corp. has developed technology that artificially induces photosynthesis five times more efficiently than existing methods and almost as efficiently as plants.
The technology could theoretically reduce the generation of carbon dioxide while producing ethanol that could be used an alternative fuel for automobiles...Panasonic used an original metallic catalyst, as well as gallium nitride used in the production of such semiconductors such as LEDs, to induce the reaction with the sunlight, water and CO2.
...The electronics giant plans to build a prototype system using catalysts shaped like solar panels and start demonstrations, aiming to put the technology into practical use by 2015 to produce ethanol.
Panasonic will report the research findings on Thursday, according to the Nikkei.
This could be an improved way to produce ethanol while getting rid of unwanted CO2. If the same panels could be made to produce electricity from sunlight it could be a win-win technology.
Posted by: HarveyD | 29 July 2012 at 09:14 AM
A long overdue advance in moonshine production.
Posted by: ToppaTom | 29 July 2012 at 10:07 AM
None of the Bugmenot accounts seem to be working on Nikkei, and there doesn't seem to be a press release about this on the Panasonic site.
I'm always skeptical about these "artificial leaf" announcements. I have not yet seen one that required the close integration of the PV and chemical operations, suggesting that it's a PR gimmick. However, electrolysis of CO2 is an advance we can certainly use.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 29 July 2012 at 11:11 AM
" and almost as efficiently as plants. "
That doesn't say much about the efficiency, since plants has about 1% efficiency, while PV panel is usually 15% efficient with new panels about 20% efficiency.
What is the yield (kWh of EtOH) per M^2 of solar collecting surface? Where will the CO2 come from?
Posted by: Roger Pham | 29 July 2012 at 05:44 PM
RP....eventually an artificial unit could be improved to be many times more efficient than natural plants. Recent PVs @ 32% are good examples.
Posted by: HarveyD | 30 July 2012 at 08:19 AM