The expression “green technology” is usually considered a metaphor. Still, it’s literally the case with new technology being developed at Caltech. Mainly because they relied on spinach to develop it. technology project Converts carbon dioxide into organic plant fertilizer. Therefore, at the same time as global warming is mitigated, the fertilizer is produced in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.
What they did at this California technology center is create artificial chloroplasts, the cellular structures that allow plants and algae to perform photosynthesis, the conversion of sunlight into chemical energy. is. This requires that the chlorophyll molecules within it first absorb the light. Energy is stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), and a series of enzymes use these compounds to convert carbon dioxide to glucose. One of the key enzymes in this process is known as Rubisco. The natural process is relatively slow, so the researchers decided to replace rubisco with a much faster enzyme. The resulting cycle is ten times faster and was named CETCH.
All that remains is the development of artificial chloroplasts. Therefore, we used spinach leaf cells to extract thylakoids. Thylakoids are tiny sacs that contain chlorophyll and can operate outside the plant as tiny solar treatment plants.Combining thylakoids with his new CETCH cycle has finally achieved the goal of the experiment. . It does so by producing glycolic acid, a compound used in fertilizers. Technically, it is possible to create a photosynthetic factory that produces organic fertilizer using only carbon dioxide and sunlight. We must not forget that the production of chemical fertilizers is behind the massive emissions of chemical fertilizers. Greenhouse gases such as methane.
plants for producing medicines and other uses
In addition to fertilizer production, the new technology opens the door to other strategies. For example, this type of photosynthesis could be used to produce compounds for the pharmaceutical industry. Or even genetically engineered plants can be developed to absorb ten times more carbon dioxide and used to produce biofuels.
It’s estimated that by 2050, we’ll need to double agricultural production to meet the population’s food needs, so sustainable initiatives like this one in California are critical. The I’MNOVATION Hub has highlighted several strategies that can contribute to that goal. For example, it uses wastewater to produce nitrogen. Another approach is the use of genetically modified organisms such as: self-fertilized grain Developed by MIT, USA.
sauce: scientific journals,
