Scientists Find New Way To Convert Carbon Dioxide into Energy

Scientists have discovered a way to convert greenhouse gas emissions into a fuel in a single step using a light-driven bacterium, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A team of U.S. scientists, led by biochemists at Utah State University, used a modified version of the phototrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris as a catalyst to break apart carbon dioxide and turn it into hydrogen and methane, the latter of which can be burned to generate electricity. “It’s a baby step, but it’s also a big step,” said Utah State biochemist Lance Seefeldt, a co-author of the study. “Imagine the far-reaching benefits of large-scale capture of environmentally damaging byproducts from burning fossils fuels and converting them to alternative fuels using light, which is abundant and clean.”