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Designing Photobioreactors based on Living Cells Immobilized in Silica Gel for Carbon Dioxide Mitigation
Author(s) -
Rooke Joanna C.,
Léonard Alexandre,
Meunier Christophe F.,
Su BaoLian
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201000442
Subject(s) - photobioreactor , carbon dioxide , photosynthesis , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , artificial photosynthesis , environmental science , assimilation (phonology) , carbon dioxide removal , chemistry , biomass (ecology) , biochemical engineering , environmental chemistry , ecology , biology , photocatalysis , engineering , biochemistry , linguistics , philosophy , catalysis
Abstract Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have been rising since the industrial revolution, with the most dramatic increase occurring since the end of World War II. Carbon dioxide is widely regarded as one of the major factors contributing to the greenhouse effect, which is of major concern in today’s society because it leads to global warming. Photosynthesis is Nature’s tool for combating elevated carbon dioxide levels. In essence, photosynthesis allows a cell to harvest solar energy and convert it into chemical energy through the assimilation of carbon dioxide and water. Therefore photosynthesis is regarded as an ideal way to harness the abundance of solar energy that reaches Earth and convert anthropologically generated carbon dioxide into useful carbohydrates, providing a much more sustainable energy source. This Minireview aims to tackle the idea of immobilizing photosynthetic unicellular organisms within inert silica frameworks, providing protection both to the fragile cells and to the external ecosystem, and to use this resultant living hybrid material in a photobioreactor. The viability and activity of various unicellular organisms are summarized alongside design issues of a photobioreactor based on living hybrid materials.