The process of photosynthesis is one of nature's greatest achievements. As solar collectors, plants are known to operate with nearly 100% quantum efficiency, producing an electron for almost every photon of sunlight captured, as CleanTechnica notes.
That led researchers at Concordia University's Optical-Bio Microsystems Lab in Quebec, Canada, to study algae and its potential as a sustainable way to harness the sun's energy, according to Interesting Engineering.
Kirankumar Kuruvinashetti, a contributor to the study, explained in a statement, "Photosynthesis produces oxygen and electrons. Our model traps the electrons, which allows us to generate electricity. So more than being a zero-emission technology, it's a negative carbon-emission technology: It absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and gives you a current. Its only byproduct is water."
Technically, algae mostly belong to a group of organisms called protists that aren't actually classified as plants, but they do share some of the same characteristics. Marine algae absorbs around 50% of the planet's carbon dioxide (CO2), gives off plenty of oxygen, and can grow much more rapidly than land-based plants, as EnergyPost shared.
The team built micro-photosynthetic power cells that house algae in a specialized solution. They've tested both series and parallel configurations for maximum efficiency, per Interesting Engineering. Various combinations of the two layouts have been the most successful in tests.
Power output may be low, around 1 volt per cell, but that should be enough to run low-power devices, such as small sensors, actuators, and other gadgets known as Internet of Things (IoT) devices. They can work in low-light conditions as well, but function best in direct sunlight. This is a "significant stride forward," the researchers said in their research article.
While massive algae blooms, spurred on by a warming planet, can be a nuisance and even release toxins harmful to humans and aquatic species, the protist has many benefits.
Blue-green algae has shown potential for growing textural proteins, which could help reduce overprocessing in plant-based food. That could improve our food options and lessen the reliance on methane-emitting livestock, which alone contribute about 32% of human-related planet-warming gases.
There have been algae-derived antiviral treatments developed for bees so they can live healthy, pollinating lives, and an enzyme from the organisms has shown to help crops sequester more CO2 and survive in extreme weather.
Harnessing algae as nature's own solar panels is also of interest, as that sector of renewables is expected to grow faster than wind power over the next couple of years.
The research team also aims to leverage AI-assisted integration technologies to help improve efficiency, as Interesting Engineering reported, and the fabrication process doesn't include the hazardous gases or microfibers used in photovoltaic cell creation.
As Muthukumaran Packirisamy, the paper's corresponding author, shared, "Disposing of silicon computer chips is not easy. We use biocompatible polymers, so the whole system is easily decomposable and very cheap to manufacture."
Obviously, the micro-photosynthetic design is a much greener technology.
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