Harvard uses bacteria to convert CO2 into 3D-printable biopolymers.

Harvard Medical School is working on a synthetic biology project involving the use of bacteria to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into more useful compounds, such as plastics.
innovative approach, which is still in its early stages, could one day be used on Mars, which is made up mainly of carbon dioxide, to produce 3D-printable building materials.
it will also have a significant impact on the earth.
researchers explain how they converted a bacterium called R. bacillus into a usable polymer compound.
" bacteria can actually fill their cells with about 80 percent of the polymer, but it is not an ideal industrial processing material.
so we wanted to use metabolic engineering techniques to regulate the material properties of this polymer for 3D printing, injection molding and other types of industrial processing," the researchers said.
using the same principle, which converts CO2 into compounds using bacteria, a team of researchers in the project is working with a team from Silver Lab to develop a "bionic leaf" to combat global warming.
, the bionic leaf system uses solar energy to break down water molecules (H2O) into oxygen and hydrogen.
when bacteria are introduced into the system, they consume hydrogen and use it as an energy source, converting carbon dioxide from the air into different types of molecules.
process is similar to photosynthic, but much more efficient.
using one kilowatt-hour of energy, the system can remove 180 grams of carbon dioxide from 230,000 liters of air.
, the researchers aim to turn carbon dioxide into usable bioplastics using this bacterial conversion method.
earth, this means less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which will mitigate global warming, and on Mars, it means using carbon dioxide-rich air to produce building materials locally.
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