Growdiesel Climate Care Council which organized four international summits starting with the “Algae Biofuel Summit 2008” is organizing yet another International workshop/ summit/ exhibition on Next Generation fuels on the 30th of Nov., 1st &2nd of Dec.2010 in Delhi, National Capital Region, India. The event is named NextGenFuels 2010. The event would deal with many aspects of Next generation fuels with a focus on Algae to Biofuel process, biomass to biofuel, waste to biofuel and Artificial photosynthesis for converting CO2 & saline water directly into Biofuels. The summit expects quite a few heavyweights of the Biofuel industry to be present including global CEOs, COOs, Knowledge Managers and Business strategists.

While I was going through this announcement, one of the coverage areas which reads ‘Artificial photosynthesis for converting CO2 & saline water directly into Biofuels’ tickled my curiosity. So I researched the area and found it to be a very interesting topic called ‘mimic photosynthesis’.  In this process, scientists basically try to copy the holistic process of photosynthesis and tweak it slightly to give hydrogen or other fuels necessary for energy and electricity.

To give a brief summary of the process, we must start with the skeletal details of photosynthesis itself. Now carbohydrate formation is an uphill process and needs a supply of energy for it to happen. In plants this is provided by the energy obtained when water molecules are split by photons (pockets of sunlight) to yield anions and cations. The only by-product during such a process is oxygen. But researchers plan to induce the production of hydrogen molecule as a by-product of photosynthesis that will be performed artificially. With the recent discovery of the exact chemistry of photosynthesis which involves a highly geometric process to yield biological products including the oxygen we breathe and the carbon-based food we eat in a very economical fashion, mimic photosynthesis has gained support in research circles. So what is that magic molecule that amalgamates geometry and economics to initiate the process considered to be the mother of all things sustainable? It is manganese operating along with its friends oxygen and calcium in the core of the photosynthetic engine. Having unraveled the details of photosynthesis to an exceedingly minute level, scientists are now experimenting on the geo-sci-eco-pol-bio-parameters of the process to try and make it a viable energy source in the future.

As ever, Oilgae observes intensely!

Details of NextGenFuels2010 can be found at: http://nextgenfuels.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

To know more on mimic photosynthesis, here is an article by Philip Hunter: http://www.energybulletin.net/node/317