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www.voicechronicle.com_tech-and-science 2015 000080.txt

#Scientists Invented Bionic Leaf to Convert Solar energy into Liquid fuel Aided by a new technique, a team of researchers has found a way of converting solar energy into liquid fuel. The research, carried out by the researchers at Harvard, has been published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and it indicates another way of effectively utilizing the alternative-energy source. Presently, photovoltaic cells are used to convert solar energy into hydrogen, which is stored then in fuel cells for future use. However, hydrogen has succeeded not yet in marking its prominent presence as an energy source because presently the world has an infrastructure which can better handle liquid fuels. Harvard researchers have invented a bionic leaf an integrated system, in which sunlight can be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This hydrogen is combined then with carbon dioxide, with the help of a bacterium, to form the liquid fuel isopropanol. Researcher Pamela Silver stated his is a proof of concept that you can have a way of harvesting solar energy and storing it in the form of a liquid fuel. It is a small leaf sized solar device which is submerged in water to produce hydrogen. The technique involves genetically engineered bacteria in combination with a solar-powered catalyzer. According to the researchers it mimics the photosynthetic powers of chlorophyll. One of the researchers Dan Nocera from Harvard university mentioned that development of this artificial leaf system has taken about a decade. The catalysts which have been used in the system are adapted highly well as well as compatible with the conditions required for the bacterial growth. The catalyst, powered by sunlight, splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. Following this, the bacterium Ralstonia eutropha combines hydrogen with carbon dioxide to form isopropanol p

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