Yutaka Amao is a Professor at Osaka City University and the Director of the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis.
apan for Sustainability reports that Osaka City University announced on April 25, 2018, that it succeeded in developing a new biofuel cell system with the functions of a solar cell and the ability of carbon dioxide conversion. Utilizing the photosynthesis function of spirulina, this solar-light driven biofuel cell generates electricity by consuming CO2 in water as source material and produces formic acid as a byproduct while generating electricity.
The team led by Professor Yutaka Amao in the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis of Osaka City University had focused on the effective oxygen-evolution photosynthetic function activity spirulina shows in water.
Using a device containing a CO2-saturated buffer solution with two electrodes coupled with each other, an electrode on which a photosynthetic membrane derived from spirulina is immobilized and another electrode on which formic-acid dehydrogenase is immobilized, they found a certain amount of electric current (measuring 55 microamperes) flowing through the circuit when visible-light is applied to the photosynthetic-membrane immobilized electrode.
They also found that formic acid was produced above the formic-acid-dehydrogenase immobilized electrode by reduction of CO2. And they confirmed the evolution of oxygen and reduction of hydrogen carbonate ions derived from CO2.
Thus, this biofuel cell introduced a new technology to create bioenergy that not only consumes CO2 but also produces an organic molecule, formic acid. Formic acid has a large usage potential, such as a hydrogen-energy storage medium, a synthetic material for organic chemicals, and a solvent for inorganic-organic chemical compounds.
