Solar Biohybrids for Fuel Production

Solar energy is present abundant in nature and a renewable source of energy. Plants perform photosynthesis using solar energy which converts CO2 and O2. Likewise, the hybrid system harvests solar energy which enables in fusing with particularly engineered bacteria and fungus, they reacts according to its nature of modification to output the various chemicals and that chemicals can be used in different aspects of manufacturing drugs ,methane and artificial photosynthetic process for carbon fixation. The conversion of CO2 results in the production of hydrogen and oxygen which sustains the integration of solar to biomass yield and the highest bioelectrochemical fuel production shows better result and numerous methodologies which has given benefited output which was achieved using solar source.

In this review from the main source of solar energy the various experimental methods using subsequent rawmaterials have been achieved. Here by using engineered microorganisms to target more efficient conversion productions in live cells. Microorganisms are used in these process since they attain the ability to convert renewable source into higher value products through genetically designed multistep catalysis.

Natural photosynthesis to the artificial photosynthetic via developing the hybrid semiconductor nanowire bacteria system in reduction of co2 of chemical target using input as solar source. In the sustainable conversion of co2 to the chemoelective in reduction of protons to hydrogen, in the water splitting mechanism to reduce carbondioxide and its effect to generate liquid fuels via biocatalyst. Photosensitization can involve reactions within livind cells or tissue. The thermodynamic progress reveal energetic merits to photosensitizing nonphotosynthetic co2 reduction and the pathway pays the use semiconductor photoelectrons in this energetically efficient biosynthetic route.

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Also electrifying microbes which has recently gained traction of biosustainable strategy to reduce the dependence on oil. With the adaptation of the autotrophic acetogen and spectroscopic elucidation of energy transfer is also included in this inorganic hybrid biological system.

This modular bioinorganic hybrid system includes highly efficient light-capturing indium phosphide nanoparicles and genetically engineered Saccaromyces cerevisiae. This particular yeast captures light-generated electrons from lightened up nanoparticles and use them for regeneration of redox factors, enables dissociation of biosynthesis and cofactor regeneration in production of metabolite shikimic acid- a precursor for several drugs and chemicals,provides rational solar-to-chemical production has been demonstrated with bioinorganic hybrid systems including design of biohybrids for biomanufacturing process.(1-2). Semiconductor-uniting hydrogenases for biohydrogen production long wavelength-absorbing nanomaterials desegregated into plants for nourished photosynthetic efficiency, and photoelectrodes coupled with whole cells for hydrogenation reactions and atmospheric CO2 and N2 fixation.

Autotrophic bacteria have been recognized intensively, with a focus on simple organic molecules. Adding the support of heterotrophic organisms with light-harvesting inorganics may provide merits, such as increased efficiency in the out of high-value chemicals. Common heterotrophs (e.g., Saccharomyces cerevisiae) are already used widely in industrial usage because of the large catalog of target metabolites carried through genetic manipulation tools.

The cofactor NADPH role as a co-substrate in biosynthetic pathways and intertwined with biomass production . The source of NADPH in yeasts is the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), which oxidizes a hexose sugar decreasing carbon yields. Therefore, decoupling NADPH generation from central carbon metabolism may help maximize carbon flux for the production of desired metabolites . Indium phosphide (InP) was used as a photosensitizer in this hybrid system because its direct band gap (Eg = 1.34 eV) enables efficient absorption of a large fraction of the solar spectrum and it is structured appropriately to accept electrons from various species in the culture medium (23). Also, its high stability under oxygenic conditions.

An artificial photosynthetic that functions via a process by developing a biocompatible photo-capturing nanowire array that does a direct interface with microbial systems. The bacterium, Sporomusa ovata, in production of photoelectrochemical with acetate in aerobic condition (21% O2) with low potential (η < 200 mV), high Faradic efficiency (up to 90%), and long-term stability (up to 200 hours) gained interfacing in by harvesting light energy using the silicon nanowire . The outcoming acetate (~ 6 g/L) can be activated to acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) by genetically modified Escherichia coli and used for a different abled chemicals, such as n-butanol, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) polymer, and isoprenoid natural products.In developing a strategy for artificial photosynthesis, where biocatalysts in their own cellular environments are interfaced directly with semiconductor light-absorbers for unassisted solar CO2reduction. Specifically, the strategy that sites natural photosynthesis, where light capture by a biocompatible nanowire array can inducev directly in providing reducing equivalents to living organisms for the targeted synthesis of value-added chemical products from CO2 fixation . Such an bonding between materials science and biology fulfill the demanding dual requirements for light-capture efficiency and catalytic activity, and provides a route to the enhanced solar conversion in robust solid-state devices with the broad synthetic capabilities of living cells10.

The nanowire-bacteria hybrids actives high reaction rate of CO2 reduction; and the presence of nanowire array ridge a local anaerobic environment that allows strict anaerobes to continue CO2 reduction aerobically (21% O2), important for practical application. The acetate intermediate represents a biosynthetic precursor to a wide variety of potential fine and commodity chemicals via acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA), including functionalized aliphatics and aromatics, lipids, alkanes, as well as complex natural products. In using nanowire –based device which effectively tolerate to oxygen and enabling use of anaerobes with aerobes, an high measured co2 fixation in this hybrid system. This simplifies the system outlet in production of various molecular targets, without any change.

The below pictured mechanisms is explained as: the proposed approach for solar-powered CO2 fixation includes four general components: 1) harvesting solar energy; 2) generating reducing equivalents; 3) reducing CO2 to biosynthetic intermediates; 4) producing value-added chemicals. An integration of materials science and biology, such an approach combines the advantages of solid-state devices with living organisms. b, As a proof of concept, we demonstrate that under mild condition sunlight can provide the energy to directly treat exhaust gas and generate acetate as the biosynthetic intermediate, which is upgraded into liquid fuels, biopolymers, and pharmaceutical precursors. For improved process yield, S. ovata and E. coli are placed in two separate containers. FPP, farnesyl pyrophosphate.

The sustainable solar input attributes in production of hydrogen from water splitting in bioconsistent inorganic catalysis. The consumption of hydrogen in living cells a source of reducing equivalent and CO2chemical products (methane). As in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with the electrocatalysts and a biocatalyst named Methanosarcina barkeri for CO2 fixation , the production of efficient electrochemical CO2 to CH4 with (86%) faradaic efficiency. In the current solar-to-fuels cycle which is based on water splitting catalyst system, this integrated bioelectrochemical system uses bacteria Ralstonia eutropha, it converts CO2 & [H2 & O2] into biomass and acrid alcohol (isopropanol – 216mg/L). This is an alternative approach in the conversion of liquid solar fuels in deriving fuel production in organisms which uses light energy to biomass (14 – 16). And also the system that uses catalysts of the artificial leaf (15,16) with bacterium Ralstonia eutropha (17) drives artificial photosynthetic process for C2 fixation into biomass and liquid fuels. Here, water splits into oxygen by cobal phosphate (COpi) & catalyst and H2 is produced by NiMoZn alloy at applied voltages of Eappl=3.0V.

Bioelectrochemical production of isopropanol. (A) Schematic diagram of R. eutropha strain Re2133-pEG12 containing an engineered pathway for isopropanol production (red lines, text) and grown on electrochemically produced H2 and CO2. The CoA transferase (ctf) reaction is reversible and coupled to production of succinyl-CoA from succinate. The alcohol dehydrogenase reaction (adh) is also reversible and coupled to proton transfer and NADPH oxidation (not shown for clarity).

Microbes which are autotrophic in nature intake electrons from steel and other microbial cells or electrodes. The electron transfer extracellular mechanisms play role in acquisition of electrons from metals by electrical microbially influenced corrosion (EMIC). It is to be based on bioprocesses for the microbial electrosysnthesis (MES) of useful products derived from the greenhouse gas CO2. This details on the combining usage of autotrophs with solid electron and its significance in nature for biosustainable creation.

Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) is one of the bioelectrochemical approaches developed have impact on the current methods of chemical synthesis. It is a process in which electroautotrophic microbes use electrical current as electron source to reduce CO2 to multicarbon organics. Electricity can be harvested from renewable resources such as solar energy, wind turbine, or wastewater treatment processes. The net result is that renewable energy is stored in the covalent bonds of organic compounds synthesized from greenhouse gas.

In mixed communities, the cathodic chamber of the MES system is inoculated with samples from wastewater, sludge, or sediment. One of the main advantages of employing a mixed community for MES is that it eliminates the need to work under extreme sterile conditions required with pure culture-driven bioprocesses.

Diverse autotrophic pure cultures have been employed successfully in the role of microbial catalysts for MES systems. Pure cultures of Gram negative acetogens like Sporomusa silvacetica and Sporomusa sphaeroides and Gram positive acetogens like Clostridium ljungdahlii, Clostridium aceticum and the thermophile Moorella thermoaceticaare all capable of reducing CO2 to multicarbon compounds by MES. Spectroscopic elucidation of energy transfer in hybrid inorganic–biological organisms for solar-tochemical production Transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy revealed that photoexcited electron transfer rates increase with increasing hydrogenase (H2ase) enzyme activity. On the same time scale as the TA spectroscopy, time-resolved infrared (TRIR) spectroscopy showed spectral changes in the 1,700–1,900-cm−1 spectral region. The quantum efficiency of this system for photosynthetic acetic acid generation also increased with increasing H2ase activity and shorter carrier lifetimes when averaged over the first 24 h of photosynthesis. However, within the initial 3 h of photosynthesis, the rate followed an opposite trend: The bacteria with the lowest H2ase activity photosynthesized acetic acid the fastest. These results suggest a two-pathway mechanism: a high quantum efficiency charge-transfer pathway to H2ase generating H2 as a molecular intermediate that dominates at long time scales (24 h), and a direct energy-transducing enzymatic pathway responsible for acetic acid production at short time scales (3 h). This work represents a promising platform to utilize conventional spectroscopic methodology to extract insights from more complex biotic–abiotic hybrid systems.