H2020Индивидуална стипендия2020–2023

EnergUP · Development of alga-based photovoltaic devices: Electron transport from photosynthesis via the cell wall to electrodes

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2020-09-01 → 2023-07-30
Финансиране от ЕС: 139 851 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Биофотоволтаичните устройства използват водорасли, за да превръщат слънчевата светлина директно в електричество. Подобрението на този процес помага за създаването на по-ефективни и екологични източници на енергия, които същевременно абсорбират въглероден диоксид.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Development of alga-based photovoltaic devices: Electron transport from photosynthesis via the cell wall to electrodes

Renewable energy sources are of high interest due to the shortage of the fossil energy sources and the present energy crisis. One possible way to obtain green energy is the use of photosynthetic organisms to directly produce electricity in various bio-photovoltaic devices (BPVs) or also called bio-photo electrochemical cells (BPECs). Alga-based current production could be advantageous for several reasons, such as 1) being an environmental friendly way of sunlight energy conversion, and 2) the potential to decrease the energy consumption of alga biomass production by including self-sustainable bioreactors in the production system. The fact that these photosynthetic algae capture CO2 while produce O2, is a further positive aspect. Although BPVs provide a promising alternative for producing energy, the efficiency of the available systems is inadequite for industrial use. The aim of the EnergUP project was to improve the alga-based, light-dependent current production by targeting various elements of the process. Objectives of this Marie Skłodowska Curie Action (MSCA) have been to (1) enhance the electron flow from alga cells towards the electrodes of the BPVs by modofying internal electron transport processes, to (2) investigate the possible barrier effect of the wall surrounding the cells, and to (3) establish an alga cell immobilization method for a more efficient current production. Overall, the rate of current production was sustantially increased by certain specific electron transport mutations in the green algae cells. On the other hand, it turned out that the presence of the cell wall has minor or no effect on the the current production. However, wild-type cells of various origin can have huge variation in the current producing capacity, most probably due to differences in their cellular metabolism. In the frame of the present project, various alga species have been screened using two newly developed bio-photovoltaic setups and strains with high current production capacity were identified.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

The aim of the EnergUP project is to substantially improve the efficiency of the alga-based photovoltaic devices and thereby to contribute to the development of a climate-neutral technology. We will apply various strategies to enhance the current production by photosynthetic organisms using bio-photo electrochemical cells (BPEC). We seek for sustainable solutions without the usage of toxic chemicals or invasive cell treatments. In our experimental photovoltaic device, the electric current is transferred form the cells towards the electrode by a soluble electron mediator molecule. The electric current production of the cells is strongly limited 1) by the donation of electrons from algal cells towards the meditator molecule, 2) by the diffusion capacity of the mediator molecule through the multi-layer cell wall and 3) by the distance between the cells and the electrode surface. In this project, we will use two evolutionarily different alga species, the prokaryotic cyanobacteria, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and the eukaryotic green algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that are both excellent model organisms to study photosynthetic energy conversion. We will study 1) the contribution of the linear and the alternative photosynthetic electron transport pathways to the reduction of the mediator molecule by employing a range of photosynthetic mutants, and 2) the limiting effect of the cell wall on the diffusion of the mediator molecule by biochemical removal of specific cell wall layers and by employing cell-wall mutants. For the experiments, we will develop a specific measuring cuvette allowing photosynthetic activity measurements in the BPEC. We will also establish immobilization for alga-based photovoltaic devices, ensuring a close distance between the cells and the electrode surface, thereby enabling a more efficient electron transfer. Another advantage of this approach is that changing the culture media and removal of the cells from the BPEC becomes more economical.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

HUN-REN SZEGEDI BIOLOGIAI KUTATOKOZPONT · SzegedКоординаторУнгария