Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have developed a progressive biological approach to convert methane and carbon dioxide into cleaner biofuels by using of methanotrophic bacteria , officials stated on Monday
This revolutionary technique represents a vast leap towards sustainable energy solutions and climate change mitigation, they stated.
The research, published in Fuel, a dominent journal with the aid of Elsevier, addresses two critical global challenges–the dangerous environmental impact of greenhouse gases and the depletion of fossil fuel reserves.
Debasish Das, professor inside the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Guwahati , defined that the greenhouse gas methane is 27 to 30 instances more potent than carbon dioxide and is a tremendous contributor to global warming.
“While turning methane and carbon dioxide into liquid fuels can decrease emissions and offer renewable energy, current chemical strategies are energy-extensive, highly-priced, and give toxic by products, proscribing their scalability,” he stated.
Das stated that their team has developed a completely biological method that uses a type of methanotrophic bacteria to transform methane and carbon dioxide into bio-methanol under slight operating conditions.
“Unlike conventional chemical methods, this technique eliminates the need for high-priced catalysts, avoids toxic via-products, and operates in a extra energy-efficient way,” the professor said.
The researchers claimed that the approach completed upto 87 consistent with cent reduction in carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulphide and smoke emissions.
According to Das, this studies is a breakthrough because it demonstrates that bio-methanol, derived from bacteria feeding on methane and carbon dioxide, may be a viable opportunity to fossil fuels.
He stated, in contrast to ordinary biofuels that rely upon crops and create competition with food manufacturing, their technique uses greenhouse gases, heading off the ‘food vs gasoline’ trouble.
“It is an environmentally and economically viable solution, utilising less expensive resources while giving to emissions reduction,” he brought.
The professor asserted that with the capacity to decrease reliance on fossil fuels and minimise greenhouse gas emissions, this advancement represents a good sized stride in the direction of a cleaner and greener destiny.
“The biological growth of methane and carbon dioxide into bio-methanol not only gives a cleanser fuel alternative however additionally has commercial applications as a precursor for manufacturing chemicals like formaldehyde and acetic acid,” Das said.
“This technique offers big capacity to decarbonise vital industries, such as oil and gas, refineries, and chemical production, paving the manner for a extra sustainable future,” he stated.
