DavidPBL

8 ms·

31.
by DavidPBL 5y ago
Process efficiency can be measured in different ways. I can't give you a number on energy efficiency yet but what I can say is that the carbon efficiency of the process can get close to 100% yield. We aren't there yet for a number
32.
by DavidPBL 5y ago
Thank you! Long journey ahead but I hope we can rise to the challenge.
33.
by DavidPBL 5y ago
Thank you! We are going to need low cost green hydrogen. Existing electrolyser technology uses precious metals and so they are expensive/current limiting factor. However there are lots of startups working on bringing to market electrol
34.
by DavidPBL 5y ago
Thank you! The stoichiometric equation is: 2CO2 + 6H2 > C2H5OH (ethanol) + 3 H2O [∆G -107.4 +/- 36.8 kJ/mol] You're absolutely right, we require low cost green hydrogen (electricity). The carbon balance depends a bit
35.
by DavidPBL 5y ago
We use an autotrophic microorganism called an acetogen. Autotrophic means it can use inorganic carbon to feed itself. Plants are another example of an autotroph. Humans are heterotrophs, meaning we depend on other sources for food.
36.
by DavidPBL 5y ago
Thank you! I agree, Daniel Nocera's team have done some really cool research and you're right that renewable fuels in general would be too expensive. I would argue that the cost of fossil fuels are artificially low because their c
37.
by DavidPBL 5y ago
Thank you very much for the suggestion!
38.
by DavidPBL 5y ago
We take a small sample out the bioreactor (1-2 milliliters) and run it through HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography). This is manual and labour intensive. There are newer techniques like raman spectroscopy which measure products in rea
39.
Launch HN: Phase Biolabs (YC W22) – Converting CO2 to Carbon-Neutral Chemicals
191 points by DavidPBL 5y ago|88 comments