Biochemist Creates CO2-Eating Light That Runs On Algae

An anonymous reader writes "Biochemist Pierre Calleja has a solution to reducing carbon emissions that doesn't require us to cut back on our use of carbon-producing devices. Calleja has developed a lighting system that requires no electricity for power. Instead it draws CO2 from the atmosphere and uses it to produce light as well as oxygen as a byproduct. The key ingredient to this eco-friendly light? Algae. Certain types of algae can feed off of organic carbon as well as sunlight, and in the process produce carbohydrate energy for themselves as well as oxygen as a waste product. Cajella's lamps consist of algae-filled water along with a light and battery system. During the day the algae produce energy from sunlight that is then stored in the batteries. Then at night the energy is used to power the light. However, as the algae can also produce energy from carbon, sunlight isn't required for the process to work. That means such lights can be placed where there is no natural light and the air will effectively be cleaned on a daily basis."

I call bulls*it

[Anonymous Coward]

Algae can produce energy via photosynthesis. Sure.

Claiming (as is heavily implied) the can extract energy somehow from CO2 sans sunlight is about as sound as claims you can run your car on hydrogen "extracted" from water.

Carbon isn't inherently a source of energy. Energy can be stored in carbon compounds by having carbon in certain oxidation states. Then in a redox reaction it gets oxidized to CO2. At that point, no more energy to extract. You need energy in at that point. Carbon isn't magic.

Thermodynamics. It's not just a good idea. It's the law.

This is the worst article ever

[Anonymous Coward]

The video in the article describes something completely different from the text article.

The thing, as described in the video, is completely useless for carbon sequestration purposes until electricity production is almost totally carbon-neutral (which won't be for many years).

The thing, as described in the text, violates the first law of thermodynamics.

At least one of them is grotesquely wrong, and possibly both. Either way, this lamp is utterly useless in an "underground parking garage," which is the proposed use as discussed in the video.

Too good to be true...

[malakai]

Apparently Geek.com has it's own problems with editors & science....

This article is completely incorrect.

The total equation for oxygenic photosynthesis is:
6CO2 + 12H2O + light C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O
Broken down, the equations are:
water + light -> chemical energy and gaseous oxygen (a waste product)

(Historically called the "light reactions" because they require light. Photosystem II drives this light capture.)

That chemical energy is then used to capture carbon dioxide to make carbohydrates or sugars:
chemical energy from photosynthesis + carbon dioxide -> carbohydrates

(Historically called the "dark reactions" because the two processes can be uncoupled. The enzyme Rubisco uses the chemical energy from photosynthesis to capture CO2, which goes on to make sugars, etc.)

The carbohydrates can then be used for cellular functions OR as an energy source by the mitochondria, just like we as people use sugar as energy.These algae (What kind are they? I can't even find Pierre Calleja's research page. All I get is mixotrophic algae, which could be any number of algae. I'm assuming that it is a eukaryote like Chlamydomonas, but it could be a prokaryote like Synechocystis.) do NOT use carbon dioxide as an energy source. By definition, a mixotrophic algae CAN use carbon as an energy source, but NOT in the form of CO2, it must be in the form of sugar, acetate, etc.Furthermore, these lamps are NOT powered by the algae themselves. These lamps are powered by electricity to give the algae light to grow. That light then gives the algae the energy to pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Re:Too good to be true...

[ericloewe]

Pretty much sums up the whole thing.

Sounds like the analogue of a perpetual motion machine, but for the carbon cycle.

Pure snake oil

[Grayhand]

He says in the video that they absorb a ton a CO2 a year. The US releases 5.5 billion tons a year so just this country would need 5.5 billion of these lamps to absorb it all. He also claims he's the only one that ever thought of using algae. There are a lot of people working in algae it's just you have to work on a large scale for it to have any affect.

Re:Algae

[icebike]

My question is, how? How do they store the energy in batteries? We're talking about algae, not solar cells. What are they using, magic?

The algae produce carbohydrate energy for themselves as well as oxygen as a waste product.

Left out of the summary was the step where the carbohydrate gets converted to electricity and stored in batteries. Following the link in the summary to TFA, and then to the source, and even watching the video, I was still unable to find anything about this step.

The video showed that the Algae were in the outer cylinder of two concentric cylinders, and the inner won was apparently a light source of some kind.

how do you get energy from CO2?

[Karmashock]

Isn't it thermodynamically impossible to do this without USING energy?

Plants take in CO2 and make oxygen all the time. But they use energy in the form of sunlight to do it. So if the plant can produce power in the dark without any light at all... How?

Magic plant? Put a plant in a dark place with all the CO2 it wants... see how happy it is... it will die. Of course, then fungus and mold will eat it in the dark but that's a different family of life.

This whole report sounds like pseudo-science. Not unlike those perpetual energy machines that cranks keep claiming to have invented in their garages with nothing more then some old soda cans and a dream.

Here's another question, you know that guy that claimed to have cracked Fusion and wants to sell municipal grade fusion reactors? Well... where is he now? Claiming sudden technical difficulties owing to the fact that like all these other guys he made it up.

I don't know if it's the inventor's fault in this case or just a stupid press. But this story doesn't add up.

Re:This is the worst article ever

[blueg3]

Inside of a star, it's too hot for atoms to form molecular bonds, so there is no CO2.