Artificial photosynthesis Artificial photosynthesis Artificial photosynthesis is a chemical process that replicates the natural process of photosynthesis, a process that converts sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen; as an imitation of a natural process it is biomimetic. The term artificial photosynthesis is commonly used to refer to any scheme for capturing and storing the energy from sunlight in the chemical bonds of a fuel (a solar fuel). Photocatalytic water splitting converts water into hydrogen and oxygen and is a major research topic of artificial photosynthesis. Light-driven carbon dioxide reduction is another process studied that replicates natural carbon fixation. Research
Carbon dioxide removal funded by Bill Gates, is developing a process to capture carbon dioxide using a solution of potassium hydroxide mixed with some water at their pilot plant. They hope to create and sell synthetic fuels at a cost of $100 a ton. Among the technologies studied for direct air capture (DAC), the use of aqueous hydroxide sorbents is one of the most promising approaches. In this process, CO from the air is chemically dissolved into NaOH(aq) solution as NaCO; the NaCO is then reacted with solid Ca(OH), which regenerates the solvent and produces CaCO crystals; lastly, heat is applied to the