Greenhouse gases have been on an increase since time immemorial and hence, these add to the global warming. While scientists and researchers are coming up with newer, innovative ideas to curb this trend, another school of thought led by Bruce Logan, a professor at Pennsylvania State University, asserts to convert electricity into methane. However, it’s not the actual conversion as stated before, since the core raw stuff is CO2 instead of electricity. Now, if scientists succeed in devise such a method, won’t it heighten the scale of harmful emissions?
How does the mechanism work?
Giving small electric shocks to single-celled microorganisms known as Methanobacterium Palustre, methane-emitting archea, make them remove C02 from the air. Afterward, they turn this CO2 into methane, which is released as tiny “farts.” The fact that methane, in turn, can be used to power fuel cells or to store the electrical energy chemically makes it extremely beneficial. Hence, it goes on to suggest a viable solution to store electrical energy and convert the electricity into biofuel. 80% efficiency is all what makes researchers feel so optimistic about the whole mechanism.
Is it sensible to promote methane?
Accepted that methane is a greenhouse gas and its ignition further produces more greenhouse gases, yet a comparison between its emissions to the ones hurled by other fuels clearly indicates that the substitute offered by the Pennsylvania State University is far superior.
Here is another evaluation. First, the energy generated by the renewable energy generators is far expensive owing to the cost of the batteries used to store it. Secondly, the renewable energy sources can’t be relied upon since they need ideal climatic conditions to operate and it’s not always possible to get the peak output of them. So, showing a way out of the problem and to enable them with better efficiency is definitely great idea.