Chinese scientists have developed innovative technology, which can effectively convert carbon dioxide into complex carbohydrates, including sugar, fructose, glucose and other organic compounds that can be used in the food and chemical industry. According to South China Morning Post, this technology has the potential not only to reduce greenhouse emissions, but also to partially solve the food security problem.
The development was carried out by experts of the Tianzin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Scientists were able to find a simple and at the same time an effective way of synthesizing complex molecular chains made of carbon, which was considered a very difficult task.
In the proposed process, methanol is first obtained from carbon dioxide by catalytic reactions, and then fructose, amylose, amylopectin, cellobiosis and other sugars are synthesized on its basis. The efficiency of this transformation reaches 86 percent, and a short chain of reactions significantly reduces energy costs.
Despite the favorable climatic conditions for growing sugar cane and beet, China imports about five million tons of sugar every year, which is one third of total consumption. The expansion of agricultural areas threatens soil degradation and additional load on the ecosystem. Therefore, the production of carbon dioxide sugar can be a strategic step for the country.
Currently, technology has been successfully tested in the laboratory and Chinese scientists plan to develop it to the level of commercial production.
