Artificial Photosynthesis: From Basic Biology to Industrial Application - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3527310908 ISBN 13: 9783527310906

Publisher: Wiley-VCH, 2005

Synopsis

Since the events crucial to plant photosynthesis are now known in molecular detail, this process is no longer nature's secret, but can for the first time be mimicked by technology. Broad in its scope, this book spans the basics of biological photosynthesis right up to the current approaches for its technical exploitation, making it the most complete resource on artificial photosynthesis ever published.

The contents draw on the expertise of the Australian Artificial Photosynthesis Network, currently the world's largest coordinated research effort to develop effective photosynthesis technology. This is further backed by expert contributions from around the globe, providing an authoritative overview of current research worldwide.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Prepared in collaboration with the Australian Artificial Photosynthesis Network, the world's largest initiative for the development of artificial photosynthetic systems, this is the most comprehensive survey to date about the practical prospects of a revolutionary technology that offers a safe and versatile replacement for current fossil fuel utilizing processes.

The book consists of five major parts:

• The Context
• Capturing Sunlight
• Feeding the Grid from the Sun
• Photohydrogen
• The Carbon Connection

In a step-by-step dissection of the photosynthetic component processes, current and future technology for recreating the biochemical and biophysical processes in green plants is presented here. Expert scientists and bioengineers discuss the basic equations governing energy conversion, hydrogen generation and carbon fixation, as well as the approaches to engineering these processes in a bioreactor. Last but not least, the economic, environmental and social issues associated with photosynthetic generation of energy and biomass are also considered.

With a foreword by Peter McGauran, Autralian Government Minister for Science.

About the Author:

Tony Collings studied chemical engineering at the University of New South Wales and anthropology at the University of Sydney (Australia). He holds a PhD and DIC degree from London University (UK). Following postdoctoral work at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena (USA) he joined the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Industrial Physics division in Lindfield (Australia), where his research interests have been in the physics of liquids, ultrasonics and biophysics. He led a research team that won the Australian Institute of Engineers Research Excellence Award. He is the convener of the Australian Artificial Photosynthesis Network.

Christa Critchley studied botany, biochemistry and genetics at the University of Cologne and completed her PhD at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf (Germany). Following postdoctoral work at CSIRO in Sydney, the Australian National University in Canberra and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA) she was awarded a National Research Fellowship at the Australian National University. She then joined the University of Queensland where she is now Professor of Botany and the Deputy Director of the UQ Graduate School. Her research interests are the biophysics and biochemistry of plant photosystem II and biomembranes. She is a founding member of the Australian Artificial Photosynthesis Network.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-VCH
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 3527310908
• ISBN 13: 9783527310906
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 339
• Editor: Collings Anthony F., Critchley Christa