SUSTAINABILITY: NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Making food, drink and more out of thin air

Being able to get rid of carbon omissions by transforming them into something useful sounds impossible, but it isn’t. Some scientists and companies that are committed to reducing waste have done just that. Air Company (aircompany.com) discovered that it could make high-grade ethanol from carbon dioxide through a process that mimics photosynthesis; this process is also used to make premium vodka. While vodka made in the usual way produces carbon, the type made by Air Company is better than carbonneutral – it’s carbon-negative. The company claims it uses the same amount of carbon as eight trees.

Physicist Lisa Dyson’s Air Protein (airprotein.com) uses synthetic biology to transform carbon dioxide into a complete protein in a process that was originally discovered by NASA 50 years ago. In a similar way to growing plants, this technology uses hydrogenotrophs (a type of microorganism) to absorb and use carbon dioxide in a probiotic process that gives off oxygen and water vapour. Unlike plants, which take time to grow, hydrogenotrophs produce amino acids in a matter of hours or days, which are then used to make Air Protein’s flour. The next phase is to turn this into edible products.

Other processes can be used to make useful products from excess carbon, particularly the carbon that’s produced by industry. Unilever has launched a soap powder for clothes that contains surfactants made from industrial carbon omissions rather than fossil fuels. It’s currently available in China and involves companies in China and India to complete different parts of the process.