TY - JOUR
T1 - Electrobiofuels for a sustainable future
AU - Chen, Kainan
AU - Dai, Susie Y.
AU - Yuan, Joshua S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Authors
PY - 2025/7/18
Y1 - 2025/7/18
N2 - Photosynthesis inefficiency fundamentally limits the sustainable development of human civilization. As global warming intensifies, a popular paradigm shift for reducing carbon footprint is the bioconversion of organic carbon fixed during plant photosynthesis into fuels and chemicals. However, photosynthesis for terrestrial plants has a solar energy conversion efficiency of <1%, which deepens our reliance on fossil fuels, as we do not have sufficient land to sustain our needs for fuels, food, chemicals, and materials using photosynthetic outputs. Photocatalysis and electrocatalysis can overcome this inefficiency and slow kinetics of carbon conversion, yet the product profiles are very limited. Electro-biomanufacturing is emerging to transform traditional biofuel production into a more sustainable and efficient process. This primer explains how electrobiofuels, powered by electricity, overcome key limitations of traditional biofuels by enhancing energy efficiency and lowering carbon footprints and discusses their potential to integrate with cutting-edge technologies to achieve sustainability and economic viability.
AB - Photosynthesis inefficiency fundamentally limits the sustainable development of human civilization. As global warming intensifies, a popular paradigm shift for reducing carbon footprint is the bioconversion of organic carbon fixed during plant photosynthesis into fuels and chemicals. However, photosynthesis for terrestrial plants has a solar energy conversion efficiency of <1%, which deepens our reliance on fossil fuels, as we do not have sufficient land to sustain our needs for fuels, food, chemicals, and materials using photosynthetic outputs. Photocatalysis and electrocatalysis can overcome this inefficiency and slow kinetics of carbon conversion, yet the product profiles are very limited. Electro-biomanufacturing is emerging to transform traditional biofuel production into a more sustainable and efficient process. This primer explains how electrobiofuels, powered by electricity, overcome key limitations of traditional biofuels by enhancing energy efficiency and lowering carbon footprints and discusses their potential to integrate with cutting-edge technologies to achieve sustainability and economic viability.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105010679832
U2 - 10.1016/j.oneear.2025.101383
DO - 10.1016/j.oneear.2025.101383
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:105010679832
SN - 2590-3330
VL - 8
JO - One Earth
JF - One Earth
IS - 7
M1 - 101383
ER -