In order to make soil more fertile, researchers have developed an artificial leaf that can be turned into a fertilizer. Image source: Shutterstock (#401548723)
The Harvard research team that created a bionic leaf that is ten times as efficient as regular plant leaves at transforming sunlight to fuel, has now found a way to use that leaf to make fertilizer. Combined with the artificial leaves, a new bacteria, Xanthobacter, consumes the produced hydrogen to funtion as a fertilizer factory in the soil close to the crops.
The crops grown with the help of this renewable chemical synthesis platform grew 1.5 times larger than their regular counterparts in testing. The system could provide an inexpensive and portable source of fertilizer for farmers, particularly in developing countries.
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