Capturing Carbon Dioxide the Environment Friendly Way
Massive amounts of CO2 originating from industrial smokestacks and other fixed sources could never be healthy to the environment even if we discount their suspected involvement in climate change. Scientific research has been carried out to explore possible ways of capturing this CO2 before it enters the biosphere. Scientists in Texas, USA are now proposing a rather unexpected source of help in this quest.
What is it?
Proteins that could be used in an environmentally friendly manner for capturing CO2 from sources of air pollution like industrial smokestacks.
How?
Proteins can catalyze reactions with CO2 in an eco-friendly manner. Scientists have probed how the 3-D structure of proteins affects their ability to bind and capture carbon dioxide according to the pharmacophore concept.
Tell me more about this pharmacophore concept…
Paul Ehrlich (via: Nobelprize.org)
The German chemist and Nobel Laureate Paul Ehrlich in the early 1900s, introduced the term pharmacophore to describe those parts of a molecule which are responsible for its biological activity.
The idea behind this concept comes from the common observation that variations of some parts of the molecular structure of a compound drastically influence the activity at a target receptor, whereas variations of other parts only cause minor activity changes.
Why bother?
Existing carbon capture technology is expensive and can generate hazardous waste.
News via: PhysOrgImage via: Nobelprize.org
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