BBC
Finnish scientists producing a protein “from thin air” say it will compete with soya on price within the decade.
The protein is produced from soil bacteria fed on hydrogen split from water by electricity.
The researchers say if the electricity comes from solar and wind power, the food can be grown with near-zero greenhouse gas emissions. If their dreams are realised, it could help the world tackle many of the problems associated with farming. More
Solar Foods home page where they describe their flagship product, Solein” as “the purest protein in the world.” Here
Solein is people!
Brings a whole new meaning to “eat dirt”.
Very interesting idea. I’d sure give it a try, especially if they can make their stuff taste like rib-eye or pepperoni pizza.
As they say in Australia “Throw a couple germs on the barbie, mate.”
My refrigerator already calls that “ranching furry green bologna”.
@jpm January 9, 2020 at 11:04 am
Oh, don’t be so droll, @jpm.
Proles aren’t people.
Isn’t this what they ate on Star Trek 60 years ago?
Did you click the link? The grin on that guy, means either “He usually spins a sign outside the ‘Ready Tax Preparers’ office, and just tweeted his ‘fans’ ‘Hey, I found a white smock, in the dumpster, behind Solar Foods. Watch this!'”; or his mistress just turned up the dial on his wifi butt plug. Maybe both?
An interesting innovation. It will help as we enter the coming ice age. The hydrogen source would more likely be from nuclear than from so-called renewables.
It would probably be more palatable if it could be used as a growth matrix for cloned meat. The Brits and Aussies, though, do like their yeast spreads, but I think they really just crave the salt. If you ate those spreads in a serving size intended to meet your protein requirements, you would probably vomit.
Yeah, like the air is loaded with Fe, Na, K, P, Ca, Mg, S, Co, Cu, Zn and the rest of the “organic elements.”
Pffft.
Will pigs eat it? I like bacon.
“…fed on hydrogen split from water by electricity.” This process is called, “Electrolysis”.
The problem is once you do this and consume the hydrogen, you have effectively destroyed that water FOREVER.
This process is a favorite among the greenies because its the easiest way to get industrial scale hydrogen gas.
Remove enough water from the earth’s eco-system, and you really will create a climate catastrophe!!!
Remember, water makes up the majority of all living things!
@Chance
“The problem is once you do this and consume the hydrogen, you have effectively destroyed that water FOREVER.”
Horseshit!! The process of photosynthesis uses sunlight water and carbon dioxide to make carbohydrates. Photosynthesis uses sunlight to split the water molecule, combining the hydrogen with the carbon dioxide to form sugars and starches and releasing the oxygen to the atmosphere.
Metabolism reverses the process, combining oxygen with the carbohydrates to produce energy and byproducts of carbon dioxide and water.
Water is destroyed and remade all the time. Burning natural gas produces two water molecules for every CO2 molecule.
“Remove enough water from the earth’s eco-system, and you really will create a climate catastrophe!!!” -Chance
You don’t have to remove it. Just change its phase and watch the calamity.
majorityofone…you’re right of course, but we’re not talking about the natural processes of photosynthesis and metabolism in a closed system!
Once you move beyond those natural processes, hydrogen can be destroyed, burned for example, and therefore the water molecule it came from is lost, FOREVER!
In simple terms, from the website HowStuffWorks;
“To create water, oxygen and hydrogen atoms must be present. Mixing them together doesn’t help; you’re still left with just separate hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The orbits of each atom’s electrons must become linked, and to do that we must have a sudden burst of energy to get these shy things to hook up.”
“ÂSince hydrogen is extremely flammable and oxygen supports combustion, it wouldn’t take much to create this force. Pretty much all we need is a spark — not even a flame — and boom! We’ve got water. The hydrogen and oxygen atoms’ electrons’ orbits have been conjoined. But we also have an explosion and — if our experiment was big enough, a deadly one!”
“The ill-fated blimp, the Hindenburg, was filled with hydrogen to keep it afloat. As it approached New Jersey on May 6, 1937, to land after a trans-Atlantic voyage, static electricity (or an act of sabotage, according to some) caused the hydrogen to spark. When mixed with the ambient oxygen in the air, the hydrogen exploded, enveloping the Hindenburg in a ball of fire that completely destroyed the ship within half a minute. There was, however, also a lot of water created by this explosion.”