In a recent review of photosynthesis Bryant and Frigaard commented that the reaction centers employed by photosynthetic bacteria are a more efficient means of obtaining energy than rhodopsin-based phototrophy, due to both the efficiency of converting photon energy to ATP and the presence of large amounts of chromophore in a single unit of reaction center [ 55].
The energy efficiency, based on the lower heating values (LHV), was defined as the energy output in the products (ethanol, biogas, electricity and district heat) divided by the energy input from feedstock (155.2 MW), molasses (7.0 MW), enzymes (9.4 MW), and the energy input in the form of electrical energy (converted to its heat equivalent, calculated using an electricity-to-heat ratio of 0.4).
Those characteristics, which include a high maximal capacity to use oxygen and efficiency of converting metabolic energy into power, are identifiable and measurable.
It also sharply reduced the efficiency of converting the energy in the electricity to chemical bonds in the fuel.
The efficiency of converting beam energy E b into X-rays is given by: {eta }_{text{con}} = frac{{E_{text{rad}} }}{{E_{text{b}} }} (10).
The efficiency of converting light energy into fixed carbon ranged from a low of 0.027 mol C to a high of 0.060 mol C per mol of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR), and the efficiency of bolewood production ranged from 0.78 to 1.98 g wood per MJ of APAR.
Our results could indicate that the efficiency of converting chemical energy into mechanical power is high in the transition from rest to leg press exercise, and then gradually declines in proportion to the source of ATP production.
Both configurations can achieve exergetic efficiencies exceeding 40% and greater than 50% of the solar energy converted to dispatchable thermal exergy.
Furthermore, the overall efficiency of converting the input thermal energy into acoustical energy is defined and calculated.
Requirements for food, materials, and energy in a world where human population is rapidly growing have created a need to increase both the amount of photosynthesis and the efficiency of converting photosynthetic output into products useful to people.
